A Surprise ⇢ Callum Ilott

TWENTYFOUR

A soft smile was resting on Catherine's face when the Formula 2 sprint race finished. She was happy to see how Mick won the championship, but it was sad to see how Callum didn't win it. Callum was very close to winning this championship, but it, unfortunately, didn't happen to be.

"Interesting race, huh?"

Catherine looked to the person next to her and her eyes rounded. She quickly plastered a smile on her face, but oh my god. "Yeah, it was," she replied to Sebastian Vettel. "It was an exciting one. I'm happy for Mick Schumacher, he deserved it."

Sebastian widely smiled and looked at the screen as well. "Yes, he does. It's a huge performance from Yuki Tsunoda as well. A rookie, new to everything, and finishing as third with only one point behind the runner-up. Bravo."

"He will drive for Toro Rosso," she assured Sebastian. "I mean, Alpha Tauri. He's too talented to let go."

"I agree with you," he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What about Callum Ilott? I heard he still had no seat."

Catherine rose her eyebrow and looked suspicious at her hero. "I think you know more about his future than me," she smirked.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian had a cheeky smile on his lips.

"Ferrari test driver?"

Sebastian's face straightened. "How do you know about that? It isn't announced yet, and nobody is allowed to know it," he whispered.

"I do have my sources," she teased and ran her hand through her hair. "No, I know Callum," she said on a normal tone. I know Callum, but... "He told me in trust, I haven't told anyone about it. I assumed you knew it because you are still part of Ferrari."

He nodded. "Yup, I knew about it. Share it with the world, I don't care."

"I still believe that Callum deserves that seat more next to Schumacher than that man." Catherine didn't say it because she and Sebastian talked about Callum, but because she meant it. "But it is what it is."

"Yes, he does. Don't mention to anyone I said that," Sebastian said and turned to Catherine. "What happened to your arm, Catherine?"

Do not go in panic mode, stay calm, he remembers your name, that's normal. Is it normal? "An accident, broken wrist," she explained and looked at her arm. "Just one more week and then I can finally say goodbye to this thing."

"I can imagine what you're going through. My daughter had a broken wrist a few months ago," he shared. "It was a complete disaster for her." Sebastian was scanning the art on her cast, and his eyes fell on a few signatures; Lando, Alex, George, Carlos, Charles and more people were kind enough to put their signature on it. Catherine didn't ask for it, but she appreciated it very much. "Cool art. Do you want me to sign it as well?"

Panic. Panic. PANIC. "Yes, please," she calmly said, but she was freaking out on the inside. "It's Alex's masterpiece."

Sebastian nodded impressed and got a black marker from his assistant. "Ah, cool," he said and sighed the cast, next to Daniel Ricciardo's signature. "Oh, Daniel. Poor you," he smirked.

"Don't start on it," Catherine said and shook her head. "I could have known it, but when you let Daniel sign something, you will automatically get a drawn dick with it," she blurted. "Thank you," she thankfully said.

A laugh rolled over Sebastian's lips. "Can't say you're wrong," he admitted on Daniel's 'art'. "You're welcome."

Catherine's lips curved into a smile. "How is your daughter now? And how are your wife and your other two kids?" They started to walk towards the hospitalities in the front.

"She's fine, just like the rest of my family. Thank you," Sebastian widely smiled. "The time is going so fast. The youngest turned one."

A smile curved on Catherine's lips. "Congratulations!"

And there he was. Catherine looked at Callum who was passing her, she didn't react to it or didn't show any reaction. However, on the inside, she was panicking, she saw him, it made her heart skip a beat, and she wanted to hug him, but she also wanted to stay away. It wasn't planned they would face each other. For the whole weekend, Catherine and Callum were doing an excellent job avoiding each other, but they both knew they had to face each other someday.

"Thank you," Sebastian said again. He looked around him and noticed how they already had passed the Williams hospitality. "It must be amazing to see your twin brother in a Mercedes this weekend."

Catherine nodded and looked relieved at him. "It was about time," she dramatically told. They both laughed. "It sucks for Hamilton, but George gets an opportunity finally. I have been waiting for almost two years for this to happen; he finally gets to drive a car he deserves."

"George is very talented, and it's sad to see him in a car what doesn't have a chance to fight with the top. I think it will do him good," Sebastian smiled.

"Yeah. George never complains about his car, and he tries to make the best of it, and it shows; he has achieved things in a Williams what was almost impossible. However, if Mercedes doesn't screw it up, this is his reward because you never know, but it's Mercedes. What possibly can go wrong? But if it happens, I will burn down that whole place."

Sebastian looked frightened at Catherine by her threat, but she only showed an innocent and sweet smile. It made Sebastian laugh. "You're an amazing person, Catherine, can't say anything else," he laughed. "Let's hope for the best. I will see you later." He stepped away from her, towards the Ferrari hospitality.

"Good luck this race. It was nice talking to you," Catherine widely smiled. "Cheers."

"Thank you, Catherine!"

Catherine made her way to the Mercedes hospitality and met her family; they were all having a coffee, preparing for the race. George was talking to his team because of this extraordinary weekend.

"You look so happy. What's going on?" Cara curiously asked when she saw the happy look on Catherine's face.

"So," Catherine began and cleared her throat. "I have a really nice chat with Sebastian Vettel," she calmly said. "And he remembered my name. Like...oh my god, it's Sebastian bloody Vettel." You know the Tom Holland meme? 'Oh, my god, it's Robert Downey Jr.' That is me at the moment. Catherine took a deep breath to stay calm.

Benjy began to laugh, just like the rest of her family. "Gotta love how you are always chill around people until you see Sebastian Vettel.  You know your twin brother is in F1 too, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But he's not Sebastian Vettel," Catherine shot back. "I mean, George is driving excellent, like the best. But Sebastian Vettel is my childhood hero and will always be my hero," she widely smiled.

The time was ticking. The closer it became to the start of the race, the more excited people were. The man driving the slowest car on the grid finally got the chance to drive in the fastest car on the grid. If George won this race, it showed the car did matter to the chances drivers got, but it also showed how talented George actually was. Fans got excited to see someone else in Lewis Hamilton's car, they got excited to see a race without Lewis Hamilton, they were curious how Valtteri Bottas would perform without Lewis Hamilton, and fans got excited to see Jack Aitken and Pietro Fittipaldi in a Formula 1 car. Although there was a lot of excitement, people held their breath in after last week's accident. What if it happened again? Nothing bad did happen in F2, so F1 should be fine as well.

George walked towards his family; it made him feel proud to see how proud and happy his family was of him. "I have to go," he mentioned.

Everyone wished him all the luck, hugging him and telling him how proud they are of him.

"Will you be careful?" Catherine asked when she hugged George.

"Of course, I will always be," he replied to her.

She nodded. "Have fun, beat all those arses and show Toto you are much better than Bottas and Hamilton," she said and let go of him.

George laughed. "I will do my best," he said to her. "I will see you in a few hours. Enjoy the race, guys," he said to his family and walked towards the Mercedes garage.