It All Started With a Name - SEBASTIAN VETTEL FANFICTION

Chapter 8

*Singapore - September 2015*

'Take a deep breath', I thought whilst tucking my hair behind my ears. It was Friday night, and we were in the middle of the driver's meeting for the weekend's race. Things had been... let's say momentous so far. David gave me a sympathetic look when we had heard another complaint story of the evening. The craziness had already started in the morning when the Race Director threw a bomb on making radical changes on the circuit profile and lines to the drive-in, which wasn't received warmly. 'Okay, everyone. We will take a 5 and regroup after that', I announced as the noise level increased massively. Also, I felt a headache was coming its way.

Leaving the room was the only option to distance the frustrating situation and ease the upcoming headache. The meeting had started decently, the standard bickering of Lewis and Seb on their almost collisions in the previous race in Monza. Nico had decided to join the complaining club. Roman had carried his usual torch of trolling both Lewis and Seb every chance he had. I made my way towards the cafeteria area to grab a coffee as it felt we would spend decades in the meeting room. The drivers stayed in the room. Otherwise, they would be dragged into other matters as soon as they stepped outside of that meeting room.

David approached me by the meeting room door. 'Amélie, we need to do a different tactic for the rest of the meeting. The guys are emotional so let's keep matters brief and simple. Q&A at the end of the session. Natalia is writing minutes; we can ask her to write the questions in-between the sessions.' I nodded. 'All clear.' I made my way back to the podium and my seat, David strolling near me. Natalia had also returned to her spot right next to the stand and looked at me. I nodded that the meeting would continue. 'Alright, gents... I hope we had some time to stretch and chit chat. We move on to the next topic. Any comments or clarifications regarding the race in Monza two weekends ago? Yes, Romain?'

'The Turn 8, the close hit between Kimi and Daniel -'

'Yes, we examined the situation, and we didn't see any reason for further actions. Daniel received the time penalty, which was seen to fit the bill at the time', I responded after I skimmed through my notes for the meeting. 'How about the collision between Grosjean and Maldonado in the first laps?'

'We saw there were no further actions required', I flashed a tight smile. 'Any other comments for the previous race? Then I would say we can conclude the meeting. Thank you, ladies and gents -'

'What about this weekend's race?' Seb asked, and the hell broke loose again. I gave a side look to Chris to seek guidance for the matter. He shrugged, making me sigh. 'Guys! We don't have any further information on the matter than we have shared with you. We would appreciate it if you provide feedback for the organisers at the next meeting. Thank you very much. Meeting ended.' I gathered my notes hastily to make a quiet exit out of the room.

I saw a shadow hanging above me. 'I'm sorry, I need -'

'Are we on for tonight?' my head popped up to meet Daniel's hazel eyes. 'Blimey, I have promised to meet up with my friends for drinks tonight. They are flying to Bali tomorrow', I grinned as I was thrilled to see the girls from Oxford. They had flown into Singapore on Monday evening. Since this week is packed for us, this was the only night that worked out.'

'Tomorrow then?' Daniel looked hopeful. 'Ah', I shifted my weight from one foot to another, looking a little bit hopeless. Daniel sighed. 'More friends?'

'Yeah... they flew in yesterday to watch the race here. Since the weekend is quite intense, tomorrow night was the only option when we all had time to meet up.'

'Alright, in that case, I'll see you around',

'Daniel-' He had left the room. I shook my head. I guess he got upset that I had plans for all the remaining nights. I grabbed my notes and headed out of the room to the paddocks.