Burning Desire

~Chapter Fourteen~

We'd just finished qualifying in Hungary. I ended up finishing in P7 which is pretty solid, hopefully I can get a good start in the race tomorrow to push me up a few places.

Lando and I haven't really said much to each other after our little outing the other night. It's been a bit awkward. I think Natalie's picked up that something happened because she keeps giving us weird looks whenever we're in the same room as each other.

"Nice job Isabelle" Daniel said as he got out of his car, taking his helmet off.

"You too Daniel, congrats on P3" I smiled, giving him a fist bump.

"Fingers crossed it's a podium tomorrow" he gave me a nervous look, but then got rid of it with a smile.

"I'm sure it will be" I replied and then walked over to Natalie who was sitting with Lando.

"Nice race Izzy, you're going to rock it tomorrow" she smiled, standing up and giving me a hug.

"Hopefully it's a good one as it's my last race" I laughed lightly.

"You never know, you may race next year," Lando shrugged.

"Yeah...maybe"

Natalie looked at me with the 'are you kidding me' face. I told her that I'd tell him before the end of the Hungary Grand Prix. The race is tomorrow, meaning that I still have some time left to tell him. Which I will...hopefully.

I then saw Zak walking over to Daniel, congratulating him on his quali performance. "I'll be back, I have to talk to Zak" I excused myself from Lando and Natalie, and made my way over.

"Nice race Isabelle, could be a strong performance from you tomorrow" Zak said as I made it to them.

"Fingers crossed," I replied. "Hey Zak, I need to talk to you about something"

"Yeah sure, what's up?" he questioned.

"Can we do it in private?"

Zak looked at me a little worriedly. "Sure"

"It's nothing bad, I promise" I reassured him and he nodded.

We walked inside and sat down in a quiet room that no one else was in.

"What's up?" He started the conversation.

"I got offered a seat in AlphaTauri next year as their second driver" I said and then made eye contact with him.

Zak looked at me with a wide smile and chuckled softly. "I knew you'd make it next year"

I let out a small breath. "Graham rang me the other week giving me the offer. But it's official now because I signed the papers yesterday"

"Oh my god Isabelle, I'm so happy for you" Zak stood up from the table we were sitting at and walked over to me, giving me a hug.

"I'm incredibly nervous, but I'm so excited about it," I replied.

"You're going to do great out there. AlphaTauri is a fantastic team and everyone there will treat you well" he reassured me.

"Yeah..." I sighed. "I'm excited to work with them, as well as Pierre"

"Pierre's a lovely bloke" Zak smiled, nodding his head slowly. "We're all going to miss you here at McLaren"

"I'm literally going to miss everyone here. This team will always have a special place in my heart. Everyone here will" I informed him.

"You're going to do amazing out there next season. But let's focus on your face tomorrow, and you being with McLaren for the rest of the year" he patted my back.