Turbulence [𝗠.𝗩.]

Azerbaijan, Pre-Race

There is an imposter amongst the #RookieGang! @JamesWebb @LandoNorris @OscarPiastri @JessicaBond57 @LoganSargeant @LiamLawson40 - @JaguarF1

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AZERBAIJAN

4TH RACE WEEKEND OF THE SEASON - 1st SPRINT WEEKEND

APRIL

Hot air steams up around me as I leave the comfort of my shower thanks to my phone persistently ringing. I wrap a towel around myself and swipe on the screen, answering it and placing it on the loudspeaker.

"Whattup?"

From the sigh, I know it's Henrik. "We have some new issues, this time it isn't Haas, but it is the same old type of complaints."

For fuck's sake.

"Seriously?" I question as I start towel-drying my hair with a smaller, light grey towel that had been hanging on the door. "The shit about the aerodynamics was weeks ago, why the hell is it still a problem for people?"

"Dry spell for gossip. Nobody's having any fights, and we're not in silly season."

It makes sense, even if I think it's ridiculous. We'd cleared the tests the FIA ran, and after lots of conversations - that I wasn't privy to - between Oliver and Gunther, I thought the last I would hear of it was in Australia. Even then it was old news. At this point, they're just banging on the same old drum, hoping to be heard.

"So what is it this time?"

"We think it's Alpine, but it's not about us, we're just caught up by proxy since we use the Honda engine."

Oh boy.

"Let me take a guess: everyone's mad that Red Bull is running away with the points already?" I don't bother to hide my annoyance, layering it with a little snark. It's no surprise, but it's also quite boring. "And they're assuming that because we have their engine, and we're doing so bad compared to them, it must mean Red Bull is cheating or broke the cost cap or god-knows-what."

Henrik laughs down the line. In the background of his audio, I hear some layered conversations fade in and out. "Exactly that. We're expecting to be fielding a lot of questions about it, so we want you to have a none of our business attitude about it. You're a new driver, so how can you be expected to match Max Verstappen, the current two-time champion?"

"What's Mick's line?" It'll help if I know, just in case someone can twist his words and throw them at me.

"Similar stuff, just without the new driver part. He's busy still dealing with the crap Gunther keeps saying about last year."

"Why is he still talking shit when he had a worse driver than Mick on the team the year before that?" I'm honestly getting tired of hearing about drama involving that man, but apparently, it just seems to follow him around.

"Because Team Principals like to talk shit." He mutters something to someone, I barely make out what it is as I finish towel-drying my hair. "Gotta go, we need to talk some more about media strategy before you go into the press conference, come find me as soon as you're here."

I let him hang up without another word, focusing on getting dressed and ready to go. I have some new black jeans, courtesy of some fashion brand that's sponsoring us, and rather than wear a team-branded shirt, I'm picking out a plain white one from my suitcase. I don't have many sponsors as a driver yet, and even if I did... I'm no fashion icon like Hamilton.

With my hair dried and pulled into a high ponytail, I have to get a move on. I'm not hitting the track today, it's all about preparation and media time. My phone buzzes right as I go to exit my room.