REMEMBER THE NAME

2019:4

The first race of the season wasn't good.

Sophie had kept up with George, with less than .2 of a second between each other, but throughout the race she was told by the team that she wasn't allowed to battle him for his position, meaning she never actually got a competitive race making the whole thing seem pointless. Because of this she ended up being last on the grid for the entire race, finishing 17th due to 3 DNFs, which only allowed her self- esteem to plummet.

Getting out of the car she stops to get weighed in, shaking hands and patting the backs of other drivers, but she kept her interactions to a minimum.

"You have press interviews to do in 20 minutes." Debbie comes up besides her.

"Okay, I'll grab a quick shower and change before heading to the pen." Sophie huffs. "Anything I need to know to be prepared for?"

"Nothing we haven't already discussed, just try to not look so disappointed and keep your anger at bay." Debbie kindly smiles at her. "I'll be outside your room in 15 minutes."

Sophie puts her head down and walks through the garage to make her way to hospitality, where she walks up the stairs at the back reaching her room thankfully undisturbed. Once she's in her room she throws her helmet on to the couch and heads straight for the shower, putting it on the colder setting to help her cool down. Once she's in the shower she sits on the ground, looking up to the shower head.

Was signing with Williams the right thing to do? Sure they were the only team offering her a contract for a main driver position, and they were known for starting the careers for a lot of good drivers. But is not getting to fight for a position really what she wants? She did realise that this was only the first race of the season and she was probably being a bit dramatic, but not allowing her to be competitive at all had to be a red flag.

She hadn't felt very welcomed by the team. Sure Debbie was so kind and helpful, and George was one of her best friends, but apart from that no one would really listen to her. When she was feeding back after testing they were all quick to deny that there wasn't an issue with the breaks or understeering, and instead blamed her driving skills and age. But as soon as George brought up the same issues they then proposed that they would look in to it. Her race engineer still hasn't spoke to her outwith wearing the headset. And she was constantly told to not overtake George in all of the strategy meetings by the team of strategists, despite her showing today that she had the better pace.

It seems that every single step that Williams has taken was to restrict her performance, or shove her approaches to the side, and it doesn't feel like what a team should really be.

Getting up, she turns off the shower and puts on the team uniform, bringing her long hair out of the plait and brushing it through with a comb, adding some dry shampoo to make it not look as dirty since she didn't have time to wash and dry it before she had to leave.

Just as she was tying her laces, the door was knocked twice before Debbie came in.

"All ready?"

"Yep." Sophie picks up her water bottle. "Let's get this shit show on the road."

—

"It's great to speak with you Sophie." Will Buxton positions the microphone in front of her.

"It's great to speak with you too." She lies.

"Now I believe this is your first official F1 interview am I right?" He ignored the camera and looks at her.

"That's right, who better to start with."

"We love to hear that. Now I do have a couple of questions that the fans have been begging us to ask, but first I just want to get your thoughts on the race just there, can you tell us a little bit about that?"

Sophie puts her hands in her pockets to hide them shaking from the camera, trying to remember all of her media training. "Well, it's the first race of the season, there's always a lot of hype and I'm sure there was a lot within the race to keep the fans happy." She tried to keep her answer short and sweet, swerving it away from her performance.

"And you finished in P17, which isn't last on the leaderboard however it was last of those who managed to finish the race. What's your thoughts on your position?"

"Well as I said it's the first race of the season so it gives me a lot of feedback and helps provide future goals. I know where I am and I know where I want to be." She smiles at him.

"And where is it that you want to be?"

"Not the last on the grid?" She tries to pull it off as a joke, adding a little laugh at the end.

"Now we heard on the radio that the team ordered you not to overtake your teammate George Russell, were you aware of this before going in to the race?" He tries to put more pressure on her.

She takes a deep breath, trying to keep her annoyance and anger inside. "It had been discussed." She answered shortly.

"Now that surely must have been annoying because that meant that you actually couldn't participate within the race as he was the next person in front." He looks towards her for her to react or reply.

"The team gave me instructions and I stood by them." She tried to drop the hint that she wouldn't be going in to more detail on the matter.

"It's quite clear to see that you are the only female driver on the grid this year, do you think that gives you an advantage or disadvantage?"

And there it is, she had practised for this question with Debbie. "I don't see why it would be an advantage or a disadvantage. Just because my gender is different it doesn't affect my driving capabilities."

"Of course, of course." He smiles. "Does it feel any different with the dynamics around you?"

"It doesn't. Some of the other drivers on the grid I've grown up with through karting, so it's actually quite nice to share the experience with them."

"And not only will you get to spend more time with some of your friends, but you'll also have more time to spend with your family?" He tries to pry in to my private life.

"I'm not sure how you've thought of that." She laughs, throwing his question right back at him.

"Well we all know who your mum and stepdad is, and surely with you all being heavily involved with F1 you will now be able to see each other more now at the weekends."

"I think I'll be too focussed on driving and trying to be better than 17th on race weekends rather than hanging around the Mercedes garage like a bad smell." She brushes the question off, trying to keep her personal life out of the way.

"Is there a chance that we could be seeing you in the Mercedes garage as a possible driver in the future?" He tries his best to get anything out of me.

"Unfortunately I'm a race car driver and not a psychic." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Surely with a family that runs the team there will be a high chance of you joining in the family business?"

"If I do drive for Mercedes' in the future it will be from my own merit, not because my family have paved the way. I respect and admire them for what they have done with their lives and their constant support, however I am the writer of my own story." She firmly says, bringing her hands out of her pockets to cross them in front of her chest.

"Beautifully said." Will tries to diffuse the tension. "We won't keep you any longer from everyone else here, but thank you for speaking with us."

"Thank you for having me." She politely smiles before turning her back to him and facing Debbie who gives her a small head nod before pulling her to the next interviewer.