Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

7. Monaco dining

The first few grand prix had been and gone and, with a few Ferrari podiums, the team seemed to be on a strong path for the end of the year. Joey had worked hard to forget about her crush on the German driver, but every time she had seemed to get him out of her head, he always found a way to come back, be it a silly comment during a briefing, a message or just a fortuitous glance and smile in the paddock.

Joey knew that her friendship with Kimi and Seb had attracted quite a bit of attention, but she had tried to ignore the amount of press she was receiving by doing what she did best, focus on work.

The following stop would have been Monaco: a track Joey felt afraid of since trying it out on a simulator at the FIA offices. She knew the safety car wasn't at all similar to a Formula1 car, but she also knew how tricky the narrow city circuit was.

On her track walk with Bernd, she made sure she listened to his advice and expertise on what to look out for during the race if they were called out. Joey politely asked to get a few laps in before the  practice sessions and the German had agreed so, at the end of the media and briefing days, Joey jumped in the car with Bernd just as the sun started to set over the Monaco city skyline.

It was a feeling not comparable to any other, driving through the narrow streets of Monaco could beat any circuit driving she had done throughout her career, even if just for the adrenaline rush. Naturally, a narrow circuit didn't always call for exciting racing, but she was trying to see the positive side of things.

On the way back to the hotel, she decided to walk by the harbour, gobsmacked by an amount of luxury she had never experienced before. The yachts, the cars... that was definitely a place Joey could not easily fit in.

Her phone buzzed with the word daidí lighting up the screen. Her dad wouldn't call if it wasn't anything serious. He had always preferred to text.

'Hey, dad. Is everything ok?' She asked, straight away.

'Yes, and no.' She heard him sigh. 'You know grandad had those tests to do...'

'Mh' she didn't like where the conversation was going.

'Well, they found early onset of dementia. They said that slowly he might start forgetting things, places and even people' Joey could hear her dad was trying to maintain a calm tone but all he wanted to do was cry.

'Uncle Ben is gonna take some time to take care of him more often, to keep an eye and help out as much as possible but I wanted you to know'

'Yes, definitely. I'll try and visit him before I have to go to Canada... damn'

'Don't swear' her dad reprimanded her.

Joey managed to smile a little, her dad had always cared about the way she acted and spoke and had always told her off for using colourful language.

'I need to rush off now, baby. I'll speak to you soon, ok?' He apologised. 'I have one last bit to do before I go home.'

'Sure, daidí, I'll speak to you soon. Please, just for once, leave work when it's still light outside. Catch you back in the UK. Love you.'

'Love you more, baby'

Joey hung up. They had known something was going wrong with her grandad since he had started to seem more detached from the real world and unsure of his surroundings, so she had had time to prepare herself for the worst, but the reality and confirmation of it had hit her harder than she had expected.

She let herself fall on a bench, looking out to the sea of yachts and luxury boats and she quietly sobbed with her face in her hands, not caring for the stares and the glances of the passers by.