Mystery in Red

Chapter XXIV - A Simulator Day

The holidays were over faster than Red Bull cars reach the finish line. I can't say Ferrari car, because... to be honest, we don't reach the finish line in full composition sometimes. And that was the painful truth. That aside, but the days away from work went quite well. It was good to take a rest by the seashore, under the hot burning sun of Capri. I spent the weekend with my parents and family, and as a result I remembered why I went to live alone at Modena after my graduation. Cousins, their families, their parents, the parents of my dad, mum and granddad, my godmother... all under one roof. And that was a disaster. Thank Goodness the house was big enough to hide from them when the pressure becomes too much.

My life as a Scuderia Ferrari employee was the main topic all three days. It was all fun and games only the first five hours, when I shared some photos and memories about the places I have visited and told some stories about the drivers from every team. It was inevitable to not mention about Charles and Carlos... And then the painful topic came on the table. Of course, I didn't say what torture it was to work with Vasseur and how I was already not in good terms with one of the drivers but said only positives about the friends I made and couldn't resist not to criticize the cars. And my competent cousins started arguing which team is better, which engine is the best, what kind of improvements Ferrari has to make so they could win the Championship...  I was thinking about the Scuderia 24/7 and this conversations even in my days off were too much for me.

Thank Goodness my mother saved the day, changing the topic about the other favorite sport of the male part of the family – football. And when my cousins started arguing over that... She just winked at me conspiratorially. This woman was the best mother on earth!

It's time to get back to the workflow again. After my last conversation with Vasseur, I was a little more enthusiastic about returning to Maranello. Now I was expected to work with Charles in the simulator and I really couldn't wait. While I was lying on the deckchair in the garden, I had drawn up a work plan and exactly how I should go about my day with it. Leclerc had to prepare very well for the next two races, between which there would be no break. The first was in Azerbaijan, and the second – in Miami. That's how my schedule was supposed to go – first the track in Baku, then the one in Miami. And so, all day, with short breaks between lap sessions and about 90 minutes on each track – it's like free practice. I wanted as much training as possible to be done in the three days we would work together, so that when Charles is on the track, to feel like he is at home. I hoped that it wouldn't burden him too much. I wouldn't want to be the one to blame for his poor results because of my over ambitiousness... Which I'm known for anyway.

For the week when Carlos would also return to the simulator, I had created a serious strategy. Round the clock work and full competitive mode. Early morning training with their personal trainers and after 9am a 12-hour shift in the simulator would have started... It could have gone on longer if I didn't like the results. I was convinced that they had never had this type of preparation before and probably that was the mistake. Now not only their titles depended on them, but also my place here in the team. That's why it was mandatory for each of us to perform at a high level.

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The good thing about the week with Charles was that I left Mekies's secretary's office and found a new one – the desk at the bottom of the Simulator room. It was big enough, with a white birch lacquered top and several drawers, and it had room for everything... Literally for everything. There I sat, lying down when my back hurt in the late hours of the workday, I put my notes, my computer, even the food and the thousands of coffees that the Good Andrea supplied me with. Charles was constantly drinking from his bottles, sometimes water, sometimes protein shakes, and interrupted our work schedule with his constant toilet breaks. But I couldn't blame him. Coffee and protein shakes, especially in large quantities, ensured frequent trips to the WC for both of us.