Maeve's point of view

It's time. We are standing on our starting positions.

What happened with Max?

He still sees me as his enemy.

I didn't really like him but he wasn't my enemy.

I thought that was mutual

Now he's acting like... I am the enemy.

Why?

The lights turn green and everything inside my head disappears

Racing time

Round 9

I'm P1. This race is boring as fuck, really.

RE: Maeve, Max is behind you. Much faster than you, let him pass, please.

MAE: No

RE: Maeve, just do it.

MAE: No

I push my gas pedal and I drive away.

RE: What are you doing Maeve?

Round 16

Max passed me last round and I'm trying so hard to pass him but I'm just not fast enough.

I'm a fucking failure.

God how can I let this happen

Round 28

I'm in the pit right now, 2.9 seconds.

I will be P4 when I drive out of the pit.

Fucking hell it's going to be difficult

Round 34

Still P4.

Max P1, Charles P2, and Norris P3.

Suddenly I feel wetness on my face.

MAE: For fuck sake... it's raining?

RE: No, it's not... sweat maybe?

MAE: Probably, Jesus it's hot in here.

Round 41

RE: Norris is going to let you pass.

MAE: What? Why?

RE: His engine is going slow, cooling off, or something. It's better for the points if he lets you pass.

MAE: Okay, well thank him.

RE: I will. Go get that podium Maeve.

And so I pass Norris, giving him a little thumbs up while I drive past him.

Thank you

Round 53

P2, I passed Charles in round 51.

MAE: Gap between me and Verstappen, please?

RE: 1.013 seconds

MAE: Easy.

RE: Max is pitting soon

MAE: What? But I pitted like ten rounds ago.

RE: The pit crew was not focused, Max wasn't able to go in yet

MAE: Why not a one-stopper?

RE: His tires are too weak, too bad.

MAE: How many positions will he lose?

RE: With a pit of 3 seconds he'll lose 2 or 3 positions.

MAE: What are the chances of me winning today?

RE: If Max is unable to drive the gap between you and the cars in front of him, it will be highly likely that you'll win.

MAE: I'll take those chances

I see Charles' car fade away behind me, great pace Maeve.

You can do this...

now drive.

Round 57/58

Two more rounds, Max is behind me.

I can see his car.

I want to win.

Please let me win, I want to win this so badly.

We are very close.

I go way too deep in the turn.

Fucking hell

I lose my position to him.

MAE: FUCKING C*NT

RE: Come on Maeve, you have DRS soon.

He's right, we are reaching the DRS.

I make sure I am in his slipstream and close enough for DRS.

I get the DRS.

Come on Maeve, please.

I can hear my father telling me he's proud of me.

'You did a great job, mein kleines Mädchen'

Horner too, 'I knew you could do it'.

Just let me win, please.

I want to show everyone that I can win.

I am in his slipstream plus DRS.

I have to do this now, only one turn until the finish and then a long part.

I drive, and with all the strength in my feet, I push the gas pedal.

My car and Max's racing next to each other like siblings.

But one of us has to win, only one of us.

The straight part is getting closer.

I look to my left side and I see him looking back.

Max Verstappen, eat your fucking heart out.

My car is meeting the extreme, the hardest it can go.

I won't settle for anything less than that.

The finish line coming soon.

I don't bother looking to my left side, because I know we will cross the finish at the same time.

It's not my job to figure out the exact seconds.

It's my job to make sure I win.

We pass the finish line, like I said, together.

MAE: Owen, who won?

RE: They're figuring it out... it looks like...

I finish my round, waving to the fans, just like Max does.

Both of us not knowing who really won.

RE: I'm sorry Maeve it looks like...

Fuck...

RE: Nope okay nope, it's you, definitely you. Won by 0.093 seconds.

MAE: YESSS FUCK YES!!

I scream into my helmet, waving even harder to the fans.

I notice Max withdrawing his hand, guess he heard it too.

I won.

Australian GP, fully mine.

I did it.

I feel sweat forming inside my helmet.

Only to figure out it isn't sweat.

These are tears.

Tears of happiness.

Because once again, Maeve Hanna Heike Vettel proved herself.

I showed everyone that I am not my father, but I am pretty good at racing.

Good enough to challenge the lion.

Good enough to make Perez lose his seat.

Good enough to make my dad proud.

Good enough to make Max Verstappen furious.

That's the best of all.

Making him angry, jealous even.