Drive to Survive

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The night had gone a bit later than Dylan had anticipated and she was definitely not appreciating the early morning on Friday. It was free practice today and her first official day on the job. She'd be meeting the entire Red Bull team as well as Max today.

She dressed simply in some warm leggings and a Red Bull shirt. They'd all been supplied with official merchandise from their respective teams and she loved the designs of the Red Bull clothing. Also, the weather was a lot drier in Bahrain in March than England. She was glad to be ditching her rain-coat for the first time in a while. 

Her hair still held some of the curls she'd put into it for the dinner last night so she simply placed a cap over her head and kept her hair down. 

As she was packing her bag, her phone lit up with a message.

From Carlos: Morning chiquita, Ferrari have scheduled any earlier meeting before FP today so can't walk you to track. I've sorted a replacement! Good luck on first day, I'll try find you for lunch.

Dylan frowned. She'd been counting on Carlos accompanying her to the track today, mainly so he could settle her nerves. She had no idea where she was going and she knew nothing about the people she was meant to be meeting and working with today. Honestly, she'd slightly hoped that Carlos would introduce her properly to Max, just to smooth out any awkwardness.

And who was the replacement he was talking about?

If a poor Ferrari intern was shipped over to escort her to the track, that could be quite awkward. She didn't want anyone to feel obligated to help her- well, outside of Carlos. He was her cousin though so he was bound by blood to carry out her fear-driven demands. 

Before she could message back asking what he meant, her DM's pinged. 

@landonorris: Be in reception at 8!

Well, she guessed that answered her question. There definitely could have been a worse replacement. Last night, she'd actually clicked really well with Lando and they'd spent most of the event mucking around together. As they were the same age, he just felt like one of her friends from back home and they shared similar interests and humour. 

Glancing at the time on her phone, Dylan saw it was 7:50 so she decided to head down early seeing as she was already ready. She slipped on her trainers and locked up before making her way down the stairs. 

The reception area could only be described as chaos. As the nearest hotel to the track, it had been booked out by drivers, families, and staff so there was a sense of rushing as the staff and drivers tried to make it to the track on time, families tried to figure out directions and timings, and hotel employees tried to keep the hotel in one piece.

Dylan made her way across from the lift towards a seating area. She threw her handbag on the floor and collapsed into a seat, trying to fight the urge to close her eyes and steal another five minutes of sleep. 

As much as she would have loved a micro-nap, her mind was too amped up to get any sleep. She was a horrendous mix of nervous, excited, terrified, insecure, and confident all at once. She felt confident in her skills but she wondered whether she'd get on with the team, whether they'd like her, and whether they'd like her content. She wasn't building her personal brand; she had to fit into the Red Bull style so it was important to understand their online vibe and seamlessly build upon that.