Raging Bulls || Max Verstappen MV

11. I Did Something Bad

"I can feel the flames on my skin, crimson red paint on my lips,

if a man talks shit then I owe him nothing."

⁂

"Sitting in front of Matilde Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel was not something I had been anticipating upon arrival in Australia. Watching the two interact made it obvious this wasn't going to be a simple interview talking about business. Actually, we spent the first five minutes talking about the first time they met, laughing about a plane ride and Angry Birds.

Mati...as she corrected me before we even began, made it known that she hadn't expected Sebastian to say yes. The pair joked about Vettel enjoying his retirement. 'Putting on Red Bull team gear hadn't been something I imagined doing ever again.' The four-time world champion commented. 'But this one had to go and make a big scene with her behavior issues.' Schumacher was quick to discredit that statement with a smile and laugh.

I continued to ask her about her rookie season with Red Bull and watched as her face lit up when talking about her friends Oscar Piastri [McLaren] and Logan Sargeant [Williams]. We have seen so far the trio is almost inseparable during the down time. She talked about watching both friends succeed in lower level series then being separated when no team wanted to take a risk on her in Formula 2.

Sebastian Vettel was keen to just sit back and watch as Schumacher spoke. His eyes told the story of a proud mentor who was looking forward to watching her succeed. This turned our conversation to Mati's twin brother Mick Schumacher [who now occupies the reserve role at Mercedes]. Vettel made it very clear that he would have returned for either one of the twins, but only these two drivers.

Overall, talking with Mati, I didn't see a glimpse of the 'emotional', 'bossy' or 'hot tempered' individual that had been wandering the paddock. She was excited to answer my questions and allow me a glimpse into her life. Hopefully, now that she has Sebastian Vettel on her side, she will be able to find a way to make it work with Max Verstappen. The reigning world champion is 'more driven than ever' and isn't worried about stepping on toes to ensure that he makes it three championships in three years. It's nice as a commentator to know that we haven't lost all real competitors in this sport." TO CONTINUE THE ARTICLE CLICK THE LINK BELOW...

My hands shook as I gripped the wheel. Sebastian was holding onto the handle, glancing nervously in my direction. I'd just shut my door and began to head downstairs where Seb and I agreed to meet...when he appeared in the hallway as well.

Skin flushed from his morning workout, a cold shiver ran through my body. He smirked... actually fucking smirked at me, then without saying a word, entered his room.

I hadn't planned on reading the article published by Sky Sports. It popped up with a text from Mick that read 'MIGHT WANT TO GIVE THIS A READ BEFORE WE GET THERE TODAY'. My pulse quickened with each line. How were they praising my teammate for acting the same way I was being reprimanded for?

That's how I ended up in the driver's seat with Sebastian. I wore a plain Red Bull polo, jeans and sneakers. l topped the outfit off with a team cap, looking the part of a dutiful teammate, what would they make of that now?

As we pulled into the lot, Sebastian's gaze remained on me. The tension had drained from my body during our drive. Seb and I had been laughing while dancing to the music, but once I spotted the reporter who'd written that article, my muscles locked up again. I scanned the crowd for Oscar, Logan or Mick.

The pain in my lip suddenly grew piercing, my teeth had dug too deep in the skin. My leg stopped moving frantically as Seb finally snapped his fingers in front of my face.