Maroon

Bahrain

Charles

04/03

I woke up, annoyed at the clock that forcefully took me away from my sleep. I wasted no time to get myself in the shower, dressed and downstairs for breakfast. I didn't find Carlos this time but ended up sitting with Max. It was a first for us. We had never eaten a meal together before but I was glad it happened.

"Did you sleep well?" The dutch man nodded as he sipped his warm coffee, his light brown hair pushed back away from his face, underneath a navy blue redbull cap. He still looked half asleep, a look I had never seen on his face before. He had very particular features that I had always found interesting, his eyes being the most special ones because they really showed his true emotions. And right now, what they showed was tiredness. "Yeah. You?" I nodded as well, before suddenly recalling the fact that he definetly wasn't a morning person. It explained why he seemed so tired. It was honestly a miracle he was even sitting next to me. Before our reconciliation, he wouldn't even have looked my way.

I always found it strange that most people thought he was mean. Because apart from our complicated period, he was one of the kindest persons I knew. He just never was a morning person.

We ate while talking about the start of the week and it was nice to talk to someone as familiar as him. And as we conversed, we somehow lost track of time and ended up almost being late for our rides and seperated to get in our respective cars with smiles plastered on our faces.

Qualifying. The first one of the season. I was determined to do well and it's with an enormous joy that I managed to be third, behind Perez and Verstappen, the two redbulls. I was extremely proud of myself. To be honest, it was better than what I was expecting. The start was complicated but I fought my way through, speed helping me forget about the world. And, after overtakes and, some losses, I ended up knowing that I would be starting third the next day for the first race.

"Good job Leclerc! It's a great start for the weekend!" I smiled, grateful for the small celebration of my work and my engineer patted me on the back, backing up his words with this small action. "Thanks Xavier." He then headed off to talk to Carlos, who ended up being fifth. And so it's with a satisfied smile that I headed back to the hotel.

05/03

Race day started well for me. Waking up early like usual, I had the time to go on a run. I always liked to do that before a race, to calm my nerves. I was listening to music to forget that I was alone, again. I never really liked being on my own but I almost always was.

Running in the street was something I always enjoyed because I got to know the city where we raced from a different angle. I pushed my hair away from my face and stopped for a minute, to catch my breath underneath a tree. Taking one of my airpods out, I listened to my surroundings, taking a second to appreciate the nice breeze. I could feel the pre-race jitters leave my body with the sweat and I was already thinking about the shower I'd take once back at the hotel. Deciding it had been long enough, I started to make my way back, walking this time.

I knew that this first experience of the year would mean a lot, and could possibly be a preview of what the season had to offer. I knew that I had to do well. And with that knowledge comes a great deal of stress. I was glad that I had found a way to evacuate it, but I would much rather just not be stressed....

It's underneath the eight a.m. sunlight that I passed through the hotel's front doors. Walking to the elevators, I caught a glimpse of Max and Checo, his teamate eating breakfast and couldn't help but break a smile. The metal doors slid open and I got inside, pressing my floor number before resting on the back wall, the cold penetrating through my white shirt, sending shivers up my spine. I closed my eyes, waiting for the ascend to finish and took a couple of deep breaths, enjoying the calmness of the ride. I guess I still couldn't quite believe I was back, I couldn't quite believe that that afternoon would be the first race.