꒰ 16 ꒱ “we can’t be seen together like this. not anymore."
꒰ G ꒱ drunkenness
꒰ 𓃗 ꒱ a skeevy motel just off the highway
Forgive me for kinda genifying this but it's the one Max ship I cannot bring myself to write romantically but you can read it however you want <3
The voice on the other end of the phone is not unfamiliar to him. In fact he'd say it's the one voice he has heard more than any other. "Max?"
"GeePeeee, where are youuu."
"I think the better question, mate, is where are you?"
"Uhmmmm, bar?"
Super descriptive and helpful. GP sighs, "Who are you with?"
"Jus' me."
Wonderful. GP is digging through his mental files, trying to decide who to call. There was- no. Or- no they couldn't help either. Laurent? He would at least know where Red Bull had set up for the weekend. But Laurent wasn't one of Max's people. That was the problem, Max didn't have any of his people left.
"Which bar?"
"Don' know."
He tries not to sigh again, pulling off the road. "Can you send me your location?"
There's no verbal answer, but his phone dings a moment later. He pulls up the location. It's in the middle of nowhere of the roadway but not far from where GP is currently pulled off the road. "Just wait there, Max, I'll pick you up."
"Kay."
Max is sitting outside on the front stoop of a rundown bar. He can only hope no media has caught ahold of the sight, it would be terrible for optics. Not that it's his place to worry about that anymore. But even if Red Bull holds no loyalty he will always want the best for Max.
"You've made a right mess of yourself, mate." He didn't look to be injured or involved in any fights. That was good at least.
Max's eyes light up, mouth turning into a lopsided smile. "You came."
"'Course I came. I said I would, didn't I? Come on, let's get you up."
Max is wobbly on his feet, but GP manages to get him in the passenger seat. "Do you have a hotel room?"
"Hm?"
"Hotel. Hotel room. Hotelkamer."
"Oh. Ja. Down de rode. " Max points further down the side road.
GP frowns, but points the car in that direction. He only stops when Max points. "There."
"Here?" It was a rundown joint, barely looked habitable. "I know your pay, mate, and I know you can afford better than this." He says it like a joke, but he can't help but wonder what the heck led him here.
Max only shrugs.
GP brings the car to a stop, and he could end it here. He's done his duty. Made sure Max got safely to the next place. He would sleep it off and be relatively fine in the morning. He sobered fast. But when he looks to his side and sees Max with his leaned against the window, brow knit together, he instead sees a lanky eighteen year old with bright eyes and a wide smile.
He turns the car off.
"Come on, mate, lets get you inside." There's barely any light, but Max seems to know which room is his. Which is good, because GP wouldn't even know where to start guessing. "Do you have a key? Sleutel?"
Max tests each of his pockets before producing one. It's an actual key, not a card. And really, how had Max even landed himself at this place?
Inside isn't much better. Which made sense but was odd, because Max was rather particular about his sleeping arrangements. When he slept that was.
"Is there a reason you're here? Because I'm fairly positive Red Bull didn't put you up here."
Max shrugs again and GP doesn't know what's going on but he knows he doesn't like it. And he doesn't like that he's out of the loop. No, in fact he hates it.
"Alright, it looks like you haven't unpacked yet. We'll find somewhere else where you can stay."
"No, i's fine. You've done enough."
"Max, I'm not leaving you here."
Max pulls away from him grip, running both hands down his face. "We shouldn't be seen together like this. Not anymore."
The world stops for a moment. It's as though someone physically tore his heart from his chest. "Max-"
"Shouldn't have called. S'rry."
"Max, look at me." He pulls at his wrists so that he can see into his eyes. "Max." It was a tone, that after all these years, Max couldn't shy away from. "I told you when I left, it doesn't change anything. Not really. McLaren knew when I signed. My priority on the track may have shifted slightly, but my loyalty off it has never changed."
Max makes a sound, eyes filling, and GP wipes away the stray tear without a comment, leaving the hand against his face.
"You can always call me. And I'll come every time it is at all within my ability."
"People will talk."
"People always talk. And if McLaren takes issue with it they can buy out my contract and you can give me a job, hm?"
Max snorts out a laugh and GP smiles.
"There you go." He gives his face a final pat before releasing him. "Now, grab your bag. We'll find somewhere that better fits your tax bracket."
Another laugh has GP feeling at least mostly accomplished. This was a conversation that would likely need revisited when Max was sober. But for now, he'd take it as a podium.
If they're leaving Red Bull, they're doing it together.
“Sign with McLaren.”
GP startles, having not heard Max enter the small room he was using as an office. “What?"
“Sign the McLaren contract. It is the best of the offers.”
He can only blink up at him. “Max, sit down.”
For once, Max obeys.
“I think you should sign with McLaren.” He says for the third time.
“We've talked about this-”
“Yes and I have thought about it in great detail and I think it is what would be the best move for you. I know we have had our problems with McLaren in the past but you do not want to be stuck at a backmarker. It is not that I do not think you can build but you would not enjoy that so I think you should sign with McLaren.”
GP waits, watching Max. Watching Max who's eyes keep darting around the room. “We've been over this,” he repeats, “I'm not leaving you.”
Max is fidgety, finally losing to his own body, he stands to pace the small confines of the room. “I do not- I cant-”
GP knows. Of course he knows. He knew the moment Max had opened his mouth. But he still needed Max to say it. “Yes?”
“ImleavingRedBull.” He says it in one breath. Like the words were hard to get out. They probably were. They were probably words he had never thought he'd say.
“Are you moving teams?” He doesn't think so, but he doesn't want to assume. They had of course talked about all of the options. In detail. But Max was processing right now wnd it was GP's job to subtly walk him through it.
“Of course not, I could not do that.”
“And you think I can?” He could. GP wasn't like Max. His loyalty had never been to Red Bull.
“I think you are stronger than me.”
That catches him off guard, “Pardon?”
“You can leave Red Bull. You can keep pushing. I- I cannot.”
“Any team would be thrilled to have you. We could find a place to move together.” And Max was almost there. He had almost pushed the right buttons to get him to actually say it out loud.
“I am retiring.” There it was.
“It's been decided then?”
“The car is bad.”
That's not an answer. “I know.”
“These regulations are even worse."
“I know.”
“It is not... it is not any fun anymore.”
“I know, Max. I'm not disagreeing with your decision, just asking how final it is.” Up until now it had seemed unsure, seeming just an intrusive thought Max couldn't shake. But they looked things over just in case. Looked at Max's offers. Looked at GP’s. See where things landed. But it hasn't been serious. Not really. Or maybe it had been. What did it matter? Max seemed fairly serious now.
“I am leaving at the end of this season. Raymond is working on the paperwork right now.”
“And Laurent?”
There was a slight shift of discomfort. “Suspects. I have not hidden my feelings from him.”
No. But it will still be a blindside. Just by nature. Laurent had been so sure he could goad max into staying. GP had had his doubts.
“The end of the season?”
“It will make things easier for your move to another team. Gardening and all.”
“Max,” he tries not to sigh, he doesn't want Max to think he's disappointed in him. He could never be disappointed in him. “You don't have to worry about me. I can work out my own contracts.”
“Yes, but this makes sense, no?”
“Retirement.” GP shakes his head, “Shouldn't I be the one retiring before you?”
“It was always going to happen this way. F1 does not want me here. It never has. This is for the best.”
And GP wants to yell and scream and shake him and tell him it's not true. That Max is loved. That Max is wanted. And that was true for Red Bull, but for everyone else…
“You should warn Hannah.” The last of them. The final three from the golden days.
“I will. But I wanted to speak with you first.” A beat. “Will you sign with McLaren?’
Because if GP says no, if GP says he's staying with Red Bull, Max will too. Miserable and aching, he'd stay too. So GP can't. Not that he really wants to. Not without Max. And yet- “I'm not sure if they're the right fit for me.”
“They are.”
“In the past-”
“But you could change things. As team principal. You could fix it.”
Fix it. Like it was a minor flaw in the front wing and not an entire Formula 1 team.
“I couldn't fix Red Bull.” He says it matter of fact, but tries to be gentle. He knows how hard this has been for him.
Max lets out a breath, finally sinking back into the seat across from GP. “No one can fix Red Bull. At least not the Red Bull it was. It is only us left and-” he drops his head, “and I no longer think that is enough.”
GP hums. Max is right. All that is left of Red Bull is the heart. Each piece chipped away one by one until it's a raw bleeding heart trying to pump to an organism that died long ago. Running on pure adrenaline and love. But when that dies? When the adrenaline runs dry and the love is hanging by a thread?
“I'll review the McLaren contract.” He promises.
“You will sign it?”
“After you sign yours.”
Max squints at him. They're at a stalemate. Max doesn't want to leave without the promise that GP will leave too, and GP will not leave without knowing for certain that Max is done. “Do you promise?”
“I haven't lied to you before and I'm not going to start now. I said I would never race engineer for another driver and I meant it. And there's nothing left for me here.”
Another pause. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He repeats.
Max relaxes a fraction. “I did not think it would end like this.”
“There are worse ways to go out.”
“But we still have this season, yes? The car is no good but maybe…”
“I still think we can squeeze a podium out of it.”
“Yeah?”
It's the first time Max hasn't shot that sentiment down. GP feels ever so slightly lighter. “It may require sabotage, but I think we can find a way to swing it.”
Max laughs. It's a beautiful sound.
“We will be okay.” It's a statement not a question. A reassurance to himself and GP.
“It won't change anything between us if that's what you're worried about. If anything it will improve our relationship. You won't have to listen to me anymore.”
Max grins, “Perhaps when you are done with F1 you can come work for Vertsrappn Racing. Then you would have to listen to me.”
“Nah mate you already think you're my boss. I don't know if I could handle it for real.” It's a joke and Max's eyes crinkle, looking brighter than they have in weeks. “We will of course work something out.”
“I have no doubt of that, mate.’
“It is Red Bull we are leaving behind.” Again max sounds like he's speaking more to himself than GP. “Not each other, right?”
“Of course. I've never cared much for Red Bull, Max. I've stuck around for you.”
There's a shy smile at the honesty. “Okay then. We leave Red Bull. Together.”
“We leave, but it's not Red Bull. Not really. Not your Red Bull. You know that right?”
Max gives a sad smile. “My Red Bull has been gone a long time.”
It was sad but true.
It wouldn't be easy. Not for either of them after so long a time. But it would be good. It would be healing. And it was best. For max and least, and that meant it was best for GP too.
This was very hastily thrown together as a coping mechanism but I do genuinely feel much better now so no regrets lol. Can also be found on Ao3. We'll make it through 🫶
I'm actually so glad that Max will be able to focus on GT3 racing next year (or the year after). You can just see how much fun it is to him. How it feels more like pure racing. How he's respected and loved by his team, the other drivers, and the sport itself. They want him there. They move dates so he can participate. They praise him for his accomplishments and thank him for his contribution. His team looks at him like he's the world. He doesn't have to jump through hoops to be respected. He's more than not hated, he's loved. And Max deserves that. I'm happy for him.
maybe i'm just numb now but i find this being people's confirmation for max's retirement funny af. like i do hate that the GP news was leaked but i kind of love that this is the first solid proof that he's going to leave. its so in character like these two are so loyal to each other that one leaving means we can't possibly imagine the other staying and i think thats honestly quite sweet and speaks to their characters
I did have that thought lol
Like in what other world would you see a race engineer is leaving and think "oh that means his driver is retiring" lol
Max and GP are so innertwined that one without the other is so unfathomable everyone knows it means they're both leaving. It's beautiful really.
It's just SO unfair that GP's exit was leaked almost a year before it should have. We should not have this worry placed on us right now. We should be worried about Max and GP splitting because of Max's retirement but with no real knowledge. That's what I'm really mad about.
