Drive to Survive

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Max was sat in one of the Red Bull back rooms, his feet up on the desk and his arms crossed. He wasn't speaking; instead, he was staring firmly at his so-called 'new DTS buddy', who looked like he wished the ground would swallow him up.

Max glowered at the pathetic figure cowering before him.

It was Thursday and the poor lad was trying to do his job and get some footage of the star Red Bull driver as the Austin race weekend kicked off. Truthfully, he'd meant to be getting footage since they landed on Monday evening but Max had been particularly difficult to locate all week. Even now, after Christian Horner had personally escorted him to the room Max was in, the driver wasn't making it easy with his refusal to do anything except glare at him.

Eventually, the silence became too much for the new start and he shakily ventured a question, "Did you wa-"

"Where the fuck did you come from?" Max interrupted him.

"I- uhm, I've been in here with you the whole time."

"For fucks- no." Max started to swear, instantly exasperated at the basic incompetence of his new shadow, "Frederik, was it?" The pale boy nodded, "Right, Frederik, I mean what team did you come from? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Oh!" The pale boy squeaked, lowering his camera, "I've been with Ferrari so far this season."

Max raised an eyebrow, things falling into place as he started to see where his mysterious DTS buddy replacement had materialised from.

"I see." He said, "And you just fancied a change?"

Frederik looked away awkwardly, "Um...an opportunity came up so I took it."

"Yeah, I bet it did." He muttered, "Okay, fine, you can go away now."

"But I-"

"I said fuck off. Or do you need me to repeat it in Italian?"

Frederik needed no further encouragement and he scarpered, taking his camera equipment with him. Max swung his feet down and leant forward on the desk, glaring at the door his 'new DTS buddy' had just vanished through.

In a hotel about ten minutes down the road, Dylan was pulling her team top over her head, smoothing it down and looking at herself in the mirror. It was still strange to be in red.

She couldn't deny that she was excited for the first day of the race weekend and her first day in her new role. Everything had happened rather quickly but their week off in Maranello had been a blessing as it had granted her the time to get to know the marketing strategies and the new team around her.

They'd been nothing but welcoming and she had slowly started to get comfortable with the new faces around her.

Carlos and Charles had checked in every day and both had secretly been extremely pleased to see Dylan starting to look like herself again. She was getting outside, responding to texts and even starting to crack the odd joke every now and again.

And with all the time Dylan was spending with Robert and Ruth on work, she found that she wasn't really thinking about Max at all. It was refreshing, and although she was slightly nervous to see him at the track, knowing she wouldn't have to be in close proximity to him for the race weekend certainly did take a certain weight off her chest.

The Ferrari team had flown in on Tuesday night and had been granted a day to adjust to the time change before Thursday's media circus began. Dylan's only other experience with the American races had been in Miami and that had been a whole experience in itself.