OMG race week has actually come and so the drama has begun. I have most of this story written, now, but I will adapt it and change it with whatever new drama we get given at a race weekend! If you've missed it, well...Ferrari are a bunch of clowns!
Anyway, thanks for all the votes and reads! I didn't think anyone but me would enjoy this, so I am glad that you guys are!
Happy quali day! HB3112 (We'll see how happy it actually is, as Seb and Charles have to really get a miracle done to get that Ferrari out of the low midflied -.-)
It was race day, but the mood in the Ferrari garage didn't seem to be up in any way. Seb only managed to qualify 6th, whilst Charles had managed to grab the 3rd fastest time. It didn't feel like the boys had a concrete chance at grabbing a victory in their home like Seb did the year before.
She caught a glimpse of Elisabetta and Jack, covered in the brand new Ferrari merch she had managed to get together for them, with the help of Sebastian. She walked towards them.
'I'm sorry I haven't tried to catch you guys before, it's been a hectic week. How are you finding it?' she asked.
'great, this is just amazing! Thank you so much for organising this. Jack has been over the moon all week and he's loved any minute of this'
'Glad I could help' she gave them both a hug.
Valeria had been asked to be on the grid for the national anthem and she stood in the crowd of the British drivers and crew members , as the red arrows coloured the sky of blue, white and red and 'god save the Queen' was played. It always felt weird for her to have this double personality. She felt Italian, having been born and raised in Rome, but she also had a half of her that felt belonging to the British culture and felt proud of that heritage too. It felt weird being one of the few people in the group to be wearing the red that most people connected so easily to Italy. She looked up to the screen to find herself in it, standing next to a couple of people from RedBull.
'Hey, traitor' Pietro joked, as she walked back into the garage.
'You're just jealous I have a cute British accent and you don't. How long till lights out?'
'2 minutes'
Valeria was intently watching the screens when Seb misjudged his breaking and hit Max's RedBull, causing both of them to go out. He crawled back to the pits and rejoined at the back of the pack. The FIA also awarded him a 10 second penalty, meaning he finished the race in 16th, whilst Charles had grabbed another podium.
Valeria watched him get out of his car and walk to the back, his helmet still on. She took a deep breath and walked towards the room too. She knocked slowly, Britta opened with a small smile.
'hey' Valeria whispered. Seb was sitting on the floor, his helmet on but the visor open. His blue eyes clearly expressing his mood.
'Hey' he said. Valeria sat next to him on the floor, grabbing his hand. Britta excused herself and walked out, leaving them to their own.
'I know you definitely don't want to talk about it, so I'm just here to make sure you're OK. I can't begin to imagine what is going through your head, but you're still my champion, if that helps in any way?' she smiled, slowly moving her hands to take his helmet off. She gently passed a towel on his hair to dry it.
'Thank you, Schatzi.' He told her. 'you always help'
She offered him a hand to stand up.
'Valeria come in' Mattia's voice came in through the radio.
'go ahead, Mattia'
'Are you ok going to the podium?'
'Sure...' she closed the communication. 'Bärchen, I'll see you back at the hotel, sorry. I need to rush' she kissed him. 'Love you'
She walked out and followed Charles' crew to the podium. She smiled at Domenico and Giorgio but decided to stay behind, her mind still wandering back to Seb. It broke her heart to see him feeling that way and to notice that only herself, Britta and Riccardo seemed to care to pick him up.
'Newbie' Nico's voice brought her back to reality. 'alright?'
'Sure' she smiled. How was it possible that Nico seemed to always read her moods?
'Live in 3... 2... Martin, it's that time of the week again! What can you tell us? How's the morale down in Casa Ferrari?'
'mixed, of course. Gutted for Sebastian, but so proud of Charles being up there so much, of course.'
'thank you' he told her, taking the microphone she was passing him. She spotted Federica behind him and waited there for the other mic.
'Carlo, I'm here with Valeria. Valeria, not the race we wanted to see.'
'These things happen in racing, unfortunately'
'Carlo did you want to ask a question?' she asked, listening through the earpiece. 'Carlo is asking if your relationship with Sebastian is affecting his performance, or if it's affecting the balance between him and Charles.'
'short answers? No and no.' She smiled.
'Care to elaborate?'
'no, I'm not affecting Sebastian's performance. He still spends as much time in the sim as he did last year, if not more. I have my own work to do, the fact that we spend time outside of work together doesn't affect both our jobs. And I have known Charles since he was three, but nobody seems to think that that might affect our relationship or the balance between our drivers. We are all professional adults and leave the feelings at the door of the factory or the paddock. Thank you' she gave her the microphone back, with a smile. She walked off as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Domenico. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, without saying anything, watching her smile feebly.
'ignore all of that crap' he told her once they got back to the garage.' Everyone is starting a witch hunt against Seb and you're getting caught in it.'
She thanked him, grabbing her stuff and walking out of the paddock straight away. She got back to the room she was sharing with Sebastian and found him sitting on the bed, watching a video on his phone. She heard her voice come out of it 'We are all professional adults and leave the feelings at the door of the factory or the paddock' he turned it off and gave her a smile.
'are you reading the Italian media again? What have I told you about them?' she tried to joke, sitting next to him.
'that they hate me?'
'No, that they jump on a different driver every season.' And that most of them shouldn't be allowed to be called journalists.'
'you shouldn't get caught in the crossfire though. I don't want you to have to deal with it '
'Seb, it's my job. And also, I prepared myself for it since we started sneaking around in Spain. I'm happy to deal with it, because I know I get to come home to you' she kissed him. 'now. We are both upset. In this country, when you're upset you drink. When's your flight to Frankfurt?'
'late morning tomorrow' he replied.
'mine is at lunch time, so let's go to the after party and let's get smashed' she told him.
Valeria watched her reflection as she put on a pair of earrings, her long hair curled and left down was tickling her bare back. She had opted for a long black dress with an open back. She took a sip of the champagne Seb had ordered to their room. He had taken the idea of getting drunk very seriously.
Seb knocked on the bathroom door and walked in, chuckling at the music Valeria was listening to.
'what?' she asked.
'What is this? Drunken what?'
'lullabies. It's celtic punk, it's great' she smiled.
'if you say so. Are you ready to go, Schatzi?'
'Yeah, sure.'she downed the rest of her champagne. 'let's show the world what the Vettels are capable of' she joked, watching him smile as she had just called herself a Vettel.
The party had been in full swing for a while, when Valeria and Seb arrived. They were welcomed by the sight of drunk Kimi dancing around with Minttu as his teammate, Antonio and his girlfriend watched them from the side.
'I'm getting us a drink. What do you want?'
'I'm matching you again. But properly this time.' Seb told her simply.
'Oh, bad move, Vettel' she joked. 'this is my turf. Oh bad move, indeed'
Seb laughed. He knew that Valeria was being silly, again, to pick his spirit up. She went back to him, not long after, with a tray of drinks.
'so my lovely friend at the bar' she waved at one of the barmaids 'will keep us topped up all night. Start with the shot, then do the Jagerbomb, then the cocktail. Whenever we finish our cocktails and we go to the bar, Felicity will nod and make us two more. Alright?' she explained.
'military. I'm scared'
'Oh you should be' she told him. 'Prost' she said, doing the shot and the Jagerbomb one after the other. Valeria enjoyed the warm sensation in her throat, as she watched Seb do the same.
'Wunderbar! Let's do this' she grabbed his hand and walked him over to Kimi and Minttu.
She left him to catch up with his friends and she ventured around the room to find the smoking area.
'Taz!' Daniel said, as he bumped into her. 'alright?'
'Peachy, mate. Peachy.'she told him, giving him a hug.
'Sure? Where are you going?'
'for a fag'
'I'll come out with you'
They sat on a bench, taking in the tranquillity of the small Northamptonshire Town. Valeria lit a cigarette and leaned back on the bench, her brain already numbed by the amount of alcohol she had ingested in such a short amount of time.
'I happened to see your interview with the Italian media. I mean, I was right behind you when it happened... you seemed a bit on edge when you left'
'Dani, how do you do it? How do you deal with the amount of shit you guys deal with and still come into work with a massive smile?'
'I guess I try to look at the positive? I look at what I've got compared to the rest of the world. I do the job I love, with the people I love and travel around the world in the meantime. Every morning I wake up and think it could be a lot , lot worse' he said. 'can I give you a word of advice?'
'of course'
'Just be yourself, that way if people don't like you... you can get rid of them and if they like you, good things will come and you know they like you for you. I met you over 10 years ago and do you know what I thought the first time I spoke to you?'
'what?'
'damn, I wish I had her personality. And I meant it. I mean, we are pretty alike, you and I, but I think it's because you influenced me so much when we were younger. So stop listening to anyone else but you. You're the person you have to live with. Seb seems pretty happy with you anyways.'
'Thanks Dani'
'Anytime, Taz.' He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.
'Hey, Ricciardo. You find yourself your own lady!' Seb interjected, laughing. 'what is happening, Vale?I thought we were getting "smashed"' he passed her a cocktail.
'Jesus, you're such a dad. Even if you're not.' Valeria laughed. 'Mr. Ricciardo, thank you.' She kissed his cheek. Seb grabbed her hand and she let him walk her back inside the room. Valeria soon found herself dancing around with Seb , Kimi and Minttu. All the worries and insecurities she felt through the day finally started to disappear, Seb's laughter was enough for Valeria to forget about everything else. By the end of the night both she and Seb were completely drunk and were stumbling back to the hotel room, with some help from Kimi and mostly Minttu.
'you're telling me that the only way to get Seb out drinking' Kimi said, as he put his arm around Valeria's shoulder 'is to make sure he's having a midlife crisis?'
'Midlife? He's only 32' Valeria laughed.
'yeah, but he acts older than me' Kimi replied, with a smile.
'maybe you're the immature one' Seb interjected.
'Or maybe you're boring' Valeria teased him. 'Kimi and I have until the end of this season to get you even drunker than this'
'For fucks sakes' Seb huffed.
They walked into their room, tripping a couple of times and giggling like two school children. Valeria got out of her dress and jumped on the bed.
'Are you sleeping like that?' Seb asked.
'yeah, is there a problem Mr. Vettel?'
'Asbolutely not' he smirked, as he got closer to her and towered her to give her a kiss.