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'And then I told you I couldn't be your friend if you thought pineapple belongs on pizza. I remember perfectly, Marcus'. I reminded the formula 2 driver sitting in front of me.
'I still don't know how we actually became friends if there were a lot of things we disagreed on'. He said after the laughter had died down.
'You're a weird guy and I find it funny. That's why we're friends'. I joked and he shook his head. 'You offended your entire team, Ferrari and probably every Italian out there by posting that stupid picture'. I said looking down at the phone placed in front of me with the picture of a serious-looking Marcus in a restaurant with a pizza covered with pineapple. We had been talking about it for some minutes and reliving past memories that I had almost forgotten about.
'Rene and Angelo almost took my f3 contract away for that photo'. He added and all I could do was chuckle and shake my head in disbelief. 'But pineapple on pizza is actually not that bad'. He tried to defend himself.
'You have questioning likings. We already had the pizza on pineapple discussion 3 years ago. We're not doing this again'. I took a sip of my cold water and passed him back his phone. 'So enough of this, are you excited for this season?'. I asked knowing that this was his second year in Formula 2 and there were high chances of him winning the championship, he is a great driver.
'You just asked the same question every interviewer has been asking me the last 2 weeks'. He leaned back in his seat and I rolled my eyes. 'I know you can do better. Come on what do you really want to know?'. He inquired as he crossed his arms over the table now leaning forward and closer to me.
'Are you mentally ready for another year in formula 2?'. I said now with a softer tone. I knew him, last season wasn't the best and I knew how much he struggled, like everyone else that moves up in this sport. Being promoted to a higher category doesn't necessarily mean you are mentally ready to take the next step. I learnt that the hard way.
Marcus looked at me for a minute before looking away. 'I think so, or at least I hope so'. He said after some more minutes of silence.' I think I'm better prepared than last year. Last year I was a mess, you know that'. He said and put some food in his mouth a signal that this conversation was over.
'You know you got me one call away. If there's someone that knows how to handle emotions and racing is definitely not me'. A loud laugh escaped his lips and I smiled knowing I had accomplished my objective. 'But I can give you some emotional support though'.
