Apex | Charles Leclerc

Chapter 73

Here's the first update for tonight!! Keep an eye out for some typos hehe I'll definitely take note of them when I edit the book 🤍

Predictions for Spa?

Enjoy!

*****

July 02, 2028 - England

"How do I look?" Charles asked as soon as I entered the garage, spreading his arms wide open before turning around to give me a full look at his race suit. The base was still black but instead of using the white and blue-green details, they were in pink– Barbie pink to be exact. I smiled, admiring how it was a good color pairing, but a laugh escaped my lips when I saw the words beside the Monaco flag just by his hip. All of the drivers have their flags and first name printed on their race suits and right now, Charles' name wasn't on his.

It was Ken.

"I love it." I smiled, walking forward and fixing his collar. "Especially the fact that you're just Ken today." I smirked and Charles grinned, hands moving to my waist.

"That was my idea, actually. George has the same thing on his suit."

The special livery they made for the race was amazing. The top half was covered in pink before it faded into the color black for the bottom half of the car. The usual sponsor logos were there, but the small characters placed on the car's rear wing caught my eye.

Michèle Mouton. Maria Terese de Filippis. Jutta Kleinschmidt. Lella Lombardi. Danica Patrick. Jamie Chadwick. Toni Breidinger. Lissie Mackintosh. Esmee Hawkey. Desiré Wilson. Susie Wolff. Naomi Schiff. Angela Cullen. Bianca Bustamente.

There were at least a hundred names on it and when I came closer, there were more on the backside of the rear wing. Some of the names were familiar, with them either being journalists working in the paddock or members of the team.

"What do you think?" I turned around to see Toto standing beside Charles, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"This changes things." I replied, moving to stand next to Charles as the three of us looked at the car.

For the past three years I've been present in this sport, it's obvious that it's way behind when it comes to diversity. Charles has told me that there have been a lot of female drivers in other competitions, even having one that was solely for women, but it was disappointing that none were offered seats in F1. A lot of them held the potential to do so, but getting into F1 wasn't just purely based on talent. You had to have enough connections and resources to even be considered as a driver for the team and it's unfortunate that not everyone supported the idea of women driving alongside men in F1.

It's bullshit.

"That's the goal." Toto winked, squeezing Charles' shoulder before he returned to his place in front of the monitors.

"Maybe I should put your name there." Charles joked and I nudged his side with my elbow.

"Absolutely not. If we were talking about anything related to law, I wouldn't stop you, but we're not. I didn't contribute to the growing presence of women in F1. They did. And they deserve all the recognition for it."

I let Charles get into his zone as he prepared with Andrea, walking to the Red Bull garage where I knew Gabby would be. She was standing by the entrance, talking animatedly with the media manager of the team who was holding a camera similar to hers. A few of Gabby's pictures have made it to the team's Instagram page whenever she visited, some of them even for Ferrari back in the day.