An hour later, Celia and Max finished having breakfast with Harper, just in time for Victoria to arrive with Luka and Lio.

The boys absolutely adored Celia, especially Lio, who would cling to her whenever they met, sometimes making Harper a bit jealous. With her parents being busy, Harper always wished for a sibling to spend time with, although that wasn't her parents' plan. So she looked forward to Luka and Lio's visits, enjoying their company.

"Hi, Tante Cece!" Lio squealed as he ran into Celia's arms. She crouched down to hug him with a big smile.

"Hi Lio," she beamed, "how's my little guy doing?"

"I'm good, but I got hurt," he said with a frown. Celia's eyes widened in concern. "Luka pushed me off my bike yesterday, and I fell on the sidewalk."

"He wasn't sharing when it was my turn!" Luka quickly defended himself, not wanting his aunt to think he was being bad.

"But you shouldn't hurt your brother, Luka," Celia reasoned. "Did you try asking him nicely?"

"I did!" Luka exclaimed, "but he said he would give it to me later when he was done."

"Yeah, and now both of them have lost the bike," Victoria scolded. "No more biking until they learn to share and get along."

"Tante?" Lio whispered to Celia as she hummed. "Can you please ask Mom to forgive us?"

"No, if you're sorry and want your bike back, apologize to your mommy and tell her you two will be on your best behavior from now," Celia shook her head. "Tante Cece can't do anything here, Lio."

Lio frowned but nodded as Celia stood up when her phone buzzed. Checking it, she saw a reminder to head out.

"Okay, I need to go now, baby," Celia said, kissing Harper's head before turning to Victoria. "Thanks for coming over, Vic. I know it's not easy babysitting three kids-"

"Oh, don't worry, Cece," Victoria dismissed it. "I'm used to these boys being how they are. I love spending time with Harper; she's such an angel. Makes me want a daughter too."

"Well, it's not too late to try," Celia smirked as Max rolled his eyes.

"Enough, I don't need to hear this about my sister right now," he said as both Celia and Victoria laughed. "And neither do the kids. Let's go, Lia."

With that, he put his hand on the back of her waist and ushered her out of the hotel room, but not before leaving a small kiss on Harper's cheek, bidding her goodbye.

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As Max drove them to the RBR HQ, he noticed Celia sitting quietly, picking at the skin around her fingers, a habit she had when she was nervous.

"Lia, stop it, you're gonna start bleeding," he scolded, reaching over to swat her hand while keeping his eyes on the road.

That snapped Celia out of her trance, and she turned to glare at him. "Hey, that hurt," she frowned.

"No, it didn't," Max replied, knowing she was exaggerating. "Why're you nervous? You're gonna be fine."

"They're gonna have so many questions-"

"And you'll answer them all confidently," Max cut her off. "You know you're good, Lia. Sure, you had a bit of a break, but you've been training others like Arthur and Ollie all this time. You're the reason they're signing deals in F1 now. You know the cars better than anyone. And I'll be there with you the entire time if you need me."

Celia rolled her eyes. "Right, like you were there yesterday when I was doing the testing."

"I was-"

"You were so rude yesterday, Max," she interrupted. "Don't even try to say otherwise. And all for no fault of mine."

"I'm sorry, Lia," he said sincerely. Celia sighed.

"If something is bothering you, you can tell me, you know?" she said. Max quickly glanced at her while waiting at a red light, then looked away. She sounded so sincere and caring that he almost wanted to tell her what was bothering him. But he knew he couldn't. That was one thing he would never let Celia find out.

"It's nothing you have to worry about," Max replied with a sad tone, as Celia frowned. "If it was, I would tell you."

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The rest of the car ride was quiet. Soon, they arrived at the HQ, and Max parked the car. He got out and opened the door for Celia, who was still sitting in her seat, fiddling with her fingers.

"Lia, come on," he encouraged, reaching out and offering his hand. She looked at his hand, then up at him as he smiled at her. Hesitating, she took his hand and stepped out of the car. Max closed the door behind her and locked it. He then placed his hand on her back and ushered her into the HQ, where the RBR team awaited them.

As soon as they walked in, Dan greeted them and informed them that Checo had already arrived and was with Christian in the conference room, waiting for them. Following Dan, they entered the empty conference room where Christian and Checo were deep in conversation. Hearing the door open, they turned and Checo's face lit up with a smile at the sight of Celia.

"Cece!" he beamed, walking over to pull her into a tight hug. "So nice to see you!"

"Same, Checo," Celia smiled back, "wish it was under different circumstances though."

"Nonsense," Checo dismissed as they pulled away, "I can't wait to retire."

Celia laughed at his words as Christian joined them, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Ready for today?" he asked.

"As ready as I can be," she shrugged.

"She'll be great," Max chimed in, "she's always been good at handling the media."

"Sir, we're ready," Dan whispered to Christian, who nodded.

"Cece, we got you your own RBR shirt. Maybe you'd like to wear that for the conference?" Christian suggested with a smile. Celia nodded.

"Great, Dan will show you to the changing room. Meanwhile, we'll start the conference with Max and Checo, then call you in. Sounds good?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Celia nodded as she followed Dan to the changing room. Max, Christian, and Checo took their seats on the stage, watching as the press filtered into the room.

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To say Celia was nervous would be an understatement. Since agreeing to return to F1, she had been dreading facing the press. She used to enjoy it, but now, facing sexist and irrelevant questions had taken away the fun. While other drivers got questions about their cars and strategies, she got questions about things like car designs or race suit designs, as if those were the only parts of racing she could be involved in. It felt like they didn't see her as a serious racer.

But she loved racing, and she was determined to prove herself once more.

Putting on the RBR shirt, she looked at herself in the mirror, feeling like she was in a dream. But she knew she belonged on the track. Taking a deep breath, she left the changing room and headed to the backdoor of the conference room, where Checo's voice could be heard through the mic.

"Yeah, when I decided to retire, I was worried about not letting the team down," Checo said. "So, Christian, Max, and I talked, and I suggested Celia could be a good fit for the team."

Christian added, "We didn't know if she'd be interested, but we all agreed she was the right choice to replace Checo. After the Belgium race, I flew to Monaco with Max, and we talked to Celia. Luckily, she said yes."

"And now it's time to welcome her on stage with us, right?" Christian said as Dan opened the backdoor and Celia walked in with a big smile.

Christian stood up to greet her with a side-hug and motioned for her to take a seat between Max and Checo. The press applauded as Celia smiled gratefully. Max reached out to gently squeeze her hands, trying to reassure her before quickly letting go to avoid giving the media anything to write headlines on. He just wanted to calm her nerves and be there for her as she stepped back into this world again.

Celia smiled warmly at Max's supportive gesture as the first reporter began his question, "Celia, welcome back to F1. You were missed," he said as Celia grinned, "Let's start with: did you plan to come back to F1? Did you know Red Bull wanted to offer you a deal? And what made you agree?"

"Thank you. I missed racing a lot too," she began, "Honestly, I didn't plan to return to F1. Life took me in different directions. But I stayed close to racing by Advising at Prema since 2019. Helping others in the sport I love felt fulfilling. Then Christian surprised me with an offer. I was hesitant, but Christian and Max," she glanced at them with a smile, "encouraged me a lot. But what really convinced me was our daughter, Harper's excitement. When she heard about the offer, she was thrilled. Her enthusiasm pushed me to say yes. I'm just grateful Christian and the team believed in me."

"Yeah, I really owe Harper a big 'thank you' for this," Christian joked, "so I got her her first kart just a few days ago. We're already bribing her so one day Red Bull can sign her too."

Laughter filled the room, and Max and Celia smiled, glad Christian lightened the mood.

"Celia, now that you're returning, are you nervous about the new FIA regulations and how much the cars have changed since 2017?" another reporter asked.

"Not really," she replied, "being at Prema helped me stay on top of it all and with a bit more testing in my own car, I think I'll handle it fine."

"We know you played a big role in establishing the F1 Academy," the next reporter mentioned. "What drove you to push for it, and will you still be involved as their Ambassador now that you're racing again?"

"It seems even more fitting for me to stay connected to the F1 Academy now that I'm back in racing," she explained. "The reason I advocated for the F1 Academy is quite straightforward. When I was the only girl on the Grid as a reserve driver in F1, it was tough. But I had a lot of support from my parents and mentors like Michael, Seb, Lewis, and Kimi. They encouraged me every step of the way in such a male-dominated sport. So, once I succeeded, it felt natural to support others and push for more opportunities for women in the future. I wanted to make it easier for those who come after me. Fortunately, the FIA agreed with me, and together, we established the F1 Academy. I'm very proud of what it represents, and I hope to race alongside some of those talented girls on the F1 grids someday."

"Max, with a mid-season change in teammates, do you think it'll be hard to focus on your own races while forming a new understanding with Celia?" another reporter inquired.

"Not really," Max responded shortly. When Christian nudged him to go on, he continued, "Celia and I have been competing for 18 years, so we understand each other's racing style well. As teammates, this understanding will help us against other drivers and benefit Red Bull in the Constructor's Championship, hopefully."

"Checo, what's next for you after retirement?" someone asked.

"Just lots of sleeping," he joked, eliciting laughter. "But really, I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and focusing on my health."

"Do you see yourself staying connected to racing, maybe as an Advisor?" another reporter inquired.

"No plans yet, we'll see," Checo replied.

"Celia, joining mid-season means a long road to compete for the World Champion title. What's your strategy?" another reporter asked.

"It's all about the World Championship, so there's much work ahead. With the support of my team, let's see how it goes. It's too early to discuss strategies before more testing," she answered.

"We know Harper loves coming to races. With both of you competing, who do you think she'll root for more?" someone else asked.

"She's a big daddy's girl," Celia said, smiling. "But I think she'll root for Max a bit more."

"That's not true," Max disagreed. "Harper takes pride in her mom being a racer. If anything, I think I'll lose my biggest cheerleader now that Celia's competing too." Celia laughed, imagining Harper cheering for her at races.

And just like that, with a few more questions, the press conference concluded on a good note.

As they exited the conference room, Christian and Max walked ahead, while Checo strolled beside Celia.

"I think the conference went well, don't you?" Checo asked, and Celia nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, everyone was very respectful," she replied with a smile. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

"Yeah, it was a good idea for Max to ask Christian to screen the questions beforehand, so nobody would ask anything inappropriate," Checo added, causing Celia to stop in surprise.

"They filtered the questions?" she asked, taken aback. Checo confirmed with a nod.

"You didn't know? I thought Max had told you," Checo said casually. "When we first discussed the press conference, Max asked Christian to ensure that all the press were briefed to ask only relevant questions. I guess he wanted to make sure your first press event since returning would go smoothly."

Celia pondered Checo's words as they continued walking toward where photographers awaited them.

She realized how much thought Max had put into ensuring the press conference would go well for her. She felt grateful for his support in the weeks since she signed the deal. And now, realizing he was looking out for her even when she wasn't aware, she couldn't help but smile at the gesture. She needed to find a way to thank him for his unwavering support.

It reaffirmed her decision to return to racing, reminding her of how much she missed it and how thrilled she was to be back.

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redbullracing

Liked by - celiamorales, maxverstappen1 and 11,234,432 others

Tagged - celiamorales, maxverstappen1, schecoperez

The dream team🤩 #pressconference

Comments

schecoperez Grateful to have shared such wonderful years with the team. Happy to hand over the reins to @celiamorales now💙
↳ celiamorales Love you, Checo❤️

maxverstappen1 💙💙

sebastianvettel Let's go! @celiamorales
↳ celiamorales Seb, ily❤️

sophiekumpen Mijn geliefden @celiamorales @maxverstappen1
↳ celiamorales ❤️
↳ user1 Aren't we going to talk about how she tagged Celia first?
↳ victoriaverstappen Yes, we love her more
↳ celiamorales 😘
↳ maxverstappen1 This isn't nice 🙁

user2 I love how Max's family is with Celia so much
↳ user3 Right?? They really love her so much

user4 #Merstappen😍
↳ user5 Ugh I want them to fall back in love sooo badly
↳ user6 They also act so much more friendly now. Did any of you catch Max holding Celia's hand when the conference started?
↳ user7 YES that was so sweet 🥺

user8 HELP they look so awkward in the picture 😭

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