Under the Microscope (Book One of Three)

Chapter 11

Thanks for all the support so far!

***

The next day was a bit of a mess, to begin with, we all slept in having been up so late last night. While it had been announced that we would in fact be driving this weekend, the public had been quick to figure out that the drivers were not pleased with this turn of events, given that we had been stuck in a meeting for over four hours in the end. I was so tired; I hadn't even noticed what time it was when the meeting finally ended last night, and it was four in the morning by the time I finally fell asleep. Being woken up at midday the next day, by room service JC had ordered was a welcome surprise and while we should have been in a rush to get down to the paddock, the three girls at my door agreed it was more important for us to have a more thorough debrief at the hotel and away from prying eyes. Given that I knew there was a pre-qually press conference I had to go to, I warned Olivia that I may not be able to keep my mouth shut depending on the questions, she just nodded. They were all pissed off at the threat the FIA had levied against the drivers, and while I was genuinely worried for my team, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried for myself. Being a woman and stuck stranded in Saudi Arabia was not something I was inclined to experience. After a while, Rachel ran me through the programmes she wanted to run in FP3, and we went over some of the data while the other two sorted out other aspects of my day, leaving me to focus on what I was here for.

FP3 went well, despite both Alex and I trying to set qually level times, we were seriously far down the ladder. But I was sat just a couple of places above him, having gone two hundredths faster. Between FP3 and Qually, I was pushed into the press conference, and sat in between Lewis and Seb in the very middle, with Yuki and Esteban on the edges of the platform. Given my small revelation last night, I had decided to wear some light makeup for the first time. I had realised that hiding away was not going to achieve anything, so I may as well try and put my best foot forward in this case. Also, I looked shattered from my broken sleep, so it was nice to try and hide that in front of the cameras.

The press didn't hold back as I expected they were told to, one of the first questions of the day was asking why we were racing, given the events of yesterday.

Lewis, Seb and I all exchanged smirks. I had been added to a group chat by the two of them last night, and it had been labelled Cash is King. I was the first to say it, as I was the one asked to respond first by the moderator. Seb and Lewis followed suit with a chuckle. Esteban and Yuki gave simple answers, and it wasn't lost on me that I was the only one asked to expand. I breathed in deeply, sending a quick glance to Seb and Lewis who both motioned for me to go for it.

"It would damage the reputation further of the host country, making it very expensive not only for F1 but for the tourism we create by giving the green light when we race in countries like this," I say simply, I get a couple of chuckles for my driving pun. Again, the reporter asks me to expand, this time I'm more uncomfortable, not wanting to say anything that will get me in trouble. I just mumble something about F1 not being the only sport guilty of sports washing. The rest of the press conference goes smoothly, largely talking about hopes for the weekend. "I hope to come out of it in one piece," I say into my mic, Seb and Lewis are quick to react. I only take a brief pause before continuing, hoping that it's long enough that they get my insinuation. "The tight corners and porpoising were causing me to lose my rear, so I'm focused on not ending up in the wall." I clarify, making it seem as though that's all I meant, but the reporters and drivers sat either side of me were smart enough to understand. So much so, that when we left Sebastian gave my shoulder a squeeze.

"That was a good one," he said, "nicely played." I smiled at the blonde German as he picked up into a light job alongside his press officer Britta and said goodbye, walking back down the paddock with Olivia and Yuki, until we had to go our separate ways.