ELYSE's POV
I was seriously lacking some motivation. It was nearly time for the French Grand Prix and after three bad races in a row, I was feeling rather deflated.
We all know how I passed out during one race and had my race get fucked up in the pitstop and then during the last race in Azerbaijan, Lewis and I ended up with P15 and P16.
So I was really desperate for a win, especially since I've dropped down to third in the championship with Max in the lead and Lewis in second. Not to mention, my dad was constantly on my ass for so many screw ups in a row and I honestly couldn't wait to break my streak of bad luck.
I gave some interviews and attended press conferences after each practice session. During quali, I managed to lock P2 behind Max with Checo behind me, making me into a Redbull sandwich. But I tried not to let that faze me.
Unfortunately for me, once it was lights out— I had a slower reaction that Checo who overtook me easily but I stuck my elbows out swiftly after, blocking Lewis from passing me in the meanwhile.
It was safe to say I despised the French track. It felt like I was driving in a children color book and I could feel my eyes popping out of it's socket because of how many blue lines there were.
The sky was grey and I hoped it'd rain. I've always been great in the rain and I could really use some help. But that wasn't the case.
After 19 laps, my tires were starting to lose grip so I was called into the pits. A lap later Lewis pitted. During these few laps many cars pitted, including the two Redbulls infront of me, making me P1.
I thrived in the lead for 15 more laps until my medium tires surprisingly started to wear off. I started to panic since my tire conservation was usually top tear but my engineer calmed me after telling me this was a common problem for everyone else and that we'd have to pit soon.
So by lap 37, I pitted once again. As I rejoined the track I dropped down a few positions, P8. I was now battling with Charles who I knew was a tough person to get past and a great defender but after some back and forth fighting and with the aid of DRS I managed to pass him and was stuck in the mid field which consisted of the two Mclarens and AlphaTauri's and Fernando Alonso's Alpine.
It wasn't hard to pass the Alpine and AlphaTauri's. It was just Daniel's Mclaren who was making my life harder.
As we approached a turn, Daniel's car flung a piece of debris my way which hit my right hand holding the steering wheel. I let out a string of curses, trying to blink away the tears that were forming flogging my vision in the process. I bit on my tongue to stop me from screaming.
"There's debris on the track, please let someone clear it." I was able to get out through my gritted teeth. "A piece of debris nearly took off my finger for fuck's sake." I groaned as I used my other hand to turn.
Even though I had my injured hand on the wheel it was useless since I was mostly using my left hand which was rather new for me since I was right handed and doing anything with my left hand felt out of place.
However, I sucked it up and passed Daniel and was finally back with the top three. First, I had to pass Sergio who has repeatedly proven how much of a pain in the ass he was, Redbull were lucky to have him. I made use if DRS and passed him on a straight and quickly increased the gap between us to he couldn't pull the same trick on me and chased Max who was hanging my Lewis' rear wing.
The pain in my hands intensified and I couldn't wait for the race to be over. I opened my visor to quickly wipe away my tears that started to fog my vision once again. It was getting really hard to not focus on the soaring pain but I stayed strong and took a deep breath before getting as close as I could to Max's car. It was a three way fight for first.
The three of us lined up next to each other and we were all on the same line, except for Lewis who was an inch in front. I upped my engine level and pressed harder on the throttle and passed the two cars. A few turns later, I turned down the engine level since I didn't want the car to break down or to finish all my fuel with inky 5 laps remaining.
During the last lap, Max was hot on my tail. Apparently he managed to pass Lewis and finally caught up to me much to my dismay and his joy.
In one corner, I nearly threw everything away after I locked up since I got distracted by my aching fingers once again but I turned wide, taking up all the space so Max had nowhere to go except for off the track which slowed him down a bit. I was half-expecting a penalty but nothing came.
I was so ecstatic by the time I passed the line. One word was repeated through my brain; finally.
"Congratulations Ellie! You did it! It was about damn time!" Toto and my engineer yelled down the radio. "How are you feeling?!"
"Five words, Toto! On top of the world!" I cheered and whooped until I parked the car and got out, falling into my team's arms.
I pulled my helmet off and rushed towards my mom and wrapped her into a soul-crushing hug then giving her two kisses on her cheek.
"You earned it, Lyly." My mom squeezed my cheeks and patted me on the back, "Now go enjoy it." She pointed towards Lewis who was in third. He wasted no time and pulled me into a hug and congratulated me.
"I had a feeling this weekend would be yours." Lewis playfully nudged me.
"I think I would've had a mental breakdown if it wasn't. I'm so sick of the bad luck streak I've been experiencing." I huffed before entering the cooldown room.
I took off my gloves to find a very swollen middle finger in my right hand.
Lewis hissed and cringed at the sight. "Yikes. How the hell did that happen?"
I chuckled, "Daniel's car flung some debris at me. But hey, atleast when I flip people off I have a bigger middle finger."
Both Lewis and I burst out laughing as I flipped Lewis off, showing my enlarged finger.
Max entered the room, silencing the room. I hadn't bothered to talk to him and rather avoided him ever since I did the regretful decision of asking him for a ride that night in Monaco. Nobody knew about it except for him and my mom.
I made sure to soak up every second during the celebrations, I needed this victory so bad. Who knows what I would've done if my bad race streak continued. But now that I've got by head back in the game, I was more than motivated and ready to win the next race. But that was still a week away and I still had post-race interviews to attend to.
"What a performance out there today, Elyse! The whole paddock is beyond ecstatic for you." Natalie congratulated me and I thanked her, "Tell me, what was going through your mind during the last intense laps of the race?"
"Well, considering I was in an immense amount of pain I don't recall much but I remember just biting my tongue and sucking it up once I saw Max closing in and focussed on blocking him and crossing the like first."
"Oh yeah, apparently some debris from Daniel's car hit you around lap 40?" She asked me.
"Yeah, and it hurt like a bitch the whole race." I shower her my middle finger, accidentally flipping her off without meaning to. I put a hand over my mouth, "Oh shit, I'm so sorry."
Natalie laughed while giving me a stern look about swearing, "Oh shit, sorry I forgot I can't swear."
Another glare, "Fuck, I didn't mean to!"
"You did it again!" Natalia exclaimed but in the end we both laughed and I apologized profusely then headed to other reporters.
Once I was done, Hailey gave me an ice-pack to put over my thumb and demanded I get in an ice-bath despite my protests. But as usual, she won and I had to bare sitting in a bath if ice for 15 minutes. After that, I showered and headed to the hotel with every intention to go out and enjoy my win— which was very unlike my nature.
Lewis texted me, letting me know he already made our plans and that we'd be meeting up with most of the drivers at some exclusive French bar. I agreed and got ready.
I had Isa to accompany me since she was the only WAG present this race week.
I was obsessed with both our outfits. We both were.
Our chauffeurs, Lewis and Carlos, texted us that they arrived so we grabbed our bags and headed downstairs.
Once I opened the backseat door, I was met with Daniel, Lando and Max stuffed next to each other. I watched as Isa chose to sit on Carlos' lap since he was sitting in the passenger seat.
I sighed dramatically before squeezing myself next to Max and shut the door.
"I'm connecting my phone to the aux." I declared while a bunch of groans erupted through the car. "You know what? Just for that I'm going to play only Spanish songs."
Isa cheered as 'Me quiero ir' started playing. Only me and Isa sang our hearts out, with Carlos occasionally singing along.
It wasn't long before we arrived and I could finally stop being pressed against Max and have my personal space to myself.
As soon as we stepped foot into the place, Isa pulled me towards the bar and started ordering a bunch of drinks— toasting to my win. We started dancing on the dance floor like maniacs till we tired ourselves out.
Eventually, Isa left me to hang out with Carlos who was joking with Lando and Charles.
I headed to the bar to order some more drinks since I had nothing better to do. As I swallowed my drink in one go, a voice behind me spoke up.
"Be careful, you don't want to get too wasted. The press is waiting outside and you certainly don't want your 'addict' reputation to resurface, huh?" A slurry Max Verstappen warned me.
I scoffed as I turned around to face him, "Maybe you should take your own advice, dipshit, seeing as you're the one who's two drinks away from passing out." I snapped, "And who the hell are you to talk about my reputation and my past? I knew you were an asshole and a stubborn piece of shit but I didn't think you were such a sore loser."
"Ouch, you wound me." He put a hand over his chest in offense.
I curled my fists into a ball, "Do you want anything from me or did you suddenly have the urge to be a dick for no reason?"
"No, just didn't want to see my rival go down the same path she went down while she was a rookie. Y'know what they say; once an addict, always an addict." he shrugged, "I've seen you smoke and abuse pills. You're still an addict, Elyse, you only got better at hiding it."
I slapped him, harder than ever this time.
"Fuck you, Emilian." I made sure to use the nickname his father gave him, "If you're getting joy out of being an asshole just because your daddy gave you tons of shit for losing against me, then stop because it's fucking pathetic."
He remained silent for a moment, "You don't know shit about my relationship with my father."
"Oh really? Then enlighten me, how is the wonderful Jos Verstappen when he isn't yelling and throwing insults at you after a bad race?" I watched his jaw tick, knowing I hit a nerve. I knew I had no right in shaming him regarding this topic knowing I had the same problem, but I needed to get back at him after being such a jerk to me.
"Just enjoy this win because it's going to be your last, Elyse." Max started to walk away after realizing he lost.
"Yeah, I bet that's what you told your daddy too!" I yelled at him, positive he heard me since he staggered in his steps.
Luckily, the rest of the night was less hectic as me and Isa rejoined the dance floor and had to be carried to the cars after our feet were incredibly sore from jumping on our heels the whole night.
I couldn't even make it to my room and ended up sleeping in Isa's room like a baby.
-
I soared to victory in the next two races in Austria, earning me a three-race-win-streak. I was ready to get my fourth consecutive race win this weekend at Silverstone, though Lewis seemed more than determined to win his home race. But I didn't let that intimidate me.
Both our Mercedes' scored P1 and P2 during first practices and managed to lock out the first row for the sprint race. After practice two, it was time for the sprint which Lewis won giving him some extra points while Max and I lined up behind Lewis.
I had high hopes despite starting at P3. The moment I let go of the clutch, I was immediately side by side with Max and the two of us were quick on Lewis' tail. After the first corner, I quickly passed Lewis but as quick as I passed him, I dropped down next to Max once again. As we approached another turn, Max double overtook me and Lewis, snatching the lead. The lead which was swiftly stolen by Lewis once again then by me for another time.
By the time we were at the Wellington Straight, all three championship contender cars were lined up side to side and it was a matter of who would be latest on the brakes. Which was, of course, me. I entered Brooklands corner first but was passed by Lewis who had a better exit than me coming into Luffield.
Lewis sped up leaving Max and I behind as we weaved through Woodcote, drawing nearer to Copse corner. Throughout the straight, for the second time this lap, all of our cars lined up in a line. I was nearest to the gravel and would be taking the outside line while Max was sandwiched between Lewis and I.
As we were turning into Copse corner, the unexpected happened.
COMMENTATOR's POV
"The three championship contenders are giving it everything!" Crofty yelled in excitement.
"It's not over yet because Hamilton gets a slipstream all the way till Copse corner. These are critical corners for this Grand Prix."
"It's a Mercedes' sandwich going into Copse corner!Hamilton is going to try going from the inside this time with Verstappen and Garcia on the outside, and they touch!"
"Verstappen and Garcia are out of the race! It's a big crash! Lewis Hamilton made contact with Verstappen's car sending him into Garcia's car, flinging the two cars into the barrier while Hamilton continues on!"
ELYSE's POV
I groaned painfully after embracing the impact of the collision. Everything spun around me and it took me a few seconds for things to change from blurry to clear.
"—you hear me?" The voice of my engineer started to ring through my ear drums, "Can you hear me, Elyse? Are you okay?"
I pressed on the radio button and took in a sharp inhale, "Yes, I'm okay."
"Thank God, please get out of the car. Marshals will escort you to the Medical Wing to check up on you and make sure nothings wrong."
I hummed in agreement then turned the car and radio off, detached the steering wheel and unbuckled all the seatbelts that were securing me and angrily pulled myself out of the car while kicking the gravel under me.
I inspected the damage and noticed that the back and left of my car was deeply engraved into the barriers and the same could be said for Max's car which was half-tangled with my car and half-tangled with the barrier.
The moment Max got out of his car I marched up to him, "What in the world were you thinking?! We could've died!" I scolded him while I furiously pointed at the wreck of our cars.
"Maybe you should ask your deadbeat of a teammate." Max bit back.
I shoved him as an instinct, hearing many gasps from the grandstands as they watched us fight. "Watch your mouth, golden boy. It's not hard to take accountability for your mistakes."
He took the hand I used to shove him and pushed it away from him rather aggressively.
"And it's not hard to shut the fuck up for once your god damn life, Garcia. You and your attitude and the constant blaming is exhausting, you're not always the victim. And apart from your teammate not knowing what giving space is, you squeezing yourself into a corner that can only fit two cars is an idiot move— you were honestly asking for a crash, smart ass."
I listened to him as he angrily kicked the gravel underneath him while throwing his hands in the air, pointing at me and insulting me in every way possible. Thankfully, non of the fans could hear what were saying due to our muffled voices since we still had our helmets on— only our very tense argument consisted of a series of hand movements and forceful shoves to the public.
Just in time, a few marshals broke Max and I apart as soon as I was about to throw hands and yell at him some more. Each one of us were taken to the Medical Wing separately since we clearly couldn't stand each other.
After being checked on and cleared of anything, I was called to the office by Toto. I wished I hadn't knocked on the door since I was met with Christian Horner and Verstappen sitting in Toto's office in a very awkward silence.
I shut my eyes and sighed then reluctantly entered the room, shutting the door behind me and took a seat across the Redbull driver and team principal.
"I'm guessing you both know what this meeting is about." Toto started, "And I'm afraid your rivalry has turned into something far more dangerous."
"Usually, we were thankful for your rivalry as it pushed the two of you to be the best version of yourselves. But what happened out there today wasn't rivalry, it was violence and non of us tolerate that type of behavior." Christian added, "We all know that hate is what fuels your rivalry but if it means getting violence involved when there's an inconvenience concerning the two of you then that's when it becomes unacceptable and neither Redbull or Mercedes' will tolerate it. It has not only affected your images as drivers but also your teams in general."
"What are you suggesting, Christian?" Max worriedly eyes his team principal.
"You two will start to overcome your hatred towards each other by going through a series of bonding activities your PR managers set up." Toto answered instead of Christian.
"What?!" I exclaimed, "I thought rivals weren't supposed to bond!"
"No, Elyse," Toto used my real name, "the internet made you think so. But that's never the case— are Lewis and Seb mortal enemies because they're rivals?"
He asked me which made me shut up.
"That's what I thought." Toto sighed as if today was hell for him, "The decision is final and no amount of complaints or protests will change this. You'll start your activities next race weekend."
"And for how long will this last?" Max asked Christian.
Christian shrugged, "As long as it takes for you two to stop being so hostile towards each other."
And with that, the two team principals walked out of the office leaving two very irritated and outraged drivers sulk about having to spend time with each other.