The Photographer

(32) The announcement

Minutes later and it was all over. There was a ripple effect of murmurs, gasps and applause and few tearful faces as he put the microphone back down.

Seb felt a small sense of relief amongst the nerves, the news was now getting out there and with Britta in charge of his Instagram account the next step was to tell the world.

Once more he found Iris among the throng of faces, she looked tearful but was smiling and it hit him what he'd done when she mouthed the words, I'm so proud of you. With a nod to Britta he stepped down off the platform and headed towards the back.

Iris couldn't stop herself from following, weaving through the small crowd until she reached the front and retraced Seb's steps. She was hit by this need to just be with him and hug him, suddenly every single minute she had with him felt precious, from now on this season would be a season of lasts - the last cycle or drive into a circuit, the last sponsors event in a certain country, the last fan's meet and greet, the last track walk... the last lap raced.

He wasn't surprised to hear a soft tapping on the door and to see her face when Britta opened the door to his changing room. Neither of them had to say anything to each other and Iris simply walked into his open arms and held him tightly, bunching up his t-shirt in her fists.

With precision timing, Britta uploaded his announcement video to his Instagram account, one he'd recorded only late Tuesday afternoon before making the drive to Hungary yesterday morning. The words, 'I hereby announce my retirement from Formula 1 by the end of the 2022 season' would very shortly become etched into people's minds.

"Ok?" Iris asked, tilting her head to look up at him and then kissing his jawline.

"Yeah, I'm ok," he replied as he watched Britta who was now keeping an eye on how many views the retirement announcement was getting and was also reading the comments.

"How do you feel now it's out there, now everyone knows?"

"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully and then exhaled, "relieved that the decision is made and is officially out there now and also a mixture of excited and nervous about what the future holds. I've known nothing but racing and spent so long in F1, it's kind of scary thinking about the point in my life where I'm no longer racing."

"You'll ace it, you'll ace anything you choose to do and I'll be with you," she replied, unaware of Britta glancing her way and thinking that Iris had better mean what she said.

Letting go of her, he then took one of her hands and pulled her towards the massage table, walking backwards himself until he could sit up on it and gently tug her to stand between his open legs. Now he had her here with him, he wasn't prepared to let either of them get on with any work and he smiled happily as she leant in close with her palms flat on the padded black surface either side of him.

Britta looked at Mark and rolled her eyes, knowing that neither of them would get anything out of their driver until Iris returned to her work and he gestured to the door with his thumb, silently suggesting that they leave the two love birds to it. Hopefully a few minutes alone with his girlfriend would mean that Seb would then feel more motivated to get on with the day, media days were never his favourite days and now his retirement announcement was out, media attention would be even more intense than usual.

They slipped out of the room quietly and Iris didn't wait another second to connect her lips with Seb's, who shuffled closer to the edge of the table in order to wrap his arms his around her and press her more fully against himself.

She let out a soft, happy sounding little hum against his lips; this felt good, it felt 'normal' and not like he'd just stunned the world only minutes ago. As her tongue slowly caressed his and her fingers located the hem of his logo'd t-shirt so her hands could slip beneath the fabric and begin a leisurely trail over his smooth, strong back, she allowed herself a moment to forget that he'd just told the world he was retiring from formula one.