invisible string | OP81

Chapter 3

I got back to the Alpine hospitality to find Esteban, our first interview was together with someone called Valentine Bellerose. When I walked in, he was already waiting for me and we headed back out quickly.

I let him lead the way because I didn't know how to get to where the interviews take place, we made small talk during the short walk over to the interview area.

The interviewer was a young, blonde woman who I had seen doing interviews with other drivers earlier in the day. From what I gathered she seemed nice which helped me to relax.

'Hi, Esteban and Blair, I'm Valentine'

'Hi, Valentine, are we ready to get going?' Esteban replied for the both of us.

'Yes, okay first question, do you think the car can be competitive with Red Bull off the bat?'

Esteban took this question. 'I think that the car has potential to be fighting for podiums, but we all know how fast Red Bull is at the moment. But, I am excited to see what I can do with it in qualifying and in the race.'

'Blair, do you agree?'

'I agree with Esteban, I am excited to get in the car and see how I can perform in a race with it.'

'Great, and are you two excited to be teammates this season?'

'I mean we only met today but I can definitely see us becoming great friends as the season progresses.' I answered.

'I agree, and from what I've seen from F2, Blair here has a great sense of humour so I'm very excited to get to know her better.' Esteban added.

'I can already tell how comfortable you seem, Blair, how does it feel to be the first female F1 driver since 1976?'

I had no choice but to take this one. 'I'm so proud to be able to represent woman from all aspects of motorsports. However, it is a lot of pressure. I'd rather people just see me as another rookie driver than treat me different because I'm a girl.'

'I have to say, I was so excited hearing about your move from Formula 2.' Valentine added. 'There was some drama regarding your team and McLaren's new driver Oscar Piastri, do you have any opinions of the situation.'

'Well, his late change landed me a seat in Formula 1, so I guess I can't complain.'

'I think things could've been handled differently from all parties involved' Esteban added.

'I see.' The interview continued with some more questions regarding this upcoming season before it was time to move on.

'Thank you guys, it was great meeting you and I'll see you around this weekend!' Valentine ended the interview before moving onto the Haas drivers.

My next interview was alone with an interviewer called Henry Anderson. When I arrived, I heard my name called.

'Blair, over here! Nice to meet you, I'm Henry.' The voice belonged to a short, middle-aged man.

'Nice to meet you, Henry, are we ready to begin?'

'Yes, so what has your training been like to prepare you for the intensity of F1?'

'Um, well, it's been very similar to the other drivers. A lot of neck, arms and cardio.'

'Mhm, what about your diet?'

I was getting frustrated at the strange questions. 'Again, just like the other drivers and even other athletes. Mostly healthy but an occasional treat won't hurt.'

The interview carried on with these kinds of questions and it didn't take me long to figure out why, however I had to keep silent.

'Final question, you were spotted earlier with Oscar Piastri, is there anything going on with you and him?'

I was completely taken aback by the question. 'Um, what?'

'Is there something going on with you and Oscar Piastri?' He repeated nonchalantly.

'Um, no, we just bumped into each other earlier and recognised one another. There is nothing more to it.'

'Interesting, thank you.' And he left.

Why would there be anything between me and Piastri? We had one very uncomfortable conversation and the immediate reaction is 'are we dating?'. God, I can't stand it. I want nothing to do with him anyway. People will do anything for some drama.

I, unfortunately, had a few more interviews before finishing for the day. Thankfully, none were weird like that Henry guy, they just asked about this season and some of them last season.

I quickly stopped at my driver room to grab my jacket and keys before I headed out to my car. Before heading back to the hotel, I decided to go for a drive. This has been something I've done to clear my head ever since I got my licence. I blast the music and put my roof down. I find the wind in my hair and face so relaxing and it just gives me some private time to think and clear my head.

I knew coming into F1 would be difficult and that there would be people doubting that I deserve to be there.

I had prepared myself for that.

But, I forgot about those creepy questions that would never get asked to a male driver. It's like those interviews with actresses and how all their questions are about something other than the movie.

People are going to be determined to create drama surrounding me and I just need to remember that. I dealt with it in F2 but it would be much worse now.

There is so much pressure to be perfect all the time, and that just isn't who I am. I'm argumentative, and stubborn, and I can be selfish. You have to be in this sport. But because I'm a girl, I can't show any of that. I hate it.

At the end of the day, it's all worth it. I finally get the opportunity to do what I love, racing. I just need to get tough. I can do it. I know I can.

I turned up the music and started screaming along to the song that was playing. The drive did help, I honestly feel more confident now.

It was 15 minutes back to the hotel, but it was already dark and quite late. I quickly parked and went inside. I was waiting for the lift (elevator for the Americans among us) when I heard someone walking up to where I was. A quick look told me that it was the last person that I wanted to see at the moment, bloody Piastri.

I knew that he was at the same hotel as I was because I saw him at the gym this morning, but I hoped that I wouldn't have to see or talk to him at all. That's why I decided to turn the other direction and take the stairs, I could not deal with more awkwardness in the lift. I could feel his eyes on my back as the began ascending the stairs. It was good fitness after all.

I definitely misjudged how many flights it was to get to my floor as by the top my chest was heaving. I had to take a second to catch my breath. I finally reached my hotel room and collapsed on the bed when my stomach made a loud rumbling sound.

That's when I remembered that I hadn't eaten since lunch. I was weighing up my options to see what would be best. I ended up searching through the snacks left in the hotel room, I managed to find a chocolate bar and a few digestives meant for dunking into tea or coffee. I decided that it would have to do until the morning.

I got ready for bed as quickly as possible and crashed onto my bed. Only a few minutes had passed before I was sound asleep.

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A/N: look at me updating this quick. Hope you enjoy this chapter and lmk if there are any mistakes!

Q: What's your favourite pizza toppings?