Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

24. An unexpected guest in Suzuka

With Singapore and Sochi both ending in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, Seb's chances of winning the title that year were growing slimmer every single race. Mathematically, he still had a chance to win but that would have only happened if Lewis had many point-less runs. Ferrari's upgrades had seemed scarce and not enough to fight an ever stronger Mercedes.

Arriving at Seb's favourite circuit, Joey could see that his mind wasn't in the right place. He had seemed distracted and uninterested since they had left the hotel together.

'I'll see you at the brief, ok?' She asked, once they reached the Ferrari motorhome. He nodded, giving her a smile and reluctantly letting go of her hand.

'Oh, wait.' He turned around. 'Your birthday is next week, right?'

'Yeah?' She asked, confused. Why would he bring it up now?

'The team and I have an early birthday gift for you'

'The team? Oooh, is it a Ferrari? I'll take it.' She joked.

'Even better, babe' She heard a voice behind her. She could recognise that voice anywhere, but it couldn't be! How could Liam be in Suzuka? She turned around and her eyes were met by her best friend's green irises.

Joey couldn't contain an excited scream, attracting attention from people passing nearby. She jumped up to hug Liam tightly.

'God, Jo. Don't cry. You look ugly at the best of times' the Irish man chuckled, drying her tears with his thumbs. 'Surprise?'

'How the fuck did you get here?' Joey asked, her Irish accent naturally coming out.

'I was telling Seb back home that I always wanted to come to Japan and it was something we've been dreaming of for God knows how long, so he kindly offered to get me a ticket. I told him I know absolutely nothing about f1, except for what you've told me, and he somehow was ok with it. Guess he's alright' Liam explained.

'I don't like you two talking to each other so much.' She turned between her best friend and Seb. 'You shouldn't have.' She told the German.

'It's been a rough year for you two, I wanted to help you both take your minds off things' he shrugged. 'I really need to go now' he checked his watch 'Liam, you have full paddock access, Jo can show you around when she can. You can watch practice and the race in the garage, I'll get Britta to take care of you' he kissed Joey's cheek before running into the motorhome.

'So, this Britta girl... is she hot?'

'Fucking hell, Liam. You only have one thing on your mind!' Joey chuckled. 'Let's go get a coffee, I have a few minutes before I need to actually start doing some work'

'Cool. What time are you out of here? I have a little thing planned for the two of us...' he told her 'Don't worry, I already checked with Seb. I can have you for one night'

'It sounds like you're borrowing me or something.'

'26 years of friendship, he's the one borrowing.' Liam chuckled. 'So, what time?'

'I'll pick you up from the Ferrari hospitality at 7' she told him.

Joey left her friend to figure out his bearings and rushed over to join Bernd on their planned track walk.

In the short break between the track walk and the drivers' brief, Joey was walking back to the motorhome for the second coffee of the day, when she was stopped by a couple of men in Mercedes branded gear.

'Miss O'Shea? A moment of your time?'

Joey nodded, confused. The two men invited her into the motorhome, Joey was studying both of them, trying to figure out where she had seen them before. She gladly accepted the coffee they had offered her, still unsure of the true reason behind the impromptu meeting they had called. They introduced themselves as the two of people in charge of the Mercedes driver programs for the supercar racing based in Germany.

'We know you must be really busy' the second man spoke, a thick German accent on his perfect English. 'But we were wondering if you had thought about possible plans for next year.'

'I haven't... no... I have been looking for sponsorships... you know, to take pressure off my dad's business' she started. Why am I telling them this? They don't need to know. She thought. 'I... basically...no.' She concluded.

'We would be interested in having you in our team, that means a Mercedes backed sponsorship, in a Mercedes backed team. This would also mean relocating to Germany but of course Mercedes could help you with that if you were interested'

Joey was sitting in her chair in stunned silence. Her coffee cup still halfway between the table and her mouth.

'I... what? Oh god, I am not prepared for work talk. I am so sorry, I am usually better than this' she tried. The man laughed.

'Don't worry about it, your racing does the talking. We are here to make an offer, we don't need to hear much from you' he told her.

German, of course they don't waste time. Joey thought.

'I am extremely flattered by this offer. I can't believe this right now. I am still unsure you might be joking.'

'You're dating a German, you should know we are extremely serious' the man joked, finally provoking a laugh from Joey and causing her to be more relaxed. 'These are the details, we would like to have an answer sooner rather than later.'

'Of course, I will let you know by the end of the weekend.' She grabbed the stash of paperwork he passed her and with one last "thank you" she walked out of the motorhome with her, now cold, coffee.

Joey spent the rest of her day at the paddock flicking through the paperwork Mercedes had given her. It sounded good, too good to be true. She knew she had one person she wished to discuss the offer with, but she knew Sebastian would be busy trying to cut Lewis' lead in the championship through the weekend.

At 7, she walked by the Ferrari motorhome to find a smiley Liam in a brand new n°5 cap.

'Jesus, you didn't even wear my caps last year. I guess you're enjoying yourself?' Joey chuckled.

'Jo, I had time on my hands, I have been reading about him. And Britta and... Antti, is it? Have been telling me loads of fun stories. I think I have a man crush on your man'

'Keep it in your pants, Griffiths. He's taken' she laughed. 'Where are we going, then? Do I need to drive?'

'That'd be nice, I have an address' Liam replied.

'Cool, my car is this way' she linked arms with her best friend and walked out of the paddock with him.

Joey followed her satnav until a small tattoo parlour in a nearby city.

'So, we've known each other... what? 26 years? What have we always wanted to do?'

'Win the lottery and buy a castle?' Joey joked. 'That's what we said when I left Ireland. We would have won the lottery, bought a castle and all moved in together so I didn't have to leave. We were...'

'Slightly optimistic' Liam concluded for her. 'I meant the other thing, the one we decided when we understood the world a little more.'

'You mean our extremely Irish tattoo idea?'

'Mhmh' he nodded.

'And why would we be getting it in Japan?'

'I put a little twist to it!' Liam said proudly. 'Well, Kat did. You know she's better at drawing than I am.'

Liam took out a piece of paper from his wallet. The original design they had thought of getting, which was a simple shamrock, was now intertwined with a branch of the famous Japanese cherry blossoms.

'Wow, Kat is way too talented' Joey remarked. 'And you already booked us?'

'I didn't, Britta did. And Seb has insisted on paying.' Liam told her.

'That man will never cease to surprise me'