Rise Up

Chapter 38: Highs and Lows and All the in Between

The race in Australia was... eventful.

I arrived on Tuesday with Suz and Mike. We decided to come a bit earlier to not be victim of the strong jet lag- it didn't work too much tough.

Mike, as my trainer and also great friend, was very concerned about my physical condition, over all due the severe crisis I had. For this reason he prepared a new kind of training to not be too harsh on the knee but to still keep fit, basically the perfect compromise.

So we spent the Wednesday between the gym and the streets of the city of Melbourne. We visited also the swimming pool of the fancy hotel we were staying in, as the water really was helping me with the pain. After lot of sweat and god massages, we had dinner just the three of us like old times, in a local pub, eating cheat food and sipping a good beer, laughing and enjoying the moment. I even told them about everything happened in that short vacation in the UK. They were proud of my decision and I knew they will be my side no matter what will happen.

On Thursday I was filled with interviews and media activities of every genre, from filming videos for the Alpha Tauri official channels, to rounds of funny games against Pierre and the two RedBull drivers. The atmosphere, although the stress of the cameras everywhere, was great, the fans were so warm, even if obviously they were there mostly for the one and only Danny Ric, the star of this big country.

In every interview I got asked different questions about my career and course in F1 but also about my personal life. Fortunately Suz was there and the best media manager ever or I would mess up everything. For the first time they started to ask me about a possible relationship or boyfriend. Useless to say that I almost chocked on my water the instant I heard this question. 

Because of the high and lows and all the in between, Lando and I didn't have the chance to share some time together as we were too busy with work. Our hotels were a bit distant and we were also tired at night to hang out, not talking about the risk we would take. I felt again that he was getting distant but I didn't want to be paranoid or too greedy, so I tried to focus on the great days we spent at his. Maybe it was just bad luck with our busy schedules- or maybe our fairytale was only a dream?

On Friday both free practices went good for our team, we had a good pace and a possible successful race in front of us, based on the data we've collected.

Saturday confirmed it all- Pierre and I both reached Q3. The team was already celebrating as it was a big result but I didn't let a short moment distract me from the real goal. We had a big opportunity in front of us that we couldn't waste.

Sunday was another story. We didn't have the good pace, instead we had the best pace we could ever imagine, accompanied by a big dose of good luck. I finished P7, just under the two McLarens and a bit upper than Pierre, who had a puncture in the first laps who ruined a bit his revenge on the grid.

Other points for team meant happiness from everyone. We could finally take a big breath and relax, to enjoy the small victory we reached after many big steps made together.

Daniel, as the only Aussie there, invited literally everyone to a fancy place close to the track, to drink and eat something, enjoying the warm weather and the good sunset over the sea. I was tired, my knee was hurting and my mind wasn't in the best place with the Lando situation, but I couldn't waste the chance of having fun and also getting to know better the other drivers.

Back in the hotel I had a quick and cold shower that made me feel alive again, after being stuck in the sweaty suit all day, but also made me think about everything, literally every little thing that could have happened between me and Lando to create this coldness.