Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

6. Out with the red team

Kimimatiasraikkonen: when is your flight home? We're out to celebrate Seb's win and the double podium and you should join us.

Irishbabykangaroo: tomorrow, early morning. Thanks for the invite but I'm in my pyjamas already.

Kimimatiasraikkonen: change then. Pick you up in 10.

Irishbabykangaroo: what part of my message was a yes in your language?

Kimimatiasraikkonen: 9 minutes left.

Irishbabykangaroo: but...

Kimimatiasrakkonen: clock is ticking. ⌚

Irishbabykangaroo: alright, then. Hope you're offering.

Joey pushed herself up from the bed she was sitting on, rushing to find a clean change of clothes.

She grabbed a pair of jeans, a colourful tank top and a pair of trainers. She tidied up her braids and frantically looked for a pair of contacts to swap for her glasses. She heard a knock on the door and hissed a quiet swear before rushing to open it.

'You're not ready' Kimi stated, almost annoyed.

'You gave me 10 minutes! I'm surprised I'm even out of my pyjamas' she huffed. 'I can't find my contacts'

'You have glasses' he replied with a shrug.

'Yeah, thanks for pointing that out, I didn't realise' she replied, ironically. 'Alright, fuck it. Let's go. I look like I just woke up, but I guess nobody would mind me, right? Not if you and Seb are out'

Kimi gave her one of his smiles, before letting her follow him through the hotel and out of it.

'How did you find out my room number?' Joey asked, curiously. 'And where are we going?'

She had been following Kimi for a few minutes as he walked briskly and with purpose through the fairly quiet streets of Melbourne. She could see a few people turn their heads at the Finnish driver, but for the most part the city inhabitants seemed fairly uninterested, or used, to the presence of sports stars.

'I got my PR to ask reception, I knew you wouldn't have told me because you're boring and you were going to sleep'

'Hey! You barely know me, that's not nice' she pretended to be offended.

'And...' he ignored her 'We're going there' he gestured across the street.

'An Irish pub?' She asked, chuckling, as they crossed the threshold of "Paddy's".

'Yeah, only place open until late on a Sunday.' He shrugged. 'I'm sure you'll feel right at home' he added, with a chuckle. Once they entered the main bar area, Joey was met by familiar sights: the rusty Old Guinness ads, the flags, the shamrocks... it was cliché, but it was Irish enough. The sound system was playing some old folk Irish music and for a second Joey was brought back to Dublin with her mum and her nan, singing together in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon.

'What can I get ya?' The barman asked, with a slight Irish twang, waking her up from her daydream.

'Pint of Guinness please... and... Kimi?' She turned to the Finn.

'Whiskey'

'Please' she added for him,with a smile.

'Yeah, I know Kimi.' The barman chuckled. 'Here for the GP too?' He asked her.

'Yeah, I work with the FIA. First year, so getting used to Kimi' she joked 'But, I hear an accent... where in Ireland are you from?'

'Galway, to the west...'