REMEMBER THE NAME

2019:26

"So Sophie, how did you find qualifying today?" Jenson Button asks the blonde as they stand in the media pen after qualifying.

For Sophie, qualifying hadn't been great, the understeer and unreliable brake issues hadn't improved on the car, especially since Williams hadn't provided her with any of the upgrades, leaving her in the exact same machinery as at the start of the season. And on top of all of that her car engine had decided to go up in flames, forcing her to pull over and quickly evacuate, taking away her opportunity for qualifying.

"I'd love to crack a joke and say that our time was on fire." She rolls her eyes whilst trying to crack a joke to diffuse the situation. "But things like this happen. I'm gutted we never got to set a time that helps me move up the grid, but I'm glad that I got out before the fire got any worse, and hopefully it'll be sorted in time for racing tomorrow." She smiles tightly.

"Yes, yes, I understand." Button nods his head. "It's a shame, but you were driving great. Now we've seen a lot of issues with the reliability of the cars, do you see this as being another reoccurring issue?"

"I hope not." She lightly laughs. "I know that there's been some issues throughout however the whole team is working their hardest to battle through them and hopefully fix these."

"It must be annoying, is it not? You know you drivers come here and want to drive and want to fight but these reliability issues keep holding you back."

Sophie takes a moment to think her answer through, not wanting to give the media an advantage. "I think it gives us opportunities to work on other areas besides speed, it teaches us how to control the car when things aren't going exactly like you planned, you learn to think on your feet quickly. I don't like to think about the negatives."

"Your media trainer has trained you well." He laughs out to which she joins in.

That is until she hears an almighty crash.

Looking away from Jenson she finds the nearest monitor, which is playing the current F2 race, to find multiple cars which have had a major collision - two of them in a worse condition that the others. It was the worst that she had seen this year.

Sophie takes one of her hands off of the barrier to cover her gaping mouth as her heart rate increases at the terrifying sight. "Oh my god." She whispers.

The whole media pen is silent, with everyone attached to the screen, waiting with baited breaths, hoping for the drivers to get out of the cars. But as the minutes go by there's not a movement.

"Do we know who it is?" Sophie asks no one in particular, caring more for the welfare of whichever of her friends were in the car. No one answers at the moment.

Sophie turns to Jenson, still in shock at what's happening. "I'm really sorry, but I don't feel comfortable continuing with this interview. That's one of my friends and I'd like to make sure they and their family are okay."

"Of course, of course." He agrees, taking the microphone off her whilst she's still in shock. "I hope they're all okay." He looks at the young woman with sympathy.

Sophie takes a few steps back and meets Debbie. "Debbie I don't think I can do the interviews." She breathes, trying her best not to panic.

"That's alright." Debbie rubs her arm whilst the girl is still entranced by the nearby monitors.

Whispers around the pen get louder and louder until the reach Sophie's ears, making her heart break. "It's Hubert."

Sophie's eyes well up on tears at the thought of Anthoine being stuck in the car, unable to get out, whilst she tries her best not to think of the worst case scenario.

"I need to go." Sophie begins to panic, looking at Debbie, who just continues to rub her arm soothingly. "I- I- I need to find Charles and Pierre. That's their best friend. I need to make sure they're not alone." Sophie begins to back away before looking around frantically for the pair.

Sophie couldn't see either of them near the media pen, only seeing Carlos and Lewis near her, so she takes off to the pit lane in search for the boys.

The whole pit lane was being filled with F2 cars, people everywhere trying their best to help but still moving too slow for Sophie's liking. Pushing past everyone she tried her best to spot the boy in red, who wasn't sitting at the Ferrari Pit wall where she guessed he might be. Next she ran to the garage, obviously unable to step in, but standing on her tiptoes to scan for him.

"You can't be here Stoddart." One of the mechanics shout across.

"Where's Charles?" She asks panicked. "I need to make sure he's alright but I can't find him."

The mechanic looks conflicted before walking away, leaving Sophie even more confused and frustrated. Was she to wait? Was she to go? What was she to do?

Less than a minute later the mechanic came back with a glum looking Mattia Binotto. "He's in his room. This is the one time you are allowed in." The Italian huffs, before guiding Sophie through the garage quickly to a room at the back.

Mattia pats her back sympathetically before turning and leaving Sophie alone outside of the room. The hallway was eerily quite, much like the rest of the track, however if she listened closely enough Sophie could hear the soft whimpers coming from inside of the room, making her heart break even more.

Lifting her right hand, she slowly and softly knocks on the door twice, but there's no response from the other side. "Charles, it's Sophie. Can you let me in please?"

It was awkward for a moment whilst Sophie waits again with baited breath, trying to block out her emotions which were beginning to manifest in the silence. But then she heard soft shuffling from the other side, and soon the click of the lock lead to the door cracking open, providing a small enough gap for Sophie to slide through without the possibility of peering eyes from the rest of the garage.

The room was a mess, with clothes flung everywhere, cushions thrown from the couch, and the massage table tipped over. But the biggest mess was Charles - standing behind the door with his race suit hanging over his hips and tears flooding down his cheeks.

"Oh Charles." Sophie's heart breaks. She throws her arms around his neck cradling his head on to her shoulder. After a moment of just standing stoically he begins to break, with Sophie's shoulder becoming damper and sobs racking the room. Slowly she lowers them both to the ground to provide more balance as she combs her hand through his hair and gently rocks them.

In the moment Sophie can't find the words to say. She's doing her best to stay strong for Charles who again has lost another loved one - one of his closest friends, whilst she herself also feels the overwhelming sadness of losing her friend as well. So rather than saying something wrong she just stays quiet and comforts him, letting him know she's there for him.

After about 10 minutes his sobs start to soften and his breathing becomes more regular as he lifts his head off of Sophie's shoulder, his green pained eyes meeting her blue sympathetic ones as she placed a caring hand on his cheek.

"Let's get cleared up, okay." She softly asks, to which he silently nods. Placing a soft kiss on his forehead, she takes his hands and helps him stand. As much as she would have loved to sit with him, cuddle him, and cry their hearts out together, she realised that there was a cruel world waiting outside that door, actively seeking their reactions to display in the media.