𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠; oscar piastri ✔

PART TWENTY EIGHT

AHH sorry this took so long to publish, I am CROWDED with exams and will be up until July (very sporadically) but I'm trying my best to keep this going, especially as it's RACE WEEK!! Can't wait to see more of Oscar and all the other drivers :')

But there's a dilema: when I first introduced Hannah, I had a faceclaim for her in mind, but something I didn't realise at the time was that it's actually LANCE STROLL'S SISTER!!! So just pretend it isn't xx

On that choatic note, enjoy.

Word count; 2,064

Mirabella

— August 27th, 2023. Zandvoort, Netherlands.

Blanketed by the stench of coffee, I scribbled on a piece of paper, glancing up at the TV nearby as it focused on a familiar McLaren. Oscar had just overtaken an Aston Martin, tyres almost colliding, both drivers underestimating the turn in the track; he'd said once how different racing is in person - no amount of sim sessions could predict the reality of driving down a circuit.

Hospitality was surprisingly empty, yet I couldn't stay focused; each time it came to filling out a new box on the forms Bastien had sent over, I'd find a reason not to - ordering another coffee, answering a text from Carla etc. This time, as I flipped the page, the distraction came in another gladdening form.

"Bella?"

Looking up, Hannah's hair flowed over her shoulders, seemingly brighter than when I last saw her, matching the radiance of her smile. Nothing like our time in the French Riviera.

"You're in foreign territory." I jested in reference to the papaya walls, indicating to the seat opposite the table. "Sure Logan won't mind?"

"He said you would be here, actually." She simpered, sitting down.

"I'm never anywhere else." I answered with a smirk.

"Why do they all call you a traitor, then?"

I chuckled, "You've been researching?"

"Maybe." She winked.

"It's a long story." I rolled my eyes playfully. "I can't really remember how it started. Oh, that was it.."

I went on to tell her of Barcelona, meeting Charles Leclerc for the first time - and his teammate Carlos Sainz - both chastising me for attending the club with a McLaren driver, despite being Italian. Then, appearing on Max's stream, and his fanbase calling me a traitor for not being a Redbull fan. Ever since, any time I appeared any where, I was called a traitor; McLaren, Ferrari, Williams - it made no difference.

"How do you remember all their names?" She chuckled awkwardly.

"Half of my career has been remembering names." I clarified.

"That reminds me," She sat upright. "Is your name Bella or Mira?"

"Mirabella." I grinned. "Though, I've gone by Bella for most of my life. It was only Oscar that started to call me Mira. Either works."

"That's cute."

"I like it too." I concluded, slightly surprised that the conversation had lasted this long.

Hannah explained how she quit her job shortly after her and Logan returned to Sacramento, and now travelled with him full time, this being the first GP she was attenting. It was like seeing into my past, and I pondered if this was what it was like for Kelly, observing me follow Oscar country after country.

"My birthday's tomorrow, actually." She said almost embarrassingly. "We're renting out this hall for the evening, near the beach front. It was such a pain, none of us speak Dutch, and none of the owners spoke English. I felt like a tourist. But, uh, we thought we'd celebrate here before the flight to Italy."