The Team // A Formula One AU

Daniel

My nerves melted away with the energy of the bus journey, leaving only excitement behind. Sitting in the huge lounge waiting for the last of us to arrive from the airport, I think I've already got to know a little bit about everyone. It seems like I've finally found a group of people just like me and the best thing is that we'll all be racing together too. I can't think of a better way to spend nine weeks.

The final group arrive just before sunset and Tom releases us from the lounge to eat our first meal together. The canteen has one food window complete with grumpy lunch lady, as well as two long wooden tables where we can all sit together. I sit with a guy called Nico and we immediately hit it off. Our evening meal is standard school stuff, overdone pasta and limp salad, but the conversation makes up for it.

The back of the long building is all floor to ceiling windows looking out over the facility which is lit up by floodlights by the time we finish eating. I have no idea what time it is in Australia, but I need to settle down and rest ready for tomorrow. Once I've finished my food, I chat to Max and Nico with my head lying on the table.

"Okay everyone, I'll give you a quick tour and then let you settle down in your rooms," Tom says, making us all go quiet, "You can see we have a football pitch outside for physical training and just behind that is the karting track and the garage where we'll get to know the cars. We'll go there tomorrow."

"When will we be driving?"

"Tomorrow," Tom grins and excited chatter erupts. "Go and get your bags and I'll show you your rooms!"

Considering we're going travelling for two months, I haven't actually brought very much with me. Just a few favourite shirts and items from home and then my racing kit, including lucky helmet. I gather my bags from the lounge and Tom shepherds us down a corridor to the rooms.

"This is where you'll all be living for the next two weeks while we train. There's one room of eight and two rooms of four."

"Bunk beds!" Someone shouts. I peer over peoples' heads to see into the first small room, the eight-bed. Lockers stand between the bunks and a large window looks out over the driveway and the forest that shields us from the main road.

I throw my bags onto the nearest bed. I'd rather be in the busiest room so I can get to know everyone.

"You're staying here?" Max asks and pulls off his jacket, throwing it onto the next bed over so he can claim it.

I grin at him. He seems like one of the funniest people on the team so sharing with him should be a riot.

"I'm taking the top bunk, Carlos you can take the bottom." Lando climbs up the ladder and makes himself at home, not bothering to take his shoes off. A couple of the others make a dash for the next room to try and get the best spots.

"Can I stay in here too?" A tall guy asks me and I nod.

"Sure, there's a spot right here." I slap the mattress above my head.

"Great, I'm Alex," he holds out his hand and I shake it cheerfully. The other spots in the room have mostly been taken by the group who were making the most noise on the bus, including the German Mick and British George.

"Are you British too?" He asks Alex who nods.

"I just flew in from Thailand where I was visiting family, but I grew up in England."

"There's one bed left," Max calls into the corridor, "Who wants it?"

"I'll take it," a new boy in a Ferrari shirt says, dragging his bags inside. And with that, our room is complete. We spend some time unpacking into our lockers and my eyes begin to get really heavy. I pull my headphones out of my bag and lie down in bed.

"We should play some games to get to know each other," Mick says, pulling out a pack of cards.

"What, like snap?" Lando asks and Mick looks around at everyone, confused.

"You do know card games, right?"

"I was kind of hoping to get some rest, it's really early in Australia," I say.

"I didn't think you would be the one asking for a quiet night," Max laughs and I drag myself up into a sitting position to look at him. I sigh. He's right.

We all settle on the edges of the bottom bunks and listen to Mick explaining his favourite card game until everyone understands. For a while I can't stop checking the time but then I start to relax and enjoy the company of my new roommates. Max and Lando both brought a lot of sugary drinks to share but eventually I have to go to the canteen and make myself a coffee to stay awake.

Tom is having a meeting with the engineers at one of the long tables, a map of the track pulled up on his laptop. I try to peer at it but he changes the slide, telling me to go to bed. He doesn't look impressed when I go to the drinks machine and make a coffee.

When I get back to the room, espresso in hand, Carlos and Lando are play-wrestling while George tries to rip them apart and Mick tries to gather his cards from underneath them. It's chaos.

"What happened here?" I laugh as dodge around the commotion to sit on my bed.

"I don't think either of them understood the rules."

"I understood, and I know I won!" Carlos shouts, pinning Lando's arms above his head. George moves into to tickle them both.

"What's going on in here?" Tom opens the door as they both start to scream.

"Just bonding," I grin at him and take a sip of my coffee. He furrows his brow at the commotion but looks around and sees we're all having a good time.

"Well, fine then. Just don't break anything. Or each other."

"We won't," George calls after him and then the screaming starts again. Mick invites the rest of us to his side of the room to continue playing and I settle on the windowsill for a few more games. It's worth it. There's only one first night.