Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

5. Australia pt.2

The following day, Joey found herself sitting with Bernd in the first proper F1 drivers' briefing of the year. Sitting next to Bernd and Charlie, she felt like it was her first day in a new school. She listened intently to everyone's inputs, silently taking notes on a notepad she had decided to carry with her throughout the season as a form of diary to keep and to look back in the future.

'Well, we are at the end of today's briefing. But I believe we have something we need to share' Charlie concluded. He looked up from his notes, to find Becky walking towards them with her laptop. Joey's head darted upwards, knowing exactly what Becky was there for.

'Hello everyone. I swear I'll keep this brief. As most of you know we have a new face around the paddock this year. We thought we'd give you a brief introduction... but I'll let Joey explain this in her own words'

Joey felt her heart stop for a moment, as her voice came out of the speakers in the briefing room and the lights were turned down.

'My name is Joey O'Shea, I am... over 20 and just under 30. I was born in Dublin, but have lived in London for most of my life.' Joey buried her face in her hands, she did not like the idea of 20 formula1 drivers and their PR agents watching a video about her life.

'Embarrassing. I can't believe we're wearing the same exact thing. What are the chances?!' her silliness from the previous day had earned her a couple of chuckles from the group, which prompted her to create a little gap in between the fingers that were covering her eyes and look at the men. She noticed a wide smirk on Sebastian's face when her blue eyes locked on his.

Once the lights turned on again, Joey had tried to make herself look as small as possible. She never liked being the centre of the attention, but she had just realised that through the programme she had joined, the spotlight from the FIA was going to be all on her.

Saturday

The first few days of actual racing had been a whirlwind of emotions for Joey. it was great to be around the top tier level of motorsports, but she had also noticed that a lot of people seemed to have found her presence in the paddock more interesting than they should have. Especially since someone had shared pictures of her and Lewis online, with the caption mystery redhead spotted with Lewis Hamilton. Everywhere she went, she noticed people would stare, or glance at her. A female driver was somewhat of a rarity in motorsports and she knew that the FIA had shared quite a lot about her, so much so that her socials had exploded with follows and comments, some nastier than others.

In the break between practice and qualifying, Joey grabbed some lunch from the hospitality area and quickly walked away, towards the back of the motorhomes, where the staff parking was. She knew that seemed to be the quietest area, away from fans and paddock people alike.

She sat in the shade and took a deep breath. She could not allow herself to be emotional in such a public space and she knew it was only the first race of the year and that it would have become easier as the time went by.

She looked at her unappetising salad and she opened it with a huff. She damned herself for not having chosen something slightly less healthy but more mood enhancing.

'This tastes like absolute garbage' she huffed to herself, trying to chew on the seasoning less salad.

'It does seem like it. Wanna swap?' a male voice made her jump. She looked up to find Sebastian, who was just locking up his car.

'Jesus, you scared me.' she stated. 'I would never take food away from you, you've got a quali to complete'

'Half?' he offered, again, shaking his container full of pasta. 'I can't eat this much, Antti will kill me'

'Alright, half.' she agreed, as Seb sat next to her on the patch of grass.

They sat in silence, Seb holding his container in between the two of them, letting Joey grab a few forkfuls of his lunch.

'Are you alright?' he asked, eventually.

'Yeah, been better, but yeah. I think it's just... a lot. Sometimes I just like to sit by myself in a quiet place. I am not great with crowds... and people... and cameras'

'Yeah, me neither' Seb agreed.

'Is that why you don't have any socials?' she asked curiously.

'What? Were you looking for me?' he teased, chuckling at her face going red.

'No, but it's a known thing, isn't it? The mysterious four time world champion who doesn't tell the world what he had for breakfast through an instagram post'

'Is that what people call me? It's rather long' he asked.

Joey laughed. She liked Seb, she could see why Fabian had always spoken so highly of his brother, except for the obvious reasons of his success.

'I guess I don't really want everyone to know about my life, it's nice to make people think I have secrets. I am pretty standard'

'For a four time world champion, yeah...' she joked. 'Kimi is on instagram.' she added.

'Yeah, I know. He's going insane... must be his age' he chuckled. 'Any more?' he nodded to his pasta.

'No, thank you. I have eaten most of your lunch. Now Antti will kill me for not letting you eat enough.'

'I wouldn't let him, we need you or we can't race' he stated. 'Listen, I know it's not my place, but I have been there. It's hard to get used to it, but we all do. The novelty of a woman in the paddock will die out pretty soon and you'll be free to be you. And you seem like a good kid'

'Kid? My god you sound like my grandad.' she said with a laugh. 'Thank you' she added.

'It's OK, Fab seems to think you're a nice person and Kimi says the same, so I can only assume you are. Are you OK to go back? Time is running out'

Joey checked her watch and realised she had been sitting there for a lot longer than she had originally planned.

'Shit' she exclaimed. 'Bernd will actually kill me'

Seb got up and offered her his hand, which she grabbed and let him pull her up. The two walked back into the craziness of the paddock together, causing a few heads to turn towards them before they separated in front of the Ferrari motorhome.

'You're a good kid, Vettel' Joey said.

'And I am not sure I like this attitude' he replied. Joey gave him a wink and quickly directed herself towards the pit lane where Bernd was waiting for her.

As she stood waiting for the race to start, she felt her phone buzz in her hand. She looked to the screen to find a message from Fabian.

Fabian: good luck, Jojo. You're already on TV way too much for my liking. Hope you and Seb had a nice chat 😉

Joey: thank you, Fab. I am absolutely bricking it.

Fabian: bricking it? As in bricks.. as in... construction bricks? Also, yeah, cool, ignore my tease.

Joey: it means I'm scared. God, what do they teach you at school in Germany?

Fabian: proper English and not this fake one you try to teach me?

And you haven't answered yet.

Joey: yeah, it was a nice chat. That's all I'm saying. Not there is much more to say.

Fabian: Yeah, sure. I'll go buy a suit for the wedding.

Joey: fuck you.

Fabian: RUDE. Not what I expected from my sister in law.

Joey: you're weird. I gotta go, Bernd is judging.

Fabian: sure, sure. What great timing Bernd has. The conversation is not finished, Jo.

Joey: talk soon, Fabbo😘