Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

30. You win some, you lose some

'Lewis Hamilton clenches the world title for the second year running and for the fifth time!' Joey heard through the speakers, as she got off the safety car with Bernd. 'The maths don't lie, unfortunately Sebastian Vettel won't be able to beat him this year'

'I have always hated maths' Joey mumbled to herself. Bernd looked at her amused.

'I thought you had a Mercedes contract now, you should be celebrating' he teased her.

'Yeah, yeah. But I also have a very unhappy Seb to deal with' she chuckled. 'He doesn't seem that heartbroken' the German joked, watching the screens where Seb could be seen walking over to congratulate Lewis. 'You must be excellent in bed' he teased her.

'BERND!!' Joey felt her face burn up with embarrassment. 'Fucks sakes.'

'Oh, I will miss this. Richard was never that fun to tease' he smirked.

Joey huffed before leaving her colleague behind to watch the podium celebrations. With a Red Bull win and a double Ferrari podium, Joey felt like that day should have been a lot happier than it was. Yes, Seb had congratulated Lewis and had seemed to be chirpy enough, however Joey could see how he really felt up on the podium.

The German scanned the crowd, trying to maintain an upbeat front. It hadn't worked, yet again. For the second year running he'd been so close but yet so far... and 2019 was going to be even more different with a new younger team mate and a new Team Principal.

He spotted Joey's silver hair in the crowd. She was standing behind his Ferrari crew, still in racing suit, her FIA helmet under her arm and was looking at him with a smile.

'Alright, something went well this year' he thought, watching her give him a little thumbs up. 'Just don't cock it up again'

'Joey!' She heard as she exited the FIA motorhome.

'Oh, if it isn't the 5 time world champion Mr. Lewis Hamilton' she greeted him. 'Congratulations, mate. I'll send you my new address in the post so you can get me a nice gift, yeah?'

Lewis chuckled. 'New address? Found a home in Germany already?'

'Fairly close to it' she smiled. 'I am moving in with Seb'

'Oh, wow, you did make up then' he stated. 'I was going to invite you out to our celebratory drinks tonight, but I guess Seb might not like that'

'Seb isn't the jealous type, I think. And there is nothing to be jealous of,isn't it? I've known you since you were a little annoying child. Now you're just an annoying adult' she joked. 'Text me, I'll see if I can get him out too. God knows he needs a drink... speak of the devil!' Seb had just joined them.

'Ready to go?' He asked.

'Yeah sure, Lew... congrats again' she hugged him. 'Let's go' she grabbed Seb's hand with a smile and they walked out together.

That night, Joey changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a hoodie. Lewis had said the team was having a quiet night before celebrating properly back at Brackley, something she would be invited to as part of the Mercedes family.

Seb had, for some reason, gladly accepted to join the Mercedes team for a drink or two, using the excuse of wanting to congratulate Lewis properly and knowing his stance with Ferrari couldn't get much worse than it was after not having won the championship. Seb knew something bad was happening at Ferrari. He couldn't quite grasp what, but he felt like the wind was changing all for the worst.

When they arrived to the bar, Seb could feel a lot of eyes on him. He tried to ignore them, as he watched Lewis and the team greet Joey with big smiles on their faces.