14 December 2021, evening
Lewis' private passenger plane had been waiting for him and Angel for a few minutes at the airport, everything was ready for take-off. Before take-off, all the technical aspects of the plane were checked to be sure that everything worked and there was no danger of a technical nature. Angel, courtesy of the man, was able to see a bit of the world by flying with him as far as Monaco, where the driver lives, so that she could then fly to her home located in the UK.
As the pair took their seats, the plane took off, you could feel it through the delicate overloads pounding your body into your back, but for the 7-time F1 world champion this was not unusual, practically every time you drive a car similar effects are felt. Angel glanced over at Lewis, she could see that being able to rest and finally, get away from the issues that had been tormenting him for days gave him a sense of relaxation. He hadn't even looked at his Instagram or Facebook. This didn't surprise her. So swarmed Verstappen's posts, and his triumph in the last race of the season, which not too many people expected. Yes, the situation was such that various results were predicted, but no one thought Max would win the championship as early as the halfway point of the race. Angel and Lewis knew that this was the sport and there was nothing they could do about it. Knowing them and Toto Wolf's eagerness to win, no one would be surprised if right now the Austrian was sitting in his office wondering what section of the car they should improve in order to stand at the top of the overall drivers' table again in the 2022 season. The woman knew that the task might not be so easy to accomplish. RedBull had been at its best this season, and on more than one occasion it had been Mercedes that had lost out, not because of the car, but because of strategy, which was sometimes, as it turned out, wrong. RedBull proved to be the better team during the season, and that was hard to deny. Next season could also be tough, but she didn't want to worry Lewis unnecessarily. As he crossed the finish line and took off his helmet, the girl could see how disappointed Hamilton was with the turn of events, his displeasure clearly visible on his face, although he tried to hide it, his eyes made it clear that he would rather retire to his study to shut himself off from the world.
17 December 2021
A few days after returning to his one home (or, more accurately, his flat in Monaco), Lewis cut himself off from social media completely. He decided not to engage with the online world until he felt he was ready to return to the media world. He wanted a break from anything that would weigh on his mind, he found it unnecessary to worry about anything that would not serve him well. For now, he would rest, then, he would see what he would do next.
His flat was quite large, he could not complain of lack of space for himself, it was quite the opposite. He had a lot of space to manage, which was occupied mainly by the training equipment, on which he did his daily training. Generally in Lewis' flat there wasn't much room for unnecessary items that would only clutter up the space, for him the most important thing was to keep the house aesthetically pleasing and minimalist.
After training there was always time for Lewis to relax and unwind. Usually it was a walk through the streets of Monaco, where he couldn't go without saying hello or taking a photo with someone, because of his fame and popularity, which meant that there was always someone who took notice of him and asked for a gift, usually in the form of a photo or a signature. However, when he was free from signatures and other types of interaction with fans, the Mercedes driver usually strolled along the loop of the track on which he pulls during official competitions. The track, which is normally an open public road with intersections for cars, signs and pavement, looks completely different; seeing such a road it's hard to think that there are cars racing here, which are terribly aerodynamically sensitive and one small mistake can lead to disaster or a dangerous accident. As you walk around, you can see just how tight the track is in the centre of Monaco, you don't realise it when you are in the car, you only see enough to know if you are going to make it into the corner, and on a walk like this you can see that you can't make any mistakes on this track.
After a walk, as the sun begins to set and the sky begins to turn blood red interspersed with blue, Lewis would usually settle down on the sofa to watch some series on Netflix or another service that offers a wide range of films or other genres of viewing material such as series. As a Brit, a fan of cars and the productions of his home country, the driver watched the latest episodes of Top Gear. Although he was of the opinion (as were most fans of the show) that it was no longer the same without the show's legendary hosts (James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond), the show had lost its great "Wow!" effect. Yes, the format of the show has still stayed the same and there are still things happening that are sometimes abstract to the casual car fan, but it's no longer the same feeling as it once was. While watching one episode, Lewis happened upon their show. It was a very long time ago, around 2013. Back then, many criticised his driving style, mainly because of the 2011 season, where he led several times to contact, mainly with Felipe Massa. It was not a successful season for him, he was then quite close to losing his contract with McLaren, but fortunately he managed to stay for the next season to represent Mercedes colours from 2013. These were years in which no one expected the British driver to dominate.
After watching an episode of Top Gear, Lewis had to look at his work email at least once a day, from where he communicated with his team during his break. Even on 'holiday' he had to keep in touch with his team. When he sat down at his desk and booted up his work laptop, he logged on to his work email, where he saw that he had received a message from his race engineer, Bono. Intrigued by this, Lewis opened the message and began to read.
"Hi Lewis.
Once again I'd like to congratulate you, it's been a great season and although Verstappen was the champion this time, I'd like you to know that you gave it your all and the team is proud of you.
I'm writing to you because I know you are in your flat in Monaco and want to relax by cutting off from social media. Relax, I'm not following you, it's just that everyone has noticed that you've hidden your posts and don't put anything up. You need peace and relaxation, we understand that.
When I was at our team headquarters today and passed by Toto Wolf's office, I managed to overhear his phone conversation, I managed to get from it that Toto doesn't want you to find out who the other driver of the Mercedes is, he is trying to block the flow of information about it between you and the team, but I know one thing. The driver will be presented the day before the presentation of our car for the new season, from what I have heard the car is supposed to be ready on 19 February, so expect to meet your new teammate on 18 February.
Have a good rest, see you later
Bono"
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END OF PART 1
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Sorry this is such a short part, consider it a prelude to a longer part, part 2, which will appear soon.
See you there!
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