The Grudge •||• PA17

•||•

25-26 August 2022, Spa

The first thing I felt at Spa wasn't the rain. It was the history.

The air was damp, heavy with the kind of mist that clung to your jacket and hair, but underneath it was something else, a hum, a pulse. The paddock buzzed with cameras, fans pressed against barriers, the smell of rubber and fuel already curling through the trees. It was my first time here, and even though I'd been in plenty of paddocks before, Spa felt different. Sacred.

Kimi walked ahead of me, as confident as if the place belonged to him, greeting staff with a quick wave, his cap pulled low. Paul strolled beside him, hands shoved in his pockets, relaxed in that way he always managed, even though I knew the weight of the weekend pressed on him as much as it did on me.

"Don't stare too hard," Paul teased, catching me gazing at the circuit map painted on the paddock wall. "It's just a track."

"Not just a track," I shot back. "It's Spa."

That earned me his signature smirk, one corner of his mouth tugging higher than the other. "Fair. But don't let Eau Rouge scare you."

Kimi snorted ahead of us. "She's braver than you were on your first lap here."

Paul rolled his eyes. "I was thirteen."

I smiled faintly, but my stomach twisted. Tomorrow, I'd be facing Eau Rouge flat-out, with a full grid around me, and no margin for hesitation.

...

The media room was warm compared to the chill outside, lined with banners from sponsors and team logos. Cameras flashed as soon as we entered, reporters already crowding the space. For once, I was grouped with both Paul and Kimi for our team's content shoot, which meant sitting between them while lights blazed overhead.

"Alright," the coordinator said cheerfully, clapping her hands. "Let's start with the trio questions. Paul, Kimi, Viviana. Fans love seeing you together."

Paul leaned closer to the mic, his voice smooth. "That's because Kimi and I make her life miserable off track."

I nudged him under the table. "Correction. You make my life miserable. Kimi just steals my snacks."

The room chuckled, cameras snapping quickly.

"Who's the messiest in the group?" one reporter called out.

"Kimi," Paul and I said at the same time.

"Hey!" Kimi protested, looking genuinely offended. "That's not true."

"You left your gloves in the freezer once," I reminded him.

"That was an experiment."

Paul smirked. "What were you testing, whether leather freezes?"

The banter flowed easily, laughter rising in the room. For a moment, I forgot about the nerves twisting in my stomach. This was what people wanted to see, three young drivers, tied together by friendship and rivalry, teasing one another like siblings.

But when the questions turned serious, the mood shifted.

"Viviana," a journalist leaned forward, "this is your rookie year, and yet you're running close to the top six in the championship. How do you feel heading into Spa, one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar?"

The lights felt hotter. I straightened in my chair. "I'm excited. I know it's a tough track, but I've trained for it. Every circuit teaches you something, and I think Spa is about balance, courage in the fast corners, patience in the wet. I just want to keep improving."