Like most functional families, having children is seen as a joyous journey—watching them grow, learn, and experience life from their first breath to their last. But for some, this idyllic normality is a distant dream. Some are born into lives of cruelty and harshness, enduring punishments meant for hardened criminals, not innocent children.

Max Emilian Verstappen was one of these children. From the moment he was born, he was hailed as the prodigy of Jos Verstappen, a star who burned out too soon, never achieving his own world championship dreams. Now, that pressure was thrust upon Max. From a young age, he was introduced to life's harsh realities far too early.

This upbringing forged him into a closed-off man, perpetually lost in his own thoughts, fueled by anger and pain. Now, he stands where his father once aspired to be: a four-time world champion, a figure of immense success.

You, on the other hand, were a driver passed from team to team, feeling as disposable as a grain of sand in the desert. That is, until Red Bull signed you, placing you in the second seat, in Max's shadow. You were always second best.

You never truly understood Max. He remained an enigma, always guarded, reacting poorly to defeat. You were unaware of the torments he had endured as a boy. But as time passed, as you connected and communicated beyond the racetrack, a fondness grew between you. You became one of the few teammates Max genuinely connected with on a deeper level.

It was during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that everything shifted. You had just finished P3 and headed to the cool-down room, satisfied with your race. Max, however, had qualified P7 and finished 10th, far from pleased. As you turned a corner in the corridor, you were suddenly pulled into a small room by Max Verstappen himself. The stress and frustration radiating off him were palpable, his carefully constructed walls crumbling, revealing the raw depth of his emotions. In that moment, he wasn't Verstappen, the four-time champion; he was simply Max—a young man in desperate need of more than just a pat on the back, someone who, for the first time, craved genuine love and comfort.