Daniel Ricciardo Imagine - Tumblr Posts
love me harder | m. verstappen
hypothesis - max is on the brink of losing you. however, after a fatal accident…
pairing - max verstappen x fem!driver!reader
[fic is inspired by “love me harder” by ariana grande ft. the weeknd
“baby, in the moment, you’ll know this is, something bigger than us and beyond bliss”
“could you just look at me?” you yelled as max just kept walking a few steps ahead of you.
“can’t. race is about to start.”
stepping into a quicker pace you place yourself in front of max and the garage door, “when was the last time you told me you loved me?”
your eyes searched his face, desperately trying to find a glimpse of the max that you knew, the max you fell in love with, the max you married. the hand you placed on his chest, you could feel the steady rhythmic thump of his heart.
“you really want to do this now?”
“yes! i never see you anymore!”
max scoffed, eyes rolling as he looked back down at his phone, “sorry that i’m busy.”
your hand fell back to your side, “i’m busy too max, yet i still try.”
he nodded his head, eyes not lifting from the rectangular square. you sighed, your hands landing on your hips. is this what you’ve become now?
“is our marriage still worth fighting for, max?”
he looked up. eyes piercing through yours. you cannot believe the words just left your mouth, but it felt relieving to finally utter the words that has been haunting you for weeks.
“i’m not doing this with you right now, y/n,” max steps around you, “good luck with your race.”
~~
it was a millisecond.
you missed the turn by a millisecond and hamilton came crashing into you, sending your right wing and two tires flying. the car skidding across the track and landed upside down.
the force of the impact shoved your head against the steering wheel, hard, bouncing back against the seat.
damage had been done. to you and your car.
to lewis’ as well.
unbeknownst to max, who was in the lead, adrenaline coursing though his veins at the thought of his fourth podium for the season.
he was thriving, the car succumbing to his every command. the engine roaring sending shivers throughout his whole body.
the grin on his face turned devilish. he’s so close.
“max,” christians voice in his ears broke his train of thought, but his eyes never once lost sight of the track in front of him.
“the car’s doing great, no need to worry. podium is secure,” max declared excitingly. he took the turn, groaning at the strain it took on his body.
“though, sainz is on my tail the whole fucking time.”
christian sighed, not at all what max had expected, but he couldn’t be bothered by his team principal’s pms at the moment.
“max, there was a crash.”
another turn, another groan.
sainz could be spotted in max’ peripheral vision. he pushed the car harder, engine roaring, sending max flying away from carlos.
“who crashed?” he asked as he fiddled with the buttons on the wheel, checking if everything is still steady. he has at least seven more laps to go.
“y/n.”
dead silent.
heavy thick as your name registered in his mind. the grin that has been on his face had been wiped down. his lips sticking to his teeth.
“max?” christian asked, waiting a few moments. there was no response from the dutch.
he felt as if his body went numb, limb for limb. his arms felt wonky - not like the grip he had on the wheel mere moments ago. his breathing became shallow, his lungs struggling to capture enough oxygen, his brain malfunctioning.
next thing he knew he was crashing into sandbags.
the impact knocking sense back into him. sand dust flying everywhere.
“max!” christian exclaimed, “are you injured?”
“how’s she? is she alive?” max frantically asked. you didn’t have a choice - you had to be alright. you couldn’t be hurt, max would loose his head if you where. who crashed into you? how hard was the impact?
max got out of the car, “christian, fucking answer me!”
the line was silent for a couple of moments, “she’s stable. unconscious, but stable. no further news yet. she has been rushed to the ER.”
cars blasted past him, deafening noise drumming his ears.
“i need to get to her.”
“max, the race -“
“fuck the race, that’s my fucking wife!”
~
the doors of the ER bursted open, a very sweaty, and breathless max stood there, his eyes frantically looking around for anyone who could assist him.
he still had his suit on, christian hot on his trail.
“y/n, i need to know where y/n verstappen is,” he asked, accent thick as he slapped his hands on the receptionist desk.
she looked up at him, “any relation?”
max scoffed, “my wife.”
her fingers made quick work on the keyboard, “your wife is in surgery.”
max’ shoulders slumped and christian took hold of it, shooting a quick thanks to the nurse and led him in another direction. he swiped his hands though his hair, pulling at it, feeling his frustration grow and bubble at the bottom of his throat.
he could scream.
max paced the hallway, up and down. maybe minutes - maybe hours. he didn’t know. all he did know was that he’s staying.
why didn’t he tell you he loved you. with every fibre of his being he loved you. he craved you, constantly. the thought of you was all that he needed to survive - but knowing that you were his wife, made him whole.
you were the person who stood by him whilst he was working through his troubles with his father. on the nights when fear surrounded him, the comforting hand of you, his wife, brought him peace. on the days when he was on his happiest, it was on the days he spent with you.
you made him. you showed him to be max verstappen.
his wife.
~~
news spread around the paddock, like a wild fire. sky sport tv airing out to fans and viewers to keep you in their prayers and thoughts.
some of your and max’ closest friends took off straight away to the hospital, supporting max even though he didn’t even acknowledge them.
they were still there.
an apology from lewis was sent out world wide, and he even made an appearance to max, but the dutch only glared at him, taking hold of his collar, making his friends jump and take hold of max.
“if she doesn’t make it out of here, you’ll regret ever setting foot on a paddock again. i’ll kill you.”
his voice was icy as he spat the words at lewis, baring his teeth. daniel stepped in between the two and pushed max back by his chest.
max’ eyes never left lewis’ retreating from.
~~
“verstappen, y/n.”
max was in front of the doctor in a second, his eyes pleading his for good news. the doctor smiled at him and gave him what he was searching for.
“she’s asleep, but she’s an extreme fighter. you’ve got no worries, mr verstappen.”
he swore he could cry.
the doctor told him the room you were in and max wasted no time rushing towards it.
he searched the numbers above the doors for room one-o-one. his number. a bit of pride bursting in his chest, fate really had put you two together.
max stepped into the room and his heart broke.
machines connected to your heart, the beeping sound being the only indication that you are in fact alive. various cuts and bruises formed along your face. a neck brace adorned. oxygen mask on your beautiful face.
max stifled a sob as he crashed into a seat near your bed, scooting closer and taking hold of your hand. his thumb drawing patterns on your knuckles.
even in your unconscious mind your body still knew that it was your max, the heart monitor speeding up slightly.
it caused him to chuckle, “mijn schatje, mijn alles, i am so sorry. this should’ve never happened to you.”
he squeezed your palm, pressing a tender kiss to the flesh, “fight, stay strong for me, yeah? so that i can love you right this time.”
~~
a gentle knock at the door roused max from his sleep. his hand was still tucked in yours.
max turned towards the door, lando stood there.
a soft smile on his face with a gym bag in his hand, “mate, i brought you some clothes - the suit can not be comfortable.”
he chuckled and motioned for his muppet friend to come in. lando placed the bag by the door and walked closer to stand next to max. he placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“how’s the missus?”
max looked at you, a lump the size of a bull frog lodged itself in his throat, “she’s good, doc said she’s a real fighter.”
“she is a verstappen, ey?” lando nudged max’ shoulder who just chuckled in response. he felt guilty, ashamed, contrast to who he was. he shouldn’t have had to treat his wife like shit. you just wanted to know he loves you.
“look, mate, don’t beat yourself up about what happend, see this as a new beginning.”
max nodded, “she just wanted me to say that i love her. shit, i should’ve just said it to her. the crash-“
“is not your fault, you couldn’t have possibly predicted an accident to happen.”
he shook his head and looked at the bag by the door, “i’m going to change, would you mind maybe staying here. i don’t want to leave her alone.”
“yeah, of course mate.”
~~
two weeks later
“don’t strain yourself so much, schat,” max’ voice was gentle as he looked at your from his seat on the couch. within mere moments he stood in front of you, large palms pressed to your hips to help you walk the last few remaining steps.
this last couple of weeks changed. your marriage changed. max changed.
he was waiting on you hand and foot, even though you have told him multiple times that certain things you can do on your own, he still insisted.
the one noticeable change for yourself and everyone surrounding you was the fact that max openly, whenever he got the chance told you he loved you.
whether it be when you’re making dinner, doing dishes, walking beside him on the paddock - he’d say he loves you with a kiss pressed to your temple. it was and still is absolute bliss.
your recovery went by fast, splendid as your doctor had put it. with time and patience, he said, you’d be back on the track in no time.
when your socked feet took the last step, max couldn’t help the face splitting grin that adorned his face.
“look at you go, speedy,” he smiled as he took hold of your head and pressed a tender kiss to your forehead. speedy. the nickname max had dubbed you the moment you overtook him when you first met.
speedy. the nickname max had dubbed you the moment you stole his heart.
speedy. the nickname max had used in his vows the moment you took his last name.
max made sure that you didn’t strain yourself too much in the recovery process, he treated you like you were his fine china, bubble wrapping your heart and by God, swearing that he’d never let his actions and words ever hurt you again.
he poured so much love into you. you practically glowed in comparison to when the argument had occurred.
his love.
his wife.
max made sure you knew how much he adored you, loved you, craved you.
“ik hou van je, mijn schat.”
and you knew he did.
fin.
down bad | d. ricciardo
hypothesis - daniel is not ready nor is he willing to leave this thing behind.
pairing - daniel ricciardo x fem!baker!reader
[fic is inspired by “down bad” by taylor swift]
“fuck it if i can’t have us, i might just not get up, i might stay down bad”
“y/n,” your name slipped past his lips in a devastated sigh, eyes big as he stared at you. brown orbs drowning in a pool of tears.
a big, red suitcase sat on your bed, clothes haphazardly thrown around and you, sitting there on the foot end of the bed, messy hair surrounding your face and one of your favourite tops scrunched up in your hands.
daniel’s feet is glued to the hardwood floor by the door, his mind swimming, “wh—what are you doing?”
he looks around the room, your belongings, their familiar spots now empty. a sob escapes your mouth and you crumble from the edge of the bed down to the floor, ankles crossing and knees bucking up.
“i can’t do this anymore, daniel.”
his feet moves him to crouch in front of you, “baby, what are you talking about?”
you look up at him, “this,” you gesture around you with your hand, “the spotlight, the constant hate, the amount of time you leave.”
“let’s talk about it, yeah?” daniel asked, his voice hoarse. he’s swallowing at the lump in his throat, as he moves to sit down.
chuckling, you throw the top to the side, “what’s there to talk about? i’m a baker, i bake cakes, in a small town. and you,” you sniff and wipe your nose with the back side of your hand, “you travel the world, you race, everyone knows about you.”
he nods, “baby, i still don’t see the problem here.”
“i’m out of your league, i’m so far out of your league. i don’t fit into this lifestyle, i can’t flaunt money anywhere i go.”
daniel takes hold of your hands, “where’s all of this coming from, honey?”
you look up at him, and reach your arm back on the bed where you have thrown your phone after spending hours reading what his fans had written about you.
his fans, the people that would run to the end of this world to support him, that go to his every race to shout his name as he passes the finish line, the people he confided in the most when he started dating you.
“i can talk to them, disable our comments on our posts, hell, baby, i’ll even delete all social media,” daniel says, his eyes not leaving the phone. his eyes reading every comment twice and his heart swelling and breaking.
switching off the phone, you stand up and grap the top you had thrown to the side, “don’t bother, it’ll either way just get worse.”
daniel shoots to his feet, grabbing the things you had haphazardly throw into the suitcase and putting it on the bed.
he’s not going to loose you. he won’t.
“y/n, please don’t do this, it’s almost winter break, we can go somewhere private, just us. we can work this out, we will get past this,” daniel is practically begging, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he keeps on swallowing on the lump.
your shoulders sag, “daniel, stop,” you place the jeans in your suitcase and walk up to him to take his hands in yours, “find someone else, someone who fits into this life, who will walk it with you every step of the way. there are so many women out there who’ll be better and much more supportive than i am, and someone who can handle a bunch of teenage girls’ comments.”
daniel shakes his head wildly and grips your hands tighter, “no, no, fuck all else if i cannot do this with you. i don’t need someone else, God, i only want you. i am my best when i am with you, y/n, forget those fucking comments. remember what i said in the beginning of this relationship?” daniel’s hands moved up to cup your face, wiping at the wetness under your eyes, nodding his head,
“it’s us, baby, it’s us against all else,” his voice breaks as he said it. he bites his lips, the tears he was forcing away finally slips down his cheeks.
“i will fight, y/n, i will fight for us. i will fight for you. i will fight anyone who is against us, because, baby, i will not survive this night if you walk out those doors,” he moves to tuck those little hairs around your face behind your ears.
you nod your head as best as you can with daniel’s large calloused palms holding it. falling into him, resting your head on his chest and securely wrapping your arms around him, you believe him.
because, against all odds, you weren’t ready to leave, to leave everything you’ve accomplished together.
you weren’t ready to loose daniel. to loose his jokes, his comfort that comes with his presence, his laugh that made everyone in the room giggle, his hands that easily engulfed yours, his shoulder when you needed someone to lean on. you weren’t ready to loose that.
his chest heaved with a sigh of relief as he rested his chin on the crown of your head and wrapping his arms around your shoulders tightly.
“it’s us against it all, yeah?”
with your face smushed into his chest, a mumbled agreement sealed with a kiss to your forehead is all both you and daniel needed to know that none of you were going anywhere anytime soon.
fin.
Love of my life | D.R.
Daniel Ricciardo x younger!reader
Summary: What happens when you confess your profound love to the person whose heart you broke? How fragile is the hope of reconciliation?
Warnings: comforting angst??? (idk even im in my feels)
Word count: ~1.2K
^^
“Hiding from me?” the velvety voice behind you felt more familiar than you’d like it to.
“Should I?” you turned your eyes away from the dark ocean before you and met his eyes. Gosh he looked handsome and you could feel your body react to him, still the same as it was, gentle shock waves weaving through your fingertips.
“God I hope not…” he sat down beside you on the straw beach furniture. You were trying to keep your gaze on the horizon of the ocean where water seemed to bleed into the dark night sky and become one.
You could hear him take a deep breath, it was shaky and an uncomfortable feeling settled in your gut as if foreseeing that his following words would remind you of something you had been trying to keep buried for the last 5 months.
“I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight…” he spoke out softly, his eyes on your silhouette, encaged by the silver glory of the full moon you looked untouchable. And he knew that you were untouchable to him, no matter how much his palms seemed to have thoughts of their own and wished to just reach out to you, and relish in the touch of your silky skin just like he’d done months ago.
“Why not? You know I didn’t attend all those parties just because of you,” you held your stare stoic, letting yourself get lost in the starry night sky, counting the stars only so you’d hold yourself back from latching on the man sitting beside you.
Nothing could have you forget the day you’d met him. Ironically it was a party that you had only attended because you were dying to catch a glimpse of the charming man that he was. Luckily, at least that’s what you thought at that very moment, you had caught his eye and soon enough you were carrying his heart in your hands and he was carrying yours. Although now after everything, you believe you might have been wrong about the later…
“Y/n… I just want to say-”
“Please don’t say it, don’t apologize again,” you turned to him almost instantly which left him speechless, your eyes sparkling in the moonlight reminiscent of the various jewels he used to clasp around your neck and the supple kisses he’d leave there throughout the day, but the jewels that adorned your eyes now weren’t a consequence of a blissful time together, “I will not hear it again… I do not need to be reminded of that… time”, you lowered your head trying to catch your breath and the lonely tears from falling.
“Baby,” he kept his hands secured in tight fists, too easy to lose control now that he could see tears escaping out of your eyes and cascading down your cheeks. He still remembers the salty streaks from the last time he’d been this close to you. How could he ever forget when the pain he’s been carrying in his chest for so long never denied itself. You had given his heart back to him, but you sure took a piece of it for yourself before that, though how could he blame you when he had done the same… to have the smallest part of you and suffer rather than have no memory of you was and would always be Daniel’s first and only choice.
“Daniel,” your eyes traveled back to his warm eyes, the same one’s that had made you all the promises of a perfect tomorrow. One that never came. One that you still let yourself dream about whenever the air smelled like the cologne you’d gifted him, the one he was still wearing now…
Looking at him you wished you could hate him, you wished to be physically repulsed by the man in front of you, maybe that would help you walk away now and continue living as you once had. Striving for the brightest most delightful future, without looking back at the old dark days, but he has possessed your mind, you can no longer make a step without seeing him there, what if’s about the past clouding your future. How could he sit there and give you those eyes… those gorgeous sad eyes. You bit back your lip. You could no longer kiss his sad eyes and see them light back up after.
“Y/n… you were the love of my life,” he accepts the torture that is to come his way, he knows he deserves it for the crime he just committed. Tears were fully running down your cheeks now, large droplets falling into the sand beneath your feet and disappearing right away, like they were never there…
“Why are you doing this to me, Daniel?” you instinctively covered your face with your palms as sobs made your shoulders tremble, hiding the tears from him even if he’s seen them already. You hated nothing more than for him to see you cry.
“I just… I felt that you had to know, because I never told you how much I actually loved you. I treated you so wrong for a very long time and I am to blame for that… I was the shitty older guy who took advantage of someone who didn’t know what she was doing…”
“That was the problem, Daniel. You always viewed me as a child…I am young, but I am not a kid and I can make decisions for myself. You might regret me, but I know the choices I made and I have no remorse over them,” your heart ached. How unfortunate is it to meet the love of your life and understand that they never truly saw you as their equal.
“The only thing I regret is not doing more to get to know you and… leaving you behind… I was in the wrong, so please do not cry darling…” his voice sounded so different, he was breaking from the inside out seeing you this way. He leaned closer to you, his warm palms encompassing your wrists to reveal your face to him.
Two pairs of teary eyes stared into one another.
The both of you took in a shaky breath in, which finally broke the suffocating tension and helped your lips ease into a simple smile. Daniel wiped at your cheeks, his touch ghostly light, removing the salty puddles, before gracing your forehead with an effortless kiss.
“I’m sorry too, Daniel,” you leaned back just so you could once again let yourself go and drown in his warm eyes, completely forgetting your morals and bringing back the buried feelings you couldn’t not tell him, “You were also the love of my life…”
Now it was Daniel’s turn to let the tears flow. And he did. He wished he had you, all of you, he wished to cry on your shoulder whenever a race went wrong, he wished to have your attentive hands run through his curls and soothe him when the air seemed to get too heavy. Most importantly he wished he had said it sooner, the short ‘L’ word, because if he had, you’d be home, tangled in bed together with big tranquil smiles on your faces.
Instead you two were crying on a beach together, reminiscing on what would have been if it could have been. But it was enough for Daniel, even if he was crying, at the very least he was crying with you… the love of his life…
^^
A.N. loving older men is not a hobby, it's a lifestyle<3
Hooked On A Feeling (FIN)
Masterlist
Daniel is a Formula One driver, but, more importantly, he was a single dad to a wonderful little girl. He wants her to be a normal little girl, to have a normal social life, so he sends her to daycare. That was where she met Milo, her future best friend.
Milo's mother was incredibly stressed. She worked so hard to provide a good life for her son. But then he makes a new friend, a friend who has a hot dad (ofc they fall in love)
43.6K
Single Dad!Daniel x Single Mum!Reader
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aus Grand Prix Special
Wedding Special
Blurbs
Hoaf Stuff
Daniel - Breeding Kink
A/N this is my first fic centred around a kink and not a speech prompt so i hope it's okay :)
LN4 Request
--------------------------------
Even though Daniel was driving for AlphaTauri he was still seen as part of the Red Bull family, being invited to any and every gathering that Christian threw. That's how you find yourself in Christian Horner's back garden surrounded by children whilst Geri and Kelly take a well-deserved break. P is sat on the floor next to Geri and Christian's son, watching you as you teach them how to make daisy chains.
Daniel has been watching you from afar all afternoon, nursing his beer and just about paying attention to his conversation with Max and Christian. "So, how's the hand doing now Dan?" Christian asks, and Daniel simply hums in response, eyes trained on you. It's only when Max thumps him in the chest that he realises it wasn't an appropriate response. "Sorry, what?" He asks, snapped out of his daze. Max laughs at his confusion, "He asked about your hand dickhead, too busy staring at Y/N to notice."
Daniel glares at his friend, "I wasn't staring, just checking that she's okay." He tries to backpedal, turning to face the men he's talking to. "Daniel even I can see that you're staring, you haven't taken your eyes off her since she sat down to play with the kids." Christian observes, taking a sip of his beer as Daniel blushes. Max's eyes go wide with realisation before starting to giggle to himself, Daniel turns to his former teammate, smacking a hand over his mouth. "Shut up Max." He whispers, dragging him away from Christian with a wide smile, leaving his old boss standing baffled in his garden.
"Idiots." He mutters before joining his wife at the table.
Daniel frantically smacks Max as they round the corner, "Don't make it so goddamn obvious next time you moron." He whispers with each hit, his frustration overshadowed by Max's obsessive laughter. "You're so disgusting, your girlfriend around kids is getting you horny." Max stutters out between giggles, Daniel's eyes narrowing in threat.
"I just," Daniel sighs, "I just never thought about us having kids before today. Promise me you won't say a word." He threatens, Max miming that his lips are sealed before snorting out one last laugh. The duo move back to the garden, enjoying the rest of their evening, well enjoying it as best as you can when Max Verstappen wiggles his eyebrows every time you and Daniel are next to each other. You found yourself frowning more and more as the evening went on, exchanging glances with Kelly who simply shrugged at her boyfriend's actions. Brushing it off as Max being Max, you ignored his antics until you were back in the car with Daniel.
"Was it just me or was Max being really fucking weird today?" You ask your boyfriend as he drives you back to your apartment. His free hand scratches nervously at the back of his head, "Weird? Max? I didn't notice." He splutters, silently cursing himself for giving everything away. You turn your head to face him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What are you hiding?" You question, eyes narrowing as Daniel smiles nervously. You continue to stare him down, eventually causing him to sigh, shoulders deflating as he gives in.
"Max was making fun of me for staring at you with P all day, apparently I was practically drooling and he wouldn't let me forget it." He explains, nervously glancing over at you. You smirk, cogs turning in your head as you put the pieces together. "Okay." You say, shrugging at his answer. "Okay? That's it?" Daniel questions.
"Yeah, that's it." You say quietly, smiling at your boyfriend as he continues driving.
You push the thought to the back of your mind until you shower that night, hatching a plan to seduce your boyfriend. Stepping out of the bathroom in just a towel, you head to your suitcase to find some pyjamas. As you drop the towel and bend over to pick up your clothes you hear Daniel's breath hitch, his phone dropping to the side of the bed. "What are you doing honey?" He questions, voice low and breathy as he admires your body.
You turn to him with a sly smile, "Just getting changed Danny, problem?" You ask cheekily. Daniel laughs, "You know what my problem is, come here." He says, reaching over from the bed to pull you over to him. You squeal with the sudden movement, finding yourself completely naked underneath your boyfriend. You bite your lip as you look up at him, his eyes staring lovingly into yours before he dips his head to kiss you.
His lips caress yours, tongue darting to swipe your bottom lip. You part your lips slightly, allowing him to slide his tongue into your mouth, battling with your own. His hands slide up your hips to rest under your breasts, fingers pinching your nipples as he continues to kiss you. The feeling makes you moan, giving up the battle and surrendering control of your body to Daniel.
"Looked so good all day today honey, wanted to pull you inside and take you apart in Horner's bathroom." He mutters against your lips before burying his head against your neck. His stubble scratches your skin, leaving faint red marks behind to be soothed by his lips. Lips that explore every inch of your skin, kissing and sucking along the column of your throat.
His lips travel to your chest, tongue swirling over your left nipple as he kneads the right. Whines and whimpers leave your parted lips as the pleasure shoots between your legs, dampening the apex of your thighs. Daniel’s hands push your tits together, tongue swirling over the skin as he sucks purple marks into your chest.
His lips kiss a trail down your stomach, lovingly caressing the area. Your pussy clenches as you remember the events of the afternoon, your hands reaching to pull Daniel back to your mouth. You slam your lips to his, the resounding groan leaving his mouth at your eagerness causing your desperation to grow.
His long fingers slide across the inside of your thighs, moaning at the wetness that coats them. “Look at you, my needy baby aren’t you?” Daniel whispers against your lips, deft fingers beginning to rub circles against your clit. “Tell me what you need honey.” You moan at the shockwaves his fingers are sending through your body, whining out a desperate, “Need to cum, please Danny.”
Daniel heeds your request, rewarding you with two thick fingers sliding into your heat. His fingers always felt better than your own, reaching places inside you that no one else ever had. The wetness dripping out of you allows him to easily thrust his fingers, curling with each drag against your walls. The pressure against your walls makes your toes curl, back arching as you whines and moans of his name spill out of your lips.
Daniel mutters praises in your ear, increasing the speed of his fingers as you beg. He returns his lips to your chest, biting and sucking, swirling his tongue around your nipples. Your hands find purchase in his curls, tugging with every bolt of pleasure that shoots through your body.
“Oh my god, s’close Danny, don’t stop- fuck,” you moan, walls clenching around his fingers in a vice-like grip. He can barely move his hand, opting to repeatedly curl his fingers inside you, hitting that spongy spot and prolonging your orgasm. “That’s it let go for me sweetheart, soak my hand honey.” He lulls, slowing the movement of his fingers when your thighs begin to shake. He slips his fingers out of you, your walls clenching at the loss.
His lips meet yours once more as your hands reach to his waist, tugging at his underwear. He laughs at your eagerness, wide smile contagious between the two of you. Daniel slides his underwear off, thankful that he was ready for bed and didn't have to remove too many layers. You rest your hand on the back of his neck, pulling yourself up to attach your lips to his skin. He groans at the feeling of your teeth scraping along his pulse point, lips sucking at the sensitive skin.
He leans back, "Honey I need to get to the suitcase if you want to have sex, I haven't taken the condoms out." His voice is breathy, heavy with desire. You nibble his earlobe, leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Fuck me now, want to feel you cum inside me." Daniel's body tenses, pulling back to stare at you with wide eyes. A few seconds of heavy breathing and silence fills the room before a smirk paints itself across his lips.
"You are an angel." He mutters, capturing your lips with his own in a brutal kiss. He wraps his hand around the base of his cock, sliding it through your folds. Your cum coats his tip as he dips in and out of your hole, moaning at the warmth that surrounds him. You wrap your legs around his waist, digging your heels into his skin as you encourage him to fill you with his length. Your mouth drops open at the feeling of his cock inside you, pressure forming in your stomach at the depths he reaches.
Daniel moans into your ear as he bottoms out, "So tight for me sweetheart, and so fucking wet, I love you." He mutters, slowly thrusting himself inside you. "Can't wait to fill you up, gonna keep you so full, not gonna waste a drop baby." His filthy words go straight to your head, dizzy with the thought of your boyfriend filling you up with is load. Uncontrollable moans leave your lips causing Daniel to slip two fingers inside your mouth, hoping to avoid a complaint from the rooms next door.
You can taste yourself on his fingers as Daniel pounds into you, the smacking of skin filling the now hot room. "Tell me you want it honey, tell me you want my cum." Daniel begs, sharp thrusts forcing muffled moans to spill out around his fingers. He pulls them from your mouth, wrapping them around your neck as he thrusts. "Please Danny, put a baby in me, need it so bad, need to feel you cum inside me." You ramble, voice whiny as Daniel grits his teeth, clipped moan falling from his tongue.
"Shit honey, s'good, want to give you a baby." He whines, thrusts getting sloppy as you reach down to rub circles against your clit. "Can't wait to see your stomach full, and your tits grow, gonna let me take care of you aren't you?" He asks, fingers closing around your neck. You moan loudly, "Yes Danny, gonna give you a baby, please, fill me up, need it." The filthy words between the two of you hurtle you towards your orgasm, Daniel's thrusts turning to deep grinds against your body.
Your walls squeeze his cock, sending him barreling into his orgasm, ropes of his thick cum splashing your walls. You whimper at the strange feeling, vice-like grip of your walls pulling more and more cum from his cock. "Oh god honey, milking my cock so good, such a good fucking girl." He mutters into your neck, sweaty body collapsing atop yours. Your eyes begin to droop as Daniel maneuvers you both into a spooning position, his cock keeping his cum plugged deep inside you.
You fall asleep, remaining connected with Daniel's hands resting atop your stomach. And a few weeks later, when you surprise Daniel with a positive test the first question he asks is, "Which time do you think worked?" You burst out laughing, tears in your eyes as Daniel hugs you lovingly.
"Don't tell Max yet whatever you do."
Daniel Ricciardo x Queen of Genovia!Reader - Social Media AU
voguemagazine posted a story
danielricciardo
Liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, and 842,153 others
danielricciardo life update
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f1wagupdates he really just said “life update” as if this isn’t the most chaotic thing to happen since abu dhabi in 2021
maxverstappen1 finally! i was constantly worried that lando would accidentally say something while streaming
landonorris that was uncalled for
maxverstappen1 mate, you literally leaked your own launch date once
metgalaofficial why do we feel like proud parents?
genovianroyalfamily
Liked by danielricciardo, genovianroyalupdates, and 1,853,746 others
genovianroyalfamily Thank you for all the birthday wishes! To mark the occasion, Her Majesty Queen Y/N has shared a collection of photos taken by Mr. Daniel Ricciardo at the royal residence
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lightsoutric daniel3.jpg 🤝 genovianroyalfamily
dr3lvr the fact that daniel took these photos and they’re the ones queen y/n chose to post for the world to see is making me emotional
f1wagupdates she really is the most gorgeous woman on earth 😍
genovianroyalupdates and the kindest and an amazing leader ❤️
danielricciardo posted a story
genovianroyalfamily
Liked by ricciardoupdates, f1, and 1,794,625 others
genovianroyalfamily Her Majesty Queen Y/N would like to wish her partner, Mr. Daniel Ricciardo, a very happy birthday. In honor of the celebration, Queen Y/N has released a series of photos taken by her during the couple’s visit to Australia earlier this year
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ricciardoupdates we are getting fed 🙏
f1wagupdates imagine daniel passing on his love for photography to queen y/n
f1wagupdates wait this means they probably visited his family in australia together 🥹
queeny/nfan their relationship is so pure
f1 happy birthday, danny ric 🦡
genovianroyalfamily
Liked by metgalaofficial, redbullracing, and 3,187,564 others
genovianroyalfamily Her Majesty Queen Y/N and His Royal Highness Prince Daniel, Duke of Pyrus are overwhelmed by the love shown for their marriage. They are so incredibly grateful for the warm wishes and support they have received from everyone around the world throughout their relationship and during their wedding. Each of you made this joyful day even more meaningful
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metgalaofficial just call us the royal matchmaker
royalfashion the tiara, the veil, the dress … absolutely magnificent
formulastyle do you know why daniel is wearing an uniform?
royalfashion as prince consort, he has an honorary standing in the genovian military
dreamdriver i just realized that daniel is one of the hosts of the genovian grand prix now and he’s definitely going to be at the race as a full on prince which means that zak brown will have to bow to him 😈
ricciardoupdates karma is wonderful thing
F1 drivers
Charles Leclerc
Daniel Ricciardo
Pierre Gasly
Lando Norris
One for the road
✿ daniel ricciardo x actress!reader (and pedro pascal daughter)
✿ just something i have been thinking about
y/npascalisapunk ☑ • 2 hours ago
❤ 🗨️
1,289,037 likes y/npascalisapunk livin my best life
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kit.connor jesus we got kicked out 2 seconds after taking that photo did u have to post it?
liked by y/npascalisapunk
y/npascalisapunk it was absolutely necessary ☝🏼
bellaramsey the people have to see the real you, connor kit.connor oh shut up, you were the one who got us kicked out in the first place bellaramsey not relevant
scuderiaferrari loved to have you there!
redbullracing she had more fun with us
pascalisapunk preciosa 😍🥰🤩 [beautiful]
y/npascalisapunk gracias papá ❤❤ [thanks dad]
danielricciardo ☑ • 8 hours ago
❤ 🗨️
2,789,187 likes danielricciardo guess we can say it now @y/npascalisapunk
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y/npascalisapunk i mean sure i guess it's only been a year yk?
liked by daniel ricciardo
kit.connor remember the convo we had abt me murdering you if you treat her wrong? it's still on
bellaramsey prolly the only time im going to agree w him
pascalisapunk finally able to be proud of my son in law!
danielricciardo thanks pedro!
landonorris i was sick of thirdwheeling for the sake of secrey
danielriccciardo you love her
landonorris not as much as you do
y/npascalisapunk ☑ • 5 hours ago
❤ 🗨️
3,579,970 likes y/npascalisapunk @.danielricciardo it wasn't so difficult was it?
View all 864,189 comments
danielricciardo just a bit
liked by y/npascalisapunk
pascalisapunk now he's going to be my OFFICIAL son in law!
y/npascalisapunk hey! what about me? your actual daughter is getting married!
pascalisapunk yeah whatever LOOK AT MY SON IN LAW PEOPLE
landonorris i'm the best man rigt?... rigt???
maxverstappen1 bro you know it's gonna be me
y/npascalisapunk fight with dan, not with me 🤷🏽♀️
Chapter Fifteen
“we have never heard the devil’s side of the story, seeing as god wrote the book”
pairing: daniel ricciardo x driver oc
word count: 14.3k
warnings: depictions of sexual harassment, explicit language, drinking, motorsport accidents, mentions of sex, mentions of death, mature themes
<-
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“I cannot believe you talked me into this!” Her mom groaned, buckling her seat belt while Sam reached over to make sure her helmet was on tight and then double checking the seatbelts herself.
“You’re gonna be fine mom. It’ll be fun,” she assured her excitedly, sitting back in her seat, doing up her own belts, and then starting the car.
Sam began to do last moment checks on the car like adjusting her mirror and steering wheel height, and then with a wave out to the people watching from the pit lane, she slowly started to creep toward the starting line where she would wait for the green flag.
“Is it too late to back out now?” Her mom mumbled. Sam laughed when she looked over at her mom, who was already bracing herself against the back of the seat with a tight grip on the handle of the door with her eyes squeezed shut.
Sam fumbled with her words, trying to find a way to make sure she made it around the circuit with her mom, “Uh yep. Once that seatbelt locks, it doesn’t unlock until the car tracks it's completed at least one lap.”
The woman opened her eyes and gave Sam a hesitant look, as if her maternal instinct was telling her Sam was trying to pull one over on her.
“New upgrade created specifically for cars used during hot laps. Technology is crazy,” Sam lied, trying to hold in her laughs at the state of her mom, before she turned to the camera in the car and offered it a look that told them she had no idea where she’d come up with that excuse, let alone how her mom had managed to believe it.
And just like that, the green flag was dropped and Sam’s foot pushed down onto the accelerator. She let out a chuckle as her mom screamed in terror.
The woman screamed nearly the entire lap, only stopping to yell expletives at her daughter or berate her to slow down. Sam could barely breathe with how hard she was laughing; the irony of Eliza being terrified of fast cars, while her daughter drove them for a living.
As they rounded the final corner and stopped back where they had started not long ago, Sam put the car in park and turned to look at her mom. “See, not so bad. And you’re still breathing. Who would've thought! It’s not like I do this for a living” She laughed with sarcasm.
The woman turned and glared at her daughter, not fond of the joking being done at her expense. “Samantha Jordan Thompson, get me out of this car!” Her mom was tugging on the belts and trying to pull her helmet off in a frenzy.
Rolling her eyes with a chuckle, Sam unbuckled her own belt and reached over to do her mother’s. The second she was free, the door flung open and Eliza was out of sight.
When she made her way out of the car herself, Sam pulled her helmet off and shook out her hair. As always with hotlaps, Sam let the camera and host come over and talk to her, her personal videographer not far behind.
“Your mom flew out of here! Hoping that wasn’t an indicator of how the lap went,” they laughed.
“Well let’s just say my mom has a hatred for fast cars, so my full name was shouted into the ether quite a few times,” Sam joked.
She was antsy to get a move on. Not because she was worried about her mom— Sam knew that she was off to the HAAS hospitality to be a grump until qualifying, she could handle herself. What she was worried about, was getting held up in interviews and fan interactions for so long that she missed Daniel’s show run in the Earnhardt car. It was bad enough she had yet to see him all day, but she’d kick herself if she missed what he had been looking forward to all week; she couldn’t wait to see the smile on his face afterwards. So once she finished a third interview, she checked her watch and without bothering to drop her helmet off, she sprinted across the paddock to where she knew her friends were waiting for her, with a perfect view of the track.
Sam was dodging people left and right, waving back at people who waved as she passed. It made her feel like a shitty person, but she didn’t even stop for fans who were trying to wave her down for a photo or an autograph. But finally, she saw her friends standing next to the fence, and with a nod to the security outside the area, she made her way toward them.
“Did I miss it? Has he started the run?!” Sam shouted through heavy breathing as she approached the fence across from the pit lane.
“No!” Molly shouted with glee. “But look who I found!”
From beside her best friend, Pato O’Ward appeared smiling.
“Ahí está mi chicle!”
“Pato! Te he echado de menos!” I’ve missed you!
The two exchanged a brief hug and Sam pulled away with a smile. “I didn’t even think to put two and two together that you’d be here! Is it just you?” She craned her head to look behind him, and even turned to see if any more of her indycar friends had accompanied him.
He laughed at her “Felix is back in the garage and I saw Josef earlier today, but that’s all I’m sure about.”
She let out a tiny squeal and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him back and forth.
“I can’t believe you’re here! You remember Molly, but I’m not sure if she’s introduced you to Mick yet,” Sam said, turning toward her teammate.
They shook hands with beaming smiles, and in the distance, the deep rumble of an engine roared. Sam momentarily disregarded her friends and hopped up on the fence where she could see Dale Earnhardt’s car and Daniel’s silhouette inside, and then she stuck her upper body out of the gap and waited for him to put the car into drive.
Back on the ground, Mick and Pato exchanged a few words.
“By the way, did you call Sam ‘gum’?”
Pato laughed. “You speak Spanish?” At Mick’s nod, he continued, “I did, yes. During her rookie year, Sam would get in trouble for chewing bubble gum during media all the time, but then one day she fell asleep in her hauler and got a big wad stuck in her hair. She nearly cried when Chilton said he was going to have to cut it to get it out. But then Danica just put some peanut butter on it and it was no big deal. After that she swore she’d never chew it again. We’d mess with her all the time after. Buying packs and packs of it to leave everywhere for her to find, buying wigs and filling them with gum—”
“Patricio, stop embarrassing me. Mick, don’t listen to him he's a dirty, rotten, no good liar. Now both of you get up here, he’s coming.” Sam didn’t even remove her upper body from past the gate to shout at her friends.
And moments later, just like that, the blue and yellow car zipped by with a deep roar of its cheers erupted from all around the track. Almost as fast as the car came into view, a smile made its way onto Sam’s features. She could even begin to imagine what this meant to Daniel and how much fun he must have been having. His smile was so clear in her mind it’s as if he was standing right in front of her.
Once they watched the car pull back off the track, the remaining group of four made their way over to where the crowd of media and paddock pass-wielding onlookers were gathering. When Daniel stepped out of the car, cameras began to flash and the noise level increased tenfold. Sam could barely get a long look at him. But she knew she had been right; that smile was genuine, one of the only she’d seen on his face in the paddock this season.
As Daniel was pulled every which way to talk to reporters, cameras, and fans, Sam and Pato began to catch up while they waited for him to walk by. They’d been close during her Incycar years, and had considered each other good friends. So talking to him felt like she was transported back to a stress-free, easy going, successful time in her life; an unexpected breath of fresh air. So she wore a genuine smile on her face as well.
So as he made his way back to his garage, Daniel didn’t even think twice to stop and talk to Sam when he spotted her from the corner of his eye. The last thing he had expected was her to be able to watch his show run— she was booked and busy every free moment she had this weekend since it was her home race.
But there she was, a smile on her face.
And standing across from her was Pato.
Daniel’s smile would have momentarily faltered when he saw the Indycar driver was the source of Sam’s smile if he hadn’t been riding the oxytocin high of his show run. So unbothered, he walked toward the group, and before he could announce his presence, Molly shrieked in excitement turning everyone’s heads.
“Daniel! How are you still breathing after that!?”
“I don’t think I am to be fair,” he chuckled as he pretended to use his fingers to search for a pulse on his neck.
“Was it everything you hoped and dreamed it would be?” Sam asked, her smile stretching ear to ear.
“Absolutely. I still can’t believe it happened,” he smiled, lifting his helmet and tapping it against hers.
“Good to see you, man! I guess now that you’ve driven a Nascar, that officially makes you an American, no?” Pato said, chuckling and giving Daniel a brotherly smack to the arm.
Daniel chuckled but Sam rolled her eyes playfully.
“Nope. I’m the only American driver on the grid. No exceptions,” she shook her head surely, pretending to pout as she crossed her arms over her chest, helmet clanking around as she did so.
Pato laughed again, looking to his left at Sam and tilting his head toward her, “Vas a dejar que se salga con la suya tratando de robarte el protagonismo?” Are you going to let him get away with trying to steal your thunder?
She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, “No podría si lo intentara…” He couldn’t if he tried…
As the two old friends spoke back and forth to one another in Spanish, Daniel couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy somewhere deep in his chest. He had no idea what they were saying, so all he could focus on was the inflections of their voices, and how he suddenly found Spanish to be an extremely romantic language. The way Pato was able to make her laugh so effortlessly— the same way it had taken Daniel months to finally unlock.
His mind jumped back to their dinner in Portugal, before everything had taken a detour and gone to absolute shit. She was laughing like that night, right? And he’d only known her for a month or so— Wait, maybe she was just being nice? Maybe he’d been too much of an optimist and only saw what he wanted to see and she really thought that— But now. Their conversation in Colorado, and everything that’s transpired since then. That meant something. They were… whatever they were, now. Unless it—
Daniel had no idea where this outpouring of doubt was coming from. He could hear Sam in his mind telling him to take things slow, and these emotions meant he was doing just the opposite. The thousands of thoughts running through his head went silent at once when he looked up and saw the small group of friends staring at each other.
“You alright, mate?” Pato asked in a concerned tone.
“Yeah, head is still in the clouds I guess. Sorry,” he shook his head side to side and brushed it off.
Sam chimed in, “I was just telling Pato about our plans tomorrow and asked if he wanted to tag along—“
Something inside Daniel twisted. “Yeah you should come. It’s gonna be great,” he said in his happiest tone, as believable as he could. He really liked the McLaren Indycar driver— before he assumed he had been flirting with Sam— and the last thing he wanted was to exclude anybody, let alone let his stupid jealousy lead anyone to become suspicious.
“Ah I appreciate it, but I don't want to intrude.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re always welcome. It’ll be nice to spend some time together again,” Sam slapped his chest, not allowing him to think he was being a bother.
It took him a second, but after both threatening looks from Sam and Molly, and supportive looks from Mick and Daniel, he finally agreed. “Alright, I'm in. I’ll go buy myself a cowboy get-up. Text me the details,” he said pointing to Sam. She nodded with a smile. He turned to Daniel and continued, “You headed back to the garage too?”
He nodded, “Yeah. Let’s do it.” Before Daniel left, he turned back toward Sam, Mick, and Molly. “I’ll see you guys later,” they smiled and gave him a wave, and then he turned to walk back to the McLaren garage to get ready for qualifying.
Eighteen seconds of qualifying remain, and each of the ten drivers is out on track trying to set a time. Currently, Verstappen leads ahead of Bottas— who will take a grid penalty at the end of this— followed by Hamilton, Norris, Sainz, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Gasly, Thompson, and finally Tsunoda.
Hamilton has found good time in the middle sector after loses significant time in the first. Thompson will cross the line staying in ninth. Bottas will be the last to cross the line before the end of the session, and stays third fastest.
Here he goes, the clock is at zero and Hamilton is crossing the line, trying to get provisional pole back, and he does so by 0.006 of a second! The crowd is roaring as he takes the pole for the time being! But Verstappen has absolutely aced the first sector! This is not over yet!
Sainz crosses the line in fifth. Gasly stays down in eighth, Norris doesn’t improve from fourth. Verstappen is rounding turn 15, this is going to be so close! Leclerc jumps ahead of his teammate up into fifth! Ricciardo is up to sixth! And Tsunoda finishes tenth!
Now, Verstappen has seven poles in the last ten races, and he makes it eight as he takes back provisional pole from Hamilton here in Austin! Hamilton will start from the second spot tomorrow like he has—
But wait! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!
Thomson’s name has split out two championship contenders as she propels herself into the second spot on the grid! Unbelievable! I don’t think anybody saw this coming!
She must have pushed that car to the limit, because that is the best qualifying of her career! For the first time, Samantha Thompson will be starting an F1 race from the front row! The American driver is giving her home country something to stop and look at, that’s for sure!
“Has anybody seen Sam?” Mick asked a group of drivers standing together. Kimi, Antonio, Valterri and Fernando all shook their heads no. He tried not to panic, but the closer they got to the walkouts, the more he was starting to worry about her absence.
Mick hadn’t heard from her since they arrived to the paddock, so as he made his way across the room they were waiting in, he approached the person among them all he thought most likely would have seen her.
“Daniel,” the Australian looked up from his phone at the mention of his name. Mick walked up to him and quietly asked, “Do you know where Sam is? I can’t find her anywhere and—”
But before he could finish his thought, a woman wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard shouted into the room. “One minute to walk out, drivers. Find your marks and wait for the countdown.”
Mick looked back to Daniel, hoping he had an answer, but he only shook his head.
Now he was really starting to panic. As quickly as he could without looking crazy, he ran toward the woman and flagged her down. “Wait, wait! We can't start yet. My teammate isn’t here. HAAS F1. Samantha Thompson. We have to wait, its her home race.”
The woman took a moment and checked her clipboard. After scanning the first page, then the second, her eyes must have landed on whatever he was looking for, which sent a wave of relief through Mick. But her response quickly made that disappear, “Everything is under control. Find your mark and wait for your name to be announced.”
He tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, or get too upset at her cryptic answer. Defeatedly, he turned around and let out a breath of frustration, pulling out his phone to call her yet again.
George walked up to him, concern also lingering in his eyes. “Did you find her?”
With a shake of his head and a gesture in the useless woman’s direction, Mick grumbled, “No, the coordinator just told me everything was under control. I'm hoping she miraculously shows up before we’re announced.”
“It’s a good thing you two are last in line then,” he said, hoping to give Mick a sliver of hope. With a pat on the shoulder George was off to stand in line next to his teammate, leaving Mick to stand unaccompanied at the back of the room.
And then, the introductions started. Mick’s anxiety grew as each driver was announced, their names booming loud over the speakers followed by cheering fans, plumes of smoke, and the rustle of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleader’s pom poms.
Eventually, every other team had been announced, and Mick was the last driver remaining in the room; no Sam in sight.
The waiting only made it worse. What if missing her intro was enough of an infringement for the FIA to give her another strike? What if the media teased her about it? Worst of all, what if she was hurt? What if she needed help?
“Are you sure we can’t wait just a little longer?” He turned to the same woman from earlier who was now standing by the door to make sure no driver missed their cue. She looked up at, her small smile felt to be mocking his fear.
And then, his name was announced. He gave the woman a worried look but she only responded by speaking into her headset that he was on the move. With a deep breath that nearly deflated his resolve completely upon exhale, Mick put on a smile and walked out into the crowd. He waved, turning left and right while trying to ignore the itch of worry in the back of his mind about Sam. He made his way down the carpet, past the cheerleaders, in front of the cameras, his on the move interview spewed into the microphone, and finally onto the large flat-bed of the truck where all the other drivers were congregating.
“Still not a sign of her?” George asked, taking a place next to him.
Mick shook his head. He faced the carpet he had just walked down, leaning on the bar in front of him. All the worst case scenarios played out in his head as he imagined her name being called and her failing to show up.
“And finally, our hometown hero, America’s sweetheart, two-time indycar champion, driving for HAAS F1 team, number sixty six, the Hell Raiser, Sam Thompson!
The crowd erupted in cheers, the plumes of smoke propelled into the air, but Mick could only cringe at her lack of appearance. He couldn’t withhold the urge to drop his head into his hands, not in shame or disappointment, but in worry and fear.
“Crikey,” George said out of the blue as the crowd got even louder. But there was no worry in his voice, only surprise, as if his breath had just been taken away.
Mick lifted his head, all signs pointing to Sam’s arrival. He was surprised she had managed to make it on time, but that wasn’t why the crowd had roared or George had been shocked. No, it was because of yet another trick Sam had up her sleeve for this weekend.
Instead of emerging from the tunnel like every other driver, Sam stepped out of one of the many rows of cheerleaders lining the carpet. He wondered how he hadn’t noticed she was there, let alone any of the other drivers, but she had blended in perfectly.
All the driver’s heads turned at the next level volume of the crowd. She looked incredible, there was absolutely no denying it. Her hair was curled and cascading down her shoulders, her makeup matched every other girl in line, the small, decorated uniform and white cowboy boots graced her frame while the silver and blue pom poms rattled in her hands as she waved to the crowd.
“See, sounds like you had nothing to worry about” Daniel said as he squeezed past a few other drivers to get to Mick, his eyes not having graced the sight that was playing out before him.
“Yeah,” the young German smiled, before leaning back so he could speak quietly, “seems like you’ve got some competition to worry about though.” He gestured to the screaming crowd and then pointed to the carpet where Sam was making her way down toward the interviewer.
Daniel quirked an eyebrow before his eyes landed on Sam. Mick tried to stifle his laugh as he watched the Aussie’s curious look drop to one of pure, stunned, silence.
Though his mouth was closed, Mick saw the slight drop in his lower jaw as his eyes widened. Daniel knew there were cameras, fans, and fellow drivers everywhere, so he did his best to tear his eyes from Sam. That same jealous tinge made its way from his fingertips to his toes. He pushed it away, but it persisted and told him to look at the other drivers. For some reason, he listened, and was met with everyone in the truck’s eyes on her.
Though it was obvious not everyone was staring at her the way he had been staring at her, he couldn’t help but wonder which of the many were.
But with a tap on his shoulder and a turn of his head, all his doubts melted away.
“Howdy there, cowboy,” Sam smiled up at him as the truck began to move.
“This is—“ He looked her up and down respectfully, gesturing to her outfit.
She interrupted, “Surprising? Incredible? Mind blowing?”
“Yeah, among other things,” he laughed, his grin stretching from ear to ear at just how much she was glowing. Not only just her outfit, but how genuinely happy she looked. He cleared his throat, deflecting back to jokes, “Where’d this idea come from, because I need to know where to send my thank you card.”
The two drivers turned to face the crowd, offering waved here and there, but still continued their conversation.
“You,” she said with a smirk, and Daniel’s head turned to face her in confusion, “I came across an interview from a few years back where you joked about the cheerleaders being the best part of the weekend…”
He blushed in embarrassment. Sam tried to hide her laughter with a knowing look, and went on.
“I just wanted to see if that still reigned true. Besides, I couldn’t let you out-do me during my home race weekend,” she shrugged, smirk still sitting on her lips. As Daniel’s smile grew bigger simply at the mere sight of her, she reached up and grabbed the cowboy hat off of his head, placing it on top of her own with a smirk.
Daniel would’ve laughed, but he found something about what she’d just done, so overwhelmingly attractive, that he needed to direct his attention elsewhere to distract himself. Lucky for him, it didn’t take long for Carlos Sainz to wander in his direction.
“Holding down the fort I see…” Carlos said indicatively, tipping his head in the direction Sam just walked off in.
“What?” Daniel laughed out.
“Sam. Your cowboy hat. You know,” Carlos wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, a smirk displayed on his large lips.
Daniel quirky an eyebrow at him.“The cowboy hat rule?”
“The rule.” He said, as if Daniel should have known what he was talking about, or at least he was the one person on this truck that he’d expected to have known seeing his infatuation with Texas.
Still, nothing from Daniel, so Carlos went on. His tone giving away the intention of the “rule”
“Wear the hat, ride the cowboy.”
Daniel felt his cheeks flush, so he shook his head to try and hide it, “That’s not a thing. She’s just messing with me.”
Carlos just laughed, and patted his back. “It definitely is a thing. She’s the one who told me about it on Thursday… I think someone’s got a crush on you, Ricciardo.”
Daniel laughed, not wanting to give away that he obviously knew she had more than a crush on him. He turned around to try and catch a look at her. She was in the middle of conversation with Lance and George. But from the corner of her eye she could see him looking at her, so she looked back over at him, offered him a smile, and then tipped the hat toward him with a wink.
A grin erupted on Daniel’s face and he looked away, back out towards the fans that were waving as they all drove by.
“Nah, I don't see it” Daniel replied to Carlos, smirking to himself as he waved back to the fans.
Sam stood alone in the middle of the track; the pitlane to her left, the grandstands to her right, camera crews in front of her, and the rest of the drivers behind her.
Her race suit hung from her waist, sleeves blowing lightly in the wind, the disproportionate weight tethering her to where she planted her feet. Her long, dark braid rested on her right shoulder, stray hairs tickling her neck with the pestilent breeze. Her eyes stayed locked on her race boots as people all over took her places, and once the sound settled into silence and the national anthem began to play, she lifted her gaze up to the red, white and blue flag billowing above turn one.
As the song of her country played, she let her mind begin to focus on the race ahead. Her eyes closed and she tightened her hands that were clasped together behind her back, as she let her head fall slightly back.
And that was when she heard it.
The booing.
She squeezed her eyes shut just a little tighter, trying to drown out the few fans in a crowd of thousands. She would plug her ears, but she knew that was absolutely not an option given where she stood. But then, they started shouting targeted expletives. It began with critiques on her driving, then it shifted to her gender, then her appearance. She felt like a circus animal standing all alone up there; the perfect target on display for everyone to sink their teeth into. She felt alone. Despite how tight she shut her eyes, the insults didn’t stop.
That was until they did. And then they were replaced with shouting commotion.
The anthem continued, nearing its end, and Sam opened her eyes to see what was going on. She could see a group of people not too far away in the grandstands getting into a fight. With the lack of insults and the dialogue being shouted between the men, she assumed a few of those men throwing pushes and punches were the ones who had been booing her.
Was this fight because of her? Did somebody try to stop them? To defend her? She didn’t technically do anything to instigate it except stand here and be a driver, but she felt guilty for some reason. This wasn’t what she had wanted, let alone expected, from her time in F1. Everyone already thought she created issues when it came to her career, she didn’t want them to be correct.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the fight, and the people trying to break it up. But the singer belted the last word of the anthem, dragging it out and holding the finale as the crowd cheered. It was ironic really, that the word brave had been the one to be sung so loudly, with such grace and incredible execution. Because if this was in fact the land of the brave, maybe she wasn't a true American, for in that moment when the song ended and Sam practically ran to her car and away from the sight to her right, she considered herself to be anything but brave.
Well, down on sixth street in Austin, it’s party time. And here at the track, six races to go, six points separating the championship leader and the man in second place, and we’re on the home straight. The party can wait, it’s the seventh inning stretch! The two-minute warning, the championship party on hold, and there is much to be done before the title is settled.
And here’s the grid for the US Grand Prix; the 60th world champion Grand Prix to take place in the United States, and for the ninth time this season, it’s Max Verstappen on pole. And after an intense qualifying session yesterday, home driver Samantha Thompson gets the best start of her Formula 1 career as she lines up second on the grid. The second row contains our other championship contender and soon to be retiree Lewis Hamilton, only milliseconds behind the American driver. Lando Norris starts 4th. Followed by Charles Leclerc and making it into Q3 for his eighth consecutive Grand Prix, it’s Daniel Ricciardo finishing out the third row. Then we’ve got Carlos Sainz in 7th, Pierre Gasly starts eighth despite some late drama. Followed by Valterri Bottas with a five place engine penalty, that’s why he’s down in ninth, alongside Yuki Tsunoda for Alpha Tauri. Esteban Ocon for Alpine has Antonio Giovanazzi for company— Alpha Romeo’s best start in three races. He’s ahead of Lance Stroll for Aston Martin and Nicholas Latifi for Williams. Behind them, Kimi Raikkonen who also only has six races left in his Formula 1 career, alongside Mick Schumacher for HAAS. Behind Schumacher is his close friend Sebastian Vettel who has taken a full new power unit, and was relegated to the back of the grid, alongside Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, and then finally George Russell to finish us off.
Everyone is ready.
Five lights are on.
It’s lights out and away we go!
Thompson gets away well, and she’s gaining towards Max Verstappen who tries to cover her off and pushes her to the left hand side! Hamilton is in acres of space as Thompson on the inside gives Max Verstappen a push in return as he goes wide! Can Hamilton fight back— no he can’t! Thompson is just ahead of Verstappen, as Hamilton challenges his championship rival around turn two!
In a turn of events, Thompson leads from Verstappen. Then comes Lewis Hamilton followed by the McLaren of Lando Norris!
Samantha Thompson got a dream start that she only could have wanted, meanwhile the championship contenders are battling not far behind her! Lewis Hamilton has won here three times from the second spot on the grid, so if Thompson can keep her pace and her car in one piece, she may have a decent chance at taking home her first win!
The McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo tangoes between the Ferraris, as he almost touches wheels with Charles Leclerc!
Leclerc is on the soft tires with a decent start, but the initial laugh— the reaction time— that goes to Hamilton who pulled away from the McLaren of Norris and the Ferrari with ease.
Verstappen is gaining on Thompson who now leads the US Grand Prix, but all the defending he’s doing against Lewis is allowing the 0.8 second gap to be retained as she begins to pull away. Try as she might, Samantha Thompson’s car is no match for either RedBull or Mercedes; she’s got to capitalize on this battle behind her.
Thompson in front, then Verstappen, and following close is Hamilton. Then comes Norris, followed by Leclerc who is under pressure from Ricciardo trying to get in the slipstream but— he’s touched the back of the Ferrari and had to drop back a bit! Now it’s Leclerc that is aiming for a slipstream around turn 8. And there goes Leclerc!
But here comes Daniel Ricciardo down the inside of them both!
It’s Ferrari and McLaren, what a battle! Ricciardo on the inside, thought he got the place but Leclerc is pushed wide and still somehow stays ahead of the Honey Badger!
Lando Norris nips away at the inside of Daniel Ricciardo in hopes of getting that place back, and it’s all happening at lap one, here in Austin!
You’d think it’s the last lap of the Grand Prix the way drivers all along the track are going at it. But they do know that these are the easiest opportunities to make up places.
And it’s a bitter battle between McLaren and Ferrari! Look at that! What a lovely overtake through 16, 17, and 18 from Daniel Ricciardo, who now finds himself in fourth position. Making places as well, Sebastian Vettel up to fifteenth, Fernando Alonso up to seventeenth. Lance Stroll has dropped down to nineteenth, Latifi is plum last as it stands.
Out in front at the end of Lap 1, it’s Samantha Thompson, who has just led her very first Grand Prix laps. But who knows if she’ll add any more to her résumé because Lewis Hamilton has managed to pass Max Verstappen and is not far behind her.
Following not far behind in fourth is Daniel Ricciardo, then Charles Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, and Tsunoda up to eighth. Bottas in ninth putting pressure on Yuki Tsunoda down the inside of turn 1. Can he get good traction and good exit as they tumble down the hill? No, he can’t, he can’t get past Tsunoda. That’s just more frustration for Bottas this weekend.
***
“**** I’ve got damage. For sure front wing, but check for punctures”
Oh dear, it sounds like Sam Thompson is in a bit of trouble.
I’m not even sure what happened, but let’s check the replay.
Yeah, there it is. It seems like one big game of chicken gone wrong. Both drivers are well-known for their late braking, but this time neither wanted to be the first to yield. Daniel was trying to overtake her down the inside of turn 7, and his back right just gave her front wing a kiss.
She’s right, from the looks of it, the front wing definitely needs replacing, but with how consistent she’s managed to keep her speed since then, I don’t think there’s a puncture.
That will do it. On lap 6 of this race, long before the majority, Samantha Thompson is headed into the pits.
Esteban Ocon pitted two laps ago for damage as well— his front wing clipped by Yuki Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri. The difference is, he came in at eleventh place and is heading back out in last, and Sam Thompson is coming in from third, and will be heading out somewhere around fourteenth or fifteenth. Not to mention she just came in off of softs and has opted to change for her final set of hard tires. There’s a slim chance they could make an undercut work if she is able to make up enough places, and we’ve got 50 laps left to find out.
I could potentially see it, Crofty. She knows this course like the back of her hand, which has been made abundantly clear each session throughout the weekend. Take that and combine it with her incredible race craft, as well as her ruthless “act now, think later” attitude, Samantha Thompson is capable of turning this race back around for herself.
What a shame. This weekend was looking great for the American driver and that contact with the McLaren may very well have cost her a podium.
***
It’s lap 14 and race leader Lewis Hamilton is coming in to make his pitstop. We’re watching Max as the quick stop progresses, and he’s rounding turn nineteen. Beautiful stop from the Mercedes team, 2.8 seconds and Lewis is headed back out on his set of hard tires. RedBull attempted the undercut, now it’s time to see if they were successful.
It’s going to be close, Verstappen is making his way along the pit lane and there he goes; past Hamilton and into the lead of this race. You can hear the cheers from the RedBull fans because that undercut has been triggered.
Speaking of undercut, as the out window opened and more drivers began to roll in for their stops, Samantha Thompson has managed to make up four places to put herself back into the top ten.
I told you Crofty, don’t count out the Hell Raiser. It’s not over until the checkered flag is waved.
A quarter of the way through this race and Max Verstappen takes the lead, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Leclerc, and Bottas— who has also made an incredible comeback from the midfield and rounds out the top five.
But what’s this? It sounds like Pierre Gasly is having trouble with his car. Let’s have a listen.
“Problem. Problem. We have a problem with the back.”
“Okay. Is it the engine or the suspension? What is happening?”
“Feels like suspension.”
“We’re seeing loss of engine function.”
That can’t be good.
And chaos is breaking free on this track today because Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso have just made contact after going wheel to wheel! Raikkonen was pushed wide at turn one, but they’re still moving forward as this race continues. Could Raikkonen potentially be penalized for gaining a position off track?
I don’t think so, because it was Fernando Alonso himself who put him there!
***
And Leclerc soars by Norris! Is the McLaren driver even awake behind the wheel? He just let him by! I hate to say it, but the overtake was nothing special; not a lick of defense! It is a possibility that Lando is struggling with his tires, but they aren’t even that old. If he keeps this pace up, he’ll be holding up his teammate who is not far behind.
Look what we have here! A battle going on for 7th position between Bottas and Thompson, soon to be a former Mercedes driver, and soon to be new Mercedes driver. She’s just within DRS range, but he managed to hold her off. I’m not sure how long he can hold her behind him, because despite her struggles with nearly 20 lap old tires, we’ve seen before that she is incredible at managing this compound far past it’s shelf life.
She’ll have to pit soon no doubt with the age of those tires, but it seems like she’s trying to get as far ahead as possible and get back in sync with everyone else’s pit windows before she heads into the pit lane for what could potentially be her last stop of the race. And she’s past Bottas! Her eyes are locked on Sainz who’s just below four seconds ahead of her, she’s keen on going for it.
And wow! Great stuff from Sebastian Vettel as he finally gets past George Russell. The battle between these two was unrelenting for a few laps, but ultimately, the more veteran driver was able to pull ahead. George Russell will be looking at that and thinking “oh maybe next year I’ll have a bit of a car advantage once I go to Mercedes,” because his current ride is no match for the Aston Martin.
By God, we cannot catch a break! A virtual safety car; this could make things interesting. How long are we going to have this for? The field is effectively neutralized now, as the drivers all drive to their set pace. They have to reduce their speed while a marshal comes on the track to pick up a piece of debris.
Wow. It’s over just like that, and if there’s anybody besides Lewis Hamilton— who is running second— that VSC just benefitted, it’s Samantha Thompson. Because if she can keep that 1-second gap to Carlos Sainz in front of her from shrinking any further, she’ll manage DRS once it’s reinstated and put herself back into 6th place, and creep toward closing the 3.4-second gap to Ricciardo.
David I have to say, I am a bit upset that didn’t last longer. If it had, especially since we’re past the halfway point of this race, I guarantee we would have seen some pit stops, which may have benefited Sam’s case even more. Those few seconds saved by pitting under a safety car can be the difference between points and no points, and even a podium.
I’m not sure what everyone had for breakfast today, but they are on another level of chaos this afternoon. 29 laps into this race, and 27 left to go. And we’re back to racing as the drivers are given the green all clear.
***
It’s lap 38 of 56 and Lewis Hamilton heads into the pits, as Sam Thompson heads out. I think her new nickname should be the Tire Wizard because she is incredible at tire management. It’s a hot day here in Austin and she made her only hard compound last 32 laps, while gaining good ground.
She opted for the mediums with 18 laps to go. This has worked out incredibly in her favor seeing that multiple of the drivers she’ll come out behind, are about due for a pitstop.
Max stopped on lap 29, and 8 laps later in comes Lewis. That means for the Mercedes, in terms of the gap between Verstappen and Hamilton, it’s what, target plus 8? Pit lane limiter is pressed, it’s 80 kilometers an hour, he’s on his marks, and on go another set of hard tires. 2.4 seconds which is 0.4 seconds quicker than Verstappen and RedBull, and when you need to overtake at the end of a race, that could be a decent advantage.
Verstappen goes through turn one, in the lead now, as Hamilton comes out in second place. So the mead has changed hands once again.
The gaps upfront are astronomically large. Hamilton has to make up 7.8 seconds. Leclerc has got 22.3 to catch Hamilton. Norris sits at 10.7 behind him, followed by Daniel Ricciardo closing a 4.3 second gap.
But what’s this? Ricciardo goes into the pits! Sam Thompson gains another place, now only 9.5 seconds to Norris.
This was a great move from McLaren for Ricciardo. Yes Thompson was only 3 seconds behind him, but she’s in fresh tires— he was bound to get passed. But Carlos Sainz was 18 seconds behind Sam, which means that Daniel is unlikely to lose any positions.
Speaking of Thompson, she is closing that gap rapidly. Norris could potentially be struggling with his tires, but he stopped not long ago so I’m thinking Sam has just got a lead foot, a softer compound, and a metaphorical fire lit under her.
“Lando, Thompson is 2.7 behind and closing. Start pushing”
“Yeah, leave me to it.”
***
“Norris has just put in the fastest lap. You’re 2.1 behind. Just keep your head down, stay focused ”
“Got it”
You can hear just how cool, calm and collected she is. She wants this bad, and you can hear the determination, the focus, in her voice.
The battle between Thomson and Norris rages on with 6 laps to go. The stakes only got higher when a poor pitstop knocked Charles Leclerc back from third, to fifth.
That means for the last 5 laps, these two have been battling for a podium finish. We’ve seen battles between these two drivers before, and wow are they nail-biting. They’re both stand-out when it comes to race craft, but Thompson’s strong suit is offense, and Norris just barely reigns over her defensively, so it’s a great match up . The last time we saw them battle like this was Monaco, and Lando just barely came out on top.
But don’t forget, Crofty. They made contact that race, Sam took damage from Lando’s McLaren and—
Oh trust me, I didn’t forget. How could I when the piece of carbon fiber that was pulled from her suspension during that incredible pitstop, sold for seventy eight thousand American dollars on Thursday night at the gala. I don’t think anybody is going to forget that iconic battle any time soon.
Here she goes, Sam is lunging and making a move! They’re rounding turn 7! They’re wheel to wheel! Who is going to come out in front?
And it’s Thompson!
But as you can see, they’re not separated by much, and Lando is not letting up. She needs to pull ahead or he’s going to have DRS enabled as soon as they pass this chicane.
But she can’t and the McLaren is back in front around turn 11! Lando pulls into the lead as they head down the straight, but Sam is not giving up!
She needs to find some pace if she wants to get back into it with only five laps remaining. They’re approaching turn 12 and it looks like Sam—
Oh my god! Lando Norris just brake-checked Thompson! She barely managed to move out of the way in time, but in a turn of events, she managed to come out in front!
“Is everything alright with the car, Lando?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine”
I’m not sure if something is wrong with his car that caused him to slow down so abruptly, but from the sound of it, everything was normal. Let’s listen in with Sam:
“What the actual **** was that! That’s so dangerous, especially around 12. What was he thinking!?”
She does not sound happy, David. And she’s right, that was incredibly dangerous at the entrance to the sharp left-hander. That could easily come under review in these last few laps.
***
Two laps remaining in this race and we’ve got an incredible battle for first, but also for the final step on the podium.
Lando Norris and Sam Thompson have been at each other's necks the last quarter of this race.
The American driver has pulled out all the stops to keep her lead ahead of the McLaren these final laps, and there have definitely been some close calls.
Lando has been following incredibly close, nearly overtaking her down the inside on a few occasions, but ultimately failing.
I think I may have to revoke what I said earlier.
And what’s that?
From what I’m seeing right now, I think Sam Thomson has strong suits in both offense and defense; a clear advantage over Norris as we speak.
That’s what I’ve been saying! Mercedes knew exactly what they were doing by signing her, and Guenther Steiner must be kicking himself for letting her go.
We’re onto the final lap, and Lando Norris is getting desperate to try and overtake Samantha Thompson. They’re rounding turn 6, wheel to wheel! Who’s it going to be?!
It’s Thompson out on top, maintaining her lead!
She’s got to be careful, in previous laps, DRS has caused her to struggle to keep Norris behind her and as they approach 10 to 11, as of now, the McLaren will have it enabled.
Norris’s rear wing flap has been opened but Sam is defending like—
Oh no!
Norris is in the gravel!
It looks as though he got so desperate to overtake that he tried to go around the outside, but fell victim to the sausage kerb and effectively launched himself off the track!
I’m just impressed he kept himself off the wall! To be honest, I’m not sure what his thought process was with that move. He went off track in attempts to overtake, and paid the price. He’s limping back onto the track, with half a lap left, in eight place.
***
Mercedes gave Hamilton the charge. RedBull gambled, they went early on the pit stops and said ‘Max, you’re going to have to make this work.’ Mercedes allowed Lewis Hamilton to charge despite that, it seems that RedBull are going to win out here.
This has been an engrossing US Grand Prix, and it could have sung either Hamilton’s or Verstappen’s way in the championship battle. But as they now just have two more corners to negotiate, Max Verstappen is going to lead and double his advantage in the world championship.
For the first time on US soil, Max Verstappen wins the US Grand Prix! Lewis Hamilton has to settle for second! The charge got close, but not quite close enough!
And as the fireworks sound off, the crowd continues to go wild, because crossing the line in third is home driver Samantha Thomson, as she clinches the final podium spot!
Incredible! What a weekend for the American! She announced her move to Mercedes, she qualified the best of her career, and she takes a podium at home to make it the second of her career, all in her rookie year.
Let’s listen to what she has to say:
“Is there something you want to tell me, Floyd?”
“Just one small thing. THAT’S A ******* PODIUM!”
“WHOOOO! Oh my god, we did it again! Holy ****!”
You can hear the joy in her shouts of elation and with good reason. What a Grand Prix that was!
And lastly, the number 66 car rolls into the parc ferme, and parks it right behind that big number three. I cannot imagine how incredible she must feel right now. A podium your rookie year is a big deal, and this is her second, not to mention in her home country, surrounded by people cheering her on.
Her team on the sidelines is going crazy as she's stepping out of the car and onto her halo. There it goes, her fist is repeatedly thrust into the air in victory. There is no better feeling than standing on top of your car after a race so great that it lands you on the podium.
Crofty, I can think of something. The feeling of being a Formula 1 race winner. We haven’t seen that from Sam yet, but with the season she’s had, and the team she’ll be with next season, I have no doubt that is going to change very soon.
Look at that, her team is practically dragging her over the barriers, giving her helmet a good beating and practically bombarding her with hugs. The American team on the podium in America, what a great moment.
Her helmet comes off, and there’s that smile we all know and love, Sam looks just about on top of the world. Lewis Hamilton is headed over to give her his own congrats. His smile is beaming for her, and an embrace from the soon to be former Mercedes driver, and the one who will take his place.
It’s drives like today that must make Lewis and Toto sure of their decision to sign her for next season. She’s so well rounded and her skill is unmatched; it has been through nearly every series she’s driven in.
A hand shake from Max Verstappen, and a hug from Daniel Ricciardo, who looks to be apologizing for the incident he caused between the two on track earlier.
I’d feel bad if I were him too, David, he may have cost her the girl her first win!
Daniel looks like he feels that way, but I don't think she’s worried about that, the smile on her face says it all.
Now where’s she off to? She’d gone up to Lando Norris and given him the good ‘ol pat on the shoulder. What great sportsmanship between the two drivers who had an intense race, nothing but wide smiles between them.
Let’s head down to the action and hear what our top three finishers have to say. Hopefully Lauren can catch Sam before she trods off or gets swept away in hugs from everyone else!
Samantha, incredible drive out there. Congratulations. I mean, just listen to this crowd! They have big love for their hometown hero! A podium at your home race, talk me through how you’re feeling right now.
“Wow, uhm, wow. It’s hard to find the words. We had a bit of a tough race initially, the contact with the McLaren early on really set us back, and made us shift our strategy wildly. And then later in the race, Norris and I had a pretty intense back and forth. So let’s just say orange definitely has dropped significantly lower on the list of my favorite colors after today. But the tam handled the incident really well, and helped us get where we are right now, there’s no doubt about it.”
Haha, I love it! Well again, congratulations, and we’ll see you up on that podium later. Looking forward to another curtsey worthy champagne shower!
“And that whale thing you did with the champagne on the podium after your iconic curtsey, was awesome! That should be your shoey!” The girl was enthusiastically recounting her reaction to Sam’s own podium to her after she had recognized her in the bathroom of the small bar.
Sam laughed, “Thank you. Can I wash my hands now?” She pointed to the sink the fan was standing in front of across from the stall inside the bathroom.
“Right, sorry.” The girl moved to the side and let Sam wash her hands. “You look incredible by the way,” the girl said as she stood by while Sam lathered then rinsed her hands.
“Thanks,” she smiled. Sam looked at her reflection in the mirror, her black cowboy hat resting on top of her curled hair. She looked a little worse for wear compared to the beginning of the night. They’d been to four bars already. Line danced, drank, displayed party tricks, took shots, enjoyed live music, and now they were at a popular dive bar which resembled an old saloon.
“It was great to meet you, did you want a picture?” Sam asked as she grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands. Tossing her trash in the bin, she made her way toward the door where the girl was standing.
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Of course not,” Sam brushed off the girl’s silly comment with a wave of her hand and leaned in next to her, hoping she didn’t look too drunk. To be fair, she hadn’t been drinking much at all tonight, at least in comparison to how much she usually would, especially since she’d managed to land on a podium. They were nearly half way through the night and she was only tipsy; she wanted to remember today and the night that followed, she’d been enjoying herself along with her friends far too much to potentially risk forgetting it.
With a few clicks of a camera phone, the two women went their separate ways, off back to their friends. Maneuvering her way through the tightly packed bodies of the busy bar, her hand held her hat tightly to the top of her head as she muttered the occasional excusal or apology. Eventually, Sam made her way back to the large group of drivers and friends hanging out along the bar.
“Took you long enough!” Molly laughed, her blue LED western outfit glowing in the dim light of the bar.
“Sorry. Some fan pulled me aside in the bathroom and we had a little conversation. But I’m back, time for a drink!”
With that, Sam leaned forward on the bar and stuck out her hand to get the attention of the bartender, and in a matter of minutes, another round of drinks was placed in front of the trio. Taking another look at her two best friends, she couldn’t help but grin. Molly had convinced MIck to stray away from the traditional cowboy look and join her in her sparkly, light up, flashy outfit choice. He was standing beside her, arm wrapped around her and resting on the bar between her and Sam. The smile on his face was one of pure joy. Sam knew he would never be caught dead wearing that outfit and would have much preferred to go along with the likes of the group and their traditional western styles. But there was no evidence of that whatsoever; if Molly was happy, Mick was happy and it made Sam’s heart soar. All night she’d noticed the two of them stealing sweet glances at each other as if their relationship was the secret one. Sure they were private, but all of their friends and fellow drivers knew about the pair.
“There she is, looking fine as ever! I thought I’d lost you!” Daniel’s voice shouted over the booming music and loud crowd.
“Long time no see. What’s it been,” Sam lifted her bare wrist as if she were checking the time, “fifteen minutes since I’ve last seen you? How did you ever manage!” She gasped, pretending to be faint.
“It was difficult, and I’ll most likely be sending you the bill for the therapy that I’ll be needing as a result,” Daniel joked, embracing Sam from behind resulting in an eruption of giggles from her.
It wasn’t often that she’d seen Daniel drunk, but she’d quickly come to the conclusion that it only made her like him more. Since this was the first time they’d gone out together since becoming… whatever they were, Sam could definitely say he was a clingy, adoring drunk. Which she didn’t mind. Everyone did stupid stuff when they were drunk so if anybody potentially caught them being the slightest bit affectionate with each other tonight, they could play it off on the over-friendly effects of alcohol. In her mind, her personal reward for landing on a podium was allowing herself to indulge in a bit of Aussie flavored freedom.
Daniel and Sam stayed interlocked in some way for the next hour. Whether it was Daniel’s arm around her shoulders, Sam’s arm around his waist, Sam holding onto Daniel’s arm, his arm around her waist with his thumb hooked around her belt, their legs resting on each other’s as they sat; literally any way they could be on one another while still staying the slightest bit cautious of going too far, they’d managed to do.
After a while, Daniel, Sam, George, Michael, and Pato were all playing a game of quarters at a nearby table. Sam and Pato were dominating, seeing as they’d purposefully left out how good they’d gotten at the drinking game to pass time during her Indycar seasons. Eventually, they’d run out of drinks and Sam offered to go and grab them all another round, since a bartender in a crowded bar is far more likely to take a woman’s order over a man’s who has been waiting longer.
Once she made her way up to the bar and past the two person deep wall of patrons, she did what she usually did, leaning slightly over the bar and making eye contact with the bartender. With the wave of her hand, he was beckoned over, and her tab was about thirty dollars more expensive than before.
While she was waiting for their drinks to come out, Sam felt a hand come up and grab her ass through her skirt. It took her by surprise, thinking that Daniel must be getting drunker and more ballsy with how hands on they were being tonight. But when she turned around, nobody was behind her, and to make matters worse, she could see Daniel still sitting at the table across the room.
Her heart dropped.
She looked to her left, the side of her body which had been violated by a stranger, and she noticed a man who hadn’t been there moments before when she’d looked left and right trying to flag down a bartender.
It had to be him.
The fear in her gut shifted to anger at the pompous look on the man’s face. He couldn’t have been much older than her, late twenties, maybe early thirties. She didn’t want to straight up accuse him of assaulting her, that wouldn't be taken lightly if she was wrong. But all her second-thoughts disappeared when she watched him try to grope another girl, but fail when she absentmindedly turned to leave.
The once flicker of rage turned into a roaring flame, and all her inhibitions flew out the window.
Sam had closed the small gap between her and the man, and made her way up to the bar directly next to him, matching his posture by leaning her elbows on the counter. She hadn’t looked at him yet, only asked the question while staring off across the row of bottles to the other side of the large room, her drinks ordered long forgotten.
“Grope a lot of girls in your free time?”
“Excuse me?”
She finally turned to look at the man, “The unconsensual ass grabbing. Is that a hobby, or something you just recently picked up?”
“What are you insinuating,” the man drunkenly asked, standing up straighter.
“Well you grabbed mine, and then I watched you try and do it again just mere moments ago. So I’m not insinuating anything. Simply making an observation and asking a question,” she shrugged, also standing upright to meet his eye level.
His intimidating stare turned into one of taunt. “And what if I did? What are you going to do about it?”
Sam rolled her eyes, now stone-cold sober. Without a second thought, she reached over the bar and grabbed the soda gun. She pulled it enough where the tube it was connected to gave her enough slack to point it at the man beside her. And just like that, she soaked him in whatever liquid corresponded to the random button she pushed.
There were gasps and shouts from surrounding bystanders, before Sam reached back over and put the device back where she’d taken it from.
“You fucking bitch!” The man shouted and even more people turned in the direction of the commotion.
“Don’t worry, I hear club soda dries faster than an assault charge,” Sam went to storm off, but the now enraged drunk man lunged forward and wrapped his hands around her neck. Thankfully, before he could squeeze too hard or do any damage, the man was ripped off of her. And once she’d caught her breath and stopped coughing, she saw it was Daniel who’d granted her freedom from the deranged man.
And like pulling a loose thread, everything began to unravel in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the situation escalated as the man threw a punch, which Daniel evaded, only for the driver’s fist to make contact with the man’s face. The whole scene felt like it was moving in slow motion, and for a moment, Sam stood there unable to move, hands covering her mouth in shock after letting out an initial, raspy gasp. And once it sunk in that the drunk man and Daniel were getting into a full blown bar fight, with flying fists and thrown bodies, Sam sprung forward trying to pull Daniel off him.
“Daniel,” she yelled over the shouting crowd now forming, trying to grab his elbows and stop him from throwing any more punches.
“Daniel, stop!” At this point, she was pleading desperately. She had somehow managed to cause yet another fight to erupt in the past twelve hours, and her guilt was mixing with the fear she felt for Daniel as he fought the man. The sea of people forming around the brawling men was cause for concern, especially seeing how many of them were pulling their phones out to record the altercation.
She took a step back, avoiding getting caught in the conflict herself, hoping they’d stop soon. But she was panicking now. Seconds felt like hours as she watched the man pin Daniel to the ground and land a punch, his name falling from her lips incoherently and continually. Sam could hardly watch. But within seconds, Daniel had unpinned himself, rolled the two, and trapped the man between the ground and his knees, landing a punch. She flinched as Daniel landed yet another punch after that, and as he swung his arm back to throw another, she intercepted his fist.
He turned around from his position of kneeling over the man on the floor. The look of rage in his eyes softened seeing how terrified Sam looked.
“Danny, please”
Daniel tore his gaze away from her and looked at his fist trapped in her hand, and then at the groaning man that he was holding to the ground. Looking back to Sam, he conceded to the begging in her features, realizing he would do anything to never see her look like this again, and stood up.
Once Sam had dragged him a few steps away from the man who was now receiving help from bystanders, her hand came up to cup his jaw as she searched his face for injuries and then looked him in the eyes. They held a panic that rivaled that in her chest, despite him having been the one to have justed brawled with a stranger in a random Texas bar.
She was trying to comfort Daniel and calm him down, but it proved difficult as the adrenaline from her fight or flight response was wearing off. Not to mention the crowd was still suffocating them, and the loud bar music was mixing in with the crowd's shouting. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine. Are you okay,” she reassured.
Sam took his hand into hers again and tried to put as much distance between them and the man still on the floor, still not getting very far. She gently tried examining Daniel’s knuckles but he could barely withhold a wince as she ran her thumb over the sensitive, swollen bones.
Daniel was trying to get himself under control. His breathing was still erratic, and rage still flooded his system. The only thing stopping him from turning around and continuing to beat that creep to a pulp was standing right in front of him, anchoring him with her hand resting on his neck.
At this point nearly all of the drivers and their friends in the group had been alerted of the incident, and they were trying to break through the crowd to get to their friends. Sam had just barely seen the frames of Mick, George and Alex appear in her peripherals before the familiar voice of the now bloodied man spoke up.
“No piece of ass is worth this shit…” He mumbled, walking by Daniel and Sam to try and leave. They hadn’t even seen him get up off the floor, but for how hard he had been pummeled, he was brave for speaking up.
“Fucking perv,” Sam blurted out to herself upon hearing what he had to say. She hadn’t thought she’d said it too loud, she was preoccupied dabbing the few cuts on Daniel’s face with a napkin she’d been handed, while the Aussie held his throbbing hand in a glass of ice water.
But, the man stopped and turned back around.
“You say something, bitch?”
Daniel tensed, removing his hand from the glass and trying to step forwards at the man, but he was stopped by Sam's hand on his chest.
She turned to face the drunk man, hand still on Daniel who felt like he was putting all his weight on it trying to get by.
“I didn’t say anything…” Sam played dumb. He didn’t know better and scoffed once she had turned back around.
But then without turning to face him, or removing her attention from cleaning up Daniel’s face, she spoke loudly, “Unless you're talking about where I said you’re an ass-grabbing pervert.”
A few people in the crowd offered commentary, hyping her up or shouting an oooh at her comeback.
“I’m gonna fucking kill—”
The man’s threat was cut short by Sam’s fist connecting with his face. She hadn’t seen him start at her, but seeing Daniel’s eyes darken and his sudden lurch into her hand holding him in place, gave her the inkling that the man was approaching.
The crowd, phones still held high, reacted to the punch which gasps and even some laughs. The adrenaline wasn’t enough to mask the immediate stinging radiating through her fist, so once she landed the punch, she groaned and held it in agony.
Yet that singular strike from her didn’t leave the man down for the count for long, not after the beating he’d gotten from Daniel. He got back his bearings and headed toward Sam, but this time George and Alex rushed to step in front of her and Daniel to hold the man back. All the while Mick, Esteban, and Micheal were trying to pull the two drivers away, trying to prevent them from doing anything they’d regret even more. Even random bystanders had jumped in to try and hold back the man from hurting Sam again.
The commotion continued. And then, like a scene from a bad movie, red and blue lights flashed through the few windows of the bar, and a path within the crowd appeared, before none other than the bouncer made his way over to the group, followed by police officers.
It only got worse. Of course it did.
Because with the point of a finger, the creepy predator was put into handcuffs and led outside.
But how is that the situation getting worse, you might ask?
It’s not, necessarily.
That was simply the predecessor to the worst; don’t jump the gun.
The situation got worse when that same finger, suspended in air, accusatorily moved its way across the room and pointed directly at Sam.
As the police officers separated her from the group of her friends, they were met with loud protests from each and every one of them, Sam included.
As they led her outside in handcuffs and toward the police cruisers, a hoard of angry drivers and their friends, partners, coaches, and siblings followed closely behind, still trying to reason with the officers, telling them the situation.
As the officer stopped to open the door to the backseat of his car, Sam could hear Daniel’s voice telling the officer he’s the one who should be in the back of the car, not her. She couldn’t bring herself to look back at any of her friends, despite their willingness to defend her and plead her case. She kept her eyes locked on the cement below her, the reflections of the blue and red light hypnotizing her as her mind drifted off to the implications this would have on her future.
As he placed his hand on top of her head and forcefully ducked her into the vehicle, Sam realized there was nothing she could do at this point. No yelling, arguing, pleading or reasoning would be getting her out of this cop car. Her fate was sealed.
As the door slammed shut, Sam decided to take a look out at everyone staring back at her. Her eyes fell to Molly first. The girl was in tears, fear evident on her features as she clung onto Mick for dear life. She eventually locked eyes with her, and the blonde mouthed reassurances that it would be okay. Sam tore her eyes from the girl out of sheer embarrassment and moved on to Mick, who had one hand wrapped around Molly while the other anxiously ran through his hair as he talked to Lance. She could tell the two boys were problem solving, and she didn’t notice until the boy looked down at his girlfriend, and gave her a comforting hug, that he was nearly on the verge of tears as well.
Her eyes darted to Daniel, who was still talking with the police officer. From the looks of it, he’d tried to calm down, but attempting to go for a rational approach didn’t seem to work because he was still flailing his arms around animatedly as he argued. And then unintentionally, her gaze moved to George, who was standing over Daniel’s shoulder, doing his best to be a part of the conversation in the rational fashion Daniel lacked.
In an instant, George tried to step in front of Daniel and take over the conversation, which Daniel did not appreciate. And before she knew it, Sam was watching the two men get in an argument right before her eyes. They were so focused on whatever they were yelling at one another about, that the police officer simply walked away and got into his vehicle, and drove off, taking Sam with him.
Hours had passed.
She’d been moved from room to room, over and over again. First her mugshot, then a holding cell with two other women, then to a room with two chairs and a table for her statement to be taken, then back to the holding cell, off to another room to have her first round of questioning, and then back to the holding cell.
And that was only before they’d decided to drop her charges, deciding that she was in fact a victim of sexual harassment and took part in self-defensive action.
After that, they moved her to a few different rooms. One to help them build a case against the man, another to allow her to file a police report about the assault, and the other to get her a warm cup of coffee and a bag of ice to help ice her hand, before sending her back to the holding cell for the last time.
Safe to say, Sam was exhausted. Her hand was throbbing, her feet ached and she could still feel phantom pain as if the man was still holding her by her throat.
“Don’t I get a phone call or something?” She piped up from behind the bars of the holding cell.
The cop rolled his eyes. “You’re not being charged with anything, so no, you don’t. It’ll only be a few more minutes while we process your paperwork and put your statement file into the case records. Your bail’s been paid, so after that you're free to go.”
“Can I at least call my sister so she knows when to pick me up?”
“Is your sister,” he held up a paper from his desk, “Molly Barnes?”
Sam nodded and the cop gave her a questioning look.
“Different parents,” Sam cleared up, referring to his hesitancy at what she could only think was their obvious differences in looks.
The officer nodded, despite the look on his face that told Sam he didn’t believe her. She would’ve been offended normally, but it was a lie, and she was the one in the holding cell while he was the one with the badge.
“She came in and paid your bail in record time. Now her and a few of your friends have been sitting outside the station since we brought you in. There’s no need to call,” he walked over and unlocked the steel door and held it open for her. “You can just go ahead and go now, I’ll finish your paperwork after we’re done here.”
“Well since I’m not being charged and your office has already apologized profusely for the inconvenience, would you mind if I used the phone, just as a favor?”
He nodded, “dial 9 first.”
Molly’s phone rang and she gasped when a number with an Austin area code appeared. “It’s a Texas area code, this has to be her.”
George, Daniel and Mick all rushed over to stand by her as she answered the phone and put it on speaker.
“This is a collect call from the Travis County Central Booking Office of the Travis County Jail. All calls are recorded. To accept the call and charges, please say accept call.”
“Accept call,” Molly said clearly, a hint of fear in her voice.
A dial tone sounded, and then there was silence. A faint cracking noise was steadily playing in the background, but Molly didn’t wait.
“Sam? Sam, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Moo.”
The group let out a collective sigh of relief, Molly nearly breaking down in tears she was so happy to hear her voice.
“Thank God,” she exhaled.
“They took my statement and after some back and forth arguments, they’re letting me go, I just need to grab my things and then I’ll be on my way. I’m not getting charged with anything because it was technically an act of self defense,” Sam said plainly.
“Damn straight it was,” Mick chimed in.
“Molly,” Sam said calmly as she tried to interrupt her best friend that had begun shooting off a string of questions, worried and angry statements, and explicatives. But her best friend continued to ramble into the phone.
“Molly,” she said louder, still just as suspiciously calm.
Mick gave his girlfriend a quick whack to her upper arm, which caused her to stop talking.
“Sorry, sorry. What?”
Everyone ever so slightly leaned closer to the phone to hear what Sam had to say.
There was a moment of hesitation.
“Can you take me off of speakerphone?”
Though it was technically a question, Sam phrased it more as a statement, bordering a demand. The girl looked at the drivers surrounding her, a worried but apologetic look in her eyes. They themselves were not able to hide the look of bewilderment on their faces.
Mumbling a yeah, the girl pressed the corresponding button, held the phone to her ear, and walked a few feet away from the group. She peeked over her shoulder and saw all three of the men distraught.
Mick was fidgeting with his fingers, slowly pivoting from foot to foot.
George, still worried, looked the most relieved out of all of them, leaning against the wall of the station with his arms crossed impatiently.
Daniel found a seat on the curb near the road and was anxiously bouncing his foot and running his hands through his curls when he wasn’t resting his head on this knees.
“Alright, go ahead.”
“You're alone?” Sam asked tentatively.
“Yeah,” her best friend whispered her response.
There was no response from Sam for at least a minute, and Molly quickly checked to make sure the call was still connected.
The small stopwatch on the screen continued to count higher, despite the silence on the other end.
“Sam?” Molly quietly asked. Another beat of silence passed before Sam responded:
“Can you send everyone else home?”
The question did more than take her by surprise. It picked her up, tossed her around, spun her in circles, chewed her up, and then spit her out. Molly looked back at the three men behind her, Daniel’s worried eyes eventually meeting her’s. She turned away, a small shred of guilt eating its way into her subconscious. In the past, she knew Sam’s thought process had been impulsive and irrational. But the suspiciously calm tone her voice held, made Molly think that there was a purpose to her request.
And who was she to question something Sam had probably spent her near three hours in the holding cell thinking about? She knew Sam was struggling with what had happened tonight, and as her friend, that meant Molly had no place to deny her request.
“Of course.”
And with a final, yet quiet expression of thanks, Sam hung up the phone.
Nearly an hour later, the sun was starting to rise far off in the horizon while the two girls sat in Molly’s car silently as she drove them back to their hotel.
Sam hadn't uttered anything more than a thank you after her friend had bailed her out. Weak hugs were exchanged, the wire transfer was sent to pay back the price of bail, and personal items were collected from holdings. The implications of the night floated silently between them, both girls avoiding having the conversation that needed to be had.
After another 10 minutes of silence, Sam finally spoke up in a hoarse, defeated tone.
“How bad is it?”
Molly hesitated before answering, completely aware of where this conversation was headed and what this meant for her best friend.
“Pictures and videos hit the main socials almost instantly. The punch itself and you in cuffs. They aren’t even publicizing the other half of the story, they’re just saying you got violent. Everyone on the team is trying to do damage control as we speak, but it started trending in a matter of minutes.”
Another minute or two of silence passed as Sam processed what she had missed while she was in the holding cell; all of it only solidified exactly what she has assumed was going to happen.
“How long ago did they call you?”
Again, Molly hesitated to answer. Sam kept her eyes trained on the blurred lights of the passing city outside of her window, slouched back against the passenger seat with her cowboy hat sitting in her lap. But she didn’t need to look at her friend to see the look of pity on the girl’s face.
“About two hours ago…”
Sam exhaled.
Molly looked between her best friend and the road in front of her.
“Sam they—“
“I figured.”
One.
She had one strike left.
One more chance.
And then she would be out.
For good.
Molly immediately tried to fill the silence by reassuring her best friend and hoping to turn the tone much more positive. “You’ll be fine. There are only six races left. Just keep your head down and focus on finishing the season, then you can start fresh next year.”
Sam nodded silently along to Molly’s naïveté to what this truly meant towards the situation, not having the strength to try and respond right now, especially because of the guilt she now felt about lying to her friends.
Could she trust herself to behave? More so, could she trust the FIA to give her an unbiased, fair chance at keeping her career now that it was down to the wire?
No
She couldn’t do either.
Things needed to change if she wanted to stay in Formula 1. And after such an incredible past few weeks, it crushed her to admit that.
There was hope she could manage to accomplish both— keep out of trouble and still enjoy her life and what it had to offer. But if it came down to it, she’d do what she needed to do, no matter how much it hurt her or everyone around her.
“Don’t go back to your hotel room,” Molly blurted out, breaking the silence and violently yanking Sam from her thoughts.
“What?”
Molly took her eyes of the road to look at her best friend, sympathy and worry meeting Sam the instant their eyes locked.
“I don’t know why you wanted the guys to leave, I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now, and I don’t need you to feel like you have to tell me. I don’t want to pry if you don’t want to talk about it, but I need you to know that I’m always here to listen and help in any way that I can…” the girl sounded sure of herself. Any of her doubt and worry momentarily melted away so she could make sure Sam knew she meant every word.
With a nod from Sam and another deep inhale, Molly continued.
“That’s why I’m going to tell you that Daniel is waiting for you outside of your hotel room.”
Sam closed her eyes with a wince and her jaw clenched along with it. She didn’t respond, only pressing her lips together and letting her head fall back against the head rest.
“You can’t tell the team, but I let my parents stay in my room across the hall so they could save some money since I decided to crash with Mick, and mom said she looked out the peephole and… there he was. Just sitting there. You’re welcome to crash on with us until he leaves. I’ll even banish Mick to the couch. But from what you’ve told me, he isn’t one to just walk away. Especially not from you.”
All she could bring herself to do was barely nod. The events of the night, and the implications they dangled above her head, overwhelmed her thoughts. So to try and drown out the silent noise, she fixated her gaze back onto the blurred streaks of light of the city. But as they continued to get blurrier and blurrier, in an attempt to excuse what she was trying so hard to fight off, she kept insisting to herself it was because Molly was driving too fast— not the fault of the water beginning to well up in her eyes.
note: HI SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG LOL its currently 3am
and sorry for the chapter contents hehe…
SHES GOT STRIKE NUMBER 2!!! Wonder how that’s gonna mess with her🤨🤨🤨
guess we gotta wait and see hehe
❣️!fight for her love!❣️
Pairing: Daniel ricciardo x femOC (Cherrie!)
Word count : 9k
Summary : in which he’s gonna fight for her love…literally . And drag max and lando into it too because why not?
A/N this is the funniest thing I have ever written. Not serious at all srry but this is what happens when I don’t sleep. I can’t even. This is my favourite oneshot ever lmfao
Daniel wrapped his arms around both max's and lando's shoulder with a loud announcement of his arrival , following their eyesight to see what they were having a nosey at.
His own brow raising at the sight of the love of his life , the same woman who was also very unaware that she was Daniels soulmate (in his words), walking hand in hand with a dark haired man down the paddock.
Feeling his stomach turn, he struggled to keep the same bright smile plastered on his face.
Trying to ignore the looks of pity that he was getting from his friends who knew every single little bit of his infatuation for Cherrie.
"So this is the new boyfriend then?" He mused, tongue in cheek as they all squinted their eyes at the man by her side . Titling their heads to the side simultaneously as they all thought the same thing.
"Is he a model?" Daniel came right out with it and asked .
There was no way that he wasn't. With a muscular body and a face like a fucking Greek god, Daniel was certain that this was the very same man that was on the front package of the Calvin Klein boxers that he had bought last week.
Lando winced for him "I think so. He's very..." he hesitated.
Not knowing if he was supposed to be honest about how good looking her new boyfriend was or if he was supposed to lie to make Daniel feel better .
Max made the decision for him, blunt as ever. "Good looking. They look good together. It makes sense. Her looking like a goddess and him looking like that.." he mused unhelpfully.
Not one to ever make anyone feel better in their misery.
Lando shot him a look of disgrace .
“Max! That is not helping!" He told him shocked by his lack of sympathy for their friend.
Daniel just snorted as he crossed his arms over his cheek, shaking his head in denial.
“”Nah I don't see it. He's not that handsome. Not as handsome as I am. It's very obvious that I'm the better choice for Cherrie." He informed them confidently , not allowing this little bump in the road to get him down.
He was nothing if not stubborn and determined to make sure that he and Cherrie were going to be together forever.
Both of his friends couldn't help but laugh , shaking their heads at him in amusement . Mostly pity on their faces at his very clear lie about the other mans looks.
"Mate.. I hate to say it but she's dating a Adonis ." Lando said truthfully.
All of them still stood together like a group of mean girls as they eyed the gorgeous couple in front of them.
Daniel shot him an offended look. "Are you saying that He's better looking than me?" He then made a dramatic sweep of his hand over his body as though he was showing off something incredible.
“Me?! The most handsomest man in the entire universe?" He exclaimed , still grinning despite his impending heartbreak.
They both laughed at his antics. Lando giggling "you've got some serious competition mate." Then he added curiously "do you think his abs are real? I can see them through his tshirt." He mused in amazement as he looked at cherries new boyfriend in slight awe.
Daniel immediately shook his head, pulling a face as though he was repulsed by the sight of the man.
"Absolutely not. He's definitely a steroid maniac. A terrible match for the love of my life. She's needs someone to cuddle that doesn't feel like a brick wall." He stated to them.
Max grinned mischievously , nodding his head along to his bullshit.
“Yeah you're right Daniel . She needs me. I'm more than happy to offering my cuddling services to Cherrie-" he couldn't even finish his joke before Daniel had him in a headlock.
Shaking his head with his fist as max tried to get out of his hold while laughing hysterically.
"The only arms that shall hold her shall be mine!" He declared dramatically before finally letting him go .
Max huffing at him with a grin as he tried to straighten out his now fucked up hair again.
Lando snorted at him slyly "well I don't think it's your arms around her now is it? Maybe it's time for you to give up .." he said knowing fully well the reaction that he would get at his suggestion.
Daniel looked at him like he had just shot him up the ass.
Mouth dropping open in disbelief "me? A quitter? I don't think so mate! This is just a mere .. test that I need to overcome." He told them casually before walking over to one of the flower bushes near where they were standing and plucking off a large daisy.
Max grinned "and how are you going to overcome this exactly? Because the last time she had a boyfriend that wasn't you , you didn't handle it very well." He reminded him. Lando giggling at the memory.
By not handling it very well they meant the way that Daniel had made the man join them for golfing only to run him over with the golf buggy and threaten to do it again if he didn't dump Cherrie.
The man obviously hadn't been there the next day and they had been left to console a upset Cherrie over her missing boyfriend who had dumped her without any explanation.
Daniel hugging her and patting her head as he told her that she didn't need that asshole anyways, ignoring his friends incredulous looks over the fact that it was his fault that he had hauled ass out of the country as soon as he could.
Daniel just shrugged casually , not in the slightest bit remorseful for running over her last boyfriend with a golf buggy.
He'd do it again if he had too.
"I'm going to kill him with kindness. Till he shows his true colours and snaps." He told them simply.
His friends looked skeptical, not believing that was his only plan.
Lando hesitated "well.. at least he's not going to actually kill him. That's a .. plus?" It came out more like a question.
Not trusting that Daniel wouldn't try running over her new boyfriend with a golf buggy as well.
Daniel smiled brightly , nodding his head.
“Yeah! That's plan B. I'll just do plan A first and see how that goes." He casually stated before patting them on their shoulders and sighing loudly.
"Well, I better go introduce myself to her soon to be ex boyfriend! Wish me luck amigos!" He happily exclaimed before hurrying over to the the couple before they could leave .
Leaving max and lando to exchange amused looks between them, also a little weary of their friends plans.
"Do you think it will work?" Lando asked him curiously . As they both watched Daniel throw himself at the couple, startling them.
Max just laughed "he's not going to stop until it works. I just feel sorry for the guy. He stands absolutely no chance against Daniel." He simply answered as they got ready to watch the shit show about to go down.
Cherrie almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a large body push through between her and her boyfriend Matt , two arms wrapping themselves around each of their shoulders as Daniels smiling face popped between them.
"Well hello guys! And hello man that was on the package of my boxers!" He almost sang as he grinned between the two of them, side eyeing her boyfriend a little meanly.
Definitely steroids. He thought to himself as he felt the bulging muscles of Matts shoulders and arms beneath him.
Not a fight I would win. He also thought.
Deciding to scrap the slightly terrible plan of fighting him on the spot in a spar for her love.
He didn't think that Cherrie would find it very hot if she had to watch him get his ass handed to him by an underwear model.
That was not the way to get her to give him a chance.
Cherrie eyed him in slight amusement , her smile growing as she wrapped her arm loosely around his waist and gave him a little squeeze.
Laughing when Daniel leaned down and bumped his nose against hers happily.
There was no way she couldn't smile around someone like him, he was like a personal ray of sunshine that followed her around and made her day brighter.
He was her favourite person in the entire world. No matter how annoying he could be sometimes, she knew that he meant well.
"Hey Danny! How was your break?" She asked him , ignoring her boyfriends look that he was giving her. Clearly not liking the way that Daniel had his arm thrown around him.
He grinned down at her, ignoring model man for a moment as he took in her sun kissed cheeks and pretty eyes. Fighting back a dreamy sigh.
"It was fun! I missed your gorgeous face though!" He told her honestly before hearing her boyfriend clear his throat .
Making him turn his head to look at the unimpressed man, Daniels smile turning a little forced at the sight of him.
"Seems that you've been a busy girl though. Where did you find this one?" He kept his tone light and playful as he dropped his arm from matts shoulder , patting his back instead .
So Did he hit his shoulder a little harder than he should have? It was purely an accident of course!
Cherrie flushed a little, looking between the two very different men that were staring at her.
"Erm-at a club?" Her answer came out more as a question from the pure nerves rushing through her from the way Daniel was gazing at her. His eyes never leaving her face , impatiently waiting for her answer.
It felt somehow wrong to be introducing another man to him like this.
The two of them were so close and affectionate with each other that at some point along their friendship Cherrie had genuinely thought that something would happen between the two of them.
I mean they already acted like a couple! They did everything together! Daniel even had a key to her apartment for when he wanted to let himself in and keep her company.
Where one was the other was never far behind, Daniel always making sure to keep his hands on her at some place or another .
Which was why she had been so hopeful that something would happen.
But it never did.
There had been plenty of times and opportunities where he could have made a move . But he didn't. And the closest he had come to kissing her was when he was drunk and he couldn't keep his hands to himself , kissing her all over her face and around her lips till she had to push him away .
It was why she had decided to herself over the break that she had to move on. She couldn't keep pining after a man that only saw her as a close friend.
Unaware that he was as in love with her as she was him. She had distanced herself from him over the holidays, telling herself that it was for the best when she had met matt at her club and went home with him.
Determine not to get her heartbroken , she just went with it instead .
Daniel rose a curious brow at her, surprised at her actually keeping a hookup around. Recalling the way she had once told him that she would never ever date someone that she met in a club for one thing.
What had changed?
"Ah a club.. the place where you will definitely meet the right person. I mean they might as well have a sign that says 'meet your perfect future husband who definitely wants a serious relationship right now!'" he sarcastically said before he could stop himself .
Matt frowned at him.
Cherrie nudged Daniel in the side with a nervous giggle . Shaking her head at him in amusement despite herself.
"Daniel! Behave! We've just been getting to know each other.." she smiled at Matt feeling a little bad for not warning him about how dramatic and obnoxious her friend could be sometimes.
In fact she hadn't told Matt about him at all. Because most of the time the guys she went out with couldn't understand the closeness they had and the tight bond they shared between them.
In fact, she had lost more than one boyfriend because of the way they had accidentally made them into a third wheel , even though they were just friends. They did act like they were together sometimes .
Which was mostly Daniels fault seeing as he couldn't keep his hands to himself and rarely ever left her side unless he had to.
Daniel just smiled before picking up the daisy that he had picked and sliding it behind her ear, gently pulling her hair toward so it framed her pretty face and the flower.
Cherries cheeks flushed, eyes nervously glancing between the two men with completely different expressions being presented to her.
Daniel was smiling at her while he pulled out his phone to take a picture of her , meanwhile her boyfriend looked nothing less than annoyed at Daniels behaviour.
"Do you know what her favourite flowers are?" Daniel directed his question over to Matt , keeping his voice friendly as he finished taking photos of Cherrie and put his phone back in his pocket .
Facing him fully again so he could look the man in the eye when he spoke.
He had read somewhere that eye contact was a great way to assert dominance in the wild.
Matt smiled a little at Cherrie "roses." He answered confidently. Saying the flowers that he had gotten her one their first date.
Daniel sucked in a dramatic breath through his teeth and pulled a faux look of pity towards him.
"Oooo wrong mate! She actually hates flowers. She feels bad when they die cause she always forgets to look after them." He told him as though it was something that he was supposed to know.
Shaking his head in disappointment at him, despite still keeping his usual smile on his face .
Finding it easier not to fake his grin when he noticed the way matts eye twitched at him, not happy with him at all.
Matt frowned at him "you've just given her a flower!"
Daniel laughed "yeah but that's different. That's just cause she looks cute with it in her hair like that. I wouldn't get her them for a first date. That's not very creative is it?" He teased although he was a hundred percent serious.
Cherrie cringed internally at the way her boyfriend was clearly squaring him up , easily falling for the way Daniel was winding him up.
She pinched Daniels hip and gave him a warning glance , he just laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Stop it." She muttered to him before smiling sheepishly over to Matt.
“Ignore him . I did like the roses.." she lied to make him feel better.
Daniel laughed even harder , wrapping his arm around her head and hugging her to his side as he swayed them from side to side . Happy to be able to have her within arms reach again.
He felt like he had gone through actual withdrawal symptoms without her over the holidays.
" I heard someone say once that as soon as the roses die then the relationship will too." He made up completely on the spot just to wind up
Matt even more.
Her boyfriend scoffed and rolled his eyes at him, Cherrie just glancing between them nervously.
"Then I'll just keep replacing the dead roses then. Then she'll never have to see them die." Matt countered back to him .
Daniel smirked at him, beyond amused at himself .
This is going to be a piece of fucking cake. He thought smugly to himself , seeing how easy it was to piss him off already.
He gave him another week till shit hit the fan. A fan that he would be holding up above them.
"Keep giving her flowers that she doesn't like? Ooo doesn't sound very thoughtful man.." he smirked, looking him up and down judgmentally.
At that Cherrie let out a nervous laugh and patted Daniel on the back before pulling away from him, taking ahold of her annoyed boyfriends hand instead.
She smiled at the two of them, wanting to get rid of the rapidly growing tension as quickly as possible.
And she had a feeling that if she just stood there and let Daniel wind Matt up some more, that it wouldn't end well for any of them.
"Okay! Well.. we better get going! It was nice seeing you again Danny!" She started to pull her boyfriend away from her friend as quickly as she could.
Daniel was still grinning as he called over to her "are you coming with us for drinks tomorrow?"
Cherrie gave him a guilty smile , hating breaking their weekly tradition of bar hopping with their friends. But she had no choice.
She couldn't just ditch her boyfriend to drink with the man that Matt definitely now hated.
No matter how much she wanted to.
"I can't! Matts taking me out to that new fancy restaurant tomorrow night at seven!" She told him with a little wince. Feeling bad.
Daniel hummed , titling his head mischievously.
"Heart and Soul?" He questioned , thinking of the new overpriced restaurant that had just not long ago opened up.
He had been planning to take Cherrie there himself, just the two of them. But he guessed he had to change his plans again.
But no worries. He was nothing if not Adaptable to new situations.
Cherrie just nodded her head with a smile, feeling Matt tug on her hand impatiently so they could leave .
If possible Daniels grin grew even bigger , a plan already forming in his head.
"Well have fun gorgeous! I'll see you soon!" He shouted to her, blowing her a kiss too. Giggling to himself at the glare Matt shot him over his shoulder.
He almost felt sorry for the sucker. He had no idea what was coming to him.
Serves him right for being anywhere near the love of my life. Daniel thought stubbornly to himself.
He had it coming to him.
Daniel could feel the wary looks of his friends on him as he dragged them out of the car excitedly , looking up at the brightly lit restaurant with a grin.
Even Max looked impressed as he glanced inside the five star restaurant, Daniel leading them straight over to the hostess booth.
"How did you get us a reservation here?" He asked him curiously .
Lando too busy gaping up at the several large chandeliers in amazement . "Wow so much light!"
Daniel just beamed at them as the hostess began leasing them to their table, shrugging his shoulders casually .
"I told them that I was planning to propose tonight. Fantastic publicity for them really!" He informed them casually.
Their heads snapped over to him simultaneously, sharing a worried look between them.
Daniel had simply told them that it was a small dinner between friends. That he was just curious to see what the new restaurant was like.
They felt a little stupid for believing that bullshit now as they watched Daniels head snap around in every direction of the dining hall as though he was looking for someone.
"Who the hell are you going to propose too?" Lando exclaimed , half in amusement and half in worry.
Max was squinting his eyes at Daniel suspiciously as he gave them his best innocent grin, ignoring the questions as they were seated around a red clothed table that was lit up with candles for them.
"Wow this place is fancyyyy! Look at all these couples on their cute little dates!" Daniel said, still searching for a familiar head of hair.
His heart jumping victoriously in his chest when he finally spotted the love of his life sat at a table a few spaces to their right.
Max and lando sat down in their seats, still looking at him in confusion.
"Is there a reason you wanted to come here so badly?" Max asked him, referring to the way he had desperately begged them to come with him. Claiming that he needed the support from his best friends.
Max wasn't sure how much support they could give him eating food.. though they hadn't said anything about his strange reasoning. Never ones to turn down free food that someone else was paying for.
Daniel crossed his fingers together as he smiled at them, glancing over at Cherrie every few seconds to make sure that she was still there and not going anywhere.
"Oh ya know.. just wanted to enjoy a special night with my amazing friends who would support me and always have my back no matter what.." he laid it on pretty thick.
They looked even more alarmed when he gave them a slightly guilty smile , shifting in his seat restlessly .
Lando winced "oh god what did you do now?-"
Max had already spotted the reason for their friends sheepishness a few tables down, groaning loudly in disbelief as he glared at Daniel in annoyance .
"You can't be serious mate! Did you know she was going to be here?!" He then answered his own question bedore Daniel could say a thing.
“Of course you knew she was here! Fucking hell danny!"
Lando followed his line of sight, eyes widening at the sight of Cherrie and Matt holding hands, clearly on a date.
Looking over at Daniel who was shamelessly grinning at them, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh my god!" He giggled while max shook his head disapprovingly . Two different reactions to the situation.
"What are you going to do? They're on a date!"
Daniel just ran a hand through his hair and straightened out his smart white dress shirt with his hand the best that he could .
"I'm just gonna make sure that's she's having a good time." He casually answered them "something that she can't be having without me! I'm going to make her night even better!" He told them confidently .
Lando continued giggling at him, while max just shook his head at him in disapproval.
"Daniel.." he sighed putting his face in his hands knowing that they were about to get dragged into his idiotic plans too.
“Matt is not going to be happy if you crash their date. He already looked like he wanted to smack you yesterday." He stated matter of factly.
Daniel just nodded along uncaringly "that's why you guys are here. For backup." He casually informed them of their roles.
Which made lando promptly stop giggling, eyeing him with sudden worry.
"Mate I hope you aren't expecting me to fight him if it all kicks off! He's massive! He'd crush me!" He almost squeaked , eyes wide as he looked over at cherries new boyfriend worriedly .
Daniel just rolled his eyes as though he was the silly one .
"That's why I brought max as well. He doesn't stand a chance against all three of us against him . We're like the dream team!" He beamed at them.
Max deadpanned at him. Utterly fed up.
Ignoring their expressions , Daniel let his smile fade for a moment . Getting serious again.
"-and anyway I did some digging into this guy and he's not who he says he is." He whispered to them.
Lando , if possible, looked even more worried.
“He's secretly in the mafia and going to kill us?" He blurted out, scared.
Both Daniel and max gave him a weird look.
Daniel just snorted "no. It's even worse.. he's married! He's got a wife in Dubai!" He told them the shocking news that he had found out.
Both of his friends gaped at him in shock.
"Holy shit are you serious?" Max gasped alongside lando.
Daniel nodded his head , face set. "Serious as fuck guys. And judging by the love of my lifes gorgeous and innocent ... so fucking pure and easily tricked- god bless her- I mean look at how cute she looks with her perfect-" he started to get distracted as he gazed at her longingly.
Max clicked his fingers in front of his face impatiently, snapping him out of it.
"What is the plan then? She clearly doesn't know!" Max's own protectiveness for Cherrie shone through. The two having become good friends over the years of driving together.
The last thing he wanted was to see her get fucked over.
"This is terrible .." lando groaned , still worried about the possibility of having to fight a man twice his size in height and width .
Daniel sighed "I know. I was thinking we just go over there and act normal. And I'll just keep bringing up marriage and shit like that to make him squirm."
Max slowly nodded his head , frowning.
“So we're gonna trick him into admitting it?" He said.
Lando groaned again in misery .
Daniel smiled brightly , nodding his head in conformation.
"Yep! Now come on. Lers not waste any time!" He said Before springing to his feet and making his way over to their table confidentially.
Leaving max and lando to trail after him reluctantly , lando looking over at max worriedly.
"This ain't going to end well is it?" He guessed.
Max just pursed his lips and sighed "just remember to duck If you see a fist swinging your way." He muttered to him before plastering a smile on his face as they came to stop beside their table.
"Well howdy! What are the chances of bumping into you two here!" Daniel exclaimed loudly startling them as he grabbed a chair from an empty table and dragged it over to theirs , legs screeching against the marble floor noisily .
Cherrie gaped up at him in disbelief while matts face dropped at the sight of him .
"What the fuck?" She blurted out in shock as max and lando did the same thing, pulling up chairs to join their table casually .
Lando gave her a sheepish wave, too afraid to look her god like boyfriend in the eye.
"You've got to be joking.." Matt muttered, pissed off at the interruption .
Daniel ignored it. Instead he looked over at Cherrie in a glittering red dress and perfectly curled hair, letting out a amazed sigh.
"Wow. You look beautiful cher." He told her honestly before lifting up her hand from the table and admiring her pretty rings.
"Kind of looks like an engagement ring. Or a wedding ring.." he empathised as he side eyed Matt as he said it. Not being subtle at all.
Max and lando grimaced , sharing a look as they watched anger flash across both of the men's faces , though Daniel did a better job at concealing his rage than her boyfriend did.
Cherrie giggled obviously, cheeks flushing as Daniel lifted up her hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles .
"What are you guys doing here? We're kind of on a date .." she pointedly reminded them, seeing Matt glaring at them from the corner of her eye and holding back a wince .
Daniel just shrugged "just thought we'd check out the food here! We might as well group together now though. Much funner!" He looked over to Matt challengingly.
"you don't mind us dining with you do you mate? We can all get to know you a little better then.." he eyed him, holding back the urge to scream cheating liar in his face like he wanted to.
Matt gritted his teeth, smiling forcefully back at him.
"Not at all. I'm an open book." He lied.
All of her friends rose their eyebrows at that.
"Is it a book of lies he's talking about?" Max muttered beneath his breath, unamused.
Lando grinned behind his hand , keeping his eyes on the menu in front of him.
Daniel exhaled loudly "fantastic!" He then proceeded to call over the waiter and ordered food for them, explaining that they were sharing a table now.
After they had all put their orders in, Daniel interlaced his fingers together and rested his chin ontop of them as he looked down the table at her boyfriend with a smile.
"So Matt...you like rings?" He blurted out.
Cherrie giving him a weird look while max and lando looked at him in disbelief at his lack of subtly .
"What are you going on about doofus?" Cherrie laughed, feeling Daniels foot knocking against her own underneath the table . Hooking their ankles together like he always did.
Daniel just shrugged , eye twitching . "I'm just saying.. you look like a fashionable guy yet I see no jewellery on your hands.." he pointed out, wondering where the asshole put his wedding ring when he was playing Cheater.
Matt paused and eyed him for a moment before answering tensely .
"Rings aren't my thing." He muttered .
Daniel snorted "oh really?"
Max nudged his shoulder warningly once he noticed Matt glaring at them suspiciously.
Cherrie awkwardly laughed when a tense silence settled over the table . Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and picking up the bottle of wine from the table and pouring herself a big glass.
"Daniel stop being weird. He doesn't have to wear rings if he doesn't want to. Not everyone can pull it off." She joked , smiling at her boyfriend apologetically .
He just rolled his eyes.
Daniel thought about hitting him with his car for disrespecting her like that.
"Speaking of rings .. I saw some realty nice wedding rings in a jewellers on our way here." He continued to put empathise on the word wedding.
"Some really nice ones for the wife and the husband .."
Cherrie tilted her head in confusion. "Why were you looking at wedding rings?" She asked him, hoping to hell and back that he didn't have another girl in mind to marry.
She didn't want to share him with anybody else . as soon as the thought passed her mind she felt guilty. Daniel wasn't hers to keep.
Plus , she had a boyfriend . She reminded herself , taking a large swing of her wine to soothe the ache.
Daniel just grinned over at her, admiring how pretty she looked under the chandelier light.
"For our future wedding obviously . Although I was thinking we could get mood rings.. so that every time I was unsure of how you felt I could just look at your finger and be like 'yep she's pissed!'" He laughed, although he was hundred percent serious.
Max placed his face in his hands , wincing at the look on matts face .
Because only Daniel would tell a woman that he was going to marry her right in front of her ripped boyfriend who could easily break them all in half.
Cherrie gasped , laughing at his idea.
“Oh my god that's actually a good idea!" She exclaimed bedore looking to her left and seeing her boyfriend glaring at her , unamused.
Her laughter quickly dying off as she cleared her throat and quickly added "I mean, for your future wife. Not me!" Draining the rest of her glass and quickly pouring herself another one.
Daniel smiled thankfully at the waiter as he put all their plates in front of them. Thanking him as he set down a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of him.
"You ever thought about getting married Matt?" He tested him again.
Twirling the spaghetti around his fork and shoving it into his mouth as he stared him down waiting for his answer.
Matt tensed up, clenching his jaw as he glared back at him . His eyes flickering away from Cherrie's quickly when she looked over at him curiously.
"Not really." He muttered , getting more and more pissed off by the second.
Daniel hummed mockingly "that's a surprise .. you look like the kind of man that would have a wife already." He bluntly said.
Smirking smugly at the look of fury he shot him. Clearly clicking onto his accusing tone.
Cherrie frowned over at Daniel disapprovingly , completely oblivious to what was going on.
"Daniel! Leave him alone!" She scolded him before eyeing his plate hungrily . Regretting not getting the same thing.
Seeing her eyeing his food, he twirled a large piece of spaghetti and meatball around his fork before reaching over the table and placing the fork at her lips.
She parted them and let him feed her some of his food, humming happily at the taste . Swallowing it down bedore smiling at him gratefully .
"It's good. You wanna swap?" She questioned him
Hopefully .
Daniel just laughed and slid her plate of chicken pasta over to himself instead . Passing her his plate and grinning at the happy little dance she did im her seat as she dug straight into his food.
"I knew she'd want the spaghetti!" He chuckled , shaking his head at how predictable she was.
"You always want whatever I'm having!" He found it both amusing and endearing at the same time. Nine out of ten times they ended up switching plates when they were out to eat.
Cherrie just grinned cheekily back at him "you always get the best food it's not my fault!" She giggled.
Max eyed Matt uneasily , noticing the way he looked like he was going to pop a vein from how hard he was scowling at them.
He nudged lando to look as well, lando inhaling shakily at the sight .
"Shite.." he breathed out sending a quick prayer that they lived to see tomorrow after this.
"Are you two always like this?" Matt almost spat out angrily towards them.
Cherrie froze with her fork halfway to her mouth, blinking at him in confusion.
“Hungry?" She had no idea what he was on about. So used to their closeness that she didn't even notice it anymore.
Daniel answered for her "in tune with each other? It comes around years of love and bonding . We're soulmates." He told him without any shame.
Lando almost whimpered in fear at the balls he had to say that to her massive , muscle head boyfriend .
Matt glared at him angrily "don't you think that's crossing a line? She's with me." He snapped at him.
Daniel pulled a surprised face "is she? I hadn't noticed!" He grinned finding it hilarious .
Cherrie looked betweeen the two of them with wide wide eyes, still eating her food slowly as she wondered if she was missing something.
"He means it platonically." She finally spoke up to her boyfriend . Hoping to make him feel better.
Matt just looked back at her in disbelief .
Even lando and max were looking at her in amusement , wondering if she actually believed the bullshit that she was saying .
She didn’t .
Daniel snorted , shaking his head . "I mean it universally. She's the ying to my yang, the tongue to my mouth, the cheeks to my ass , the pepperoni to my pizza-" he could have went on and on.
Max quickly cut him off before he could , huffing out a amused laugh.
“Okay mate. I think we get it!" Side Eyeing Matt's reddening face cautiously.
Cherrie was giggling to herself as she downed yet another glass of wine, already on her way to being drunk. Having had the full bottle to herself .
She smiled over at Daniel, flattered. "That's so sweet! We should get matching tattoos like those bff necklaces that we used to have." She randomly blurted out.
Daniel grinned smugly "used to have?" Then he pulled down his shirt and pulled out the half heart necklaces that had 'best' engraved on it , waving it at her proudly .
“I never took it off baby!"
Cherrie gasped loudly , laughing in amazement as she got up from her seat and quickly jogged around the table to his side.
Bending down slightly so that she could take ahold of the silver pendant , eyes widening in amazement that he still had it.
"Dude!" She exclaimed grinning up at him happily "I can't believe you still wear it! I feel bad now!"
Daniel ruffled her hair and gently helped her to her feet, wrapping his arm loosely around her hips as she stood next to him while he was sat down.
Looking up at her fondly "of course I did! It's like a contract! A promise! Plus I knew that you would lose your half of the heart , you clumsily idiot!" He blew a raspberry on her side to make her laugh.
Cherrie's giggling was cut short as she felt another hand take ahold of the top of her dress and yank her away.
Head snapping down to look at Matt who was glaring at her , pulling her to his side roughly .
Max inhaled sharply "shit." He breathed out as he and lando watched the smile drop from Daniels face immediately at his actions.
Glaring over at Matt furiously "don't fucking pull her around like that!" He snapped at him, clenching his fist as he watched Cherrie wobble in her heels, clearly drunk.
"It's okay.." she mumbled trying to keep the peace, leaning over the table to pour herself another glass of wine casually .
Daniel scoffed angrily "no it isn't." He spat, leaning forward in his seat so he could see past her to glare at the lying , cheating bastard that dared to touch the love of his life like that.
Matt scowled at him hatefully "shut up man. She's my girlfriend! You have no place to be telling me what I can and can't do." He spat back at him.
Cherrie just stumbled her way back over to her seat , eyeing the leftover piece of Potato on lando's plate hungrily .
Nudging him with her foot she whispered loudly, ignoring the death stares that the two men were giving each other at the table.
"lando? Can I have that potato?" Not caring about the drama surrounding her.
Lando blinked at her in disbelief , wondering how she could be so calm and unbothered while her best friend and boyfriend were about to go at each others throats in a restaurant.
He silently passed her his plate, unable to help the little look of judgment he gave her , before sighing shakily as he looked back over to Daniel and Matt. Not wanting to miss a thing.
Daniel let out a cold laugh "oh really? Your girlfriend is she? How many of those do you have on the side huh? Or is she the only one?!" He gripped the table cloth between his fingertips so tightly that they went white.
Max shuffled his seat away from the table readily , tensing up as he watched them closely . Ready to intervene .
Matt glared at him , his eyes flickering over to Cherrie who was stuffing her face with potato's ,
Not even listening to them. Before he looked back at Daniel threatengily.
"You need to shut your mouth. You don't know what your talking about." He spat at him.
Daniel scoffed hatefully at him "would your wife know what I'm talking about then?" He shot back at him, abruptly getting to his feet.
"Christ." Lando whimpered sinking lower in his seat.
Side Eyeing Cherrie who was still stealing food off everyone's plates while they were preoccupied .
Matt shoved himself to his feet as well, puffing out his chest to make himself even bigger.
Gritting just teeth at him "shut the fuck up!"
Daniel laughed "no I don't think I will! You're not lying to my girl and getting away with it you steroid thumping- cheating bastard!" He snapped at him furiously bedore suddenly launching himself across the table at him.
Making the both of them crash against the next table as people screamed and gasped in shock as they started wrestling on the restaurant floor.
"I'm going to kill you!" Daniel shouted down at him , barely dodging a punch to his nose as Matt threw him off him easily , sending him crashing into another table before he jumped him. Fist swinging.
Max quickly ran over to them and threw himself ontop of matts back, wrapping his arms around his ridiculously large shoulders as he tried to yank him off Daniel. Barely moving him at all.
"Lando some help please!” He shouted over to him in annoyance , grunting as he narrowly avoided a elbow to his face.
Lando winced as he watched Matt manage to land a nasty punch to Daniels cheek making him groan loudly before he bitch slapped him back the same way that he had watched Cherrie slap her girlfriend before when they got into a catty fight.
Cherrie finally looked up from her plate and frowned at the scene in front of her , eyes widening once she saw the blood on her best friends cheek.
"What the fuck!" She shot up out of her seat, stumbling for a moment , utterly drunk as she pulled off her heels and held one of them in her hand as she stumbled over to them quickly .
Lando hurriedly following her , half hiding behind her as he picked up a plate from the table on his way.
Sending a apologetic grimace to the guests at the table that Daniel and Matt had crashed into.
"Sorry about this guys. He's in love." Lando simply explained to them like that answered everything.
"You fucking dickhead! You think that because you look like a Greek god that you can just treat women like this?!" Daniel screamed at him as he finally managed to push him off him, sending max flying too as Matt toppled over to the side.
Daniel quickly got behind him and wrapped his arm around his head, getting him in a headlock , grunting when Matt knocked his head back and hit him in the chin with it.
"Fucking cunt!" He panted struggling to keep ahold of him.
Before his eyes widened as he glanced up to see Cherrie in front of them , holding her high heel above matts crotch with a pissed off glare on
Her pretty face.
Matt yelling and groaning in pain as she hit him in the dick with her high heel.
"How dare you punch Daniel! You wanker! If that leaves even the smallest of scars I will make sure that you never see the sun again you bastard!" She shouted at him furiously .
Stumbling backwards slightly when Matt somehow managed to launch himself back to his feet, Daniel quickly jumping up as well as he tried to get at him again.
"You're not worth all this shit! You stupid bitch-"
He didn't even get to take another threatening step towards her bedore lando let out a loud war cry and went flying towards him with a plate full of spaghetti held high in his hand.
Max , Daniel and Cherrie could only watch with gaping mouths as lando smacked him over the head with the plate of spaghetti furiously , Matt going down like a sack of potato's as he knocked him
Straight out.
"Don't call my friend a bitch! You-you bitch!" He panted , kicking him in the side as adrenaline coursed through his body.
Max looked around at the shocked restaurant guests , the manager quickly hurrying over to them angrily.
"You go before I call the police! You're banned for life !" He warned them angrily.
Max grimaced apologetically at him as he took ahold of lando's arm who was still trying to kick Matt who was now out cold on the floor.
Dragging him towards the exit like he was an unruly child . "sorry! We'll pay for any damages!" He promised him.
Daniel quickly doing the same with Cherrie , only he picked her up bridal style and gave a casual nod to the traumatised guests before hurrying them out of the doors.
Lando was already in the car , laughing and crying "oh my god I thought I was going to die!" He dramatically shouted as max started up the car , wanting to get them the hell away before they all got arrested .
Daniel slid into the back of the car , Cherrie leaning against his side as he buckled the both of them in.
Wincing at the stinging on his cheek, laughing despite the pain as he looked over at lando proudly.
"That was amazing lando! Very heroic!" He praised him.
Cherrie dabbed a napkin that she had took from the table against his cheek in concern , tilting his head towards her so she could see the start of a black eye already forming.
"Oh no. You're beautiful face.." she whined still drunk as she blinked up at him sadly.
More worried about his face than she was about her now unconscious ex boyfriend.
Daniel smiled at her the best he could, wrapping his arm around the back of her neck so that her head could rest in the crook of his elbow. Gently nudging their noses together like he always did.
"I'm okay. It's just gonna make me look even more badass than before." He reassured her casually as max sped down the streets.
Cherrie giggled a little , gazing into his pretty eyes in adoration .
“The way you jumped across that table was really hot." She blurted out honestly, biting down on her bottom lip as she thought about it.
Max grimaced deeply as he eyed them in his mirror, lando still rambling on about how cool he felt hitting Matt with a plate of spaghetti, re-enacting it like he hadn't been there to see it himself .
Daniel smirked down at her , heart racing in his chest at the way she was looking at him.
"Yeah? How hot?" He teased her , pulling her even closer.
She sighed dazedly "pantie dropping hot." She told him unashamedly .
Daniel chuckled as he looked down at her , smiling smugly.
“Hot enough for you to give me a chance now that idiot has been dealt with?" He threw all caution to the wind and went for it.
Pumped up with adrenaline from fighting a muscle head , underwear model. He felt pretty unbeatable then. Like he could do anything.
Cherrie hummed thoughtfully "a chance for what?" She still wasn't getting it.
Max groaned loudly and looked back at her in disbelief as they pulled up to a red light.
"Seriously? Even after that you still don't know?!" He exclaimed in shock wondering how oblivious she could be.
She just shook her head in confusion.
Max almost wanted to shake her.
Daniel was just giggling to himself , already used to her obliviousness to the obvious around her.
God, he loved her . He did. But the love of his life wasn’t the brightest spark.
It was a good job that she was pretty.
"He's wants to be your boyfriend!" Max almost shouted at her.
Wondering what more Daniel could have possibly done to show her how much he loved her.
He had flew across a table and tussled with a muscle man almost twice his size for her! While she just sat back and mugged their plates while they were busy fighting!
He couldn't believe it!
"Oh." Cherrie simply let out . Before smiling at Daniel happily .
“Why didn't you just say so?" She casually answered.
Daniel blinked at her in amazement. "You mean that i could have just asked you out years ago and you would have said yes?" The astonishment was clear in his voice.
Squeezing his eyes shut in misery at himself when she nodded her head yes, looking amused.
"Wow. I wish I knew that sooner .." he breathed out , chuckling despite himself as he reopened his eyes and looked down at her .
Squeezing her flushed cheeks gently between his fingers till her lips puckered , he tilted his chin down and kissed her instead of speaking anymore about his own personal stupidity .
They could laugh about that later .
Nestling his fingers into her hair as she hummed against his mouth, tilting her head to deepen the kiss as she hooked one of her legs over his hip as he twisted his body towards her the best that he could in the cramped space.
Moaning lowly in his chest as she sucked on his tongue , her hand slipping underneath his shirt , making his skin breakout in goosebumps from her soft touch.
"I love you. Fuck.." he murmured over and over again against her lips .
Grabbing her ass with his other hand and giving it a squeeze like he had wanted to for so long.
Cherrie smiled against his mouth as he started kissing down her neck, sucking at her soft skin and making her moan as she rocked against him, tangling her hands into his hair before pulling his mouth back up to her own as they made out like a couple of horny teenagers in the backseat of the car.
"I love you." Cherrie promised him as she pulled open his shirt with one tug, the buttons flying everywhere .
Daniel just groaned blissfully , wondering if he was in heaven as he snaked his tongue into her mouth and pulled her dress even further up
her thighs.
Max looked in the mirror and gasped in disgust and horror at the sight of them practically having sex in his car while he was driving too!
"Stop that!" He snapped at them . Eyeing the giggling lando beside him disapprovingly .
"None of that in my car! Daniel get your hands out of her panties!" He yelled at him frantically , quickly speeding down the highway to get them to Daniels house first. Not wanting to witness them two going at it.
He felt like he might be sick just at the thought!
Lando just grinned as he leaned his head through the seats to look back at them.
"Well done Daniel! I'm so proud of you!" He exclaimed happily.
Having spent years listening to Daniel go on and on about how she was the love of his life.
Daniel panted breathlessly as he forced his lips away from cherries, face dazed as he grinned lazily back at his friend.
Reaching his free hand out for him to high five while max just regretted his entire existence in the drivers seat.
"Thanks mate!" He grinned bedore leaning back in his seat and attacking her neck again. Not giving a single shit now that he had the love of his life in his lap.
Cherrie tilited her head as he kissed down her neck again, lazily grinning before reaching her arm forward and tapping Max's shoulder to get his attention.
"Do you have any condoms?" She asked him casually just as they pulled up outside Daniels place.
Max just deadpanned at her , unamused as Daniel opened the door and flung himself out of the car, giving Cherrie his hand as he told her to hurry up.
"No I don't. Get out. I have seen more of you than I have ever wanted to." He bluntly said, fed up with the both of them .
Lando pulled out a row of condoms from his wallet and handed it to her with a shit eating grin.
"Here ya go!"
Cherrie beamed "thanks Mate! I'll see you soon! This was fun! We should have dinner again sometime!" She chirped bedore clumsily ducking her head and crawling out from the backseat.
Max inhaled sharply as he reached out and yanked down the end of her dress that had ridden up to show them her ass on complete display.
"Nice thong Cherrie!" Lando giggled childishly as she stumbled out, Daniel immediately scooping her up like a fireman and running to his door with her.
Both of them laughing like naughty kids as they started making out again.
Leaving max to shake his head in disbelief. Making sure that they both got into the house safely before finally pulling away.
"They're unbelievable." He muttered grinning despite himself.
“Fuckin' made for each other.” He laughed.
He was never accepting a dinner invitation from Daniel again!
Chapter Nineteen
“We have never seen the devil’s side of the story, seeing as god wrote the book”
word count: 17.1k
warnings: mentions of sexual harassment, explicit language, drinking, motorsport accidents, mentions of sex, mention of sex, mentions of death, mature themes
It had been two hours since Sam walked out of Daniel Ricciardo’s hotel room. He’d been sitting in the exact same place ever since he heeded the warning his knees gave him that they were threatening to give out from under him. The first place he could find to sit was at the edge of his bed, which was one step up from the floor in his opinion, and ever since the back of his legs hit the mattress, time seemed to have stopped. He’d had no idea how long he’d sat there, eyes trained on the floor, mind replaying their last conversation like a broken record.
That was until somebody started banging on his door like a madman.
He didn’t want to get up at first. No, there was no point. Not when there was no chance the only person he wanted to see was the one knocking. But it didn’t go away, and he preferred silence when he sulked, it made it that much more punishing.
Slowly he rose to his feet, taking a moment to make sure his knees were sturdy enough to carry his weight that seemed to multiply tenfold in the last few hours. The knocking didn’t let up, and step by step he approached the door.
He wasn’t in a rush. No, not until he heard a familiar voice from behind the wood. It wasn’t the voice he wanted to hear, but it was one he hoped could offer him something as close to an answer that was available.
“Open the damn door, Daniel!”
The pleading tone in Molly’s voice terrified him. If Sam’s best friend sounded this desperate to get him to open the door, he wasn’t so sure she had the answer he was looking for. And once he opened the door and saw her tear-stained face, he was absolutely positive she came to him looking for that exact same answer.
Their eyes met and for a moment, there was silence. The girl was breathing heavily, eyes glossy and threatening to spill over with tears. Daniel just stood there, wondering if he looked the same; wondering if she was feeling the same utter sense of helplessness at the sight before her that he was.
“Please tell me she’s here,” she whispered desperately, as if she already knew the answer but was hoping she was wrong.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered back. There was nothing he should have been apologizing for except giving her the answer she didn't want. But a small part of Daniel felt like it was his fault. Maybe if he had done something different she would have stayed. Maybe if he had done something different she wouldn’t have left in the first place.
It wasn’t inherently his fault, and a part of him knew that, but he couldn’t help but feel like it was.
And Molly saw right through him.
She walked forward and embraced Daniel in a hug. She buried her head into his chest with a muffled sob once his arms tightened around her. He was sure if he had any tears left a few would have escaped, but now all that he could bring himself to do was revel in the empty feeling occupying the entirety of his chest.
He softly lifted one of his hands from Molly to reach around and give his door a shove so it would swing closed. At the sound of the lock clicking shut, the girl lifted her head and took a step back.
With a sniffle, she wiped her nose and reached forward to try and wipe off some of the tear stains she’d left on his hoodie.
“God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to— I just—”
Daniel took a step forward, softly putting his hands on the girl’s shoulders in hopes to try to calm her down. The pit of concern in the depth of his chest was tripling in size. He was confused, but he didn’t want to start panicking alongside her, so he took a deep breath. “It’s fine Molly. What’s going on? Is Sam alright?”
But his efforts were futile because Molly was still freaking out. Her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour and he could see she was trying to process her own overwhelming emotions on the spot.
“I just feel so stupid! I saw all the red flags and ignored them. I knew something was wrong and me and Mick just ignored it because we thought she’d push us away if we tried to talk to her about it. Did she say anything in your letter?”
“What are you talking about? What letter?”
“Me and Mick got letters, so I assumed you did too.”
She whipped out a folded white envelope from her back pocket
“I left her be after the race. I wanted to let her cool down and I knew she wouldn’t want to talk. She never does with stuff like this, so I stayed after with Mick and got back a few hours ago. I finally went to check on her about half an hour ago but when I opened two envelopes fell out. One addressed to me and one addressed to Mick.”
She took a deep breath, “It explains everything. Well, everything except where she is right now.”
“Explain what, exactly?”
Molly's letter
She folded her envelope back up, leaving Daniel’s question unanswered. “Sam needs to be the one to tell you herself. We need to find out where she left your letter, maybe with the front desk—”
“Molly, she didn’t give me one.”
The way he said it came across much angrier than he intended. Daniel knew Molly was only trying to help, but the hope she had that he lacked was starting to increase his heartache.
Molly shook her head in protest, adamant she was right. She had to be right. She needed to be right.
“She had to leave you one, there’s no way she wouldn’t.”
Her words were sincere, and she said them without an ounce of doubt. But Daniel just sat there, eyes locked on his hands intertwined in his lap.
Molly affectionately put a hand on his knee, and he looked at her with eyes full of empathy “Daniel, she really cares about you. I haven’t seen her act that way with anybody, ever. You just bring out this side of her I haven’t seen since she started racing. I don’t know what drugs seep out from your pores but she’s so comfortable with you so easily, it’s like she’s known you for years. The uncrackable hard-candy shell was cracked and in record time."
For some reason, he found no solace in her words, he couldn’t even let out a small laugh at the girl's words he knew he would normally find amusing. If what she was saying were true, Sam wouldn’t have left. He shook his head. “There’s definitely a way. You didn’t hear what she said to me tonight. I thought—”
Molly interrupted, “She was here? When?”
Daniel nodded, unsure what the wide-eyed hopeful look on the girl’s face meant.
“She left a few hours ago,” he replied nonchalantly.
Instantly, Molly stood from her seat and began to look all around Daniels room for a matching envelope. He couldn’t bring himself to get up, let alone help her. He was somewhat envious of the potential she thought this situation held. So for a moment he just watched her frantically look around his room for something he was sure she wouldn’t find.
“Molly, she didn’t give me one,” he finally said as she continued to rummage through his things on the table.
She opened his backpack and dumped its contents onto the floor with no remorse before she dropped to her knees and mumbled, “Well that doesn’t mean she didn’t leave it for you to find somewhere.”
Now Daniel stood, feeling awful for the desperation he was witnessing. He wanted to help Molly move past it any way he could… he wished somebody would be able to help him do the same.
“In your letter… did she explicitly tell you she wrote me one?”
He tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off without even a glance in his direction.
“No,” Molly said plainly, moving on from the pile of papers on the floor over to Daniel’s nightstand.
He hesitated before saying something else, not sure if Molly could be stopped by anything except disappointment. But a small part of him was morbidly curious, while the rest of him wanted to have Molly hear herself say it out loud so she would realize it wasn’t an absolute possibility.
“So how can you be so sure?”
She opened and closed the drawer with a slam before she turned to Daniel, finally looking at him and breaking free from her tunnel vision but brushing past him to look on the desk. She huffed in exhaustion or anxiety, he couldn't tell. “Like I said, she cares for you. A lot. More than I’ve seen her care for anybody else in a long time.”
Daniel stood there, eyes begging for an explanation against his will.
Molly abruptly stopped digging around in his things, her mind racing.
“That night in Hungary, after you guys kissed, she came to my room. She was freaking out like she’d just killed a man; face ghastly, speechless, damn near catatonic. And then she sat on my couch and spilled her guts to me. Everything from that night, all this about how much she enjoyed spending time with you even though she thought she should steer clear of you, and how she felt like she was betraying herself because despite everything horrible she thought you said about her, she still felt drawn to you. And then the kiss, the way she described how it made her feel was straight out of a romance novel, except it ran past her lips like it was the worst thing to possibly happen to her. She couldn’t put it into words— she’s horrible at describing her emotions, truly— but everything she was describing was just the fact that she was falling for you. The worst part is, that whole conversation, I knew she had no reason to hate you; I’d already known that Lando had lied to you both. Sure I played wingman for you a bit, told her she was being ridiculous and just needed to accept her feelings. But I sat there and let her believe you were a bad guy, I didn’t tell her, didn’t clear it up, nothing. And sitting here, I’m realizing I apologized to her, but I never apologized to you. So I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you guys.”
“It’s alright—”
“It’s not. But we’re going to fix this. I’ll forgive myself when she’s back here with us. Back…” she trailed off remembering Daniel hadn’t read his hypothetical letter yet, and that she knew he should find out for himself before she tells him anything. So she just resumed rummaging through the clutter spread out across his desk.
Daniel could see how much this meant to her; Molly was determined to get her friend back and it seems like she wanted Sam back for more than herself. She had read her letter and was clued in to what had actually happened, and Daniel was starting to think something Sam had written was giving Molly hope that it was possible. This was hope he was interested in, not hope he was scared of or jealous of; hope that motivated him. For himself. For Molly. For Sam. And so he decided to give it all a chance and began to look around his things for a single white envelope. His mind and his chest were on a seesaw. He’d think back to earlier that night, retracing her steps in his room, but then his chest would start to tighten at the words exchanged on every corner he thought of. The door, the edge of the bed, the dresser—
The dresser.
He starts rummaging through the heavy layer of clutter along the piece of furniture. Under folders, beneath bags, hats, loose papers and inside of folded clothing until he reached his fingers inside a folded up polo and they landed on a thick, white envelope which once he pulled it out, was decorated with his name and a small phrase scribbled across the front.
For when it happens
“This has got to be it,” he mumbled into the silent room.
Molly dropped what she was doing and made her way over to him. She grabbed her own envelope from her pocket and unfolded it as she brought it up to compare the two.
The exact same phrase. The exact same handwriting.
He noticed how the envelope was nearly bursting at the seams in comparison to Molly’s. Anxiety wrapped its hands around his neck and squeezed. He forced himself to swallow any fear of the unknown and replace it with anticipation.
“This whole situation is a lot bigger than I thought, isn’t it?” he asked, turning to the girl standing beside him for moral support.
She nodded softly.
“I’ll give you some space while you read it. I’m going to go check on Mick. He went to see if George got a letter too,” she walked over to the bedside table and grabbed the complementary pen and pad of paper, “Here’s my number. Just shoot me a text when you’re ready to talk about it.”
He nodded with gratitude and watched her walk out the door.
The room went silent. It was heavy. Charged. There was tension between him and the envelope, despite it being an inanimate object. Suddenly, he was terrified. A part of him felt like throwing up. He had no idea what the letter contained, or what any of this meant, but he knew it could go one of two ways.
It was either going to break his heart even more, or make him wish he’d never let her walk out that door.
He inhaled, and broke the seal which had been keeping it closed.
Daniel’s letter
It was somewhere in the middle of the third page of his second re-read when he was yet again interrupted by banging on his door.
Again, he heard shouting on the other side. Not shouting directed at him like before— these people were shouting at each other. He heard Molly’s thick accent in a shrill tone, and even through the wood of the door he could tell she wasn’t as caught in turmoil as before. No, she was angry. Before he had the chance to ask himself who she could possibly be upset at, especially when her best friend had just been banned from racing, he got an answer in the form of cries of annoyance and pain.
He swung the door open and Molly wasted no time dragging George Russell into the room by his ear.
A small part of Daniel wanted to feel bad that George was obviously in pain, but ever since Austin, the British driver had left a poor taste in his mouth. Of course, Sam had told him she and George weren’t an item all the way back in Russia. Yet their history was always what lingered over Daniel’s head. Every small moment between the two exes had managed to catch Daniel’s eye and cause him to overthink it for hours after. The unanswered question he asked her that night at the carnival still weighed heavy on his conscience all the way up to when he’d finished the letter still clutched in his grip. Sam may have had no romantic feelings for George anymore, but Daniel hadn’t been sure the same could be said for her future teammate who should have been her future teammate.
But Austin… Austin was a turning point for Daniel. All of the longing glances and lingering touches from George had only raised concerns in an ugly shade of green; they’d always been out of his control because Daniel and Sam had only been friends. But things changed after Sam told her friends about her and Daniel. Everything angsty and affectionate George had been doing only amplified, and to Daniel, it felt as though it was out of spite. It wasn’t like he was doing it all behind Daniel’s back. No, he was doing all these small nuances with him standing a few feet away. Not to mention George purposefully forgetting to invite Daniel to Sam’s surprise, stepping in front of him to hug her before him after her Mercedes announcement, and then their argument when Sam had been in the back of the police car. They hadn’t spoken about it, not to anybody, but since then, there had been an awkward tension between the two old friends. Daniel wasn’t even sure he’d spoken to George since Austin. And seeing him comfort Sam after the qualifying session only made him more upset. Both at her and at the man now stumbling to his feet in the middle of his hotel room.
He gripped his letter tighter at his presence.
So he would never say it, but he didn’t mind that Molly was inflicting pain like an enraged mother. To be honest, he would’ve laughed under different circumstances.
“Ow!” George yelped as Molly threw him forward by his ear.
“Talk,” she spat without an ounce of sympathy in her tone. She folded her arms across her chest and Mick appeared from the doorway to stand behind her. Daniel watched as the boy’s hands found her shoulders and the girl became the slightest bit less tense in an instant. He tore his eyes away when Mick pulled her back against his chest; something about seeing something so affectionate right now shot a pain through his heart.
George stood straight, rubbing the ear that had just been violated by a 5’6’ petite blonde woman as if she was a bodybuilder or something. He tried to play dumb, “What do you want me to—”
Molly scoffed. “You’ve always been a horrible liar George Russell, tell us what you really know about Sam leaving.”
Daniel’s eyes whipped over to George. So not only was he hiding feelings for Sam, he was hiding the truth about why she left? The emptiness in his chest was slowly filling with rage.
George looked around at everybody in the room. They all stared back at him waiting, impatient. He took a deep breath and started to explain, “She wrote us all letters—”
Mick, Molly and Daniel simultaneously whipped out the white envelopes they had been holding onto since they had been opened. They held them up incredulously for George to see, not an ounce of amusement in sight.
“Yeah we got that part. Fast forward,” Mick finally chimed in.
He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the hell he was about to unleash. “I found mine in Mexico and read it. I’ve known about her plan since then and—”
At the same time, each of them broke out into shouting, louder and more aggressive than George had expected. Instantly the room was filled with angry, confused yells. George was bombarded from every direction. He couldn’t tell what any of them were saying in the chaos, but he heard bits and pieces here and there.
Unbelievable
Maybe violence is the answer
Inconsiderate
What was going through your head
Selfish
You let her down again
Molly’s southern accent was the loudest of the three as she was shouting possibly empty threats at George. She was fighting Mick’s grasp trying to close the space between them, her finger accusatory and pointing at him as her inhibitions were clouded by rage.
As he fought off his own urge to beat George to a pulp at this revelation, he knew he needed to hold his girlfriend back. The only thing keeping Mick’s mind on Molly rather than George was Sam’s letter. His anger was getting the better of him, but he chose to take a deep breath, focus on what he promised himself he would do, and stopped shouting at George to shift his focus on getting Molly relaxed.
Mick’s letter
Molly had finally stopped trying to lunge at George and responded to Mick’s futile pleas to calm down. Yet unexpectedly, Mick saw something flicker in Daniel across the room. The younger driver watched as the Aussie’s fists clenched and his jaw tensed. He noticed the weight shift from Daniel’s heels to his toes, which allowed him to anticipate what was about to happen next.
Mick jumped between the two drivers just in time to put a firm hand on Daniel’s chest to keep him back. But that wasn’t enough, and he ended up using both hands and a lot of his upper body strength to keep the two apart. Still trying to push against Daniel, he turned around to see a retreating George with wide eyes. The rage in Mick’s chest flared, but he pushed it down, preferring to ask a question rather than lunge at George himself, “you knew she was going to choose to get her third strike this whole time?”
“What? No! Of course not. I only knew about her plan to run off if the strike thingy ever happened. You both knew about the contract this whole time and never said anything, don’t get mad at just me!” He pointed between Mick and Molly, the former scoffing to defend himself and his girlfriend.
“We knew the basics. There was a contract and she had three chances. We all just assumed they meant three strikes every season. Don’t try to turn this around on us!”
The men in the room started to argue even more intensely with one another, but as Molly was trying to collect her rage and put herself back together, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. In an instant, she pulled it out, hoping it was a text or message from her best friend. But in reality, it would turn out to be much, much worse.
haasf1team posted a new video
“Guys,” Molly said into the loud room, finger hovering over the notification. They guys didn’t hear her over their arguing.
Her eyes were still locked on the screen, finger getting dangerously close to pressing. And then she let it.
“Guys,” she repeated louder with more conviction as her instagram feed refreshed. Mick looked over, unsure of if he’d heard her at all.
But when Sam’s vacant face appeared on her phone screen, encapsulated in the little white box of her Instagram feed, she finally found it within herself to shout.
“Guys!” That grabbed everyone’s attention. “Put your dicks away. I think HAAS just dropped a statement about Sam, but it’s a video.”
The three men flocked over and huddled around Molly’s phone. Silence fell over the room as she refreshed the post so it would start over and turned her volume up to full max.
Hi guys. Uhm, pretty unfortunate end to my race here in Saudi Arabia. Got shown the black flag before the end of the first lap and that was it. And with that, I’m actually turning in my metaphorical keys and stepping down from racing all together. This was my last race for HAAS F1 Team, and my last race as a Formula 1 driver. I’ve appreciated the support you’ve all given me this season and the way you welcomed me to the team with open arms. I’ve loved every second of racing here and I’ll always look back on this season with a smile on my face. Thanks for everything. This is Sam, signing off.
“What the fuck,” Molly said plainly.
“That’s got to be scripted. She would never say half of that stuff; it’s not even true! It’s got to be some sort of agreement with the team and the contract ending…” Mick was trying to rationalize the horribly out-of-character video they’d just watched.
“Yeah,” Daniel said quietly, “she doesn’t even sound like she believes what she’s saying.”
George looked over at Mick, “Have you heard anything from your team about this since the end of the race?”
He shook his head, “Not a word.”
“We’ve got to do something, we can’t just sit here while she’s off god knows where, and the FIA is just getting away with this like nothing even happened!”
“And Guenther. We can’t let Guenther get away with it either” Mick added painfully to George’s statement.
Everyone’s eyes locked on the man, confusion riddled in their expressions, waiting for him to explain.
“In my letter, Sam told me not to trust Guenther. She didn’t say why, but I have a feeling we should believe her.”
They stood around stunned for a moment, trying to process this new, key piece of information. Finally, Molly spoke up, “Is there anything else in anybody’s letter that might be helpful in figuring out the whole story?”
George and Mick shook their heads. Aside from the personal message to each of them, their letters hadn’t contained any vital information as to where Sam could be, or any way to help her situation that hadn’t already been shared amongst the four of them.
But Daniel, who had taken a seat on the edge of his bed moments ago, didn’t respond— verbally or with a shake of his head. He was avoiding eye contact with everyone, unsure if he wasn’t responding because he didn’t want to break the promise he’d made to himself once he’d read her letter, or if he was just too zoned out to realize the question wasn’t rhetorical. His mind was racing like it was wheel to wheel down a final straight before the checkered flag was waved. He could barely form a coherent thought, let alone decide how he should tell the people staring at him expectantly what had happened in this exact room only hours ago.
The silence was deafening, everyone just staring at Daniel as they watched him fight some form of internal demon eating away at him.
“I told her I was falling in love with her tonight and she still walked out that door,” he said out of nowhere, staring at his hands.
George’s eyes went wide, Mick’s eyebrows raised and jaw fell open a few centimeters, and Molly wasn’t sure the gasp she’d let out was quiet enough to have gone unnoticed.
“She told me we were a disaster waiting to happen, that whatever we were was doomed from the start and she wouldn’t be able to love me back if we kept it going.”
Daniel wasn’t sure why he was telling them this. It wasn’t integral to them finding her, or figuring out what to do; it was personal, deeply personal. Yet a part of him felt like in his hypnotic state, he’d missed something; that in a way, when he got it off his chest— which he knew he needed to at some point— maybe they could catch something he’d missed in the small details.
His eyes remained locked on the floor beneath him, “But she also was talking about next season, about a future in the sport that apparently doesn’t exist as of a few hours ago. She told me she had to—” he picked up his letter to find the right line, “inflict lasting damage so it would be easier to leave.” His eyes lingered on the paper in his hands. For the first time that night, at the sight of her words in her own handwriting, he imagined Sam sitting down to write these letters, and how difficult it must've been to go through by herself. And now each line, each word, each individual character held an intimacy it hadn’t before.
But then, when he read those characters and the words they were strung together to form, and the specific order those words were arranged in to create sentences, that intimacy vanished and was replaced with hurt. Daniel rubbed a corner of the paper between his thumb and index finger, finally looking up to meet the eyes of the three people standing in front of him.
“So I don't know what's true and what's not, but I know for sure that she still left. I watched her walk out that door, and I just let her. I’m angry at her, that’s no secret. For lying, for leaving, but most of all for telling me that I’m the only person who knows where she is and then asking me not to come and find her.”
The last sentence he spoke fell onto the silence with a boom. Everyone stood in shock at how casual Daniel said it, and then George spoke up.
“Mate, fucking tell us where she is so we can go and fix this together,” he said it as if he were confused why Daniel hadn’t continued talking. But when his expected answer never came, his chest began to rise and fall quicker.
Daniel said nothing, only staring at George with a hard expression and full intent to keep the wordless promise he made to Sam that he would do what she asked. He wasn’t going to go and find her.
George started toward him, long limbs moving swiftly in anger, but Molly stepped between them.
“You’re a lousy friend if you're not going to help us go get her,” he spat trying to shove past Molly toward Daniel the best he could while still trying to be polite and not to push too hard against the girl.
Daniel couldn’t help but scoff, his anger at George finally escaping, “Lousy friend? Just like I was back in Austin while I was laying into some rando for touching her? You think you’re the hero for stepping in to argue with the police? Well you only got to do it after you pushed me out of the way when I had it under control.”
Mick and Molly turned to look at eachother, wildly confused as to what the two drivers were arguing about. They hadn’t witnessed George and Daniel get into an argument outside of the bar in Austin: Molly had already ran off and pulled Mick with her in the direction of the Uber pickup line to rush to the sheriff’s station.
George scoffed right back, surging against Molly again. “Under control? She was still in the back of the police car in handcuffs! If you would have just let me handle it from the beginning—”
“Why, so you could rescue the damsel in distress and be her knight in shining armor?”
Daniel’s words stunned George, the Brit looking like a deer caught in headlights. The Aussie took a step forward, but was blocked by Mick yet again. At this point, they were arguing with each other over Mick and Molly’s heads.
“Yeah, I know you guys have a history. And don’t think I don’t notice how you look at Sam, or how you pretend I don't exist when we’re all together. The glares when you think I’m not looking, the ‘accidentally’ forgetting to invite me to the surprise for her birthday, the little one on one talks you guys have, all of it. However much you want to deny it, I know Sam pretty damn well too. I might not have known her for as long as all of you have, but I know that if we just show up, she’s going to resent us for it. We would blatantly be ignoring the one consistent thing she asked each of us in our letters. So no, as much as it fucking hurts me to do, I’m not going to tell you where she is. Not without a plan first anyway.”
Molly could feel the small part of George’s neck that her hand was touching heat up; he was getting angry. But the lack of a response from him meant he was taking into consideration what Daniel had said. A moment of clarity, of sorts. She took the silence as her own opportunity to speak, looking George in the eye as she did.
“Daniel’s right. We can go out to…” she looked at Daniel with his unrelenting posture and firm expression before turning back to George, “wherever she is. But that doesn't mean she’s going to come back with us. She’s stubborn. There’s no doubt in my mind she’d slam the door right in our faces if we showed up. In my letter she asked for time, and said she’d come find me when she was ready.”
The group mulled over what Molly had to say, each thinking about what could possibly be done with yet another roadblock in their way.
Daniel was the first one to speak.
“So we make her ready. We make sure she can come back to the paddock, get her seat back, and keep racing. She doesn't need to be here for that. If we can do this before Abu Dhabi, we might have a chance.”
As if it were out of instinct, or just spite, George immediately met Daniel’s statement with retaliation, “And how do you suppose we do that?”
He shrugged, addressing everyone in the room, not just George, and tried to convince them of the initial stages of a potential plan. “I don’t know, we’ll look at her contract. Try and find a loophole or something they missed. Something we can use to read between the lines, a half truth of sorts.”
He looked back at George, “You’re a leader in the GPDA and know all of our rights and stuff as drivers. Plus you’re good with all that legal jargon; you act like the rules can be read as easily as a picture book, that’s where we can start.”
“Yeah, but I need an actual copy of the contract to go over. In the letter, Sam mentioned it was written specifically for her. New stipulations, new sections, new articles, just for this specific situation. If I want to apply what I know to it, I need to read it first. And if she says we can’t trust Guenther, then I doubt he’d just hand it over if we asked nicely.”
Now the cogs in George’s mind were starting to turn. The look of jealous rage shifted into one of concentration and perplection. Eyes were locked on him, hoping the driver widely acknowledged for his intelligence would be able to come up with anything.
“So we don't ask.”
Everyone looked at the girl who had just said something completely out of character as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. She crossed her arms absentmindedly, as if she were preparing herself for a fight. “If there’s one thing Sam has taught me it’s how to get into a precarious situation and not get caught. She’s been dragging me into her mischief since we were in seventh grade, and I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve been caught. We make a plan to distract Guenther, sneak into his office and find the file. The only issue is, I don’t know his computer password and—”
George interrupted her eagerly. “We won’t need it. If she broke her contract, she would have had to sign a copy recognizing she breached its contents. The FIA will have their own, but it’ll be a gamble to assume Guenther has one. And seeing as that was only a few hours ago, we need to get to it before it's finalized. If we can’t, then we have no chance of saving Sam’s career.” “When is it finalized?” Mick asked the question everyone else was afraid to.
“All yearly contracts are finalized at the checkered flag of the last race,” George answered solemnly, the gravity of the situation settling among the group.
“So we have 6 days to figure out how to outsmart the FIA? We’re fucked,” Molly threw her arms down in defeat, Mick walking over to try and bring her a bit of comfort.
“Technically we only have 5”, George said matter-of-factly, getting met with glares from around the room. He threw his hands up in defense. “Well, if you factor in the start time of the race and the fact that its 2 am right now it really only—”
“Way to lighten the mood,” Mick held off from rolling his eyes and squeezed a visibly distraught Molly tighter toward him.
Daniel looked around confused, “I don’t get it, why couldn’t she tell us how she was feeling? Why did she have to run off when there are four perfectly capable people standing in this room who would do anything to help her at the drop of a hat?”
“That’s just Sam,” Mick said flatly.
Molly looked to Daniel and spoke up, “To her, asking for help is admitting defeat. I have a feeling if this works out you’re gonna be around for a while, so it’s best you learn that now.”
“We’re wasting time, we need a plan,” George wasted no time interrupting their conversation, letting his jealousy creep back out and end the conversation about Daniel and Sam’s potential future. He walked over to the table in the room and pulled out a chair. With a heavy demeanor, he sunk into it and began to pick his own brain for ideas.
Everyone else followed suit and took an empty chair for themselves
Daniel looked at George and got the ball rolling with questions, “Look let’s just start simple. In any normal situation, how would a driver go about opposing a formal decision the FIA made?”
“Fuck,” George murmured nearly instantaneously as the innocent question clicked all the pieces into their desired place.
“What? Share with the class,” Daniel grumbled impatiently.
George took a deep breath, “A petition. Greater than 51% of drivers must come to an agreement, but unless they get a unanimous vote, the FIA can table the case until a later date, and we don't have a later date.”
Mick and Molly dropped their heads in frustration
But Daniel just looked at the three younger drivers, wondering why a simple petition sent such anguish through each of them. He leaned his elbows on the table, “We can get a unanimous decision. It’s Sam for Christ’s sake.”
The tone in his voice may have very well called Mick, Molly and George dumb. Daniel had no idea why a petition was such a bad sign, or why it seemed so unfathomable to achieve.
“Yeah well it didn’t work the first time it happened, so I doubt it's going to work this time. Especially not under these circumstances,” Molly leaned back in her chair and dragged her hands down her face dramatically.
“Of course history had to go and repeat itself,” George shook his head and angrily pushed his chair away from the table to pace the length of the room anxiously.
Daniel could only quirk an eyebrow, more lost than he had been previously. “What do you mean history is repeating itself? I’m confused,” he asked the question innocently, but from the stunned looks on everyone’s faces it was as if he’d been playing a cruel joke on them.
They all looked around at each other, first trying to tell if he was serious and then confused as to how Daniel had no idea, especially since he and Sam were so close.
“2017? When she lost her F2 seat and was kicked from Formula Series racing altogether? Why do you think a talent like hers went to Indycar? By choice?”
George selfishly jumped at the opportunity to make Daniel feel stupid. Sure, he said he’d gotten over him and Sam being together. But he was angry that Daniel apparently knew where she was and wouldn't share, as well as annoyed he’d called him out on what happened in Austin. So his tone came out insulted, offended that he called Sam a friend and didn’t know what had happened at a major point in her life.
And much to the Brit’s satisfaction, the words landed painfully with Daniel. A part of him felt guilty for not knowing, so he spoke quietly, “I know she lost her seat, but what about that makes you think it’ll happen again?”
Mick was the one to speak this time; he wasn’t too pleased with George at the moment, seeing as he’d not only spoken to Daniel as if he was a child, but also lied to everybody’s faces for weeks. So he took it upon himself to explain the incident to Daniel, and it felt like the right thing to do seeing as George played a rather large part in it.
“Back in 2017, Sam was racing with Prema in the F2 championship. Charles was her teammate and they’d been in a pretty intense battle for the title all season. She’d just passed him in the standings and was only increasing her lead. During the second to last race in Spain, they were racing each other the entire time, ignoring their strategists and going wheel to wheel, pulling really risky overtakes, and trying to prove themselves for the Sauber seat that was rumored to be going to the F2 champion.”
Molly took over.
“The only thing is that Sam was fighting for the win— to keep Charles behind her— and Charles was fighting to catch Sam and hopefully retake the lead. She was trying to extend the gap and he was trying to close it.”
Mick took over again to explain the racing incident using words a driver would understand.
“The circuit in Jerez has a pretty tight hairpin. Not as tight on the entry as Monaco or as heavy on the breaks because it’s not downhill, but practically the same angle in the curve. Sam was in the lead going into the turn, but only by a little bit. She had the racing line, but lost the rear at the apex because she had to brake hard once she realized Charles was trying to overtake on the outside. He was off the racing line into the turn, but tried to regain by changing directions just the slightest. It was far too aggressive on his side. Sam did everything right; her front wheel was ahead of his and should’ve earned her respect of the space. But she tried to evade a collision when she was squeezed, braked hard, and Charles’ front wing pierced her front suspension and sent them both into the wall. It was a pretty nasty crash, and thankfully they were both okay, but when they both got out of their cars, they immediately went over to each other and started arguing—“
Molly interrupted.
“But before the race that day, they’d already gotten into an argument. Charles had been ignoring Sam recently and she was getting annoyed so she confronted him. Not only was she upset he was being callous with her, but she was also worried the outlets were starting to create some fake rivalry between them because of how distant they’d been in the media. Charles snapped first, yelling something about how the rivalry wasn’t fake, and how Sam would never understand what he was going through. And then Sam snapped right back talking about how he was just getting intimidated by her results and was too worried about getting beat by a girl to focus on working as a team for the constructors championship. It was a pretty ugly fight. The entire Prema team was split down the middle that whole weekend. It was super awkward. They were really good friends before they became teammates, so nobody had expected something like this to blow up.”
Mick took back over.
“Yeah, so when everyone began to blame Sam for the racing incident, and her whole team just let them, she wasn’t having any of it. She’d really been struggling with the media around then; they weren’t too fond of a woman leading the standings and breaking traditions. This was the last straw. The media ate her alive. Interviews. Publications. Everything. They blamed her for something that could have been considered a racing incident, but was technically Charles’ fault. Called her desperate, reckless, lazy, talentless; if it was an insult, they probably threw it in her direction. To make matters even worse the FIA even tried to penalize her for it in the next race. But if she was going to start from the back like they wanted her to, and Charles would finish 4th or above, he would win the title and get the Sauber seat. So she retaliated. Went to the stewards and pleaded her case. They wouldn’t even hear her out. And then she lost it; all the anger she’d been suppressing all season just came out at the stewards. Name calling. In multiple languages. She got up in their faces, slammed her hands on a desk here and there, and threw some papers for dramatic flare. Of course they were pissed off and went to her team above her head about it.”
Molly took over, knowing the story better from Sam’s perspective seeing as though she was there with her when it all happened.
“They gave her team CEO a choice. Allow Sam to keep her superlicense but condemn Charles’ actions and upset all of golden legacy boy’s sponsors, which meant they could potentially withdraw their loads of support. Or condemn Sam for an incident she didn’t cause and revoke her superlicense and access to FIA governed motorsports. Obviously, they chose to kick Sam from the team. It was the easy option. She was already being blamed in the media, she was a minority in her series, and her temper had given them a scapegoat. It was blown completely out of proportion. But Sam being Sam didn’t go easily. She took it up with the FIA, they begrudgingly told her to start the petition, get the signatures she needed, and it would be resolved.”
Molly looked over at George, the faintest glint of buried resentment visible in her glare.
“You want to take it from here?”
She may have phrased it as a question, but she wasn’t asking. George played a role in the next part of Sam’s story— more specifically the end of it— so she only thought it was right for him to tell it. A punishing reminder of sorts, that even though they had made up and moved on, he still did what he’d done.
Daniel looked over at George, a confused quirk to his enamored expression. And with a clear of his throat, George continued the story.
“Like I said, she needed a unanimous vote to get the notion overturned immediately…”
He hesitated before continuing.
“Any series Prema had a team in was included in the cohort of voters. F2, F3– where me, Alex and Lando were racing, Super Formula, which is where Pierre was racing before he got pulled up to race with Toro Rosso that year, and Italian F4. When the time came, for the drivers to sign, that is, we were briefed on the situation, Sam was given a moment to plead her case to us, and we were given 24 hours to decide our vote. We weren’t allowed to see her in that time period, so I was with a big majority of our friend group out for dinner. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, it was me, Charles, Lando, Pierre and Alex.”
“The fecal five," Molly added confidently.
George held off from rolling his eyes, “Yeah, whatever. But Charles spent all night telling us about what it was like to be Sam’s teammate. All the horror behind the scenes we never saw such as her complaining about unfair regulations, needing special accommodations, always being a downer, and pointing out biases and stereotypes. And at the time, he made it sound awful. He made her sound awful. In a way, Alex, Lando, and I all idolized Charles; he was on the path we all dreamed about: nearly F2 champion with a Formula 1 seat right beneath his fingertips, and he’d told us the only thing standing in his way anymore was Sam. Which he said also meant, she was standing in our way too. Any seat she took was a seat we couldn't. She was a threat to all of our careers. And of course, Pierre and Charles were best friends; they’d follow each other into fire. So we decided that night not to sign. Worst part is, once they announced her campaign had failed, I found out she only needed five more signatures for it to have been a success. Well, greater than fifty-one percent anyway. But knowing Sam she would’ve fought tooth and nail for that case to have been resolved before it was finalized, so we let her down. I let her down. When I looked back over the years, I felt awful and with reason. I know Sam didn’t have it easy, being the only woman and all, but she told me a few months ago that she never talked about it because she didn’t want to feel like she was complaining, or that she was ungrateful for the opportunity. She was well aware that if she complained, it would be blown out of the water. So she grinned and bore it all season. I was so worried about staying on good terms with a bunch of people that could potentially become connections later that I forgot Sam was a close friend. Every day I regret—“
Still in a bit of shock, Daniel cut him off, trying to find a way to sympathize rather than be angry at George for something that happened so long ago. “Don’t waste our time explaining why you did it. It happened. It’s over. And for some reason Sam has obviously forgiven you for what you did, so in some twisted way I feel like I should look past how shitty of a person you were before your balls dropped so we can move on from this. Right now we need to be thinking of how we can prevent this from happening all over again.”
“There’s one problem,” Mick interjected, “Contractually, Sam wasn’t supposed to tell anybody. If we tell everyone that we know now, won’t that just reveal that she broke yet another contract?”
“And contractually,” Molly added on, “those of us who knew about the contract when it was signed,” she gestured between her and Mick, “are also under the same legal obligations.”
Daniel looked at George. For the first time in what felt like ages, the two men seemed to be on the same page. They both even managed to curve their lips upward in the tiniest of smirks.
“I don’t remember signing any contract… How about you George?”
“No Daniel, I don’t recall that I did.”
“I don’t see why I have to wait in the car,” George complained from the driver's seat.
“Because,” Daniel said as he unbuckled his seatbelt, “your role in the plan is being able to read the contract, and you can’t do that until we get it.”
Molly couldn’t help but laugh at Daniel’s slightly humorous tone of voice, which George had held off rolling his eyes in response to.
But Mick chimed in to offer some reassurance, “Technically you’re the getaway driver. And every secret plan needs a getaway driver. It’s an integral part of the team.”
He patted George’s shoulder from the passenger seat as the car rolled to a stop.
George put the car in park, not really impressed by the way Mick tried to make him feel important by sitting and waiting in the car. He shifted in his seat so he could address everyone.
“So we’re all set on the plan?”
Mick, Molly, and Daniel nodded.
The Aussie spoke up from the back, “I’ll intercept Guenther in the paddock on his way back from the team principal briefing. I’ll start a conversation, and do my best to keep him busy for as long as possible.”
They had initially planned to sneak into his office before he even got to the paddock that morning, but they knew his office would be locked if he had yet to arrive. The admin briefings were roughly around 10-15 minutes every weekend, depending on how many issues needed addressing and questions were asked, so the group was hoping Guenther would leave his office unlocked while he was there.
“I don’t see why I couldn’t distract Guenther and you could have been the getaway driver…” George pouted.
Daniel let out a laugh as if George had just told the funniest joke ever he’d ever heard. But when he collected himself, he noticed nobody else was laughing. In fact, they were all staring at him— George looked offended and Mick and Molly looked like he’d just cracked a joke at a funeral.
“You were serious?”
George just sat there trying not to distract from the task at hand with his boyish anger.
“Mate, not to toot my own horn, but I’m Daniel Ricciardo. Everyone wants to talk to me. And I’m not saying this to gloat, I’m saying this because it has a better chance of distracting Guenther for longer. Plus, I’m not sure you can hold a conversation with somebody longer than a few seconds without them plotting a way to politely leave it.”
Molly sent his shoulder a smack from beside him, which made him chuckle.
Begrudgingly, George folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. “Just finish going over the plan.”
Mick took the lead. “Since me and Molls are the only people here who technically have access to the HAAS hospitality, or at least wouldn’t look out of place being there, we’re in charge of retrieving the contract. Get in then get out as quickly as possible. No unnecessary stops or detours. I keep watch at the door of Guenther’s office and Molly looks for the contract.”
Molly took over, looking to George as she recited what he’d told her, “it’s going to look similar to the contract we signed during preseason, but it’ll have something along the lines of ‘recognition of breach’ or ‘addendum’ written in bold on the first page.” He nodded, confirming what she’d repeated to him, so she continued. “I’ll look in his desk, in the filing cabinets on the far wall, and if it’s not in there, we bail.”
Everyone nodded. That was the plan. And now it was time to execute it.
“Alright, meet back here whenever you’re done and—“
“Guys,” Daniel interrupted, pointing out the front windshield toward the turnstiles of the paddock.
Just past the entrance, team principals from every constructor were seen descending the stairs and heading into the paddock.
“Shit, the meeting must have gotten pushed up.”
And then Guenther appeared from the base of the stairs. Everyone silently began to panic. This is the only chance they’d have to get this done and it potentially could’ve been ruined by a change in schedule.
Daniel opened the door and turned to Molly beside him, “time’s ticking.” And with that, he shut the door and jogged to the entrance of the paddock.
As calmly as they could manage while still rushing to their destination, Mick and Molly exited the car, scanned into the paddock and headed toward the HAAS building.
It was only Wednesday morning, so there wasn’t any media around— except Netflix— which meant they could get over to the building without being stopped.
They walked briskly, quietly, hand-in-hand, all the way through the hospitality doors.
Without a single word being exchanged, they made their way up to Geunther’s office. It’s as if uttering a single syllable would jynx the entire plan, or throw them off, or even just make the very illegal thing they were about to attempt that much more real. So they were silent.
That was, until they reached the door to Guenther’s office. Mick inhaled loudly and reached for the door handle. The anticipation was palpable. Whether or not this door handle pressed all the way down or was met with resistance determined the course of their plan, Sam’s future potentially along with it.
His hand hovered over it, waiting. For what, he had no idea.
Molly put her hand over his and pushed down for him, “we’re a little short on time for dramatic pauses.”
And with that, the handle pressed down completely and they pushed the door inward.
Relief washed over them.
In an instant, Molly rushed in and headed straight for the cabinets at the back of the room, not even bothering to turn on the light, which Mick flicked on for her not too much later.
She opened drawers and delicately plucked her way through labeled folders, lifting up contents of the topics that could potentially relate to Sam’s contract.
Nothing.
She slammed the last metal drawer closed a little too loud for her liking and moved over to his desk.
Mick's head swiveled between the hallway and his girlfriend behind him. He knew if he helped this would probably be over quicker, but he also knew there needed to be someone keeping watch, especially now that Guenther was out of the meeting and the only thing keeping him at bay was Daniel downstairs.
That being said, Daniel had barely intercepted the team principal before he started to head in the direction of the HAAS hospitality.
He wasn’t sure he could hold the man off for long, because every moment or so, he’d take a few steps in the direction of where he needed him not to go.
To catch his attention he’d brought up their plans for the last race, fueling the man’s ego by not even mentioning Sam. Daniel was smart and knew that the second he mentioned the driver Guenther had probably had something to do with banning, the conversation would be over.
So he asked about Pietro, his opinion on their ability to clinch 6th in the constructors championship, and how he was oh so very interested about Mick’s teammate next season. Guenther smiled and entertained the Aussie, even cracking some of his own jokes— which Daniel didn’t particularly find funny— and taking the conversation in a different route.
But then, he got a phone call.
“This is Gene, I’ve got to take this. Good talking to you, Daniel.”
And then with a wave, he was gone.
Daniel waited until the man was facing away from him to pull out his phone and text Mick:
On the move. Just started walking toward the garage. Hurry.
Mick’s phone pinged and he pulled it from his pocket. He read the text and began to sweat.
“You’ve got about three min—“
“Got it—“ Molly shouted, hoisting a massive stack of papers into the air. But in her excitement, she nearly dropped it, but managed to catch it before it hit the table.
Luckily, they were secured together and they wouldn’t be caught because of a mess of papers lying everywhere. What made her stop in her tracks is what she saw as a result of her frantic movements bumping the table.
Guenther’s laptop screen woke up, and there was his home screen.
It was unlocked.
She stood there for a moment, frozen in shock.
So without a word to Mick, she sat down in the chair and started using the mouse and keyboard like this was her own computer at home.
He was confused to say the least. Not only did she ignore the warning that they had no time to spare, but she already had the contract. What more was there to do?
“Molly what are you doing?” He asked it in a panicked whisper, but she didn’t flinch.
“Creating our loophole,” she said quietly as her fingers delicately worked away at the keyboard, face so close to the screen that it cast a white glow across her features .
“We don’t have time for this. We got the contract and we’ve got to get out of here before someone sees us in here, or worse, Guenther comes back.”
She didn’t look up from the screen to respond. “Mick, he accidentally left his laptop open. We’re not going to get another chance to cross this part of the plan off our list. I just need a few more seconds.”
He huffed and let her do whatever it was she was doing. His head peeked back out around the corner into the hallway. It stayed like that for a few seconds, then suddenly, Mick’s head came around the corner of the door. He began trying to fold the thick contract up into a hideable size, but it was too big to be discreet.
“Well you’ve got about 30 seconds before Guenther walks through that door so finish whatever it is you’re doing.”
Without tearing her eyes from the screen she asked, “quick, how does Guenther sign his emails to you”
Mick didn’t hesitate, knowing there was no time to, “Only his first name.” He was still struggling where to hide the copy of the contract he was holding, so he panicked and put it behind his back and under his shirt between his pants and his back. Good enough in a moment's notice.
He heard the sound of a whoosh come from the laptop, and then the low-pitched ding. Molly then stood from the chair and made her way across the room in record time, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs on the other side of the desk. Mick quickly sat down next to her.
And just like that Guenther walked through the door. He was taken aback seeing Sam’s best friends in his office, he wasn’t expecting them until closer to media day— and to be fair he wasn’t expecting to see Molly at all now that Sam was gone.
“I'm not speaking about Samantha, so if that’s why you’re here, I suggest you leave.”
They both bit their tongues; their plan was in too early of stages to say anything to Guenther if they wanted to fly under the radar and draw suspicion away from them.
So as much as it pained them, all they could bring themselves to do was roll their eyes and walk out the door. But then Mick realized he couldn’t just walk out that door without saying anything. If he was actually as clueless about the situation as he needed to pretend to be, he knew he would never leave like that.
He kept it simple, “you can’t keep everyone in the dark for long. People are expecting an answer and we’ll be patiently waiting for you to give us one.”
Once they’d turned the corner, they both gave each other a glance, which without words told one another that was too close of a call for comfort.
With contract in tow and whatever Molly had done on the computer completed, they walked a little quicker than usual back where George had parked their car, the two other drivers already waiting inside with the engine running.
Seb and George stood at the front of the conference room they’d reserved in the hotel and asked all the drivers to come to.
It wasn’t often they called informal meetings of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, so everyone obliged without much protest.
Seb started, “I’m sorry to ask you all to come on such short notice.”
That was putting it lightly. It was Wednesday night. He’d only found out about Sam’s contract this afternoon, and they’d all be in the paddock tomorrow afternoon for media day.
The next step of their plan was to talk to two veteran drivers who they knew they could count on— who they knew Sam trusted— and fill them in so they could help.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton nearly marched over to the FIA offices themselves with flaming torches and pitchforks when they learned about Sam’s contract and what had really happened. Of course, Daniel and George had been the ones to explain the whole thing (with the help of some written notes from Mick and Molly to help fill the gaps) so no other legally binding contracts were broken. So now, they were two more signatures they could count on and we’re helping Mick, Molly Daniel and George complete the plan
“We came to talk about something that has happened to one of our drivers. One of our friends.”
Seb’s calming, diplomatic voice filled the room as drivers looked left and right to see who they could possibly be referring to.
George stepped forward to take the lead on explaining the situation, a neat powerpoint presentation popping up on the screen behind him.
“Sam,” he answered their unasked question. “We were all there when she got the black flag last weekend, and by now I assume we’ve all seen the video HAAS posted.”
George’s stomach turned at the conglomeration of reactions to his mention of the video. Some drivers looked upset, others a bit confused, while others didn’t look sympathetic whatsoever. But nevertheless he continued.
“Well we’re here to fill in the gaps and tell you why she was banned from racing.”
At his words, almost all the drivers wore a look of pure confusion on their faces.
“When Sam signed with HAAS, they added an addendum to her contract solely to do with her behavior. Behavior that a group of men would get to decide whether or not was appropriate in accordance to their reasoning to allow Sam to regain her superlicense,” George clicked a button and the slide changed from the photocopied front page of the contract, to the text of certain sections highlighted. Then Seb began to speak, reading word-for-word from the slide behind him.
“The competitor Samantha Jordan Thompson is aware that the sole purpose of her return is to garner publicity and gain Formula 1 viewership across the globe. Any action which is thought to do the opposite will gain a mark on her contract toward the revoking of her super license.”
The room became even more silent, except for one nearly inaudible chuckle, which George knew was probably from Checo, Fernando or Lando.
Seb ignored it and moved on.
“Under protection of an NDA, Sam was given three chances to earn a mark on her contract, strikes as she called them, before her contract was revoked indefinitely. The first noncompliance was when she made the tabloids in Monaco. Photos somebody within the paddock took and then leaked themselves. Photos that many of you were cropped out of in that same state, or had recreated years prior. Inherently, she did nothing wrong. Next was Austin. Being taken into custody under false pretenses when she was defending herself after she was sexually harassed and assaulted. Something which none of us have ever experienced before and probably never will. Again, she did nothing inherently wrong, but the backlash F1 received because of this, garnered her that strike. And finally, last weekend in Saudi Arabia. It’s still unclear to us as to why she received the final mark, but we know it happened this past weekend. Our two biggest theories have been her distress about getting pole position by default, or changing grid positions with Lewis after the formation lap.”
Drivers began to shift in their seats, unsure of how to process this information. But this wasn’t about them. It was about Sam.
Lewis turned around from the front row and addressed the drivers in the room, “Obviously, this is extremely unfair treatment. Not only is it completely invalidating for them to bring her in here as a publicity stunt, but the things she was given a mark for are completely unethical. I know people in this room who’ve done worse things and gotten away with it. As much as any of you might try or want to deny it, it’s because she’s a woman and has a target on her back in a sport with such a lack of diversity like this one. She’s an incredible driver with a bright future in this sport and we owe it to her to try and fix this.”
Checo was the first of the other drivers to break the silence, “Did she not sign the contract herself? Know all the stipulations beforehand? She still did these things and broke their rules. Why should we have to help her get back in her seat?”
George didn’t even hesitate before he spoke up, “because regardless of what any of you have ever done to her or said about her— whether it was behind her back or to the media— she’d do the same for you if the situation were reversed. She’s one of us whether or not you want to believe it.”
Seb huffed, stepping forward to diffuse the tension in the room. “Look, we aren’t going to force you to sign the petition if you don’t want to. The FIA drivers’ rules, rights, and regulation’s guidebook states that a decision can be overruled by greater than 51% of the majority or unanimous decision. Yet, it never specifies which series, or year, or division. If we don’t all unanimously decide, it’ll be a long shot, but we think our best option is to campaign to drivers across the globe who hold a superliscense and race under the FIA, in hopes of filling in the gaps. And if we bring it to the attention of the public, there’s a better chance at holding Formula 1 and the FIA accountable for their biased treatment of Sam. You don’t all have to participate, or even agree, but all we ask is that you keep this silent until we are able to announce our plan to the public. If you’d like to be a part of our message which we’ll each have to post to our socials, we ask that you stay to help us create and execute it. If you aren’t willing to participate, you’re free to leave.”
There were murmurs among the group, drivers who had just learned of the news turning and talking amongst themselves. The volume was low, as if it were disrespectful to have the conversation out loud despite everyone having been here for the presentation.
George, Daniel and Mick stood alongside Lewis and Seb. The small group didn’t speak, simply waiting for a decision to be made. Whether that was no driver left, every driver left, or somewhere in between, they couldn’t be sure.
All was answered when Checo and Fernando stood and left the conference room together.
Sam’s three friends’ and two mentors’ hearts sank. Sure, they still had faith they could do it, but it was going to be a lot harder now.
But then, Lando stood to leave. Each of them felt disappointed, watching him approach the door. From next to him, Carlos shook his head silently. Daniel on the other hand, wasn’t keen on staying so silent.
He rose from his chair and chased after him. Once he reached his teammate, Daniel grabbed his shoulder.
“Lando,” the young driver turned to face Daniel, “You’re seriously not going to be a part of this?”
He shrugged, “No mate, I’ve got better things to do. Losing a seat is part of the sport.”
He started to walk away, but Daniel held on tighter to his shoulder. The anger in his chest was flickering into a flame. “Did you hear nothing that we said earlier? This isn’t just her losing her seat because of something like money or ability. It’s the FIA going out of their way to discriminate using biased treatment—“
“It’s behavior, which has been the reason people have lost their seats before.” If Daniel didn't know better, he’d have said Lando was holding back a smirk.
He looked at Lando with astonishment… astonishment that was morphing into the rage he felt inside him. “Seriously, you’re not going to sign it? Not even when you had a part in her losing her seat in the first place?”
At that, Lando’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected Molly to say anything about the leaked photos, but maybe Sam losing her seat changed the odds. But hearing Daniel say it, that was something he hadn't expected at all.
And by letting out the smallest bit of his anger, Daniel had broken the dam and it was flowing like a wild river. “Look, I know what you did to me and Sam. Everything. The absurd amount of lying, breaking into my phone and changing her number, leaking the photos in Monaco, even more lying, the empty threats. Everything. And despite it all, I’ve tried my best to be nice to you. I’ve kept my mouth shut. I gave you time to admit it. And you sat back and dug the hole even deeper. Every comment to the media, every complaint over the radio, everything. But I'm done letting you get away with being a proper cunt. So you can threaten me—I know it’s not out of your reach, keep shitting on me to the media, or whatever it is you feel so inclined to do. Just do me this one solid and sign the damn petition. You owe me at least that much. You owe her. Don’t let history repeat itself.”
Now the look on Lando’s face was nearly impossible to read. Daniel could tell there was the slightest bit of guilt, but that was shadowed by the continuation of the shock from moments ago. But the final piece that Daniel was struggling to place was something along the lines of… anger? Maybe annoyance? Almost as if he was furious Daniel had finally spoken up about this season and was holding it against him.
“Just know, I’m only doing this so nobody asks why I wasn’t involved. Not for you, not for her.”
Without another word in return, Lando walked back toward his seat and brushed Daniel’s shoulder a bit harder than accidentally in the process.
On the other side of the conference room, Charles sat quietly while Pierre talked his ear off. His elbows rested on his knees as his mind flew in every direction about what he’d just learned and what it resurfaced.
To be honest, his brain wasn’t even processing the utterings of French that Pierre was sending quietly in his direction. His eyes were focused on his hands, absentmindedly messing with his fingers and the jewelry that adorned them; so focused to a point where he didn’t even notice Pierre had stood from his seat with the intention to leave. But he snapped out of it when the Frenchman scoffed in protest.
“What are you talking about?”
Charles came back to reality, no clue what was happening only inches to his left.
Yuki sat up straighter in his seat, “I said I’m not going with you.”
Pierre looked incredibly disoriented, and was genuinely unsure what was going on with Yuki. Was he confused? They both disliked Sam, why did he want to stay, especially after everything he’d told him about her.
“Just because you don’t like Sam, doesn’t mean I have to. She’s really nice, a good driver too, and all season I’ve let you make me think she was some sort of girl with cooties! So I’m staying to help my friend.”
Both Pierre and Charles looked shocked.
Mick on the other hand, let a small smile form on his lips. He remembered how tentative Yuki had been to accept the invite to Sam’s birthday surprise. Mick himself was even tentative about extending the invite because he knew how close he was with Pierre. But then he remembered just how much fun Yuki had that night, how much he’d come out of his shell and how much Sam had said she enjoyed having him there.
Pierre didn’t put up a fight, not in front of his 17 coworkers. So he rolled his eyes and brushed it off.
“It’s fine. Do whatever you please. Let’s go Charles,” he turned to start to leave, but then Charles spoke up.
“No, I’m going to stay too.”
Multiple heads in the room snapped in his direction.
Pierre, because he was expecting Charles to come along. They had both been open about their dislike of Sam for as long as they could remember since 2017. He wasn’t sure what had changed.
Lando, for thinking that Charles would leave and not sign, seeing as he was the ringmaster in a nearly identical plan all those years ago.
Mick, Molly, George and Daniel, because they had all wholeheartedly expected history to repeat itself.
“Charles—“ Pierre protested.
The Monegasque looked up at his best friend, “Do whatever you feel is right but I’m staying. She doesn’t deserve this. I made this mistake once, and I’ve lived with it since then. And recently, I learned that it’s not hard to give your support to somebody even when you don’t want to…”
He trailed off, his mind wandering back to when Sam had told him those exact words back in Monaco earlier this season. A moment when he only thought the worst of her and she’d proved him wrong. And now, as much as he wished he didn’t have to admit it to himself, he was going to take her advice.
Pierre hesitated, not sure whether to stay with his best friend or leave as he had planned. Charles turned back to the group of drivers at the front of the room, noting Pierre’s choice to stay.
He took a deep breath, “So, what kind of statement did you guys have in mind?”
The salty air blew off the water with the tide and then crashed in the rocks along the shore. It did this again and again, the only difference in results being the shape of the crest of the wave when it broke along the surface. The repetitive motion hypnotized Sam, keeping her attention, giving her something to wait for. But what? She didn’t even know. The sea would not part, turn red with blood, form a tsunami or disappear. It would do the same thing it did the last time, and the time before that: crash.
She’d been sitting on the beach for what felt like hours, but it easily could have been minutes; her focus was elsewhere. Despite being a beach, the Maine December air was frigid. The sweater she bought at a local boutique was doing little to shelter her from the cold. Nonetheless, she sat there and endured it. She thought maybe she deserved a bit of punishment for everything she’d done the last few months.
Since she stepped off the plane from Saudi Arabia less than a week ago, Sam had taken it upon herself to physically detach herself from that completed chapter of her life. Her suitcases lay untouched in the closet of her temporary hotel room; it wasn’t ideal accommodations, but she’d already been in touch with a real estate agent in hopes of finding something more permanent.
Because of the weather, the beach was empty. That, and the small town of Kennebunkport had little of their minuscule population to spare during working hours of lobster season. So to Sam’s surprise, someone sat down just a few feet from her.
She didn’t want to look at the imbecile who had taken a look at an entire empty beach and chosen to sit directly next to her. But she wasn’t going to let them disturb the peace she was so desperately yearning to build.
Well, that was until they scooted even closer to her.
Before she could stop herself, something within Sam snapped and she turned to whoever was beside her.
“Do you mind—“
She cut herself off with a gasp at who was next to her.
“Corinna?” She whispered the name, as if she said it too loud, the woman with the familiar, bright smile would disappear.
The woman she’d known for years nodded, nostalgia intertwined along her features.
“Hallo mein engel." Hello my angel
Sam couldn’t control herself and leapt forward and into the open arms of Corinna Schumacher. The woman she’d come to know better than her own mother held her tenderly, a few tears escaping them both.
“I’m never trusting Daniel with anything ever again,” she chuckled. “ But god, I could kiss him right now. But I’ve also never wanted to slap him more in my entire life,” Sam laughed as the two women pulled away.
“To be fair, he did tell me to let you know you only asked him not to come and get you. Mick asked me to come instead and I knew I had to. I’ve been walking around this little town for an hour trying to find you.”
The woman laughed and wiped away the tears that had managed to fall. Sam couldn’t help but laugh at the loophole Daniel had managed to find. Now that she had some form of connection to her life with her in Maine, everything she’d done felt so out of sorts, so excessive.
“I needed to be alone,” Sam shrugged, “I think I’ve convinced myself that I like to be alone,” Sam began, ready to jumpstart the conversation she knew was ahead, “because when you’re alone… nobody can hurt you. But I think it’s also because deep down I’m afraid I won’t ever be capable of returning the love that my friends and family give to me, despite everything.”
She wasn't sure Corinna making her way across the country for her changed what she knew needed to happen next.
“I’m happy you’re here, but I can’t go back. Not yet. I need—“
“Time,” Corinna interrupted. “They told me you wanted time…”
Sam looked out into the ocean. She didn’t just want time… she needed time.
“But what if I told you there was a chance to fix this, and all you had to do was sacrifice that time,” Corinna whispered and laid her hand on Sam’s shoulder.
“What do you mean fix this? The FIA was clear that if I broke my contract I was done. And I did just that and now I am just that: I broke it and now I’m done,” Sam said matter-of-factly.
She couldn’t decipher the look on Corinna’s face, but it smelled of anticipation.
“Yes, well a certain group of people weren’t happy with that choice and took matters into their own hands.” She handed Sam her phone, which she took cautiously.
On the screen was the F1 Instagram page.
“Check the most recent post.”
Sam did as she was told, her mind swarmed with the potential of what lay within the singular, tiny square. Her gaze turned to Corinna one last time for reassurance, and with a single nod, Sam pressed the post.
None other than Corinna’s son and Sam’s best friend and teammate graced the screen first.
“This is Samantha Thompson,” Mick said plainly.
Incredible moments of her on track quickly flashed on the screen, intertwined with photos of her in her racing suit in the pit lane, on the podium, and even in press conferences.
Mick returned to the screen, “And this is also Sam.”
Then a slideshow of horrendously embarrassing videos and photos of her began to play. Her sleeping on the plane with random items stacked on top of her, her taking a game of Dance Dance Revolution far too seriously, clips of her laughing so hard she snorted, moments of being clumsy, silly, just downright herself and so many other clips of her fond memories from other’s prescriptives quickly flashed across the screen.
They were humanizing her to the public. It was genius.
Next on screen was Sebastian Vettel, who took time and effort explaining her contract situation to whoever cared enough to watch the post thus far. The moment the words began to leave his lips, she was terrified; nobody was supposed to find out— legally Sam was in deep trouble.
But then it hit her. She thought about what Corinna had said Daniel pointed out about specifics. Technically Sam asked him not to come and find her, she never said he couldn’t send any of their friends to come get her. So that meant…
The contracts her and her team had signed only said they couldn’t share the news, and once they signed it, it became legally binding. But Seb had never signed anything, so technically she wasn’t breaching her NDA.
Still confused, she still paused the video and turned to Corinna.
“Someone is going to get in trouble for leaking the contract. I don’t need any of my friends to get in more trouble because of what I—“ Sam began to grow panicked but was quickly interrupted.
“Molly took care of it. She sent an email from Guenther’s computer with the contract attached to Sebastian. I’m not sure of the specifics but Mick said she made it look as though he accidentally cc’d the GPDA email account while meaning to cc the stewards instead. Than she deleted it from his computer completely. That smart little friend of yours really covered their trail well.”
Sam smiled, relieved. She didn’t want to know the specifics of Molly having access to her boss’s computer— plausible deniability at its finest. With that, she pressed play again and was met with Lewis on her screen.
The soon-to-be-retired driver was so eloquent and well-spoken with his words, that the way he went about and explained the unfairness and bias within Sam’s situation even made it clearer for her, and she was the one experiencing it.
Then came George.
“We’ve decided to campaign to racing drivers across the globe. Those who race under the FIA and those who do not.”
Then, it switched to Valterri, “Veterans and rookies.”
On to Max, “Men and women.”
Antonio was next, “Near and Far”
And to Sam’s shock, a stoic-looking Lando, “Young and old.”
Lance followed, “From any formula series to NASCAR to endurance racing to IndyCar to motocross, all the way to karting. Your voice matters.”
Kimi Raikkonen made an appearance as well, “Your voice helps.”
Yuki came next and Sam couldn’t help but crack a small smile, “Help us take a stand against discrimination.”
Then Carlos, “Help us create a safe space for every racer who steps foot in our paddock.”
Nicholas Latifi was after, “Help us right a wrong.”
Despite being a reserve driver, Alex Albon appeared next.
“Help our friend come home.”
And an even bigger shock was that Charles followed, “In a time like this your support is not only crucial, but appreciated as well. We ask that you sign the petition linked here to help Sam return to the track.”
Daniel appeared next and her heart dropped. Everything she’d done to him, everything she’d said to him, over the last few weeks fell onto her at the sight of his somber, familiar, brown eyes. Even the sound of his voice sent a shockwave through her.
“We are all race car drivers. But at the end of the day, when the helmet comes off, we’re humans too. Humans who struggle. Humans with emotions. Humans who deserve to be treated as such. We are not tools, trophies, paydays, or pawns. We are just 20 people doing our job.”
Esteban followed, "If you cannot sign the petition, share this post any way possible and help spread the word and condemn the actions by the FIA, Formula 1, and HAAS F1 Team taken against Sam, before our deadline of Sunday night at 6:59pm Gulf Standard time.”
Another surprise to Sam was to see Pierre, “We were told by our superiors that together, we race as one. It’s time we hold them accountable to see that true.”
The screen went dark and a link appeared, followed by the names of all of the drivers within the video listed under a placard with the words “endorsed by” written in large red letters.
Sam could barely utter a word after what she’s just watched. She looked at the phone in shock, the screen still frozen on the ending frame.
“They did all of this, for me?” Her whisper nearly got lost over the crashing of the waves.
Corinna nodded, “Just like my husband told you all those years ago when he came to see you after your father had passed. There are people out here who care about you… sometimes it’s alright to just let us.”
She smiled, tears brimming in her eyes, and pulled the woman back into another hug.
“That was posted 3 days ago. The deadline is tomorrow, and they already have 693 signatures.”
Sam’s mouth dropped.
“Mick and Sebastian called many of Michael’s old racing buddies to get their support. The people over at Mercedes put out a stamens that you still have a seat next year if all works out. George and Lewis sent out a detailed rundown of your situation. And Daniel… Daniel used his charm and called as many of his friends across the globe as possible. The notion and the ban were overruled, and the FIA put out a statement saying that you are welcome to race in Abu Dhabi…”
“But next season…” Sam said knowingly.
“You’d have to place in the top 3 in this race for them to agree to let you come back. The drivers and teams are trying to protest that as well, but the administration said that this was the only way they were willing to compromise.”
The top 3 was hard, especially in such a shitty car. yes, Sam had done it before, but it wasn’t easy. And after reading headlines, she too was convinced her podiums had been at the hand of luck. It worried her, she didn’t know if she could do it.
Most of all, ater everything she’d done and said, her friends were still trying to help her. But despite the gesture, and the opportunity, she wasn’t sure she should follow through.
Sam took a deep breath, “I don’t know, Corinna. I don’t think I can go back. It’s exhausting. And I don’t think I can sacrifice my mental health to try and live my dreams and break these barriers people keep preaching about. I love what I do but I don’t know how long I can do it if it’s gonna be anything like last season. The headlines. The rumors. Everything. I just— I just don’t know if I can handle it.”
Corinna just sat quietly and allowed Sam to get everything off her chest. The fact that she hadn’t even needed to facilitate Sam opening up about this just proved to her that the girl she’d known since she was a child needed to just be heard for a change.
“It sounds dumb, but I’m so exhausted being the outlier. For once in my life I want to blend in and be allowed to. Being the bigger person is the right thing to do but, god I’m so sick of it. Why do I always have to change for others? Why can’t they adapt to me for a change? I just want them to treat me fairly. I want them to understand how hard I’ve worked for this. I want them to see me like any other driver. But at the same time, I want to stop putting on this show for everyone that I’ve been acting in for years. I want to drop my walls and make them hurt, make them pay, make them regret the day they chose to use me as a publicity stunt.”
Her anger was pure but so were the tears beginning to cascade down her face. Sam took a moment to control her breathing and collect herself. She turned to Corinna, her tone genuine and even a bit pleading, “I want them to apologize.”
Now the tears came quicker, but not as quick as the way Corinna pulled Sam into her embrace.
The woman whispered in Sam’s ear as she pulled her head closer with a mother’s touch, “You have to want something else more.”
Sam’s response was muffled into Corinnas' shoulder before she lifted her head, “I want to be gentle, I want to be kind, I want to be happy. But when life gets hard and people turn their guns at me, I feel like have no other choice than to get harder to match.”
She leaned into the woman’s touch on her shoulder, turning her gaze out into the ocean once again and allowing it to wash the smallest sensation of calm over her, “Everybody always tells me ‘this isn’t how it’s supposed to be’ and ‘it’s not supposed to be like this’. But it is. This is what reality is for me. I never know what I’m going to accomplish in each race, but it has to be perfect. I can’t make any mistakes, I can rarely be involved in raveling incidents. It has to be irreproachable in every way in and off the track…”
Cortina cut her off empathetically, “But why? Why can’t you make mistakes like everybody else?”
“I have to make up for it,” Sam took a deep breath, “I have to make up for the fact that it’s me.”
The older woman stared at the girl, devastated at what the young child she once adored had blossomed into to try and survive.
“Some people laugh while others try to help. And everybody that surrounds me… they’ve got their hands wrapped around my hope— the hope that maybe they’ll listen, maybe things will change. And they’re tightening their grip and squeezing the life out of it. So I— I don’t know how much longer I can do this. And with this offer, I don’t know what to do now. Do I go back, do what I love surrounded by the people I love, but sacrifice a part of me I care so much about? Or do I leave a life I’ve spent years building behind for the sake of my sanity? It’s just so overwhelming.”
She threw her hands over her face, hoping it would hide her from the word as she hid the world hid from herself.
“Samantha, take a deep breath. When you don’t know where you are going, all you have to do is stand still. I’m so proud of you for sticking around as long as you did. It couldn’t have been easy. This world can be such a cruel place sometimes; that’s why you’re so courageous simply by waking up each day and facing what’s ahead. Think of it like this: being born in a burning house makes you believe that the world is on fire. But it is not. There is so much in store for you outside of these fears. Know that some of your best moments are still waiting for you down the line and there are so many people waiting for you there. Yes, the world is messy, but we must find the beauty among the chaos. There are still so many places to go, races to win, cultures to experience, people to love, words to say, and memories to make.”
Sam’s mind raced, thinking of the possibilities the future held if she were to go back. The races, the places, the opportunities, the people— the person. She fought a smile as she continued to listen to what Corinna had to say, “And I know you Samantha, I’ve known you for a long time. So I know how you fear you are always putting others out by being what you think is a burden. But you don’t have to carry the heaviest burden for your struggle to matter. It doesn’t matter if other people have it worse, or if they’ve hurt longer than you, or if someone is going through the same struggle but is handling it worse. If something is painful for you, then it is painful for you. And if it affects you, it is important, and it matters. Your struggle is real regardless of what anybody says. You’re allowed to be hurt, to be affected, to feel broken or sad, and most importantly you’re allowed a space to talk about it. And the people who care about you do not feel it is a burden when you talk about it. We will always care because we care about you. The people who are meant for you will find you on the other side of all of this. We’ll help you build a new comfort zone around the things that actually move you forward, not connect you to the parts of your past that tie you down. Instead of being liked, you will be loved. And instead of just being understood, you are going to be seen.”
Corinna put her hands on Sam’s cheeks, “all you are going to lose by opening up to us is the walls that were built for a person you no longer are. Embrace the people who are willing to see you for who you are, not who everybody expects you to be. Nobody will ever be able to understand what you had to endure to heal, to grow, to be here, to be you. Be proud of the way you fought to save yourself. Be proud of the way you survived…”
Sam smiled, but the way the tears in her eyes illuminated the regret— the guilt— made Corinna fear she may have not helped Sam decide, just remind her of what she is incapable of doing.
“I pushed my friends away, I did horrible things, said horrible things and all they wanted to do was be there for me. There’s nothing to be proud of about that,” Sam sniffled and wiped her tears.
“Sam, you know you have a big heart when you feel bad about doing what’s best for you. You just did it in a… rather unconventional way. And about those friends of yours…” Corinna reached into her back pocket and handed Sam something. It took her a moment to register what it was.
An envelope with her name on it, written in the messy handwriting she immediately recognized as Daniel’s.
It took her a decent amount of time to get through the thick letter, but by the time she finished reading what Daniel had written to her, her mind was set. Now more than ever, Sam was determined.
Determined to get back.
Determined to fix things.
Determined to get on that podium.
Determined to get back what she had stolen from herself.
She turned to Corinna, “we better get going if we’re gonna make it back in time for the race.”
The woman cheered and clapped at Sam’s choice, pulling her in for yet another hug.
Less than two hours later, Sam was on a flight to Abu Dhabi, her itinerary displaying that she would touch down with 2 hours to spare. That meant she would make it to the paddock roughly 30 minutes before the race started.
It was going to be close. Hell, if Sam could pull this off it would be a miracle.
But if there’s one thing about Samantha Thompson, it’s that she would never turn away from a challenge. Not anymore. Not when she finally knew how many people she had on her side.
crying real tears
long live | daniel ricciardo
pairing: daniel ricciardo x driver!reader (epilogue to fragile line)
long live the walls we crashed through i had the time of my life with you long, long live the walls we crashed through how the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
time passes and feelings may fade, but the memories never will word count: 7.7k (im so sorry) warnings/tags: time jumps like always, angst and heartbreak but it's not all sad this time, or is it?
four years later
“Daniel Ricciardo, 2025 Formula 1 World Champion, The Honey Badger,” James Hinchcliffe put his arm around the fellow commentator, “Tell us what you know.”
“What I know, Hinch,” Daniel repeated, taking a dramatic look up towards the clear sky. “What do I know?”
They didn’t need to act like they were friends for the camera, James and Daniel had grown close in a short time, ever since Daniel put down the helmet and picked up a microphone, Replacing the racing overalls with a suit and tie. He had the personality to be a motorsports commentator. No one was surprised when he was announced as Sky Sports newest reporter following his Formula 1 retirement.
And James, a fellow retired driver himself from the IndyCar side, a Canadian with the humour and the banter that could keep up with Daniel, they were truly one of the best duos when it came to motorsports broadcasting.
They weren't often together, though. Daniel stuck to Formula 1. James was a regular for IndyCar. There were only a handful of races where they came together and the Indianapolis 500 was one of them.
They were a comedic duo last year at the 2026 running, it only made sense to bring Daniel back again this year.
“Who’s your money on?” James asked. The question was innocent enough, proposed to most people who didn’t have an association with any team.
Daniel had his answer. Before the race weekend started he had an answer. Before the season started he had an answer.
But he hesitated.
Or, maybe froze was a better word. Daniel froze when he dropped his gaze from the sky and looked further down the pit lane. They didn’t plan on standing a few slots away from the number 6 car of Arrow McLaren, but that's where they found themselves.
Daniel froze when he spotted the familiar face sitting on the bench in the pit wall, looking at the data on the screens and nodding along with the engineer as he spoke. Daniel froze, because even though he knew exactly who was driving that car, he still wasn’t prepared for what he would do when he saw the driver.
When he saw you.
You guys had agreed, long ago, that there would be no more interactions. That your careers, your lives, would be better if the other stayed as far away as possible.
Daniel knew that even now, four years later, he had no right to talk to you, to talk about you. He knew that at this point, it was for the best that ties were still cut, that the conversations didn’t happen. It had been over a year since your last interaction, he was in no position to change that.
And he tried, desperately, over the years to follow the rules you agreed on. You as well kept your distance, you had to.
But you were only human. There had been a few slip ups over the years.
For the remainder of the season, after the Austin race, you both had stuck to your word. You stopped giving the world the moments they were waiting for. You refused to interact with each other, you forced yourself to stop caring.
It grew easier with time. The 2024 season was challenging in itself, but with Max and Daniel fighting amongst each other in a league of their own, you knew you couldn’t fight them in a McLaren. All you could do was make the most of what you had.
Lando and you had a strong opening those first few races. McLaren was third in the constructors for a short time until other teams started to catch up, filling in the holes of their designs.
You quite literally didn’t have time to care about Daniel when you were so focused on the rest of the grid, your actual competition. Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin even. Your upgrades were no match with theirs and by the end of the season, it was disappointing to look back without a podium to reminisce on. Lando scored two, one in Spa, the other in Singapore. You did well, but not well enough to bring home a trophy.
2025 was…different.
In many ways. Firstly, the McLarens showed consistency as the season continued. You and Lando were always top contenders for points.
Secondly, Daniel was giving Max a run for his money. He had a bit the year prior, but this season was far more competitive. You, like everyone else, was dying to see who would pull through and score that first place trophy at the end of the day, but you had to hide your desires for it to be Daniel.
You still hadn’t spoken. You had successfully veered away from any accidental interactions. His name stayed out of your mouth and at this point, everyone on the grid knew there was a disconnect. You both had gone out of your way, this year and in 2024, to assure there would be no media appearances together, no driver conferences, nothing that the online world could twist.
But you couldn’t do anything about still being happy for him. That would never go away. You would always want Daniel to succeed. You just couldn’t be watching the screens when he podiumed. You couldn’t go out with him and the others to celebrate. You couldn’t wish him a congrats in passing like Lando could if you were walking down the paddock.
Daniel felt the same. While the love was gone, there was nothing he could do about those proud moments. He wanted you to make a name in this sport, to make history. He wanted you to be someone and even though he once wanted to be at your side while you planted your roots, he couldn’t.
Except that one time when he physically was at your side.
There was a mistake in the media pen scheduling on that Thursday in Miami. From what you knew, Daniel was supposed to be in the press conference and you’d be one of the ten unlucky few that had to stand under the Miami sun in the football field, talking about how you were looking forward to this race when in reality you personally thought this was the worst race on the calendar.
But it was too hot to complain about anything other than the heat and how you needed to change shirts as soon as the media pen segment was over because the breathable material of your papaya polo was anything but breathable.
You had barely stepped into the roped off circle to join the other drivers when you heard your name being called. Glancing over your shoulder, it took a second to realise that the call was coming from a young girl running in your direction. Her paddock lanyard flailing over her shoulder as she sprinted, one hand held onto her McLaren hat so it wouldn’t fall off.
“She can’t be here-”
“Piss off, she’s fine,” you weren’t even sure who you interrupted, but you didn’t give the risk of a reprending a second thought as you stepped forward to meet the young fan.
She was small, and you weren’t a professional when it came to guessing the ages of kids but you would put her somewhere in the range of six and eight. Maybe?
You knelt down to be more at eye level, “Hi darling, what’s your name?”
“Cara,” she answered, slightly out of breath. There was a gap in her teeth from where she must have just lost one, but it didn’t affect her grin at all.
“Hi Cara,” you smiled at her, only then noticing she wore a shirt with your last name on it. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw an older gentleman running towards her. “Is that your dad?”
Cara looked and then nodded, but she didn’t care that she had completely abandoned him and given him a heart attack. “I saw you last year here. You finished fifth, my dad took me to watch. He says you- he says that you’re the only girl driver.”
“I am the only girl driver,” you confirmed, pouting slightly. You brushed your hand over her shoulder to smooth out the material of the shirt, “That should change soon, don’t you think? All of these boys need to be put in their place and I can’t do it alone.”
“I can join,” Cara suggested. The carefree optimism was a rare sight at one of these race weekends, but you admired it in Cara. She was too young to know the difficulties of being a female in this field and hopefully by the time she grew up, there were less walls for her to climb over, just doors to open.
“You can join,” you nodded at the idea, laughing slightly, mostly because her dad had caught up to her and he was more out of breath than she saw. You smiled at him but looked back at Cara, “Do you race?”
“Yes!”
“No,” her dad answered, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Not yet, at least. We’ve signed her up for karting this summer, we’ll see how it goes.”
“I can already tell you’ll be a natural,” you told Cara. Watching her face light up was probably the most rewarding feeling you’d get all weekend.
“I want to be like you. I want to win races, I want to win a championship!”
“You know what Cara, I can’t break every record, being the first girl driver. So I’ll save the championship one for you, how about that? I want to see you become the first girl to win the championship.” You gave her arm a squeeze and then stood up, turning your focus to her dad.
He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring and although you couldn’t make assumptions that he was single, the greying hair at a fairly young age and the bags under his eyes told you that he was mostly likely the main caretaker for Cara.
“She’s got dreams,” you said.
He nodded, but smiled proudly, “That she does.”
You didn’t want to speak negatively about this industry in front of Cara, you didn’t want to crush her dreams, but you also didn't want her to grow up and be hopelessly disappointed either.
“It’s not easy for girls in this sport,” you told him. “But if she’s serious, if both of you are, look into working with Mary from Victory Speedway, located out in Tampa. She’s got contacts with F1 Academy as well. They’re goal is to make it easier.”
“Thank you,” he nodded, holding out his hand to shake. “And thank you for talking with Cara. Both of us are big fans, you truly are inspiring.”
You chatted for a bit longer, ignoring Oliver who was at your side reminding you that you had media duties. They could wait. A photo with the girl that seemed to be your biggest fan and maybe one day your predecessor, couldn’t wait.
No one really heard what you spoke about, the other drivers had their own obligations in the media pen.
Daniel, though, he listened.
He was standing right near the entrance when Cara had run up. He had watched you bend down to chat with her, making her a priority opposed to the reporters. He was less than two feet away as he overheard your conversation and when you turned around, ready to get the media day over with, you met his eyes.
For the first time in a long time, you didn’t look away.
Daniel wanted to tell you he admired that conversation, the hope you installed in the young fan. He wanted to tell you that you made a great role model, for not just girls but all aspiring drivers. He wanted to say a lot of things to you.
He settled on a question, “You’re not trying to win the championship?”
This was the first time you had spoken in months and it wasn’t even in private. It was quite literally in front of cameras, reporters, people with audio recording devices and microphones. You opened your mouth slightly only to lock up, giving him an apologetic look because you both knew better than to be having any sort of interaction.
You turned to face the first reporter, ignoring Daniel’s question completely. He just nodded to himself and walked to his own spot, keeping you in the corner of his eye.
This young reporter, though, was also curious, having overheard what Daniel asked.
“You’re not vying for a championship? Does Zak Brown know this?” He asked with a soft chuckle.
You shrugged and gave him a smile, “I mean, every driver's dream is the championship, but it’s not my goal currently. Your goals can, and should, be different than your dreams. And yes, Zak knows this, don’t you worry.”
“Your goal then, what is it?”
You inhaled, thinking to yourself for a second, “I’ve got a few and I have a good team supporting me while I work towards them. First would be to make as much history as I can, set as many records while I have a spot in Formula 1 and then I want to help other female drivers break them.”
“You want your records to be broken?”
“If it means getting more females into Formula 1, then yes.”
Daniel, who was in the middle of trying to listen to the reporter in front of him, smiled as he heard that. It was a very you response. He leaned forward, gripping the railing a bit because he completely misheard his own question and needed him to repeat it.
“And your other goal?” The young reporter asked you.
Your lips curved into more of a devious smile, deciding to keep that one close to your chest. “Do you have any questions about the race this weekend? Or are you trying to write a biography on my life?”
Daniel was dying to know what it was too. He spent the rest of that media session racking through the memories of you, there were a lot, trying to think if you ever had that conversation. You must have, right? So why couldn’t he remember?
When all of you made your way out and back to the paddock, Daniel ignored the voice in his head telling him to just let it go. He completely drowned it out as he jogged up to your side, refraining from reaching out and brushing his hand over your elbow to grab your attention. Instead he just said,
“Hey.”
You glanced up, instinctively stepping to the side as you walked to put more space between your bodies.
“Hi,” you breathed out, pulling your eyes off of him and on the Red Bull motorhome that was coming up. This conversation would be short, he’d have to go back inside. You’d be fine for ten seconds, right?
“So what-” he cleared his throat. This shouldn’t have been awkward but it was. After so long of not even glancing at each other, there were new lines painted between you. Daniel didn’t know how to navigate them, and honestly, neither did you.
“Triple Crown, Dan,” you answered, knowing that's where he was going when he opened his mouth.
The Triple Crown. Monaco. Indy 500. 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He took a second to process that goal, not having expected it in the slightest. When he nodded, you could see the hurt in his eyes, only there was less pain and more distance. He didn’t know you like he thought he did.
“I never knew you were aiming for the Triple Crown.”
“You never asked.”
He had trained you, helped you become the best athlete you could be. He had introduced you to the right people. He acted as a mentor, but the conversations you had about racing were limited. There was a lack of communication in that sense because why bring work home with you?
But that was the wedge driven between you. Had you talked about racing, contracts, your futures, you would have never found yourself in that McLaren contract scandal that ultimately broke you two up.
He nodded, because what else could he say to that? You gave him a soft smile and told yourself to keep walking, to move to the other side of the paddock as Daniel headed into the Red Bull motorhome.
You don’t interact again until Monaco. Daniel now knew winning this race meant more to you than others. Winning this would be one third of the Triple Crown checked off and as much as he was gunning for the podium, thankful for his P2 starting position, he saw that you were starting fourth and took a breath of relief. You had a shot.
Daniel wasn’t sure what came over him when he saw you in the paddock after qualifying. Maybe it was because you not completely shutting him down in Miami gave him a strange surge of confidence to approach you again, or maybe it was because he was ignoring all the voices in his head to just keep walking. Whatever it was, Daniel saw you chatting with a member of Sky Sports and as he walked passed, patted your shoulder in a congratulatory manner.
You paused whatever it was you were saying and turned in his direction, just in time to see him give you a smile and a thumbs up as he continued on his way. You returned it, but that small interaction had you stumbling over your words for the next two hours.
Not because you were smitten, you were past that. You didn’t look at Daniel anymore and lose your train of thought, you didn’t get lost in a daze and allow everything else to fade around you.
But he didn’t seem to let go of you completely yet, and you could work with that. You could be civil. You could be neutral during race weekends, as long as it didn’t go further than the friendly smiles and minimal chats.
It shouldn’t have been hard to keep the conversations short, you hadn’t actually had anything meaningful to say to each other in over a year. When you ran into him after the race on Sunday, after he claimed the title of Monaco Grand Prix race winner for a second time, you should have just said congratulations and kept walking.
But Daniel saw you as he was propped up against the side of the Red Bull motorhome and then he stood up straighter, almost inviting you to walk up to him. There were no cameras around anymore, the majority of the paddock had gone home so you felt safer, sort of. If the world hadn’t lost their minds at the clip of him patting your back yesterday, you could talk to him now.
The Red Bull engineer he was with said his goodbyes and smiled politely at you as you approached, stopping at a safe distance.
“Another Monaco win under your belt.”
“So it seems,” Daniel tried his best to not look too proud of himself. You could see his dimples poking through. You wanted him to not be holding back, you missed his grin but gone were the days when he didn’t have to refrain with you.
“You deserve it,” you nodded, glancing over your shoulder out of habit. You were scared of any stragglers with iPhones, but no one around seemed to care that you and Daniel were talking. You were drivers, it shouldn’t have been a strange sight.
“You deserve it,” Daniel playfully shot back. “I mean, I couldn’t just hand it over this year though, despite your Triple Crown goal.”
“Oh but next year? You’ll let me have it then?” You asked, eyebrows raised. It was a joke, a small tease, but Daniel’s smile slipped and you caught it. You caught it and you stepped forward, hand flinching because it would be moments like this where you’d want to reach for him but you couldn’t do that anymore, could you?
Daniel tensed. Now it was his turn to look anxiously around, “I might not-” a sharp inhale passed through his lips, “Yeah I might not be here next year.”
You scoffed because that idea was preposterous, “Oh shut up.”
“No it’s true,” Daniel said, but his smile told you that he wasn’t sad about it. “You know how your goal is the Triple Crown?”
“Yes.”
“Mine’s the championship, sweets.”
You weren’t given an opportunity to react to the nickname because he continued on explaining without missing a beat. Either he didn’t see the way saying sweets affected you or he didn’t even notice he said it because even after all this time, it still came naturally to him.
“There’s a clause in my contract,” he said. “If I win the championship this year, we can renegotiate. I can leave, I can- I can retire. The way I want to.”
You didn’t know how to process this.
Daniel belonged in Formula 1. He fought so hard for his seat, he was a mess when he was left without one and now there was a chance he’d be gone?
And even though you were only eight races in, already he was leading the driver standings over Max, not by much, but he was. There was a strong possibility Daniel could take the championship home at the end of the season.
You couldn’t say what was on your mind. You couldn’t say, selfishly, I hope you lose the championship. You couldn’t say that it was impossible to imagine the paddock without him because even those few months when he wasn’t racing, he was still there.
“We’ve still got a few months to go,” Daniel’s voice broke you from your thoughts, trying to move to a brighter note because that’s just who he was. “But this could be good for you. You’ll have a real shot at winning Monaco next year. But I mean- you technically already won Monaco.”
“That was F2.”
“I think it still counts.”
“I think I’ll win it again, just to be safe.”
Daniel liked that response, he liked how confident you were that the win was coming. He nodded and he really would have liked to talk to you more about this, about his potential leave, about your success, but when he was called from across the paddock you didn’t hesitate before saying goodbye. The conversation was long enough.
Things seemed lighter between you after that.
You didn’t stop yourself from being visibly happy when he was doing well. You laughed if you overheard the stupid shit he said in the paddock. You didn’t make a big deal about it when you two were signed up for the same press conference session. Granted, you still sat on complete opposite ends of the couch, but you sat there with a smile because you liked hearing Daniel talk about the lead he still carried in the standings.
Spa was the turning point for you two.
While you hadn’t taken any more steps beyond paddock conversations and friendly interactions, what was Daniel supposed to do when you both ended up on the podium together? Him on top, claiming first, you right next to him on the second step?
You both held back when you climbed out of the cars. He opted for a friendly pat on the back even though he wanted nothing more than to bring you in for an embrace. You had podiumed once already this season, but not with Daniel. You stood between the two Mercedes drivers back in Austria but now you were there, with Daniel at your side, both of you beaming.
You were proud of yourselves. You were proud of each other.
Both of you had dreamt of this moment, standing next to each other on the podium. You still remembered that conversation years ago, trying to imagine what it would be like to hear the cheers for both of you.
‘You’ll have to do a shoey.’
‘Only if you win. I’m not doing one if I win.’
You had shared this dream when you were in love and even though that wasn’t the case anymore, the dream was still very much alive. Because of that, it almost didn’t feel right.
It felt sort of unfulfilling, despite you being handed a heavy trophy.
But this was a moment that you would remember for the rest of your life. All of your accomplishments were held very close to your heart but this one meant more than you could put into words.
Hands shaking, crowd going wild, you were on top of the world and you were standing next to the man you used to be in love with. You glanced to the side to watch him, not able to stop yourself from smiling wide and then wider still as he held his head high like a hero.
Daniel was larger than life.
He always would be.
You tried not to let yourself think that this might be the only chance you’d get to stand here with him. This win only pushed him further ahead in the championship and you were, seemingly, the only one who knew this year would be his last if he ended up winning.
You had to hold onto this moment. It wouldn’t come again.
To everyone watching at home, this was the start of a new age with you and Daniel. Fans could see the way you two interacted, the sheer joy you had for each other, something they hadn’t seen since you still raced in F2.
To you, this was the beginning of the end.
Finally, you and Daniel were getting to a place where things could be good and in a few short months, he’d be gone.
You couldn’t think about it more, not when you felt champagne being sprayed in your direction. You were late to the game and popped yours after Daniel and Max had, but you still joined in with the celebration.
You laughed when Daniel took his shoe off and poured some of the bubbly liquid into the sole. He laughed when you refused to drink it, both of you ignoring the fact that if you were still in love, if you were still together, you would have done the shoey with him.
Daniel was content with the nod. He knew you were happy for him, the same way he was happy for you. But neither of you could show it the way you wanted to.
The championship win was decided at the second last race of the season, Qatar.
You didn’t have a good weekend, and you knew this. You took responsibility for the poor qualifying, the bad performance, for all of it. But you were distracted, unable to keep yourself from thinking about Daniel because if he won this race, he won it all.
And then he’d walk away.
You were conflicted. You wanted to see Daniel take home the win but selfishly, you wanted him in Formula 1. You always wanted him in Formula 1.
So when he crossed that line, ahead of Max, ahead of the rest of the grid, when he did celebratory donuts and stood on the podium with his chin held high, you stood on the sidelines and ignored how you used to wish for a day like this, wished for a day where he would be crowned the Championship Winner.
Daniel Ricciardo. 2025 Formula 1 World Champion.
It had a nice ring to it.
That’s what you told him that night when you were out at dinner and saw him sitting with a few members from his team just a few feet away. You weren’t surprised to see him at the establishment, it was exclusive, it was way overpriced and it was where many drivers went prior to going out and partying.
You avoided his eyes that evening, scared that if you’d meet them you’d be forced to accept the reality that he really was leaving. At least, you know, if you didn’t look at him, you could live in your own little world where he wasn’t gone just yet.
You were genuinely annoyed when you bumped into him after leaving the toilets. The hall was dim, narrow and there was quite literally nowhere for you to go when he turned the corner and stopped walking when he saw you.
“Hi,” you swallowed, anxiously smoothing out the skirt you wore, even more anxiously trying to avoid his eyes.
“Hi,” Daniel slid his hands into his pockets. His Enchante shirt clung to his skin due to the heat, but you told yourself you weren’t allowed to look at the way his little curls stuck to his forehead.
“You, um-” you held your hand out. “Congratulations, really. Daniel Ricciardo. 2025 Formula 1 World Champion. It’s got a nice ring to it.”
He laughed and nodded along, “Yeah, yeah, thank you.”
When he leaned against the wall, you realised you were stuck. There was no getting out of this conversation. No escaping this reality.
It didn’t help that the rest of the dining room faded behind him. The people, the sounds, the light, it was just Daniel.
Just Daniel and just you.
How it always should have been.
How it would never be again.
You opened your mouth, intent on saying something else about his win but all that came out was a shaky breath and a choked back sob that triggered the tears you didn’t even know were building. It was quiet, but it was desperate and it was painful and Daniel didn’t hesitate before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around you, pulling you into his chest. Your cries were muffled against his shirt and Daniel stroked your back and then your hair, holding you tight against him.
You were happy for him, really. If anyone deserved this win, it was him but god you were devastated because up until now, you didn’t realise you still held this much love for him. Up until now, you didn’t realise that even after everything, you still needed him.
You needed him.
“What am I going to do without you on the grid?” You asked, your voice was already quiet but it was even more so muffled as you spoke directly into his body.
Daniel chuckled, it vibrated through his chest. “What you’ve been doing this whole time, sweets. You’ll make history. You’ll put the rest of the guys in their places. You’ll be the driver I know you to be.”
It took a few seconds, maybe a few minutes actually, of just standing there and crying into his chest until you snapped out of it. You weren’t dating anymore, your conversations now didn’t last longer than five minutes, it was embarrassing to be losing it in front of him, because of him.
You stepped back and wiped your eyes, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t- I just-”
“I’ll miss you too, Y/N,” he breathed out.
You nodded, because if you tried to say anything else you would be crying again. Daniel held his finger up and walked into the toilets to grab some tissue for you. It took another minute for you to be able to trust your voice again.
“I can’t believe you’re really leaving,” you dabbed at your cheeks, knowing you’d have to go back to the hotel to fix your make up before going out again.
“I’ve got things lined up,” Daniel shrugged.
“Care to share?”
He tried to hide his smile and failed miserably, “Just don’t be surprised if I show up at the track next year with a microphone instead of a helmet.”
That was about as much he would say as his deal with Sky Sports wasn’t yet official.
But now you felt more like an idiot for crying about him leaving if he wasn’t even actually leaving. You’d still see him. He’d still be around. You could work with that.
Daniel could still be proud of your accomplishments, even if he was on the sidelines.
He was, however, a little conflicted when you won the last race of the 2025 season.
You made history in Abu Dhabi. The first female driver to win a race. This was a wall you had spent years trying to crash through and now there you were. On top of the podium, on top of the world as confetti fell to the ground around you, champagne sprayed in all directions.
This was your moment.
Your win, your first win and all you wanted was Daniel up on that podium with you. As happy as you were to celebrate with Max and George, you couldn’t deny something was missing.
Because you really could never cut yourself off from Daniel completely, could you? You could try, you could attempt to distance yourself, you could stop the interactions and you could tell yourself you didn’t care but you were right that day you told Lando that Daniel was your missing piece.
So it made sense that you were at a bit of a loss for words when he showed up at your hotel room that next morning.
You invited him in, despite being slightly hungover. He didn’t care that your clothes were spread all throughout the room, but he did smile at the sight of your trophy on proud display on the table before you had to give it to your engineer for safe travels.
“So this is it,” you sighed, sitting down on the far side of the couch. Daniel sat down as well, the opposite side, arm stretched along the back of it.
“This is it,” he agreed.
“When does the news drop?”
He clicked his tongue, “Tomorrow.”
“Who’s replacing you?”
“Not sure,” he scratched the stubble along his jaw. “My guess is Lawson or possibly Palou.”
You sat in silence for a while, thankful that it wasn’t uncomfortable because it easily could have been.
But you both grew this season.
You could both admit now, being in love and being drivers was an unattainable dream.
But you could be drivers and you could still have love for each other.
You reached across the couch, a gentle smirk playing on your lips as you nudged his arm, “So what are you going to say about me?”
Daniel dipped his head back and laughed, “What do you mean?”
“You know,” you shrugged. “Like when you talk about us drivers on Sky Sports. What are you going to say about me?”
“I’m going to say that not only did you steal my seat, but you stole the glory of my last race by winning.”
You rolled your eyes, recognizing the sarcasm but you were thankful his words weren’t malicious anymore, “I thought we were past this. I didn’t steal your seat, Dan.”
“No, but I don’t think I can joke about it on air so this is my last chance.”
You reached behind you and grabbed one of the throw pillows, smacking it against his chest. You chose to look at this playfully, instead of it as the inevitable end.
And Daniel needed a second to think about your question anyway, so the joke was just a way to stall. Honestly, he was a little surprised that he hadn’t already thought about it considering you were on his mind more than you should have been.
He cleared his throat and adjusted himself on the couch cushion. You could see that he was struggling to come up with a good response and you didn’t mean for this. You didn’t want him to think he had to choose his words carefully.
“Hey,” you whispered, shifting closer to him, “Promise me something.”
You met his eyes, his dark brown eyes that once had such a strong hold over you. You looked at him and remembered why you fell in love with him in the first place. In this moment, it was hard to remember why you ever wanted to stop loving him.
Had you stopped loving him? Did that day really come?
You could have love for someone and not be in love with him anymore, but you didn’t think you’d find yourself in a position where you had to differentiate between the two. You thought, you knew, you would always be in love with Daniel that to sit here and think that maybe, possibly, you didn’t anymore, felt like a betrayal.
He was supposed to be the one that stood by you through it all. The good, the bad, the wins, the losses. It wasn’t supposed to end with you two sitting on the couch and admitting that this truly was over.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this, but you always knew it would.
Fate stepped in and whether you liked it or not, it was forcing you into a goodbye, into an acceptance that your lives would no longer be intertwined, that you couldn’t go back to the way things were.
“Anything,” Daniel spoke softly. Maybe one day he would have said, I’d promise you the world, if you asked, but that seemed a little too forward for the moment.
“Be honest, Dan,” you told him, your hand finding his over the edge of the couch. Your thumb brushed against his fingers and both of you fought the urge to just connect them further. “Tell them my name, but tell them how I got to Formula 1. Tell them it was you, that you helped me pave the way, that you helped me make a name in this sport. Don’t just point to the pictures of me, point to the ones of us. Now that you’re done with racing, I don’t care about the assumptions, the rumours, any of it. Tell people how it really was you and I, how we were the team that should have been, that never was, please, because even though I know-”
You paused, taking a second to swallow the lump at the back of your throat. You glanced at your hand and maybe it was you or maybe it was him, but your fingers started to interlock. Your eyes stayed glued to the touch as your last admittance filled the air between you.
“I know I could have made it to Formula 1 without you, but I can’t put into words how thankful I am that I didn’t have to.”
Daniel nodded, because he agreed with you. He knew you could have gotten here without him but he too was grateful he was by your side for the start of it. He agreed that you two really were the team that never was but should have been. He nodded and agreed that he would say all of those things.
But you knew that he wouldn’t.
Those words were for him, not the rest of the world.
He would tell people that you shined on top of the podium. He would say that the crowds went wild, louder for you than any other driver.
And he would never say that he had any part of shaping your career. Despite you knowing he did, despite the whole world knowing he played a detrimental part, Daniel didn’t hold onto those connections when you went on to race in 2026 and he stood in the commentators box.
He stayed neutral, surprisingly.
It helped that he didn’t interact with many drivers or if he did, it was never you. He did talk about you, but only about your performance on the track. His colleagues knew not to bring up your past, not when the only thing that mattered was how well you were doing in the present.
He had some thoughts when you announced you were making the switch to IndyCar at the end of this season, but mostly because you made that announcement before the Monaco Grand Prix, before you claimed the win you were chasing, before you could check off one third of the Triple Crown.
He wanted to pull you aside and question why you were making this choice but he couldn’t. He also couldn’t call you out publicly on air like other reporters had.
All he could do was hold his breath after you qualified P2 in Monaco. He sat on the edge of his seat, struggling to do his job, struggling to commentate on the race because the second you made the move to overtake Max and it worked, Daniel had to leave the room.
He had to leave because he knew that if you kept the lead, if you won, he couldn’t celebrate the way he wanted to with cameras on him. Instead, he watched from the privacy of a separate media suite. The broadcast was a few seconds delayed but at least he was able to cheer and be visibly proud of you and not have to hold back when you crossed the line ahead of Max.
You won the Monaco Grand Prix, in a McLaren of all cars, and now he knew what you were gunning for next.
The Indy 500.
Signing that Arrow McLaren deal ended up being the right move after all.
“Who’s your money on?” James Hinchcliffe asked him as they stood on the pit lane where the teams were preparing for the greatest spectacle in racing. The question was innocent enough, proposed to most people who didn’t have an association with any team.
Daniel had his answer. Before the race weekend started he had an answer. Before the season started, he had an answer. Despite knowing you were still far from winning the Indy 500, his money would always be on you.
You looked up from where you sat on the Arrow McLaren bench and you smiled at him.
You were having a pretty good season, for a rookie. With O’Ward and Rossi as your teammates, you knew you couldn’t compare, but they were good people to have on your team, in your corner. They helped you, guided you through the shift from Formula 1 to Indy and you could be proud that in a grid of 26 drivers, you were 11th in the standings.
“Not betting on anyone, James,” Daniel answered, but his eyes were still locked on you and his smirk said otherwise. “It’ll be a good race.”
He could say your name, he wanted to. But Daniel stayed as far away from your life as he could because you decided on it a long time ago and nothing that happened since told him that you’d be going back on that decision, that you wanted him back in your life.
He might not have been a driver anymore, but you still were. So he was content with being civil, neutral. He was fine with the friendly smiles and if an old photo of the two of you circulated every now and again, well, he didn’t hate it.
He sat with the rest of the Indy commentators during the race. He shared his honest opinions throughout and he, along with the other reporters, praised Alexander Rossi for taking home his second Indy 500 victory, eleven years after his first.
But that was not the Arrow McLaren driver he wished was celebrating in Victory Lane.
Daniel waited until his job was done, but he knew he had to find you before the day ended. He wanted to congratulate you on finishing twelfth. That was something he was proud of and he hoped you were as well.
It would only go up from there. The Indy 500 was still an achievable goal.
He found you in the paddock. It wasn’t hard. You stood out, even in the crowd of people. He waited off to the side and watched you take photos with young girls, young fans that resembled that one girl in Miami, all of them looking up to you and thanking you for paving the way for them, for other females in motorsport.
It was by chance that you looked over your shoulder and saw Daniel standing there. He nodded, wordlessly assuring you that he could wait, to take your time with the fans.
He ended up waiting almost fifteen minutes.
Eventually, you started to approach him. Daniel stood up straighter, having been leaning against the Penske trailers until you were done. You still had your racing overalls on, but unzipped and hanging loosely on your hips. The black fireproofs under the papaya looked good on you, but Daniel hadn’t let himself appreciate your appearance for years, he couldn’t start now, even if he really wanted to.
“Hey,” you called out when you were only a few steps away.
“Hey yourself,” Daniel chuckled. When you finally stood in front of him, he was sort of expecting to see a sliver of defeat, but you were happy. You may not have won the 500, but you had a good run and there was always next year. Plus, you still had the rest of the season to finish. The season wasn’t over, you could still make history in this sport.
You crossed your arms over your chest and glanced around, jaw clenched until you finally worked up the courage to meet his eyes.
“So,” you inhaled a breath. “You’ve got some time on your hands now that you’re retired, right?”
Daniel wasn’t sure where this was going but he laughed and nodded, “Somewhat, yes, but I do still work race weekends.”
“But Monday through Wednesday?”
He pondered it for a second, just for dramatic effect. “I’m fairly open.”
You nodded, hoping for that answer.
If you were being honest with yourself, this was a conversation you wanted to have with Daniel since he announced his retirement almost two years ago, you just never knew what the outcome would be.
You felt a bit safer now, knowing that he was based out of the UK and your races were only North American. If he hated where you were going with this, well, it was rare you’d be crossing paths so soon afterwards.
You just had to blurt it out.
“Ever thought about being a trainer?” You asked. “Or a manager? Mentor even? You know- my last mentor walked out on me-”
Daniel cut you off with a booming laugh, “Walked out? Really? Is that what you tell people?”
Him playing along with your humour felt like a weight off your shoulders, “Only if they ask.”
Daniel, finally, didn’t have to refrain himself anymore. He felt confident enough to drape his arm over your shoulders and walk with you down the paddock. For once, he didn’t care if people looked or recorded and secretly, he hoped they did.
All he wanted was to be at your side. All he wanted was for the world to know he was proud of you, that, if you asked, he’d be back in your corner.
And you were asking.
“So you need a mentor?” He repeated. “A trainer?”
Your hand slipped around his waist. It was natural, comforting, right.
“Well, I need to win the 500 eventually and then I need to get into Le Mans. I can’t do it alone.”
Daniel looked at you, wearing that stupid grin you missed so much even if you had memorised it the first day you met. You missed him, despite hearing his voice on the broadcasts and seeing him in the paddock. You missed him, he was your missing piece after all.
Daniel looked at you, and you knew, you weren’t alone.
__________________
the end ♡
taglist: @torossosebs@whatthefuckerr@jspitwall@oconso@tsarinablogs@landowecanbewc@somanyfandomsbruh@christianpulisic10@storminacloud@sunnytkm23@formula1mount@azxulaa@icarus-nex@spideyspeaches @moonvr @destourtereaux @baw-sixteen @cinderellawithashoe @love4lando @alesainz @blueanfield @itsmeempar @vellicora @simple-soul-searcher
for some reason im struggling to add people to the taglist, i deeply apologise
Angst like this hurts so GOOD
𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 | 𝐝𝐫𝟑
summary... it’s never the right time for you and daniel, always something pulling the two of you away from each other. requested... yes by literally everyone. yall were coming at me with pitch forks for this warning... age gap (7 years), emotional cheating, physical cheating, angst, angst, angst, light smut (more on fade to black) pairing... daniel ricciardo x horner! reader
note... i am tagging each and everyone of you who asked for a part 2 bc this fic has quite literally loomed over my head ever since i posted it a year ago. literally everytime i open this godforsaken app, someone is offering me their first born for the part 2 so yall better give me all the notes!!!
𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩
← prev part
high tide came and brought you in
“if you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”
the question caught you off guard as your friend drunkenly pondered over it out loud. where would you go? you were sober enough to say home, the most acceptable answer that would not invite any other follow up questions. it’s simple and doesn't need a discussion. the reason it caught you off guard wasn’t just that though but because your answer was instantaneous in your head. your answer isn’t a where but rather a who, came your bitter realization.
and you knew that if you could go anywhere in the world right now, it’d be him you’d go to. he always lingers in the back of your mind, everything that reminded him of you tends to bring a certain kind of aching and longing you’ve grown to resent over the months and years spent without him.
daniel sent you away and deep in you, you know he meant good. he’d done a selfless thing, loving you and setting you free. but missing him was unbearable, loving him all consuming and you resent him for doing this to you. you resent the world for making you fall for a man without letting you have him.
still, you did as he told you. you went back to school, pursuing a career in a field you knew he’d be proud of, achieving your dreams and living your life as though a part of you hadn’t been left with him.
your friends carry on with the party. half of university was partying which is a scene familiar to you. this time, it’s on the beach, the salty air and sound of crashing waves echoing with the sound of the music and chatter. still though, you can’t help but scan the place as though looking for him among the crowd of people the same way you always would. you miss the way you’d find his eyes already on you, pools of brown dripping like honey on your skin.
but he’s never there and you feel dirty whenever another man looks at you, their gazes too eager as they look at you as though you’re a piece of meat, never gentle like his as though you’re aphrodite herself walking among mere mortals.
you miss him is the ugly truth. you miss him so fucking terribly it makes you angry. you don’t want to miss him. you no longer want to love him. loving him hurts, as though he’s clawing at your chest and squeezing your heart together in a sick sort of torture.
but even before he touched you, you were his. all he had to do was look at you. you exist in two places – here and wherever he is.
eventually as the night progresses on, you move away from the party. you’re in some fancy country club and the tile is expensive on your feet as you step out of your heels and walked towards the beach, feeling the cool sand against your skin.
in hindsight, you really shouldn’t have been surprised to find him in a place like this but despite looking for him wherever you go, you’d never expect to find him. searching for him has become a comfort the same way longing for him has – in a sick, twisted and painful way.
but he’s here now and in the one time you hadn’t searched for him, he found you. the moment you’d spotted his figure looking out at sea, he turned to you as though a gravitational pull connected you to him.
one year, three months and fourteen days. that was the last time you saw him but he looked no different from the man who’d brought you back to your hotel room only to say goodbye.
and then he smiled and it was as though the sun shone on you again.
“honey,” he says and your heart trembles.
daniel.
it was too early. and you’re drunk and you aren’t entirely sure if you were dreaming or not.
but he stands before you, eyes of brown looking as though you’re aphrodite herself and he can’t quite believe he gets to stand before you. eyes of brown that seem to be sobbing without tears. daniel.
you’re still not talking and he’s letting you, watching you so intently as though he’s memorizing your face. he looked the exact same but you know what he must be seeing. you look nothing like the woman he left behind. you’d cut your hair short and dyed it. long gone were your summer dress, replaced by tight fitting ones that showed off your body. you feel different and you tried so hard to make sure you wouldn’t recognize yourself in the mirror. you hated seeing the woman who couldn’t make him stay.
but in his eyes, you see your reflection and you recognize her well.
“daniel,” you muttered as the crashing waves touched your feet. would you love me now? you wanted to ask.
he smiled again. “you look beautiful as you always are.”
please touch me, you wanted to beg. soft eyes and soft soft hands. you’re lonely without him.
you manage a grin. “sure, old man.”
the laugh that he let out echoed against your soul. “i’m being honest.”
you missed him. god, you missed him so fucking much.
but daniel still would not let himself love you. not yet, not now that you’re finally building something for yourself. you have friends and have set goals. not yet.
“y/n!” someone calls from behind you but you’re hesitant to take your eyes off of daniel, terrified he’d become a figment of your imagination the moment you do. but your friend's familiar calls force you to. “come on, we have to go.”
you ignore her, turning back to daniel and he smiles at you, offering his hand for you to shake. this is the best he can offer for now. “i’ll see you around, kid.”
you wanted to cry, wanted to scream that it’s so unfair, but you smile sadly as he shook his hand, his calloused fingers so familiar against yours.
“in a few years,” you say.
and as the ocean brought him back to you, the waves must return to the sea.
but you were still gone and gone, gone and gone
the next time you see daniel again, you were twenty four. you’re in your last year of university, applying for your doctorate. you loved academia, you loved your two cats and your little apartment downtown, you loved science and the galaxy it holds and you eventually realized that this is why he let you go. he wanted you to have this — be more than someone who just follows a man around country after country.
he wanted you to grow, wanted you to find the things you really loved without influence from him. he wanted you to find your independence and learn to stand on your own two feet.
max brought you here. it’s his first world champion and as his self proclaimed best friend, he refused to allow you to skip this one and so you pulled up your big girl pants and got on with it, arriving in abu dhabi on friday.
by some cruel twist of fate, he’s the first person you find the moment you enter the paddock. it would have been rude to ignore him and so you smile even though you can clearly see the woman next to him and the way she stands close.
goddamn it.
it hurt. it hurt seeing her there. it hurt seeing her cluelessly smile at you. the way he looks at you now, eyes of brown full of silent apologies, looking as though he wanted to reach over and touch you, to comfort you.
you release a shaky breathe, raising your hand in an pathetic attempt of a wave before you walk past him. you aren’t the same young kid like before. now, you have enough self reservation to not actively put yourself in a situation that would only hurt you. you don’t need to play besties with daniel’s new girlfriend.
the moment you enter the red bull motorhome, you hit max at the back of his head.
“what?” he exclaimed as you glared at him.
“you’re an idiot,” was all you said before moving towards your father. you’d ignore daniel and his girlfriend. you’re here to support max – even if he is a stupid idiot – and there’s no need for you to obsess over daniel.
but of course, you still do anyway. even as you watch the race, you’re watching him. he looks good, amazing, fucking edible. he looks like he stepped right out of your dirtiest dreams, all thick neck and stable arms. he looks beautiful, absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking and you selfishly want him just for you. but you’ve always wanted that and you’ve never been allowed to have him.
and then you’re watching her. she’s grace herself, really. she’s exactly the kind of woman he needed and you wonder if she knows about you and then you wonder what it is about her. what is it about her that made it so that daniel thought she’s good enough for him to love when he never could you?
“mate, it’s getting creepy,” max said as he took the seat before you. he looks tired but he looks determined and the way the hair falls over his face makes you smile. max is a very special person to you and you know that he always will. you hold him close to your heart and you know you’d move the earth for him.
you reach over, fixing the collar of his red bull shirt. “shut up.”
“her name’s caroline,” max says. “if you want to get to know her then just approach her.”
you glared at him. you don’t want to know her name. you don’t want to know what her laugh sounds like or the color of her eyes. you don’t want to know what made daniel fall in love with her. you don’t want to know her.
“shut up,” you say again. “i’m still blaming you.”
max laughed and you think him annoying you might just be his way of distracting himself from the race so you let him. you let him talk on and on and on the entire time till he’s needed back in the motorhome. you let him steal yur ice cream and tap your nose.
but when you turned back to her, caroline, you find him staring right back at you, anger and jealousy in those brown eyes you missed so much.
and it was like you’re twenty again, petty and young as you glared right back at him. he had no reason to be jealous when he has her beside him. he has no right to be jealous when he’s the one who’s never allowed the two of you to be more.
these hands had to let it go free
that night, he called you for the first time in three years. his name lit up your phone and your hand shook as you picked it up. his picture, smiling up at you taken at your twentieth birthday stares right back at you.
“daniel,” you breathe out as you press the phone against your ear. you’d arrived back in your hotel room two hours ago smelling of champagne and victory. max’s world championship trophy is laying next to you after being forgotten because your best friend was far too drunk to grab it before his girlfriend dragged him out. throughout the party, you avoided daniel like the plague, keeping to your side of the room and never straying towards him.
“i missed you,” he says from the other end, voice cracking and slurring. he’s drunk and you push back the blanket as you enter the bathroom, hand gripping your phone. “but fuck it, i don’t miss this.”
“what are you saying?”
“he’s my best mate, y/n.” there goes your name. not sweetheart or honey. he says your name like it’s sacred, something he’s only ever allowed to say when he’s at his most vulnerable, completely raw and baring his soul to you. “and i wanted to fucking punch his face the entire night.”
you close your eyes. this is familiar to you. daniel and his raw honesty when he’s drunk. daniel and his jealousy of max. this is all so familiar to you that you feel twenty again. you feel young and out of control and so drunk in love with a man you can’t have that it physically hurts. he’s ripped you off the past few years where you’ve grown into yourself. you’re twenty again and so tragically in love.
“i wanted to punch his fucking face because his touching you, because i’m not allowed to touch you,” he continues as you sink to the floor.
“you’re the only one who’s never let yourself touch me, daniel,” you whispered on the phone, broken down from one phone call.
he laughs bitterly and you might as well not have said anything. “and here i am, can’t even sleep next to my damn girlfriend because i keep thinking of you. it’s so unfair.”
you wanted to laugh too. unfair? how does he get to talk about unfair when he’d been the one to create this mess for the two of you? how dare he talk about being unfair when he’s the one who’s with another girl? this is unfair. it’s unfair to you. he doesn’t deserve to talk about it being unfair.
the night he left you in your hotel room on your twenty first birthday, you’d called his name again and again like a child. you hoped by some magical thing that he’ll appear. you were desperate.
“you shouldn’t have come back,” he says. “not yet. we both weren’t ready.”
you wipe the tears falling to your cheeks. “and when will that happen? when will we be ready? maybe it’s time to accept that it isn’t us.”
you heard him let out a shaky breath. “don’t say that. don’t say it.”
“i’m so tired of waiting. if it wasn’t us then and it isn’t us now, why do we still believe that it’s us someday?”
“ask me to stay,” he whispers. “ask me to stay and i will. ask me to drop her and i will. i will drop everything if you ask me to.”
you cry, pulling your knees against your chest. “goodbye, dan.”
struggled through the night with someone new
the next time you see daniel again, you invited him. you’re twenty five, it’s two thousand and twenty two, you’re engaged and you’d gotten arrogant.
you met your fiance, james, in university. you’re in the same program and the same friend group though you never paid much attention to him. for the most part, you never really paid much attention to anyone. six months later and he asked you on a date, one you’d declined without a second thought. it didn’t matter how many guys asked you out, you always declined, daniel in the back of your mind always reminding you of what you’re truly waiting for.
but james never treated you any differently. he never made it awkward and never put you on the spot. for the most part, you both acted like it never happened. but you applied to the same doctorate program and coincidentally ended up in apartments right next to each other. he was a comfort, a friend you already knew that you could rely on. he never made anymore advances towards you but it was inevitable to grow closer.
he’s stability and curiosity. he never once pulled back whenever you touched him or apologized for liking you. it was a breath of fresh air – to be admired so freely. you did your thesis together, hands tightly clamped together as you defended it.
you were the one to ask james out on a date, knowing he wouldn’t again in fear of making you uncomfortable. and after leaning on each other as friends for so long, transitioning to become lovers was so easy, you didn’t have to worry what anyone would say or think of you. you didn’t have to worry what your family would think. everything was easy with him.
james was so different from the type of love you were used to. you could love him without guilt, without pain and longing. you could love him simply, easily. you didn’t need to ask him to love you back, didn’t need to wonder if he’d still love you tomorrow. it was so easy being with him and you’d gotten lazy. waiting and hurting and crying for daniel was exhausting.
you wanted a love you didn’t have to fight for.
you’ve convinced yourself that you no longer felt anything for daniel, gaslighting yourself into believing that you’d close that chapter and left it in the past. you can move on now. there was no need for you constantly being miserable and lonely waiting for him to be ready.
and yet here you were, your fiance’s arm around you as you stare at the front door. you shouldn’t have invited him. there was no reason for you to do so but you wanted to prove yourself. you wanted to prove to yourself that he no longer affected you. daniel is in the past and you’ve told yourself repeatedly that you’ve let him go but now you wanted to show yourself that you have.
if you’re lucky, maybe he wouldn’t attend at all.
“are you okay, love?” james whispered against your ear, having noticed your stiff posture. you spent weeks planning your engagement party, stressing over the smallest details but now you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself.
you loved this about him – the way he’s able to read you like an open book. james knows there was someone before him – someone who’d left you broken and torn apart. he just didn’t know that person would be attending today.
you nod, taking a sip from the champagne glass you’d been holding as an excuse to stop your hands from fidgeting. “just a bit nervous from the crowd.”
“don’t worry too much. it’s just friends and family.” he gives you an assuring smile, accepting your reasoning as he pulls you closer towards him to try and comfort you.
you’re an idiot, the biggest one there is. max told you himself after you told him that you sent the invite to daniel. you’re a massive idiot and you’re in denial and you set your own trap, tempting yourself when there was no need to and now you were going to hurt james because the moment daniel entered the room, your breath was knocked out of you, heart beating furiously as though it recognized him.
it was daniel. how can you be so stupid?
his eyes meets yours and you missed the way those eyes of brown settle on your skin, grazing as though his soul was touching yours. but they’re sad this time – sad and exhausted and defeated and you can practically hear the way your heart shatters. it was daniel. it has always been daniel. it will always be daniel. how stupid were you to think otherwise? how stupid were you to believe you could ever forgot the way your heart and soul roars back to life the moment he enters the room.
you’ll break james’ heart, you’re breaking your own and you’ve broken his.
the entire time, you and james had stood before the door, greeting all of your guests and showing them where they can wait. you absolutely had no plans to greet daniel. it was bad enough that he was here, but james, sweet sweet james, who had no idea what he was doing dragging you towards the formula one driver, hadn’t gotten the memo.
he didn’t know that having daniel’s eyes on you so close would set wildfires in your stomach and he didn’t know how exhausting and difficult it was to contain those wildfires. he didn’t know that he was burning himself as he all but dragged you in front of him.
“hey,” your fiance says cluelessly. “daniel ricciardo!”
daniel is looking at you and you feel frozen under his gaze. it’s heavy. he makes you feel heavy, like you were cheating on james simply by looking at you. you feel nauseous but with guilt eating up at every cell in your stomach. but you shouldn’t feel guilty. he had no right to make you feel guilty for moving on. he moved on. last you him, he had a girlfriend. why aren’t you allowed to do the same? why can’t you go on with your life and build a future with a nice man that isn’t him?
“i’m a big fan,” james says cheerfully, offering his hand for daniel to shake and forcing him to tear his gaze away from you.
daniel forces a smile to his face, moving to shake his hand and you know this is the part where you’re supposed to introduce him. daniel is your guest after all and so you clear your throat, hoping your smile isn’t as stiff as you feel like it is.
“james, this is my friend daniel. daniel, my fiance james.” you manage to let out, gripping your champagne glass to avoid having to touch either of them the same way you avoid the way daniel’s eyes hardened when the word fiance tumbled from your lips.
“it’s really nice to meet you, mate,” james says with a massive smile. god he’s so nice and sweet and you hate what you’re doing to him.
daniel says nothing, only smiling and you end this entire interaction the moment you get a chance to. pointing at the snacks table, you turned to him. “there’s food over there and max is around here somewhere. nice seeing you again, daniel.”
you were lying through your goddamn teeth. thankfully, he seems to have taken the hint, walking away without saying another word.
the entire night, you feel his eyes on you. even as james makes his speech declaring his love for you, daniel stares at you with hooded eyes. he looks pissed and sad at the same time and you wanted to scream. stop looking at me! you couldn’t take anymore of this. he’s looking at you as though you’re under a microscope – staring into your soul like he could reach you there.
you’re an idiot and now that he’s in the same room as you are, the illusion has left you. you’re not over daniel because you can never be over him. he’s engraved in your soul, his fingerprints all over your heart. he was, and still is, the sun that made your universe turn. you’re choking and you needed to get away lest you burst.
daniel is overwhelming. he’s terrifying and addicting and you hate him but you’re madly in love with him. and worse of all, you’ll spend the rest of your life being in love with him. you’ll spend the rest of your life wanting him and hurting for him and and longing for him and that’s a goddamn fucking tragedy.
you manage to get through the party, practically dissociating yourself. eventually the guests leave one by one, only your family and closest friends left. you sit on the foyer with max, the dutchman watching you drink champagne straight out of the bottle.
“you shouldn’t have invited him,” he tells you quietly. “you were fucking yourself over.”
you roll your eyes. you stare inside the house where daniel is talking to your father. your dad offered his home for your engagement party. you know he likes james. your mother too and your little siblings can’t get enough of him. that fact almost makes you want to throw up.
“i thought i was over him,” you say.
it’s max’s turn to roll his eyes. “you’re just a good liar. you’ll never be over daniel and he’ll never be over you. even i know that.”
you glared at him. you already know what he’s telling you and quite frankly, you had no desire to hear it again. “i hate you.”
“neither you nor dan would survive this long without me.” max laughed and you threw the throw pillow at him.
not that he’s lying. you met max the same time you did daniel and you clicked immediately. he knows everything, comforted you many times as you pined over dan. he’s your best friend and he’s also daniel’s best friend. he knows more than anyone how deep the connection you two shared.
“go home already,” you tell him. you’re tired and slightly drunk and you just want to go to bed now. “and make sure you take him with you.”
max laughed at the way you said him like it’s a bad taste on your tongue but did as you said anyways.
that night, you laid on the bed you and james shared, you couldn’t sleep. he’s fast asleep next to you, his arm over your stomach as you lay wide awake. you shouldn’t have invited him because now he’s turned your world upside down again. everything you’ve built for yourself was gone the moment his eyes met yours. he’s a plague, sucking all the happiness out of you.
eventually though, the restless night was about to get worse as you picked up your phone, scrolling through your contacts till you found his name. you stared at it for a while, knowing that you shouldn’t but you’re rattled and your self control is at an all time low. you shouldn’t have been trusted to make any types of decisions.
you come back to what you need
daniel was waiting for you when you parked your car outside his apartment building, hand gripping his phone as he watched you step out of the vehicle. four years since he first let you go and one year since he last saw you and you look as beautiful as you ever were.
he shouldn’t have told you to come but he’s so exhausted from staying away, from waiting for the right time. there will never be a right time and tonight, he’s done holding back. he wants you, he always has and he no longer has the energy to stop himself from wanting you.
“i shouldn’t be here,” was the first thing you said as he opened the door for you.
a lazy, almost mocking smile covered his lips. “and yet here you are.”
you glared at him but daniel’s heart was soaring. it’s been so long since you were this close. he can smell the perfume that followed you and the scent of your shampoo. he’s so so tired, he just wanted to hold you.
he’s going to make this as hard as possible, you realize. you’re no longer a child, he doesn’t need to play nice and easy with you anymore. you’re a woman now and he’s going to treat you like one. but you just need to get over this. you need closure. you need to put him in the past where he truly belongs so you can go about your life. you need him out of your system.
daniel may be everything you wanted but it’s time to accept that he’ll never be what you need.
“why did you come?” you asked, wanting to get this over with as quickly as you can. three years pining for him in red bull and four years of longing for him and everything leads you here.
daniel cocked an eyebrow. he’s done with playing nice. “you invited me.”
okay, you walked right into that one. “you still shouldn’t have come.”
daniel wanted to laugh. “i guess we both like doing shit that we shouldn’t do. now the question is, sweetheart, what are you doing here?”
“i’m getting married, daniel,” you whispered. “we need to accept that it isn’t us.”
“i thought you did that in abu dhabi.”
he’s being an asshole. “you’re the one who told me to leave. you don’t get to be mad that i’m moving on.”
“you’re not moving on,” he laughed, leaning against the wall.
you glared at him. “yes, i am. i’m getting married!”
he looked at you as though you said something hilarious and you wanted to punch him in the face for it. “and yet you’re here.”
“for closure.”
he stepped towards you and you found yourself holding your breath. from this close, you can see the freckles on your cheeks, the ones you used to spend all your time trying to memorize. the curve of his plump lips and the intensity in his eyes. and when he touched, it felt like the first drop of rain after a million years of dessert. his hand perfectly fitted on your hips, warm and so achingly familiar.
his hand snaked from your hip to your legs, finger light on your skin as he ever so slightly tugged at your shorts. you need to pull away but your body needs him closer. you want him. you want him to get closer. you want him to touch you more, to feel his skin against yours. you can have every single inch of his body pressed against yours and you’d still begged to get closer.
his lips graze your cheek before it reaches your ear, even breathes in contrast to your desperately shaky ones. “is that really what you want, baby?”
with every ounce of sanity you have left, you forced yourself to nod and you can feel the way his lips formed into a mocking smile against your cheek.
“really?” he mocked. “then why are you clutching my shirt like you want more?”
you hadn’t even realized the way your fist is holding on to his shirt, pulling him closer towards you like you’re terrified he’d disappear right between your fingertips.
“fuck,” you muttered, the heat of his skin against yours dizzying. james is nowhere near your mind as your hand slips under his shirt, self control flying out the window as you feel the curves of his abs. you want him. you’ve always wanted him so desperately that you’re willing to go to hell for it. “fuck me.”
he kissed you then, fire in his lips as it finally finally touched yours. this is all you’ve ever asked for and it’s worth the damnation you’d be paying in return. you pull him impossibly closer, going on your tiptoes. you need to get closer. closer, closer, closer.
like an addicted chainsmoker to cigarettes, you can’t get enough of his kiss. you want to inhale the fumes of his breath, of him, deep into your lungs. he tugs at your shirt and you pull away enough for him to get it off.
you grunt in complaint when he pulled away from you, only to swallow it back as his lips attached to the skin of your chest, licking and nibbling as it slowly made it way down.
“oh,” you breathe out as he lips attached to your breast, your fingers tugging at his curls as his tongue circled your nipple.
you should have stopped him the moment his hand unbuttoned your shorts but as he bent you over and his hand slipped between your folds and he trapped your moans with his mouth, you were far too gone. god be damned, morality be damned. you’d crawl through hell for this.
but eventually, reality comes knocking and morning comes and your bliss ends. you woke up from your phone ringing, cocooned in daniel’s arms.
“don’t answer it,” he mutters but sleepily, you grab your phone from the nightstand, seeing james’ name on your screen.
and that snaps you out of it, being reminded of what happened the night before and what you did and you all but jumped out of his arms as though his touch burned you.
“fuck, fuck, fuck,” you mutter under your breath as you hurriedly put on your clothes, daniel watching you still naked from his place on the bed. you turned to him, “this never happened.”
you watched as anger slowly filled his eyes. “are you being serious right now?”
“i’m getting married, daniel!” you’re panicking now, screaming as your phone rings again.
“then why the fuck were you knocking on my door at two in the morning?”
you ignore him, gathering your things. “it was a mistake.”
he’s glaring at you now, looking like he wanted to start screaming. but he remains silent, only glaring as you gather your things and put on your clothes.
you look at him again, apologies and sorrow in your eyes. “i’m sorry but this isn’t me. this can’t be me.”
and then you left, not allowing yourself to look back as you ran to your car. maybe in a parallel universe or a different world, you sit next to each other at the kitchen table and go over the grocery list, but for all the universes and worlds there are, this one was not enough, not for now and not for you and daniel.
when you finally arrive home, your father is in the kitchen, eyeing you up as you walk past him. “where were you? james was looking for you.”
you grimace. there’s a knowing look in christian’s eyes as though whatever you reason he already knows will be a lie. and unfortunately, he’d be right. “i was out with friends.”
“at seven in the morning?” he narrowed his eyes and you hated his timing. of all times, did he have to question you now?
“breakfast.”
you all but run to your room before he can question you further, thanking all the gods that james isn’t there. for a moment, you stood stunned, reeling from the past twenty four hours as the guilt settles in your chest. you need to get as far away from daniel as you possibly can. you can’t be the type of woman who cheats on her fiance. you refuse to be. you refuse to break a good man’s heart like that.
and yet as you finally calm down enough to try and fix yourself, your phone buzzes, his name appearing on your screen saying he sent you a text message.
daniel i’ve loved you in every way i can. i loved you selfishly and so i tried loving you distantly, i tried loving you selflessly, i tried loving you correctly but i just want to love you now. if i could do it all over again, i would love you better but i can’t love you more than i do now.
this love came back to me
the wind is chilly as you step foot in hungary and the dress you wore is definitely not meant for it but still, you persevere, finding your way to the red bull motorhome and greeting your father. the last time you attended a grand prix was abu dhabi 2021 and yet it still feels like home.
“there’s my biggest fan!” max cheered the moment he saw you, immediately wrapping his arms around you. he hasn’t seen you for nearly a year and he missed his best friend. to be fair, no one has seen you for nearly a year, disappearing from the face of the earth after your failed engagement.
after the night of your engagement party, the guilt ate you alive as you realized that you were exactly the kind of girl you didn’t want to be and so you came clean to james. he screamed and cried and said you could work it out but you were exhausted from lying to yourself. as long as there was daniel, you can never be happy with anyone else and no man deserve to be someone you simply settled with.
you realized then that you’d lost yourself. you don’t know who you are, don’t know who you’ve become and so you left everything you know, ignoring everyone’s calls as you attempt to find yourself.
“actually, i’m supporting ferrari,” you joke once max finally lets you go.
“i’ll disown you!” your father screamed from across the garage, making you and max laugh.
“have you seen him?” max asked, whispering as though he’s telling you a secret.
you shake your head. coincidentally enough, or ironically, the first gp you attend in a while, daniel is announced to race in. and max, quite frankly, is far too excited for the two of you to see each other again. he’s had enough watching you both be stupid.
after catching up with max and the mechanics you still know, you find yourself in a cafe with your father, talking about everything and nothing at all. christian watched your every move and you can see the worry in his eyes. he’s part of the people you ran from and you know that it was a cruel thing to do to your father.
and then he was there and you’re all too familiar with the feeling of your world freezing the moment your eyes meet. he looks better, happier and you’re sure you look different too, hopefully more grown.
“you’re here,” he says, unbelieving.
you smile, genuine and free this time. “i’m here.”
and this time around, you were both tired of fighting it. it’s him. it’s always been him. there was no point denying it. he’s the only person you’ll ever want. you are totally and irrevocably in love with him – the kind of love that’s so intense it feels like an explosion of fireworks throughout your whole body. the love that leaves you sleepless but exhilarated, speechless but poetic, lost but exactly where you're meant to be.
and in that moment, your lives flashed before your eyes – marriage, children, growing old together.
daniel ricciardo is the defining moment, the collision of stars that slammed into you so hard it tore your heart in pieces and only he can put it back together again.
he smiles at you and you smile back.
hello, love, welcome home.
and finally, finally, it felt like the world isn’t burning anymore.
taglist: @ricsaigaslec @dragon-of-winterfell @coffeehurricanes @rdtbattinson @privcherry7 @miniminescapist @sebsdaniel @strelcka @writing-about-current-obsessions @amsofftrack @lostinketterdam @bisexual-desi @cialovessirlewis @multilovebot @lovelynikol16 @troybolton-14 @ohthemissery @dr3lover @myescapefromthislife @sunf1owerrq @the6ccnsp6cyy @t-nd-rfoot @navixfr @xjval @gridbunny
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the eras - masterlist
Twenty two stories inspired by the lyrics from all Taylor Swift albums.
drivers: mv1, dr3, ln4, sv5, pg10, fa14, cl16, aa23, eo31, lh44, ms47, cs55, gr63, op81.
note/warnings: english is not my native language, so there will probably be some spellings mistakes, even though i will try to have as least as possible. Also, you can request from any of drivers above with whatever songs you want that has not been asigned to a driver, if the song is followed by three dots then you can leave a request for that song. Please read the specific warnings for each story as there will probably be some angst and some topics you may not be comfortable reading :)
PS: I will also be posting other stories and social media Au's and if you want to request for any other song for taylor or any type of Au/imagine freely do so. :)
If you want to get tagged on the next stories just leave a comment and I will do it
Teardrops on my Guitar | pg10
They had been friends for years, her always yearning for him to look at her like she did just once but he never did and she wishes that the girl he loves can adore him like she does.
Tim Mcgraw | ...
"And i was right there beside him all summer long. And then the time i woke up to find that summer gone"
Superstar | ms47 (2.4k words)
Where two young kids fall in love but the world one of them is involved in seems to be against their happiness.
The Way I Loved You | ... & ...
"And he says, you look beautiful tonight, and I feel perfectly fine. But i miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain"
Enchanted | cs55
At one of those fancy parties they met, those where she had to be introduced to everybody with a shaking hand or a nod. But she left with a tingling sensation and the need to know more about him.
Back to December | dr3 (soon to be made a series)
She knew that if she could go back in time she would re do everything a do it right this time. But she can't and now she only has those memories left.
Begin Again | pg10 (2.0k words)
All the love she ever knew was one that hurted and burned but at a Parisian coffe shop on a wednesday she realized that maybe that was not all that love had to offer.
Stay, Stay, Stay | mv1 (requested)
"Before you, I'd only dated self-indulgent takers, who took all of their problems out on me, but ypu carry my groceries and now I'm always laughing"
You Are in Love | ln4
Best friends, that's what they called each other, even with the dances and pictures in offices they still called each other that. But a drunk call on a late night might change everything.
Wildest Dreams | sv5 (requested)
"You'll see me in hindsight, tangled up with you all night, burning it down. Someday when you leave me, I bet these memories. Follow you around"
How You Get The Girl | ln4 (requested)
After months of back and forths and unofficial relationships he finds himself infront of her house completely soaked but with the intention to work things out
Style | ...
"And when we go crushing down, we come back every time, 'cause we never go out of time"
New Years Day | lh44 (requested)
"Don't read the last page, but I stay when it's hard, or it's wrong, or we're making mistakes I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day"
Gorgeous | ms47
He can't quite understand what he's done to her as she seems to despise him so much, if he only knew the reason why.
I Think He Knows | ln4 (requested)
"Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh We can follow the sparks, I'll drive. So where we gonna go? I whisper in the dark. Where we gonna go? I think he knows"
Cornelia Street | lh44 (requested)
"Windows swung right open, autumn air Jacket 'round my shoulders is yours We bless the rains on Cornelia Street Memorize the creaks in the floor"
The Lakes | sv5
When the world seems to haunt them they find themselves looking for each other on the toughest times
Mirrorball | mv1
Where he tries to do everything to please everybody but when he's with her he can be his true self.
Gold Rush | cl16
Her mind can't understand why everybody is so infatuated by the Charles Leclerc until she finds her heart fluttering when he's around and can not explain it.
Ivy | lh44
Where she finds herself in the claws of a love less relationship and even knowing it's wrong she goes to seek comfort and love in the arms of another
Midnight Rain | ...
"My boy was a montage, a slow-motion, love potion. Jumping off things in the ocean I broke his heart 'cause he was nice"
Maroon | cs55
The rise and fall of a short but, oh, so, ardent relationship, between two strangers who one night met and became more than that.
♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡ ♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡
I belong with you
-> What happens if he sees his schoold best friend again?
-> Word Count: 965
->Author note: my first fic I hope you like it <3 English is not my first language so sorry for mistakes
Daniel Ricciardo, F1 driver, was strugling with himself. He knew that he was in love with his best friend,
He had actually kept these feelings inside himself for many years. Now Daniel had to make a decision, to tell you or not.
He decided to go for a walk in Perth, your home place, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, at least for him.
Daniel lived in Monaco, and he spent most of the time there, but he was in Perth for the weekend in summer break.
He was in the park you always went in your teen years and spent hours laughing and been 2 best friends idiots. He was lot in his toughts when something or someone broke them.
"Daniel, how are you? It is a long time I haven't seen you around here."- You told him when he sat in the bench you were.
"Ah, I've been very busy, you know, races. I came back a little to get used to the time change," Daniel told him.
"That sounds hard. But congratulations on crossing the wins record of Formula 1. It is a hard job but it is the one you love, the one you have been training for. It is just that can keep the rest of us in good terms, huh?"-you said, putting a lighthearted smile on his face.
It had been a long time you didn't see your old friend, but it did not felt like it. It felt like you kept talking like it was yesterday you did something and laughed at it.
"How have you been? What are you doing?"Daniel asked you.
"I have been great, I'm working in my mum's company. And what about you? How have you been? I missed you Dan." You told him, laughing at the memories and pictures of when you were younger and ran away from home to go with your dad to see Danny karting and to some of his european competitions . Daniel also laughed and told you about his latest races. When you guy's had been talking for a few hours you looked at the time and saw that it was really late. "I have to go, I'm sorry Dan." You said as you gave him a hug goodbye and left towards your house.
When you arrived, you threw yoursel in your bed and remember all your memories together.
-Fuck, I'm in love with him- you realised but told yourself to stop thinking of him. You tried to sleep but found yourself thinking about him all night long, so you decided to get up and text Daniel. You started with a "Hey Dan, I miss our talks today."
He replied back almost immediately and you guys talked for a few hours until you finally fell asleep. You had been best friends since you were kids and always stuck together. Daniel had always secretly been in love with you, but never said anything as he didn't want to ruin your friendship. But now, things were different. You had both grown up and things had changed between you. There was now a spark of something more and Daniel knew that he couldn't ignore his feelings any longer. He loved you and wanted to be with you, but was scared of what might happen if he told you. Would things change between you? Would you still be friends? Daniel didn't know what to do, but he knew that he had to tell you how he felt. He was scared, but it was time to take the plunge and tell you the truth.
He finally decided that it was better to tell you how he felt and risk everything, rather than living with the regret of never having told you. st places in the world to think. As he walked along the beach, he thought about how everything started between you two.
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The following day he told you to come over to his house, where you had been so many times inyour childhood.
-Come with me- You were hesitant but you nodded and followed him over to the side of the room.
"What's up?" you asked. Daniel took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say. "I need to tell you something," he began. "And I'm really scared about it."
You could see the fear in his eyes and you instantly knew what he was going to say. You had always known that Daniel had feelings for you, but you never said anything as you didn't want to ruin your friendship. But now, things were different. You had both grown up and things had changed between you. There was now a spark of something more and you knew that you couldn't ignore your feelings any longer.
You loved Daniel and wanted to be with him, but were scared of what might happen if you told him. Would things change between you? Would you still be friends? You didn't know what to do, but you knew that you had to tell Daniel how you felt.
You were scared, but it was time to take the plunge and tell him the truth. "I love you, Daniel," you blurted out. "I'm in love with you." Daniel's eyes widened in shock as he stared at you. He hadn't expected you to say those words, but they were exactly what he had wanted to hear. He quickly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a hug. "I love you too," he whispered into your ear. "I've been in love with you for so long." friends since you were kids and always stuck together. Daniel had always secretly been in love with you, but never said anything as he didn't want to ruin your friendship.
"Baby i belong with you"
F1 Masterlist (only one tifosi)
I belong with you
I don't want to
I Want you back
A birthday race - dad!max
The verstappen family - dad!max
Daddy-daughter day
CHARLES LECLERC
I Don't love you anymore
Did you forgot about me?
Love always wins
Exotic love
Leclerc!reader - sister reader
I've to tell you something... I'm seeing someone
First Podium, Family Celebration
The shadow
Unbreakable bonds - leclerc!sister
Dancing to win
The engineer
The graduation- part 2 to The engineer
Cheating bounds
Hypo problems
Turbulent skies
Sleepy adventures
The tiktok siblings trend
Scary needles
Allergy problems
Hidden Love on the Track
When marimba rythym starts to play
Rally worldchampionship journalist
Why me? How you dare?
Congrats little sis - gasly!reader
Unbreakable bonds - leclerc!sister
Yuki Tsunoda IG Au
I'm not him
Just us against the world
Elevator love
Clapping, clapping, i see ya' falling
A good call early in the morning
Love unveiled
A long journey across the ocean
Acceptance in Palm Beach
Father's day
A journey of joy
F1 Female driver
Keep pushing yourself, and you'll go far
Breaking the stereotype
Afront your fears