Wednesday, 20 April 2022
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!" Charles and I said in unison
"Cheers guys," my brother smiled at us through the screen. I could tell that he'd not long ago woken up, his hair was still messy and uncombed. "Should I be worried that you're both calling me? Don't tell me this is a 'We both forgot your birthday' type of phone call."
"Mate, that was like, once." Charles protested
"In my defense, I was on a school trip, so there wasn't exactly anyone to remind me. It's easy to lose track of what day it is when you're on holiday." I argued "Anyway, we didn't forget, your present is right here with us. It wasn't exactly something I wanted to post in case it got lost."
"What did you get me?" my brother questioned, suspicious of what Charles and I had decided to get him for his birthday. We'd been known to get him 'joke' presents before, so he was understandably skeptical as to what he might be getting from us this year.
"Necklaces" I told him as Charles proudly showed the paddock pass to the screen "I hope Lottie did her job and made sure you were free this weekend, because I'll be gutted if you're busy"
"Imola?"
"Yup, I always said we should go someday. So, happy 25th Jack, we'll meet you Thursday evening at the airport" I smiled at my brother
"You guys are the best, you know that right?" he told us, a smile spread across his face "You're putting the drawing that Ellie gave me to shame"
*
"We should do this more often"
"You should be better friends with Charles then, he'd invite you more often"
"That's harsh Ol. And untrue. You know that I'm better friends with you than Charles anyway."
"I doubt it. This is the third race I've been to this year"
"Jesus Olly, his fans are going to start thinking you two are together soon"
I flicked my head round to face Jackson, a deep frown on my face. "Do you wanna say that again?" I questioned him
"Well, I mean, you know, fans, the media..." Jackson stuttered "Some people might get the wrong end of the stick, if you get what I mean."
"Jackson" I began, stopping in the middle of the paddock "You of all people should know that I don't read what fans say about me, or my relationship with Charles. Whilst there are thousands of fans who are lovely, I'm well aware that there are also thousands who only seem to want to bring others down. So I'd rather not read any of the comments, or hear them being discussed, especially from my own family. And please, Jack, let's not discuss this again, okay?"
"I'm sorry Olly, I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did."
"I know you didn't, Jack, but I still wanted you to know that I don't want to hear about it." I replied "Now, let's get to the garage, it'll be time for the cars to head to the track soon."
*
"Hello everybody and welcome to round four of the Formula One world Championship in 2022, it's almost time for the Emilia Romana Grand Prix. What were clear skies and sun just an hour or so ago, has turned into a downpour of rain. All cars are expected to be starting this race on the wet tyre, with the rain likely to ease up around midway through this race.
Let's take a look at the starting grid then, ladies and gentlemen. It's a front row lockout for the prancing horses, with Charles Leclerc taking pole position by just two thousandths of a second. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton starts in third place, followed by Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen comes in fifth, with George Russell in sixth. Then it's a French fourth row, with Gasly and Ocon in seventh and eighth, in front of Norris and Bottas who round out the top 10. Then it's Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Alonso, Vettel and Stroll in P15. Schumacher starts sixteenth, missing out on Q2 due to his time being deleted for track limits. Behind him is Zhou, Albon and Magnussen, with Nicholas Latifi rounding out the field.
Lap 1/63
"It's lights out and away we go! Both Ferrari's get a great start, followed closely by both Mercedes and the Red Bulls
Lap 7/63
"And that's the first retirement of the season there for Fernando Alonso, he's been told to come into the pits to retire the car after picking up some damage in the first few laps.
Lap 20/63
"And box box, Charles. Box box"
"Here we go then ladies and gentlemen, Leclerc's been called in to service the car. Verstappen and Perez are yet to pit, with the Dutchman taking the lead of the race. Looks like the team are double stacking here, as Sainz pulls into the pit lane too. Leclerc in... and Leclerc out just as Sainz arrived on the scene! That was perfect timing from the Scuderia, with Sainz arriving just as Leclerc pulls away from the pit box. Tidy times there for both drivers, that's really going to put pressure on the Red Bull mechanics in a lap or two's time."
Lap 22/63
"Verstappen pulls into the pits, handing the lead to Perez who's already being chased down by Leclerc. Red Bull are going to need to be lightning fast here if they want to get Verstappen out in front of the midfield. But it's a slow stop! Looks like there was a problem with the right rear tyre... 6.8 seconds, that one's going to hurt. Verstappen pulls back out onto the track, but he's down in p8, more than a few places lower than he should have been."
Lap 53/63
"Ten laps to go then, and Max Verstappen has managed to haul himself back towards the front of the grid after a slow stop back on lap 22. He's up to p4 now, with just his teammate Perez and the two Ferrari's out in front of him. Looks like he's got the pace, but has he got the time? The last few laps could get interesting..."
Lap 60/63
"Verstappen is still trying to pass Sainz, the Spaniard has put up an amazing defense here, which has allowed his teammate to disappear off into the distance. But can he hold on to p2? It's going to be a hard fight, but I'd like to think he's got a good chance.
Lap 63/63
"And P1 Charles, P1!"
"LETS GOOOO! Ah, nice one guys, really great this weekend. Really great"
"Charles, it's Jackson. Congrats mate, what a drive"
"This one's yours Jack, happy birthday mate"
Driver's standings (After 4 races)
1: Charles Leclerc - 76pts
2: Carlos Sainz - 67 pts
3: Lewis Hamilton - 62 pts
4: Max Verstappen - 51 pts
5: George Russell - 40pts
6: Sergio Perez - 34 pts
7: Lando Norris - 21 pts
8: Daniel Ricciardo - 18 pts
9: Esteban Ocon - 14 pts
10: Valtteri Bottas - 8 pts
11: Yuki Tsunoda - 5 pts
12: Pierre Gasly - 5 pts
13: Fernando Alonso - 4 pts
14: Zhou Guanyu - 2 pts
15: Lance Stroll - 2 pts
16: Sebastian Vettel - 2 pts
17: Alexander Albon - 0 pts
18: Mick Schumacher - 0 pts
19: Kevin Magnussen - 0 pts
20: Nicholas Latifi - 0 pts
A/N: No Imola this weekend, which is sad but obviously the only decision considering the circumstances. What's happening in the region right now is both terrifying and upsetting, and my thoughts are with all of the families affected by the flooding. If you're able to, please donate to help the emergency services in Italy and support the families affected.
Copse x
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