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Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Admittedly, Max mostly stood above his results by now, especially when it wasn't his fault when a race went badly, which fortunately hadn't happened so often this season. And when he saw that Charles' race had also taken a small twist after the Safety Car, he immediately became calmer. Sure, Checo was second in the championship, but to be honest, RedBull would hardly allow his teammate to overtake him in the drivers' standings, so he preferred to focus on Charles.
He had talked to the Monegasque for a few minutes in the Media Pen to find out why his race had ended this way. Once again, it had been a bad strategy by Ferrari that both drivers could only shake their heads about. Then he went on to Mick, congratulated him on his first points, and was relieved when the German greeted him with a laugh. Good, he didn't seem to hold a grudge against him for defending a little more aggressively.
After the interviews and the briefing, there was only one more thing he had to do: find Daniel. Admittedly, it was sometimes a bit difficult to find his boyfriend after bad races. Earlier, he had seen him briefly in the media pen but was then taken to an interview, so there was no time to get in touch with the Australian. When the interview was over, however, Daniel, including his PR assistant, had disappeared without a trace, and he had no choice but to follow the prescribed routine patiently. Since it was over and the last celebrations of Checo's P2 were ending, he reached for his phone.
At first, he called his boyfriend, but as he had expected, no one answered. A message came in shortly after.
I've already gone home
At first, a wave of disappointment hit him, but then he had to smile very slightly. Daniel was really good at drowning in self-pity only to realise in retrospect that he felt much better when Max was with him. So he just sent Daniel a thumbs-up before saying goodbye to his team members. He'd be back at the factory tomorrow and see most of them again anyway.
After he had packed his stuff, he was already on his way to his apartment in Milton Keynes and just hoped that by "home" Daniel didn't mean his hotel, let alone Woking, where Daniel's apartment was, but really Max's apartment near the RedBull Factory. When he saw the McLaren at the side of the road, he knew he had understood the message correctly. He didn't waste any more time parking the car and walking up the few steps to the apartment.
"I'm home." His voice echoed through the hallway and he listened for an answer as he slipped out of his shoes, but at first, none came. "Daniel?"
"I'm in the bathroom," the answer came from Daniel, and he immediately went there. However, he stopped in the door frame first to process the picture that was presented to him. Daniel had made himself comfortable in the bathtub and looked up at him. Okay, that was new.
"What is it? Will you join me or not?" The Australian asked him a little defiantly, which made him smile, and shortly afterwards also undressed so that only a few moments later he let himself sink between Daniel's legs. Immediately arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him closer to the older one.
"You all right?" he muttered into the pleasant silence as Daniel buried his face in his hair. His boyfriend only hummed in reply and then pressed a few kisses on his hair.
"Now everything is fine," he finally said, before they just enjoyed the togetherness until the warm water around them started to get cold. Sluggishly, Max twisted his head a little, pressed it into Daniel's neck, and took a deep breath.
"God, I'm getting really tired," he whispered as he realised how all the tension of the day had left his body.
"We can go to bed," Daniel suggested, kissing his forehead tenderly. Max thoughtfully stared at the tattooed arms holding him and shortly thereafter drove his hands up and down them before he made up his mind.
"Five more minutes."
And it was clear to both of them that they would probably still sit in the tub and relax until their skin was all shriveled.
Alexander Albon/George Russell
To be honest, George simply didn't expect Alex to have to be rushed to the hospital. He had sacrificed his own race to make sure Zhou was still alive after flying straight over the tyre barriers, and, of course, he had seen Alex's car standing a few yards next to him, but he had also seen his boyfriend moving and sending the Marshals to Zhou as well. Accordingly, he assumed that the car had simply been broken and that he could not continue driving because of that.
Then there was all the hustle about whether he was allowed to continue driving or not, and he had lost sight of Alex. After all that, he had spent the rest of the race in the pit before running to the Williams Motorhome to finally talk to his boyfriend. Then he got the frightening news from his former racing engineer, who now supervised Alex.
"He was rushed to the hospital," he told George, seeming a little surprised that he hadn't known yet.
"What?" Shocked, the Brit looked at his opponent. He had to be kidding him, didn't he? Alex was fine! He'd seen it himself! Zhou had already been released from the Medical Center, and Alex had to go to the hospital?!
"He didn't let go of the steering wheel and felt pain in his wrist. Besides, he was hit on the side several times and had a headache as well. Then he was rushed to the hospital," the elder continued, tilting his head, "Didn't you know that?"
"Obviously not!" George snorted, stunned. "But thank you. I guess I'm going to the hospital then."
His former racing engineer patted him on the shoulder before George left the motorhome to go to his car. For the first time that day, he was happy he retired so early in the race as he had already completed all the appointments and was now able to leave the paddock. All he would have to do was let Toto know what was going on, but his boss would certainly understand.
Fortunately, he didn't have to argue with the nurse for long at the entrance of the hospital before she gave him Alex's room number. After she had checked to see if George really was Alex's emergency contact, she told him the room, including a warning that he had been given some sedatives and painkillers.
Less than five minutes later, he finally knocked on the door but did not wait for an answer before entering. Alex's face immediately lit up when he recognised George, and the Brit quietly closed the door behind him.
"Oh, Alex," he muttered under his breath as he sat down at the edge of the bed and grabbed his uninjured hand, "I didn't know you were hit so hard."
"I'm great," his boyfriend said immediately, "I feel fine. To be honest, I think they just want to keep me here because they're big fans of me."
Alex said it with such seriousness that he immediately had to laugh lightly. He buried his free hand in Alex's short hair, whereupon he snuggled into the touch. So that was what the nurse meant with her warning.
"Understandable," he smiled nevertheless and massaged his scalp gently, "I'm sure I'll be able to take you home soon."
"Can we get a pet on the way?" He asked out of the blue, looking at him with his best puppy eyes. "I want a pet."
"Alex, baby," he laughed in surprise, "You already have ten pets."
"Really?" Alex made sure, and George leaned forward to kiss his forehead, "Can we go visit them?"
"Anytime," he continued giggling.
In any other situation, he probably would have been worried about Alex if he had talked such nonsense after a crash, but since he knew it was the meds' fault, he just had to laugh about it. Maybe he would ask later if there was a surveillance camera with sound in that room of which he could have the footage. Then he'd be able to tease Alex forever with the fact that he'd forgotten about all his pets.
Carlos Sainz Jr/Lando Norris
Race winner. Carlos was a race winner. Carlos was his race winner. They teased each other a lot, and of course, Lando had annoyed him that he still hadn't won a race to this day. Carlos could laugh about it himself, but now he had managed to win the Silverstone Grand Prix – England of all places, Carlos' former home, Lando's home race, the place they both associated with so many memories. Their first meeting at the MTC, the whole days together in the simulator, the video shootings, the golf trips with friends or even only the two of them, their FIFA evenings. Their first date. Their first kiss. Their coming-out. Everything had happened in England.
So yeah, maybe Lando got a little emotional when he realised his fiancé had just won, but who could blame him? After all, he was also the one who had noticed what Carlos had been through the last few years, he had always been by his side. With all the dark moments that Carlos sometimes had, lately increased, it was Lando, who had taken him into his arms and cheered him up. And even in the good moments, he was the first to be at Carlos' side. At least he tried, he didn't succeed today, but that was okay.
Carlos always looked around for him when he knew they both had finished a race, and even today, Lando could watch from his car as Carlos got out and quickly scanned the surroundings before his eyes got stuck on the McLaren. However, Lando quickly showed him with a wave of his hand that he should not come to him this time. That moment belonged to Carlos all by himself. Carlos and maybe even a little bit of Ferrari. But especially Carlos. And he shouldn't wait for Lando to celebrate with him first. He should throw himself into his crew, screaming, hold up the Spanish flag, and let Checo and Lewis congratulate him. Doing what drivers did when they just won the first race of their career.
But Lando made sure he was there after Carlos had done all that. He waited patiently at the side, having put his helmet in Jon's hand when he had seen him, and watched as Carlos now peeled himself out of his helmet. The Spaniard weighed himself, running through his hair again and again, as if he needed something to hold on to realise that this was real. Then his things were taken away, the Spanish flag was thrown over his shoulder again, and he turned around straight to Lando. And then they had their moment together in front of the cameras.
Carlos walked towards him almost as if remotely controlled, and Lando did not hesitate for long before he met him and threw himself into the waiting arms of the older man.
Carlos pressed Lando firmly to himself, drove his hands over his back, up to his neck, and finally buried them in his hair so the flag enveloped them both. Suddenly, Lando felt Carlos' body begin to tremble and immediately placed a gentle hand on the back of his head to calm him down.
"You won, Carlos," he whispered in his ear, "I am so incredibly proud of you."
"I won," Carlos echoed, stunned, and Lando stepped back a little to look him in the face. He cried, and immediately Lando's eyes watered as well.
"You've won," he told him again and couldn't stop the proud smile, "Carlos Sainz, you've fucking won the Silverstone Grand Prix, and I don't think I've ever loved you as much as I do right now."
"Fucking sap," laughed Carlos, but leaned his forehead against his and let Lando wipe away his tears. The Spaniard looked lovingly at the younger before he wrapped the flag tighter around them.
"Hey, mi amor?" Carlos then said, grinning, whereupon he tilted his head, questioning, "I think people are waiting for a kiss."
"Carlos," he replied immediately and then paused briefly, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead, "I've never been so happy to fulfill a reporter's wish."
And, of course, Carlos no longer hesitated, but involved him in a deep kiss, in which they both had to smile.
Mick Schumacher/Robert Shwartzman
It was impossible to put into words how happy Mick was after the race. At last. At very last, his first points in the highest racing series in the world. Finally, he had showed that he wasn't just there because of his last name. At least today, no one could say he didn't earn his seat. Of course, only 14 cars had finished the race in the end, but still, he had driven from P19 to P8, had even fought with Max, and had a lot of fun during that. He was particularly motivated against Max, against whom he had raced many times in his childhood, and he was also sure that he would have overtaken the Dutchman if the race had been one lap longer. But well, even so, he was more than happy with his result.
It had taken him a lot of strength not to burst into tears when Gina suddenly spoke to him over the Team Radio. His family was there. His family was there when he achieved this success. Still in racing clothes, he had looked for them, hugged his sister and mother, picked up their congratulations, and once again, he realised how lucky he was. The only one who was still missing was Robert. Then, the day would have been perfect all-round, but he knew that the Russian couldn't be there because he was busy in Maranello, and of course, he understood it.
After Gina's champagne shower during his interview with Sky Sports Germany, he was released by his team to shower and get changed. Gina and Corinna accompanied him to the trailer after he had asked them to because he enjoyed spending a few more quiet minutes with them.
"Oh, Gina! I think I left my phone at the motorhome. Will you come and fetch it with me?" His mother asked his sister, though slightly panicked, who immediately agreed. He had not missed the urgent gaze of Corinna, but at that moment, he thought nothing of it.
"Just wait there for me. I'll hurry," he smiled.
"It's fine, Mick. Take your time," Gina returned and hugged him tightly again, obviously ignoring the fact that he was sticky with champagne. After his mother had kissed him on the cheek, they were already gone, whereupon he shook his head amused. He dug out his key to the trailer and tried to unlock the door but immediately realised it was already open. Irritated, he paused. Did he forget to lock up this morning?
He opened the door cautiously and entered, but as soon as he had cast a glance into the living room, he stopped stiffly. Robert had made himself comfortable on his couch and laughed when he saw his surprised face.
"Hey," he greeted him and stood up to bridge the meters between them.
"Robert." Reflexively, Mick reached out to his boyfriend and held him in his arms shortly afterwards.
"Congratulations on your first points," he smiled warmly, "You deserve it."
"No wonder my race went so well when my personal lucky charm is there," he whispered, still somewhat surprised, and the younger one laughed.
"I had a day off today and flew over to surprise you," he said, "It obviously paid off."
"Obviously," Mick repeated with a smile, then leaned over to kiss his boyfriend.
Yeah, perfect day.