coming of age — MV1
pairing: max verstappen x fem!driver!reader
summary: in which a silly bet between the two redbull drivers becomes a reality when y/n wins the first race of the 2024 season.
warnings: not proofread, sorry for spelling mistakes!!
a/n: LET ME COOK ‼️‼️
masterlist !
⋆ ˚ ｡ ⋆ ୨୧ ˚
ever since y/n l/n joined f1 in 2019, joining her best friends, lando norris, alex albon and george russell, her life flipped upside down.
she's been in four teams since her debut. she started in mclaren with lando in 2019, then got told the news carlos sainz would be taking her seat in 2020.
she then got moved to williams, which proved she deserved to be in a better car. she excelled as best she could with what she was given, securing the 10th spot in the drivers championship. but she wanted more.
so for the next two years y/n joined ferrari, alongside one of her formula one idols, charles leclerc. both ferrari drivers proved they earned their spots every year, until y/n got into a crash during an australian free practice. to put it lightly, she was forced to use crutches for the rest of the 2022 season. therefore at the end of 2022, she was told carlos would replace her for the upcoming years.
january 2023 rolls around, and y/n still didn't have a seat. however, a certain redbull driver had his eyes on her ever since she joined, watching as she made her way up the fornula one ladder. climbing each step in order to get to the podium, but not a win. the driver believed if she worked at redbull, she'd get that long awaited win.
so max verstappen had a plan. he spent the whole week trying his best to convince christian horner to take y/n in for the 2023 season. they needed a second driver anyway, and needed to announce it as soon as possible.
after days of constantly bothering the team principal, it was finally announced to the world that y/n would be joining redbull under a multi-year contract.
to say y/n excelled in redbull the past year would be an understatement. y/n was proudly on the podium nineteen out of the twenty-three races held. so close to the win, but always settling for second and third place.
y/n was done settling. she knew 2024 was going to be her year, and the pre season training was already going more than smoothly. both her and max were the fastest on track every day, with merely seconds between them.
from her first day in the redbull car, y/n and max had a bet going on; if y/n could win whatever race they were participating in that weekend, she'd have to kiss max. it started out as a small joke, but y/n couldn't help but wonder what max's lips would feel like on hers. would it be a quick kiss? or something more? all questions that wouldn't be answered until she won, and she was trying to do that here in bahrain.
it was a redbull front row, making the start of the race easy for both drivers. both pit stops went by smoothly, and their strategies were working wonders.
with only five laps to go, her race engineer spoke into her ear pieces.
"pace is still good, max is in front with 1.3 second gap," john spoke calmly, watching through the screens from the pit wall.
y/n replies shortly, before focusing back on the task at hand. every single race she's wanted to beat max, but this time felt much more real. maybe there was more adrenaline from the crowd, or maybe the car was going faster this year. whatever it was, she wouldn't know.
"gap .9 now, drs is enabled."
y/n pressed a button in response, turning on her drs as she passed down the straight. the muffled screams from the outside world seemed to get louder and louder as she got closer to the rear of max's car.
if she blinked, she would've missed the moment she finally over took her teammate. for a second, even she was confused.
"did we just pass max?" she asked john, her voice shaking slightly.
john chuckles into the microphone, "you did my dear. only two laps to go now, keep the pace."
y/n did as instructed. the world around her went quiet again as she saw the checkered flag, only a few feet away from her.
"y/n l/n wins her very first formula one grand prix! she wins in bahrain, making it a redbull 1-2 this evening!"
y/n instantly screams into her helmet, hearing the laughs and shouts from the pit wall and redbull crew coming out of the garage.
she slowed down for a cool down lap, waving and pumping her fist as she drove by the grand stands. max drove besider her now, giving her a thumbs up. he could practically hear the girls laughter and cheers from his own car.
y/n wasn't sure when the tears started to flow, but she kept wiping her face after taking her helmet off. as soon as she weighed in, she was running to the redbull crew waiting for her behind the barricades.
she yelled before being lifted into the air by the sea of navy blue. y/n was on cloud nine as she was being set back down onto the ground.
christian was waiting just outside the barricade, with his arms wide open.
"you stinker! i knew this day would come," he congratulates the girl, enveloping her in a warm hug.
the smile never leaves her face as the drivers come to congratulate her. max gives her a hug first, and y/n can't tell if he kissed her temple, or if she was just imagining it with all the adrenaline coursing through her.
lando was next, considering he got third, he was already waiting for her once he parked his car. he spun her off the ground, when the other 2019 rookies came running up to the pair.
a cameraman patted lando on the shoulder, gesturing for them to lift y/n up. he complied, as the three boys somehow lifted y/n onto their shoulders, posing as the shutters of the camera went off.
carlos and charles congratulated her next, both telling her how proud they were of her.
finally being able to sit in the middle seat in the cool down room felt unreal for y/n. putting on the winner's hat was more than enough, but sitting in between lando and max sealed the deal.
lando got to the podium first, with the mclaren crew cheering him on from the ground.
max was next, still with a big smile on his face, despite not winning the race.
finally y/n emerged from around the corner. y/n's heart swelled as the crowd below her cheered louder than anyone has ever heard it before. lando and max both held out their hands for high fives as she stood on the top of the podium.
she couldn't control the smile on her face as she recieved your first medal, and first formula one trophy. as anyone else wouldve done, she held the trophy low to the ground as the crowd below started to roar. once she lifted it above her head the crowd went wild once again.
she watched proudly as max and lando were handed their trophies, lifting them above their heads as well.
y/n basked in the bahrain sunset as the national anthem of her country played through the speakers. shortly after the austrian anthem played, while both her and max looked down to their team in awe. neither of them would be where they are today without them.
not even a second passes after the austrian anthem is over, and max and lando are ambusing y/n with their champagne. she laughs and screams as the cold alcohol sprays down her racing suit. she tries her best to spray max and lando, but can't help but continue wiping her eyes as a mix of tears and champagne fall down her cheeks.
as y/n's still wiping her eyes and the champagne in the bottles is almost empty, max takes her chin softly in his hand. she looks up at him, her heart starting to race again once she realized what her win means in terms of the silly bet the two drivers have.
y/n would've gladly payed a thousand dollars to see the look on everyone's face when max pulled her lips to his. still with her champagne bottle in one hand, she grabs onto max's bicep. making her realize he's really here and kissing her, and to keep her on her feet.
lando was the most caught off gaurd. he turned just in time after leaning down to grab his trophy. his eyes went wide as he watched the two redbu drivers.
the redbull crew all cheered, all silently hoping this moment would happen. they all knew about the longing glances between drivers, and how they got along so quickly when y/n first joined the team.
"finally a race winner," max mumbles against the top of y/n's head, kissing her hair. he wraps his arm around her as the two begin to walk out of the champagne covered platform. she waits for lando, pausing her and max's movements. once lando's by her side, she walks with both of them. her smile still never leaves.
after getting a group picture and video with the redbull crew, and probably taking a million pictures to post on the teams social media platforms, y/n and max go to their drivers rooms.
y/n facetimes her parents quickly, knowing how early in the morning it is for them.
finally changing into dry and much more comfortable clothes, a knock interrupts her thoughts.
"race winner looks good on you," max smiles after closing the door behind him.
y/n can't help but laugh, her smile growing once again.
"i can't believe it finally happened," she shakes her head. max sits on her sofa, watching as she packs her backpack.
"we all knew it would happen, it was just a matter of when," max states, causing a small blush to adorn y/n's cheeks.
"i hope you know i'm more than proud of you," max admits, fiddling with his fingers in his lap.
y/n zips her bag, not looking at the dutchman next to her, "yeah, the whole team seemed so." she laughs again at the thought of how happy the redbull garage was for the girl.
max chuckles, "no y/n, i'm saying i'm more than proud of you." he looks up at her now, meeting her eyes.
"thank you max," she smiles again.
before he can contemplate his own thoughts any further, he stands to walk out of the room. he rubs his hand on y/n's shoulder before exiting, "i'll be right out, so we can walk out together, yeah?"
y/n's lucky to catch max's attention just as his hand grabs the door handle.
"i'm surprised you stayed with your word, and kissed me today," y/n turns to face max.
he turns as well, still leaving a fair amount of space between the two of them.
he shrugs and y/n doesn't miss the slight blush on his cheeks, "well yeah, a bet's a bet. no one can back out of one."
y/n takes a few steps forward. the confidence could've been from the dying adrenaline, but whatever it was from, she was going to use it.
"so if it weren't for the bet, you wouldn't have kissed me?"
max chuckles, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. a stutter becoming more prominent between every word, "no, no i mean if it were a right time i would've kissed you. i just wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, yeah?"
he continues stumbling over his words, causing the girl in front of him to giggle. his heart bursts at the sound.
"are you just going to stand there while i make a fool out of myself?" he asks, out of breath from rambling. his hands fall to his sides.
"i could," y/n states, watching max's smile falter slightly. "or i could just kiss you."
before max could get a proper response out, y/n leans up to press her lips against his for the second time that night. his hands instantly find their way to her waist, as hers hold both sides of his face.
"so if i won a race earlier, would i still have gotten a kiss?" y/n asks, just centimeters away from max's lips.
"screw just a kiss, we would've been a couple a whole lot sooner."
max cuts off y/n's giggle with another kiss.
the second kiss of many between the drivers.
