When we first met [Charles Leclerc]

11 - Caroline

And just like that it was race day. I spent Saturday in the RedBull garage with Victoria trying to learn as much as possible. By now even the three free practice sessions made sense to me. I remembered the Qualifying system from when I was watching back with my mom, so when Charles and Max made it to Q3 I knew what that meant. By the end of Q3 Max and Charles shared the front row with Max on pole position. I never thought I would be struggling to support Max but Charles managed to change that. I was torn between supporting my best friends brother who I had been supporting my entire life and a guy I only met a few days ago. If my mother could see me she would just shake her head and smile. It was moments like this that I missed her the most. We always talked about how amazing it would be to have a Grad Prix so close to where we lived and when Max told us that there was going to be a race in Zandvoort for 2020 we couldn't be more happy. Soon after, the horrible news of my moms sickness came and we never talked about it again. But there I was, only a little more than three months after my moms passing attending the Dutch GP.

For the first time this week I spent the night alone and in my apartment. I either spent the night with Charles, Vic or not really sleeping at all. It was a nice change to actually get some sleep during the night to be honest, not meaning that I minded the last days. I woke up fairly early to get ready before Vic and Max picked me up to get breakfast at the RedBull hospitality. Sophie, Victorias and Max's mother also joined us at the track. Sophie always was something like a second mom to me but especially in the last months she became even more important to me. She and my mom also were good friends because me, Vic and Max spent so much time together. I knew that Sophie was also struggling with my moms death but she tried to hide it.

"If that isn't my favorite non–biological daughter" Sophie greeted me pulling me into a tight hug. We haven't seen each other in quite some time. I couldn't help but smile at her statement. Over the years it felt like we became one big family especially with both our parents divorces. "How are you darling? I haven't seen you in ages!" Sophie gave me another big smile and linked her arm with mine while we made our way through the paddock.

"I'm holding on. I would love to say it gets easier but it doesn't. I just distract myself a lot more than the last couple of months" I returned her smile and once again realized how grateful I was for the people I still had in my life.

After breakfast Max left us for his team briefing before the race. Sophie, Victoria and me made our way to the rooftop terrace to watch the Formula 2 and 3 races. To say I understood the difference would be too much but Max tried his best to teach me the basics during our breakfast. I knew if I wanted to leave a good impression at Ferrari in a couple of weeks I had to be prepared. So here I was on a Sunday, sitting on a rooftop terrace in Zandvoort over viewing most of the track, the dunes and the sea, watching motorsport. I couldn't help but imagine my mom was right beside us being proud. I got so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that the race was over and some kid named Logan Sargeant won the race. Victoria and Sophie went to get some coffee for us when I received a text from Charles.

Charles Leclerc 🏎

Bonjour chérie, meet me at my
drivers room in 5!

Just when I was about to answer, Victoria and Sophie came back with an iced vanilla latte for each of us.

"Thank you so much but I gotta go, someone want to see me" I said the second Vic handed me my coffee. I felt Sophies questioning look on me. "I'm sorry Sophie, Vic will fill you in"

Luckily Ferrari was right next to RedBull so I made it to Charles' drivers room in 3 minutes. I was full of adrenaline when I knocked at the door, not knowing what Charles wanted just a few hours before the race start was driving me crazy. The 5 seconds it took Charles to open the door felt like forever.