Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 46

if you're reading this, thank you so much for sticking around. your continued support during my absence hasn't gone unnoticed. i am so grateful for every single one you you guys. whether you've been following my books for the past couple of years or the past couple of days, i love you.

i recommend re-reading the last few chapters just to re-familiarise yourself x

as always, please don't forget to vote and comment throughout. i will be replying to them all to the best of my ability ❤️

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I don't know why I was naïve enough to even think that I would get through the rest of the day without any teasing. It ended up being that I was lucky if I went five minutes without someone (usually Stoffel or Lewis) making some sort of witty remark about it, whether it be in the form of a pun or simply spinning around on the spot with a teasing grin on their faces. Even Toto got in on the teasing - when we finally had a moment to catch up, he just so happened to be sitting on a rotating stool. Slowly, he made a full three-sixty turn and then told me that it was a demonstration of what not to do next time I'm out on track. Everyone thought it was hilarious. On the bright side, I knew for a fact that Max was getting almost identical abuse from his team, if not worse.

When it came to qualifying, I was quick to silence anyone who had been making jokes (except for Stoffel). I topped the time sheets in the first two qualifying sessions, taking advantage of the periods where the track was in best condition. Because of the rain, I was running a higher downforce than I usually would. The showers were sporadic and unpredictable. I wasn't as confident in my car as I should have been, however I didn't let any of my doubts show.

Both Haas cars were lost in the first session of qualifying, as well as the Williams of Nicholas Latifi, the Alpha Tauri of Daniil Kvyat, and Kimi Räikkönen's Alfa Romeo. In the second qualifying session, George Russel, Alex Albon, Mick Schumacher, Nico Hulkenberg, and Lando Norris were all unable to set a fast enough time in the tricky conditions to make it into Q3. It was very unlucky for Lando; he clipped the wall at Rascasse during a lightning flying lap. He was looking like he had the potential for best of the rest.

It didn't matter what tyre I used to get into the final round of qualifying because it was almost guaranteed that it was going to be a full-wet race tomorrow. My relationship with wet races was as unpredictable as my boyfriends last year. One race could be amazing, and then the next could be so shocking that it's a question how I ever managed to get my seat at Mercedes. I was very critical of myself and my performance. I needed to win this race, to feel the euphoria I know I should feel when I win a race again. My hopes were that I'd, at the very least, feel something.

I was the last car on track as the final session ticked towards the end. Charles's Ferrari was suspiciously quick on his final lap. When he set down his quickest time, he was on the intermediate tyres and managed to beat my earlier lap time by almost three full tenths. It seemed like everyone should improve on the intermediates. Not me, though; I was unlucky. The rain decided to fall heavily just before the clock hit zero whilst I was on my final flyer. I wasn't able to improve, which was incredibly frustrating for the team, however retained my front row spot. I qualified directly ahead of my teammate and Sebastian Vettel.

The rain that continued to fall only seemed to encourage my glum mood. I forced a happy, optimistic demeanour in front of the media, my friends and my co-workers, finally dropping it once I was in my current safe space - Max's apartment. He was rather frustrated with himself for only being able to set the fifth fastest time in qualifying, however tried his hardest to lift my spirits.