The other woman

Green eyed monster

It was pleasant, warm day in England. A large gathering was taking place on an immaculately cut lawn, a proud celebration and at its heart, as it's centrepiece was a trophy from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, 2021. The star of the show was of course, was Sebastian, the party being thrown for him by Aston Martin to celebrate what was hopefully the first of many trophies.

Seb was trying to go around and thank as many people as was possible. There were still some names he couldn't remember, mainly from the factory based team. Today was essentially a day off for him, there were no commitments with the press, no work to be done in the factory or the sim room and no training with Alex so he was going from person to person with a bottle of Peroni in his hand.

It had taken some time to get used to the car and settle fully into his new surroundings but now he couldn't ever recall being made to feel so welcome, like he was a part of one big family. It made Ferrari's treatment of him last year seem even more obvious, they'd spent the whole season pushing him out. As he briefly thought them he realised that he hadn't been truly happy there for at least the last three seasons. This time last year retirement had been something that he was seriously considering, now he was loving racing again and wasn't ready to hang up the fireproofs for good just yet.

Britta was stood in the shade, under the leafy branches of an old horse chestnut tree. With a glass of champagne in her hand she too was thinking about the big differences between this last year and this year. Last year the strain and pressure of Ferrari had been taking its toll on the thirty-three year old driver, now he looked much like the Seb she'd known in his Red Bull days. Even the name of his car was reminiscent of those days, the names he'd chosen for his Ferrari's were all good but somehow they'd seemed reserved whereas the RB cars had names that could be easily taken as cheeky innuendos and had reflected Seb's fun, cheeky personality. In her opinion he'd handled this year's changes well; a new team, new car with a new power unit and a new performance coach would take anyone time to get used to but after a bit of sticky start his race craft and confidence were improving and his working relationship with Alex was now as it should be. Seb was a good point in his life; he had it all; a beautiful wife and happy marriage, three beautiful children, a beautiful home in the peaceful Swiss countryside, financial security and a team with whom he felt happy with, comfortable with and appreciated by. Britta still felt honoured to be a part of his life even after all this time - nearly eleven years. She felt an almost maternal instinct towards him, feeling like she'd seen him grow and flourish throughout his career and then watching him grow and mature in his personal life. She'd not been to his wedding but she'd seen his relationship with Gisela grow from a budding romance to a loving, happy marriage and seen the changes in Seb as he'd become a father for the first time eight years ago. She'd been with him through thick and thin and witnessed all the highs and the lows and there wasn't single moment that she regretted or a single day that she'd not wanted come to work for him.

"Here." Jake handed Alex a fresh glass of champagne.

"Why thank you." She smiled, accepting it from him. "I hope you're not trying to get me drunk."

"Not with the boss watching." He quipped, nudging into her gently with his shoulder.

"The boss?" She leant forward to look past him. Not far from her Britta was standing in the shade, a glass in one hand and her phone to her ear. Seb's podium on Sunday had resulted in a flurry of extra calls and emails for her to deal with as interest in him had spiked and demand for interviews had risen. Some distance to her left, Otmar was among a group of suited men, all of whom were corporates from the team's various sponsors and off to her right, Lawrence was currently being interviewed for the team's social media channels. She couldn't see Seb anywhere and it made a burst of unwelcome anxiety unfurl in her stomach.