The Formula 1 Series - Part I: Liz & George

The pack

We went to the hostess counter and George quickly talked to her while I tried to take in the stunning interior of the place. Everything was kept in dark almost black shades and the wall seemed to be velvet. One could barely see the people sitting here and the dark lighting made it look like shadows were eating here. The hostess seemed to be ready to guide us to our party and I waited for George to walk first. He gave me a confused look.

"You go first, okay? I don't want to greet them first." I said honest and a bit embarrassed of how shy I was regarding our hosts of tonight.

"Don't worry, they love you already. I will introduce you immediately, okay?" He said and smiled down on me. I sighted and started walking as we could obviously let the hostess wait no longer. We made our way through the entire length of the restaurant and disappeared behind a corner. There was only a few table in what seemed a purposely isolated area. Susie and Toto were already seated but stood up when they saw us coming around the corner. I once again was baffled how tall Toto Wolff was and standing next to Susie made his height just more evident.

"Hi Susie, hi Toto." George started his introduction behind me as promised but Toto cut his words.

"I am glad you made it. And I specifically mean you, Elisabeth." He shook my hand and then looked to Susie. "That's the woman I told you about. She just fell from the sky one day and now we probably have the best physio in the paddock."

"Oh I don't know about that. But I am very happy to be working for you." I said.

"Not for us. With us." Toto said while I already have turned to Susie and shook her hand. "I am Liz. Nice to finally meet you. I have always admired your work."

"Oh that's so sweet of you to say. Please guys have a seat." She said and George and I both got seated. The table was not particularly small but it was a square and Susie and I sat each on one side of the booth corner while George and Toto had the chairs. The area was as dark and well designed as the whole restaurant and I was still amazed by the created mood.

"We already have ordered a few starters, but let's have a look for mains. You guys should try their entrecôte. It's incredible." Toto said and I had to smile.

"I am sorry that we are late." I said while actually we came only 9 minutes late as I have seen in the AMG display. But probably Toto is somewhat close to a German and values punctuality a lot. "It is a cliché but I did not know what to wear to this dinner."

"No it's not her fault. I was already late to pick you up. It's a bit of a drive to this place." He said.

"Well I thought you liked driving." Toto said with amusement in his voice and we all laughed.

"Oh but I understand you so well." Susie turned to me. "It has been a struggle for me for a long time as well. And probably you did not know what to expect from this invitation." She seemed to really make an effort with me. "But don't worry. It is mostly just chatting and catching up with George and getting to know you."

Just when I started to think about if they invite each new employee to dinner, Toto added: "And as it seems like you two get along quite well, we thought why not do it all together. I am sorry I haven't invited you personally earlier today. I wanted to catch George before you and first settle everything with him. But you are always on the run. I can't let you out of my eye sight or you are gone again." The last sentence he said to George directly who just lifted his shoulder. "You can't blame me for being fast." He said. In that moment a waitress came around the corner with the first dishes that must be the ordered starters. They looked amazing and definitely were inspired by Spanish tapas culture. We all shared them while Toto and George leading the conversation around the circuit in Barcelona and the race tomorrow. We took a small break from the conversation when the waitress came to take our orders and George and I both simply chose the entrecôte that was recommended by Toto. We finished the starters while the topic has now changed towards qualifying today. Susie congratulated George for his good time in Q3 and even mentioned being proud he beat Lewis. I got tense as I knew the comparison between drivers of the same team is a very delicate topic but George handled it well. Apart from that one short notice the rest of the conversation was pretty straight forward and easy nice chatting. By the time we finished our main dishes they were sharing stories about Jack and his most adorable phrases from early childhood and even shared bits of Toto's older children. It was a really nice conversation. More like with a befriended couple than with bosses of both of us. They tried to make sure I have enough talking time in the conversation and Susie started a sub-conversation about women in physiotherapy and the medical field for a bit. By the end of the night I was really enthusiastic and happy to have such nice bosses. I couldn't stop smiling and noticed George was as relaxed and content as I was. Toto put the bill under Mercedes obviously and we said our good byes shortly after 10PM.

"We defiantly should do this more often. And I look forward to seeing you in the garage. The more intelligent women we have around the better for the team! It was so nice to meeting you!" Susie said while hugging me good bye.

"Do me a favor and make sure of his bed time once again, okay?" Toto said to me while padding George on the shoulder.

"Toto!" Susie exclaimed while the rest of us was laughing. I quickly said: "I promise as I did at the Gala. Oh, by the way - that was a great event!"

"Oh yes you think? I actually think some of these events are rather boring. But it's good to have refreshing company in the future." Susie said and I smiled at her.

George promised to get enough sleep before the meetings tomorrow starting at 10AM. We all walked to the entrance but Toto and Susie left to the reception of the hotel after the final good bye.