THE MESSAGES WERE LEFT unread. isabel cleared the notifications as soon as she quickly glanced over them. tori would be pissed, no doubt, but isabel wasn't answering her friend because she had nothing to say to it.

it was getting too close to the cutoff date.

so, to stop herself from hitting the 'send' button on the resignation email in her drafts, she threw herself into training. like any other sane person would do. a couple hours of physical training, a couple of hours on the simulator, sleeping, and then repeating for the next few days until she was due to hop on a plane to barcelona.

as she was repacking one of her bags for the flight tomorrow, her phone chimed.

NOTIFICATION CENTRE —

(now) IMESSAGE — UNKNOWN

if you're not gonna answer
tori can you at least
message me so i can figure out
an answer to their bullshit

she's going off at ME she's your
manager

isabel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the message. at least it's pr related, she thought with a shrug. if it were anything else, she would've blocked him in a heartbeat.

quickly changing his contact name so that it didn't confuse her later on, she opened up his messages.

IMESSAGE —

MAX + JOEL FROM MARKETING

MAX

if you're not gonna answer
message tori can you at least
message me so i can figure out
an answer to their bullshit

she's going off at ME she's your
manager

JOEL FROM MARKETING

dont tell me what to do

jesus christ

when are you getting to spain

idk whenever i feel like it

fucking hell you're annoying

:)

why

we need to sort out details
for monaco and baku

will wont stfu about it and
tori wont stop messaging me

fuck, even if we have to pretend
idc im not getting fucking fired

good for you lmao

i dont care

goodnight

x

MAX STARED BLANKLY AT his phone. one thought circulated his like he driving a grand prix circuit: why doesn't she care?

wasn't her career depending on this? he knew isabel was an aggressive driver who fought hard to get where she was, so why was she suddenly wanting to throw that away? it didn't make sense to him.

max was happy to pretend they'd worked out their differences to the public eye if it meant he kept his seat at red bull. he was currently situated nicely, with his contract stating that he was staying with the team until 2028 if he and isabel got over it.

surely isabel had the same deal, right? she had to have a long contract. it would make sense for lamborghini to keep her as long as possible since she was a rising talent that, if she got snatched up by another team, could leave lamborghini in shambles.

what max was unaware of was the fact that isabel's contract ended next year and no new negotiations had been made to re-sign her because of the deal alicia and christian had proposed. isabel's career was dwindling, and max was in the dark about all of that.

"what's got you so worked up?"

he dropped his phone down beside him and looked across the living room of his apartment until his eyes fell on his ex-teammate. "nothing."

daniel rolled his eyes. "you're a shit fuckin' liar, but fine," he dropped down into the armchair near where max was seated. "i think it's your girl trouble with a certain lambo driver."

max couldn't help the scoff that escaped him. "i'm trying to keep my fucking seat, daniel," he said. "if she doesn't give a shit about hers, i don't care, but i'm not letting her drag me down with her."

daniel only continued to look amused by the whole thing. "you talk a lot about her for someone who claims to not care about her."

the red bull driver faltered for a split-second. "no," he denied immediately after, "i'm complaining. there's a difference."

the aussie snorted, "sure, mate. whatever you say."

but daniel wasn't blind. he'd noticed it, too. isabel was aggressive and high-achieving during race weekends, but other than that, her spirit was fading. he knew her well enough to know that she was constantly training more than she should be when she was in monaco during any time they had off but that wasn't doing anything to build her spirit back up.

this whole situation was clearly sucking the life out of her. daniel had been there since the start of her career and had watched her go from this happy-go-lucky nineteen year old who was battling all the odds to a mentally-drained, almost-twenty-three year old who was on the verge of giving up and losing all hope.

daniel wasn't stupid, either. he'd done his fair share of snooping and listening to lamborghini paddock gossip. lando told him that isabel was thinking about quitting f1 before azerbaijan because she was over all the bullshit. it wasn't all just to do with max, either.

it was the media.

it was the fucking press conferences with shitty questions, even further, the questions that weren't about her success.

it was the fact that no other team had reached out to her for negotiations for when her contract was up.

it was also max, obviously. the fact that isabel didn't want to make an effort anymore because where would that leave her?

if she kept her seat, would lamborghini even renegotiate her contract for the following years to come?

would she get painted as a pushover by the media for giving in and 'succumbing to max'? would she then be portrayed as weak?

he knew that isabel would rather be signed by haas than leave, but he also knew that isabel was reaching her breaking point and ready to send that email to alicia asking to talk about cutting her contract short. yeah, daniel knew about that, too. it's amazing what a little charm in the paddock can get you.

"look," daniel continued because max had nothing to say. "you might be set for the future, but belle isn't. keep that in mind, max, because i know you're not an awful fuckin' person."

max still had nothing to say. daniel was right in that sense; max wasn't a bad person. there was just something that isabel brought out in him that made his anger flare and his frustration simmer and his actions bubble over.

isabel leclerc made something burn up in him that no one else had managed to do before. it was a different burn since the scars didn't hurt when she was around, but that didn't mean it was anymore pleasant.

x

NEW PLAN. ONLY LET lando know when you're arriving in barcelona. which ended up being a bonus because lando offered her a place to stay if she didn't want to go up to her and max's room.

she arrived in barcelona on wednesday morning and managed to keep pretty under the radar about it, surprisingly. tori had no clue when isabel was getting to spain and neither did max, so it meant that she could escape her responsibilities for a few days.

though, come thursday morning, tori sent her a message explaining what she was expected to do for media day.

for the first part, she was supposed to sit on a couch with carlos, max, lewis, and alex, but isabel called in 'sick', so noah filled in the gap instead.

she wasn't sick, far from it, but no one pestered her about it. she knew she'd have to keep up at least one appearance today, so she just mentioned that she was resting and would go out into the paddock once she felt better.

so she played subway surfers and read for a few hours, something that was a lot more fun than any press conference.

IMESSAGE —

KIMI 💙 + ISABEL LECLERC

KIMI 💙

i see you are skipping
again

ISABEL LECLERC

i learnt from the best

hi kimi :)

which was it

calling in sick or lying
about a call

sick obviously

good

you should come to monaco
and bring your yacht and the
family

we miss you

no

but your kids love me

no

can i at least borrow
one of your other yachts

i don't care

you know where the
keys are

dont touch anything
on it

love you kimi<3

yeah okay

isabel was used to kimi. they'd had proper conversations a million times before with answers longer than a few words, but when he texted and when was talking to the media, he only ever said so little.

and it wasn't like kimi would just let anyone borrow one of his yachts. or meet his family. or go karting with his kids. or join in on a räikkönen family dinner. that was unless you were sebastian vettel or isabel leclerc.

x

THURSDAY NIGHT, ISABEL FINALLY went up to the hotel room she was supposed to be in.

max opened the door the second she knocked. "ah, you are alive."

"looks like it," isabel moved past him with her luggage and dumped her things on the free bed, the one closest to the balcony.

he closed the door, "tori showed up here yesterday," max pointed to the plastic bag on the dining table across the room, "with a bunch of shit for the next few weeks."

isabel followed his line of sight and stared at the bag in confusion. "please don't tell me it's more bonding activities."

max shrugged, "too bad. it's more." he sat down on his own bed. "we don't have to do them, but there's one where we get the track to ourselves if you wanna do that one only."

she grimaced. "what does that even achieve?"

"tori said we should get to know our driving styles, i don't fucking know," max rolled his eyes. "if you text her back, maybe you'll get a proper fucking answer."

"i hate you," isabel scoffed as she opened her suitcase to find a change of clothes to change into after she showered.

"good to know," max muttered. "i hate you, too."

x

"SEB," THE RUSHED WHISPER caught the german driver's attention.

sebastian spun around, confusion evident on his face. "isabel? what are you doing?"

"what does it look like?" isabel whispered as she peeked around the corner of the lamborghini motorhome. "please walk with me."

"come on," seb jerked his head to the side a little, silently telling her to walk with him. "what's wrong with you this morning?"

"i am hiding from the media," and jos, she thought bitterly as she caught up with him. "where are you going?"

"ah, kimi has taught you too much," sebastian laughed, his arm snaking around her shoulders. "i'm going to the garage, might see mick, i'm not sure yet."

"mhm," isabel hummed an exclamation, "speaking of kimi. he's letting me use his yacht in monaco!"

"no fucking way," sebastian shook his head. "that's not— i've been trying for years."

there was still a part of being in formula one with some of her idols that was so strange to her. as a kid, she looked up to sebastian, even if she didn't support red bull back when he raced for them. now, ever since she had become an f1 driver, she'd gotten to know sebastian, kimi, lewis, fernando . . . all the people she had once dreamed of being. god, she'd even met kimi and sebastian's families, and if that wasn't crazy, then what was?

"maybe he just loves me more," isabel suggested with a smile.

sebastian scoffed as they exited the paddock and made their way into the pitlane. "that's definitely not it."

the aston martin garage was close to where they were standing, and isabel wouldn't be allowed in there due to how close it now was to the race weekend. "thank you for walking with me," isabel thanked the older man, wrapping her arm around his waist briefly to hug him.

"anytime, you know that," he raised his hand to ruffle up her hair. "if you need anything, you let me know. i'm happy to attack some people for you."

isabel snorted, "what? going to bring back the 'red bull seb' days?"

sebastian playfully pushed her head away, "shut up. go to your garage and learn something. and stop taking kimi's advice before you get into trouble, yes?"

"god, you two are like a married couple," isabel ducked backwards before sebastian could push her again. "bye, seb!" kimi and sebastian were like those parents where one doesn't give a shit and the other is the opposite. in that regard, kimi had taught isabel how to avoid the press and tricks on how to make going through f1 easier whilst sebastian tried to teach her not to do the things that kimi was telling her.

for example, kimi taught her about barely reading the team strategy book and sebastian had tried to counteract that by sitting with her until she read the whole book.

it had been an odd trio in 2019, but they had taught isabel everything she knew today, which further meant they were added to the list of people that she needed to thank one day if she won the world championship title.

walking past the red bull garage was awkward. ever since australia, she'd noticed that red bull employees were more guarded of the area now when she came into sight. it was a little funny, really, because mechanics already acted as walls when the cameras were around so that they could shield their cars from prying eyes, but now it also seemed to be for keeping isabel leclerc out.

"i am not going to break into your garage," she muttered under her breath. once she was past, she walked straight into her garage, which was next door to red bull's.

she didn't get far. "isabel! jesus, answer your fucking phone."

isabel turned to look at tori, defeated. "don't have my phone on me," she lied smoothly despite the fact that it was in her jacket pocket. "what's up?"

"you've ignored me for days, belle," tori huffed. "you're lucky i don't have the heart to report you to alicia. i'm your manager, you need to respond to me as a priority."

isabel sighed, she knew tori was right. "you're right, my fault," she brushed off, not bothering to give tori an explanation that she knew the pr manager wanted. "what's up?"

"have you spoken to max about the plans over the next month?" tori asked as she followed isabel into the garage.

she shrugged, "kinda. i'm not worried about it right now. free practice is soon and i am paying attention to that more."

"you won't be having any more free practices if you don't figure this shit out soon—"

"fuck, tori!" isabel suddenly exclaimed, her nails digging into her palms as she tried to fight through her sudden burst of frustration-laced anger. she shocked herself even with her outburst but she knew she wouldn't feel any regret until the cooldown. "i fucking get it! i'm gonna get fucking fired," isabel wasn't thinking, but she was lucky that no cameras were currently around to leak that to the public and allowing everyone to know that it was no longer just a rumour, "if i don't sort it out! i get it! but right now, i have a car to prepare for, and i don't have the fucking time to think about max fucking verstappen while i'm trying to clear my head. i'll deal with it later, fuck."

tori was well accustomed to isabel's outbursts, but this one left her speechless. her mouth opened but words failed to come out, leaving her gaping like a fish out of water. isabel turned and left without another word, walking into her driver room and locking the door behind her.

x 

charles' q3 crash made me gasp so loud that my lungs hurt

also him telling xavi to do his job KILLED ME why is xavi still there 💀