F1 Imagines

lewis hamilton - comfort pt.2

When I was in his arms, it felt like nothing else in the whole world existed. I could forget everything. 

But all good things must come to an end eventually.

"Y/N! What is your relationship with Lewis Hamilton!"

"Y/N! Y/N! How long have you and your teammate been dating!"

Countless microphones shoved in my face by eager news reporters as I made my way to the interview tent across the paddock. 

"Y/N! What is your response to..."

"Y/N!..."

All voices morph into one after a very short while of overstimulation; too much, too soon. Just keep walking.

I had already known that the press would immediately be able to decipher the existence of our relationship from a mere hug. I consistently held the description of being the shyest, most reserved person on the grid, even before my Formula 1 debut. It would have been uncharacteristic of me to show affection like I just had done if Lewis and I were 'just friends', so conclusions were understandably jumped to.

But that didn't mean I liked it.

Swarms of people with ginormous cameras shoved aggressively in my face; Infront, to the sides, and back of me. I could barely see where I was going.

Why do they care so much?

All eyes were on me as I approached the ramp. My heart thumped in my chest. I smiled at the other driver as I came in. Daniel gave me a hug and a sympathetic smile, having known of my grandmother's sickness for months now. Reporters shouted my name once more. I never really had a big problem with the media attention that came with being a driver in F1, I mean it's what I signed up for, but this time it was different. The accumulation of my disappointing final position, remaining stress of letting down my grandmother, and now me and my boyfriend's relationship being called into question; It made me so anxious.

I was ushered in, and my media assistant pulled me along under the plastic tarped roof to a reporter standing microphone at the ready. George stood beside me along the railing, speaking to his reporter but still looking over at me and smiling brightly. My first reporter was accompanied with one of the smaller cameras in the room which I was grateful for, they're less invasive and I feel like I can talk more conversely with the interviewer. 

"Hello, Y/N" He grinned. I nodded in greeting.

"So we are P14 today. Unlike your performance earlier in this season", he started. I pulled my lips together in a line. "Some saying now that there was some distraction, something on your mind which led to your collision with Haas today. What do you say to them?"

I adjusted my posture, standing up taller, holding my elbow in the opposite hand. "Well I would say that, yes, there was some things on my mind, but there was no ounce of distraction, instead it was more of a driving force for me to do the exact opposite." I hesitated slightly, I hated the idea of spilling my personal problems to a race reporter, but I felt that maybe it would explain my atypical display of affection following the chequered flag. 

"You know--it's my home race, so-- I had some family here that usually can't make it out to my races abroad, including my grandmother, who I'm exceptionally close with." I grimaced at the thought. The reporter kept his microphone out to face me, now with a small smirk playing on his face. "She's quite ill so this was probably one of the last few chances that she'd be able to see me race in the championship, you know, and it took a bit of convincing growing up to get her to let me to start the sport, as you can imagine with my father, her son, having his spot here taken so suddenly." The reporter furrowed his brows slightly. Did he not know who my dad was? "So I ultimately wanted to make her proud in this last race, and show her that--"