Battle of The Gods

Dieci

The next week and a half consisted of practically living in the factory for Alessandra, as she was working with every department within the team to analyse what caused the tyre on Carlos's car to explode the way it did. At the end it resulted in the tyre pressure, and were quick to communicate with Pirelli to avoid the incident ever happening again.

The first set of upgrades were coming in Baku, and Alessandra looked over the data gathered from simulator sessions by Charles, Carlos and Mick, and the team principal was pleased with what she saw, hoping that the car produces the same results that were showing in the simulator. The drivers were also happy with the work done, excited to get back racing after a long break, with the Monegasque aiming to get his third consecutive pole on the street circuit.

Alessandra was also using work as a distraction from her thoughts regarding what happened in her apartment after the Motogp race. Her mind was going into overdrive as she arrived in Maranello the day after, only for it to shut down and rewire into work mode the second she entered the factory, and Alessandra used that to stop her from getting any thoughts on her rival team principal, even though she sometimes feel his lips still lingering on her cheek, and his hand on her waist.

A week before the race weekend, Alessandra was invited to visit the F1 exhibition in Madrid. She had seen pictures from Carlos when he visited it on opening day, and listened to what Pierre said about it, so she wanted to visit herself.

The Italian landed in the capital city of Spain, getting out of the jet supplied from one of the team's sponsors. She was expecting a car to pick her up on the airport runway, but her smile was wide when she spotted the familiar grey paint job on the Ferrari 812 Competizione, with the owner of the car leaning against it.

"Welcome back to Spain!" Carlos greeted loudly as she walked towards him, "had a good flight?"

"I did," Alessandra laughed as they pulled each other in a hug, "I didn't know you were picking me up!"

"It would be a sin if your fellow Spanish driver did not pick you up whilst being in his home land," he replied with a raised eyebrow before grabbing her luggage, opening the bonnet, "also I talked with the logistics department, and I let them know that you'll be spending the two nights in Madrid in my home!"

"Oh really?" She chuckled as she entered the passenger side, eyeing the smooth operator sticker over the carbon at the bottom of the door, along with his logo stitched on the carpet under her feet. "I don't want to be a bother, Carlos."

"Nonsense!" He exclaimed as he slid in the driver's seat, "you've let me stay at your house in Maranello many times, it's the least I could do."

"Thank you," she smiled as he started the car and drove out of the airport premises, "so, what's the agenda for the next three days?"

"Well, today, Isa and I will take you out to lunch and go round the city for a bit," he started, "and tonight, there's a Real match which I know you'd wanna watch so you can make fun of us if we lose." Alessandra laughed loudly at the last part, nodding her head in agreement with a smile on her face, which Carlos got a glimpse of when he glanced at her for a second. "A friend of mine is coming over for the match too, hope it's no problem for you."

"Carlos, it's your house, you can invite anyone you want," she giggled, "as long as you make your famous burgers!"

"Lucky for you, that's on the menu for tonight," he laughed, "and then tomorrow, I'll take you to the exhibition, maybe grab some food before or after. And if you're up for it, we can go out for some drinks in the evening. What time's your flight on sunday?"

"It's at five in the evening," she said, "so I would be down for some drinks the night before!" Alessandra glanced out the window, smiling at the beautiful weather Spain has graced her with. "The weather is amazing!"