( ** indicates flashbacks)

** In a bustling karting track, young Celia and Max zoom around in their karts, their competitive spirits fueling their every move.

Max leads the race, his kart cutting through the wind as he skillfully navigates the twists and turns of the track. Celia trails closely behind, determined to catch up.

But as they near the finish line, Max's kart suddenly swerves, giving Celia just enough space to overtake him. With a burst of speed, Celia crosses the finish line first, leaving Max behind in second place.

Cheers erupt from the spectators as Celia stands atop the podium, a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Max watches from the second spot, his expression downcast. He knows his father will not be pleased with his loss.

As they step down from the podium, Max starts to walk away when Celia calls out his name, stopping him. "Hey, you did really good today," she compliments him, trying to lift his spirits, but Max looks down, feeling dejected. "I didn't think I was going to be able to overtake you."

Max looks at the ground, mumbling his reply. "Yeah, but you did, congratulations on the win."

"Why aren't you happy?" Celia asks then, noticing his sadness. Max looks at her with frustration. "I didn't win, what's there to be happy about?" he scoffs.

"You almost did," she reminds him with a soft smile. "If your kart hadn't swerved last minute, you would've won. You did your best, you should be proud of yourself."

"Dad won't be happy," Max mumbles, feeling the weight of his father's expectations. Celia reaches out to hold his hand, taking out a flower from her bouquet and giving it to him. Max looks at her in confusion. "What's this for?" he asks.

"For being good competition," Celia replies with a smile. "Wanting to defeat you keeps me on my toes. You should cheer up. If you win all the time, you're going to get bored and hate racing. So keep losing to me sometimes, okay?"

A faint smile flickers across Max's face at her words. But before he can respond, his father angrily calls out his name, causing Max to stiffen. "I... uh, I gotta go, bye Lia," he says quickly before rushing back to where Jos Verstappen stands with a disapproving look.

Celia watches their interaction sadly as Jos scolds Max while Max looks down. In one swift movement, Jos snatches the flower from Max's hand, stomping on it and crushing it into the ground before pulling Max away from the track.

Max looks back at the trampled flower with a sad expression as he walks away, leaving Celia standing there, watching him leave with a heavy heart. **

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Celia and Max stood outside the RBR HQ, watching with joy as Harper climbed into her kart, a gift from Christian. Harper, in her pink-white-black racesuit and helmet, posed proudly as Celia snapped a picture.

"Thank you so much for this, Christian," Celia beamed, while Max guided Harper through the kart's features.

"Of course," Christian replied cheerfully. "We've got to start them young so one day she can be like her mom and dad. Maybe we should sign her already in advance," he joked.

"Only if she wants to," Max chimed in. "We're not going to force her into racing."

"Absolutely," Christian agreed, turning to Celia. "We're working on your car now. Tomorrow will be your first testing, and you can tell us what changes you want made."

Celia nodded. "Looking forward to it. Is the press conference tomorrow too?"

"No, it's the day after," Dan answered. "We want to give you time to practice before facing the media. The FIA approved a fun event for you and Max to go head-to-head around our track for one lap."

"I don't think it's just for fun. The media is going to look for ways to embarrass me," Celia replied skeptically. "What can I learn in one day?"

"You'll do great, Lia. You already know everything," Max reassured her. "And don't worry, we'll practice as much as you need."

"Oh, and next week we have the ByBit Gala," Dan reminded them. "This will be your first time meeting all our sponsors, and they have even moved up the gala to welcome you into the family as soon as possible."

"That sounds like a lot," Celia replied with a nervous shudder, thinking about everything that was lined up. "The next few weeks are going to be hectic."

"Yes, but it's part of the F1 life, as you know," Christian replied. Celia hummed knowingly.

"Mama, Dada, look I'm doing it!" Harper's excited voice interrupted, drawing their attention to her kart slowly accelerating.

"You're doing great, sweetie!" Celia cheered, sharing a proud glance with Max.

Christian then turned to Celia and Max. "Didn't you two used to be karting buddies?"

Celia laughed sarcastically. "Oh, I wouldn't say we were buddies. Max used to hate me."

Max shot her an offended look. "No, I did not!"

"Don't lie," Celia retorted, rolling her eyes. "You were so mean to me, especially after losing to me."

"I barely lost, so I wasn't mean often then," Max countered, a hint of cockiness in his tone.

"You never talked nicely to me, even when I tried to be friends with you," Celia accused. "And remember when you tried to convince Charles to stop being friends with me?"

Max struggled to respond. "Well, that was..."

"Exactly," Celia interrupted, smirking. "You were mean to me for no reason."

"Well, I stopped being mean to you later, didn't I?" Max retorted, prompting another eye roll from Celia.

"Yeah, that was only because of all the team-building exercises the VAR Team made us do when we signed on for F3," Celia scoffed. "Otherwise, I bet you'd still hate me."

"I never hated you, Lia," Max replied, his voice softening. Celia turned to meet his eyes as he continued, "You were just my biggest rival when it came to karting, and my dad didn't like me losing, let alone to a girl. So I kept my distance, to not piss him off."

Celia's expression softened too as she remembered Jos's harsh words to Max - calling him a failure, saying he'll never succeed and whatnot. They fell into silence as the reminisced about their karting days until Christian interrupted.

"Oh, um, I think I'm getting a call," Christian cleared his throat, signaling Dan to follow him as he walked away from the two.

"When was the last time you talked to Jos?" Celia inquired after a brief silence.

Max cleared his throat before responding, "Not too long ago. He still calls after every race to tell me everything I did wrong."

"So, he hasn't changed," Celia scoffed. "I don't know why I thought he might've. I mean, you're a two-time world champion. Why do you even listen to him still?"

"He's my dad, Lia," Max replied defensively. "And all his tough training is why I am as good as I am now. I can't deny he made me everything I am."

"No need to get defensive, Max," Celia shrugged. "I'm just saying, he's the one who makes you second-guess your achievements. Not everything is about how you could've done better. Sometimes you should just pat yourself on the back and be proud of what you've achieved, you know?"

With that, she walked away toward where Harper was parked, admiring her new kart. Meanwhile, Max remained in his place, reflecting on her words and recalling similar conversations they had during their karting days.

It wasn't a new conversation; it had always been like this, for as long as Max could remember. Jos being tough on Max, and whenever he was feeling down or doubting himself, Celia would remind him of his abilities and comfort him. She just knew how to calm his nerves and say the right things. She understood him like no one else did. She always has.

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celiamorales added to their story!

Seen by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, sukiwaterhouse and 7, 723, 843 others

f1.newzz

Liked by - sophiekumpen, maximo_morales and 1,43,542 others

Tagged - celiamorales, maxverstappen1

Following her parents' footsteps🏎️
#BabyHarper #Karting #Merstappen

Comments

sophiekumpen Mijn lieve meid❤️ (My sweet girl)
(liked by author)

maximo_morales Me recuerda a tus días de karting, querida @celiamorales (Reminds me of your karting days, my dear.)
↳ celiamorales Miss going karting with you, Papa🥹
↳ maximo_morales It's time I take my granddaughter karting now, how the times have changed

user1 Okay this picture and comment section are way too wholesome🥹
(liked by author)

charles_leclerc Ma filleule, si fière d'elle❤️ (My goddaughter, so proud of her)
↳ user2 She's coming for your job, Charles
↳ user3 Omg, imagine Harper in a red Ferrari tracksuit 🥺
↳ maxverstappen1 Harpie is a Reb Bull girl, through and through
↳ charles_leclerc For now. Wait till she hears from Uncle Charlie about how great Ferrari is
↳ celiamorales You've tried and failed, Charles. Multiple times. Just give up.
↳ user4 Hahahahahh I can imagine Charles trying to turn Harper into a Ferrari girl while she just goes on and on about how great her parents' team is😭

user4 THIS IS SO PRECIOUS
(liked by author)

user5 Love how so many of them interacted with this post, they all love Harper so much. She has the coolest family
(liked by author)

user6 Why are they forcing their choices onto their daughter like this?🙄
↳ f1.newzz They're not focing anything onto Harper. She's very interested in racing, herself as she attends almost all of Max's races and watches from the paddock. Celia and Max have spoken multiple times about Harper wanting to Kart but they wanted to wait till she was a bit older so it's safe for her.