Sebastian and Pierre held their bottles my way and I stood in the middle trying to get them back but failing because they had the advantage. When they finally stopped, I ran forward and started spraying the team beneath us. Coming to an end I sprayed some of the bubbly drink at the cameras that were trying to catch the moment.
The others started to leave and the team on the floor parted their ways, but I decided to stay behind taking a seat next to my trophy taking picking it up an admiring it. The thoughts from before starting to sink in a tear rolled down my face. Wiping it away I looked up at the incredibly blue sky: "Ich habs geschafft. Hast du gesehen Papa?" (I did it. Did you see that Papa?) another tear rolled down my face as I picked up my trophy and the champagne and left the podium to face the press.
Quickly changing into some teamwear I opened my braids that were ruined after they got soaked in champagne, I went up to Ian: "Hey man! Where are we going first?"
"Hay! You did so great! Congratulations!" the tall man exclaimed.
"Thanks Ian. How about we do all of this media stuff and then well get some beers and celebrate with the team?" I asked.
"Sounds great. Lets go to the TV Pen. "
We arrived there and I jumped into the first interview with Sky Sports.
"Congratulations on your win! How does that feel? "
"Thanks. It feels unreal. I mean if you told me like 72 hours ago that I would win a F1 Grand Prix I would have told you to stop talking crap. Am I allowed to say that word?"
"You just won a Grand Prix you are allowed to swear."
"Thank you! As I just said. It feels unreal and I am so thankful for this opportunity. I think that it hasnt sunken in yet and when it does, I hope its gonna feel as indescribable as I imagine it to be. "
"Please explain how you got to this amazing opportunity."
"I dont know whose idea it was to ask me to drive but I am so thankful for that person. It was on Thursday night when I got a phone call. Well, I got two and ignored the first one because I didnt think It would be important. So, I picked up the second time my manager called me. He said that he had good news and bad news for me, and the bed news were that I wouldnt be driving in F2 anymore. I was full on shocked and asked why and to that he said because youre gonna race in F1 on Sunday. Of course, you can imagine me freaking out and thinking this was a prank. After he explained though I got to packing and left four hours later. Fortunately, I got here on Friday night and the team worked their butts off to get that car to fit me because as you can probably tell I am not that tall. And then yesterday in FP3 I drove the car the first time. Of course, it took some time to get used to and I had a really bad Qualifying, but I think the hard work of the team paid off."
"Do you think you would have gotten a better result if your Teammate Max didn't crash?"
"I dont know. I mean of course it would have been better for the team if both cars would be in the points but on the other hand, we should be thankful that everyone is okay, and well try again next time."
"Thank you very much!"
"Thank you."
Turning around I walked into the camera of the Dutch channel Ziggo: "Congratulations Alexandra Duman! How do you feel after this turbulent weekend?" the reporter asked.
"Thank you very much! If you want to, we can do the interview in Dutch if thats easier for you?" I asked smiling.
"You speak Dutch?" he questioned shocked.
"I mean I hope I dont have a horrible accent, but I know the important things I guess.", switching language I spoke in Dutch, "om je vraag te beantwoorden, ik voel me erg uitgeput, maar ik denk dat de hele stress en druk het waard was. Ik heb het gevoel dat deze hele ervaring nog niet is doorgedrongen, dus ik kan je niet echt veel vertellen. Maar ik ben zeker zo dankbaar dat ik deze kans heb gekregen en zo dankbaar voor de geweldige monteurs van het Red Bull-team die me met open armen hebben ontvangen en ta auto op het laatste moment moesten aanpassen aan mijn lengte, dus het is allemaal te danken aan de jongens" (to answer your question, I feel very exhausted, but I think the whole stress and pressure was worth it. I feel like this whole experience hasnt sunken in yet so I cant really tell you much. but I definitely am so grateful that I got this opportunity and so thankful for the amazing mechanics of the Red Bull team that took me in with open arms and had to adjust ta car to my height in the last moment so its all thanks to the guys.)
"En hoe voelde je je tijdens de race? Er moet veel druk op je staan. Ik bedoel, je hebt twee keer met deze auto gereden voor de race" (And how did you feel during the race? There must be a lot of pressure on you. I mean you drove this car twice before the race.)
"Er is altijd een bepaalde druk als je professioneel racet. Je weet dat er een team achter je zit dat uren en uren werk heeft gestoken in de auto waarin je rijdt en met één verkeerde knop of beweging van het stuur kan je de hele race voor jullie allemaal verpesten, dus de druk is er altijd." (There is always that certain pressure when youre racing professionally. You know theres a team behind you that put hours and hours of work into the car youre driving and with one wrong button or move of the steering wheel you can ruin the whole race for all of you, so the pressure is always there.)
"Maar lag er nog meer druk op je als je bedenkt dat je geen ervaring hebt met deze auto en er ook veel vreemde blikken in de paddock en de garage moeten zijn, aangezien er veel stereotypen bestaan over vrouwen en auto's "(But was there any more pressure on you considering that you arent experienced with this car and also there must be a lot of strange looks in the paddock and the garage since there are lots of stereotypes concerning women and cars.)
"Nou, dat is een heel terechte vraag en het antwoord is, ja natuurlijk zijn er heel veel rare blikken en opmerkingen van binnen en buiten de garage, maar als vrouw wil ik niet zeggen dat ik ermee ben opgegroeid, maar ik denk niet dat ik ooit iets anders heb meegemaakt. Op de een of andere manier raak je er aan gewend en leer je het te negeren en er op te reageren. Natuurlijk was de druk dit weekend groter maar ik denk dat dat ook de normen zijn die ik voor mezelf heb gesteld en dat ik die normen wil naleven" (Well, that is a very valid question, and the answer is, yes of course there are lots and lots of strange looks and remarks from inside and outside of the garage, but as a woman I dont want to say I grew up with it but I dont think I ever experienced anything different. You somehow get used to it and learn how to ignore and react to it. Of course, the pressure was more this weekend, but I think thats also the standards I set for myself and me wanting to live up to those standards.)
"Hoe ga je deze geweldige overwinning vieren?" (How are you going to celebrate this amazing victory?)
"Oh, ik denk dat ik wat biertjes ga halen en gewoon met het team ga zitten. We gaan zeker niet uit vanwege COVID maar we gaan het zeker vieren." (Oh, I think Ill get some beers and just sit down with the team. We definitely wont be going out because of COVID but we definitely will celebrate.)
The reporter went to ask another question when we saw a Haas driver run towards us. The sun was in my eyes but as the man stopped a few meters away looking at me I knew it was Mick.
Doing our ritual, we jumped once at the same time before he hugged me tightly: "Oh my god you were so great today."
"Thanks Mickey. You also did amazing!"
"I always knew you had it in you. Im so proud of you."
"Thank you so much for everything."
We pulled away and as I saw the camera and the reporter looking at us holding the orange microphone I explained: "Thats my brother from another mother! Mick and I go way back. Right Mickster?"
"Why do you always come up with new nicknames? I hate that." Turning to the camera he whisper-yelled, "I actually hate her. She is the worst person out there."
I did the same:" I actually really dont like him. He is the biggest prick I know."
We then giggled and burst out into laughter after looking at each other.
After a few more banters between Mick and I, I turned away and it took what felt like hours to get out of the media pen. When I finally left the people already waited for me at the post race press conference.
YOU ARE READING
Against all odds
FanfictionShe was one of a kind. An exceptional racer. But she would have to prove herself against all odds. As a mechanic came up to me to strap me in, I tried to seem as confident as possible but as the men on track suddenly started to grab their stuff and...
