Reviewing priorities - Sebastian Vettel

34. Disappointment in Sochi

'Yeah, I think there's no point in denying it. But confirming it would give them a lot more ammunition to judge whatever happens for these last few races. I think I want to speak to Mattia to get his opinion. I'm mostly worried about Ferrari's side of it. It's their choice, in the end, I am their employee and unfortunately their face with the press. I don't have any issues in going to find another job. Not if the other option is pretending I'm not crazy hopelessly in love with you'

Seb smiled. Valeria had never been that open about her feelings. Yes, she had told him she loved him; but she had never blurted out her feelings that honestly. They had both always concentrated on work, not putting it before their own health, but always giving it the right importance it deserved. Now, she seemed to have stepped out of that, it must have been all the comments he, too, had seen online.

'do you want me to call Mattia?' he asked eventually.

'yeah, rip the band-aid off' she said. Valeria watched him ring the team principal, feeling a mix of anxiety and nerves turn her stomach.

'do you want me to stay in with you?' he offered. Valeria was nervously playing with the hairband on her wrist, going over what she wanted to say.

'No, I think it's probably better for me to be by myself, I appreciate the offer though.' She smiled. Seb gave her a sweet kiss and left the room.

The team principal joined her not long after, a warm smile on his face. Valeria hadn't really spoken much to him, but he had always seemed polite and professional towards her.

'Valeria, is everything OK?' he asked, as he sat down in front of her.

'Yes, and no.'she showed him the article on her phone, allowing him time to read it completely. 'I feel like whichever way Sebastian and I go, my job will always be an issue. So...'she took a deep breath, making a decision right there on the spot 'I would like to officially present you with my notice. I'll be gone next week'

'are you sure?' Mattia asked surprised.

'trust me. I don't want to leave, I'm loving the job. But it's getting harder and harder to ignore everything else. The comments, the tifosi, the media. Whatever I do or say will always be coming from Seb Vettel's fiancée. I can't stay in PR comfortably'

'We don't want to lose you, you are doing greatly' he told her 'what if I can move you to a different department? Or just reduce your media exposure? You can still work with Britta and Silvia but Pietro could take the questions?'

'that could work' she agreed. She couldn't believe that the Team Principal hadn't told her to quit yet. 'thank you, Mattia'

'anytime.' He got up 'I'll speak to Pietro now'

Valeria followed him out, Seb was leaning on the wall, waiting for her impatiently.

'so?'

'he didn't let me quit.'

'Is that what your solution was?' he asked surprised.

'Yeah, man! I'm sick and tired of having to hide everything. I could find a freelance job and still follow you around the world. Or just find a job and stay in Italy, and you could come see me in between races. But for now, I'm basically doing all my job, without the media exposure. Mattia is going to ask Pietro to cover it. We'll see what happens next season' she smiled.

'Good. I can't believe you'd quit for me'

'I'd do a lot for you' she smiled. 'like so' she added. She exposed her necklace where she kept her engagement ring on race weeks. She took the ring off it and placed it on her left hand. 'give them a reason to talk, right?'

'right.'

Sunday

Charles had snatched another pole and he and Seb were separated by Lewis on the starting grid. Ferrari's plan was for Seb to use Charles' slipstream to put himself ahead of the Mercedes but, in a surprising turn of events, Seb had managed to overtake his teammate and got himself on P1.

'We are looking to do the swap later on' Valeria heard on the radio feed. If she had learnt anything about her fiancée, she knew he wouldn't want to give up his position, even if the team told him to.

'tell him to speed up, then' she heard the German say. She tried to contain a smirk, that was Sebastian's way to show the team he still had it. That he was, indeed, still their number one.

The race continued, with Charles pushing hard after his pit stop, Valeria knew he was going to get ahead of his teammate.

'We are losing power' Seb said over the radio. He pulled over not long after, as the damage was terminal. 'Bring back the fucking v12s' he uttered, helplessly, to Riccardo.

He returned to the garage and walked into his driver's room straight away. Valeria looked up to the screen to check she wasn't in the camera shot and looked at Pietro.

'sorry this is the first race you have to deal with Rosberg, mate' she gave him a half smile.

'Anything to keep you around, my darling' he told her, kissing her temple. 'Now.. go to him' he added.

She looked up. Seb's retirement had instigated a virtual safety car that benefited the two Mercedes massively. Charles was now p3 and with not much hope to overtake the two silver arrows.

Valeria took a deep breath and walked over to Seb's room. She slowly knocked on the door. Britta opened up, giving her a little smile before walking out.

'Bärchen, I can go if you want me to' Valeria whispered, after a long silence.

'nein, bitte. Stay, please, my love' he told her. 'I never want you anywhere else but here' he confessed.

Valeria looked at him, sitting on a chair, looking helpless and dejected. It didn't matter how many races he'd run, a DNF still hurt him massively, even more so when there was a chance for him to win.

The Italian slowly passed a towel through his blonde hair. She rested her hands on his shoulders, latching them in front of his neck.

'I know it isn't much, but I'm proud of you. You put your foot down today to show them the media is wrong, you're not finished. You'll never be until you match Lewis... or Michael' she told him. 'I believe in you, alright?'

'How? How can you believe in me after all of this? After Bahrain, Silverstone, Monza..?' he asked her. He couldn't even look her in the eye, he felt like he had disappointed her.

'listen, people make mistakes when under pressure... and you have been put under an insane amount of pressure. Even Mercedes fucked up in Germany. Not everyone is perfect. I believe in you. And I believe you've got it. As a Ferrari fan I'd love for you to win in red, but as a you fan... I'd just love for you to hold that trophy again because you bloody well deserve it.' She told him. 'now, my love, stop sulking. Do your interviews and meet me at the hotel for some cuddles.'

Seb finally managed to smile a little. 'you're the best thing I could have hoped for. I love you' he got up. His racing suit was unzipped and flowing down his side. His tight fireproofs were showing his sculpted body. Valeria wrapped her arms around him, letting him kiss her. 'I'd take you here and now if I could' he groaned. 'See you at the hotel, missy' he kissed her again.