Im a driver!

🏎 15 🏎

We walk off the stage and then Max comes walking next to me. "We are having a party with all the drivers tonight, you are part of it now" he says. I smile for a moment and then nod. "I will be there" I reply.

"Lando knows everything so you'll just ride with him" Max says, "Well I live with him so we would anyway" I laugh. "Huh, seriously?" He laughs. I nod. "Wasn't allowed by my parents to fly alone all the time so Lando offered" I say. Max nods.

"I think you should do some interviews" he says pointing to a group of cameras. I smile and nod a little nervously, "Don't be nervous, just say what you think" says Max, "I'll see you at the party tonight" he says while giving me a hug.

I walk towards the crowd of camera people and a woman starts talking to me. "Will you tell us who you are?" The woman asks. "I'm Julie Adams" I say. "How old are you? You seem very young" she says. "I am 15 years old, I will be 16 on the 26th of September" I answer.

"How did you get into Formula 1?" She now asks. I answer all her questions and she thanks me after the interview.

Then I walk on to Ziggo. "Hello Julie" says Jack. "Hello Jack" I answer. "You know my name?" He asks. I nod. "What Dutchman doesn't know Jack Plooij" I laugh. "Oh you are Dutch? That makes it a lot easier" he laughs.

We talk a bit about how the race is going and halfway through Max joins us. "Max, did you know that Julie is Dutch?" Jack asks Max "No I didn't, why did we just have a whole English conversation then" Max laughs "No idea, to get into it I guess" I laugh.

"Are your parents here too?" Jack asks. I look at the ground and shake my head. "They couldn't be here this weekend unfortunately" I say. Lando, who has also joined us, puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Julie, you have one last interview to do" she says. I give Jack a fist bump and walk away. This is an interview I have to do together with Lando, that already makes it much easier.

"Lando and Julie, welcome" says the woman. Lando and I nod to the woman. "Julie, what is it like for you to be the first female driver in Formula 1 in almost an decade and also the youngest ever?" The woman asks.

"It is great to have those titles, but it also makes you more nervous during a race. People pay more attention to you because you are so young and also a woman" I answer. "Why did McLaren keep your identity a secret?" She asks.

"People are always quick to judge, especially when you are 15, a girl and you start racing in Formula 1. McLaren first wanted people to see what my talent was on the track and then my identity, so they could not have a judgement beforehand" I answer.

"Lando, what did you think about Julie joining formula 1?" Asks the woman to Lando. "I have to admit, when Zak came to me to tell me that my teammate for next season was going to be a 15 year old girl I hesitated for a moment. But once they showed me the video of Julie in a go-kart my opinion changed immediately. She is very good at it and the results of this race show that. She has overtaken a seven-times world champion," Lando replies.

"Thank you" says the woman. Lando and I get up and walk to our drivers' rooms.