FORMULA LOVE

Australian Grand Prix

My foot is on the pedal not fully stamping down on it, as I drive behind the pacer for a lap, waiting for it to be over so we could race. I always hated this part of races, I was heavy breathing, pretty bad. My hands were shaking every so slightly so I tightened them to the wheel. I had Wolff in my ear telling me all about what I needed to do, as If I hadn't raced before. I had drowned them out thinking about what course lies ahead of me. The inside of the car was like an oven, I was so hot from the Australian sun and the high quality suit that I had to take deeper breaths due to the stuffiness.

"GO BRANDO. GO HAMILTON!" I hear the boss and every other team member there shout down the ear piece. My foot was pressed down hard onto the accelerator and I was now shot 80- 90 mph closing the gaps between the driver in front. Considering I took 5th on the last race I was now able to be at an advantage from everyone else. Hamilton was further back and Norris was 2 cars behind. I could see the Ferrari cars in front and rolled my eyes. They've been doing so well this season, especially Charles. Carlos is a good driver but nothing compared to Leclerc. At times he makes the pits silent from how skilled of a driver he is.

"Come on Sadie! Come on." I shout at myself. I watch the gap in front making sure never to fall 2 inches back. I could hear the hum of the engine underneath me, I'm literally driving a multi-million dollar sports car!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Our girls done it! She's took 3rd place. This is her best race yet!" I hear a British commentator say as I step out of the car. I basically jump up and down in excitement looking at all of the Mercedes' fans up in the stands waving continuously at me. I feel like I've actually won it. I didn't really matter to me that I lost, but I actually made it onto the podium. I see my best friend trying to run whilst pregnant all the way over to me. She then stops right infront of me and leans down to the floor to catch her breath, she then held a finger in the air to signal I should give her a second. I chuckle loudly as she stands up and jumps on me, I'm careful not to squeeze her too tight due to her belly. I kneel down next to her stomach and whisper to the babies in there "your favourite auntie has just come third."

I laugh as I stand up and so does she. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I swiftly turn on my heel to find Norris stood there patiently with his arms by his sides. "I just - er, wanted to say, er. Well done today." He says quickly like he'd held onto those words for ages. He stutters quite a bit and by the way he scratches his head and his cheeks become red, I could tell he's nervous. I decide to hold out my arms and he complies and hugs me back, keeping his hands firmly on my waist. I could just tell there were cameras recording this right now. But surprisingly to me, I felt nothing really in that moment, well maybe a bit of nervousness but mostly nothing.

"Right well I'll let you go. I'll be watching you up there." He announces, he means the podium. I nod and smile as I watch him turn back atleast 500 times as he left. "And you say you don't like him." I hear Ellie behind me mutter. "What was that Miss Dwight? I certainly don't for your information." I say pretending to be offended. "Yeah sure." She replies humorously. I decided to let it lie, I don't want to think about all that right now.

Me and Ellie stroll back into the pits as Wolff and Hamilton come into view. Hamilton immediately spots me and runs over to me like a 5 year old would to his mother, embracing me in a big hug. My feet become lifted off the floor and I scream happily for him to put me down. He finally gives in and is stood there with a big smile and his hands rested on either shoulder. The boss comes up behind him and many other members crowd around us all. "Three cheers for Sadie for coming third today."

"Hip,hip."

"Hooray"

"Hip, hip."

"Hooray."

"Hip, hip."

"Hooray."

Everyone in unison chants and my cheeks seem to become even more crimson than they were before. Ellie noticed and puts her arm around my waist and pulls me in towards her. Me and her both exchange smiles, up until a man in a black suit enters our pit and asks for me as they're about to commence the podium.

                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In third place is SADIE BRANDO from Mercedes!" The announcer says as the crowd erupts into cheer. And I stand there waving up at them with a big mouthed smile as the paparazzi take my picture.

God this suit is warm I cannot wait until I can get home and change.

"And in second place is SERGIO PÉREZ from Red Bull." Again the crowd from another stand cheers at him as he takes a few bows and tries to look good for the cameras without trying to. Your not fooling no one mister. I laugh in my head trying not to let it be shown on my face. That would be very bad publicity indeed. "And last but certainly not least, our winner of this Grand Prix is none other than... CHARLES LECLERC"

My heart practically skips a beat as I see his smug self walk up the stairs to the podium. You could tell he was miles higher then me, and I really really fucking hated it. I rolled my eyes subtly making sure no one would have seen it. I slowly clap as unclasps a bottle of champagne and sprays it into the crowd below. The screams of teenage girls is much to annoying to me, he then turns towards Pérez and directs the spray his way and then turns to my side.

His eyes connect with mine, he looked as though he'd seen a ghost as he just stood there, with his finger clasped over the top of the bottle so none of the alcohol could get out. At that moment I did the most humane thing I could've done all day... I smiled at him. Wether or not he realised it was a fake smile he didn't care he just turned his head back and carried on.

Rude.