Love and Rivalry {Female F1 driver}

P1 BABY

It was finally race day and I actually felt ready for the day. My mind was almost clear, with only a few minor worries about it, but I had decided to try out Landon's hack and take an ice bath before the race. The ice-cold water really cleared my mind, and thanks to him, I could get in the zone.

Max was in the garage again today, even though we were racing before the F1 race. He was going to be coaching me once more, since yesterday was such a success, and I was happy for it. 

I went for a walk around the paddock with Isack, which is something we always do on race days. We just talk and take in the atmosphere, to enjoy it all before it goes down on the track. A lot of people had already shown up, even a few of the other F1 drivers had arrived to support us youngsters. 

As we were walking, we met Arthur and Iwasa also walking around the paddock, so we stopped to have a chat with them. "Ready for today?" Arthur asked as we were giving knuckles. "Always. How about you guys?" I responded and they both nodded with a smile. 

As we were speaking, some of the other drivers came walking past, catching my attention. "Sup Carter, are you ready for another crash today?" One of them yelled mockingly. "Yeah, did mommy come to watch today?" Another chimed in and I felt the anger rise inside me.

"Forget them, Cart. They're just trying to mess with you." Isack spoke and I looked back at him. "Yeah, well it's working..." I sighed and left our chat without another word. I stormed off to my driver's room, wanting to take a moment to myself. I thought I had gotten over the situation with my mom already, but of course, I wasn't that lucky. 

The thought of having another crash made the air feel thick around me. I couldn't breathe. I sat down on the floor with my back leaning on the sofa and put my head between my legs. I felt my body begin to tremble and I completely lost all sense of what was going on around me. 

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands on my arms. I looked up with my eyes full of tears and was met by a pair of bright blue eyes looking directly into my own. "Oh, Carter..." Charles spoke softly, then pulled me into his embrace. "Shhhh... It's gonna be okay." He whispered while he stroked my hair and held me against his chest. 

After a few minutes, when I had calmed down a bit, Charles pulled away and studied my face. "Maybe it isn't the best idea to race today..." He suggested but I immediately shook my head, starting to get up. "No, I have to, the bet-" He grabbed both of my arms firmly and made me stop to look at him. "Forget the bet Yn. If you go out there and crash, you might never make it to f1. Hell, you might not even make it home from the hospital!" 

I could tell that he was upset, but I couldn't possibly miss this race. I had to go, no matter what. "Charles..." I spoke up, but my voice cracked. "Yn, listen to me. You can't race in this state, your mind is clogged with all the wrong things." I sighed and shook my head. "Please, don't race like this..." His voice was pleading, begging me to not race. It hurt in my chest looking at his sad expression, and I knew he only wanted the best for me. But...

"If I don't race, they get what they want..." Charles frowned and he took my hands in his, holding them tightly. "You could die..." He tried, and I could hear the pain in his voice when making this argument. I knew he was right. "I would rather die than I would let them have the pleasure of watching me quit. If they find out, that their words affect me this much, they aren't going to stop. And in that case, I might as well give up, 'cause I wouldn't ever be racing again... I would rather die than stop racing, Charles..." I kept trying to make my eyes meet his, but he was avoiding me as if his life depended on it.

"I can't watch. If you go out there and race, I won't support it, I can't." His voice was firm and raspy, his eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry Charles. I have to..." I whispered, squeezing his hands, but he quickly let go. He pulled away from my touch and quickly left the room, not looking back. There was no doubt now. I had to win. For him.

I wiped my tears and made it out, into the garage. Isack and Max were stood talking, looking at me with surprise as I made it out of the room. "You good Cart?" Isack asked and I nodded. "Should we race or what?" I asked, feeling a new boost of energy take over me and gaining a big smile from both of them. "Let's go!" Isack shouted and gave me a high five before getting into the cars. "Let's win this shit," I whispered as I started the car and drove out onto the grid.

"LET'S GO, YN, P1!" Max yelled through the radio and I threw a hand in the air. "P1 BABY!" I yelled back to them as I drove slalom on the track. I won! And not just by a little. No, I won by A LOT! I had never been happier to get a win in my life.

When I got back to the pits and stopped the car at the P1 sign, I heard a roar of cheers coming from the team, who was celebrating with the whole Red Bull team as well. I jumped out of the car and ran towards them, giving Max a hug as the first thing. "Thank you so much! I couldn't have done that without you!" I yelled for him to hear through my helmet. He just slapped my helmet gently, but soon everyone else around joined in as well and all made a small tap on it. It was an ecstatic moment, it almost felt unreal. 

Soon, I felt a tap on my shoulder, turning around I saw Isack with open arms and we gave each other a tight hug. He had made it to P3, meaning we had a double podium for the first time in the season! It was incredible.

Soon after the podium, I was headed to get changed before Isack and I were going to watch the F1 race together. I hadn't seen Charles at all since earlier, but several of the other F1 drivers, even Carlos, had come to wish me congratulations on the win. I felt sad that he hadn't done that, but I figured he was still upset about earlier. 

Max and Perez had made it out on the grid and the race was about to begin. Isack and I were both standing by the screens with headsets on, excited for the race. 

"I met Arthur while you were changing. Apparently, he has been invited to go out with the F1 drivers to celebrate tonight. He asked if we wanted to join them." Isac spoke up, his eyes not leaving the screen. "Sounds fun. You sure they wouldn't mind us tagging along though?" I asked, also without looking at him. 

"Yeah, A said that he had asked Carlos and Charles if he could invite us. They both agreed." I couldn't help but smile for some reason when Isack mentioned his name. "Then we have to go. We have to celebrate our podiums!" I spoke excitedly and then we went silent again, focusing on the race.

Max ended up in P1, Lando in P2 and Hamilton in P3. Charles ended in P9 and didn't seem too happy from the looks of it. I didn't have much time to feel bad for him though, as the whole Red Bull team rushed out to greet Max as he made it to the P1 parking. We were all shouting and cheering as the three podium drivers exited their cars and made their way to their teams. 

"P1 BABY!" Both me and Max shouted as we made eye contact through his helmet, and I decided it was time to get payback from earlier. I started with a light hit on his helmet, and once again, everyone joined in with loud cheers. This sure was a day to remember.