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doromoni · 2 days

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Clash of Champions | LH44 , MV1

Act 2 . Part 3 : The Champion’s Weapon

Ships : Lewis Hamilton x Engineer! Reader , Max Verstappen x Engineer! Reader

Genre : Drama , Angst , Romance

Warning : Morally Grey Characters , Swearing , Insinuation of Forced Drug Use,

A/N: Forgive me for taking so long. University had me by the neck.

Summary : The rivalry between the titans of Formula 1 go off track and only one will reign victorious

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Act 2. ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The sudden exit of Y/N L/N had put immense pressure on Mercedes. Investors had started pulling out and stock shares were dropping by the second. The influence behind your name was something that Mercedes had never accounted for.

Your move to Red Bull has been one of the most shocking news of Formula 1 since Sebastian Vettel’s move to Ferrari. The name Y/N L/N had always been strongly associated with the German racing team — No one outside Mercedes had expected the sudden team shift.

From the outsider's perspective, Y/N L/N and Mercedes were a package deal. Your initial start at being Nico’s head engineer had turned heads. Then you suddenly transferred to Lewis’ team without explanation and had the paddock talking. But are you leaving Mercedes to move to their rival, in the middle of the most competitive season? All of the motorsport is in the question of why.

You were the best race engineer of your time. Every other team would kill to have you in their pit wall. Now Red Bull had you and your addition to the team was forecasted to be monstrous on the grid.

Nothing was set, but rumors had spread that you were going to be Max’s engineer as soon as possible.

The rumors were not baseless. You were ready to go and wreak havoc on Mercedes. And if that meant being with Max at Red Bull, then you’ll do so with a smile.

The excitement and eagerness of a new start was seeping off of you as you entered Red Bull Racing Headquarters. Your red-bottomed heels resounded with every step you took. Each step confident as the last one.

Red Bull’s factory was a sight to behold, the atmosphere felt very much alive and bustling. People in uniforms and iPads fly in and out of rooms like worker bees.

Each one greeted you with smiles, waves and with some stopping and talking to you as if you weren’t the enemy just a few races before. The feeling and interaction were so foreign, you have forgotten that not every motorhome was as toxic as Mercedes.

Your eyes linger towards the ginormous 2 story wall of trophies. It was not short of impressive. But what caught your attention wasn’t the number of trophies … but the empty section on it.

Then suddenly, you were pulled into a warm embrace. Your back is tucked into your chest, and your arms are wrapped around your waist loosely. The scent of sandalwood, spice and bourbon filled your senses.

“Christian said that section was for me. For future wins and all. ” Max spoke down to your ear, his breath sending your stomach spinning in every good way possible. His thumb gently brushed over your hips.

You couldn’t help but chuckle as he said that. Leave it to Horner to show his favor towards the Dutch Driver.

Although you enjoyed being in the comfortable and warm hug of the Dutch driver, you realized that you were still in the middle of the lobby.

So you reluctantly removed yourself from Max’s hold. Your eyes suddenly turn your attention back to the bewildered Red Bull employees and staff who are watching you and Max wide-eyed.

Shocked at the display of affection from their usually stoic 1st driver. What's more, it was towards the beautiful race engineer with a reputation of being merciless. The news of what happened at the party didn’t help your odds.

The situation suddenly dawned on you. People just saw you and Max.

“Shit! Max people are looking ” You looked at the Dutch driver, alarmed. The memories of Lewis denying your relationship to all of Mercedes came back to you. And you couldn’t lie, it still stung.

“Yeah, I know. Why, what’s wrong Y/N? ” Max was so nonchalant and unconcerned. You and Max haven’t talked about what your relationship was and what it would mean for the both of you when you were to become coworkers. Your mouth went ajar at his calmness.

“What’s with that expression? Should I be concerned?” Now Max looked at you confused as he surveyed the environment.

“You don’t care? “ You asked. Max just shrugged and muttered a no. His hand finds its way toward your waist again.

Laughing to yourself, finding the circumstances extremely funny. A huge smile then blossomed on your face. While Max was looking down at you with amusement.

“Why should I care if people are looking? Is it weird to hug my girlfriend?” Max called you his girlfriend as if were natural. He said it with so much assurance

“I'm your girlfriend?” You asked, now a smile wide on your lips. You were teasing the driver, but you had butterflies. You felt giddy as you gazed at Max.

“If you’ll take me as your boyfriend and wouldn’t mind me taking you out and spoiling you. Then yeah, you’re my girlfriend” The look on Max's was smug, and he had every right to be. Max’s charming ways did things to you and he knew it.

“Hmm , I don’t know. I’m not sure if I should be dating my driver. Conflict of interests, you know?” You played along — a glint in your eye that Max surely got.

“Maybe you're right, I’ll move to Mercedes then” Max joked back. You laughed along making sure to slap his chest with faux disapproval.

Your humor matched Max’s and learning each other’s boundaries was easy.

“Oh, you better not!” You exclaimed exaggerating. Max continued to laugh along.

“Seriously, Y/N. Will you please be my girlfriend officially ?” Max’s voice then held seriousness and a little bit of uncertainty. He looked directly into your eyes, never breaking eye contact.

You took a deep breath.

“In one condition, we will not keep our relationship a secret. If we are truly to do this, we are not hiding from anybody. “ your voice started to tremble as you went on.

A soft understanding smile fell on Max’s face. He knew exactly how much you’d suffered from your previous relationship.

“ I want everyone to know that you’re mine and that they have no chance with you. You’re mine to keep. Schat”

Your face burned red. You didn’t think that Max calling you pet names would be that attractive. But you were so wrong.

You loved how Max said it, loving how he was solely looking at you as he uttered the endearment in his mother tongue.

“Well then, boyfriend. How about we talk about it with our boss? Hm,” You insisted, for your sanity’s sake. You hoped that Max understood your dilemma.

“Already did” Max grinned down at you. Your eyes grew wide. Max did what your ex couldn’t do in years. You were frozen in shock.

And he took the opportunity of your surprise as his hand found its way to yours, and he pulled you somewhere.

“I was interested in you for a while, but you were with Lewis. But when you broke up, I took my chances and I already notified Christian just in case.“ Max explained as he continued to gently guide you somewhere.

“Well I didn’t know that Max Verstappen had a crush on me” As you said those words, Max suddenly stopped causing you to hit his back.

Then he started to look at you with both astonishment and disbelief. And you find the expression cute on Max.

Suddenly, he took your face in his hands and squished your cheeks — shocking you in the process.

“Y/N L/N . I was flirting with you every chance I got. When you visited me at the clinic after my crash, I thought that I was hallucinating ” Max said seriously, his piercing blue eyes gazing into yours.

“You probably were hallucinating a tiny bit, that was a big crash” You added —Max recognized the guilt in your voice. You still blamed yourself a little bit for that.

“Y/N, Schat. That was not your fault. Please stop blaming yourself. Now come, We’re going to Newey, He wanted to talk to you” Max’s hand found its way to your lower back, guiding you towards the double doors that lead to a glass office.

You felt goosebumps travel up your arms. Max’s attention made you feel cared for and you couldn’t help but feel the butterflies in your stomach.

“Wow…. Adrian Newey wants to talk to me. Wait, but how about Christian? He’s probably waiting in the lobby! “ you suddenly remembered that you were supposed to be waiting for your team principal in the lobby.

“I’ll let him know that you’re busy with Newey,” Max said as he kept nudging you into the office towards another door near the back.

You couldn’t help but chuckle, F1 drivers did tend to be spoiled. And Max wasn’t immune to that. Not when everyone at Red Bull loved their champion contender.

As Max opened the door, there sat Mr. Adrian Newey scribbling in his famous notebook.

You were dumbstruck, it was always a dream to work with the legend that is Adrian Newey.

Your fascination with developing and designing cars was one you held most deeply. However, even when you were a head race engineer during your time with Mercedes — your inputs were never taken seriously.

“ Newey! I’ve brought Y/N, as requested “ Max beamed as he was excited for you. He knew how much this meant.

Adrian looked up from his notebook — his eyes found Max and then it settled on you. You suddenly grew nervous and your palms started to sweat.

“Ms. Y/N! It is my pleasure to finally have you on board!” Newey smiled at you, as he offered his hand.

You quickly shook his hand, still amazed.

“It’s an honor to work with you, Sir! It’s my pleasure” you gushed like a fangirl. Max looked at you with fondness.

“Just call me Newey or Adrian, Ms. Y/N. “ He offered as he stood from his seat and went near you and Max.

“Only if you’d call me Y/N” you offered back with a huge smile still on your face

“Max, you may go. I only need Y/N here” Adrian waved his hand in a shooing manner towards the Dutch driver, who was now pouting.

“Fine, I’ll be back later. Bye, Adrian.” He said towards the developer.

“I’ll see you later Schat.” Max bid you farewell and left — but not without kissing your forehead.

“Well, Y/N I need your input towards the car I’m developing for next year. “ You suddenly grew giddy and excited as Adrian uttered those words

You were going to help in developing a car!

“ What do you say Y/N are you up for it? Will you help me with the RB18?“

“Let’s make a rocket ship, Adrian” You couldn't help but show your excitement as the smile on your face widened.

***

United States Grand Prix

It was finally qualifying. The paddock was bustling with people walking all over trying to find their seats and drivers talking to their engineers inside their garages.

It was officially your first time being Max’s head race engineer. And from the practice sessions yesterday, you were glad that everything went smoothly with Max.

You were confident in your paring as driver and engineer; he trusted in your decisions and you honored his every feedback. You two were like clockwork, everything fell into place.

And so you weren’t worried for Qualifying at all. You knew that Max was ready. You made sure of it.

You were already seated in the pit wall as Max was talking with Christian inside the garage.

When suddenly, you received a text. It was from Lewis. Your forehead scrunched as your eyes fell into the Mercedes Garage; Lewis was not inside.

After a few minutes of Contemplating, you decided to answer.

What the fuck was that??!! So many thoughts filled your mind. Was Lewis telling the truth? Was he lying Why did text he you now? Out of all times.

Was this a tactic to psych you out? To take you out of your focus and fuck with your reasoning. Was Lewis desperate enough to use such devices just to beat Max?

You knew that Mercedes was capable of using cheap shots to put themselves ahead and from what you’ve seen from Lewis recently… he was capable of the same.

You continued to stare at your text conversation. No , you won’t allow yourself to overthink. Not right now when so much was on the line.

You had to prove yourself to the world of motorsport that you were more than the Mercedes race engineer.

You won't allow them to fuck up your freedom, not again.

“Y/N? Are you ok?” You were cut from your thoughts by the radio message from Max. You didn’t realize that Q1 had already started and cars had started to come out of their garage.

“All good, thanks Max” You knew that it wasn’t the right time to tell Max. He needed to focus on— he needed to take pole.

And you will do everything in your power to lead him to that.

Mercedes and Lewis could wait in hell for all you’d care

“All right, Max. Just like we did in the simulation. You go first, then Checo will be right behind you”

“Copy, Y/N” Max was finally on his out lap.

“Radio check, Radio check. Final check”

“Loud and clear, dear” You didn’t expect Max to say that at all. Your face started heating up and your heart was beating way too fast and way too loud.

You knew that Max said that he wanted everyone to know but you weren’t expecting it so soon.

Trying to gain your professionalism back, you cleared your throat with a cough. You heard your team snickering from the sidelines — trying not to laugh at your flustered state.

“Funny Max, now back to focusing on the lap hmm?” You tried to play it cool.

“Will do, ms. L/N” The tone Max used was still playful.

In your other ear, you heard Crofty commentating.

“And that was Y/N L/N from the Red Bull pit wall, all friendly with Max Verstappen. It’s nice to finally have her back. It quite weird to see her in blue and red rather than silver, but everyone missed you Ms. L/N.”

Then suddenly Nico Rosberg had decided to join in with the slightly older commentator.

“She finally left her cage and Red Bull gave her wings! I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But it didn’t shock me that Y/N decided to explore more. From my time working with her, when she was my race engineer back in 2012– I was sure that she was up for greatness.

You were shocked by Nico’s statement. You were always led to think that your past with him had led him to hate you. So much ugliness had happened within Mercedes that you thought his opinion of you was bitter.

You two never had closure when he left the team so you assumed that he resented you like he did with Lewis.

And so you were more than shocked that he was praising you on live TV.

You shook your head and focused your mind on qualifying. It was your first race and it was time to earn your position at Red Bull.

“OK, Max. It’s time for a fast lap. Tyre temperature is at its optimal and there is no heavy traffic on track”

Max was a natural behind the wheel. It was as if the car was a part of him. He breezed past Q1 and Q2 perfectly, earning P2 and P1 respectively.

It was finally the last qualifying session.

“Max, how’s the car feeling?” You asked your boyfriend for feedback.

“The front could be sharper. And the rear needs to be tighter, I could feel the car snapping at turn 5” You checked your data sheet, and Max was right he was oversteering on turn 5

“Will look into it.” And with that, you and your team started to make some changes to the car, as per Max’s input.

“Abort the lap max, will do some changes to the car” you called on the radio. You knew that it was risky but you decided to gamble and do what your gut told you to do.

Your team fully believed in your call and supported your decisions till the end. Your adrenaline was pumping as Max pitted.

And without a hitch, Max was out again on an out lap.

It was almost near the Chequered flag when Max had finished his lap.

Your nerves were eating you alive and your foot hadn’t stopped tapping as Lewis crossed the line placing himself on top of the board.

You had faith in Max. You knew that he was going to earn back that pole.

Everything was down to this. One last push. Max was on his one last fast lap.

Your eyes glued on your screen, as the rest of Red Bull and the entire paddock held their breath.

Max had aced the first sector. Your heart started to pound once again, you could feel it in your throat.

The rain had started to pour in the pitlane, your nerves spiking. But you knew that your analysis was spot on — you didn’t have to worry about anything. Max was flying through the second sector.

One last sector. Your breath caught when he went wide but corrected instantly. You felt light drops of rain on your back but you did not care— as your eyes zeroed in on Max crossing the line.

Enormous cheers erupted as Max goes top of the board. He has won pole position over Lewis!

Claps and hugs were exchanged between your team. Wow, Max had won the pole position. In your first race as his engineer.

Holy shit. You excitedly radioed Max.

“That is P1 Max! Pole position. Congratulations!” You cheered for your boyfriend

“ Let’s go!! Thank you, everyone, for a mighty effort! Y/N! We make a good pair, don’t we” Max said as you saw him waving to the crowds from your screen. The double entendre not escaping you. You laughed along with your other engineers. Cheeky bugger.

The entirety of Red Bull knew of your situation with Max. How could they not? Max was like a puppy always following you in the building.

You watched as the two Red Bull drivers parked their cars in Parc Ferme in their corresponding places. You couldn’t help but fawn over the Dutch Driver as he stepped out of his car towards the interviewer. Max looked amazing in the spotlight.

The camera then zeroed in on David Coulthard and Max who was now holding a mic — a smile on his face as he went on with the post-quali interview.

“Congratulations on the pole position, Max! That’s your 7th one this season! How are you feeling?” David questioned Max.

“I feel great! Another lovely position for the team with me Checo in front of the grid. The team’s effort was extremely excellent today, I have no complaints. And we hope that we can turn this pole into a win tomorrow” Max answered like how he was trained to do. The PR team will be celebrating this as well.

“We’ve heard that you had a change of your head race engineer to Ms. Y/N L/N, how are you finding the shift?” David continued to gauge the Dutch driver

Everyone at Red Bull held their breath. It was decided that your relationship with Max albeit not kept secret to anybody — it would be best to keep it on the low. Until everything with your issue with Mercedes dies down.

Ironically, you agree with them. You didn’t want to drag Max’s name along with yours. You needed to set things straight with Mercedes first. Cut and burn bridges that didn’t do you any good.

You waited for Max to answer the question.

“Y/N has been an absolute delight. The learning curve and transition were seamless, She knows what I want in the car and she delivers.” Max answered with a smile.

“Well Max, congratulations again on the pole! Thank you so much and good luck tomorrow “

Then the camera zoned in on Lewis. He got P2 on the race and he seemed pissed, like anytime he’ll explode.

“Lewis, congratulations on P2! That’s the front row for you! You were two-hundredths of a second behind Max. How was the car for you?”

Lewis’ composure was dissolving by the minute as he tried to answer.

“ I had issues on the last sector, the car was a little too sharp for my liking. But we will utilize what we have” He gruffly answered.

“ I assumed that your change of race engineer hadn’t been as smooth as you expected. How is it working with Bonno instead of Y/N?”

Lewis’ jaw tightened as his hand flexed over the mic that he was holding. People had started to murmur and suddenly the camera panned on Toto then it was suddenly in you.

You were shocked, but you didn’t let anyone see. You looked directly into the camera tauntingly and smiled — innocently waving your hand. Dressed proudly in your Red Bull uniform and your headset lazily hanging around your neck.

“Bonno had been great. He just right for my style of driving.” Lewis plastered a smile. You saw right through Lewis’s lie. No one could fully understand Lewis driving other than you.

You couldn’t help but smirk and you looked back at the data sheet on your screen.

Mercedes didn’t know what’s coming to them.

***

“Why do you suddenly need the medical records , Lewis? You and the other drivers did something stupid. You got high It’s best to keep that buried” Lewis was inside the Mercedes clinic talking to the resident doctor.

He couldn’t seem to push it aside. Everything seemed weird. He was so sure that he just drank and he didn’t participate in anything like drugs.

“You don’t understand, James. Someone framed me and slipped something in my drink”

James , looked at Lewis in both shock and confusion.

“ Are you sure? Lewis this is a serious accusation. We might need to bring this up to the FIA” Lewis only nodded

“I’ll contact the Doctors from the other teams. I’ll report back to you. But when I do find something,..I need to tell Toto. “

“Fine”

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