The Multiplayer

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It's March 23rd 2018, we land in Australia in about an hour, it's my first race of the season and my first f1 race ever, they've talked me through it so many times now I could recite it by heart. "Get of the plane, into the car, straight to the paddock for practice, don't talk to anyone and don't show your face if possible, only use the back entrance and hope to god no one sees you". I don't need any bad publicity before the race weekend is what they told me, as if I wasn't raised to believe that all publicity is good publicity, Bullshit if you ask me.

Everything goes to plan and I'm in my driver room, Max hasn't arrived yet "thank god" I think to myself, I really don't need to argue with him today, he's already mad at me for stealing his spotlight as the 'youngest driver on grid'. I didn't really care for a good first race up until HE said I wouldn't be able to have one, now I need to, I need to prove myself and to make him regret every word he's said with bad intent towards me.

I get into the suit and walk to the garage, I do a few laps before getting out of the car again, it doesn't feel right, I see Max's face on the other side of the garage, he looks amused with the fact I'm not doing as well as him.
I do a few more laps and we notice a difference in pace, I'm right behind Max now. Three more laps and he's done, he said he didn't need more practice and the team agreed with him, of course they did.
I finish for the day and head straight back to the motor home, I was advised to not do any interviews until practice 3, I'm honestly fine with that. I run into Lewis on my way from track, he says I did good and I feel a bit at peace the second he said it, like a weight lifted off my shoulders. "It means a lot, I've looked up to you almost my entire life" I say without even thinking about how that might make me look like a weird fangirl, "fuck" I say the second he doesn't reply, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to seem weird, I- I wanted to be cooler than that, I'm sorry", he just smiles. "I remember you" he says after a couple seconds of awkwardness, now it's me that is quiet, "2015? The met? You were so young back then" I feel embarrassed that I didn't remember him, I mean like he said, I was so young and the met is a big deal, I was completely out of it that night and didn't really wanna be there. Before I can embarrass myself further I hear Christian call my name a couple feet behind me, for the first time in a while I'm actually happy to hear his voice, he's always complaining about something I did or didn't do. I excuse myself from Lewis and leave.

★time skip

Race day is here, March 25th, the first important day in my f1 career. I qualified p18, not amazing, but that only means that if I do good, I did really good. Max starts p11, so my only goal today is to pass him.
"It's lights out and away we go" we hear Crofty on the speaker, I don't remember much of the race other than passing Max and suddenly standing 3rd on the podium, what the fuck just happened.
Lewis is 2nd and I feel champagne drip from my chin, I'm 17, almost 18 so I legally can't be seen drinking alcohol yet. The interviews after the race go by so fast and I don't know if what I say is right or wrong, or if I'm even awake, nothing feels real. Max isn't speaking to me, guess I'll hear it from Christian after race how mad Max is, but I beat him so I'll just accept the weird feeling of distance from reality as a gift.