THREE - Daniel Ricciardo

Chapter 24 - Monaco

AMY

Race weekend was soon finished, with Daniel only managing to position himself in 12th. New frustrations bubbled inside of him with disappointment and confusion as to why he was underperforming to his usual high calibre standards. I felt as if Daniel had personal reasons for not achieving so well, especially due to the fact I was here and the news I had informed him of at the beginning of the race weekend. Deep down, I felt responsible for the downfall of his performance, the reason why he wasn't driving as he should be and as he knows he can. The constant doubt played on his mind as I could see during interviews and media campaigns; Daniel was starting to lose sight of his abilities. 

Although when questioned about this, he would shrug off any allegations and accusations I made towards him, being distracted by me, informing me that he wanted me here and that wasn't going to change. But I could see the emotions which played on his face and laced his features. The world could see that the usual confident Daniel Ricciardo wasn't performing on their screens but instead had become self-critical and harsh.

"Have you got everything?" Rachel asked as we finished packing our suitcases. 

All the guys had congregated in Daniel's room as we all got prepared to leave Barcelona. All of us were heading to Monaco ahead of the next Grand Prix in four days. Rachel was more than gutted as she couldn't go due to work commitments, but was instead heading back to London to meet with the directors and producers for several Fashion Week events; a once in a lifetime opportunity she simply couldn't turn down. 

"Phone, keys, purse..." Rachel listed her items out loud to ensure she had double checked and triple checked the contents of her hold-on bag. "Right, I think that's everything." Rachel smacked her hands together and looked over at me as I placed my suitcase down to the ground. I made eye contact with my best friend before she came running over, colliding into me, smashing us together in a hug.

I patted her back slightly and tightened our grips on each other. It was now dawning on me that I was going to be apart from her and for a long amount of time.

"I'm going to miss you." Rachel pulled away and looked at me, holding my face in her hands. "I can't believe that I'm going to miss your birthday. I've never missed your birthday."

"We'll make up for it when it's yours." I reassured her and shot her a comforting smile. "But I'll see you at Silverstone?" I reminded her as she smiled softly.

"I wouldn't miss it." She beamed before reconnecting our hug. "I can't wait to see your parents again." She looked into my eyes again, her smile now starting to fill with raw emotion, her bottom slip slightly wobbling and her eyes glazing over with tears. "Five weeks without you."

"The longest we've ever gone without seeing each other." I reminded her as she nodded, letting a few tears slip. Her emotions were starting to choke me up.

"You two are unbelievable." Max snickered behind us as he watched our emotional display.

"Fuck off, Max." I heckled and shot him a death glare. Daniel looked over from the other side of the room to give a faint laugh whilst Michael stood, frantically, waiting for us to travel to the airport. 

"Now, remember what I told you. Have fun, but not too much fun because I'm not here." Rachel giggled as she pulled away from our hug altogether. She turned around to face Daniel and shot him a small smile. "You best look after her." She instructed and pointed her finger at the Australian.

"I promise, she's in safe hands." Daniel reassured her and folder his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall.

Rachel's phone pinged to signal that her taxi was waiting outside as her flight was a few hours earlier than ours. "That's my cue to leave."