It had been worth it – all the blood and the cruelty and the fight. All the younger generations entering the sport – Ollie, Kimi, Franco – all of them are protected now. Formula One will never see an eighteen-year-old with freshly trimmed wings like Max again; it will never see another George Russell, pushed into wing dysmorphia. It will never see... See more

He takes a breath, thinks of the dozens – no, hundreds of young karting hopefuls and kids in the lower formulas whom he’s shaken hands with. So many of them had looked up at him in awe before their gazes inevitably drifted to his trimmed bird-of-paradise wings.

How many of those children had been mentally preparing themselves to saw their own... See more

I have to go, Daniel repeats to himself, the realisation crashing through him like a terrible, inevitable wave.

He has to leave Red Bull. Before he and Max become Lewis and Nico, or worse, before Max and the team’s hunger for championships pushes Daniel to trim his wings.

Daniel once made a promise to Seb. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t try his best... See more