Snap Happy (A Daniel Ricciardo story)

35. GRAND Finale

DAN

"I'm beginning to think we should just abandon qualifying altogether!"

"Yeah that was kinda fun!"

Although he was obviously joking, Christian was clearly delighted with what his cars (and his drivers) had managed to salvage from the weekend. It had all looked so different a few hours earlier:

At the eleventh hour the Red Bull front wing had been deemed illegal and we were removed from the qualifying results. Christian had fumed, appealed, and failed. Seb had tried desperately to hide his disappointment at a pit lane start in his final race for the team but that too had been unsuccessful, and a cloud had hung over the entire garage, drenching everyone in melancholy.

Now though it was a different kind of mood - from the back of the grid we had gained a double points finish, but it was with the knowledge that the team was about to divide.  From my point of view it was a partnership that I would have liked to continue, preferably with the statistics still in my favour, but for the rest of the crew it was the end of an era. 

'45 Polls, 29 Wins, 4 Championships'

The pit board said it all, and the atmosphere in the garage reflected it, a bittersweet mixture of nostalgia, pride, and regret.

"You know you're gonna miss me next year" I leaned over and muttered to Seb as we crouched down to pose for the final team photograph.

"I'm the one leaving, aren't you supposed to say YOU'LL miss ME" he pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah but Kimi doesn't smile at you like I do" I put my head on one side and gave him what I hoped was a loving look.

"Idiot" he shoved my shoulder and I wobbled dangerously, grabbing the nearest arm to steady myself.

"Kimi is..errr a very nice guy and a good friend" he mumbled in a surprisingly accurate impression of Kimi's distinctive tones. Or possibly Mika Hakkinen...it was a close call.

"Hey, that's pretty good!" I chuckled as the cameras kept clicking.

"I may have been practicing" Seb laughed. His eyes sparkled under the lights, night having well and truly fallen by now. It could have been mirth that glistened, or it could have been emotion. Nobody knew except him.

EM

And just like that it was over.

Abu Dhabi, possibly my last grand prix as more than just a spectator, and I wasn't the only one whose future was hanging in the balance. Jenson too had reached the end of the season without knowing his fate, although his was a much more public dilemma.

The man-hugs were already in full swing when I snuck into the McLaren garage. It wasn't all an act for the cameras - the emotion was far too genuine. He really doesn't know what's going to happen to him I realised - none of them do. I felt a sudden wave of anger wash over me as I watched the former World Champion turning on the smiles, even though a glittering fifteen year career was possibly at an end. It certainly put my own five month dream into perspective.

I was tempted to jump in and dish out a few hugs of my own but who in all honesty was really going to notice if I didn't reappear in March. Darren? Jules perhaps?

As if on cue the blonde woman materialised at my side, her eyes looking suspiciously bright.

"Strange day huh?" I noted sympathetically.