TAKEOVER → Formula 1

EPILOGUE

TWO YEARS LATER — DECEMBER 2026

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"Mama!" A small voice giggled. "Help!"

"What is it, love?" Marissa Ricciardo questioned.

Her pink hair, though now brown at the top, flowed down her shoulders as she crouched down in front of her one-and-a-half year old. Her eyes held a warmth them as she looked at her son, who was a carbon copy of his father.

Donte Ricciardo was a sweet boy, who had fluffy brown hair that seemed to become curlier every month, with soft blush cheeks and a smile that could light up a whole room. He was young but he'd already shown the kind traits of his Italian mother, picking flowers and presenting them to her on a daily basis, and a beautiful imagination that came up with the most adorable ideas. Even at 18 months, she could tell he was a smart boy. An Australian-Italian with an impressive family tree.

If she were honest, Marissa Ricciardo (once Romono) would have settled for Donte alone and she loved her son more than anything else in the world but she'd agreed with Daniel they'd have one more once he'd retired. She was okay with that. They were going to name them Matteo if it were a boy and Cecilia if it were a girl.

Donte made a muffled sound before pointing to the small pair of trainers on the floor. Marissa let out a small chuckle as she picked them up one by one and helped her son put them on his feet, tying the laces into small bows. He liked to pick out his shoes every morning before spending most the day in the garden.

Today, they were not in their Italian garden. They were in Abu Dhabi and for the last time, Daniel would be racing in the Formula 1 end of season race. Marissa was glad of it, she was ready to have him home and put a stop to the stress his career hosted.

"Okay, time to go!" Daniel announced as he picked up Donte. "Hey, little dude, ready to be my good luck charm?"

Donte nodded, despite not really knowing what his father meant. He just knew that wearing the yellow and black shirt meant he'd see his favourite person in the world — other than his parent — and that was his nana.

Lucia Romono.

She had certainly made a name for herself over the three years she'd been there. A woman who'd taken a chance on being the first Team Principal of a new team, destined to save the careers of two drivers who'd just been unfortunate before they joined...turning them back into the drivers everyone knew they could be. A woman who wanted to give lesser-known talents a chance now they were fully up and running, starting with Daniel Ricciardo's replacement — Doraine Pin. To Lucia, she didn't care what anyone's background, age, race or gender was when it came to picking a driver, she only cared about their speed and potential.

"Nana!" Donte called out the second he saw Lucia. "Ciao!"

Daniel placed him down and the boy took off running in the garage towards Lucia, who had her arms open wide to hug him.

"Ciao, Donte," Lucia smiled, bringing him into a hug. "Has your mama been teaching you good Italian?"

Donte nodded his head enthusiastically as he gave his grandmother a Ricciardo-like grin.

"Good," Lucia ruffled his hair. "Has mama told you how to say good luck in Italian? No? It's Buona fortuna."

Her drivers may have missed out on a championship due to the likes of Robyn Saunders but they had brought home the constructors and that was more than Lucia could ever ask for...and a spectacular end for Daniel Ricciardo's career.

This sport was Lucia's life and Marissa now had her own. Things were good and Lucia was proud of how far they had come.

LUCIA AND MARISSA WILL RETURN IN LEGENDS.