The Team Principal

Thirty Five

It's been four and half months since the wedding and everything has been going great. Mine and Nicky's honeymoon was to Santorini, in Greece and it was beautiful. It was just nice to spend time together without having so many people around. Just nice to have some good quality husband and wife time. 

After our time in Santorini, we went to Mykonos for a week with George and his girlfriend Carmen, and by god, we had a good time! Well me and Carmen, drank so much prosecco one day, the boys had to carry us back to the hotel and it was nice to spend time with our friends outside the world of Formula One.

After the honeymoon and extra holiday, it was back to reality and then it was time for the Belgian Grand Prix and for the love of God, that was an extremely long weekend. Especially race day but race day wasn't all that bad when the Williams team had a podium. George got P2 and his first ever podium in his Formula One career. I spent about 3 hours crying happy tears after that podium. I was also proud of my husband for the hard work and effort he puts in at every race weekend. 

Races after that, our success record, started to go downhill. Problems with the car started to occur, DNF's happened. I met American racing legend, Danica Patrick, briefly as the Austin GP and it was a pleasure to talk to her about females in motorsport. After the GP in Austin, it was onto Mexico but I couldn't attend because my Grandad wasn't well and he wanted me to be there with him, whilst he got better, so Jost had to take charge. But I was back in time for Sao Paulo GP and it was a special weekend for two people and they were Lando and myself both celebrating our 22nd birthday. Lando's was the 13th November and mine was the 14th November. But after the race, a majority of the grid went out to celebrate our birthdays which was really nice. 

Straight from Sao Paulo, we flew 16 hours to Doha in Qatar and it was a new track, which is always exciting. The best thing about races in the Middle East is being able to race under the lights and it is an amazing experience to watch a race in. It wasn't the best weekend for the team as Nicky had a DNF and George finished P17. The following morning after the race, the team flew back to the UK for a little break before flying over to Jeddah, for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Luckily I didn't need to be in the factory at all whilst I was at home, because I sorted all the paperwork for the Saudi race on the flight from Sao Paulo to Qatar, to save a bit of time and to keep me occupied. 

It's now just a week before the race and I'm lying in bed, fast asleep, snuggled up to my handsome husband. I open one eye to check the time and the clock showed 08:37. I then closed my open eye and drifted back off to sleep, only to be woken up 2 minutes later by the sound of my phone ringing, which also woke Nicky up. I looked at the caller ID, to see that it was my mum calling. 

Frankie: You alright mum?

Claire: Sweetie, you need to get to your Grandads house, he isn't well and he isn't going to get better. 

I sat up in bed, grabbing my husbands hand to stop my hand from shaking

Frankie: Give me 15 minutes and I'll be there. 

Claire: See you shortly sweetie. 

Mum hung the phone up and I started to cry. 

"Frankie, baby, what's wrong?" my husband asked me. "My Grandad is sick and isn't getting better and he isn't going to and that I need to get to house" I responded. "Do you want me to come?" Nicky asked. "Please. I need you to be there with me in case anything does happen" I replied. We both got out of bed and got dressed rather quickly and we both got into the car and drove over to my Grandad's house. We get out of the car and I grabbed my keys and unlocked the front door of my Grandad's house and headed into the living room, where his bed has been moved to. 

"Hiya Grandad, it's only me and Nicky" I said, as we entered the living room. "Hello Fran, Hello Nicholas, come sit" Grandad said weekly. "How you feeling Frank?" Nicky asked "Not too good son, I've done justice to this world and it's my time to go" Grandad replied. From what Grandad said, caused me to start crying. Nicky put his arm around me to comfort me and my Grandad just held my hand. Mum walks in the room with cups of tea with Marc and then Uncle Jamie, who came over to me and gave me a hug, which I appreciated. 

"Hi you too, thanks for coming so soon" mum said. "It's fine mum. I'm glad you called, I just wanted to be with Grandad because you know how close me and him are" I said to mum before turning to Grandad. "Grandad, do you want to watch The Chase, I know it's your favourite game show" I asked. Grandad responded with a simple nod and Uncle Jamie put it on the telly. It's usually a competition to see who could get the most answers right, from the start of the show until the end. 

It's been a few of hours since we got to the house. I'm still sat in my spot, I've been in since I arrived and I've not let go of my grandad's hand. Nicky is talking to my Uncle about how he's enjoyed racing for the Williams team and about the time he met me. Mum and Marc are making some sandwiches and she asked me to asked Grandad what he wanted. 

"Grandad, do you want a cheese and pickle sandwich with a cup a tea?" I asked but didn't get reply. I let got of Grandad's hand. "Grandad, do you want something to eat?" I said but didn't get a response. I moved my hand to the side of neck to check his pulse but there wasn't one. I could literally feel the colour drain from my face. 

"MUM, MARC, JAMIE, NICKY, GRANDAD ISN'T BREATHING" I yelled and they all rushed into the room. "I asked a couple of time if he wanted something to eat, but he didn't reply. After the second attempt of asking, I checked his pulse and there wasn't one. Mum, he's gone" I said, just as Nicky pulled me into a tight embrace and kissing the top of my head. Mum burst into tear and was pulled into a hug by her husband and brother, as we start to mourn the loss of a very special loved one. I've just lost my best friend, my mentor, my grandad who meant the world to me. I'm going to honour the team that I run, for the rest of my life and do it, in the memory of my Grandad, Sir Frank Williams. May he rest in peace with the angels above. 

The last little bit of this chapter made me cry whilst writing it! Only 2 more chapters of this book and then it is done!