Rivalry - Nyck de Vries

CHAPTER 1

I left Nyck's hotel room before he had the time to respond. I was not in the mood to chit chat with Nyck de Vries, and I definitely wasn't in the mood to argue with him, which is probably what would have happened if I stayed. I knew him for years. Racing is a small world, so we used to cross path often. Two years ago, we were both engaged in the GP3 series, me for Trident Racing, him with an ART Grand Prix car. We were obvious rivals: both very talented drivers battling for the podium – I finished the season right before him, at the 5th position –, both young drivers of Formula 1 team – McLaren for him, Mercedes for me. We were never friends.

It was no secret that he would be driving for Prema in Formula 2 next season, after a good season with Rapax in F2, it was announced months ago. My nomination, however, was yet to be official. I finished 2nd of GP3 last year, right behind the British George Russell, so it was not a surprise to find me in Formula 2 this season.

Prema offered me the second seat of the team a few days ago. The negotiations were handled by Mercedes, the team I was contractually linked to. I was supposed to sign my new contract in a few days, in Grisignano di Zocco, near Venice. Only after that would it be made official that I'm the new Formula 2 driver of Prema Powerteam.

That's what me and my best friend Dorian Boccolacci were celebrating the night before. Dorian and I are both French, and we became quite close last year when we were both driving for Trident. He would be driving for a Dutch team in GP3 next season, which meant he would be leaving sunny Italy for rainy Netherlands. I was sad we wouldn't be leaving in the same city anymore, but we would still see each other during the Grand Prix. GP3, Formula 2 and Formula 1 GP are happening at the same time, in the same cities. The main difference is that there are a lot more GP in F1 than in F2 and GP3. But we would still see each other on the Grand Prix weekends, so that was a good news.

Besides, I still had many friends in Italy. Over the years, I became friends with many French drivers who used to race in GP3 and Formula 2, like Esteban Ocon or Pierre Gasly. I was introduced to their girlfriends, who were often present during the races. Elena and Caterina are Italians in their early twenties, partly living in Italy where they're studying, partly living in Monaco with their boyfriends. It was not rare for us four to meet up for dinner or to have a drink in Venice, Turin, Milano or Rome. I knew I could count on them this year again.

After I left Nyck's hotel, I took a taxi to Dorian's apartment. He hadn't sold it yet.

"Lola! How was last night?" His smirk gave me the answer I was looking for: he knew I left the club with freaking Nyck de Vries and he let me do it anyway. Aren't best friends supposed to look for your best interest?

"Give me a paracetamol, I have a migraine. And then you can explain why you didn't stop me from leaving with de Vries." I groaned. My headache was terrible and just thinking about what I may have done the night before made me want to puck. I didn't know how he could look so fresh after such a wild night.

"Here you go." He put a glass of water and an advil in front of me as I was sitting at the kitchen island. I drank it all and stared at Dorian, impatient for an explanation. "You seemed to have fun. You spent the entire night together, and you were conscious of who he was, so I figured you didn't mind. It was quite cute, actually."

"I was fucking drunk, Dorian! Maybe I was conscious at the moment but I clearly wasn't listening to my head when I did that! God, I'm in so much trouble. He was already a brat with me, so imagine now that we're working together and that he saw me naked." I put my head in my hands and sighed.

"So it was a drunken mistake, no need to stress yourself for that. Though I'm pretty sure he wasn't drunk at all..."

"If he wasn't drunk, he took advantage of the situation, and that's even worse. I hate him even more than I used to." I sighed once again. "I need to buy the morning after pill. I'm not sure he used a condom and I don't trust my pill to be efficient because of all the travels and jet lags. I definitely don't want a kid with this fucking asshole. And I better see my gynaecologist to check for diseases, who knows how many girls he's screwing per week."