Forever and always

Chapter fifty-five

Olivia's pov:
October 2022

We were now in Japan for the Japanese grand prix. I have always loved coming here, since Japan is such a wonderful country! - Today was already Sunday, and we had been here for the past week. Yesterday Max got pole position at qualifying, and Charles secured p2 for today's race, so I was very much satisfied with the results.

We had been at the track for several hours already, and the race was supposed to start in a few minutes, but the rain kept pouring down like crazy, multiple alerts had been sent out about a possible thunderstorm and lots of rain. But eventually the formation lap began, the rain was still coming down heavily, and it didn't stop. - The lights went out, Max and Charles both had a really great start, while further down the grid Seb had spun and was all the way down to the back, Carlos hit the barriers which meant a yellow flag. Alex and Zhou had a moment as well, and Pierre had something stuck in front of his car. And it actually turned out that Alex had some engine failures, so now only one lap into the race both Carlos and Alex were out, and so little in there had already been too much chaos, because of the rain. - The red flags were now out, and the race was stopped, so all the drivers returned to pit lane.

The rain was out of control and it was decided that the drivers couldn't drive in these conditions, so all we had to do now was to wait.. Some people were reading data, some were chatting, some were relaxing and some were playing games, because it definitely looked like this could take a long time.. "Hey love" I heard Charles' voice from behind, and then felt his arms around me in a hug. "Hey, your start was perfect babe!" I smiled and turned around, facing him. "Yeah it felt really good, but I mean those conditions are too dangerous to drive in" he answered. "Definitely, I won't allow you to go out on a track like that" I laughed, as if I could decide that. "Oh me either" he smiled cutely. - Charles was so sweet so he was sitting with me the whole time, since he knew I was a bit bored whenever Isa wasn't around. Sure I can speak to mostly everyone at Ferrari, it's just not the same as someone you know very well. - Eventually Carlos also joined us, and we played a few card games which made the time go faster.

Time went by, and there was now only one hour left if this race had to turn into something. The rain was still here, but it looked like it was more mild now, so the race resumed. And the safety car was leading the way with the drivers behind, and with Max and Charles at the top. The race began again and it was actually quite chilled, the track was alright and the drivers were able to see fine, not like earlier where it was impossible, so it looked promising. Max was leading the race all the way through, so nothing new there.

After nothing more than 28 laps the time had run out, and Max crossed the line as winner of a strange race, and an even stranger day in general. Charles finished second and Checo third, so the three drivers drove up to parc ferme and were greeted by their teams. Then they got interviewed.. When Max had finished his interview, it was Checo's turn but in the middle of nowhere the interviewer called Max back.

It turned out that Charles had gotten a 5 second penalty which means he is down to p3 and Checo is up to p2. So Max is now world champion for the second year in a row, it all was so weird, no one had seen it coming and especially not after such a weird race like this. But Max won because he only needed Charles to finish third or lower, and now with such a small amount of races left this year, no one can reach Max no matter what happens. I was extremely happy for my brother, of course! I am so proud of him, but I just wished he won in a more special way..

The podium ceremony was something else, in the background of the three on the podium a huge screen was showing Max with world champion written all over it. It was really emotional, and I really wished dad, Vic or Kelly had been here to witness this as well.. They sprayed champagne after they had been handed the trophies and the national anthems were finished. It was obvious to see Charles was disappointed since he just lost the championship, so I felt really bad for him. I know how hard he worked this year, but I'm sure he will bring the championship home someday.