The Japanese word vomit
Logan had a meeting directly after arriving in Milton Keynes, followed by a training session. He now was finally home, freshly showered and made something to eat when the doorbell rang.
“Hey” he said surprised after opening.
“Hi, I know we don’t really know each other, but I REALLY need to vent to someone and Max is not the right person for that. He always gives too good advice and solutions. I just want to vent. Can I do that to you?” Yuki asked, speaking in a rapid pace.
“Sure, come in, you want to eat something?” he asked, getting back to the kitchen.
“Oh, what are you making?”
“I’m not really sure if I should call it a burrito or a wrap, but it’s a tortilla, filled with minced meat, cheese, veggies and salad.”
“What veggies?”
“Tomato, cucumber, corn and broccoli.” Logan said and Yuki raised a brow. “I forgot to go shopping on my way here, it’s what I had.”
“Alright, I’ll take some.” Yuki said, watching Logan put the filling on the tortillas. He planned two for each of them. “You wanted to vent.”
“Oh, Nyck is so fucking annoying. He gets NOTHING done. He acts like he’s oh so experienced and tries to teach me stuff, he acts like I’m a little kid! Just because I’m short, it doesn’t mean that you can talk me even further down. We were in a strategy meeting and he interrupted Hanna in the middle of a sentence to kind of, I don’t know, translate it into a children’s version and then asks me if I understood. The first time he did that, I just said yes, probably also out of surprise that he would do something like that. I’m not a rookie, I know what Hanna is saying, thank you” he said, taking the plate from Logan and sat down on the couch “I’ve been listening to her for years, alright, I get it, I’m not Max, I’m not you, but I’ve been racing successfully in F1 for more than two years now, and there is this skinny bitch walking in, trying to explain strategy to me? Anyway, after the first time, I thought that’s it, we were all really confused that he did that anyway.” Yuki ranted, taking a bite of the food.
“Who was there?” Logan asked while Yuki started chewing.
“Nyck, Hanna, Franz, Helmut, two guys from the factory and me, this food is better than I thought it would be, so Hanna just goes ahead, keeping it cool for now. Five minutes later, without a warning he starts doing the same thing AGAIN. This time I interrupted him, saying that he could say what he had to say later, now Hanna is the one talking. He looked at me absolutely offended and if I suddenly grew a second head or something. He kept it shut for a while, thank God. When Hanna is done, she – you know – always asks if there are any questions or if something wasn’t clear. Franz opened his mouth and started asking something and Nyck just talked over him, mansplaining or childsplaining or whatever to me again. I told him to shut up and that Franz was talking, instead of trying to explain stuff to me he should pay respect to Franz and not interrupt him. I know, I can be rude, loud, I swear, all of that, but I don’t interrupt like that, that’s crazy, you don’t do that, a child knows that. So, Franz is asking his question and then it was silent, so Hanna said now is the time for Nyck to say what he wanted to say. He started explaining again, but ALL THE WRONG SHIT! Our strategy would be to pretty much do our own thing, she of course didn’t say it like that, but you know … we don’t fight for the same position.” Yuki went further, taking another bite while Logan was listening, nodding with Yuki “So he explains to me, that Hanna’s strategy meant we are keeping each other’s backs clear, or better said, ME keeping HIS stupid ass safe and clear, supporting HIM or shit like that? I interrupted him and asked if he even listened to what Hanna had said. He said yes, I said no, or you’d know that this isn’t our strategy AT ALL, telling him in short sentences what she actually presented to us. Then he was the one saying no, but he did it in this weird … you know, condescending way that you do with little children, even holding my shoulder and doing this wicked little smile like a mum would do when gently telling her kid it fucked up? So, I asked him who he thought he was, talking to me like that, talking over Hanna and Franz like that and behaving like a total asshole, when he’s the ONLY person on the grid not making a point at all yet, which is disastrous, as even the Haas BOTH have points.” Yuki said, making Logan laugh while starting his second burrito wrap. “He stared at me for a bit and you could have heard a pin drop until Helmut apparently couldn’t hold it anymore and roared up in laughter. Franz tried to calm him, but was also laughing at the same time. Hanna smiled and thanked me for standing up for her, I said that’s what everyone should do, although I shouldn’t even have had to in an internal meeting. Nyck then piped up again, asking me if I’m okay, as I seem ‘a little bit over the top’. I stared at him and didn’t even know what to say, but then my trainer came and asked where I was, I was supposed to be in the gym twenty minutes ago. I just jumped up and left with him, I don’t know what would have happened next, I probably would have hit him or something.” Yuki said and then screamed loudly.
“That was a rant.”
“Thank you for listening, I really needed that.” Yuki said with a smile.
“I don’t know what I would have done in your position. I probably would have told him to shut up the first time.” Logan said, taking a sip of his coke.
“How can you drink that?” Yuki asked and looked at the cherry coke with disgust.
“It’s one of my favourite drinks, thank you. Is Nyck always like that or was this a one timer?”
“Well, until now he was just acting high and mighty, you know. He is older, he is Dutch, he is a champion, he can do all of it, yadda yadda yadda.” Yuki said mockingly “It was annoying, but it wasn’t infuriating and disrespectful. Although of course I wasn’t in all the meetings he had with Franz and the others.”
“Is he having that many meetings?” Logan asked surprised “I mean, I had a lot before this race and my schedule is fuller than Max’s, but I’m new.”
“Exactly, you’re new. He isn’t, we’ve been working since early January, we started a week earlier than the other teams did. He is … different. I know, Pierre and I have a real friendship, almost like brothers at times and I didn’t expect it like that with Nyck, but I kind of thought he’d be … normal.” Yuki tried to explain and Logan chuckled.
“You want him to not be an ass.”
“Yeah. Is it bad that I want him replaced?”
“Normally you should feel bad, I think, but we all know … if you don’t bring the results, you’re out. Redbull is even harder on that than others, that is known as well. I’m here by accident, I never thought I’d drive for Redbull. But it doesn’t matter who you drive for. You have to have respect for others, especially the strategists and team principal and people like that and even more when you’re a rookie. He is a rookie, it doesn’t matter how old he is or what he did before. It’s his first year and my first year. We are rookies, we are at the bottom, the end. Now that we’re talking about him anyway, he never talked to me. I said hello at the driver’s dinner at the beginning of the season, he raised an eyebrow, looked me up and down and said hello before turning away. I didn’t even really realize how weird it was back then, because the others were talking to me right away and I was about to pee my pants anyway. Who would you want as replacement?”
“I don’t know … would be fun if Seb came back for that.” Yuki said with a smirk.
“THEN I would pee my pants.” Logan said laughing.
They decided to watch The Equalizer before Yuki went back to his appartement down the hallway and Logan started texting Esteban.
Logan had to start at ten the next day, so he made a trip to the stores in the morning. He got enough stuff for the next days and a couple of things for the pantry.
He travelled from Milton Keynes to Imola with part of the team on Tuesday evening, including Yuki.
Imola was sunny and really warm, the summer was definitely there.
The race wasn’t chaotic again, there was only one collision, Nyck de Vries losing control of his car on the straight somehow and crashing into Yuki, taking both of them out. Yuki had received an extra fine for unsportsmanlike behaviour by the stewards because he swore up a storm and then pushed Nyck twice in the chest before people were able to separate them. When the penalty was given out, Yuki had already apologized to the public for his fury and that him pushing his team mate was not an okay thing to do and that he should have had himself under control more. Yuki accepted the penalty from the stewards and also stated that to the press.
Max finished in third, having a puncture, then ripping open the whole tire on his way to the pits, damaging the front wing. The subsequently longer pit stop put him behind Lando and Daniel, giving McLaren a double podium and Lando another win. The other points were given to Logan, Charles, George, Carlos, Lewis, Esteban and Alex.