Full Throttle

Mexico

Mexico was tense for me. The small heart attack that I'd had in the gym a week prior had properly scared me, and I'd stayed up all night on the phone to Lando many times in the days that followed. I hadn't been sleeping well and it showed. My feet and ankles seemed constantly swollen, and the bouts of sickness had become more frequent, although thankfully, it was still only averaging at once every two or three days. My three were the only ones who knew about the second heart attack, and although it was smaller than the first, it showed that my condition was worsening. I didn't know how long I could hold out for, if I could hold out until the end of the season to get my operation. I hadn't voiced those concerns, obviously. I didn't want to scare Alex, George, or Lando. What I had done was booked the operation. It was scheduled for the 3rd of December in the Cardiothoracic Centre in Monaco. It was only a month and a few days until then, so I'd make it, right?

"Hey Guys! Welcome to le vlog of Mexico. I did promise you guys that I'd make a vlog showing you the behind the scenes of a race weekend and what the other drivers are like when cameras aren't in front of our faces, so, here it is. It is currently, Wednesday the 23rd of October and I got here yesterday with my Monaco buddies: Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo. No, I did not film inside the plane, they were making fun of Julien and I... again. So, let me show you my hotel room. As you can see, I have a double bed and a balcony with a pretty sweet view. My room is pretty spacious. Us F1 drivers are spoilt as fuck. El baño, that's Spanish for bathroom, by the way, ooh gee whizz I'm such a nerd, anyway the bathroom is pretty standard, for our standard of hotel anyway. And then there's this beautiful mirror that I sit in front of for at least two hours a day just admiring my good looks. I'm joking, that's Lando who does that. Speaking of the McLaren driver," I said, opening my door, "look who's here!"
"Hey, guys!" Lando waved.
"She's paying us to be here," George said, making Alex start giggling.
"God, don't set him off," I groaned. "Anyway, the reason that this lot are here is that we are going out to the shops to go and get some stuff for my hair. I'm dying it, again. So, lads, do you remember what we need?"
"We need the stuff that strips the hair dye out, right?" Lando said, unsure.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Oh, and we need the actual hair dye," Alex said. "Unless you're going to stick with your natural blonde."
"I would never! That is boring, got to dye the hair."
"Jessie wouldn't be Jessie without dyed hair," Lando said.
"She didn't dye her hair in Monaco," George pointed out.
"Awh, when she was dressing up all nice in a dress and had makeup on," Alex mocked, his voice high-pitched.
"I hope you spin out," I glared at him.
"Woah, careful now. You'll have Netflix making a whole episode about that! They could be lingering just behind this corner, waiting for prey to wander into the trap of unnecessary drama!"
There were a few seconds of silence before all four of us collapsed into laughter.

"I'm putting you guys in the trusted hands of Katie whilst I'm out on the track. Katie, say hi."
"Hi!"
"Katie says 'hi', guys. So, obviously I can't film while I'm in the car, that would just be a distraction and you don't really want to be distracted when you're driving at 180mph. We wouldn't want a repeat of Silverstone," I chuckled, making Katie slap my shoulder lightly.
"Don't joke about that!" she scolded.
"It's my trauma!" I protested. "Anyway, maybe I'll strap a go-pro to my helmet during winter testing, but not on a race weekend. Right, Katie, here you go, please take care of my camera. If you drop it, I'm taking you out on hot laps."
"I won't drop it. Get in the damn car."
I pulled on my balaclava, zipping my racing suit up before putting on the HANS and then my helmet. I climbed into the car, ignoring the camera that Katie held towards me as I made sure that I was properly strapped in.
"Safety first, kids," I heard Katie say, prompting a 'always wear your seatbelt' in a funny voice from me.
"Okay, Jessie, ready to go for Q1. Go when you're ready."
"Copy." I tapped my foot on the accelerator, nursing the car forwards and out of the pitlane, where I accelerated properly to start my outlap.