Julia Erin Wolff is daughter of Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes. As a result, she grew up mostly in paddocks or travelling with her parents and always felt a certain connection to driving and F1. Now, when it's time to be on her own, she deci...
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23/05/2015, Monaco
"I'm almost there, don't worry," I whispered into my phone. Two young drivers of Scudenia Toro Rosso were already expecting me by the tennis court, while I was sneaking out of my house. My sleeping father wouldn't have had liked it all if he found out I had been friends with anyone outside of Mercedes. Apparently, he was concerned about tarnishing his team's reputation, so he disapproved of any of my interactions or conversations with people from different teams. I never understood or respected this stance, which is why I regardless ended up meeting Max and Carlos in the middle of the night in Monaco.
"Ah Carlos, look, who finally decided to show up!" Max rested his hand on Carlos' shoulder and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Well, if I woke my dad up and he'd find out about any of this," I twirled my finger, "he would simply disown me."
Max and Carlos chuckled as I still struggled to catch my breath. In response, I raised my eyebrows at both of them, which caused all of us to burst out in laughter.
"So, what are we doing tonight?" Carlos asked.
"We could hit up a bar," Max suggested, raising his eyebrows at me, expecting me to support him.
"Nah, no alcohol tonight, especially not for you two. You're not even eighteen," Carlos immediately rejected Max's idea, prompting Max to respond with an eye roll.
"What if we went to the track and raced each other?" my eyes lit up with excitement, but Max and Carlos looked at me, completely confused.
"You're the absolute worst driver I've ever met, and seriously, where on earth do you think you'd even find a car?"
"Who even mentioned anything about driving?" I shot Max a mischievous grin.
-☆-
In no time, Max and I were standing ready on the starting line, all set and waiting for Carlos to initiate the race and start the stopwatch.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1! It's light out and away we go!" Carlos shouted, and Max and I took off, sprinting towards Monte Carlo. I should've realized that competing against an F1 driver, someone with an excellent stamina, might not have been the wisest idea, but it was definitely an exhilarating and fun one.
Right from the start, Max was, of course, leading by more than five seconds, but there was no way I would back out or give up. Near the Casino, I began catching up, and by the iconic Grand Hotel Hairpin, Max and I were running side by side. In the Tunnel, Max tripped over himself, causing me to almost stop, but he quickly reassured me he was fine and let me take the lead. I struggled to catch my breath near the Swimming Pool, but I couldn't afford to lose the lead as I was approaching the finish line, leading by a couple of seconds. Just as I was about to make my final turn, I suddenly saw Carlos sprinting towards me.
"Julia! Your dad is blowing up your phone with calls!" he shouted.
"What?" I groaned, unable to understand a word he said as the pounding rush of blood in my body drowned out everything else.
"You're in a deep trouble! Your dad is blowing up your phone with calls!" Carlos repeated, while Max caught up.
"Oh shit, no, no, no, no!" I started to panic and buried my face in my hands. My face burning hot and sweat was pouring out of me all over my body.
"What's our plan now?" Max whispered. Carlos was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with one.
"Julia Erin Wolff! What in the world is happening?!" my dad began yelling at me, as he suddenly emerged from around the corner. A chill ran down my spine as I realized I had just been caught. To add to the astonishment, my dad's attention shifted to the two young Toro Rosso drivers standing behind me. Both of them swiftly made a run for it, and my dad wasted no time chasing after them. With a pure disbelief, I just stood there, uncertain whether I'd survive to see the light of the next morning or not.
-☆-
And the outcome? Max and Carlos managed to escape my father, and I ended up enduring the longest lecture of my life, even though I was almost 18. As part of my punishment, my dad took away my paddock pass, so as a result, I had to watch the race only from the house I had unsuccessfully escaped from the previous night.
