One Shots - Formula 1 [REQUESTS CLOSED]

99. - Charles Leclerc

This is for emz353 ! Gosh, can Charles be any cuter honestly? 😩😍

Just wanted to thank DannyRicc17, RuinaSantori and ricciardoaf who, besides writing me the sweetest comments, also have amazing books of one shots that you should read ASAP!

---

It was a chance of a lifetime for you. You were in your last year of studies in engineering and the Formula 1 team Alfa Romeo Sauber invited you to the last race of the season. You had been selected amongst hundreds of students. You had to present a file about engineering in Formula 1, and you chose to talk about the big data, which was the specific area you wanted to work in. Seems like Sauber also likes big data since you had been the one selected to join the team for the whole weekend in Abu Dhabi.

It was a huge opportunity for you. You would get your degree in a few months and then you'd have to look for a job. Formula 1 was the dream. You were a fan of the sport and big data was such a huge thing there that you knew you could have fun with it.

It was your first day at the Yas Marina circuit on Friday. You arrived late in the afternoon the day before and met with the engineering team. They were all very welcoming and eager to show you what their job consisted of. You also felt a particular atmosphere in the team, probably because it was the last Grand Prix of the season and both drivers would change next year.

You assisted in a meeting of the engineering team on the morning and joined the rest of the team in the garage for the first practice session of the day. You had your own seat between Charles Leclerc's race engineer and the main team engineer, on the pit wall. Seeing all these numbers and data in front of you were just like heaven for you. You caught sight of the drivers getting strapped in their cars before the engines started to roar. The two white cars hurried out of the garage and the screen before you started lightning with many data.

The hour and half passed by too quickly. The engineers next to you made sure to explain you what the data referred to, what was happening, how they could monitor the car from there, as well as the relationship with the drivers. What information to give them and when, for instance. You felt like learning more in less than 2 hours than in a whole year at school. You could definitely see yourself working on a pit wall.

After debriefing with the engineers, you left the garage to take a look around the paddock before going to Sauber's motorhome to have lunch.

Charles quickly spotted you in the paddock. You were standing out, in a good way. You wore round glasses and a short tartan dress, very classy, with black boots. Your hair were curly and you seemed to look at everything around you, quite amazed. Charles was supposed to have lunch with his trainer, but he couldn't take his eyes away from you. He was curious to know more about you. He had never seen you around before, meaning you were not a team member nor a journalist, and you didn't look like a VIP guest. As you walked past him, he couldn't prevent himself from stopping you.

"Hi! Are you lost or something?"

"No, thank you, just looking around!" You answered politely.

"I'm Charles." The driver was about to lean in to kiss your cheek, French habit, but you gave him your hand instead. He was surprised by the move, he thought you were just like every other fan and you would swoon before him, asking for a picture or an autograph. You did no such thing, almost as if you didn't know him, and that caught him off guard.

"I know. You were good in the first practice session, although you lost 38% of grip in the second sector which is why your times were not great. You should be careful with corner 8, the way you take it, it makes you lose a lot of aerodynamics on the straight line that follows, around 22%. Also, don't forget to breathe. You tend to hold your breath on the last sector and it's not good for you. I mean, in qualifying it's alright, because you only need one good lap, but during the race it's dangerous cause then your brain doesn't receive enough oxygen, and you definitely need your full brain to race a F1 GP."