F1 One shots

PT1 - Daniel Ricciardo

It's absolutely nerve wrecking to watch qualification today. The weather conditions are scary, and Daniel seems to be struggling with the car a lot. You're trying to stay calm in the garage, but the tensions are high and it's quite overwhelming. You know that Daniel knows what he's doing, obviously, but even the most experienced ones make mistakes sometimes, and the weather isn't that safe either.

You let out a breath you'd been holding when you see that he was through to Q2. Daren smiles at the screen, before looking at the data again. This is your last race that you're shadowing him, after this it's back to school and finishing your thesis. You're trying to learn as much as you can about Daren's job, because you'd absolutely love it if you'd ever be able to do this work.

One thing that made you hesitant about it was the pressure that was on you at all times. If your strategy sucked, it would be partly your fault if the race didn't go as planned. You note down some comments he makes while keeping an eye on Daniel's McLaren. He seems to be doing better, which makes you smile.

You've had a soft spot for the Australian since the first time you were shadowing Daren. He had noticed you noting things down in the back and came over with a "haven't seen you around before! I'm Daniel" and you swooned when you heard his accent and saw his smile. You tried to keep the heart eyes at a minimum, but it was quite hard.

You were pretty sure that almost everyone in the team felt that way about Daniel though, so you weren't too worried about it. You snap back into the now when Daren starts explaining something about tyre choices to you, and you quickly write everything down, nodding and humming while he explains.

Q2 was another crazy one which saw both Ferrari's outqualified. Daniel was still in, and Daren went into full focus mode again, you step aside a little bit to make sure he wouldn't be distracted by you. "Don't step away, look at what I do and write down as much as you can. You might need it" he says, and you nod, stepping a little closer to him again.

Lando's crash in Q3 sent goosebumps over your entire body, as with everyone else's bodies probably. A collective sigh of relief was heard when he said he was fine. Your side of the garage quickly had to go back to focus on Daniel, as soon as the qualification was restarted. You wrote down everything Daren did, your wrist and hand hurt from all the writing, but you needed as much information as you possibly could.

"Well done, Daniel. That's P4, that's P4. Good job buddy!" you hear Daniels race engineer say, and you clap your hands excitedly. Daren smiles at you while motioning to the screen, explaining which strategy will be used tomorrow and why. You write down everything he says, nodding along and asking questions when something doesn't make sense in your eyes.

You're waiting for some of your befriended team members to drive back to the hotel when a beaming Daniel walks into your view, probably on his way to his drivers room. "Well done today, Daniel! That was amazing!" you say when he's close enough, and he smiles even bigger. "Thank you!! This deserves a celebration, don't you think?" he stops in front of you, and you nod.

"You should totally celebrate it! Don't drink though, I'd love to see you finish it off like this tomorrow." He chuckles, "I wasn't planning on drinking alcohol, but thanks for the reality check. Are you going back to the hotel?" you nod, and he hums. "Alright, maybe I'll see you at the hotel bar for a mocktail later tonight?" he wiggles with his eyebrows, and you giggle, trying to hide the blush on your cheeks. "Who knows? Maybe you will."

You're sitting in a sweater dress with sleep shorts after having dinner with some team members, when you remember Daniel's words from earlier today. It's rather tempting to go downstairs, but there is literally no chance in hell that you're going in this outfit. You rummage through your luggage, deciding on a pair of loose black pants and a black V-neck sweater. The pants are made from a soft material, it makes you look like you actually tried to put an outfit together, but they're so comfy at the same time that you feel like you're lounging around in them.

You took your makeup off already and your hair is in a bun, but you're not changing that now. You walk towards the elevator to take you to the hotel bar, fiddling with your fingers when you realize there is a huge chance that he won't even be there. He could've made a joke, why would he want to celebrate with you anyways? You spoke to each other a handful of times that you joined the races.

The thought of him actually being at the hotel bar waiting for you made you more nervous than the chance of him making a joke. You realize that the moment the elevator doors open, and you swallow while walking into the bar area. It's not that busy, because it's still quite early. There is some soft jazz playing, and you can hear rain tap against the windows. You look around until you see a familiar mop of curls at the end of the bar, trying to stay a little bit hidden.