Fearless ~Ollie Bearman~ (2)

~flashbacks~

"MILLIE NORRIS YOU ARE THE FORMULA 2 WORLD CHAMPION"

those words still echoed through her mind multiple times a day. her brother, screaming down the radio, full of pure joy and excitement. It really was one of the greatest days of her life. But also one of the worst.......

That was her last day with Ollie as a teammate.

He approached her after the race saying him and Arthur had been taken to the haas motorhome due to Gunther wanting to talk to them. He told her Gunther wanted them both to drive for haas for 2024. Of course they both immediately accepted, knowing this was a step in the right direction. The FDA frequently fed drivers through lower teams like haas, giving them chance to prove themselves before being taken into the ferrari team. Millie was truly happy for him. Of course she was. Why wouldn't she be. It pained her that they wouldn't be teammates, but at the end of the day that's the way things went. They were still in a relationship and could still stay strong.

Frederik Vesti had spoken to her that day too, saying how mercedes had offered him the chance to drive for williams along side alex albon. he had the experience in formula 2, having completed a season in 2022, and they felt he was ready for the step up. She was over the moon for him, and the pressure of feeling like she held him back was lifted.

Just when she thought all this was over, Jack had approached her, saying how he had been keeping a secret for a while. She was shocked but lightened up when he told her he had signed a formula 1 contract for the open seat at Alpha Tauri. Walking back through the f1 pddock after this, she was happy for all her friends, but realised that they were all taking that step together.....everyone expect her.

It was at this point that Fernando had spoken to her. He took her to Aston Martin and sat her down. She could still remember the conversation clearly.
"millie. i don't know how to say this so i'm just gonna get to the point"
she was nervous to say the least
"with felipe gone for formula e, the team doesn't have him to give the spare seat to, so i spoke to mike and suggested someone. i suggested you"
what
no way
fernando alonso had recommended her for a formula 1 seat.
she simply say there, staring at him in shock
"i...i don't know what to say fernando"
"would you do it?"
"of course i would"
he handed her a piece of paper
"there are details for a meeting with mike krack at the new aston martin facility at silverstone. just go in and be yourself. he will be expecting you. he's seen you drive all season and i've constantly been telling him about your performance. he believes in you just as much as i do"
she jumped up into his arms giving him the biggest hug
"thankyou so much fernando"
he smiled as she pulled out of the hug
"i want you to replace me more than anyone. i know you can do this"
she smiled again, knowing he had full faith in her
"so what number would you race under?" he asked her
"ummm i don't know. i've loved racing under 7 but i know fred will take that. i'm gonna have to have a think"
fernando gave a thought for a minute befire saying
"how about 14?"

As she lay in bed, thinking back to that day, she still felt honoured that fernando wanted her to race under his number. the responsibility behind it was huge, but he believed in her, so she had faith in herself.

She checked her phone and went onto her messages with Ollie

mil<3: how's the event going? x
delivered 6h ago

She sighed as she put her phone back down. Ollie and Arthur were at a week long event in hungary with the haas team. She knew he was busy but she just missed him. The boredom was really kicking in now. She had so much anticipation to join aston martin, that the time between the end of last season and starting training with them seemed to drag more than ever. Jack was in Italy with Alpha Tauri, Lando was in Spain with Carlos. Paul and Dino were in Italy with Prema, having moved up to the formula 2 team. Zak also moved up to f2, but with VAR, so he was currently in the Netherlands.

She was looking forward to the new season for so many reasons, a big one being that F1 academy were now following the f2 calendar, and were racing at the same times as formula 2. Going into instagram she saw Prema make the announcement that they would be keeping the same three drivers for 2024- Marta Garcia, Chloe Chong and Bianca Bustamante. She had seen the three drive all last season and had even been lucy enough to meet Marta and chloe at prema hq a few times. She had never met Bianca, just due to the timings they were both there.

*ping*

Ol<3: hey darling. so sorry i've been busy all day. i'm so sorry for not replying while i've been here. i'll make it up to you when i'm back in the uk. i love you x
Ol<3: oh and Arthur says hi! x

Mil<3: no worries. just enjoy your time. i love you x

she smiled. he always made sure to reply as soon as he could. she just missed him when he didn't. it was crazy how in love with him she had fallen over the past few months, but it straightened them. It was good as this year they were going to need it. Driving for two different teams in formula 1 was sure to tear them apart but the two of them knew they could make it through....together.