I woke up and it felt like the world was ending. I was so hungover and I must've been blackout drunk because the last thing I remember is taking a shot when I saw Charlotte, even before going to the club I got drunk in my room. I took the phrase live a little too seriously. Thanks Pierre
I yawned and even though my head was about to blow up just from being awake I had to take my phone just to check my gallery, just in case.
Well the last few videos were took at 3 a.m. and it was with Pierre, both of us singing as we are completely drunk. I chuckle before going onto Instagram to check if I acidentally posted something. No, I didn't.
But I got a message from my Pr manager. Great!
Maybe it's because of Charlotte? But nobody else saw us other than everyone in the VIP room, and they would they start rumors like that?
I opened the message and found 5 pictures, well fuck me mate.
One of them was me kissing Charlotte, the second was me being aggressive with Lando.. hold on what.
The third one was me wrapping my hand around Vic's waist. What the hell is wrong with me.
Fourth and Fifth picture were took in front of Vic's hotel, I drove her back again? First one was me putting my jacket around her shoulders while the second one was me cupping her face. What. Am I that stupid.
"Charles. You're in trouble, you're all over Twitter. Talk to me before the race."
I just like the message, still in shock of my own actions.
I go onto Twitter and read some of the tweets, three tweets in and it's already too much for me.
I immediately call Pierre, he answers after like 10 seconds.
"Mate, what the fuck did I do last night." My voice was raspy as I just woke up.
"Huh?" He yawns.
"I made out with Charlotte, I threatned Lando and then took Diaz back to her hotel?" I groan, getting up from my bed and going inside the bathroom. I put my phone on the counter before washing my face just so I could see a bit better.
"Charles I have no clue what you're talking about, let me sleep then we'll talk." He yawns multiple times throughout his talking and I sigh.
"Alright alright, get your sleep." I would roll my eyes playfully but my head is hurting so much aswell as every other body part that I can't even do that.
I hang up and then wash my face again, this time with soap. I brush my teeth and fix my messy hair. I feel better but I could definitely use some ibuprofen.
"That'll help I hope." I add, washing down some ibuprofen tablets with water. I feel a bit better, but the pain and exhaustion still persists.
As I sit back on the bed, I can hear my phone vibrating with notifications from a variety of social media platforms. I have several new direct messages from the team's management, and I am most definitely mentioned and tagged in several threads on Twitter from what I've seen so far.
This is not going to be an easy day, but I suppose I'll have to face the consequences of my actions now. Instead of ignoring it like last time when I broke up with Alexandra, which if I didn't ignore would never lead to this fake dating that caused this. An even worse scandal.
I stare at my phone for a moment, contemplating what to do next. There are so many messages and notifications that it would take me hours to reply to them all, and that's just from my private messages - not the public or fans.
I know that I have to focus on the race that is coming up soon, but the damage to my reputation cannot be ignored either.
After a bit of hesitation, I go onto Twitter yet again and scroll through the threads that reference my name and the controversial actions that I took the night before.
I continue scrolling through the Twitter threads, reading the comments and reactions from people who were not directly involved in my actions yesterday.
My PR team is doing their best on Twitter to control the damage, but my behavior over the last few hours seems to have spiraled out of control. I can feel my chest tighten as I read some of the more aggressive comments attacking and criticizing my character.
I read more comments and I can officially feel the pressure from the public and media increasing, with no sign of letting up. One comment in particular stands out to me as I scroll, and my heartbeat fastens slightly as I read the words.
The comment reads, "Drivers like him have no place on the grid. He should leave now and never come back, he only causes problems."
Fuck. Is it really that big of a deal? How are they all going from praising me to hating on me like I killed someone.
I let out a sigh as I continue reading the comments. It seems like there is no end to the negativity and criticism that I am receiving. I feel my heart rate increase as my anxiety and frustration grow.
I continue to read through more comments, and they start getting more and more intense and personal. The pressure from the public increases even further - I seem to be gaining a reputation as a "troublemaker and instigator." That's actually wild, what the hell.
Just a few more comments then I'll stop.
The first one reads, "I have lost all respect for him, I don't understand how he can keep getting away with this behavior."
Another comment reads, "He must be dealt with, such reckless people should not be allowed to race any longer."
The comments on Twitter continue to increase in number and hostility. This is the first time ever in my career that comments really hit me in my heart. Man, I barely did anything. This is so overdramatic.
I glance at the time on my phone and suddenly realize that it is already close to the time that I should be getting ready for the start of the race. I quickly get up and put on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, I finish everything else that needed to be done and I order an Uber.
When I arrive I head to my driver's room. I decide to take a few extra moments to myself to gather my thoughts and, ofcourse, prepare for the race ahead.
I open the door to my driver's room and am immediately confronted by my team manager, who looks more upset than I have ever seen him before.
My team manager does not say anything but gives me a look that telegraphs his annoyance and anger. I try to avoid eye contact and keep quiet, not sure how to respond to this situation.
My team manager eventually breaks the silence and says, "Charles, we have to talk. Come with me to my office, please."
I nod, a small sigh escaping my lips. Ofcourse, what did I think? That they will treat me like a baby for my actions? But it's better this way, they can clear everything up.
My team manager leads me to his office, which is private and secure, and I sit down in front of him.
He starts by calmly addressing the events from last night and reminding me that my reputation has been negatively affected by my behavior these past few weeks, espescially past few days. He also makes it clear that this type of incident cannot happen again, and he expects me to be more professional and responsible in the future.
I agree with everything and promise that I'll behave better, he says that he'll deal with it and told me not to worry.
☆
Diaz and I are getting ready to go in the car, and there is an awkward tension in the air between the two of us. There's always tension between Diaz and I, but this time it's different. It feels worse, bigger.
I feel like I should try to apologize for my actions from last night, but I'm not really sure what to say. I also feel like Vic is uncomfortable and trying to avoid me. Which I wouldn't really blame her for, I'm dumb when I'm drunk.
The silence is deafening and the tension continues to build between the two of us. I try to break the silence by attempting to apologize for last night and explain my actions, but Vic just stares at me silently and continues to get ready.
It's a shocker that I even apologized, but I had to. I really had to.
Vic finally speaks up and says, "Look Charles, I know you didn't mean any harm, and I appreciate the apology. But let's just focus on the race. We're just coworkers, and that's all we will ever be."
The two of us are still getting ready and getting into the car, and I feel like I should try to say something again.
I turn to Vic in the car and say "I'm sorry for my actions last night. I know I behaved inappropriately, and it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't had so much to drink. I just want to apologize and make things right between us."
Keep it professional Charles.
"I'm sorry for my behavior last night," I add again, trying to defuse the tension between the two of us.
Vic seems to be taken aback by my apology, but she is not willing to let the incident slide so easily. She looks at me with an intense gaze and says
"What you did last night was unacceptable and reckless. Your actions have had consequences on your reputation and how people view you. You can't get away with this behavior, and it will affect how you're viewed in the future."
Yeah, this is what the whole thing is about. The reason why I apologized. For my reputation, not because of her feelings and I'm glad she understands that.
I nod at her, not knowing what to say after that.
As Vic and I both head out to line up on the track for the start of race, we both don't really say much to each other. We don't say anything actually. The tension between the two of us is over the roof now, I think you could say that anyone around us who is not blind could see that.
And now my old self is back in my head. I hate her completely. She can fuck off honestly, everything is ruined because of her and I was right about her since the beginning. People should be calling her a "troublemaker" instead.
And why the hell did FIA suddenly decide to do a podium on qualifying day just because she's on it for her 2nd qualifying race? Not fair. Nobody ever did that to me? Not for Lewis Hamilton either. Not for Max verstappen, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel or any other legend. Why her. What an Idiot, along with a lame ass excuse of a sport, of everything. I genuinely can't stand anyone anymore.
We all start our engines and the lights are ready to go out to start the race.
Vic turns to look at me and nods slightly but doesn't say anything, she just looks away.
I look back at her and I furrow my eyebrows although she can not see that through my helmet.
What? Fuck off Vic.