"Don't give me that look" Darcey warned as her Mum walked into the families garage, displaying a rather disgruntled expression on her face as she appeared around the corner. Upon returning home for the summer break, Darcey disappeared into the garage and hadn't really left since.
"What look?" Claire placed the flask of freshly brewed tea on the side, before looking around the garage. Claire's face appeared to soften as she thought of the memories surrounding it.
Twenty-five years ago Andrew, Claire's late husband and Darcey's father, had bought the place on a whim. It was quite the tip when they first started out but he had spent many hours making it into what it is today.
"I just can't believe you're off work and still fixing cars - definitely your father's daughter." Claire smiled looking over at the framed photo hanging over Andrew's old workbench, in it was the grand opening of Collins and Co. Car Shop and in her father's arms - was a baby Darcey.
"Second nature I guess, I won't be long I promise"
"Everything okay with work? You enjoying it?" Her mother's questions caused Darcey to stop what she was doing, as if all the thoughts and feelings she had tried to buried deep inside had all just came rushing to the surface.
"Yeah, everything's fine - how can I complain about getting to travel the world" Darcey exclaimed forcing a smile in order to reassure her mum.
"No, I suppose you can't" Claire nodded understandably, Darcey wasn't lying she did love her job and getting to see the world was a massive bonus, but she couldn't help but feel guilty - leaving it all behind.
It was meant to be the family business, but her new job at Red Bull meant that she was either travelling or in the factory for a big part of the year. The garage was left in capable hands, however, as Liam worked alongside the father and daughter and stepped up once Andrew became ill.
"And the handsome drivers help right?" Claire grinned, earning a groan from Darcey as she got up to walk away from the conversation.
"You can go now, I've got work to do" Darcey demanded, with a hint of playfulness in her tone but Claire listened to her daughter and left her to it.
The first two weeks at home flew by as Darcey struggled with the concept of downtime. Liam had to practically trick her into spending a weekend away in Cornwall, deciding that she had already spent far too much time in the garage.
It's may not be most exotic or glamorous summer break destination, especially compared to others on the grid. But her friend Emily lived out there and offered a place to stay, so who was she to say no.
Darcey poured a glass of wine for herself and Emily as they discussed the recent events Darcey had missed while she was away.
"I'm so glad you could come" Emily grinned as she raised her glass towards Darceys with a clink.
"I'm glad you have wine" Darcey added
"Cheers to that!" the girls laughed before they both took a sip of their wine, then turning their attention to Alex, Emily's husband as he picked up the bottle from in front of them.
"But is it to your standards now that you party with the best?" Alex teased as he examined the wine bottle in his hands.
"How the other half live" Emily sighed, Darcey had found that most her friends would forget she was travelling to all these places for work.
"It's not as glamorous as you'd think, trust me" Darcey muttered, remembering how they would continuously tag her on Facebook for 'things to do when in Spain'. like she had the time for that.
"Who's the most famous person you've met so far?" Alex quizzed her while taking a sip of his beer.
"Uh, Jenson? I don't get out of the garage much" Darcey explained, the concept of the most famous person she had met at a Grand Prix race being a driver made her snicker a little.
"Vettel doesn't count as a celebrity then?" Liam announced, the corner of his lips curling in slightly as he knew what he had started.
"Yeah - of course, he does it's just..."
"Not JB" Liam jumped in saving Darcey the hassle of explaining herself
"He's pretty boring too, doesn't even have twitter" Alex muttered, Darcey had to stop herself from protesting for some reason.
"I met Ginger Spice too, well sort off - she was in the VIP box" Darcey added, attempting to change the subject before they noticed her little moment.
The week in Cornwall was exactly what Darcey needed to allow herself to let off some steam, recharge and be ready to focus on her work. It also gave her time to regather her thoughts and see things in a new light - thinking that it was a simple case of overthinking.
They spent a couple of days in the factory before they went back racing, mainly just to use the pit crew equipment and check their timings with Ian. She was happy to be back with her Red Bull family and surprised herself by how much she missed them all. Even Scotty.
"Fancy meeting you here," Brad whispered from behind after spotting Darcey in the crowd at the check-in desk. They agreed to meet by the entrance this time as there wasn't enough people to warrant a coach this time.
"Shut up, are you the last one?" Darcey asked looking around at the small team surrounding them. Flying from race to race the team would often book charter flights but as some would be coming from different locations it was a bit less organised.
"No, that would be Seb" Brad grinned pointing over at the two men walking towards them. As Sebastian came into focus, Darcey couldn't help but notice how good he looked with his golden tan and lighter hair. How can he look this good at 6 in the morning?
"Darcey" Heikki called over stopping in front of her, then releasing the breath she had no idea she was holding, Darcey smiled and greeted the pair.
"Good morning"
"Morning" Seb nodded briefly before turning to walk across to security.
Darcey didn't know what she was more confused about, the fact that Sebastian was flying economy with the team or that he wasn't his normal bubbly self.
"Ignore him, he's not a morning person" Heikki appeared next to Darcey as they followed the grumpy german.
They had about an hour until the gates opened, just enough time to visit Weatherspoon for their Full English on the company card. Sitting around the table was Darcey, Brad, Will, Scotty, Heikki and Seb who unsurprisingly wasn't able to enjoy the big breakfast like the rest of them.
"So tell me Seb, is it worth it?" Scotty asked while stuffing his face with a combination of sausage and egg.
"Is what worth it?" Seb asked appearing slightly more cheery than before, obviously amused by the question. He had to miss out on a lot to get to where he was today so questions like this weren't really new.
"Missing out on all this" Scotty answered as he picked up a slice of bacon, slowly fitting it into his mouth.
"I mean everything comes at a price right? Bacon or the championship, need I say more"
"With all due respect, I'd go for bacon" Brad added
"But does bacon pay the bills?" Heikki pointed out, leaning back in his chair to fold his arms.
"He has a point" Darcey smirked across at the boys, pointing over at the Finn for comic effect.
"See not just a pretty face" Seb chimed in while gesturing to his trainers face, earning a chuckle from Darcey which made his eye light up for some reason.
"Speaking of faces, has anyone else noticed how often we see Darcey's on the screen" Brad blurted out, and if looks could kill - well Brad wouldn't be joining them in Belgium.
"That's not true" Darcey argued, thinking about it she had been noticing the cameras in the garage more and more, but that was because of the team's championship battle. They probably hadn't even noticed what and who they were filming.
"I mean he has a point, you could even do a drinking game from it" Scotty expressed while mocking Darcey's words from earlier.
"Now that's a good idea" Seb grinned mischievously, winking over at Darcey before they got the signal that their gate had now opened.
The rush of the weekend begins pretty much from the moment they step off the plane. Darcey had about a minute to catch up with Kendall in their hotel room before leaving to head over to the circuit. Kendall arrived a couple days before the rest of them as just like the mechanics back in the factory, there was work to be done before the race weekend began.
The first free practice on Friday started in wet conditions. Sebastian ended the session fastest, having chosen to stay out early while other drivers pitted to begin work on their car setup. Mark failed to set a lap time when his car ground to a halt as he was about to enter the pits at the end of the installation lap.
The second practice session saw even more rainfall, and large puddles of standing water on the circuit made running impractical. Only a handful of drivers set lap times, the Red Bulls choosing to stay in and work on the data they had.
Not wanting to make the same mistake as last time, Darcey was one of the first to head over to the locker rooms to collect her things. On her way back to the garage she was met with Seb and Heikki who were in the middle of signing and taking photos for fans. Heikki was well known and liked amongst fans as well, so it wasn't surprising when they wanted a group photo.
"Darcey, can you help us out?" Sebastian asked as the fans turned to look at her
"Yeah sure" was all Darcey could come out with as she faltered over to the huddle of people
Once they finished up, the fans said their goodbyes and left the three of them alone in the middle of the path. Darcey attempted to leave the pair to it as well, but Heikki pulled her back towards them.
"How's the hand?" Heikki spoke catching Darcey off guard and earning a look from Sebastian, he wasn't sure but he could've sworn he saw a flash of jealousy in his eyes.
"Still there" Darcey smirked waving her hand earning a chuckle from the two men, Darcey stopped and sighed for a moment as she remembered how it happened in the first place.
"If it was up to Sophia it wouldn't be, she was not impressed that Seb left to help you" Heikki blurted out without realising what he had said, Sebastian stared at him in disbelief before slowly turning to face Darcey who showed a mixture of horror and amusement.
"What he means is..." Sebastian attempted to explain when they were interrupted by the BBC and he'd never been more thankful to see the likes of Jake Humphrey and David Coulthard.
"Seb, Heikki can we have a quick word?" David asked, who Darcey recognised from his Red Bull days.
"Good to be back after the summer break?" the other presenter asked while walking in pace with the group. Darcey tried to make a run for it, but as the film crew were surrounding them now there was no way out.
"Of course, the break is great for recharging and coming back into refreshed, ready to win" Sebastian answered, knowing he was forty points behind Ferrari driver Alonso at this point.
"What did your summer break look like?" David added in
"Just at home with the family, nothing too exciting" Sebastian sighed which lead them to look at Heikki and Darcey for answers instead
"Heikki, did you enjoy your break from Sebastian?" David smirked as he swapped sides to get closer to Heikki leaving him next to Darcey at this point.
"It was very much needed, but I did miss him a little bit" Heikki announced, causing Darcey to let out a slight chuckle.
"I missed you too" Sebastian grinned over at his personal trainer
"On that note, we'll leave you to it - thanks for your time" Jake signed off as they came to a stop, the presenters continued to talk briefly before shaking hands and moving on.
"I wonder how many times you saw Darcey on the screen just then?" Sebastian pointed out as they watched the film crew walk away.
"God I hate you sometimes" Darcey sighed
The third and final session on Saturday morning was dry, allowing teams just one hour to complete as much of their testing programmes as possible ahead of qualifying and the race. Fernando Alonso went on to finish the session fastest.
With the limited amount of data accumulated from the practice session, it wasn't surprising when Sebastian only managed to place himself in P10 for tomorrow's race and everyone left the circuit for an early night hoping for a drier and better race.
The race was drier but it was chaos from the get-go, with Grosjean speared into the back of Pérez and becoming airborne, crashing heavily into Alonso, missing Alonso's head by a few inches.
Grosjean came to rest at the outside wall. Hamilton crashed into Kobayashi as well as Alonso after Grosjean's heavy impact. Pérez lost his rear wing from Grosjean's hit and touched Maldonado when the accident happened, making Maldonado spin. Only the latter two emerged from the crash, Kobayashi with a substantial hole in the side of his car.
Luckily down in P10 Sebastian was able to miss this carnage and worked his way up to P2 finishing between Jenson and Kimi on the podium. The team were elated to be able to run to that fence to cheer their driver home, Darcey getting a pick up from Heikki so she could see.
Walking down the paddock on her way to the motorhome to meet Kendall, Darcey heard her name being called for the second time that weekend. This time it came from the British driver Jenson Button who she had become quite close with after his birthday surprise and her mother's meddling.
"Darcey"
As she moved closer she noticed he wasn't alone, but was in fact standing with one of the presenters from earlier on in the weekend. Hestinante now she slowly shuttled over to the pair, making sure there were no cameras in sight.
"Well done for today, you did well out there" Darcey admitted
"Thanks Darc" He smiled then turned to look at the presenter "DC have you met well - DC I guess, you know Darcey Collins" Jenson grinned, feeling quite proud of himself for making the link. David turned his attention to Darcey, holding out his hand to formally introduce himself.
"Ah yes, you were with Seb before right?" David vocalized
"Yeah I tried to get away but couldn't" Darcey sighed
"Darcey is one of the few female mechanics in this sport, and my number one fan" Jenson proclaimed, pulling Darcey in by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Remind me to never allow my mother near this place again" Darcey muttered, earning a chuckle from Jenson as he let go of her.
"Poor Claire, guess I'll just have to invite her to my garage" Jenson grinned devilishly
"You wouldn't dare"
"Watch me"
Then all of a sudden, David froze and turned to look at Darcey given her a mesmerising look
"I've got to go, Darcey, Jenson see you soon" He muttered before clearing his throat and excusing himself from the conversation.
"That was odd" Jenson stated looking puzzled