Alessandra was comprehending all that happened during the Singapore race weekend, and how from one announcement made by Redbull Racing and Mercedes, her team got dragged into their silly season, and the funny thing is that neither Redbull or Mercedes, or anyone else for the matter, knew about the changes that were about to be made in her driver line up. It was all she thought about when she arrived in Japan, and personally, she wished that she was dealing with this situation on another weekend, because she wanted to focus on the agenda she was aiming to pushing forward during the meeting she had with the rest of the team principals regarding the race, and following up on their previous meeting back in Imola. But now that everything else fell on her lap, she had no other choice but work on it too.
After letting herself, and her drivers, rest during their first night in Suzuka, Alessandra texted Charles, asking him if he was free to have a chat with her sometime during the day on the Tuesday of the Japanese grand prix, and when he said that he could come over to her room in a few minutes, she changed from her oversized t-shirt and shorts into a pair of navy blue pants and white t-shirt tucked in. It was a work meeting, and even though it was going to happen in her hotel room, she needed to be professional, and looking professional helped too.
"Hey," Charles greeted her when she opened the door, moving to the side to let him in after exchanging a hug. Charles took in her appearance, quickly realising that their chat wasn't going to be a casual one like they had when they weren't on track, but this was about work, "how are you feeling, you know, being here for the race and all?"
"As much as I want to be excited for the race because I love this track so much," she started as the two walked deeper into her room, "after everything that happened last year, I feel a bit anxious. What about you?"
"I feel the same," he sighed, "you've got another meeting with the team principals and Stefano about the race, right?"
"Yeah, on Thursday," she answered, "hopefully, my message came across strong enough that things will change for this weekend. I'm not happy that Netflix are going to be there to film it, though."
"Are they filming us this weekend?" He asked, "because out of all race weekends, they better not be anywhere near my garage, especially if the FIA fuck it up again."
"Unfortunately, they are. They're filming me tomorrow at the gym, wanting to get some shots of me preparing for a race weekend," she sighed as she sat down on the edge of her bed, "I'll talk with Mia and make sure that they won't ask you anything related to Jules's crash. You need to be fully focused on the race and it's not fair to get bombarded by questions regarding that terrifying day. Being at the track reminds us of it enough."
"I appreciate that Ale, thank you," he replied, giving her a gentle smile as he grabbed a chair and sat across from her, "so, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Lewis called me after the race, expressing his interests to sign with us for next season," Charles nodded, chuckling slightly to himself at how Alessandra never wastes time to go straight to the point, a quality he loved and respected about her, "but before I meet with him, I wanted to run it by you. Because I did promise you that 2024, you were going to be the main driver which the project will be revolved around. So, I wanted to know what you thought about the possibility of Lewis also driving with us, you know, being a 7 time world champion and all."
"I appreciate you asking my opinion about who our other driver could be," Charles responded, giving her a soft smile, "you're the boss, you didn't have to come to me regarding this, but I appreciate it truly nonetheless."
"Of course I had to come to you before I made a decision," she said, "I don't want you to think or feel in any way that you'd be pushed aside or not keep my promise because we could be signing a world champion. I will be making it clear to him regarding our plans, so he'll know what he'd be getting into if he decides to join us."
"I think it would be great if he joined!" Charles exclaimed, "we haven't had a world champion in the team in a while, and having Lewis would be unbelievable. I know he'd bring a lot of knowledge to the team which could help us move even more forward. Plus, can you imagine how iconic it would be?"
"Oh I know," she chuckled, "I've seen a lot of people on social media throughout the years saying what if Lewis joined Ferrari, and now that there's a chance of it happening...I think we might break Formula 1."
"You should offer him the seat," Charles said, "he'd be stupid to decline it, which I don't think he will once you tell him that the seat could be his."
"So," she started, glancing up at the Monegasque, "you're okay with it?"
"Of course I am!" He beamed, "now come on, set up that meeting with Lewis! And let me know how it goes?"
"Of course I will," she chuckled, the two standing up from their seats, "thank you for meeting with me, I know we're both dealing with slight jet lag, so I probably interrupted your schedule."
"You know I'd drop everything for you in a heart beat," he said, placing his hand on her arm, "you're meeting with your dad tonight, right?"
"Yeah," she smiled, "he's excited to be back for Suzuka, he loves this race so much!"
"And he's about to watch his daughter change it for the better," Charles said.
"If the FIA listen to me, that is," she scoffed, rolling her eyes as they made it to the door, "I'll talk to you later?" The Monegasque nodded, pulling her in a tight hug, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead before leaving her room.
She walked back to her bed, sat down in her previous spot as she grabbed her phone, opening the text messages and selected the British world champion's name, her fingers quick to type a message.
Lewis Hamilton
Are you free tomorrow afternoon or evening?
I am indeed free.
Where can we discuss without being caught by the public?
Uh, give me a second to think.
I think in a hotel room would be best. But I'm worried that we'd get caught still
Your floor has Merc personnels and mine has Ferrari personnels.
Maybe we can use an empty room which isn't located on neither of our floors?
I think that could work.
I'll check right now and let you know.
But in any case, I'm looking forward to talking with you, Alessandra.
Me too, Lewis. See you tomorrow.
The Italian team principal rested up for a bit before getting ready to meet with her father at their favourite restaurant in Suzuka, catching each other up since Monza, and talked about Alessandra's plans for the race weekend. Her father listened to his only daughter explain what she wanted to say during her meeting on Thursday and what she expected from the team for the race.
He still couldn't believe that his youngest child was the one to carry the family legacy. When he had his first two sons, Piero Ferrari had envisions at least one of them to be involved in the business, but from a young age they never showed interest in cars, and he feared that being the only son of Enzo Ferrari left, his legacy would end up dying with him since his Lorenzo and Alfie had decided on becoming Lawyers and a business man in another market. But then Alessandra was born, and from the first time she laid her eyes on a car, and being so calm at the loud piercing sound of engines whenever he took her to the factory, he instantly knew that the family legacy would follow her. And now, being able to see how much she's progressed as an engineer, and how great of a boss she was, close to finally bringing the championships back to Maranello in her rookie season as team principal, he could cry with joy every time he thought about how she's leading the the team which could probably bring an end to the 16 year drought.
After a delicious dinner, Alessandra took her father on a ride in the Ferrari F8 Tributo she had for the week, she explained to her father everything that was about to happen within the driver line up, and how Carlos was leaving the team to drive with RedBull. She decided not to tell him about the possibility that Lewis could join the team, only mentioning the world champion by telling him that they could look into him as an option for the second seat since he's announced that he won't drive for Mercedes in 2024. She wanted to see what Lewis thought and which direction he was heading after knowing what was Ferrari's plan for the upcoming season, before she tells her father anything. Her father was also part of the team's upper management, so she couldn't talk irrationally, she needed to have somewhat facts before she made a decision and took it up with him and the rest of the management.
When Alessandra woke up on Wednesday morning, her mind reminded her that Netflix were filming her working out and doing a short interview, wanting to show a part of her routine during a race week. She already had them filming in her home in Maranello, which was pleasant but she didn't like being in front of the camera very much, especially for something that she knew many people watched. Yes, she posts pictures of herself on her instagram accounts, but those are within her comfort zone. Having a group of people filming and watching her and could make the cut for season 6? Not so much.
She got out of bed and slipped on a pair of black shorts and red tank top, although she preferred to work out in a sports bra, she wasn't going to give Netflix as much as they probably wished for. She tied her hair in a tight pony tail and slid into a pair of runners, grabbed her stuff and made her way downstairs.
"Good morning!" She greeted the Netflix crew when she entered the gym, watching as they finished setting up their equipment, "how's everyone doing?"
"We're doing good, thanks Alessandra!" Kyle, the producer said, patting the team principal on her back, "ready to start filming?"
"As ready as I can be," she chuckled, "where do you want me?"
"Wherever you start your work out," she nodded, heading in front of the mirror, putting her stuff on the ground as she positioned herself on the mats to start her conditioning.
"What does your work out entail?" Kyle asked, starting the interviews, "and does it vary every time?"
"I try to fit everything in whenever I work out, you know, stamina, strength and flexibility," she said as she stretched her legs, "I used to train tennis and gymnastics when I was younger, and they were sports I loved so I try to train them as much as I can, and with gymnastics I'm always still improving my flexibility, which is why I make sure to focus on it."
"And how many times do you train?"
"If I can, once a day," she said, "I'm sitting down a lot because of my job, so I need a way to keep on being active and I try to be physically active as much as I can."
"So you've always been involved in sports," he said, "what made you not continue sports professionally and focus on cars?"
"There was something about seeing the inside of a car, listening to the engine, watching the process of a car being made that gave me a rush like no other," she said, "my dad always told me that he knew that I was destined to be in a life revolved around cars when he used to take me to the factory and the sound of the cars calmed me down, whilst it scared my older brothers."
"Oh wow," Kyle laughed, "so you were always destined to continue the legacy then?"
"I inherited the love for cars I guess," she said, pausing for a moment as she went on to finish her conditioning. She grabbed her water bottle then made her way to the pull up bar, "a legacy is a heavy thing to carry on your shoulders, which I do carry, but at the same time, I do what I do because I love it so much, and all the hard work I pushed myself through paid off, and that's satisfaction enough."
"So, tell us," he continued as she set her bottle on the ground, then leaned against the bar as she looked at the producer, "what does a normal race week look like for you?"
"Uh, it varies if there are certain events involved in that specific race week, like Monza for example, I had three events before the weekend, so that changed things up a bit," she chuckled, "but usually, I have dinner with my drivers on Wednesday night to get into the week on a positive note, then Thursdays is dedicated for media duties, and sometimes Max comes and joins us for a coffee before interviews start. And in between interviews I'm in my office going through data and responding to any emails or calls with the team back at Maranello. Then it's full focus on the sessions and the race, and if we win, we go out celebrating on Sunday night."
"You've celebrated quite a bit this season, with all the wins your team's got under the belt," he said, "do you have a favourite celebration in mind?"
"Ah, I don't know if I can choose because they've all been really special and super fun in their own ways," she chuckled, "but probably it's a battle between the celebration in Maranello after Imola, Monaco or Monza."
She then turned to the bar, lifting her arms up before jumping, grabbing onto the bar and started doing her set of pull ups.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Alessandra paused in the middle of the pull up she was doing when the Austrian voice echoed through the gym, "I didn't know the gym was occupied."
"Mr Wolff!" Kyle exclaimed, turning towards the Mercedes team principal who stood at the entrance of the gym, "we're filming with Alessandra for the series."
"Oh really?" Toto asked, an amused look making its way on his face as he glanced at the woman hanging on the bar, "Morning Alessandra."
Alessandra looked at Toto through the mirror in front of her, their gazes locked, and she challenged him with a smirk as she dropped back on the ground. She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the equipment.
"Morning Toto," she replied, "came to annoy me now before media day?"
"No, that's scheduled for tomorrow," he answered, earning an eye roll from his rival at the comment, "I'll let you guys finish up, I'll come later."
"Oh nonesense!" The producer exclaimed, "you should join Alessandra, maybe I can get some quick questions in about the two of you in a more domestic setting outside of the track!"
"I mean, I don't mind," Toto said, glancing at the team principal who was drinking from her bottle, "it's Alessandra's filming, she decides."
Alessandra glanced between the producer, who was looking at her with wide hopeful eyes that she would accept, then back at Toto, who's eyes were challenging her, as if he was expecting that she would not accept. She let out a silent sigh, nodding at the producer, who clapped his hands excitedly before motioning for one of his crew members to mic him up.
Toto then walked towards Alessandra, making his way to the bench after grabbing some weights, which was next to the bar Alessandra still needed to finish her set on. He gave her a wink when he laid on the bench, rolling her eyes at his cockiness but then let them fall on his hips, eyeing the toned v-line which got exposed when his shirt rose up slightly. She shook her head, grabbing onto the bar and continued her set whilst Toto started his reps.
"Okay so, you two have known each other for quite a while since you've both been working in the same sport," Kyle said when Alessandra finished from the bar and grabbed a dumbbell, starting her glute workout a couple of feet away from Toto, who started another workout with weights as he sat upright on the end of the bench, "what was your first impressions of each other?"
"Well, the first time I saw Alessandra, she was diving deep inside Sebastian's cockpit, her legs were practically dangling in the air so you can imagine how amused I was," Alessandra chuckled beside him at the memory, remembering it like it was yesterday, her first day working trackside, "and Charles and Max were in front of the garage, and they introduced me to their friend, only to find out that it was Enzo's granddaughter. I had no idea that she was an engineer before that day."
"I obviously knew who Toto was, but had never met him before that day," Alessandra continued, "He was snooping in front of Sebastian's garage, trying to get a good look of our contender that year, and yeah, Charles and Max came over to say hi and introduced me to Toto."
"And when was that?" Kyle then asked.
"2018," The two said in sync, which caused them to chuckle as they glanced at each other, "Pre-season testing in Barcelona."
"And were you always involved in Formula 1 cars, Alessandra?"
"Nope, started off working on the road cars for a year, then transitioned to Gestione Sportiva a few months before the 2018 season, working on the car at the factory," she replied, "then in 2018 I started trackside."
"And how old were you when you started working as an engineer trackside?" He asked.
"About to turn 22," she smiled, "practically a baby in an ocean full of sharks!"
"But you did become one of the big fish when you were promoted to chief engineer," Kyle replied, earning a nod from her, "Toto, was there a time where you wanted to bring Alessandra to your team?"
"Quite a few occasions, yes," Toto rolled his eyes when he heard the Italian laugh loudly as she squatted, "but she's turned me down every single time. She bleeds Ferrari."
"I mean it is literally in my DNA," she chuckled, "but yeah, I would not trade Ferrari for anything, not even a very generous offer from Mr Wolff here."
"And so years passed, and now both of you are on the big seat at your teams," Kyle said, "how would you describe your relationship? Especially because of the bit of fuss media created during the Singapore weekend where you were seen at a dinner together which you two said was not work related, and were even seen at the same wedding, which also had other motorsport faces attending."
"I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that Ale and I have a good, professional relationship on track, and we can consider each other as friends after five years," the Austrian answered, glancing at Alessandra, who was nodding at him in approval, a soft smile on her face as she dropped the dumbbell, grabbing her bottle, "We have the same inner circles, so we're bound to bump into each other at social events which do not have anything to do with our sport."
"Or in our case, coincidentally ending up at the same dinner because we had mutual friends we didn't know about, and finding out that we're going to be their child's god parents," Alessandra chuckled, "that was basically what happened during that dinner. It was a huge coincidence, really."
"You two are going to be god parents for the same child?" The producer beamed, "congratulations to the both of you!"
"Thank you," she replied, "but basically that's it really. We get along well, we have good chats at the track, and we keep the competition high between us. It's a healthy balance."
"Alessandra, you said you used to train gymnastics," Kyle then continued, "do you still practice?"
"Whenever I have the time, yes," she chuckled, "why? Want me to show you some moves?"
"If you'd like to," he nodded, "I know the viewers would love to see a new side of you unfold." She nodded, dropping her bottle then made her way to the mats.
Toto dropped the weights to his side, eying her as she stretched her body for a few minutes, then his eyes widened when he watched her arch her back, landing on her hands in some sort of bridge position, not expecting her to be so flexible as she then got on her elbows, arching her back further, almost snapping into two as she brought her feet closer to her head. His mouth was open slightly as he watched her kick her legs up in a form of summersault before standing back up, raising her hands up in a finishing position which earned her an applause from the crew, and he couldn't help himself as he clapped along, whilst his mind started wondering if it was only for gymnastics she was that flexible.
When they finished their workout and thanked the crew for their time, the two team principals made their inside the elevators. The air felt humid in the enclosed space as they caught their breathes, their bodies covered in a thin line of sweat as they waited to get back to their floors.
Alessandra looked down at her phone when she felt it vibrate in her hands, eyes widening slightly when she saw that it was a text from Lewis. She glanced at the Austrian, finding him preoccupied with his phone, then turned her body slightly as she opened the texts.
Lewis Hamilton
I booked us a room.
It's available for us for the rest of the day.
Let me know when you want to meet.
Does noon sound good?
We can have lunch whilst we talk.
Sounds great.
It's room 1316
See you in a bit :)
See you soon!
"So there's also gymnastics which is added to your resume," Toto started, causing Alessandra to quickly shut off her phone before turning to look at him, "surprised you didn't go professional in either sports."
"I preferred getting my hands dirty on cars for a living," she chuckled, "plus I don't this professional tennis or gymnastics is as fun as being able to see you get annoyed because we're doing better." Toto scoffed, rolling his eyes at her, but couldn't help the grin making its way on his face when she smiled widely at him.
They exchanged goodbyes when the elevator stopped on his floor and walked out, but she let out a sigh when the doors closed, feeling a slight ping of guilt as she thought about her meeting with his driver. She shook her head, she knew that she wasn't doing anything wrong, signing drivers from rival teams was a requirement of her job when she needed to, so she pushed that feeling to the side, heading back into her room to have a short recovery rest.
A bit before noon struck, Alessandra took a shower and changed into white dress pants and a blue button up tucked in, putting on a dark blue leather belt around her waist, then slipped on a pair of white and blue dunks. She grabbed her laptop and put it in her brown Ferrari bag, slid on her reading glasses and made her way up to the 13th floor. She grabbed her phone, deciding to text the group to let them know about her whereabouts.
Les Idiotes
La cavallina
Hey just letting u guys know in case u try and find me in my room
I'm heading to a meeting rn
idk when I'll be done
Massimiliano ciacciarrone
and here I was about to invite you for a game of cod
smh
who wants to play with me?
Cazzo di cane carletto
alright ale
i'll play w u max
also how was filming Ale???
La cavallina
it was good!
toto interrupted tho
and the producer ended up inviting him to film us together
Piccolo schumi
LMAOOOOOO
How the hell do u keep getting urself into these situations???
El smooth matador
I'm saying its a sign or something
want me to work my magic ale? ;)
La cavallina
no i will not let u fix me up with our RIVAL!!!!
also just bc it worked for lewis and shakira
doesn't mean it will work for me
Massimiliano ciacciarrone
i'm sorry carlos
but i still don't believe you fixed them together
Piccolo schumi
honestly same
Cazzo di cane carletto
finally i'm not the only one saying this
El smooth matador
fuck u all
except ale
don't come to me when ur in need of a match maker
Alessandra chuckled, shaking her head at the screen before switching off her phone right before the elevator doors opened on her designated floor. She made her way down to the corridor, stopping in front of the door with the number Lewis sent her. She let out a sigh, raising her fists as she knocked on the door.
"Ale, hi," Lewis said when he opened the door, giving her a smile, "come on in." She returned the smile, thanking him as she walked inside, giving each other a hug. "Thank you for coming. Toto told me he bumped into you at the gym this morning?"
"More like finding the whole netflix crew filming me, and then ended up staying so we're basically getting a cameo of us working out together on the series," she chuckled, "how about we order some food, and then we get started?" The Brit nodded, handing her one of the menus and then called room service after deciding what they wanted to eat.
A few minutes later, they were sat down around the table, food in front of them as Alessandra opened her laptop, putting on the document with points she wanted to go over with Lewis on her screen. She glanced at the driver who was currently her rival, who was looking at her with soft eyes, patiently waiting for her to start.
"One thing you probably know about me, or will learn to know about me if you decide to join, is that I'm straight to the point, andI I will not sugar coat things, I tell them how it is," she started, "because I believe that in order to have good communication with someone, there should be full transparency."
"I respect honesty and transparency," Lewis replied, "and I'm assuming by transparency and by agreeing to talk with me, you're going to tell me that Carlos is not staying with Ferrari, and what will be the main project for the team next season?"
"Yes, and correct, Carlos won't be staying with Ferrari, he's going to sign with another team next which will all be finalised and released in the coming weeks, so I will not get into that," she said, "Charles has signed another multiyear contract, with the promise that the project will revolved mainly around him, and not just for next season, but for the years to come. And that is a promise I will not go back on, which is why I'm letting you know that if you do decide to join Ferrari, you will be an asset for the team, with your years of expertise, championship wins and many years of F1 under your belt, but Charles will be the main focus." She paused, taking a fork of pasta she ordered, before continuing, "this does not mean that we would push you to the side, not at all, I don't want to play favouritism, and I will not, but when battling for the driver's championship, there has to be focus on a specific driver, which is part of the game, and that will be Charles."
Lewis nodded, munching on his noodles as he took in all that Alessandra has just told him. This was the first time he was really experiencing her professional side, as when they talked before, it was a quick chat in the paddock on media day, or at events they were both invited to, like dinners or fashion shows. He was in awe at how she had a plan structured for her team, and how she is head on to make sure she sticks to it, not caring about the possibility that a seven time world champion could join, she would not change her plans and ideas for him, and he respected that massively. He was getting a taste of what it could be like working with Alessandra at Ferrari, and it made him want to join the team even more.
"To drive for Ferrari would be something historic, and something that I've always thought about, but as the years passed, and stayed committed with Mercedes, I never thought it would be possible," he started, "and I respect that you have a plan set for the team, and that you're not willing to change it for the possibility that I would be joining. I know other teams would switch their plans to accommodate me, hell, even Mercedes wanted to do that, when in reality, George is still young and extremely talented, and would benefit if they prioritised him next season."
"If you do want to join Ferrari, we would love to have you," she said, giving him a smile, "but I need you to think about what I told you. Because like I said, unless it's for drastic reasons, I am not going back on my plan. Charles has given so much for the team, and he deserves to be the leader and be the centre of the project."
"I will," he replied, "is there a time where I should let you know?"
"Take your time to decide, I will be talking with management about the possibility of the move when I return to Maranello," she answered, "but if you've 100% decided soon, let me know, so we can start the paper work."
"Noted," he nodded, "and again, it would be great if even when we've finalised, you won't tell anyone about it until it's out, especially Toto."
"Don't worry, I obviously won't talk to Toto about it," she chuckled, "but may I ask why you want to keep this hushed? Shouldn't you give Toto an indication of where you're heading?"
"Honestly, it's a stupid reason but mainly for optics," Alessandra gave him a confused look, motioning for him to explain further, "if I join Ferrari, it would be one of the biggest moves to happen in the sport in the last decade or so, and one I never imagined possible, imagine the media reaction after it's announced. And I don't want Toto to try to interfere with the move if he takes it personal, considering our success together. I feel like it's better if he finds out with the rest of the people, both for him and me."
"I'll respect your wishes if you decide to join," she nodded, "but announcements and optics are to be discussed when everything else is finalised. So like I said, think about it, then let me know, and we'll move on from there."
ººº
Alessandra was at the paddock early, sat in her office doing video calls with her team back home, which was an ungodly hour for them, but she appreciated their efforts to stay up and update her on the data collected which will be used for the upcoming races, more than ever. And those calls which were solely about the car helped to avoid wrecking her brain about Lewis and his possible move. When she finished with those calls, she grabbed her red mont blanc notebook and wrote down notes on what she wanted during the meeting to say regarding the race, whilst she hopes that all she said at the meeting in Imola was not said in vain. She was annoyed that Stefano was allowing Netflix to film the meeting, because out of all the meetings they had during the year, regarding potential increase in teams on the grid, or adding new rules regarding the cars, he allowed them to film in a meeting which she knew the safety of the drivers would be brought up, and that most probably, Jules will be mentioned and even last year's horrifying moments.
She was taken out of her thoughts, and away from the data on her screen at the gentle knocks on the door, followed by it opening, revealing her Monegasque driver behind it, giving her a soft smile as he walked in.
"Hey, you've been in here a while and I know you've got the meeting in a bit," he started, "how about you come downstairs and have a coffee with us before you head out?" Alessandra glanced down at the clock on her laptop, widening her eyes slightly when she realised that she's been working non stop for over two hours, and she had less than an hour to head to the meeting.
She nodded at Charles, getting off her chair and kicked the sneakers off her feet, replacing them with a pair of black heels before grabbing her phone, notebook and rain jacket, and followed Charles out of her office. She smiled to Carlos and Mick, who were sat down at a table inside, right by the large glass window which gave them a perfect view of the paddock, which was emptier than usual due to the rain. She took a seat next to Mick, who gave her a side hug as Charles returned with five coffees, which earned him a confused look from his boss, since they were four at the table.
"One for the meeting," he said as she took one of the iced lattes in her hands, taking a good sip of it, "I know you'll need it to deal with the other bosses."
"You're an angel," she smiled, giving his arm a gentle squeeze in gratitude, "seems like some interviews could be cancelled because of the weather."
"Probably," Carlos nodded, "hopefully, this weather is just for today. We really don't need another monsoon during the race."
"Let's hope that if it does rain," Mick said, glancing at Alessandra, who was tapping her fingers on her notebook as she sipped on her coffee, "no mistakes from last year are repeated."
After talking about the race, and watching the paddock become slightly busier again, even though it was still raining quite hard, Alessandra glanced at her watch, seeing that she needed to head to the meeting. She finished her coffee and hugged her drivers goodbye before sliding on the rain jacket over her matching black blazer and pants, with the team button up under the blazer, putting the hood over her head before grabbing her stuff and made her way out of the motor home, cursing herself that she did not keep her sneakers on as she walked down the paddock.
Toto arrived in front of the entrance of the FIA building, finishing up a phone call he got from Brackley. He hung up, tucking his device in the pocket of his rain jacket. He was about to head inside, but stopped when he heard the sound of heels making contact with the concrete ground coming closer. He turned his head in the direction of where the sound was coming from, his eyes falling on his rival team principal, surprised that she wasn't struggling in those heels as it poured down on her.
"Morning Alessandra," Toto said when he followed her inside the building, "I don't think the shoes go well with the weather Japan's providing us."
"Yeah, not the best day to decide to promote the new shoes Ferrari Style are releasing," she chuckled as she stopped in the middle of the corridor, "at least I didn't fall on my face, so I guess they're doing a good job!"
"Fair point," he grinned as his eyes fell on the items in her hands, almost threatening to fall as he unzipped his team rain jacket, "do you want me to hold you anything?"
"You mind?" She asked, glancing up at him, "maybe I can unzip my jacket?" He shook his head, giving her a soft smile as he grabbed the notebook and coffee from her hands, grazing onto her hand, which sent a wave of heat rushing through his body. She muttered a thank you when he took them in his hands, grabbing the zipper and pulled it down, letting out a sigh when it fully unzipped before taking her items back into her hands.
"Enjoying Japan?" He asked as the two made their way down the corridor, "I took Jack to this garden yesterday, he absolutely loved it, and the weather was nice, unlike today."
"Oh, Jack's here?" Alessandra beamed, his heart beating faster in his chest when he saw how brighter her eyes became at the mention of his son, "Is this his first time in Japan?"
"Yeah, Susie brought him with her," he replied, "he absolutely loves it. Might take him to Tokyo if I have the chance."
"Tokyo's very fun," she said, "I've been there a few times, quite the city!" Toto chuckled, nodding at her as they entered the room where the meeting will be held, this time there was no desk in the middle, just 11 chairs in a circle. And around the chairs were the netflix crew all set up and probably already filming them.
Alessandra was about to leave Toto's side to wish Stefano good morning before she took her seat, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her slightly back, which startled her, almost losing her footing as she looked up at him in confusion. He leaned his head down towards her, chills running down her spine when she felt his breathe hot on her cheek, almost able to feel his nose graze her ear.
"Go for blood," he whispered, "we cannot have a repeat of last year, and if anyone can truly get the point across, it's you."
"Are you going to disagree with me like last time?" She asked as she turned her head, her nose almost bumping into his as she gazed hard into his eyes.
"I'll be backing your argument if I need to," he replied, "although, something tells me I don't have to."
She nodded, sending him a discreet wink, which made his eyes widen slightly as he let go of her arm, watching as she went to greet Stefano before taking a seat between Fred and Franz, whilst he took a seat right across from her. A smirk slowly made its way on his face when she took off her jacket, revealing the black blazer with the Ferrari emblem on the breast pocket, and he could see that she was not here to play, all the team principals saw it, and they feared what will go down during the meeting after they saw how passionate she was last time, but Toto was amused. She saw the look that he had on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, rolling her eyes at him, which caused him to release a low chuckle.
"Alright, thank you all for coming," Stefano started, getting everyone's attention, "today's meeting is about the Japanese grand prix, for this weekend and next year. We're going to be following up on our last meeting about the topic in Imola, and will tell you what we have decided."
"Should we let Alessandra talk first?" Alessandra turned her head to Zak brown, who was giving her a dirty smile, "she had a lot to say last time." The Italian rolled her eyes as the room fell into hushed whispers at the American's comment, leaning back into her chair as she gave him a sly grin.
"How about we see what Stefano has to say first?" She shot back, raising an eyebrow, "then I'll talk if I have too. Don't worry, I won't deny you the pleasure of listening to me make important points about our drivers' safety."
Toto couldn't fight the satisfied smirk making its way on his lips as the other team principals let out low oohs at the blow Alessandra gave Zak, who just glared at her as he slouched in his seat. She wasn't going for blood, she was going for the jugular, and he had this gut feeling that he was about to be in for a treat.
"Alright alright settle down!" Stefano exclaimed, bringing the room back to silence as he got their attention once again, "so, to start off small, we have made sure that in case the drivers don't manage to race the full distance, we know exactly how many points we need to award. There won't be the confusion of last time."
"Of course," Christian muttered, but the other team principals heard him, looking in his direction, "no championship will be decided this weekend, very convenient."
"Moving on," Stefano continued, ignoring the Brit's distaste, "with regards to track procedures during the race, if a car crashes in a barrier or on the gravel trap away from a runoff area, it will be yellow flagged if it is not raining, in wet conditions, it will be red flagged immediately, even if only the marshals are needed to push the car behind the barrier."
"You see Alessandra?" Otmar asked the Italian, which also earned him an eye roll as she can hear the fake enthusiasm in his voice, "you've gotten your wishes!"
"You act like this will benefit me," she scoffed, "when all the points I made out were to benefit the drivers of each and every one of your team." She shook her head, turning towards Stefano, "what if the race is dry, will it be a safety car if the crane comes on track to get the car out of the gravel?"
"Unless the red flag is needed, then yes," she sighed, not agreeing with the answer she's gotten, but she knew that when a car is in a gravel trap, it usually ends up being red flagged almost immediately.
"Are you about complain about that too?" Alessandra was trying to keep her patience with the American boss, but he's running it thin with every idiotic shot he tries to aim at her. "You've been given everything you wanted on a silver platter, what more do you want?!"
"It's lovely to see how much you care about the safety of your own drivers, Zak, truly," she said, her voiced laced with sarcasm, which matched the smile on her face, "I won't apologise for having opinions that I believe are in the best of our drivers when they're on tracj, which is why I believe that even if it's dry, the race should be immediately red flagged if a crane is coming out to get the car out of the gravel."
"I agree with her," Alessandra's eyes widened slightly at Toto's low voice booming through the room, letting her eyes fall on him as she watched how his relaxed and amused demeanour changed to a more serious one, his eyes glaring at everyone in the room, which was a way of showing that he was not going to kid around as he made his point, "I have been saying this for a while that having cars behind a safety car whilst a crane is on track, even if it's dry, is pointless, and I say this for every track, but especially here. Alessandra is making a good point and some of you should stop acting like spoiled children and actually think about it like it matters."
Toto's eyes fell on Alessandra when he finished talking, ignoring the gaping looks and glares he got from the team principals who were disagreeing with the Italian team principal, as they hoped that the Mercedes boss would put some sense into her. A wave of warmth ran through his body when he caught the soft gaze she gave him, which was quickly replaced by her confident demeanour as she smirked at him.
"Okay, so we're settled for what's to happen during the race this week," Stefano said, "as for next year, nothing is confirmed, but we are pushing to have the race in the first half of the year, hoping to avoid a monsoon hitting the weekend more than we can at this time of the year. But that's all I can say about that, I will let you know what we have decided later on."
Everyone started standing up from their seats when the Formula 1 president announced that the meeting was done, team principals leaving the room discussing between each other. Toto walked towards Alessandra as she grabbed her jacket and slid it on, tucking her phone in the pocket before grabbing her notebook and her now empty coffee cup. She gave him a confused smile when she found him in front of her, watching as he motioned his head towards the door, walking by his side as they made their way out of the FIA building.
"Thanks for backing me back there," Alessandra said, glancing up to the sky slightly when she felt drops falling on her hood, then looked at the Austrian next to her, "I don't know what crawled up Zak's ass, he was acting like I was going to hurt their team or something."
"The man does not care about anything apart from money and good results," Toto shrugged, slowly making their way down the paddock, "unless it's him proposing change, he'll always try to bash anyone's suggestions down, even if they're in the best interest of his team too." He then stopped, turning towards Alessandra, who also stopped when he did, looking down at her, "I backed you up because Stefano needed to know that you weren't the only one who wanted certain change, and I saw the way some team principals looked, they were agreeing with you, but didn't want to say anything, at least not in front of Zak and Otmar after acting the way they did."
"I'm just relieved that he did take into consideration what I suggested in Imola," she sighed, "now we'll just have to see if race control actually live up to the new changes." Toto nodded, about to say something but was cut off when a soft voice shouted for him.
"Papa!" Toto turned his head, and Alessandra saw the wide grin making its way to his face when he spotted his son, covered in a rain jacket, running towards him, tackling his legs.
"Hey, buddy!" Toto exclaimed as he crouched down, pulling his six year old in a hug, "have you been here long?
"Nope, we just got here," The little boy replied, his eyes widening when he saw the familiar Italian next to his dad, "Ale!"
"Hey little man," she grinned as she also crouched down next to Toto, opening her arms wide for him to run into, which he did, almost causing her to fall back, but Toto was quick to put his hand on her back, preventing her from falling whilst his son hugged her tight. She glanced at him, mouthing a thank you, which he replied with a smile, "you need to stop growing Jacko!" The kid giggled in her chest before letting go, letting Toto scoop him up in his arms as they stood up, putting him on his hip.
"Where's your mum, Jack?" The little boy looked around when he heard his dad's question, then pointed down the paddock, and the two principals glanced in that direction. They saw Susie in front of the Williams' motor home, giggling in the arms of James Vowles, who was holding her by the waist before sharing a kiss. After their first public appearance together at the ball in Venice a few months ago, Susie was by James' side whenever she attended a race, staying in his garage and sometimes displaying PDA, like they were doing at that moment.
Alessandra looked at Toto from the corner of his eyes after seeing his ex and her boyfriend, thinking that he would react the same way he did that night of the ball, it was a habit she had whenever she was talking to him and they spotted the British couple, but he never reacted that way after that night, and that moment was no exception, because he barely spared the two a glance before focusing back on his son.
"I've got a few minutes before I need to head to do some interviews buddy," Toto told Jack, "how about we go and play with some cars in my office?" Alessandra's heart warmed in her chest when she watched the child get excited, chanting cars multiple times in joy. Her cheeks heated up slightly when she looked up at Toto and found him looking amused at her. "I'll see you around, Ale. Have a good day, and well done on managing to push the agenda."
"Thanks Toto," she replied, before looking at Jack, "I'll see you later Jacko!" He leaned away from Toto, stretching his arms as he motioned for her to give him a hug, which she did, leaving a kiss on his head before pulling away. Toto put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before the two went their separate ways.
ººº
When Alessandra told Charles that Stefano was going to change track procedures like she had suggested in Imola when he came over to her hotel room after they finished media day, the Monegasque was almost jumping with joy. He tackled Alessandra into a hug, thanking her countless of times for managing to push the agenda where it needed to be, so they could properly avoid anyone suffering the same fate Jules did. And Alessandra would like to think that the good news gave him an extra confidence boost going into the weekend, because he was flying during the practice sessions, and secured pole on Saturday.
When race day came, they were unfortunately graced with more rain, and the first thing the guys on the pit wall told her and the drivers when they arrived at the track was that radar was showing rain for the majority of the race. It wasn't what they wanted to hear, but she had faith in her drivers that they were going to give it their all, like they always did, no matter what the conditions were.
Alessandra was a bit zoned out as she sat with Mick in the garage whilst the driver's parade was happening, barely noticing her team preparing the cars to take them up on the grid. Her mind was taunting her with memories from the race in 2014, and she tried to push them away, but she kept getting flashbacks of that day, and it was tearing her apart inside. She didn't realise that she was breathing harder, or that she had tears swelling in her eyes, until she felt a hand on her shoulder, which brought her back to reality as she turned around, and found her father looking concerned at her.
"Tesoro," he said, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, clearing her throat when it suddenly felt dry, grabbing her bottle that was on her desk and took a large gulp of it, "I'm going to head to the motor home to check something, I shouldn't be too long." Her father nodded, whilst Mick gave her a worried look, not buying that she was okay, but he didn't push her as he watched her get off her chair and walk away.
She glanced around the paddock when she exited the garage, feeling her chest tighten as the memories appeared in her mind more and more, and when she saw that it was empty, she ran to the other side, hiding behind the back of her team's motor home, resting against the wall as she let the tears fall down her cheeks as the memories came in full force.
Alessandra and Charles were sat in the back of Kimi Raikkonen's garage, with Alessandra's dad by her side, watching the Japanese unfold, with the typhoon providing a harder race for the drivers. The Ferrari daughter and the up and coming single seater driver were supporting Ferrari, but they were also supporting Jules Bianchi, Charles's god father and a person whom Alessandra considered like an older brother, having known him well ever since he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy.
"The rain's really pouring down on them," Charles told Alessandra, who nodded in agreement at him, "It's hard driving karts in the rain, I cannot imagine how hard it is driving a Formula 1 car in these conditions."
"Everyone's sliding on track," Alessandra replied, her eyes focused on the screen in front of her, "I can't imagine how much they're pushing to keep the car in control."
The pair of friends were watching the race with full focus, but then they watched the engineers in the garage shuffle around when Sutil crashed in the barrier at turn seven, and the marshals started waving double yellow flags. The camera focused on the car settled in the barrier, and the driver getting out of it, taking off his helmet and quickly becoming drenched from the rain that wouldn't stop pouring down on them. Alessandra could hear the commentators say that Sutil crashed as they watched the driver standing a few feet away from his car glance at the orange tractor that made its way next to the car.
But then, a minute later, the sound of a loud screech, along with a big bang filled Alessandra and Charles's ears, and suddenly they saw a car with a familiar livery crashed right under the tractor. Alessandra's heart rose in her throat when she tried to see if she could recognise the number on the back of the car to see who it was, because she knew that the car that just crashed horribly was a Marussia, the team Jules drove for.
The two teenagers sat at the back of the garage froze when through their headsets, they heard someone say that it was Jules who crashed, and that he was not responding to the radio messages. The Italian felt sick as she looked around the garage, seeing the concerned and worried looks on the engineers' faces, which turned into sympathetic looks when they glanced at her and Charles.
"This has to be a sick joke," she heard Charles mutter, his voice cracking with every word he said, "it cannot be Jules."
Alessandra tore her headsets off her head, not knowing where she dropped them as she turned to Charles, who lost every drop of colour in his face as he looked at the screen in horror, watching the marshals run up to his car to try and help him get out. Charles looked at her, her reaction matching his, and he could see that she was about to cry, or be sick, any second, so he got off his chair, standing in front of her as he took her hands in his, trying to console her even though he felt like he wasn't functioning well.
"Charles we need to do something," The Italian wasn't thinking rationally as she feared for her friend's life, "we need to go there and help him! He needs help!" Charles nodded, he was also not thinking rationally as she stood up, and the two were about to run out of the garage when Piero quickly grabbed them by the shoulders, pulling them back before they got in the pit lane.
"What do you guys think you're doing?" Piero hissed as he looked down at them, being met with two sorrowful faces.
"Papa we need to help Jules," Alessandra cried out, and it broke her father's heart to see his daughter, who was such a strong woman, break down in front of him, "the crash was really bad, he needs our help!"
"Amore, we cannot do anything right now apart for pray that he'll be okay," he sighed, wrapping his arms around his daughter and her friend's shoulders, slowly dragging them out of the garage, "come on, let's head back to the hospitality."
Piero took the two into Kimi's driver room, telling his trainer not to let them leave the room after trying to run out of the garage to head on track earlier, before heading back to the garage himself, seeing if he can get updates on Jules's condition. He left the teenagers sat on the sofa, their arms wrapped around each other as they held each other tight, their sobs echoing around the room as they cried on each other.
What felt like eternity of not hearing anything, the door opened, and in Kimi, who knew that the two were occupying his room because they almost tried to do the reckless thing - out of the kindness of their hearts and fears of losing their close friend - and run out on track to help Jules. They looked up when they heard him come in, but when they saw the look on the Finnish's face, they knew that the news wasn't good, and his room was filled with the sound of loud sobs leaving Alessandra's mouth once again.
"They managed to get him out of the car," Kimi started as he crouched down in front of them, placing a hand on Alessandra's knee whilst she cried in Charles's chest, "but he's unresponsive and they think he has extensive, life threatening injuries."
"Where is he now?" Charles managed to utter, looking up at the world champion with a distraught glance.
"They put him in the ambulance and is on his way to the hospital," he sighed, "the race is red flagged for now, we don't know when we're starting again, but you two can stay here for as long as you like." Kimi moved closer, wrapping his arms around the devastated cheerleaders and held them tight, letting them cry on his shoulder for their friend.
Toto was resting against the entrance of the garage, enjoying the peace and quiet of the paddock as the team personnels were in the garage, and everyone else was seeking refuge from the rain in the F1 hospitality or in a motor home. The paddock was basically deserted as it poured hard. That was until his eyes fell on the familiar figure of the Italian, hidden under her scarlet red rain jacket, watching her glance around the paddock when she exited the garage, before running behind her team's motor home. He was quickly reminded of when she did the same thing during the race last year, which got him worried immensely, so he jogged to the Ferrari motor home, quickly rushing across the paddock and made his way to the back side of the motor home.
His heart ached when he found Alessandra, like last year, resting her back against the wall of the motor home, her chest was rising and falling in an abnormal rhythm, and he could hear the small sobs leaving her lips, and tears were trickling down the side of her face. He moved closer, standing right by her side, and when he put his hand on her shoulder, she jumped, spinning her head in his direction, her eyes widened in fright, but then softened when she locked gaze with his soft brown eyes.
"Jesus," she muttered, shaking her head when she looked away, focusing her eyes on the concrete wall, "you scared me, Toto."
"Alessandra, why are you out here?" He asked, "it's pouring mad, you're going to catch a cold."
"I'll be fine," she replied, still not looking at him, "I just needed a few minutes."
He looked down at her wrist, watching as her hand fidgeted on it. He spotted the red bracelet he gave her for her birthday back in June, a rush of warmth spreading through him when he saw that she never took it off, and that maybe it was calming her that she was fidgeting with the charms on it. But then he spotted a tattoo right under the charm of the prancing horse, which her finger was tracing, and he recognised the initials and number, inside a sun.
He sighed, taking her wrist in his hand, which got her to look up at him, her blue eyes, which looked duller than usual, the spark they had missing, giving him a confused look. But when his thumb started caressing the tattoo her finger was tracing seconds ago, she felt a warmth in her like no other, and it made her feel alive at that moment. She looked down, seeing how small her wrist looked in the palm of his hands, smiling slightly at the sight before looking back up at him.
"I was getting flashbacks of Jules's crash in the garage," she sighed, "I've attended this race as five times as an engineer, and I was always busy on the car before the race started, and then fully focused when the cars were racing, which never really gave me time to think about his crash." She paused, biting on the inside of her cheeks when she felt tears prickling her eyes, blinking them away, not wanting to cry in front of her rival, she was being vulnerable enough as it was, "but this time, I was sat in my chair, just waiting for time to pass as the drivers did their parade, and all I could think about was that day."
"Grief always hurts, no matter how much time passes," he said, still holding her wrist in his hand as he looked down at her, "we think we're can deal with it when years pass, but then it hits us like a tsunami of hurt."
"I'm sounding like a broken record," Toto let out a snort at the sudden loud laugh that left Alessandra's lips as she finally turned fully towards him, letting her eyes meet his, "why are we becoming like some sort of therapy session?"
"I don't know," he chuckled, shaking his head as he smiled at her, "but if that's what you need, a therapy session under pouring rain with me, I can give you that."
Alessandra felt her heart thumping in her chest as she locked gaze, watching the rain fall between them, droplets falling gently off the edge of their hoods, hitting their faces every now and then. She felt her body electrify from the moment, almost becoming a magnet that wanted to inch closer to Toto. She couldn't explain why, but she was craving him close to her, and she wanted to give in that crave, but she couldn't, so she stayed where she was, almost forcing herself to stick to the place she was standing.
Toto could never understand why Alessandra, and her piercing blue eyes captivated him the way she did. He knew very well that if it was another team principal or team personnel running behind a motor home, he wouldn't have gone behind them to see if they were okay. But with Alessandra, he did it without hesitation, and he never understood why. He thought that maybe it's because of the good relationship they had between them, being friends for a few seasons and always got got closer on a personal level, but nothing beyond friendship. But he was standing in front of her, holding her wrist in his hand, under the pouring rain of the monsoon, and he craved her, but he didn't understand it, because how can he crave something he's never had?
The two gave each other a smile as the Austrian slowly let go of her wrist, almost as if he didn't want to, but he let it drop by her side. They made their way out on the paddock, heading towards their respective garages. Alessandra stood at the entrance of her team's garage, watching her rival make his way to his own. He also turned around when he reached the entrance, giving her a wink before the two disappeared in their own garages.
Alessandra felt better as she sat on her chair, discarding the wet jacket in the small storage cabinet that was never used, giving Mick, and his concerned look a reassuring smile before she went and talked with the strategists to confirm every possible decision they could make throughout the race. She then chatted with the engineers, making sure that the cars were set up the way the drivers wanted them before they took them up on the grid.
She then made her way to the grid herself, once again covered in her trusted team rain jacket as she walked between the cars. She waved at Pierre, who gave her a friendly wink before starting his pre-race exercises. She saw the Mercedes of George, with the young Brit giving her a nod of the head, followed with a smile, which she returned. She then reached the second row, which consisted of Carlos, who pulled her in a hug when she stopped by his car. They had a last minute chat about what strategy could be chosen, and Alessandra told him to be careful out there before Rupert called for the Spaniard. She glanced at the car sat next to Carlos's belonging to the 7 time world champion, who was chatting with her rival team principal. The Brit saw her from behind Toto's shoulder, his boss having his back towards her, so he didn't know who Lewis just gave a quick smile to, which she returned before heading to the front of the grid.
"Alessandra!" The Dutch who's car sat on the second mark on the grid beamed when he saw his friend, making his way towards her and pulled her in a hug.
"Massimiliano!" She answered with the same enthusiasm as she wrapped her arms around his waist, returning the hug, "good luck out there. Be safe okay? I need you to come back in one piece!"
"I will, don't you worry," he smiled down at her when they pulled away, "are you doing okay?"
"I am," she nodded, "just need all of you to come back to me." He nodded back, pulling her in a side hug one more time as they wished each other good luck before pulling away.
The Italian found her driver in his usual spot, sat against the wall across from his car, and like she always did, she joined him. The Monegasque gave her a soft smile as he handed her one of his airpods, the two sat side by side as they listened to the music playing.
"I know the championship battle is tight, and every point counts," Alessandra started, glancing at Charles, who looked at her when she started speaking, "but don't pull any risky moves. The points won't matter if you crash and have something bad happen to you. It's not worth it."
"I won't Ale," he nodded, patting her hand, "I'll come back to you when I cross the finish line."
"You fucking better," she said, trying to look stern even though she was chuckling, making Charles laugh, "or I'll kick your ass."
"Noted boss," he said, giving her a salut, which she rolled her eyes to before standing up. He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulder as he pulled her into him, "I'll see you at the finish line."
"See you there," she mumbled against his shoulder before pulling away, giving him a nod before they made their way to the national anthem set up.
"Focused?" Alessandra looked up when she heard Toto's voice, finding him looking down at her with a challenging smirk, which she was quick to return. She was no longer feeling vulnerable, she was fully focused, and she was ready for the battle.
"You're going to wish I wasn't," she replied.
"May the best team win," he challenged, crossing his arms over his jacket cladded chest, "you better watch your backs out there."
"Enjoy the view of our ass," she shot back as they shook hands, the grip tight as they locked gaze hard, before pulling away and focused on the Japanese national anthem.
ººº
Alessandra was gripping onto her desk as she watched the number of laps on the bottom corner of her screen decrease every couple of minutes. The rain was still pouring down hard, but it wasn't bad enough that the FIA had to decide to do less of it like last year. She was pleased to see that Stefano kept his word, and when there was a crash, it was red flagged immediately, like when Perez and Alonso made contact and crashed into the gravel trap. Charles was leading the race, with Max hot on his tail, but he was managing to keep his place very well. Carlos had a spin, which didn't cost him the race, but it costed him two positions, having both Mercedes' pass him, and he was trying to get his positions back, but it was deemed difficult.
When she saw on her screen the chequered flag come out, followed by Charles crossing the finish line, she felt like a large weight has been lifted off her shoulders, and she could barely make sense of the cheers erupting from Charles's side of the garage, or that Mick pulled her in a tight hug, as all she could focus on was Charles's radio.
"GRAZIE TEAM!" Charles's voiced boomed in her ears, "This race, oh my God. This race is for Jules, he could have been in this seat, driving for our team, getting this win. But he's a lap ahead of us, and this is for him."
The Italian team principal was choking on her sobs which she tried to swallow back as she pressed the button, which directed her to Charles's radio, taking a deep breathe before talking to him.
"Jules would be jumping on walls seeing this win Charles," she told him, tears close to falling when she heard the sob leave Charles's mouth, "he's so proud of you. We're all so proud of you, but I know that Jules especially is cheering so hard from wherever he's driving up there."
"He's proud of both of us, Ale," Charles croaked out, "he's proud of all of us, he's celebrating up there."
"Enjoy the moment, Charles," she said, a smile making its way to her lips, "I'll see you soon." She switched off his radio, releasing a sigh as she took off her headset and let herself lean on Mick's shoulder, whilst she felt her dad squeeze her shoulders in glee. She glanced at both of them, giving them a smile before she excused herself, getting off her chair and walked to the entrance of the garage.
She took a moment for herself, letting the tears flow as she rested her hand against the red wall, letting all of the relief, the happiness, the grief accumulate her for a needed moment, releasing the tears that were on a cliff's edge, streaming down her face. She then composed herself, wiping the tears off her cheek before getting back in the garage, giving her father a hug before letting Mick pull her to Parc Ferme.
"Ale!" Mia called out when the team principal arrived next to her team, who were all patting her back and giving her hugs, which she gratefully returned. "Charles had told me that if he won, he wanted you on the podium with him. How about I take you to the cool down room and meet him there?" Alessandra nodded, squeezing herself through the sea of red as she followed the blonde up to the cooldown room.
She thought about last year when she entered the empty room, remembering the confusion, then confirmation that the driver's championship battle was over, and that Max had won it. She remembered how Charles took a peak in the champion's room, and told her after the podium that he wanted the championship more than ever. Now here she was, no champion room in sight, as the battle was still going on, but Charles was leading the championship, and so was her team.
Alessandra turned her head when she heard someone walk in, smiling at the 7 time world champion who finished third, giving her a quick hug as he congratulated her on the win. She had a small chat with him about the race, but her mind was thinking about how the driver in front of her could possibly be in red overalls next season, marking his legacy within the team.
When Max entered the room, Alessandra didn't even have time to mutter out a hello because he pulled her in a tight hug, filled with happiness and gratitude that they were standing in the room after a long race with rough conditions. Alessandra felt his emotions, and she was feeling the same way, grateful that she's holding her friend in her arms.
"Your boy gave me one of the toughest battles I've had," Max chuckled when they pulled away, "I wanted that win, especially because we didn't finish the whole race last year, but he drove brilliantly."
"That's my boy for you," she grinned, "but I'm just happy everyone made it back in one piece, it's all that matters." Max nodded, giving her arm a squeeze before sitting down on the second place chair, grabbing the water bottle next to it and started drinking.
Alessandra then looked back at the door when she heard shuffling, and she was met by a beaming Monegasque, who gave her a wide smile when he spotted her, dropping his stuff on the chair before making his way over to her and pulled her in a hug. They didn't say anything, they didn't need to say anything, they just held each other, reminiscing about their late friend.
Toto was stood under the podium, holding Jack on his hip, who wanted to come and see the podium even though it was raining hard and had advised his kid to stay in the garage, but he was strong headed like his father, so he joined him. He watched Alessandra follow the drivers out on the podium, getting greeted by loud cheers and pouring rain, giving handshakes to his driver and their common rival, before being pulled in a tight hug by her driver on the top step.
He smiled to himself, seeing how much that moment meant to both of them. When they pulled away and Alessandra went on the constructors step, he could see how emotional the two were as the anthems played, but they hid it well. He cheered with everyone when Charles brought Alessandra on the top step with him after they were given the trophies, the two lifting them up in the air and pointed at the sky for a moment, before they grabbed the bottles of champagne and started spraying each other.
Alessandra went to the edge of the podium, spraying her team with the celebratory bubbly when she spotted him under the podium holding Jack in his arms. She grinned widely when she saw the little boy wave excessively up at here, waving back at him before letting her eyes lock with Toto, who gave her a challenging smirk. She returned it, sending a wink his way before turning to spray her driver once more.