Race Engineer - Daniel Ricciardo

Chapter 14

I feel Daniel's lips on my skin, kissing my shoulder up to my neck. I get goosebumps all over my arm and I can feel Daniel grinning against my skin.

"Good morning, beautiful" Daniel mumbles, making me smile. I roll onto my side, throwing my leg over Daniel's waist and cuddling closer to him.

"Good morning, handsome" I mumble back, making Daniel chuckle. He puts his arm tightly around me, holding me close. He sighs, pressing his lips against the side of my head.

"I wish we could stay here forever" he mumbles. I giggle, kissing his bare chest.

"We could, but I don't think the team will be very happy about that"

"We could always try" I smile at Daniel's words. To be honest, I would love to get away from it all, to just be in bed with Daniel.

"I hope that I do well today" Daniel mumbles, frowning. Qualifying went well for him, but he isn't sure Canada is good to him. I kiss Daniel and smile.

"You're amazing, everything will be fine" Daniel smiles and hugs me close. After 5 more minutes off cuddling, Daniel and I both get out of bed. I just jump into a pair of jeans and my team polo, putting my hair up in it's usual pony tail.

"Can I just say that you look extremely good in the Red Bull shirt?" Daniel says as he puts his arms around my waist from behind. I'm applying some mascara as we speak, but I look in the mirror at Daniel. I feel myself blushing at his words.

"Always the charmer" I giggle and Daniel chuckles. He kisses my cheek before letting go off me. I finish my routine and grab all my stuff.

"Ready sunshine?" Daniel asks me. I roll my eyes but nod my head as well. We walk out of the hotel room and take the lift to the lobby. We get into one of the cars that'll take us to the track.

Before I know it, I'm standing on the grid, next to Max's car. He walks towards me, coming back from the National Anthem. Max starts P5, while Daniel starts P4, in front of him. He smiles at me, causing me to do the same.

"Ready?" I ask, looking at him, trying to ignore the smiling Australian behind him. Max nods, giving me a big grin as well.

"I'll fight my way forward. Monaco will soon be forgotten" he says, looking at Jake for his helmet. He first hands Max his balaclava, which he puts on and looks at me for a second.

"Any notes?" I shake my head, not really knowing what to tell him. Max nods and puts his helmet on as well. I pat his back and walk towards the pitwall. I plug in my headset and lean back, waiting for it to start.

After the formation lap, I feel myself getting nervous. Last time Max was in a car, he crashed. But he can't do that, not this time. The lights go out and all the cars speed away. Vettel has an amazing start, passing both Mercedes' and taking first position. Max overtakes Daniel and Rosberg, moving to P3.

The first few laps go smoothly, Max just driving behind Hamilton with Daniel behind him. On lap for, Max is still 1.3 seconds behind Hamilton, which isn't too far, considering how much quicker a Mercedes usually is.

But 6 laps later, on lap 9, Max is 3 seconds behind Hamilton. Daniel is only 1.6 seconds behind Max. I sometimes feel Simon's eyes on me whenever Daniel does a good lap, going quicker than Max. Daniel gets close, and I soon hear the words I dread to hear.

"Kenz, Verstappen is holding up Daniel" Simon's voice says to me. I look at him and he smiles sadly at me. I nod, pressing Max's radio button.

"Max, don't hold up Ricciardo" I simply say. I don't get a reply, which I didn't expect. Exactly a few seconds later, I see the big VS in my screen, which Max will see in his dash.

"What happened?" Max asks. I quickly look at the monitors, seeing a Mclaren standing still.

"Button's engine broke down" I reply, feeling bad for the Brit. Vettel goes in for a pitstop, while some follow him. But a lap later, VS is gone and Hamilton takes the lead. Max moves to P2, with Daniel in P3. On lap 14, Max pulled a big enough gap for Daniel not being able to use his DRS.

On lap 18, Vettel overtakes Max, after having overtaken Daniel a lap earlier. I look at Max's tyre wear and sigh, they're almost gone entirely.

"Max, box this lap" I say, as he starts his 21st lap. At the end of it, he comes in and changes tyres to the Soft compound. He falls back to P8, which isn't too bad. A lap later, he's back on P5, as Daniel in front of him made a pit stop as well. And another 2 laps later, he's on P3. Raikkonen is behind him, on 2.8 seconds.

Max pulls away nicely, making me smile. On lap 29, the gap to Raikkonen is 4 seconds.

"You're doing great, Max. Gap to Raikkonen is 4 seconds" He keeps on pushing. On lap 36, Max drives a 1.17.5, while Daniel does a 1.17.6. Daniel goes in for his second stop 2 laps later, while Max stays out. He drives a 1.18.1, a gap to Bottas of 6 seconds.

"Okay, box next lap, Max"

"We're still going to Ultra?"

"Yeah, you're getting Ultra Softs" I reply to him. He comes in for a quick pitstop, falling back to P5. Max sets a fastest time on lap 50, going 1.16.319, almost a second quicker than his last fastest lap. The gap to Bottas, who's in front of him is 9 seconds on lap 54.

Rosberg is getting closer to Max. On lap 63, Max has to start defending. I bounce my leg up and down, P4 would be amazing and Max knows it as well. But obviously, the Mercedes is a lot quicker on the straight and with DRS, it will be very hard to defend.

But not when your name is Max Verstappen. He keeps defending like crazy, winning everytime. Until lap 70, the last lap. On the second to last straight, Rosberg gets very, very close. At the end, he's with his nose in front of Max, but I know Max is braking extra late, which Rosberg does as well. But Rosberg locks his tyres and spins off, allowing Max to take position of P4.

"YES! Well done crazy Dutchman! Proud of you, good job" I say as Max crosses the finish line.

"Thanks Mackenzie! Great race! A big thank you to the team" Max's happy voice souns over the radio. I get a smile on my face myself. He did manage to show that Monaco was a big mistake and he won't make it again. I quickly check the other results, seeing Daniel's name on P7. My heart sinks slowly, as I look over at Simon. He's talking, but I obviously can't hear him.

"Hey Kenzie? Where did Daniel finish?" Max asks me.

"P7"

"Oh" yeah, oh. I sigh as I just look through everyone. Can't believe Max stayed in front of a Mercedes and a Ferrari. And pushing aside that it's Daniel, he stayed and beat his team mate.

After the celebrations on the podium, that I only heard and not saw, I'm gathering all my stuff in the garage. I put all the data sheets I have in my bag, cleaning off my stuff.

"Hey Kenzie" I turn around to see Daniel leaning against the entrance of the garage, wearing his normal clothes again. I give him a bright smile.

"Hey Dan" I answer, grabbing my bag and walking over to him. He smiles and pulls me into a hug, while I see camera's around.

"Dan?" I ask softly, hugging him back anyway. He just pulls me closer, sighing heavily. His face is burried in the crook of my neck, his breath hitting my skin. I get goosebumps and I try to hide the blush that's forming on my cheeks.

"Can we just, go out and party all night long?" Daniel asks and grins at me, as he pulls away from the hug. I giggle. I heard some team members talking about a party, several team members also saying how smashed they're going to get. I can imagine Daniel wanting to do the same.

"Sure. I'm in for a party" I say with a bright smile. Daniel grins in reply, walking away from the garage and into his. He grabs his bag as well and together, we make our way away from the circuit and towards the hotel. I can use a hot shower.

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sorry for the short chapter! I'm in so much pain, but I wanted to post something!