MAX WAS STILL ASLEEP when isabel woke up. glancing over at the digital clock on her nightstand, she groaned upon realising it was only six — on race days she normally woke up between six-thirty and seven for just that little bit extra rest.

she hadn't woken up to max at all during the night though, which was first.

her eyes involuntarily flickered over to his bed from where she was looking at the clock. he looked awkward from what she could see in the dark room — the sheets half wrapped around him and half hanging on the floor as a thin layer of sweat lined his forehead. gross, she thought, did he wear the blanket all night?

the room was humid because of the somewhat warm temperature outside, and on top of that, she hadn't opened a window last night to circulate the air while they slept. last night, she thought back to how quiet it had surprisingly been after their talk in her driver room. they avoided each other like the plague and didn't even glance in the sheer vicinity of each other. it had been blissful. it was also because both drivers were trying to get into the zone for the race that was going to be taking place later tonight, so that was a plus, too.

an undiscussed bathroom routine had also managed to take place over the course of the week in the same room. when one would shower in the morning, the other would eat breakfast in the kitchen, and then they'd swap. at night it was similar, but instead of going to the kitchen they would go sit out on the balcony and enjoy some quiet time without the other being near. it was a good thing that tori and will had managed to sort out their hotel room to be towards the back and away from the public eye because isabel didn't want to think what the press and fans would think about seeing the two on the same balcony.

with a soft grumble, she pulled herself out of bed and knelt by her suitcase, digging through her clothes until she came across an outfit. navy cargo pants and an oversized white shirt was good enough to wear until she had to get changed later into her race suit.

max woke up the second he heard the bathroom door shut. he could see a blurred strip of light from under the door, causing him to groan and roll back over. will, his pr manager, told him that he had to be at the circuit at nine to film a video for the team's channel, which he thought was absolutely pointless since it was race day and he could be doing a million other things that were more important instead. when he heard the bathroom door creak open, he couldn't help but glance up even though he knew that isabel leclerc wasn't going to look anywhere near him.

isabel picked up her bag that she took to the circuits and her phone before leaving the hotel room without a word. max rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket up over his head.

x

INSTAGRAM — ISABEL.LECLERC

isabel.leclerc: 📍 jeddah

comments . . .

user1: good luck tonight!
↳ isabel.leclerc: <3

user2: liked by pierre gasly

user3: hoping your car wasn't fixed properly
↳ user1: lmao aren't you salty

charles_leclerc: 😐
↳ isabel.leclerc: 🥰

user4: max is better
↳ user5: not everything is about max
↳ user4: i'm just saying what we're all thinking

user5: hoping for another ferrari + isabel podium !!

x

"ISABEL," ALICIA TAYLORS' VOICE was like melted caramel. "a word, please."

alicia taylors was one of the nicest women isabel had ever met. however, she had a very maternal side that never failed to scare the shit out of the girl, and so being called into a small office within the garage meant that isabel was either about to get praised or scolded. there usually wasn't an in-between.

"hi," isabel greeted the woman as she stepped into the office and took a seat across from alicia. "is everything okay?"

"i'm just checking in," which was actually code for remember what we talked about last year. "i'm hoping for a clean race," which was code for don't start shit with max verstappen.

"i'll give you a clean race," isabel promised, "from my end, at least."

"good," alicia nodded, her leg crossed over the other as she sat elegantly in her chair. "you're a role model for noah, too, don't forget that. the kid looks up to you." that was also code for remember the ultimatum. your publicity is already fucked.

isabel nodded. "we made a list of things that we find annoying about living together," her voice was soft now as she addressed the underlying meaning in her team principal's words. "tori thinks it's dysfunctional, but we're not arguing over small things anymore." that was a partial lie. the only reason they didn't argue over anything at the moment was because they hadn't spoken since her driver room, and that wasn't necessary for alicia, or anyone else, to know. if they looked like they were actually making progress, the sooner this would all be over.

alicia's smile was as sweet as her voice. "i'm glad!" it almost made isabel feel bad for lying straight to her face. almost. "i don't expect that your behaviour out on the track'll have changed so soon, but it's a good start." she relaxed further into the chair, "you may go and get ready for the race, do what you need to. bring us home a win."

x

"KNOCK 'EM DEAD, KID," harry said, tapping the top of isabel's helmet twice before backing away from the car.

as they all began to slowly leave the garage and melt into the starting order on the grid, isabel cruised around the circuit for the formation lap, swerving her car as smoothly as possible to gain some heat in the tires. upon entering the grid, she parked her car behind charles'.

it wasn't long before all the cars were lined up accordingly and the red lights began to flicker on. in that moment, isabel entered the headspace and blocked out everything else. the crowds of people and their cheering and chanting had disappeared; just her on the track, watching the remaining lights flicker on before pausing and extinguishing themselves.

"the second race of the season and it's here in jeddah. it's lights out and away we go!"

isabel slammed her foot on the accelerator the second the lights extinguished. max was already battling her barely a second into the race. she'd promised alicia a clean race, but max was millimetres away from skimming her tires. around the second turn, max managed to pass her by squeezing through the gap that she wasn't able to defend since she was defending esteban ocon on her other side.

lap twelve. isabel's radio chimed. "noah's out with overheating," harry said, "watch out for your engine, a lot of cars are going through similar."

isabel grimaced. it meant that they were going to gain less points, but more importantly, it meant that noah was gonna be upset. his second race of the season and he was out on the twelfth lap because of engine troubles. "copy that," she responded. "give him a hug for me."

it was a constant battle between ferrari, red bull and isabel — and george, he had managed to push forward past checo and was now sitting in p5 behind carlos. max had checo and charles had carlos, making it easier for them to balance out positions whilst isabel fought to keep her spot on the podium.

lap seventeen. a safety car was in use since the lap before due to nicholas latifi's crash in sector three. isabel was in p3 behind max with carlos behind her and charles up in p1. it felt like bahrain all over again.

lap twenty-one. when there was a one-second gap between her car and max's ahead of her, isabel enabled drs since she was in the zone upon completing turn seventeen. one enabled, she was able to break out of the slipstream and overtake max's car, settling in front of his before she reached turn nineteen.

"nice overtake," harry told her. "that's p2. don't fight charles for p1 yet."

"copy."

lap forty-two. charles, isabel and max had a roughly 8 second gap from the racers behind them. with this in mind and there only being eight laps left, they began to fight each other for a higher spot on the podium — except for charles, who was trying to defend as if it were his lifeline.

isabel smiled to herself as she entered the familiar drs detection zone. her, max and charles were all roughly one second apart, which would be an interesting fight in overtaking. enabling drs, she pushed wide to pull her car up alongside her brother's before completely making it around him and forcing him behind her with the upcoming bend. this allowed max to move up closely behind whilst he was still in the detection zone and enable his own drs, going around the outside of charles and falling into p2 behind isabel.

"i think he's obsessed with me," isabel said as she hit the radio button on her steering wheel. talking to harry mid-race when she didn't have a problem with the car or anything was probably one of her favourite things to do. sure, everyone could hear the things she was saying, including a usually unamused tori and alicia, but harry was entertained.

"i think he just wants p1, belle," harry laughed, "but sure."

"what's the order?"

"you, verstappen, leclerc, sainz, perez," harry went back to sounding more professional. "don't let ferrari or red bull gang up on you."

"copy that, boss." ferrari and red bull were dominating the top five positions, and with isabel being the only one from a different team thrown in that mix, she had to try remain as high on the podium as possible to try score more points. or hope that their cars fuck them over so that they drop points.

lap forty-three. trying to create a gap between her and max, isabel kept checking her mirrors to make sure that she could defend him properly, especially now that they were in a drs zone. however, when she checked again, she noticed max and charles dancing around each other for the p2 spot.

it was all one major game of chess now, especially with max and charles. isabel knew she could ignore it, but if one of them starting threatening her spot, she'd have to outplay them as best as possible. "just hold for seven more laps," isabel braked a little too early around the corner, but it didn't seem to have too much of an impact.

lap forty-six. max managed to escape the chess game with charles to create his own with isabel just four laps from the finish. to her surprise, he was being patient, waiting until he entered a drs zone to make an attack.

"oh no," isabel muttered as her tires locked up around the turn that led into a drs zone. it gave max the perfect opportunity to attack: he activated drs and steered wide to then drive around her as they broke out onto the main straight.

lap fifty. final lap. they were coming up to turn twenty-seven, the final turn before the main straight that led to the man waving the chequered flag. isabel saw an opening and she took her chances.

she forced max wider than usual — through perfectly legal means — and cut closer to the inside, meaning that her car had managed to push just in front of max's. she flicked her gears higher on the straight as she fought to keep in front of max. he was just under half a car behind her as she crossed the line first.

for a moment, everything went silent. the shock that she had just won the second race of the season enough to block out all the sounds around her until she heard the beep of her radio.

"slow it down now," harry laughed. "you fucking did it! we're all insanely happy for you!"

"wooo! isabel!" a louder cheer cut in, noah. he stole the headset's mic from harry to quickly celebrate before harry could continue.

"order is you, verstappen, charles, sainz, perez. you just held off two of the biggest teams, belle!"

"oh my god," isabel whispered as she let her engine slow as she completed an extra lap so that she could pull into the pitlane. "thank you guys!" she told her team through the radio. "couldn't have done it without you."

max, on the other hand, had forgotten his radio was still switched on after his team had congratulated him for p2. he was grateful he managed p2, but the fact that p1 had slipped from his fingers by barely a few thousandths of a second weighed heavily. "fuck sake!" he berated himself, already dreading having to see his father in the paddock. "fuck! that's bullshit, i had her!"

"radio's on, max," his engineer warned him, glancing over at christian horner. "tone it back." he listened to his engineer and disconnected from the radio before he fucked himself over further and earned an earful from will later on. he was pissed, of course he was, but having to deal with will for fucking up the idea of progress in rescuing his public image would be worse.

as soon as isabel pulled into the designated p1 spot to park her car, she unbuckled herself and climbed around the halo of her car so that she could stand just before where the front wing connects. raising both her fists in the air, she celebrated with a large smile that was hidden under her helmet before jumping off to stand just beside where max was going to park while she waited for charles.

she flipped up her visor first before unzipping her race suit and letting it hand off her hips, the black fireproofs underneath contrasting with the golden material currently hanging down her sides.

isabel pulled off her helmet and tucked it under her arm before removing the balaclava and shoving it inside just as max parked. he was out of the car straight away, flipping his visor up to glance around the teams that were currently making their way towards them.

with a grin, isabel winked at him in a way that bordered tauntingly. she knew that it was impossible for him not to have an outburst about her being faster than him, and she also had a feeling that that outburst had taken place in his car directly after she crossed the line. his eyes were cold again, the storm brewing immediately at the sight of her taunt.

"great win," although she couldn't see his smile, she knew it was just as sarcastic as his words.

"appreciate it," isabel nodded slowly. "i'll make sure to look down to congratulate you when we're on the podium."

as soon as charles was out of his car, he made it over to embrace his sister first before his team. "congratulations!" he cheered over the noise.

"grazie! and to you, too," she pat his back affectionately before breaking away from the hug. "we're on the podium together again!"

when they broke away, charles and max went to go congratulate each other as isabel did the same with her team. charles and max were close friends after squashing their childhood rivalry, something that isabel wasn't going to disrespect. if her brother wanted to be close with max, why would she be mad? her problems laid with max, not her friends and family that were friends with him. at least another leclerc gets along with him.

x

THE PODIUM HAD BEEN interesting. there was clearly a lot of tension between first and second place on the podium, something that charles tried to eliminate through distraction. he sprayed max with champagne first with a laugh as the two boys began to chase each other with it, and isabel went to attack noah with her bottle since he was standing just offstage with alicia. she only went back over when charles began to douse her in champagne from behind, causing her to gasp and do the same back to him. in this timeframe, max went over to christian.

it was evident to everyone how tense it was between isabel and max. they worked well not to showcase any ill feelings on the podium as they celebrated, but everyone knew it was there waiting to bubble over the second that everyone was gone from sight.

the post-race press conference had gone decently with charles playing mediator, but the second max and isabel got back to their hotel room . . . only time would tell.