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Daniel was the first one to notice the change. He initially thought he'd spend a lot of time with Max during the winter break. At first, the Aussie was scared that his move to Renault would destroy his and Max's friendship, but the dutchman assured him that he understood the decision, even though it took some explaining from the older one to make sure Max wouldn't blame himself. And while they spend quite some time together during the first few weeks, that doesn't apply to them now. The sudden change of behavior coming from the younger man made Daniel worry he'd done something wrong, he'd done something to lose Max, who all of the sudden didn't have any time he could spend with the Australian, which is why he found himself writing the dutchman a heartfelt message at the beginning of January.
"Hey mate, I'm not sure what happened between us, but I'm getting the feeling that I did something that somehow offended you or something. And while I can't put a finger on what I could've possibly done for you to avoid me, I wanted to apologize just in case and I hope that we can do something again? Cause I kinda miss seeing you and spending some time with you. Please text me back if you're free, I'd be in Italy next week if you're up to doing something."
The reply he got was certainly not one he was expecting, but he was glad for it anyway:
"Hey, Dan. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you did something wrong, I didn't mean to do so, I've just been pretty busy because of family and stuff. I'm sure I can find a day or two to meet you, let me know when you're free. See ya!"
They did meet just a few days later and Max apologized again for making him feel that way, but when Daniel asked what happened, he said it's not the right time to say that yet, but Dan shouldn't worry about him, because it's something good. Of course, the Aussie had trouble believing him at first, but after a few hours, his doubts and worries started to fade away. Because yes, Max sure did change, but it was for the better. He seemed content and happy like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The dutchman usually had something in his aura that made him appear sad or at least like he was never truly happy or at peace, but those two days they spend together in Italy showed Daniel a side of Max he'd never seen before. Maybe he didn't know what changed, but Max seemed happy and as long as that stayed that way, he'd be okay to wait until the younger one finally spilled his secret.
It didn't take Lando and Charles much longer to figure out that something changed. The three of them liked to stream together, well, Charles and Max are not what you could call good friends, because they have a hard time losing, but the trio usually had a lot of fun. After one of their streams finished and Max had already logged out Lando decided to take matters into his hands and stopped Charles from leaving as well.
"Wait Charles, have you noticed something about Max?" the young brit asked.
"Mhm, he seems different, but I can't point my finger on what it is," the Monegasque agreed.
"Well, for starters he seems to be way more patient like he doesn't fight toe and nail to beat you and I think that actually made him beat you even more often," Lando replied seemingly deep in thought.
Charles hummed in agreement: "True and I'd say he isn't as upset when he loses anymore. At least it looks like that to me, can't say I'm close to him, but he just seems like something made him more relaxed or something."
This time it was Lando to hum in agreement, they talked some more before Charles left saying he needed to catch an early flight the next day and wanted to get some sleep in. While he turned his computer off Lando thought about Max some more, his friend changed over the last couple of months and while he was eager to find out where that change came from, he didn't want to push the dutchman into anything. But he was glad that his friend finally seemed to find his peace, after always looking a bit on edge for as long as the Brit knew him. Hoping the change in behavior was something that would last, as it obviously made his friend happier, Lando looked forward to the season even more than he was before.
As the season edged closer and winter testing came around Pierre started to notice a change in the dutchman's behavior as well. They'd known each other for a few years, became friends sometime during carting, but the Frenchman had never seen Max so at ease. He put it down as nothing, guessing it has something to do with the new season starting and Max being at Milton Keynes, a place, which was probably a second home to the dutchman by now. Pierre put it down as Max being away from the media and all that crazy stuff and just having to spend some time with people he knew and liked or maybe the fact that he finally was the obvious number one in the team and he was just content about not having to fight for that position anymore. He decided not to confront him about it now, maybe he was always like that during testing, he wouldn't know, but he decided to keep an eye on the situation nevertheless. Call him selfish, but Pierre knew that if Max felt truly at home and indeed proved that he had become more relaxed and patient, Pierre would have some trouble. Max was a prodigy after all and most of his mistakes came from being impatient, if that changed, it would for sure only make Max a better driver and then Pierre was not sure anybody could keep up with him.