Silverstone, United Kingdom
The afternoon at Red Bull Headquarters showed Viktoria two things.
Firstly, that she didn't find the new summer collection all that bad.
And secondly, that Sebastian Vettel wasn't such an asshole after all.
This Thursday afternoon in Milton Keynes showed the Finn that her beloved teammate had just shown her his very worst side at the beginning.
She didn't know why yet.
But in recent weeks he's shown another side of himself and despite 'apologizing' to Viktoria about Malaysia, she still played offended.
But slowly she realized that maybe she should stop and bury the hatchet.
The Finn recalled the conversation she had with Esme on the plane when they flew to Helsinki.
Meanwhile, the British woman's words made more and more sense and Viktoria considered returning Vettel's kindness in the future.
Firstly, it would be so much better for the team climate and secondly, it would be good for their cooperation during the season going further on.
But on the other hand, his kindness might just be a lie and once Viktoria forgave him, Malaysia would repeat itself.
Or he would just mutate back into the sexist bastard.
Or maybe not.
And that was something that concerned Viktoria immensely.
The whole time she had this thought in her head, so Phoebe, with whom Viktoria spent the last days before the British Grand Prix, asked if everything was ok.
Viktoria always answered with a 'yes, of course' and tried to concentrate on the current activity, but Vettel crept into her head.
No matter how hard Viktoria tried to avoid it.
Despite thoughts of her teammate, Viktoria was having a good time with Phoebe in London.
The Brit showed the Finn her favorite places in the big metropolis, places that not everyone knew.
Because even though Viktoria had been to England a lot in her childhood because of her father's employment at McLaren, she didn't know the country as well as Phoebe, whose mood seemed to be improving day by day.
When Viktoria arrived at Phoebe's place in London, the Brit looked more than dejected and although she tried to hide it, Viktoria found several ice cream sundaes and tissues in the bin.
This fact also gave the Finn a big headache, because something was bothering her good friend.
But Viktoria didn't know what.
And although she wanted to know so badly, she held back and reminded herself not to take the reins until Phoebe actively asked for her help.
But Viktoria hoped that this would not last too long.
Because if you swallow all your problems and don't talk to anyone about them, then in the case of a Formula One driver, this can also have an huge effect on the race.
However, few people knew that Formula One is also one of the most dangerous sports in the world and that the smallest mistakes could have fatal consequences.
The upcoming Grand Prix of the United Kingdom in particular was particularly tricky and punished the smallest of driver mistakes.
That's why Viktoria hoped that the weather would stay good.
And as things looked at the moment, everything seemed to be going according to the Finn's hopes.
The day before yesterday she had driven from London to Silverstone, the day before Phoebe had met her team Marussia there.
Today was Friday, the day with the free practice one and free practice two.
When the first free practice started, the track was perfect and Viktoria had a good feeling about the car.
It was easy to steer and she had no other problems with the track.
However, as the free practice two started, Viktoria felt something was wrong in the last corner of the last sector.
When she came to the mainstraight, the Finn naturally pushed the car to its limit to get a good target time for tomorrow's qualifying.
However, Viktoria's Red Bull slowed down towards the end of the mainstraight and she lost power rapidly.
"What the hell is going on here? I'm loosing power", she announced over the radio, slightly annoyed, and pulled to the side so as not to block the route for other drivers at much higher speeds.
"We have an engine problem, please come back to the pit. We're sorry, Vick", Simon replied a short time later, and with that, Viktoria's free practice two session was over after two laps.
Accordingly upset, she returned to the garage and exited the car as quickly as possible, only to sit in the chair next to Simon and her engineers afterwards.
As it later turned out, it wasn't a problem that the mechanics couldn't fix before tomorrow. As a result, Viktoria was able to look forward to the forthcoming interviews in a much more relaxed manner.
Her mechanics were the best at what they do, so the Finn had no doubt that they would get her car competitive again for Qualifying tomorrow.
"Be prepared that they will ask you about Buratti. She said that she had talks with Red Bull before you", Meredith remarked casually while typing something on her cell phone.
Viktoria could only shake her head with a grin.
Somehow Valentina Buratti seemed to have something against her lately, although Viktoria couldn't remember doing anything to her.
But just as Viktoria's PR manager had predicted, a reporter from the German television asked what Viktoria thought of Valentina's statements.
"Teams always talk to several drivers, so it doesn't bother me at all. And besides, everyone knows who actually got the cockpit", she answered the reporter with a honeyed smile and at that moment the Finn didn't care how her statement would be interpreted.
But it couldn't have been that bad, since Meredith neither reprimanded nor lectured her.
"All right, good job. You're finished for today. But remember to sign the cards I put in your driver's room tonight", Meredith reminded her protégé almost motherly before she disappeared into the sea of Red Bull workers.
Meanwhile, Viktoria made a mental note to comply with Meredith's request and was about to turn back towards the paddock crowd when a finnish dialect called her name.
It was Valtteri, who jogged in from the Williams garage and stopped just short in front of Viktoria.
"Hey, Vicky! Care to join me for lunch?", the older Finn got straight to the point and took off his sunglasses.
Viktoria, who in the end had nothing to do anyway, just nodded.
"Sure, why not", the two Finns made their way through the crowd in the paddock and while doing so, they were often photographed.
Since the beginning of the season, many newspapers and magazines have made assumptions and theses as to whether Valtteri and Viktoria were a couple.
For Viktoria it was all just kindergarten and gossip press.
She saw nothing in Valtteri but a good platonic friend who also happened to be from Finland and had been through Formula two and Formula three at the same time as she.
But these reports in newspapers and magazines gave Valtteri hope.
Hope, that one day Viktoria would see more in him than just a good, platonic friend who also happened to be from Finland and had gone through Formula two and Formula three at the same time as she did.
Valtteri wanted to be more for Viktoria, but Viktoria didn't notice it at all.
Although sometimes it was actually so obvious.
"I heard what Valentina said about you and the Red Bull Cockpit. I'm sure she doesn't mean it like that", Valtteri started a conversation while protecting his teammate at the same time.
Viktoria didn't blame him.
Nevertheless, somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered whether Vettel would ever protect the Finn in the same way.
"I'm sure that's exactly what she meant", Viktoria replied dryly and held her paddock pass under the scanner.
"But in the end, I don't care what she says because I got the cockpit", the Finn added confidently and waited for Valtteri behind the barrier.
As she did so, she slipped on her newly designed Red Bull cap and placed the sunglasses on her nose.
Valtteri did the same, except that a Williams cap rested on his head.
"Confident as ever", was all Valtteri had to add to Viktoria's statement.
After he said that, they silently got into his Mercedes and drove to a good restaurant near the track.
After the disappointing second free practice, Viktoria was really hungry and couldn't wait for her pizza to be delivered.
Valtteri also had more than just cravings and yet they had to wait.
But they whiled away that time chatting about tomorrow's qualifying and Sunday's race.
They made predictions and laughed a lot, just what Viktoria needed after a somewhat depressing day.
Luckily, the two young Finns didn't stay alone for long, because at some point during their waiting time, Esme and Kimi suddenly stood in front of Viktoria and Valtteri's table.
"Kimi, Esme! How nice to see you, sit down!", Viktoria's face brightened immediately and she pulled out two chairs that were standing by the table so that the couple could sit down.
"Thank you, Kääpiö", Kimi replied with a small smile on his lips as he sat down on the chair next to his girlfriend and put an arm around her shoulders.
A smile appeared on Esme's lips at the gesture and the Brit then leaned into him.
Viktoria watched the two in awe while Valtteri sighed inwardly.
He could never spend more than an hour alone with Viktoria because someone always got in the way.
Be it Kimi, be it Esme, be it Phoebe or be it anyone else.
But Viktoria didn't pay any attention to that, rather she was surprised that Kimi and Esme showed so much physical closeness in public.
While they'd been photographed sitting in a restaurant or talking somewhere else before, oddly enough, the media always thought of the two as just good friends.
However, they had been dating for more than a year and revealed to Viktoria and Valtteri that they were planning to go public.
"I got tired of all the hiding stuff, you know", Kimi said calmly as always, but Viktoria could see that Esme was a bit scared.
"I'm just anxious that they'll destroy us", the Brit then admitted when asked by Viktoria, whereupon Kimi kissed her on the top of her head.
"If they do, then we'll destroy them. Won't we, Vali?", Viktoria said and gave Esme an encouraging smile while Valtteri just nodded perplexed.
"Absolutely", he then added, and from across the table, Esme grabbed Viktoria's hand.
Esme and Kimi, in Viktoria's eyes, deserved the best that life could offer them.
With a smile she looked at the two lovebirds and quietly wished to be able to experience something like that herself one day.
✧･ﾟ: ✧ﾟ･:
It was qualifying day at Silverstone and although it was a big race the focus wasn't entirely on the sport.
Kimi and Esme had gone public with their one year-long relationship after having dinner with Viktoria and Valtteri and so far have received nothing but encouragement.
Viktoria was immensely happy for them both and she expressed that in her mood during free practice three.
Because in addition to the good news, the Finn's car also worked perfectly again, so that after a good third place in the last training session, she was able to go into Qualifying with peace of mind and self-confidence.
Now, she was just in the process of braiding her hair into boxer braids and was leaning against a counter.
Her racing suit was hanging loosely from her hips, and the young Finn had stuffed her gloves in the suit pockets.
Automatically, her fingers expertly braided her hair into the two boxer braids and as she did so, she couldn't help but watch her teammate warm up for Qualifying.
Eventually, the watching turned to staring, and instead of starting her own warm-up routine, the Finn simply continued to watch her teammate.
But when his physio Antti noticed that and said something to Vettel, Viktoria turned around as quickly as possible to warm up herself now.
In the meantime, her cheeks were burning.
Viktoria just wanted to beat herself and make sense of herself.
She had never been interested in Vettel's warm-up program.
Sighing, she got ready for qualifying, which would start in a good quarter of an hour.
The weather was good at Silverstone and as soon as Viktoria was back in the car, she was electrified by the shouts of the fans, which reached her in the garage.
With balaclava and helmet on, she did one last radio check before Q1 started.
Luckily the car performed just as well as it did in FP3, allowing Viktoria to make it into Q3 and finish in P5 there.
Esme found herself on pole position, which was celebrated accordingly by Ferrari.
But Viktoria was also happy with her starting position and was congratulated.
She had the feeling that something could really happen tomorrow.
So after a few interviews with various channels, she walked back to her drivers room with a smile on her face to change.
So she got rid of her racing suit and the fireproofs to take a short shower.
Unfortunately, the Finn had forgotten to lock the door, which is why her beloved teammate simply walked through the door when Viktoria was standing in the middle of her driver's room, dressed only in pants and a bra.
"What the fuck?", she frantically pulled the Red Bull shirt on and then put her hands on her hips.
"Didn't you learn to knock before you enter a room?", the Finn asked the German, slightly irritated but also embarrassed.
She hadn't missed his gaze, lingering on her body.
But he didn't say anything, he just looked at her for a while.
Viktoria began to feel uncomfortable.
"Can I-", she finally began, but at the same moment Vettel had decided to say something.
"I'm sorry, Viktoria", he said, and when the Finn looked at him, she saw something else in his eyes.
Nothing ironic, nothing pejorative.
Somehow he looked like he was really sorry.
"I said I'm sorry", he repeated, now coming closer to her after she didn't reply.
"I told you in Bahrain, I showed you in Canada and Milton Keynes. I'll say it as often as you want me to if it means that you'll forgive me for my stupid actions", he said slowly, clearly.
He was now standing so close to the Finn that she could feel his breath on her skin.
"Do you even know how it felt? When you overtook me despite team orders? Or when you looked at me like I didn't belong here? You're gonna be world champion anyways, this win wasn't necessary for you. I am the one fighting for the right to stay and you as my teammate failed horribly to help me", Viktoria now looked him straight in the eyes and had told him exactly what she had thought.
A wrinkle appeared on his forehead and his face looked troubled and ashamed.
"I know, Viktoria. That's why I am here and that's why I apologize. Forgive me. Please", he looked at her with an expression in his eyes that would have made every woman say yes.
But at that moment Viktoria felt more than just under pressure and overwhelmed.
So she did something she would later hate herself for.
"Could you please leave my room? I'm in the middle of getting dressed, if you don't mind", she took a step back and tried not to let her overwhelm show.
Vettel looked at her helplessly, he was running out of ideas on how to make her believe in his apologie.
Sighing, he then left her drivers room, just as she wished.
And Viktoria was feeling like crap.
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A/N:
chapter eleven!
seems like viktoria is getting overwhelmed by sudden emotion changes about seb!
what do you think about the chapter?
can you understand the way viktoria reacted?
see you on the next chapter, until then, be safe!