Where life leads us

Chapter 35

'George will stay, that's out of the question. But Robert didn't convince me as much as I hoped," Claire threw into the room. The silence that prevailed was overwhelming, no one really wanted to have this discussion, but it had to be. Only the thought of replacing Robert hurt. He was such a good person; I didn't want to replace him. On the other hand, there were also good talents in Formula 2 who showed her can and deserved a chance. Above all Nicholas Latifi, at the age of 24, he was late compared to the other young riders. He just proved his talent in Formula 2, and he was our test driver.

Michael sounded a roar: "I see it the same way and Nicholas Latifi just proves how good he is. The only thing I could see as a problem is age and experience. If we started with Russell and Latifi next year, we would have two boys quite inexperienced drivers. It would be a risk."

"What else does Williams have to lose? It can't get any worse than this year?" I soberly asked. Approving nodding came from some. Not that I wanted to get rid of Robert, but to take the risk as an argument, I found weak.

Timo looked at me with a smile that could only mean fun: "With you, we could maybe get Norris. You could edit it a bit." We all laughed and I just shook my head. This joke had briefly relaxed the mood, but no one was really relaxed. So, the mood was serious again.

"We should be talking about other options, like Nico Hülkenberg, Jack Aitken or Roy Nissany," Hannes said. What he was responsible for was not yet so clear to me. Timo was too constant for the finance department and Michael of course for everything to do with the cars. Hannes, on the other hand, was kind of just there and part of the squad. In addition to the ones mentioned so far, James was present, who was responsible for the drivers. You couldn't really call him a real coach, but it was going in that direction.

"Roy Nissany hasn't even competed in Formula 2 this year, so we can delete him. We don't know what he's doing at the moment. Jack Aitken, on the other hand, has already made a test drive for Renault this year, but he is behind Latifi in the Formula 2 rankings. Finally, to Nico, he is a good driver. But is he the kind of driver we're looking for?" said Timo.

Claire straightened up a bit: "So we agree that Robert has to vacate his place?" We all agreed to behave, even if it broke my heart a little. But I had to stop my feelings for this decision. It wasn't about whom you liked the most, it was about who did best on the team. Unfortunately, Robert wasn't.

To get a picture of all the other drivers who were eligible, we watched videos of them. After that, we also looked at their successes and data. It was a back and forth, but in the end the drivers were at least for us for the next year. We were able to have some food with us, but I wasn't after it. Unlike the other squad members, I left the building.

I felt like I had deceived Robert. He had always been so nice to me, almost paternal, now I had fallen in his back. I knew it was the right decision for Williams. I talked about this all the time, but the distressing feeling in my chest didn't abate.

To get some distraction, I was looking for my boyfriend. Without thinking for a long time, I slid towards McLaren. But I didn't get there, because Lando was sitting in front of an FIA building with most of the other drivers. A large round of garden furniture had been built there, all but Romain, Lance, Daniil and Pierre. So, George and Robert were also in the group, so much on the subject of distraction.

"Meeting done?!" said Dan. He had thus drawn everyone's attention to me, which made it impossible for me to disappear. I nodded tormented and overcame the last meters to the troupe. I wasn't trying to look at the Williams drivers. Luckily, Lando didn't sit next to any of them or opposite.

Shining, my friend looked at me and stretched out his hands after me. A slight smile was on my lips as I let myself fall on his lap. I had put my hands on his cheek and gave him a kiss. Before I cuddled up to him. I buried my face in his neck to bend so that I couldn't tell anyone with my gaze.