Sparks

XI

"My God," Lewis exclaimed as he saw me dressed in the gown for the Prize giving ceremony tonight in Paris. It was a simple light blue off-the-shoulder ball gown, with a v cut in the neckline and a leg slit. The look was finished off with diamond jewelry. 

Though the dress covered up a bit, you could see the scars on my upper chest, collar bones, and of course my leg which had a huge scar from when the bone snapped in half, breaking through the skin. 

"I'm ready," I whispered and Lewis walked me down to the limousine waiting for us at the side alley of the hotel. 

The whole trick tonight is no one knew I was awake, or even moving so I would be the surprise for the night. The hard part was sneaking me in backstage since I would be one of the speakers tonight. 

"Seven," Lewis whispered causing me to grin, and shake my head. 

"It feels good, mon amour," 

We finally arrived in another alley and they snuck me in while Lewis went to the front to deal with media and whatnot. I was still really tired so this was taking a lot out of me, but of course, I knew I had to do this not only for myself but for the drivers. 

Christian Horner came to the wings of the stage and gave me a tight hug. "You don't ever scare us like that again," he whispered and I nodded before he walked out on stage. 

"You all are probably wondering why the hell is he up here, well for a once simple reason...Giselle Senna. When asked which Principalknew Giselle was the best everyone was like Christian you raised the girl to be an F1 star, you should speak. I'm not much of a public speaker, but talking about Giselle makes it a bit easier, given the many praises I have for her. I remember when she was 16 and started doing tests for us, and joined Red Bull skipping Torro Rosso. Everyone thought I was a bit mad when we announced her to be driving with Sebastian. I remember Maurizio who was then Team Principal for Ferarri saying to me, Horner don't you dare ruin such a young and promising talent. He was right to say that and many were afraid about putting her next to four-time WDC Sebastian Vettel. That Vettel was a different one we see today, but to everyone on the grid's surprise, it went the opposite of what we assumed. Sebastian took having Giselle as his new teammate in stride and really guided her around along with his and her good friend Michael Schumacher. I think it's fair to say Sebastian and Michael did a load more than anyone else to ensure that Giselle would succeed. And what a job they did." Horner said and everyone cheered. "Now, about a month ago we watched one of the most horrific accidents I've ever seen in my time here. As I watched her car fly and tumble on the big screen, the only thing I could think was dear God not her. And I never expected myself to think so strongly, but it made me realize something. Giselle stopped being just a driver to me and a lot of people a long time ago, we just didn't realize. She's a friend, mentor, wife, and a force to be reckoned with. So, to not keep talking for so long I would like to announce a few things. First, should it be a possibility, I am offering Giselle Senna a permanent seat at Red Bull if or whenever she returns to racing. Second, We are inducting Giselle into the Red Bull Hall of Fame, FIA Hall of Fame, and the F1 Hall of Fame! And finally...one more surprise for the evening, if everyone would please stand" he paused while everyone stood, "And welcome back, seven-time world driver champion, Giselle Senna!" he exclaimed. 

I walked on stage and the cheers were deafening. The crowd started chanting my last name over and over again while I hugged Christian and waved at everyone in the audience. I stood at the podium waiting for the cheers to die down before speaking. 

"So, here we are," I stated, "I know you're probably expecting me to make some big motivational speech about my crash, but in all honestly I don't feel motivated about surviving, I feel lucky and I also got a lesson on what is really important tonight, so instead of motivation I'm going to talk about truth. The truth is I have been so incredibly lucky to be friends with Lewis Hamilton for many years and even luckier to be the love of his life for the past four years, going on five. Lewis and I decided that we should keep our friendship and relationship private from the world of F1, to keep each of our lives away from the media and politics. I stand by our decision, or I should say I stood by that decision before the accident. I got to thinking and came to the conclusion that I never really truly lived. Hiding a relationship to keep because of fear. Fear of judgment, fear of extra attention, fear of being actually turned against each other. Fear. That is no way to live, for anybody and especially for us drivers. We do not have the option of letting fear seep into our bodies and I made that mistake to let fear seep in. I urge you all not to make the same mistake that I did. Another truth I have to say is I thought I died, well I did go into cardiac arrest three times of course, but I thought about my life. When I look back at my accomplishments, as thankful as I am, will all I be remembered for is winning? My legacy, my legacy with Lewis, and our Legacy as this generation of drivers, will we just be remembered for winning or will we be remembered for living beyond the winning and the racing? I say we should be remembered beyond living, and I think the perfect example of that is someone everyone but me in the World of F1 talks about, but I and that person is my own father, Aryton Senna," I continued and applause broke out while I paused. "My father LIVED. For him, for his family, and for his country. I've spent my whole life running away from the Senna Legacy, changing my name to try and keep myself separated from him, but I'll admit I was wrong. I won't go too into it, but I think the person I owe the most of my career and success is my father and so first and foremost I would like to say, thank you and I'm proud to be racing under your name and especially racing under the number 27! Now, this season has been interesting for us all and while I would like to get back into a car, the doctors haven't deemed it safe for me to drive for a while, so this was my last season till 2022 when I will be joining my best friend Max at Red Bull. We all had a good run this season and for that, I would like to say thank you to all my fellow drivers for assuring my seventh win! Though after talking with officials, there is going to be a new award given at the end of the season decided by the team principals and myself, The Senna Legacy Award, which is awarded to the driver we believe showed the qualities my father passed as a driver. So, the first recipient of the award will be going to....Mr. Lando Norris!" I announced causing cheers to break out and Lando ran up onto the stage with a shocked look on his face. 

"I have to ask, Giselle...why me of all people?" he asked causing me to laugh. 

"I know a few principals asked me the same why a rookie would be receiving but here's why, in his rookie year Lando was expecting to be paired with Carlos, who is a very nice open team player,  but instead ended up being paired with one of the notoriously hard teammates, save if she's on a team with Vettel as we all know, but he took it with stride and we made a find duo. beneath the playful exterior, there is a fighter, a gladiator that in unleashed during the races, which reminded me of how people would describe my father on the track, a fighter. So, I thought it would not only be fitting for Lando who drove alongside Aryton Senna's daughter, but also in a McLaren to receive the honor of the first Senna Legacy Award, so Congratulations Lando!" I exclaimed. 

A trophy about half the size of the WDC also came out along with my Trophy where we accepted and then posed for pictures. Lewis came up to take pictures with me followed by Max, Sebastian, then Mick, Charles, and Pierre till we had the whole grid on the stage taking pictures.

The night ended in hugs and laughter, as the dysfunctional traveling circus who also happened to be family reminisced over the season before looking onward to the next in our never-ending cycle that over this year, I'd come to love more than ever before. There would be two seasons passing before I was to join F1 again, and for once I'm not itching to get in a car, I'm happy with where I am in my life. Of course, another WDC trophy or two in my house wouldn't hurt at all!