Unexpected

Part 15

The first day of testing is exciting, but Esteban is in the car all day for first practice. I examine his data, talk to the engineers and mechanics, meet up with other drivers, and do some media obligations. I have someone take a photo of me sitting on the pit wall with headphones on, and send it to Sangil. Chilling as I wait for my turn behind the wheel tomorrow.

"Do you expect me to make many mistakes?" I ask the closest engineer as I see someone slide off the track.

"Not many, no. But you will make them. And that's okay. This is your first year, you have much to learn. Just try to make most of your mistakes during practice, not races," he adds with a grin.

"Your wish is my command." I stay for the rest of the session and listen to Esteban's remarks about the car and its handling.

The next day I am extremely excited to be in the car, but also nervous. So I take deep breaths and imagine perfect laps. Formula One is as much a mental sport as it is physical. But when I zip up the race suit and put on my helmet, it's like I'm a different person. I may have driven an F1 car only a couple of times, but I've been a racer for years. I climb inside the cockpit and my focus is one hundred percent on my task.

As I drive, the engineers ask me questions and keep me updated on my times. As expected, for the first twenty or so minutes I'm posting times that are toward the bottom of the board. But as I get more laps in, and become comfortable in the car, I start improving. And then I spin.

"Are you okay?" I hear over the radio.

"I'm fine. The car should be okay, I didn't hear anything break."

"Okay, please continue." So I do.

At the end of the day I managed to drive over one hundred laps, on different tires, and numerous settings. And spun once more. The second one was a beautiful 360 turn from which I recovered neatly and continued on. The official F1 Twitter had a nice shot of it with the caption "Spinnin' Gunin." They're not pronounced similar, but with so many nationalities in F1, I've heard many mispronunciations. After I correct people, they get it right (Goo-neen, by the way).

After the debrief with my team I send a text to Sangil saying the day went well and I'm perfectly fine, in case he was watching or keeping updated. Which he may not be. Only after I send the text do I think about the time difference. My phone rings and I almost drop it as a result of being startled.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sochi."

"Hey Sangil. Shouldn't you be asleep now?"

"I'm in bed. And it's only eleven."

"I'm usually asleep by that time."

"Really? I called to talk about how your day went."

"Great. I loved it."

"Great? Didn't you spin?"

"What can I say, it was a great spin."

He laughs. "So that was the worst of it?"

"Yeah. And trying to ignore the Netflix cameramen. They're filming for season two of Drive to Survive, a documentary about Formula One." I almost drop the phone again as someone taps me on my shoulder. I whirl around and glare at George. "Not a good time, I'm on the phone," I whisper.

"What was that?" asks Sangil.

"One of my friends startled me, that's all," I reply.

"I better let you go. And sleep."

"Thanks for calling. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Who was that?" George wonders.

"Oh, the joys of speaking a language that you don't understand."

"Sounded like a guy."

"It was, in fact, a guy."

"Was it that guy?" he murmurs, nudging me.

"Do I harass you about your girlfriend?" I retort.

"But this is your husband we're talking about! Your husband but not your husband. How does that work again?"

I change the subject. "It's fantastic to see you here. How was your day?"

He is somber in a flash. "As good as can be expected."

I nod. "How do you think the season will shape up?"

"Not good."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you truly?" His grin is back.

"Do you think I want to be beating you because you're in the slowest car? No, I want to beat you because I'm better than you."

"Excuse me, who was the 2018 Formula 2 champion? That's right, me."

"Show Toto Wolff what you have and maybe you'll snatch yourself a Mercedes seat soon."

"That's the plan. You want to workout with Alex and me? I think Lando's coming, too."

"Sure. Where are you headed?" He tells me the name of the gym and we part ways.

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Snuper singing a song in Vietnamese. Unfortunately the music kept skipping. And they never released the studio version. Which is very sad, since Sangho and Woosung sound amazing.