Are You Fast Enough? (F1:MV)

Chapter 8

It was a warm day at the Hungaroring. The sun was high in the cerulean sky, and Max was in the Toro Rosso garage, stretching his arms, murmuring the names of corners under his breath. He bent his legs, touching the floor and jumping up just as Jos walked in.

'Turn 1, turn 2, long...' He muttered. Jos nodded approvingly. Max took no notice, and continued.
'Good son. Now close your eyes and see the track.'
Max shut his eyes, with his right leg lifted up. He lost his balance and fell over.
'Ow! Fuck!' Max cursed, rubbing his forehead.
'Concentrate! And don't swear, you're too young.'
'Sorry dad.'
'Where is that girl you were talking about?'
'Cara? She'll be here soon.'
'Right. Remember Max, don't be surprised if you never see her again.'
'Okay.' Max sighed. As his dad left the room, he wanted to cry. What if he was right? What if Cara was using him all this time? The ugly thought crossed his mind, boiling anxiety in his stomach. As he continued his stretches, he jumped as he felt a pair of arms around his neck. He was spun around so quickly that he nearly fell into Cara's arms.
'Woah, watch out my amico! You doing okay?'
Max nodded. 'Yeah, just stretching. My mind is fully on the track.'
'That's good. I hope you'll do very well.'
'Thank you.'
Just then, Max's race engineer called him over. Max waved to Cara, before she put her headphones on. Soon Max was in the car, driving out onto the grid.

The five lights towered above him, glowing a violent red, Max's eyes glaring into the spots as if he were hypnotised. In the blink of an eye, the lights went out and Max floored the pedal. On the first corner, Daniel held the track in front of Max. At the back, there were a few overtakes, and as the cars separated, Max saw the glaring Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat in his rear view mirror. He growled. He couldn't let the Russian attack him. He narrowed his gaze, leading Kvyat around for a few laps. At lap 10, he got a message from team radio.

'Max, you're in P6 now. Massa's engine has failed.'
'Ok. Do I need to box?'
'Not yet. In a few laps.'

As he fiercely held off Daniil, Max found himself catching up to Daniel, although he was just a little too quick. Soon, Max was ordered to box. He rolled into the pit lane, and the stop was fast. But it was not fast enough, and Kvyat overtook him just as he left the pit lane.
His team radio turned on. Max interrupted the message.
'Fuck! I was so close.'
'Calm down Max.'
'Sorry.'
'Vettel is leading the race now. It's strange, the Mercedes have been sliding all over the place. They are behind Bottas and Ricciardo, just in front of Kvyat.'
'Ok. I'll get them.'

Max navigated carefully through the track. He whispered the names of the corners, his arms twisting like a snake as he spun through a chicane. Soon he saw Lewis, with Kvyat just in front of him. It seemed Daniil had overtaken him.

Max went for the gap as turned into a corner, side by side with Hamilton. He took the position, and soon caught up with Daniil. He watched as Rosberg ran wide, digging up gravel, being overtaken by Kvyat. Max gritted his teeth as he easily passed Rosberg. He needed to overtake Daniil.

It was over halfway through the race. Daniil had pitted but just as Max claimed his position, he was ordered to pit as well.
'Box, box, box.'
'Do I have to?'
'Yes. Box.'

Max groaned as he pulled into the pit lane for the final time, putting on a fresh set of tyres. He came out behind Kvyat. He tried to catch up to him, but failed to match his pace. There were only ten laps left.  Team radio came on.

'Ok Max, Bottas is out, he broke down. At the moment you're in P4, but Daniil is far in front of you, attacking his teammate.
'Alright.' Max sighed.

As Max finally caught up to Daniil, he just saw him overtake Ricciardo. He accelerated towards Daniel, but the Honey Badger did not give up. He held his position. Before he knew it, Max was on the last lap, and he finished the race in P4. Even though he was happy with the result, he was frustrated. If he had pushed a little harder, he knew he could have done better.

When he parked up in parc ferme, he only had Cara on his mind. She would be delighted with the result. She expected a lot from him. After weighing in and confirming his result, he watched the podium. Once that was over, Max returned to the garage. His dad was there, standing with his arms crossed.

'Where's Cara?' Max asked.
'She was here for the race. She had a strange expression, and I think she was disappointed that you did not overtake the Red Bulls.'
'It was too tough. He was too fast for me.'
'Okay, whatever you say.' His dad grunted.
'Where is she now?'
'I don't know. That slut ran off after podium. I told you she would use you.'
'No, no that's not true. She would never do such a thing.'
'You can't say I didn't tell you so. She's gone.'
Max's face fell. His hands clutched at his helmet hair. He fought back against the tears.
'No, she's not gone. I'll prove it.' Max ran off, leaving Jos perplexed.
'Son! Where are you going?' He called after him.

Max ignored him as he ran down the corridor, nearly bumping into Carlos, who was pushed into the wall. Max stopped.
'Sorry mate. Are you going back to your hotel?' Max asked.
'Yeah, why?'
'I... I was going to hang out with Dany and Seb. They're playing some cards together to celebrate the podium.' He lied.
'Oh, I see. You think they'll give you a little drink?'
'More than a little, I hope.' He laughed.
'Okay, I just need to pack my bag, and I'll give you a lift. I think Dany left already- I was going to congratulate him but Daniel said he was tired and went to the hotel.'
Max nodded. Carlos swiftly left and returned with his packed rucksack. The boys left quickly, as Carlos drove away, Max sitting anxiously next to him.

When they arrived at the hotel, Carlos waved to Max before going to his room. Once Carlos was out of sight, Max took the lift, and crept down the hallway to Cara's room.

He shyly knocked on the door.
'Hello?' He called, but there was no answer. He slowly turned the door handle to find that the door was unlocked. His jaw dropped as entered the room to find Cara pinned to her bed, Daniil Kvyat on top of her, his bare skin glowing in the mood lighting. Their breathless moans filled the room. He rushed over beside them. Neither of them noticed he was there.

'What the fuck!' He shouted, causing Daniil to jump up. Cara looked at him, but made no reaction.
Daniil rolled his eyes. 'Oh, hi Max.'
'Hi?'
'Can you go? Can't you see I'm a little busy?'
'Get off her!' Max screamed, tugging Daniil off the bed.
'Ok, calm down kid. I'm leaving.' Daniil grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Cara wrapped herself up in blankets.

'What? I don't understand!' Max said confusedly.
'Um...'
'Are you a thing? Do you like him or something?' Max asked, his tone almost crazy.
'No, no. This was only a casual fuck.'
'But..what.. I thought?'
'You thought what?'
'But the little x's you put on your texts... And you kiss me on my cheeks..'
'I'm Italian. It's what Italians do to friends.' Cara answered. She was incredibly calm, acting as if nothing had happened.
'Oh...'
'Do the Belgians not do that?'
Max shook his head. 'I just... I thought we were-'
'We were what?'
'Boyfriend and girlfriend..'
She looked at him. 'Well, do you want to be boyfriend and girlfriend?'
'I suppose so?'
'Okay.'
'Okay then.' There was a silent pause. Cara looked down at Max's lips, before leaning in and kissing him.
Max kissed her back. She deepened the kiss. But Max pulled away; he felt Cara's tongue scrape against his, and he felt uncomfortable.
'I have to go now..' He murmured.
'Okay. Ciao.'
'Bye.' Max replied, as he ran away embarrassedly. Oh dear. What had he done? Why did he react like that? He shouldn't have pulled away like that. He returned home, feeling like he made a truly awful mistake.