Racing For Love

Chapter Sixty Eight

I went into the Belgian Grand Prix thinking that I was going to have the best week, but it definitely wasn't what I had expected.

Everything started just how I'd envisaged. James was even back in the office - just doing a few mornings to begin with, but Matt and I were thrilled to have him back, and he helped us with the plans and scheduling - our team running like a well-oiled machine. Jono flew with the team and I on the chartered flight - he didn't always fly privately, so it wasn't a massive shock when he joined the team, but him kissing me in front of everyone made a clear declaration of our relationship to those who hadn't seen anything online or in the press. He was attentive - checking I was ok, making sure I had drinks and gently wrapping his arm around me as we stood and chatted.

We navigated getting to the hotel with relative ease - Jono went off to find the car his sponsors required him to drive to the hotel, and I got on the coach with the rest of the team - I wasn't ready to arrive with him just yet, and he respected this. After the summer break, everyone was in good spirits, discussing holidays and their time off and there was an excitement in the air as we piled off and checked in. I could hear the crowd outside calling his name and I noticed that Jono had arrived and was outside taking photos with fans and autographing various items. I went to check in but my name wasn't on the usual list - initially, I didn't understand, checking if the room was under James' name perhaps, until the hotel manager appeared and handed me the key to the penthouse - Jono had added me to his room - we'd vaguely discussed it, but I'd completely forgotten about it and I held the key tightly as I pondered whether this would now be my life.

It felt strange to be pressing the top floor button and leaving Matt behind on one of the lower floors. He joked about perks of being a girlfriend, but I felt an uneasiness at navigating both of these parts of the trip - being an employee and a girlfriend within the same team seemed confusing, but I was hoping I would be able to get used to it. Our bags were already waiting in the room when I was shown in - I travel with a Bianchi team bag - they are all identical with numbers stitched on to make it easier for the flights and logistics. Jono's bag was the same - he was issued with one more as a ceremonial thing, but actually uses it, rather than the swish suitcases that he's been given with brand deals over the years. Jono's bag differs very slightly though as he has his name emblazoned on his bag, along with his driver number of 071. Coincidentally, the number I've been given is 017 and this makes me smile as I pulled the bags through to the bedroom and looked around the impressive suite.

Jono finally appeared in the room after making his way through the fans, but we had very little time together before we were heading off in different directions. We had opposing schedules and it was late into the night when I felt him climb in beside me, wrapping his arm protectively around me as he fell asleep.

By media day, there was a constant frenzy around Jono - everyone had questions about him leaving Bianchi after six seasons and two drivers championships. He remained tight lipped about his plans for the next year, but this was because he was yet to make a decision.The constant press surrounding meant that if I had decided to travel with him, he would end up leaving me alone as he was taken away by the crowds. Despite being used to the hype of Formula One, I was already finding the constant cameras and interviewers overwhelming. When we did spend time together, we went back and forth over his choices - did he take the seat at Aerial and become a mentor, or did he go into Racing Force and build a back marker team up into something special - each option offered challenges and excitement but I remained impartial because I didn't want to make the wrong choice for him.

Then it was onto the racing, with the free practice sessions a disaster - the weather was as wet as it ever was at Spa and the drivers got very little running. What running they did get resulted in many complaints about the car - something was not right - the improvements that were made towards the end of the summer break clearly were not working. Because there was so little running, it was hard to get the set up right, and this carried through to FP3 on the Saturday.

When faced with a dry Quali and a car, which was not set up for dry running, both cars struggled again. Lorenzo pulled of an incredible lap, but that only got him as far as P4 for Sunday's race. Jono barely made it into Q1 - the car seemed slower and Jono was battling it to even get that far - he came back to the garage after Quali, finding himself in P6 for the race tomorrow and clearly frustrated and exhausted. The team now had another long evening of data analysis and sim practice to try and get what they could out of the car. I had finally thought Jono and I would be able to spend some time together but it was another night I spent with Matt, checking the door for Jono's appearance, which never came.

The team seemed to have lost the positivity that we had arrived in Spa with, and it was especially hard to see Jono so low. I didn't know what I could do help him - there was a distance between us that even my normal solutions of jokes and positivity couldn't help. Where everything had been so open between us, things seemed harder this week - the stress was getting on top of us, drowning our new relationship, and I didn't know how to find a way through it.

Race day was wet, which was just what we had been hoping for. Matt and I put up the duck racing video we had filmed on Free Practice day which was met with excellent engagement rates. I sent it through to Kate, hoping to cheer her up. Her week had been tough too - whilst dealing with her normal job, she was also going through the logistics with the board - they were planning on ambushing Andrea, but that made it harder for her, and I could tell she was under a lot of stress, which I couldn't seem to help either.

As the race neared, Matt and I both decided to watch from the garage and I noticed I had cameras trained on me. I had stuck closely to the team most of the week, only being seen with Jono on a few occasions, but even that had resulted in more photos than I think I had ever seen of me before. My obvious presence in the garage was going to be broadcast everywhere it seemed, and I could only imagine the comments that would be made. My phone pinged and James had messaged to say he'd seen me and was glad I'd bothered to do my makeup, but I needed to correct my resting bitch face - this little quip made me smile as I pulled myself back to reality.

With Jono starting in P6 and Lorenzo P4, it was further down the grid than we were used to, but with the wet weather, we were hoping that both cars would be able to perform. As the cars set off, I felt like I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding in my mouth. By the end of lap one, Jono was able to make it up to P3 and Lorenzo P2 respectively, making the most of a very messy start of the race.

Pablo Hernandez was leading and had pulled away well, leaving a gap between him and Lorenzo, but the real battle was between Jono and Gareth who was just behind him and clearly had something to prove in a fight with the car that would be his next year. With every lap, he seemed to inch closer. Jono was a defence king, and had allowed Lorenzo to pull ahead and inch closer to Pablo whilst holding off Gareth lap after lap.

It all went wrong with the pit stops. Jono came in and his stop was relatively successful, but in coming out, he had lost his place to an undercut from Gareth who was now pushing hard to try and overtake Lorenzo. Lorenzo was called in to pit next and if he had a good stop, he would be able to utilise fresh tyres to his advantage and be able to start pushing Pablo.

That quick stop did not come. There was a problem with one of the tyres it seemed, and in looking back, this was due to damage picked up earlier in the race. The pneumatic gun wasn't catching the wheel nut. They tried a second gun, but this didn't seem to work, and with every second the tyre would not come off, we could see Lorenzo moving further down through the pack.

Eventually, they managed to get it off, but Lorenzo re-entered the race in P8 and by the finish, had only been able to make up two places, finishing in P6. Jono finished in P3 with Gareth ahead of him, but had spent the majority of the race defending and trying to keep his car on the track.

I left Matt to pack up some kit and joined the team at Parc Ferme as Jono pulled his car into the P3 spot. As he came out of the car, he looked physically shattered, but I saw his eyes light up as he spotted me. I had a huge smile plastered across my face and after he had taken off his helmet, he came straight over, enveloping me as I grasped the back of his head. His hair was slick with a combination of sweat and rain, but I ran my hand through it anyway. Cameras were pulled in tightly around us, with flashes going off continually as I gave Jono the briefest of kisses, whispering congratulations into his ear for only him to hear. He moved on to other members of the team clapping them around the shoulders or pulling them into a hug.

It was at that moment, I spotted her.

Charlotte.