Julia Erin Wolff is daughter of Toto Wolff, team principal of Mercedes. As a result, she grew up mostly in paddocks or travelling with her parents and always felt a certain connection to driving and F1. Now, when it's time to be on her own, she deci...
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"Nervous?" dad asked, looking at me trough middle rear-view mirror. He already knew the answer, so he attempted to divert my attention elsewhere. "Don't stress about it much. If I know one thing from those never-ending school recitals, it's that you were always the best." he chuckled.
"Pfft, it was only two times and I was in an elementary school. This is not just two-times thing, but I appreciate your support." I answered, playing with my rings as if they were fidget toys.
"Two times, twenty times, same thing. Plus if you won't like it, you know you'll always have a place in Mercedes, whether in our team or just the company."
"You're right." I smiled, realizing his method of disrupting me actually worked, "thank you. Honestly, I'm very excited as well. I mean, I haven't been to a race live in a while." That's a bit vague, I haven't been to a race since 2019. Back in 2017, I got accepted into one of the most prestigious universities, in Singapore. Travelling was always a difficulty for me, as it was really far from any other races and I always had something to do. So the whole time, I was counting on the Singapore GP's, but due to Covid they got cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
After twenty minutes we finally arrived at the paddock. Dad and I showed our passes to the guard at the gate and soon enough, we were getting out of the car at one of my favourite paddocks, Silverstone. It's not only the paddock, that I absolutely love, but also the fact, that this race never disappoints. Okay, maybe I'm biased, because Mercedes had won here almost every single year in the past ten years, but I know almost every F1 fan would agree with me.
"Schatze," dad called me with his german nickname for me, "pay me a visit after work, okay? We could go on a little welcome-back dinner afterwards, what do you think?"
"You know I'll never say no to a dinner. See you later."
With these words, I left Mercedes garage and went to the tiny changing room I was assigned. I picked out navy blue cropped suit set and later on team did my hair and make-up. Gosh, how beautiful I felt. I frankly hoped it would help, if I made things accidentally too awkward. After one last check, I left the staff room and approached my boss, who provided me with all the details I'd need today.
-☆-
FP1 had just ended, with Bottas on P1, Hamilton on P2 and Sainz on P3. As Hamilton crossed the line, I had thought of dad, who was definitely happy we got P2 today. I checked my watch and realized, I had only about five more minutes until I got to ask Valtteri about his performance on live stream, so I quickly checked myself out in a mirror nearby, adjusted my skirt and got to my place.
"So, Valtteri, it's wonderful to see you again, and congratulations on your outstanding performance today. So, could you enlighten us about your driving experience today?" I asked the Finnish driver, feeling a wave of relief as the stress faded away.
"Oh yeah, hi Julia, long time, no see. Well um, we're really happy about it, I felt really confident in the flying lap, but at the end it's just FP1, so the most important thing now is to keep the car in shape for qualification and obviously, race." he answered, happy about his result. I nodded my head and was happy for him as well, as he used to race for my dad's team few years ago.
"Yeah, absolutely agreed. So... can we say that you're currently satisfied with your car?" As I attempted to find another topic to bring up, a sudden wave of stress crashed into me, causing my stomach to twist in knots once more.
"Mhm, today I was able to push to maximal limits, so I'm very happy with the car now."
Afterwards, I quickly congratulated and thanked him again, the cameras got turned off and I was about to head back to Mercedes garage, when I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
"Great job today. Keep it up." my boss smiled at me and lifted her thumbs up. In a response I thanked her and couldn't be more happier, that my childhood dreams were actually becoming true.
