Julia Erin Wolff is daughter of Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes. As a result, she grew up mostly in paddocks or travelling with her parents and always felt a certain connection to driving and F1. Now, when it's time to be on her own, she deci...
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Back in Austria, I've always loved this place with its stunning landscapes, amazing people, and majestic mountains. My week at home started on a positive note, catching up with old friends from high school, getting back to my unfinished paintings, and enjoying some much-needed relaxation. Thankfully, I only had a few interviews to conduct on Sunday, which was a relief after the busy previous week. However, that didn't stop me from heading to the Red Bull Ring on Friday, and soon enough, I found myself watching FP1 from the Mercedes garage. The team was doing pretty well, with George securing P3 and Lewis P5. Qualifying was a mix of emotions, as George impressed with P4, but Lewis faced some difficulties and ended up in P9. However, it didn't make me worry a bit, as I knew he would give it his all on Sunday.
"And Max Verstappen brings it home! He'll be starting on the front row for both tomorrow's Sprint and Sunday's race, alongside Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz, his teammate, follows, then George Russell, and Esteban Ocon concludes the top five," the commentator announced over the speakers. I was quite pleased with the results, except for Lando, who unfortunately qualified in P15.
"Hey, Lan!" I called out as soon as I spotted him approaching. His disappointed expression turned into a bright grin as he noticed me and rushed towards me.
"Juli! I thought you were working only on Sunday," Lando greeted me with a quick hug.
"Yeah, but I couldn't miss any part of the weekend," I replied. "I'm sorry about the result today," I added, giving his shoulder a reassuring stroke. Lando smiled and proceeded to fill me in on all the details of the qualifications as we strolled around the paddock.
While Lando was explaining the shortcomings of his car, I caught a glimpse of Carlos' face, and our eyes met for a moment before we both looked away. It felt strange and surreal, but fortunately, Lando quickly brought me back to the reality.
"Julia, are you even listening?" Lando interrupted our brief, almost ethereal, eye contact. "You seem to be daydreaming all the time," he chuckled, and I joined in, though my thoughts were still elsewhere.
"Yeah, sorry, it's just... Carlos. Let's just say something really embarrassing happened between us, and I'm trying to avoid him, maybe" I whispered, looking down.
"And can I ask what happened? If it's something he did, I can-" Lando started to inquire with concern, but I quickly cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"No, no, please don't talk to Carlos about it," I nervously replied, "I'm not really ready to discuss it."
"Take your time, Jul, alright? You can tell me whenever you're ready," Lando reassured me, gently tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear before giving me a comforting hug.
Suddenly, tears started falling uncontrollably. Everything felt like too much—the new job, the situation with Carlos—and I couldn't bring myself to confide in anyone about it. However, Lando handled the situation perfectly, comforting me with gentle strokes on my back and offering me his bottle of water to help calm me down.
Carlos' POV
The qualifying session went well today. The car had good pace, and I secured P3 on the grid, just behind Charles and Max. Luckily, Julia was only working on Sunday, which meant I could avoid her for a few more days. It was a conflicting feeling, as part of me didn't want to avoid her at all. But something had changed in my perception of her. I never expected her to be the type to kiss different guys at every party, especially considering her closeness with Lando. The flirty Tweets, hugs, and everything else... Perhaps I was just hoping I had misunderstood it all, but seeing her with Lando today made those hopes fade away.
As I was walking out of Ferrari's hospitality, heading to talk to other drivers and take pictures with fans, I unexpectedly spotted her. Time seemed to stop as our eyes met, but then she quickly looked away, and so did I. She was with Lando, strolling around the paddock, and from a distance, I noticed she was in tears, and he was comforting her. Technically, we hadn't done anything, so I wasn't sure if she had told Lando about our encounter or not, but either way, I felt utterly lost.
A/N
Hey, just wanted to thank you for 1k reads, as it means so much to me. <3 Lately, I've been lacking a motivation a bit, but I'm really excited for next parts, when things really start to unfold....🤭
