Max Verstappen POV

Max adjusted his collar for the fifth time, resisting the urge to check his reflection in the window.
Carlos Sr. was watching him like he’d already found him lacking. Which, to be fair, Max expected. He was Max Verstappen. Fast, intense, aggressive. Not exactly father-in-law material.

He cleared his throat. “Sir,” he said, voice a little too formal. “I want you to know I take Carlos seriously. He’s important to me.”

Carlos Sr. didn’t blink. “And yet you called him a ‘slowpoke’ in Monaco.”

Max blinked. “I—okay. Yes. But that was years ago. I also call him ‘mi vida’ now. Growth.”

Silence.