A Tarnished Legacy (Guanyu Zhou X OC)

A life-changing moment

This is it. The day my life is meant to change. I couldn't tell you whether or not the change is going to be for better or worse. Either way, I am nervous. Not only do I have the expectations set by my family, but I also have pressure from the media. In the two weeks between preseason testing and the first race weekend, the media have been relentless about Crash-gate. To be honest that is not the reason why I am here. I know I won't be able to restore the Piquet legacy unless I move to a team like Ferrari which is not going to happen any time soon. The thing is I am trying my best not to be defined by one person's actions. I realise that there is not much that I can do about it as it is in the past. I will have to accept that I can't control what the media thinks about me. There is only one person on this planet that I want to impress. That person is my Grandpa. I get the feeling that I have already impressed him by making it to Formula 1. I am pulled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door followed by the sound of a familiar voice.

"I've just come to check on my Granddaughter," My Grandpa remarks as he lets himself in.

"Grandpa, you have better things to worry about. I'll be fine," I responded. I understand that he wants to protect me but still. There is not much that he can do. I realise that nothing that I have to say will reassure him.

"Yes, like making sure you are good to go," he counters as he gets to work on helping me with the last bit of preparation. For some reason, it puts my mind at ease. After a quick conversation, I am ready to go. My Grandpa sends me off with a good luck pat on the shoulder. Hopefully, no one notices my bother. The truth is my grandpa worries too much and it annoys me as there is nothing that he can do about it.

"Are you alright?" Guanyu asks.

"Yes. I'm just a little annoyed at something I can't control," I reply. For some reason, I feel glad that Guanyu is checking on me. With a satisfied nod, we part ways. It doesn't take long for me to make the final preparations for my first free practice session as a full-time Formula 1 driver. After five minutes of waiting, I was sent out. As far as I am aware I am the only driver on track for now. It will be my best chance of getting good lap times. It doesn't take long for the track to fill up. Now for the fun part. Thankfully I am able to avoid disaster. After an hour and a half of work, the first two free practice sessions have come to an end and I am not happy about it. I am worried that I will run into my aunty, Kelly. She is the one that disapproved of my career the most. Oh well, there is nothing that I can do about it. Sensing my bother Guanyu pulls me closer. The gesture catches me by surprise.

"Oh sorry," He apologises as if he has done something wrong.

"Don't worry about it," I responded, trying to hold a giggle back. It is at that point that disaster strikes. I caught sight of my aunt. She is with her boyfriend Max Verstappen. Hopefully, she doesn't notice me.

"Luna?" She calls out dashing my hopes of an incident-free weekend. The thing is when I say incident I don't mean crashing. I mean family incidents. To be honest my Grandpa, my uncle Nelson and most of my cousins think that I should be racing.

"Yes Kelly?" I reply, trying my best not to sound like a douchebag. After all she is part of the family.

"I just want to wish you luck for tomorrow," Kelly responds. I know she doesn't really mean it as I know where her loyalties lay. I shoot a death glare in Max's general direction.

"Thank you," I retorted, not really wanting a conversation. Sure my family drama is going to be something I need to address in the future however I do not want to deal with it on a race weekend. Thankfully Kelly turns her attention back to Max.

"Sorry about that. My aunty believes that I shouldn't be racing," I turn my attention to Guanyu.

"But you're here so it shouldn't matter what your family thinks," He responds. He is right. It doesn't matter what people think so long as I am happy with where I am as a driver. Based on my performance, I have every reason to be happy. It is the day after and I am excited. I think I am ready to qualify as high as possible. Since I am awake before my alarm I have decided to get ready early. Today is the day that I need to be at my best as I need to get the car into the highest position possible. After what feels like an eternity I have made it to the track. Even though I am early, the paddock is already brimming with various media personalities and a number of fans. I notice a small group of them talking to my Grandpa.