When the first female F1 driver is announced, no one expects her to get on so badly with Ferrari golden boy Charles Leclerc, but do they really hate each other as much as it seems?
Getting the call confirming my place in Mclaren F1 Racing team for the 2023 grid was definitely the best moment of my life. Not only was I achieving my dream of driving for Mclaren in F1, but I was the first girl to get to F1, a title I was not going to take lightly. I had worked my ass off for years working up the ranks from F4 all the way to F2 and now into F1.
In none of the earlier leagues was I taken seriously and I'm pretty sure most people didn't even realise a girl was in f2 as all they mostly saw was helmets and surnames (and normality led viewers to believe I was male). Despite my few podiums and wins, I never felt I was truly appreciated in f2, so when I got the call from Zak Brown a few months ago discussing a place in his team I thought I was dreaming.
Since my announcement for getting into the team, my instagram followers had spiked by 600k in the months since and my twitter had blown up.
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Now in a week, I was starting Pre-season testing in Bahrain and I was so excited. Despite being in the Mclaren office many times, I hadn't met Lando yet who was my team mate this year, so this week would be our time to get to know one another starting today.
I rung my best friend Rue as I drove to the Mclaren base as I knew she would help with my nerves.
"Hey babe" She picked up immediately. Rue was my ride or die and it had been that way since we were little. Rue had always been there for me through my racing career, supporting me when no one else did. "Everything ok? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Yeah, I'm on my way there now."
"Why are you calling me E?" She asked, clearly sensing the nerves in my voice.
"Ugh Rue," I replied "I'm so nervous. What if no one takes me seriously? What if the team hates me?"
"You're literally perfect Edom, no one could dislike you girl" Rue replied "You've fought so hard to get here, don't let your nerves put you down!"
"You're so right Rue, thanks so much. Alright, I'm pulling in now so I'll talk to you later" I said as I scanned my card to get through security.
"You've got this girl!" She yelled into the phone as I hung up.
I parked my car and walked into the building where I was immediately greeted by Zak.
"Edom!" he practically yelled "Welcome to Mclaren"
"Thanks Zak" I smiled as I shook his hand.
"It's great you're here, the team are so excited to work with you" he smiled at me and some of my nerves evaporated. We spoke more about settling in as we took an elevator up to the first floor and walked to his office.
"Well, I would love to show you round the office, but with pre season about to get here I'm super busy. However, I thought it would be a good idea for your team mate to show you round so you have some time to connect and get to know one another. The media love a good bond between team mates so we hope you guys get on," Zak said as he opened the door to his office to reveal Lando Norris sitting in a chair on his phone.
Lando looked up and grinned at me. The smile was so friendly and warm, I couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm Edom" I said as we shook hands
"Lando" he replied with a chuckle. "And I'll be your tour guide this morning" and with that we left the office and started the tour. Lando and I immediately got on and I could tell we were going to be very good friends this year. The tour seemed to go by in a flash but when I looked at the clock it had taken a few hours and it was now lunch.
"Thanks for the tour Lando" I smiled and grabbed my phone out of my pocket to take a picture for my instagram. Although I was a full time driver, I really enjoyed social media and uploaded regularly. "Smile for the followers" I chuckled
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The rest of the day consisted of meetings with engineers and media managers, some of which Lando was also at. The rest of the week was mostly the same but with more physical training and in what felt like a blink of an eye, I was being flown out to Bahrain...
