February 2024 came around, and it was finally time to get back to racing. Although the spark I once had for it, wasn't exactly the same anymore, I had decided to get the very best out of it this year. I had spent all winter break training and getting to know my new team and more importantly, the new car I would be driving.
"Ms. Carter! Ready to start the season?" "Yn! How do you feel being back in Bahrain?" "Can you tell us more about the relationship between you and Charles Leclerc?" "Carter, would you mind stopping for a few questions?"
I was bombarded as soon as I entered the paddock in Bahrain, and I could easily say, I hadn't missed the media at all during the break. They kept writing about the big change in the F2 grid, as well as my relationship with Charles. They couldn't figure out if we were just privately together, or if we did break up, and none of us had commented on it yet.
"Ms. Carter! Welcome to Bahrain! Are you ready to start the season, rookie?" I heard a loud voice coming towards me, as soon as I entered the garage. "Thank you so much, I can't wait to get on track!" I replied to my team principal.
"Mr. Horner, there's a call for you," We were interrupted, so Christian excused himself and went to answer the call. That's right, folks. I'm officially a Red Bull F1 driver! And not just any driver, no I am the second driver! I was so excited when Christian called over the break, offering me the contract. He said he was impressed with my results, and that my mindset was exactly what they needed on the team.
This meant I had spent even more time with Max over winter, and we had developed a kind of brother-sister bond, I would say. Besides Max, I had gotten to know Daniel and Yuki a lot better as well, as we often had training with their team. It had been great fun, but now I was looking forward to getting on track, and showing everyone how much I had bettered myself during the break.
"There she is!" I heard yelling from behind, and I immediately knew who it was, so I turned around in excitement. "Lando, Oscar!" I exclaimed and went to give both of them a big hug. I had seen Lando occasionally, whenever he was back in the UK to visit his family, but even then, I still missed him all break. Oscar too. "Welcome to F1!" Oscar spoke excitedly and I smiled at him widely. "Thank you guys! It's so good to see you both again!" I said and they both smiled warmly.
We then went for a walk around the paddock, catching up on loose ends and spoke about what we had done on our breaks. "When did you have time to relax at all?" Lando asked me in disbelief, and I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't need to," I said and he now changed his expression to one of disapproval. "I'm serious!" They both just shook their heads.
As we were walking around, someone suddenly caught my eye. It was not only him, but almost the whole Ferrari team, arriving together. He didn't seem to have noticed me yet, so I was quick to avert my gaze, not wanting to be caught looking at him. Instead, I looked to the ground, which caught the attention of both the McLaren boys.
"How about we get some lunch, yeah? We still have time before the briefing, and I'm starving!" Lando said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Oscar mimicked his actions and did the same, as he replied, "Great idea, I haven't eaten anything yet today!" And with that, they started walking quickly towards the café, dragging me along with them.
"So, are you excited for your rookie year?" Oscar asked when we had sat down with some food. "I am! I hope I can do it just half as good as you did last season," I said, thinking about all the amazing drivers on the grid. Lando scoffed playfully, "You'll do much better, don't you worry. With a talent like yours, it won't take long to pick up on everyone." He said encouraging, nudging my side with his elbow.
"As mean as that was, Lando is right. There's no way you won't do good!" He smiled widely and I felt myself feel more calm about the season already. "Just, don't crash this season, please? It was stressing enough being off the track and watching, but you'd mess up for everyone if you were hurt now," Lando said, making me chuckle. "It wouldn't be different than any other driver crashing, Lan," I tried, but he looked at me with an expression as if I had said something dumb.
"It would, Yn. A lot of us have a soft spot for you. I mean I know I would feel terrible, Max most definitely too, not to speak about Char-" He stopped himself as he had almost said his name so carelessly. He looked apologetic and I just shook my head. As if that wasn't enough, the door to the café opened, and in came none other than Charles Leclerc... With him was Carlos, and I could tell that none of the boys knew how to react. I didn't want them to act differently, just because Charles and I were no longer together. But at the same time, if Carlos came over, so would Charles, and they all knew that it would hurt me deeply.
Carlos and Charles both stopped for a minute, practically just staring at us, as we were doing the same. I avoided Charles's eyes, but I could tell Carlos was trying to read the situation. I couldn't bear to be the reason that they didn't talk, so I gave him a small nod of approval. He smiled at me and headed on over.
"Hello hello!" Carlos said cheerfully, acting as if nothing had just happened. He greeted all three of us, while Charles stood there a little awkwardly. Lando and Oscar both gave Charles a nod and reached out for a knuckle as well, but no words were exchanged between them. As it became silent, I stood up from my seat and spoke up, "You guys should sit down and talk, I have to go and find Max before the briefing anyway," I grabbed my bag. "You don't have to leave..." Charles spoke up for the first time, and I glanced back at him, my eyes meeting his for the first time in months...
He looked so sad. Devastated even. My heart broke for him, but at the same time, I couldn't forget what he had said that day...
"I know, but I should," I said, trying to seem as normal as possible. "I will see you all at the briefing in a bit!" I said, offering the three others a smile, before I left the café. "Wait, Carter!" I heard him yell after me when I had reached the paddock. I stopped and turned around, for God knows what reason. Charles ran to catch up with me.
"I just wanted to say congratulations... On making the Red Bull team. I'm really happy for you..." He said, and I could see the truth in his eyes. Or so I thought... I always thought that I could tell the difference, cause his eyes seemed to transparent. But how could all the things he had said in the past be true when in the end, he betrayed my trust? I sighed a little and nodded my head with no emotions on my face.
"Thank you, Charles," I said, about to turn around and leave, but he grabbed my arm in the process. "Can we please talk? I've missed you so much, I want to make this right..."He said, letting his hand slide down to mine. "Can you tell me something I don't already know?" I asked calmly. "No..." He lowered his eyes. "Was the video fake?" I asked, and he kept his eyes on the ground. "Not really, but it's so out of context!" He protested and I proceeded to pull my hand out of his hold.
"You told him to race like that, no?" I asked and he nodded. "You said, that you didn't care if it meant that I would lose my spot in F1, correct?" His head darted up and he shook it immediately. "That's not it, Carter, you're misunderstanding!" I didn't want to hear anymore, as I was already starting to get upset again, and I didn't want him to ruin my pace this week. "That's what I heard, Charles. I don't want to talk about it anymore, please leave me alone from now on." I spoke, my voice practically shaking, as there was nothing I wanted more than for it to be true, and to be back with Charles. But if we have this big of a problem already, we will only have more. And it will not only hurt us both badly, but it will affect our racing. It was better for everyone if we just stayed apart.
With that, I left Charles standing there in the middle of the paddock and went back to the Redbull garage. When I reached the garage, there were two familiar faces inside, one of which I had missed insanely during winter break. I ran and hugged Isack tightly, earning a laugh in return. "Hey there, superstar!" He said and I smiled widely as I pulled back from the hug. "Ice! I'm so glad you're here!" I said until I heard Max clearing his throat beside us.
I laughed as Max made a hurt expression, and pulled him in for a hug as well. "Hi Maxie," I teased, knowing he loves to act as if he hates that nickname. "Good to see you, Cart." He just replied and we all continued chatting for a while until it was time to leave for the briefing.
After the briefing, we had the first press conference of the year, and of course, Red Bull and Ferrari sat beside each other. More specifically, I sat beside Charles. All the drivers were attending, but we were split up into two groups, so our group was Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpha Tauri. On the front row were Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, and behind were McLaren and Alpha Tauri.
It was a nice conference, there were a lot of good questions, and luckily for me and Charles, no one seemed to care about the state of our relationship. At one point, one of the reporters asked me, "Yn, what are your hopes and expectations for your first season in F1?" I was thinking for a moment before Max jokingly answered, "Be careful with that question, she's very cocky, this one." Making all the drivers laugh, as they all knew the story of how I got into Red Bull very well.
"Thanks, Max," I laughed, but then smiled and prepared a more serious answer, "Uh, no, I think my expectations are probably just to be in the top half of the grid. I know that might sound cocky for a rookie, but I believe in my abilities, and my team as well. My hopes... Well, I always thought, go big or go home, so I guess my hopes are to beat Oscar's record from his rookie year, last year, and get more than two podiums in the season." I replied, getting a lot of mixed reactions from the press.
"I told you, man, she's cocky, horrible to work with and just too confident," Max said, joking once more, so I hit his arm, getting laughter from everyone. "No, but seriously, if you want my opinion, I don't think there's ever been a rookie with so much potential as Yn, so, yeah, I believe in her." He added and I smiled proudly at his kind words.
"Anyone else wanna add in on that?" A reporter asked, and I didn't dare look around. "I agree with Max, 100%. Yn is an excellent driver," I heard Lando's voice from behind me, so I looked back and he flashed me a smile, which I exchanged. "Her only problem is she won't listen to anyone when she's racing," Max added once again and I shook my head in disbelief. "As if you do?" I just said, and everyone seemed to love our friendly banter.