Max Verstappen says McManus is 'vilifying' Red Bull over Alpha Tauri's failings: SkySports

"I believe her. There's something not right about that team and the way they do things.": Lawrence Stroll takes a stand against Red Bull  following shocking McManus trauma allegations

2022 Season

MONTE CARLO, MONACO

The wind was choppy off the harbor as Dakota McManus stepped out of her rental car, jamming her keys into her handbag as she tried simultaneously to keep her hair out of her face. She left the car park, walking over the old brick bridge that overlooked the marina and the fleet of yachts owned by Monaco's rich and famous.

It was a strange feeling for the Aussie to be back in Monte Carlo. Back to where she found recovery, where she found out that her grandfather was in intensive care. Where she kissed her best friend for reasons she still didn't understand while she tried to pick up the pieces of herself that Dr. Helmut Marko had shattered.

"Dany!"

The Russian was impossible to miss, his tall, well-built figure hiding behind one of the large, ornate fountains. She couldn't hide the smile on her face as she ran over to Daniil Kvyat, throwing her arms around his neck and letting the former Toro Rosso driver lift her off the ground.

Daniil laughed, setting her back on solid ground. "Dakota, how are you? It's great to see you again. You look good. Healthy."

Dakota shrugged. "You know how the sport is, especially with this fucking team. It's been a while since we scored points, but what can you do? By the end of the season, it's not my problem any more."

The Russian beamed. "That's right, congratulations, kid. How's Yuki?"

The pair started walking away from the harbor, and Dakota let out a puff of air before answering. "Honestly? He's great, and he's been so good these past few months when my life blew up, but I feel like I'm starting to pull away from him. Just like I did with Ilies. He still doesn't know, Daniil. Not about the weight loss and the abuse and the trauma. I've barely slept through the night since I made the decision to leave Alpha Tauri."

Daniil knew all too well what the Red Bull mentality was like, having experienced it himself first-hand. The German Grand Prix in 2016 had almost broken him, after a less-than-perfect quali session had the media teams worried about his safety and mental health.

"You have to remember that Yuki isn't Ilies. And you've matured so much since that year." The Russian said thoughtfully, opening the glass door to the café where they had said they'd meet for lunch. "I know you're scared to let people in, Dakota. But Yuki isn't going to hurt you, and he's definitely not going to think that you're fragile."

"You say that now." Dakota winced at how sarcastic she sounded, taking a seat across the table from Daniil. "Enough about me, what's going on with you? How's the hunt for your NASCAR seat going?"

The Russian grinned. "Promise not to tell?"

"You know me better than that."

"I signed a deal to do three races over the summer in the Cup Series, and one with Xfinity."

"Daniil, that's incredible!" Dakota shrieked. "I'm really happy for you. Sounds like both of us have some big adventures ahead of us."

"To the future." He joked, holding up his water glass.

"To the future." Dakota smiled, clinking her glass against his. 

Learning that Daniil wouldn't be doing another season with AlphaTauri had hurt her. Ever since she was thriteen, she'd had a massive fear of abandonment, and Daniil had been the only constant at Toro Rosso since Pierre and Brendon had parted ways with the team going into 2019. Sports aren't exactly the kind of world you hang around when you're scared to lose people, especially a sport like formula one where lineups are always changing, and people always come and go.

she reached into her purse, pulling out the grey suede-bound notebook. "I need you to do something for me. I want you to either destroy this, or fucking give it to Ted this weekend, I don't care. Everything that Red Bull ever did to me is written in here. The diets, the workouts, everything that Marko ever said to my face. The weights, the doctor visits. I found it when I went back home."

Daniil frowned, taking the notebook into his hands. There were pages upon pages filled with Dakota's curly writing, low-quality photocopies of pictures he knew she treasured that had been pressed into the pages to show just how unhealthily thin she had been compared to her internship year. Compared to now. She was still down four pounds from that terrible, terrible year that she had never been able to get back.

Texas, 2019.

Dressed up today with some of the other girls in the pit crews and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. It was the most fun I've had all season, but in certain lights, the outfit shows how thin I have become.

Helmut told me that I was showing too much skin to be 'respectable in this establishment', that my shorts 'showed too much buttocks' even though at this point my ass isn't nearly as nice and as full as it used to be and therefore completely covered by the so-called booty shorts, and that I was lucky my grandfather was still around to go to bat for my contract.

I didn't hear any complaints from anybody else. In fact, this entire day was Franz's idea, a small break from the pressure to thank my for my efforts in the team. This 'skimpy little do' was the most body-confident I had felt in a while. Thanks a fucking lot, Helmut.

"Dakota, I think this is a good starting point for you conversation with Yuki." The Russian slid the notebook back across the table. "Remember what I said about making peace with Red Bull. Opening up to Yuki is going to help you do that."

"Have you made your peace? I'm sure getting dragged back to Toro Rosso didn't help with that very much."

Daniil thought it over, thinking about his reserve year and his hopes for the future. He had hoped to return to F1 should an opportunity arise, but with the political climate of his home country,  he doubted that would be possible without putting his loved ones in harm's way and signing the Peace Agreement. "Yeah, yeah I have. This time out of the game has really helped me put into perspective, actually. But don't just listen to me, Mac. Find your own way to make sense of it, your own way to forgive."

NOTES!

So i am definitely thinking of breaking this into two books at the summer break period just so that it doesn't get overtly long, so please let me know what you think! I will definitely be sobbing my eyes out when it comes time to write about Abu Dhabi.

Also, I didn't even plan this but Midnights is so Dakota's album?? Anti-Hero encompasses her anxiety and her night terrors (wake up screaming from dreaming), You're On You're Own Kid is about her time with Red Bull and Would've Could've Should've reads like she's looking back upon everything she went through and everything she lost as a part of their young driver's academy??