Learning To Fly (Yuki Tsunoda X OC)

The dream job?

'New driver for Red Bull: Perez retired, Rookie in' is one of many news headlines that I am dealing with. Before I get too carried away my name is Neko Katayama. I am the latest Red Bull sensation. Well, that is what the headlines are saying and I don't agree with them. The thing is right now I am getting ready to claim the Formula 2 championship. I mean I already have won it since I am enough points ahead. I will still welcome the challenge from my rival Robert Shwartzman. It will be the one thing that I have that will keep my thoughts about my situation at bay.

"Hey, Neko you don't have to worry," Robert pulls me out of my thoughts.

"I kinda have to worry. I have important people to impress," I retort. I know for a fact that all eyes will be on me. Not that I mind as I have to get used to it.

"You have already impressed the right people," Robert gets to work on reassuring me. The harsh reality is I will probably be at Red Bull to back up Max Verstappen. That is all the second seat is for anyway.

"Still I need a challenge from you," I say. With that, we part ways. It doesn't take long for me to get ready for the race. I find myself trying to clear my thoughts for the race ahead. I notice that the lights have come on. I brace myself for the aggression of the drivers behind me. The lights go out and I get a good start by flooring it. I feel like it was a good start. I hope it was as I don't want to embarrass myself in full view of my new team.

"Good start. Keep your eyes forward," My lead engineer remarks via the radio. With that compliment, I am given a small boost of confidence. I soon find myself in an interesting position. Something has gone wrong with the car. Dammit. That means I will have to wrestle the car around the track. After thirty minutes of fighting with both the car and Robert, I am exhausted. I just need to hold on for fifteen minutes.

"Neko, you might want to consider retiring. The problem is within the gearbox," My lead engineer informs me. Well, that explains the fact that I am having to fight the car.

"Is that an order?" I ask. The thing is if I can stay out I will.

"No," He replies.

"Ok then, I am going to see if I can at least finish the race," I responded. The thing is I can trust that Robert will try his best to keep the other drivers behind. The next fifteen minutes will be the longest fifteen minutes of my life. Well here goes. It will be the biggest fight that I have had with the car. After fifteen minutes of wrestling with the car, the race has come to an end. I only just managed to bring the car to a stop at the Parc Ferme area. Yes, the last fifteen minutes have completely drained my energy. Thankfully I was helped out of the car. It doesn't take long for the podium ceremony to come to an end. It has been a month since then and today is the first of three days where I can make an impact. Sure it is only preseason testing but it can turn out to be a good indicator of how the season might pan out. First I will have to sit through the briefing. To my surprise, the only person who has beaten me is my new teammate Max Verstappen. I am suddenly struck by nerves. I don't know why. I put it down to the fact that he was the driver that challenged Lewis Hamilton.

"Hello Neko," Max remarks. The look on his face shows little to no emotion. I wish I could tell what he was thinking.

"Hello Max," I replied. My voice is riddled with nerves. You would think that I would be happy about joining a team like Red Bull. The thing is I am but the thought of demotion scares me. It means that I will end up in a midfield team. Don't get me wrong, it is still a Formula 1 car. It just means it will be harder for me to get the championship. I just hope that I won't get stuck as Max's wingman. We shall see what happens.

"You don't have to be nervous," the blank expression on his face changes. It has become more relaxed.

"I know. I'm just new," I reply. There is not much that I can do about my situation. It will depend on how the season goes. Thankfully the rest of the team arrives. I notice that my new boss Christian Horner has a hint of overconfidence in the way he walks. It's almost like he has a pompous attitude. Not that I can hold it against him. After all, he was the guy that threw the gauntlet to Mercedes. I am hoping that I can add to that challenge. Only one way to find out. Now that everyone is here the briefing gets underway. At least there is not much that needs to be shared with Max and I. That is unless Christian wants to talk to us separately. I doubt it as the season hasn't really started.

"And last but not least I would like to welcome our newest driver, Neko Katayama," Christian concludes the briefing. I assume he added that bit for the engineers and mechanics. The only reason why I would guess that is because Max and I met at the team launch. With that Max and I head to our respective cars. I suddenly feel an impending sense of dread as I pull my balaclava and helmet on. It feels like an eternity but I have finally made it to the position where I want to be. I guess that has been since I started karting when I was five. Thankfully my lead mechanic offers me some help with getting into the car. He makes some last-minute adjustments before sending me out. With a swift gesture my career as a Formula 1 driver gets underway. It doesn't take long for me to get to work.

"Ok, Neko we are going to run a few practice qualifying laps to see what our pace is like," My lead engineer remarks via the radio.

"Copy. I will have to be careful," I reply. It has only been five minutes and the track is already busy. Oh well. So long as I am careful I will be fine. It doesn't take long for me to reach the first lot of traffic. The good thing is I am able to get the two Haas cars without any drama. Now I have the AlphaTauri to contend with. I know for a fact that I have to wait for a few seconds. Not that I mind as it is only preseason testing. It just means my lead engineer won't get the data as quickly as he would like. After a brief tussle with the AlphaTauri, I am on my way again. Something tells me that the driver I was up against was my closest friend Yuki Tsunoda. I will find out once the session is done. After two hours of brutal work, the testing has come to an end and I am finally ready to head back to the hotel. Don't get me wrong, the driving was fun, it was just brutal. I am currently on my way through the paddock.

"Neko," a familiar voice calls out to me. I turn around to find one of my long term friends, Yuki Tsunoda sprinting to catch up to me.

"What can I do for you, Yuki?" I ask as he comes to a stop next to me.

"I was wondering if I annoyed you when I was holding you up," Yuki has decided to start an apology. So it was him holding me up.

"Honestly Yuki the only person you annoyed then was my engineer," I responded. The hold up would have only been a problem if we were qualifying for real. Plus the cars that will cause the most trouble are the Haas cars. Sure the new regulations have allowed for some improvement but still. Mick and Nikita suffer from a problem that we all do as drivers. The regulations.

"Will you be coming tonight?" Yuki asks.

"Unfortunately I will not as I am exhausted and I know for a fact that I need some rest before the media stuff tomorrow," I reply. The truth is he is not the first to ask. Max was and like now I declined for the same reason. As much as I would like to enjoy my time with the other drivers I don't want to be a grumpy mess during the media stuff. After a brief conversation with Yuki, we parted ways. It is at that moment that I realise I have the job that I have always wanted. Sure reality will ruin it sooner or later but a dream that is achieved is still a good thing and that is the thought that will hopefully get me through any issues that I may face.