𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 ~ | 𝘔𝘢𝘹 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯

022 || Know your place

"Stay behind, Hawke. Hamilton behind." Christian voice came a little crackly over the radio. I scowled.

I had faught my way up from P9 just to be stuck behind Max. He was going fairly slowly as the result of an unfortunate collision with Hamilton a while back. He had reffused to pit and lose the lead, but the damage was beginning to take its toll.

So here I was, glued to the rear end of his Red Bull. I had the pace; I had the faster car. I should be allowed to overtake him, not have to be his shield. I had faught Lewis off twice already, but he wasn't going to give up, and stuck at this pace, there wasn't much I could do.

He was going to pass me and then Max, and all of this would have been for nothing. I had to insist one last time.

"Christian. You have to let me pass him. I can get this win!" I pleaded one last time.

"Sabrina, you have a direct order to hold the position. You are not a race strategist; you just need to drive and do what you're told." He replied. By now, he must have been getting annoyed at my relentlessness.

I scowled, deciding to shut my mouth before I said something that might hurt me in the future. I kept going. Another lap flew by. We had to have passed halfway by now. Even I could see the damage on the side of Max's car.

Fuck it.

I was sick of this. I was sick of having to let the golden boy get everything. Even if it meant that the team would lose points, I couldn't go along with it any longer. I had made up my mind. I pushed down on the accelerator, and my car was speeding up.

"Sabri? What are you doing?" Sam asked me. "Sabrina!"

I had DRS down the straight, gaining on Max at an incredible pace. At the last possible second before the turn, I moved out from behind him and took the inside line. For a second, I saw everything flash before my eyes.

I thought he was going to turn on me. His front wing brushed the side of my car. My heart was in my throat as I waited to pull ahead or spin off into the gravel.

But he gave in. He backed off. He fell in behind me. I let out a sigh of relief. I felt a surge of victory as I pulled away from him. Christian said something over the radio, but I wasn't listening. I knew his voice sounded stiff with fury, but I ignored it.

In my mirrors, I saw Max being overtaken by Lewis. But it wasn't my problem. Lewis was too far back, and I was too quick for him to ever stand a chance of catching me. I sped up even more.

I still remember the feeling I had when I crossed that line. It was a feeling of pure joy and pride. It was only my first season, and I had already won three races. But as I stood on the podium, Max on my left and Lewis on my right, I felt... like a failure.

I could have done better. Even though I won, it still felt like I lost. Max still won the championship. He still beat me.

And I know I'm not being fair. It wasn't a fair competition between us. I had come in halfway through the season while he had doubled the races to get the points. It was unreasonable to expect more from me, but I did.

After the celebration was over, I hopped down from the podium, giving the crowd a last wave. I hurried away into the back. 

Max had looked livid getting out of the car. He had managed to put on a fake anough smile for the media but I was sure he was going to want a little 'chat' soon. I wanted to get out of my sweaty, champange-drenched race suit.

"Sabri! Good job-" Sam ran over to me.

"Oh no, you don't. You're still dead to me." I marched past him.