What's so special about him
Rating: PG
Pairings: Vettel, Ricciado
Summary: Seb is becoing increasingly jealous of Dan's popularity
Disclaimer: None of it is real
Authors Notes: Filling a prompt from motorskink
It all started when he saw Daniel with a tray of coffee cups in his hand,
“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked,
“Getting coffee for the guys, why?” Dan replied. Seb sighed
“You have a PA to do that now, you may have had to do that at Toro Rosso but you’re in the best team now, we never have to get our own coffee, let alone anyone else’s, we have a reputation you know” Seb said pompously.
“I don’t mind, it’s a nice thing to do, it lets the guys know you appreciate how hard they work, making a few cups of coffee and providing the odd packet of chocolate biscuits, is not going to kill me or ruin anyone’s reputation” Dan retorted. Seb shook his head; Dan still had a lot to learn about what was expected at Red Bull. He held out his hand and Heikki placed a cup of coffee in it, he watched as all Dan’s mechanics patted him on the back and said thank you. At least Seb didn’t have to buy his team’s affection with coffee and biscuit’s; they loved him because he was a winner.
It was on Britta’s birthday that Seb began to realise just how much everyone liked Dan, Seb had given her the usual bouquet of flowers. Just as he did to all the women, who worked for the team, quick phone call to the florist, order the flowers, send Heikki out to get a card and that was all he had to do, they always appreciated a gift from him. Britta opened Dan’s present, an old-fashioned perfume bottle and squealed with delight,
“Oh Dan thank you, it’s just what I wanted” she sprayed a little of the perfume on to her wrist and sniffed “and my favourite perfume too, oh thank you, thank you so much” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Seb was a little put out by the fuss Britta had made about the present Dan had given her, it was a bottle of perfume for god’s sake, how did he even know what perfume she wore, Seb had never noticed her perfume before, he’d get Heikki to ask her and maybe get her some next year. It had been the same when it was Rocky’s birthday, Seb had given him the usual bottle of expensive Brandy, he knew Dan could never match that, but Rocky had been delighted with the book Dan had given him, an autobiography of someone called Serge Blanco. Seb had never heard of him, he wasn’t an F1 driver so he wasn’t interested.
It irked him no end that people were falling over themselves to help Dan, yes his team all went out to the pub once a month, no matter where in the world they were, he was sure his team would go out with him, if he asked them. However, he’d noticed that some of his team were joining them too.
“What are you eating?” Seb demanded,
“Mmfak” Dan swallowed his biscuit “sorry, Anzacs, Adrian’s wife made them for me” he replied.
“Why?” Seb demanded again, Dan frowned
“Why what?” he asked,
“Why did Adrian’s wife make you those Anzacs, she’s never made me anything” Seb replied, Dan shrugged,
“No idea mate, Adrian just gave me the tin and said his wife had made them for me, do you want one?” he said, offering up the tin. Seb shook his head and stomped off to find Heikki,
“I need a massage, now” he demanded, Heikki sighed and closed his laptop, so much for the hour or so he’d promised himself to catch up with his friends at home.
“What’s the matter?” Heikki asked, although he was pretty sure he knew what it was,
“Adrian’s wife made Dan some biscuits, she’s never done anything like that for me” Seb raged. Heikki just made appropriate soothing noises, he knew better than to tell Seb the truth about Dan’s popularity. He hadn’t forgotten the tantrum Seb threw when he found out that Dan had managed to get them tickets to the Download festival. Finland’s top thrash metal band was playing and Dan had managed to use his influence to get them tickets. They had done it properly; camping out in a field, joined in the partying with the other festival goer’s and had a fantastic time. Heikki had loved it, being treated as an equal, not expected to fetch and carry and being allowed some freedom to enjoy himself. His weekend with Dan made him realise, yes, his job may be glamorous, he got to travel the world and his charge was a World Champion but he was treated no better than a servant was.
When he’d returned and Seb had demanded to know, where he’d been and why he’d ignored his calls, Heikki had made the mistake of telling him. Seb had lost his mind with rage, he’d thrown such a tantrum that Heikki had wondered if he should call the doctor and have him sedated, when Seb finally calmed down, Heikki realised that he finally understood the subtle changes he’d noticed in the garage. Team dynamics were slowly shifting from Seb to Dan, because Dan was such a nice guy.
Dan won his first race at Monza, all the team were delighted, in fact Seb had noticed that his team were on the wall cheering Dan over the line as well. On the podium Seb noticed that everyone, including the Ferrari fans were cheering Dan loudly, 12 months ago, he’d been booed. David Coulthard was doing the podium interviews, Dan was on the top step, he was third with Romain in second he’d been beaten by a) the man he hated and b) a bloody Lotus.
“So Seb, another podium and Daniel’s first win, the team must be pretty pleased,” David said.
“Yes of course we’re pleased, all the team will be celebrating Dan’s win tonight I guess, I suppose he’ll be getting all the upgrades first after the summer break as he’s a couple of points ahead now” Seb replied, bitchily. David’s eyebrows raised, Romian sniggered, Dan’s eyes widened and an ‘oooh’ rippled through the paddock. The camera switched to Christian who was stony faced, Britta had her head in her hands knowing a very difficult press pen session was coming up; it was going to take everyone who mattered to talk Seb into behaving himself in front of the press.
After Monza Seb had been summoned to Christian’s office and given the bollocking of his life, the one many thought he should have had after the Malaysia Multi 21 debacle. He was now sitting in the canteen by himself, no-one was there to comfort him, Heikki had disappeared, Britta had locked her office door and Rocky was being interviewed by Sky. Dan came in and grabbed a bottle of water, Seb got up and went over to him, he had to know.
“How do you do it?” he demanded,
“Do what?” Dan asked, puzzled,
“Get everyone to like you, since you came here you’ve become Mr Popular, everyone likes you, the press want to interview you before me, even my team prefer you to me, it’s not fair” Seb said, even to his self obsessed ears it sounded childish. Dan sighed; he’d been hearing stories that Seb was incredibly jealous of his popularity in the team, he really didn’t want to cause trouble.
“I don’t make people like me, I’d never do that, I guess they like me because I’m nice to them, don’t treat them like they should worship the ground I walk on” Dan replied,
“I don’t do that,” Seb snapped. Dan raised his eyebrows,
“You sure mate? I’ve seen you in the garage you don’t exactly snap your fingers but I’ve seen you hold out your hand and someone hands you a drink, takes your helmet, hands you data sheets, without a word of thanks” Dan replied.
“That’s because I’m a world champion and the team number one, people know what I need and when” Seb said.
“That’s my point, you’ve forgotten that it’s the little people that have got you here, you need to remember you’re not the ‘I’ in team,” Dan said.
“You need to remember that this team would be nothing without me” Seb retorted, Dan sighed, this conversation was going round in circles,
“Look mate, you asked me how I got everyone to like me, I’ll give you the same piece of advice my dad gave to me when I first started racing, Respect is earned, not given away” Dan replied.
“I have respect” Seb responded,
“As a driver yes, as a person, you still need work mate,” Dan said. He finished his water, said goodbye to the girl cleaning the table, who smiled and blew him a kiss, and left. Seb sat back down mulling over what Dan had said, was that the reason people disliked him so much, the reason Mark hated his guts and the reason for all the booing last year, because people thought he was disrespectful to his team, to other drivers and to the fans. He could copy Dan he’d start now. He grabbed a tray and some mugs and began to fill them with coffee; he grabbed a handful of biscuits, left the money by the till and headed back out. He’d show them he could be as nice as Dan.
Pairings: Vettel, Ricciado
Summary: Seb is becoing increasingly jealous of Dan's popularity
Disclaimer: None of it is real
Authors Notes: Filling a prompt from motorskink
It all started when he saw Daniel with a tray of coffee cups in his hand,
“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked,
“Getting coffee for the guys, why?” Dan replied. Seb sighed
“You have a PA to do that now, you may have had to do that at Toro Rosso but you’re in the best team now, we never have to get our own coffee, let alone anyone else’s, we have a reputation you know” Seb said pompously.
“I don’t mind, it’s a nice thing to do, it lets the guys know you appreciate how hard they work, making a few cups of coffee and providing the odd packet of chocolate biscuits, is not going to kill me or ruin anyone’s reputation” Dan retorted. Seb shook his head; Dan still had a lot to learn about what was expected at Red Bull. He held out his hand and Heikki placed a cup of coffee in it, he watched as all Dan’s mechanics patted him on the back and said thank you. At least Seb didn’t have to buy his team’s affection with coffee and biscuit’s; they loved him because he was a winner.
It was on Britta’s birthday that Seb began to realise just how much everyone liked Dan, Seb had given her the usual bouquet of flowers. Just as he did to all the women, who worked for the team, quick phone call to the florist, order the flowers, send Heikki out to get a card and that was all he had to do, they always appreciated a gift from him. Britta opened Dan’s present, an old-fashioned perfume bottle and squealed with delight,
“Oh Dan thank you, it’s just what I wanted” she sprayed a little of the perfume on to her wrist and sniffed “and my favourite perfume too, oh thank you, thank you so much” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Seb was a little put out by the fuss Britta had made about the present Dan had given her, it was a bottle of perfume for god’s sake, how did he even know what perfume she wore, Seb had never noticed her perfume before, he’d get Heikki to ask her and maybe get her some next year. It had been the same when it was Rocky’s birthday, Seb had given him the usual bottle of expensive Brandy, he knew Dan could never match that, but Rocky had been delighted with the book Dan had given him, an autobiography of someone called Serge Blanco. Seb had never heard of him, he wasn’t an F1 driver so he wasn’t interested.
It irked him no end that people were falling over themselves to help Dan, yes his team all went out to the pub once a month, no matter where in the world they were, he was sure his team would go out with him, if he asked them. However, he’d noticed that some of his team were joining them too.
“What are you eating?” Seb demanded,
“Mmfak” Dan swallowed his biscuit “sorry, Anzacs, Adrian’s wife made them for me” he replied.
“Why?” Seb demanded again, Dan frowned
“Why what?” he asked,
“Why did Adrian’s wife make you those Anzacs, she’s never made me anything” Seb replied, Dan shrugged,
“No idea mate, Adrian just gave me the tin and said his wife had made them for me, do you want one?” he said, offering up the tin. Seb shook his head and stomped off to find Heikki,
“I need a massage, now” he demanded, Heikki sighed and closed his laptop, so much for the hour or so he’d promised himself to catch up with his friends at home.
“What’s the matter?” Heikki asked, although he was pretty sure he knew what it was,
“Adrian’s wife made Dan some biscuits, she’s never done anything like that for me” Seb raged. Heikki just made appropriate soothing noises, he knew better than to tell Seb the truth about Dan’s popularity. He hadn’t forgotten the tantrum Seb threw when he found out that Dan had managed to get them tickets to the Download festival. Finland’s top thrash metal band was playing and Dan had managed to use his influence to get them tickets. They had done it properly; camping out in a field, joined in the partying with the other festival goer’s and had a fantastic time. Heikki had loved it, being treated as an equal, not expected to fetch and carry and being allowed some freedom to enjoy himself. His weekend with Dan made him realise, yes, his job may be glamorous, he got to travel the world and his charge was a World Champion but he was treated no better than a servant was.
When he’d returned and Seb had demanded to know, where he’d been and why he’d ignored his calls, Heikki had made the mistake of telling him. Seb had lost his mind with rage, he’d thrown such a tantrum that Heikki had wondered if he should call the doctor and have him sedated, when Seb finally calmed down, Heikki realised that he finally understood the subtle changes he’d noticed in the garage. Team dynamics were slowly shifting from Seb to Dan, because Dan was such a nice guy.
Dan won his first race at Monza, all the team were delighted, in fact Seb had noticed that his team were on the wall cheering Dan over the line as well. On the podium Seb noticed that everyone, including the Ferrari fans were cheering Dan loudly, 12 months ago, he’d been booed. David Coulthard was doing the podium interviews, Dan was on the top step, he was third with Romain in second he’d been beaten by a) the man he hated and b) a bloody Lotus.
“So Seb, another podium and Daniel’s first win, the team must be pretty pleased,” David said.
“Yes of course we’re pleased, all the team will be celebrating Dan’s win tonight I guess, I suppose he’ll be getting all the upgrades first after the summer break as he’s a couple of points ahead now” Seb replied, bitchily. David’s eyebrows raised, Romian sniggered, Dan’s eyes widened and an ‘oooh’ rippled through the paddock. The camera switched to Christian who was stony faced, Britta had her head in her hands knowing a very difficult press pen session was coming up; it was going to take everyone who mattered to talk Seb into behaving himself in front of the press.
After Monza Seb had been summoned to Christian’s office and given the bollocking of his life, the one many thought he should have had after the Malaysia Multi 21 debacle. He was now sitting in the canteen by himself, no-one was there to comfort him, Heikki had disappeared, Britta had locked her office door and Rocky was being interviewed by Sky. Dan came in and grabbed a bottle of water, Seb got up and went over to him, he had to know.
“How do you do it?” he demanded,
“Do what?” Dan asked, puzzled,
“Get everyone to like you, since you came here you’ve become Mr Popular, everyone likes you, the press want to interview you before me, even my team prefer you to me, it’s not fair” Seb said, even to his self obsessed ears it sounded childish. Dan sighed; he’d been hearing stories that Seb was incredibly jealous of his popularity in the team, he really didn’t want to cause trouble.
“I don’t make people like me, I’d never do that, I guess they like me because I’m nice to them, don’t treat them like they should worship the ground I walk on” Dan replied,
“I don’t do that,” Seb snapped. Dan raised his eyebrows,
“You sure mate? I’ve seen you in the garage you don’t exactly snap your fingers but I’ve seen you hold out your hand and someone hands you a drink, takes your helmet, hands you data sheets, without a word of thanks” Dan replied.
“That’s because I’m a world champion and the team number one, people know what I need and when” Seb said.
“That’s my point, you’ve forgotten that it’s the little people that have got you here, you need to remember you’re not the ‘I’ in team,” Dan said.
“You need to remember that this team would be nothing without me” Seb retorted, Dan sighed, this conversation was going round in circles,
“Look mate, you asked me how I got everyone to like me, I’ll give you the same piece of advice my dad gave to me when I first started racing, Respect is earned, not given away” Dan replied.
“I have respect” Seb responded,
“As a driver yes, as a person, you still need work mate,” Dan said. He finished his water, said goodbye to the girl cleaning the table, who smiled and blew him a kiss, and left. Seb sat back down mulling over what Dan had said, was that the reason people disliked him so much, the reason Mark hated his guts and the reason for all the booing last year, because people thought he was disrespectful to his team, to other drivers and to the fans. He could copy Dan he’d start now. He grabbed a tray and some mugs and began to fill them with coffee; he grabbed a handful of biscuits, left the money by the till and headed back out. He’d show them he could be as nice as Dan.