~Book Dedication~
Even in hard times, there is still light. That could be a person, a place, a hobby or even a thing, but try and reach out for it. Let the light hold you in its warmth and keep you safe. It will be better.
2023
"She is the 'it' girl...
They pulled up to Susie's home, although Leah thought it looked kind of like an office building. It was gorgeous though. Leah got out and walked toward the door. She could see the other cars parked around as well.
"The whole gang is here!" Cassidy threw her hands in the air. Leah smiled and shook her head as she knocked on the door. It opened a few seconds later revealing Susie. She had a big smile on her face.
"Hey, thank you for coming. Come on in," Susie laughed as Leah walked in. She smiled at the girls who all stared at her.
"Hello," Leah chuckled a bit and then she saw the cameras. She turned looking at Cassidy who just smiled at her.
"I told you," She walked past her.
"Leah, lovely to have you here," Toto appeared and reached his hand forward. Leah shook it giving him a polite smile.
"all woman, now leave Toto," Susie chuckled as he grabbed his coat and keys.
"Yes ma'am," He gave her a kiss before leaving and then Susie shut the door.
"So today's kind of just going to be a girl's video, I wanted to promote the female in the industry and I wanted to also get some light on F1 academy since their season will be starting soon," Susie explained. "It's also going to be videoed. Ladies if you want to introduce yourselves you can. Leah is much nicer than you all think." Susie joked as she walked back into the kitchen setting out drinks.
"Hi my name is Tatiana Calderon," Tatiana was the Formula Two female driver. Leah smiled and shook her hand.
"Leah Guessey-Norris," Leah smiled and then a blonde stood up from the couch.
"Sohpia Florsch," The girl smiled.
"Nice to meet you," Leah laughed a little as she watched the other girls stand up as well. "So I'm going to need someone to explain what F1 academy is? I know the general idea, but I'm not totally sure."
"Leah, my name is Bianca Bustamante. I drive for Prema Racing and I just want to say it's an honor to meet you. I've looked up to you ever since you started racing. You were and will always be my idol," Bianca explained as she went in for a hug instead. Leah allowed the hug and leaned back.
"That's sweet, although honorable is a little much, I'm not the president or anything, but I felt the same way when I met Lewis the first time," Leah joked as she slid her hands into her pockets.
"You are a world champion, it's intense sometimes," Cassidy explained as she patted Leah's shoulder and sat down on the chair behind her. Around the room, the girls kept introducing themselves.
"So I guess I'm here to answer any of the questions you might have?" Leah looked across the room as Susie came back over nodding her head.
"Yeah, this is just something for a little woman empowerment," Susie smiled as she sat down. "I want everyone to get comfortable with one another because we will need to stay together to get more women into the industry." Susie stared at Leah and she nodded.
"Why is the press so hard on you?" Hamada asked. Her older sister nodding beside her.
"Because I'm a woman, and because I drive for Red Bull," Leah reasoned as she spun her ring around her finger. "They don't want me to have a top seat, in a fast car, that would put me in the front of the grid."
"They ask you such dehumanized questions too," Lola muttered as she crossed her legs. "I don't understand how you keep your cool when answering most of those."
"She doesn't," Cassidy muttered as Leah glared at her.
"You better sit quiet, I remember you going after someone my rookie year, I don't wanna hear it," Leah joked with her. "The press just want to see me react most of the time. Since women are more emotional than men, they think they can get a rise out of me over some simple questions. I just either ignore them, give them a direct answer, or totally go off the rails. I've learned better though." Leah reasoned as Cassidy gave her a slight nod.
"I've had people on the internet say that I would never make it with the men," Lena admitted. Leah loved that everyone from F1 had accents. It was a European sport most definitely, but being from America she loved their accents.
"They will tend to do that, people get angry that women are trying to make an appearance in a mostly male-dominated sport. They get very territorial," Leah explained as she reached forward taking a drink from the tray in the center of the room.
"How do people on the grid treat you?" Sophia asked. Leah sipped the lemonade and then put it back down.
"The men on the grid are wonderful, like family, there's the occasional argument though, but that tends to happen when everyone is trying around at high speeds. The team principals are all nice to me, now at least," Leah muttered. Cassidy hit her arm telling her to be quiet.
"It's alright, I know my husband was hard on you and I am not defending his behavior, but what you said in an earlier interview really spoke to me. We need to teach them how to work with us, they need a bit more time. Toto has been speaking well about you lately, he's learning," Susie defended. Leah knew she was telling the truth because Cassidyshowed her the rumors the other day about how Toto had stated that he regretted letting Leah go without a fight.
"How do they treat you as the second driver, if you don't mind me asking," Nerea asked as she looked around the room for confirmation that she didn't overstep.
"I know Red Bull has an off history treating the second driver poorly, but so far it's been fine. I have a close platonic relationship with Max and Christian is kind of like this father figure for me, he never pushes me too hard since he knows I do that on my own and he knows what my capabilities are," Leah smiled and looked over at the cameras. She needed to remember to filter what she said, this was being recorded.
"How have you been doing lately?" Megan asked as she leaned forward away from the back of her cushioned chair.
"I've been doing well," Leah nodded.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep, it's just I saw that you were taking a break from social media," Megan added again.
"Oh no, of course not, I just needed a little break I was getting a lot of information on my physical health issues and didn't know how I was going to deal with them," Cassidy put her hand over Leah's.
"Are you okay?" The group almost unanimously asked her. Leah laughed softly. She loved how caring these women were.
"Yeah, I just figured out that um," Leah looked over at Cassidy who was listening intently. "I can't have kids." Susie gave her a sad smile.
"There is always adoption," She reasoned and Leah nodded.
"I know, I have options," Leah nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You are way stronger than me Leah, I would have had many mental breakdowns by now," Amna smiled at her. "I mean the grief you are going through and live with, is enough to take me out. Let alone the struggles of being a woman in formula one."
"Oh I've had many breakdowns, I just have had my family there to pick me back up. Max, Cassidy, Lando, everyone on the grid, even Christian at one point. They all help me and why would I quit when I have all of you looking up to me? I'll take it all on for you all the have an easier transition in the future."
"Well you've always got your girls," Susie reasoned as she gave Leah a little nod. They all spoke about what was coming up from F1 Academy. They also took the time to explain to Leah how it was different. Susie told her why she thought of it and put it into action. Leah thought it was amazing, especially given the age range, she thought it was brilliant.
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