The Photographer

(32) The announcement

Thursday, July twenty-eighth. It was a date that Iris knew she'd never forget.

Today was the day that Seb's retirement from formula one was going to be announced.

It had been a tough week since he'd told her of his intention to retire from the sport. The car's continued issues had meant Seb had missed out on a points position in the French GP, finishing in a frustrating eleventh place. Lance getting the preferential strategy and the team generally sacrificing Seb's race in favour of his younger teammate also hadn't helped.

Ben had been his usual and in her eyes, annoying self. Once she'd returned to their room that night after Seb had told her about retiring, he'd been behaving like a stroppy teenager because she'd been late getting back and they'd bickered for most of the week over stupid little things, such as when he couldn't find his trainers and the issue of her not wanting sex had risen once more. With the summer break and the Norwegian cruise fast approaching, she knew more than ever that time was ticking, she had to tell him that their marriage was over.

They'd both headed to the Hungaroring early that morning. Ben was going in early to help with breakfast prep for the McLaren team and Iris was in early because a full team meeting had been called ahead of Seb publicly announcing his retirement at eleven AM on his recently opened Instagram page.

She was dreading it. Herself, Britta, Antti and Mark were the only ones who knew about his decision to leave and this team meeting, in which Seb was going to make his announcement before it went public, would make it seem horrifically real.

The launch of his Instagram page had both excited and worried fans, not only of Seb himself but of formula one in general and speculation was rife on why he'd decided to join the social media giant after years of saying that he neither needed it or was interested in it.

Now she found herself crammed in to hospitality with everyone else, waiting patiently for Seb to arrive. At the front of the room was a black platform, a small part of a tv set used by one of the many sports broadcasters here and he was going to stand up on it to enable everyone to see him. Either side of that was two speakers on tripods and a microphone was placed on the bar, just behind where he would stand.

Around her she could hear people talking about him, expecting him to announce his new contract as Mike had made no secret of the fact that he wanted Seb to stay while a few were wondering if a retirement announcement was imminent.

The was an air of expectation in the room and a sense of uncertainty. Iris's insides were churning as she knew the moment was getting closer.

Then Seb appeared from a door at the back, followed by Britta and Mark. A cheer erupted from everyone, followed by a hush as he stepped up onto the platform and picked up the microphone from behind him.

Suddenly every pair of eyes was on him but it was her eyes that he found amongst all the others. It was a brief moment, no more than a second, but it was enough that it made her feel a little better and reminded her that while formula one was going to lose a four times world champion and one of the most popular and loved men in the paddock, he would still be hers.

He knew it would be tough, he was about to tell everyone that he wouldn't be racing for Aston Martin next season and that this year would see the end of his formula one career. A lot of these people here were like a second family to him but finding the warm, reassuring eyes of the woman he loved... he knew he'd be ok, he knew he'd made the right choice to stop at the end of the year. Holding the microphone tightly in his right hand, he took a deep breath, glanced at a watery eyed Britta and then began. "Morning everyone, thanks for coming, I know how hectic it is for you all and that we all have a tight schedule so I won't keep you long," he paused and took a deep breath, quickly casting his eyes over the small sea of patient, waiting faces. This was hard; he loved these people, some of them he spent more time with than he did his own family and no matter what their role or whose side of the garage they were on, each and every one of them he considered part of his team and he knew he'd never be able to express his thanks enough for what they did for himself and Lance. "I have an announcement to make and I wanted you guys to hear it from me and to know this before it goes public," he paused again, suddenly hit by nerves. Once the words had left his mouth there was no taking them back but he was resolute that his decision was the right one. "Today I'm officially announcing my retirement from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season..."