the man- f1

three

tres

the man

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bahrain/ pre-season testing

tali had landed on the sand archipelago on tuesday, february 22nd. the last time she had seen anyone aside from her coworkers was back in january when she spent new year's with her loved ones, so to say tali was excited to see some people would have been an understatement.

walking to the gates she was able to see some fans that had been slightly retained by security to avoid accidents. tali knew it wasn't for her but more towards the fact that she wasn't the only driver set to arrive that day. some pictures had been asked here and there and she happily agreed. there were some people towards the back though, who shouted some nasty things regarding her job or rather why she did not deserve it.

'go back to the kitchen!' and things like that to what she wanted to reply

'then you go fuck yourself!' but she didn't. she had the smallest bit of respect for small minded people. some people defended her and she was sure that a video would start circulating and a fake narrative would begin about how her eyes suddenly 'seemed sad and off' and that she was rather affected by these kinds of comments. which she wasn't going to lie, they did get to her at some point, but as the years had gone by, she had learned to disguise said feelings.

thankfully, the car meant to drive them was already waiting for them, meaning they could immediately leave and for that she was thankful.

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as the car drove towards the hotel, tania made conversation with the driver but halfway through the ride she noticed a very quiet tali looking out the window.

"qué pasa, nat?" she asked with a slight frown.

"was this a good idea?" she asked, removing her gaze from the window. her mind couldn't help but go back to the comments she had heard in the airport. many people were convinced she did not deserve to be where she was right now and her mind loved to play games with her on a daily basis. something she was working on but that was still work in progress.

"look, you have worked harder than anyone to earn, listen carefully here, earn your seat. championships, race wins and dedication. the closest they will ever get to a formula car is through their televisions or a seat in a sketchy, uncomfortable bleacher under the sun."she began with a tight grip to her hand. "you, on the other hand, get paid to drive them." she said encouragingly.

"look, i know it's hard. i've seen in the front row what you have been going through your entire life, but i've been around long enough to know you're headstrong and brave. you love your job, don't let them ruin that." she ended her highly surprising inspiring speech. tania wasn't one to give pep talks but every once in a while she would impress everyone, including herself.