The anatomy of a champion • I •

15.

On the remaining days until mine and Alex's departure to Spain, we kept watching different races over time. It was obvious that I was not up to date with the latest stuff going on in the world of motorsport, and as a true nerd that I am, I tried to understand as much as I could, at least the basic things. Not that this would have interfered with what I had to do there, but also didn't want to look like a complete fool who doesn't even know where the steering wheel was, which anyway seemed to look more like a complex xbox controller.

"I'm speaking to both of you when I say that I want to talk every night. I know you will be busy, but please do not forget me completely. Take care of each other out there" Diana said to us at the airport. Then she turned her gaze to me "look at this opportunity with great confidence, it will be an amazing experience, you will see. Make the most of everything, have fun there, make friends, lovers, whatever you want" and she pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly. My eyes filled with tears.
"I will, i promise" I said almost crying.

"I love you my dear and I will miss you, see you at the first race" kissing her husband softly. Even if this was their life since they became a couple , the separations were always painful for both of them.
Alex had already gotten Diana a ticket for the first Grand Prix, which would be in two weeks.

The flight to Spain was about two hours, during which both of us slept a little. Towards the end of the flight, Alex brought up the topic of Max.
"Diana told me that you met Max 5 years ago, you really didn't know who he was?" I smiled a little at the comic of the situation " we shared just one night and no, I had no idea that he was or is a racing driver. Too much time has passed since then, life went on, and he certainly won't remember me, and it's better to keep this between us" I articulated the last part of the sentence, not knowing exactly what kind of relationship did Alex and Max have or how close they were ,hoping that he understands my message.

"hey, you don't have to worry, I won't even open this topic again if you don't want me to and of course i will not tell anyone about it" and I really hoped that he was sincere.

After the plane landed, we took a taxi to the hotel where we will stay for the following two weeks. Alex was an engineer at the Ferrari team, he spoke italian fluently due to the fact that he had spent almost all of his childhood in Italy and also finished his mechanical engineering degree there.
After college he returned to the country to stay with his grandparents and at a party he met Diana. The rest was history.

It was quite late and we decided to go to sleep as soon as possible because tomorrow will start early in the morning with the work.

I threw myself into the hotel bed and looked at the ceiling wondering how this year will turn out, with so many trips ahead and time zone changes. A cigarette was a dirty pleasure of mine and the urge of smoking one made me get out of bed to go on the balcony. The air was a bit warm, the weather in Barcelona being relatively mild in March, but it could be quite unpredictable as well. I thought about my mother that told me to bring some sweaters and jackets. Thanks mom.

In the morning Alex texted me that he will go at the race track to meet up with his team members and start their last work on the new car, preparing it for the tests. As for me, I had to join the conference room for a meeting with the medical staff.

"Good morning everyone " said dr Roberts, the head of the FIA " i am very glad to see you all here and eager to start this new season with such talented doctors and nurses"

One by one we stood up making the acquaintances. There were only 3 permanent doctors that will travel around this year, myself , dr Roberts and a tall ginger man, judging by his appereance around 40 years old, from United Kingdom, dr Peter Smith.

Dr Roberts explained what will be the main activity we'll have to do in the following days.
"Having said that, let's go to the circuit because there is where all the action will be happening" he said enthusiastically "we'll have a few long days ahead of us, this period is always a busy one for us"

And so we headed towards the international circuit of Catalunya.