Once Upon A Time In... | Toto Wolff

Chapter Five: Montreal

FRIDAY PM

Exactly a year on to the day from that fateful night in Baku, you were making your way to the airport to catch a flight to Montreal, for what was to be your second Canadian Grand Prix with the team. A lot had happened in the last year and you'd experienced the true highs and lows of being part of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team. The season had been relatively successful, with Lewis coming second and George fourth in the overall championship and the team taking second in the constructor's championship, conceding to Red Bull. Unfortunately, the rivalry with Red Bull was very much alive for the second year in a row and Max Verstappen was dominating thus far with Lewis a good way behind.

You'd passed your six-month probation period with flying colours and had pleased the board with your enthusiasm and more lighthearted approach than that of your predecessor. You'd gained some new, fresh sponsors and cut ties with some of the more ethically questionable brands. Life was good and you felt well and truly settled in with the team.

It had been extremely awkward with Toto at first, after the initial pleasantries you'd shared as he snuck out of your hotel room, he had withdrawn, barely able to look you in the eye after your impromptu sleepover. You'd kept things professional but had zero contact aside from group meetings. There were no more one-on-one lunches, no sponsor events and no gym sessions. If you'd not been snowed under with your work, you would have been upset but it had been non-stop and you hadn't had much time to dwell on it.

Fortunately, another Mercedes race win came in Zandvoort and you had a frank discussion after a few beers where you cleared the air. The entire team stayed in motorhomes at Zandvoort and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than at other tracks. Toto took this as his moment to approach you and offer an olive branch, perhaps buoyed by the confidence that alcohol could bring. You mutually decided that you liked each other but knew that it wasn't a good idea to pursue anything further, you were better off as friendly colleagues and nothing more. No blurred lines and certainly no more kissing. A small part of you was disappointed with how things had unfolded but you knew that it was the wisest course of action and since then things had been a breeze.

Toto had dated a few women over the Summer break last year and you'd been on a couple of dates with a charming Ferrari electronics engineer, a set-up via Bella. Neither one of you had found anything serious but it was enough to break the tension that had been simmering away. You were in a good place with the formidable Team Principal and had even swapped stories of your dating escapades during your now regular gym trips together.

On the topic of gym sessions, watching the episodes of Drive to Survive that featured your workout sessions had been an interesting experience. Toto had been correct in surmising that you were going to accumulate a few fans of your own. People now recognised you and knew your name and you'd even been approached for photographs in and around the paddock, mostly by young men, a fact that Toto never let you forget. It was all rather surreal but you were grateful as it offered some small insight into how Lewis, George and Toto felt being the public-facing spokesmen for the team.

All in all, it had been a roller coaster of a year and you could hardly believe that you were already doing the same race weekends for a second time around. Last year, the infamous constructor's raft race had made a return to the calendar, where brave members of each team built a makeshift raft, made of anything from pallets to oil drums and raced across the basin alongside the Montreal track in the afternoon after qualifying. You'd seen the positive press that the teams who had participated last year had earned and it seemed foolish to not take part.

Initially, the team were reluctant but when Christian Horner tauntingly brought up the topic in a Team Principal press conference a few weeks ago, Toto took him up on the challenge and decided he should personally participate, encouraging the team to join him in taking down your arch rivals. Quite how you had ended up being roped in was another question entirely but Toto was adamant that he wanted his gym buddy there.