For you I'd risk it all

off time in Mexico

*Luisa*

I had finished the race in Austria in third place, just like the sprint the day before. Silverstone had then been my last race with Seb in the same team. More than seventh place had simply not been possible and I had been content with that.

Two weeks later we raced in Hungary.

The track hadn't suited me and I'd had my first taste of what Sebastian meant when he said I didn't know who I was up against. The Ferrari was strong and Sebastian pushed it to its absolute limits. If he hadn't overtaxed the engine in the very first race, I'm sure he would have pushed me off the track at some point.

And then Spa came. The last race before the summer break.

Sebastian had tried to take me out of the race again, but this time Checo had gotten between the fronts and it had been him who had ended up in the barrier. Fortunately he had not suffered any injuries. Sebastian had received a hefty five-second penalty and I had ended up in fifth place. With more luck than good sense, but I had achieved my goal. I had finished ahead of him and then gone into the summer break.

Oscar hadn't left my side since Finland and slowly but surely it was getting on my nerves.

Yes, it was nice to have company, but I clearly didn't need him around permanently. Getting rid of him, however, was more difficult than I had expected. Because the gentle hints I used, he just didn't understand.

Only when I then became a little clearer, he understood what I wanted from him and was, with wild insults, steamed away.

Checo had already offered me before the summer break that I could come to him and his family in Mexico, because he spent the free time there instead of in Monaco.

After the quarrel with Oscar, I was more than happy to accept the offer.

I had immediately fallen a little in love with his family. His wife, Carola, was one of the warmest people I had ever met. We were on the same wavelength right away. I had always found it difficult to make female friends. Motorsports wasn't for everyone, and when there were girls who raced, there was often this competitiveness. It was incredibly difficult.

But with her it was very easy. She immediately involved me everywhere.

Checo's parents and siblings were just absolutely loving. I never felt like I wasn't welcome. Checo's mom, Marilú, made sure that I had everything I needed and that I ate enough. To my great sorrow, she cooked really well and I had to be careful not to be killed by Matthias after this vacation because I got out of shape.

And Checo's kids were the darnedest creatures in this world. Until now I had never thought about having kids of my own, but by God I wanted to have such cute mini-copies of myself too!

After a morning training session with Checo, Carola had taken me out for a girls' day.

I could hardly remember the last time I had done that. But it suited me just fine, because a week before the race in Zandvoort we were invited to a sports gala and I had absolutely no idea what to wear. A little female support could certainly not hurt when shopping.

"Can I talk to you about something?", I asked a little unsure as we wandered through a store looking at clothes.

"Sure. Anything.", she smiled.

"I just... I don't have anyone to talk to about this stuff. I mean, my best friend is Max. And he's not exactly an expert on... stuff like that."

She nodded understandingly "I... Shit. I had a thing with Seb right after I broke up with my fiancé. And it was the best four weeks of my life. I...", I searched for the right words for a moment "I don't even know how to put it into words. It was just perfect."