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“Yes, yes, off we go,” Lizzie sang,
As we walked through the paddock, I saw a few familiar faces, notably Éliott and his parents, who waved at me as I entered the Hermes hospitality entrance, a smug grin on Éliott’s face. Clearly, Henri had told him about this morning’s activity.
We arrived at the Hermes entrance, and the guard let us in without even questioning us. I supposed he had been told a small group from Valkyrie would be arriving this morning. As I walked into the hospitality suite, I saw Luca and Henri waiting for me, Luca holding two cups of coffee.
Smart man – if he had some already brewed, we could cut down the interaction by… 2 minutes?I mused to myself. If there was one thing we could agree on, it was that every minute we didn’t have to spend together was a win.
“Oh, look who it is, Henri, it’s the Valkyrie F1 team here to steal our race strategy,” Luca laughed while shoving the coffee cup into my hands, albeit a little too forcefully, causing it to spill slightly onto the floor.
“Don’t be silly, we don’t steal losing strategies over at Valkyrie,” I quipped back. Luca huffed out a laugh, one that almost seemed genuine, but Henri didn’t seem quite so amused. He was very touchy about Hermes F1 strategy – or lack of one, as he often bemoaned.
“Nice of you to visit us over at lonely old Hermes,” Henri proclaimed, giving me a small hug and an ‘I’m sorry you have to do this’ smile.
“Well, when Luca boasted that Hermes F1 had the best coffee in the paddock, you know I had to come try it out. That’s a bold claim. You know how I feel about Italian coffee,” I said, winking at the both of them. I felt a little stupid saying that – Italians were known for incredible coffee, and last year, I had done a coffee trip through Italy with my brothers.
Luca gave me a quick, bemused glance, likely because he had seen me drink a good amount of Italian espresso over the last week, but he said nothing and motioned for the three of us to sit down at a table, pulling out a seat next to him, leaving Henri to sit across from us.
“So, you feeling ready for today? Must feel real good to have pole position?” I asked Henri, trying to sound excited for my brother. He deserved pole position; he had driven exceptionally well all weekend.
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring any cake from Monaco with me in case you win,” I added with a wink.
“It’s fine. I’ll just have to settle for forcing you to go out with me tonight to celebrate my win.” I rolled my eyes, secretly praying that I could turn my eighth place into first so that I didn't have to go out with Henri and Luca, a ‘cherry on top’ reward that I knew I likely wouldn’t be getting.
We continued with a little more chit-chat between the three of us for another ten minutes before Lizzie motioned for me to leave. I knew she had ensured that the Hermes F1 social coordinator had gotten all the footage they needed of the three of us. I gave Henri one last hug, and as I went to turn around, I felt Henri push me slightly into Luca, giving me a pointed look that said, ‘Hug him.’
Perhaps a little too awkwardly, I wrapped my hands around Luca's waist and gave him the weirdest side hug I had ever experienced. Luca chuckled, wrapping his arms around me as he pulled me flush against his body, causing my own to heat up from his touch. He was incredibly warm, and he was wearing that cologne again – the one he had worn the night I ran into him while waiting for the elevator in Spain – the one that smelled of lilacs and pine trees. I closed my eyes for just a moment and drank it in before opening them quickly, backing off from Luca.
“Right, better get back. First place won’t be easy, so need to go prepare.” I gave my brother a little smirk and then headed off in the direction of my motor home.
“See, Georgie, that wasn’t so bad!” Lizzie announced as we left the Hermes hospitality suite. She was right, it had been manageable, but I wasn’t going to let her know that.
“Yes, it was good to see my brother,” I let out softly. Lizzie just smirked at that. She knew I would never admit that the coffee date wasn’tthatbad, but I knew she would accept her wins where she could.
The next several hours revolved around me prepping for the race. There were training sessions with Chris, reaction time exercises, and race strategy reviews with Fiona and Isabelle. I knew I was going to need a bit of a miracle if I was going to get on the podium, but I was prepared to put the work in. All I needed was for a few of the cars in front of me to drop out of the race – and the Blaue Flügel F1 Team, even the Hermes F1 team, were getting good at those.
“Alright, time to get in, Georgie,” I heard my race engineer Mel yell from across the garage. I nodded, crawling into the car and attaching my radio.
“Is it always this hot in here?” I muttered to myself. I felt around for my water and then pressed the radio button.
“Umm, there seems to be an issue. The water is basically empty,” I called out.
“No issue, Georgie, we needed to lighten the car. Every ounce matters,” Mel casually responded.
Did my racing team not know it was 100 degrees outside?I grumbled into the radio but said nothing else. Mel had been with me since last year. She was a brilliant race engineer, one of the best, and when I signed for Valkyrie F1, I knew I had to take her with me. She had the strongest southern drawl I had ever heard, but her mathematics were on par with the best over at the Rennen F1 Team, a team that had previously won seven of the Team Constructor Championships in the last decade.
“Fine, but let’s not make a habit of it.” I knew part of this was my fault. I had gotten eighth place on the grid, and we needed to make up time. The championship was at stake, and I could survive a ninety-minute race with just a little less water.
After a few more moments, I was out of the pits, completing my formation lap.
“How are things, GG?” GG was the name Mel called me over the radio – she had been doing it ever since Indy Car after she proclaimed, “Georgia is much too long!” during our first race together – so GG stuck.
“Feeling ok, wish me luck.”
“You never need it.”
I got to the eighth-place spot and waited. The wait for the lights to go out was always the worst part of the race. The anticipation was on par with a group of people who were at the very top of a rollercoaster’s drop. I loved starting the car off the grid. There were no words to describe the magic and wonder of driving a Formula 1 car. Every day I got into that car, I lived my dream.
The fifth light went out, and I started the car as if I were a person who hadn’t eaten in a week and food had just been offered to me. I was hungry for this win – or to at least get on the podium. Within three seconds, I had already jumped two places. Two other team cars had gotten bad starts, and I certainly wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass.A good driver takes any opening they can get.
