monza would've been the second italian race of the season if imola hadn't been cancelled, so many of the ferrari and alphatauri fans hoped for success in this race.
that meant that liam had been stressing out for the weekend, being as it was only his second race for the scuderia and he was under so much pressure.
"liam, you're gonna be fine. you did so well last weekend, just do what you did last time. you'll do amazing." ria reassured on their way to the conference room.
"but what if i don't?" he worried.
"you will. i know you will. you're very talented, liam. i'm so proud of you, no matter what." she stopped walking to look at him.
"thank you, ria. is it time to go and shit on some journalists?" he joked.
"of course." she responded into he same tone.
the teammates had been sat together, with yuki, liam, ria, oscar and logan all in the same conference as the youngest drivers.
the first question was, unsurprisingly, dedicated to ria.
"ria, we've seen how close you and liam are. is your relationship just friendly or more than that?" one of the male journalists asked.
ria rolled her eyes as she knew she was going to get this question in some shape or form.
"i really don't think i should have to explain my personal life to you. that being said, i think that's a very sexist angle to take. if i was to act like that with another girl, like giving her hugs and stuff, no one would bat an eye. but now that it's not a girl, everyone has a problem with it? i'm sorry, are you stuck in year seven or what? boys and girls can be friends, in a platonic relationship, like me and liam. i've known him for so long he's basically like a brother to me, so it's really gross for you to assume anything like that as well. keep your big fat burger of a nose out of my business, please and thank you." she explained.
let's just say, she had no more problems with that reporter for the rest of the conference.
"i just don't understand why they care so much about who's dick i'm on, like, leave me alone." she said as she left the room. "i haven't even had sex with anyone in a month, can they let it go?"
a month. a month since spa. since the last time she properly spoke to oscar.
"they're just pedos, keep far away from them." liam replied, stopping outside the mclaren motorhome with her.
"i'll talk to you later, liam. i have a video to film with a certain someone, i wanna kill myself." she joked.
"please don't." he responded.
they held a quick hug before she entered the mclaren building.
"ria, you can't call reporters big fat burgers!" dionne berated as soon as ria walked in, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"i didn't call him a burger. i told him to keep his big fat burger of a nose out of my business." she said coolly.
"that's not any better!" dionne sighed. "just, don't do it again. you were doing so well until it got to that part."
ria smiled at dionne's slight compliment, sitting down to get mic'd up.
"hey everyone, today we're in monza, and us at mclaren wanted to take a look back to some of the iconic history at this iconic circuit." ria introduced.
"then, we're going to take a look into our past by going karting at a local track." oscar finished.
"so, mclaren are the constructor with the second highest number of wins at monza, after the home team, ferrari." ria explained.
"the first time mclaren took a win here in f1 was with denny hulme in 1968 with mclaren-ford." oscar recited.
"and more iconic mclaren wins like lauda in 1984, prost in 1985, and senna in 1990 and 1992." ria said, smiling to the camera.
"and, the most recent one, fellow aussie, daniel ricciardo, in 2021. he brought mclaren our first win since 2012, and our first 1-2 since 2010." oscar grinned at the mention of his home country.
"that's a brief history of the mclaren legacy at this historic circuit. now, onto karting!" she pointed at the camera.
they were taken to a karting track near monza, which had been completely rented out to just mclaren for the few hours they needed to film, making oscar and ria the only people on track.
their on-track rivalry had born in these karts, and was very much still alive as they hopped into them today. ria took a lap to familiarise herself with the set-up again, and oscar followed behind her.
once she'd figured out how to keep the kart on track the whole lap, they were ready to race.
they started next to each other, the start being declared by a foghorn. ria's reaction time was slightly faster, and she got off ahead into the first turn.
she defended like crazy, squeezing everything out of the small electric kart. by the end of their few laps, she'd kept her lead, and taken the win.
oscar was annoyed, but still amazed by her talent. just like he had been when he first saw her race. her resilience and inability to back down helped solidify her position as a solid racing driver, and he always admired those qualities about her.
"well, pretty usual sight here. i've won, like always. we can't use the podium because we're obviously not small enough, but thanks for watching, and we'll speak to you guys in singapore!" ria finished the video, blowing a kiss to the camera.
and again, the video was over, so he returned to his silent stares and vacant expressions.
***
liam had done incredibly well in the race, being the only alphatauri driver to start, he took his first points in p10.
ria and oscar both finished outside the podium this weekend, as charles had clutched third during qualifying and didn't want to give up his position. oscar finished in front of ria this time, which kept a smug smile on his face that he didn't wipe off all night.
even when another girl was on his lips in a club, he thought of how he'd beat her. he thought of her. how her lips had felt on his. how every kiss felt meaningful, and full of passion. not like this one, where it was obvious she was just trying to get into his bed tonight.
maybe that's what he needed. to let go of ria. she was probably out with another guy right now, doing what he was doing.
but he remembered what he'd overheard between ria and liam on thursday. she hadn't slept with anyone in a month. since him. he couldn't break her heart like that. she wasn't like that.
"hello?" he heard a feminine voice.
"huh?" he responded.
"i was asking if you wanted to go back to yours." the girl on his lap smirked.
he hesitated.
"yeah, i'd love to get home. bye!" he said, standing up, making her fall flat on her bum in front of everyone watching.
