Her || Charles Leclerc

42. Inhale, Courage. Exhale, Fear.

After the national anthem, Galileo followed Matilde towards the pitlane. As they were walking, he saw Matilde share a quick, almost unnoticeable glance at Kevin. When they reached Charles' car, she briefly waited and wished him good luck, but most of all, to have fun. She wished his people good luck as well.

A few steps further, she said the same to Carlos, and she thanked him. Galileo noticed how she lingered a fraction longer than usual after speaking to Carlos, her eyes searching his for something unspoken. They both knew this was goodbye in a way. Not officially, not yet, but the moment carried weight.

Galileo was probably the first one to know that Carlos was leaving. It was a rumour at first, Matilde heard it from Max, and Galileo heard it from Matilde. She was frustrated, but she wanted to hear Carlos' side of the story before jumping to conclusions. The strong woman she was.

This weekend was something special; families and friends were walking around, final points were being given away, and trophies were about to be handed out.

Galileo stepped away when Matilde stepped away. He was proud and happy to be her assistant. He started to adore her a long time ago, but they weren't a match at first. They didn't share the same interests, not the same vibes and perhaps not even the same goals. When he got assigned to her, he didn't know what to expect because he didn't know her, but he assumed she wouldn't be the best person to work with and that she would fail in everything. Just like many people, he expected her to fail, he expected to lose his job quickly because of her failure, he expected everything but success. And even he doubted her ability to lead a team.

But she proved wrong, she proved everyone wrong.

They had a rough start, she had a rough start in the team, which caused him to have a rough start as well. She was different. He didn't want to see her warmth at first - no one wanted to. Of course, she made mistakes: taking some things personally, having too much fun, showing too many facial expressions at the wrong occasions, or dancing with the Dutch at Zandvoort - which was highly inappropriate. But it was her first year as a team principal.

She had walked into this role with the world stacked against her, whispers of failure trailing her every step. They had underestimated her, doubted her resilience, her intelligence, her ability to lead. He had been guilty of it, too. And yet, here she was, standing on the precipice of something extraordinary, having built a team that believed in her just as much as she believed in them.

Within a year, she managed to move from "being too present", "not being interested" and "leading a sinking ship", to leading a dream team. Then people would say that she was having too much fun, but Matilde genuinely enjoyed working eventually. And because she genuinely enjoyed her work, she projected it to her team, who started to enjoy their work more and more. She cared about everyone; she cared more about her people than the results, resulting in the team working in good spirits.

Galileo looked next to him; Matilde was blowing up her cheeks. Of course, he had seen her nervous before, but he had never seen her this nervous. Monza was nothing compared to this weekend. However, she still handled everything like a bitch ass boss.

He had so much admiration for her.

He had never been the sentimental type. He worked in a world where results mattered more than emotions, where precision and strategy outweighed personal connections. Yet, as he watched Matilde walking beside him, radiating both confidence and vulnerability, he realised just how much she had defied every expectation; not just his, but the entire paddock's.

She exhaled slowly, her shoulders rising and falling as she steadied herself. Galileo noticed she held her hands behind her back, folding her fingers tightly together, a small, unconscious habit he had come to recognise as a sign of deep focus. Even though she was nervous, she wasn't afraid. That was the difference between her and so many others. Matilde now didn't let the weight of expectation break her; she turned it into something greater.