imagine - lewis hamilton

part ii

March 12, 2022

"please don't let this be a sick joke!"

"For all that's holy, I pray Mercedes is sandbagging" was all you thought when writing your articles after watching preseason testing. It was your goal to come across as impartial because the world would automatically assume you supported Lewis and Mercedes because you were Black. In a way, they weren't wrong. To you, it felt morally wrong to not support the only Black driver and his team. Still, you wanted to appear as unbiased as possible, so you made a considerable effort to avoid that bias coming out in your writings and videos. The last thing you needed was people assuming you only go where you were was the color of your skin.

You took a break from your writing and left your office to go into your living room to scroll on social media. It always pained you to see other independent content creators at races with media passes to cover Formula One. The 2021 season went by and they constantly denied your media credentials. (Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that you didn't get media credentials in the 2021 season because what you witnessed during that season made you physically ill. That was something you told yourself when the season ended to find some "positive.")

It's been a goal of yours since you gave up your job to cover this sport. You travelled to races occasionally, but what was the point of going if you had no access to the paddock, pit lane, and press room? Your subscriber count nearly doubled, to 600K; your social media engagement and following in the community grew, and the traffic to your website was through the roof. You were being noticed by everyone but the one you dreamt of- Formula One. It's not that you didn't appreciate all you had, or needed more validation from others; it was more of a moral boost that "I made it" and I'm with the "big ones."

There are many days when you wanted to give up and thought it wasn't meant to be. Was it worth giving up a steady career to start your life over? But when that doubt snuck in, Lewis' words rang in your head "Never give up never doubt yourself." After every denial email, you'd apply again. They somehow at least remember your name, right?

You found yourself in a bit of a funk, so you called your best friend, Ashlyn, to vent your frustrations. Ashlyn did not understand Formula One, nor could she give a damn about it, but she was your best friend and willing to listen. You knew you were talking a mile a minute while Ashlyn would say "Yep," "I understand ... I think," "Uh huh," and the few words you'd let her get out. She'd always end with, "Stop doubting yourself, all will happen in due time." Those final words from her always calmed you down.
After your short therapy session with Ashlyn wrapped up, you were back in your creative mindset. You went back into your office and continued working on your Bahrain pre-season testing article. You were about to close your laptop lid when you looked to the top right of your screen to an email notification from "FIA Formula One World Championship Media Accreditation" with the subject line "Status: Approved."

You felt a lump in your throat form, your eyes stinging with tears forming, saying aloud "please don't let this be a sick joke!" As you looked at the email, it read "2022 Media Accreditation approved" with directions on how to get your pass starting at the Bahrain Grand Prix and throughout the rest of the season.

All the hard work, the tears, the doubt, it was gone. Everything you wanted had come to fruition. After calming down and getting your heart rate and nerves together, you turned on your camera with the biggest smile and glow your audience had ever seen. "What about that pre-season testing!" After your breakdown and thoughts, you closed the video "Guys, I have some big news for you all. Until next time!"

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