La Novellina: beyond the helmet

Formula 4 - chapter 1: Rags or riches?

The metallic clatter of tools hitting the asphalt echoes through the garage: the mechanics' hands move confidently but for Micky everything feels wrong...

The roar of the engines has always been familiar to her, a sound associated with the dream of racing, but here it's just a distant echo...

She stares at the car, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach...

This isn't how it was supposed to go... Not this team... Not these colors...

She should be somewhere else with a team that reflected her ambition!

Instead, she feels trapped here... Her father had promised her so much more!

She kicks a small nut across the floor with the tip of her foot, feeling the growing frustration rise in her chest; she wants to scream, but she can't...

Her eyes meet those of the team principal Marco, a man of few words but always with a smile hanging on the edge of his lips; he approaches, as if sensing the storm of emotions that's building inside her.

"You're thinking about what you could be doing elsewhere, aren't you?" he says, with calm voice.

It irritates her.

"I think that it's not a secret anymore..." she replies.

He nods, without losing his optimistic demeanor.

"I know you have big dreams and I understand your frustration but, believe me, this is only the beginning: we have a car that can do a lot, and you... You have potential you can't even imagine!"

She looks at him, unable to hide her skepticism: okay, she maybe has all of that potential but here, with a team that seems destined to remain in the shadows, how can she start a career? It's hard to believe, especially with her father's voice echoing in her mind saying "if you're not with the best, you'll never be the best"...

"Antonelli," she says, trying to not sound ungrateful, "it's not that I don't want to succeed, it's that I don't know if I can here..."

His expression changes slightly and the smile fades a bit, but there's a determination in his eyes.

"Look, I understand it's hard to hear now but you're not just here to race. You're here to learn, to grow! I see something in you that can blossom, you just need to give yourself time"

This time she doen't reply, she wants to believe him; Micky never really believed in her coaches maybe because her father, who always demanded immediate results, always chose them to be in line with his ideas.

But Marco is different: he doesn't pressure her, he doesn't try to control her... Instead, he wants her to find her own path and it's strange for her...

-

The days pass and, despite her initial reluctance, she starts to notice that Marco is always there: he doesn't get angry when she misses a turn during practice sessions, doesn't raise his voice when a race weekend simulation goes wrong, always speaks calmly helping her understand what she can improve, doesn't judge her, gives her a freedom she never had before...

Often, after sessions, she finds herself talking with him outside the garage; his words are never intrusive and he is able to make her think even when she doesn't want to.

They talk about racing but also about life, challenges and patience; they are things she never really listened to, having grown used to her father's ambitions and his constant desire to decide her path as if he always knew what was best for her...

"You know... I've seen a lot of drivers, some more talented than others, but the ones who made it, the ones who really grew, were the ones who weren't afraid to fall and get back up, not the ones who started at the top" he says.

Micky feels a spark of annoyance growing inside her...

But there's something in the way he speaks that strikes her, a sincerity she can't ignore...

"It's not easy to hear that the road will be long, especially when you've always been told you have to win and win fast..." she murmurs.

"I know, but no one is asking you to do this alone. That's what we're here for, to make sure you get there step by step"

She looks at him, straight in the eyes.

He's so different from her father... He doesn't demand anything and doesn't impose crushing expectations... He wants her to be free to grow!

Maybe Marco really does see something in her that she can't yet see...

It's time for her to let go of the weight of disappointment and trust him fully!

"Alright, let's make this work Antonelli" she says.

He smiles, this time fully, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

"I didn't expect anything less from you! But please... Call me Marco..."