PR Disaster - Charles Leclerc

14

Ferrari was still on top as a constructor for the next three races. Charles was leading the championship, ahead of Max by 10 points. The next race becoming a make or break for his championship lead. Bahrain's after party was fun, so was Saudi Arabia's and Azerbaijan's. Lando won in Azerbaijan, with Charles in P2. It took so much out of me to not abandon my work and run to Mclaren's garage post race. It was his fifth win of his career, and more to come. Lando finally made it official with Lissie right before the after party. He stopped by our room as we were about to go down.

"Soleil, out please." He said as I opened the door.

"Excuse you?" I replied.

"I'm asking her. Officially. So out. Now. Before I chicken out." He rambled nervously.

My lips formed into a smile, "Okay, okay. You're lucky she's still getting ready."

I shoved my room key in my bag and stepped out of the room. I decided to go to Charles' as I waited for someone to text that they're downstairs. Charles looked confused as he saw me standing in front of his door. "I brought pres?" I stated, which came out more like a question as I held up two small bottles of tequila.

Charles gave me a look of approval and let me in. He looked at me up and down shamelessly as he closed the door. I was wearing a black backless mini dress, dirty white sneakers, and a small red bag.

"There's no cameras here, Charles." I said, becoming shy as he stared.

"I know." He said lowly.

"Tequila?" I asked awkwardly.

"Not after this," He replied as his face inched closer to mine, only to be interrupted with a text from Alex Albon in the group chat saying that he was at the lobby. We both looked at each other and gulped the tequila down. The burn went down our throat and we realized we didn't have anything to chase it down with. I don't really know how to explain the dynamics of Charles and I except coworkers/friends with half benefits, as Lissie said. We definitely played it a bit more in the paddock, especially in front of Maria and Fred, around the cameras, or when I'm out with Charles for some reason. Good luck kisses became a thing, he would come to my room before qualifying and before the race. From that, I learned that he was quite the superstitious person.

Next stop was Australia, Daniel and Oscar's home race. Lissie was not going to be there, which would be the first time this season that I would be alone in the hotel room. Lando and I tried to convince her to come with us, but she had other commitments back home, such as her podcast and many more. They were definitely soft launching their relationship to the media, all the drivers already know what was going on, an some of the crew, really. She's an F1 wag, with a media pass, the best there is. The jet lag was hitting me like crazy, Australia was definitely the country that always give me the worst jet lags. Thankfully, Ferrari landed on Tuesday from Maranello, giving us time to adjust with the timezone. But that also meant that I had to fly out from Sao Paulo a day earlier, the expenses were covered by Ferrari thankfully. Carlos was more excited about the hotel's breakfast than the race itself. He would not stop talking about it as we were landing, telling me which food to try tomorrow. It wasn't a bad thing, I always found myself struggling at breakfast buffets, not knowing which to take. Carlos was obviously a foodie, which was a blessing.

Just like every other airport, fans were queuing up in the arrival area, waiting for the drivers to come in. If I'm being very honest, it gets overwhelming. Huge respect to the drivers for handling it gracefully every single time. I sat next to Charles on the flight, just like the past flights due to our fat lie to Maria.

Waking up for an early flight after a night out was never a great idea. But Lando won last night, so of course we partied hard. By we I meant I got blacked out drunk. Charles wasn't there to stop me this time as he was too drunk to do so this time. Lando and Lissie had to carry me back to our hotel room at 2 AM in the morning, when my flight was at ten, meaning that I had to be at the airport at eight. I definitely could not miss the flight.

I walked up the plane with a large cup of coffee in my hand and sunglasses on my face, waiting for the panadol to kick in. I sat down at the first vacant seat I saw, which was across Charles and Carlos.

"Oh hello, Soleil." Carlos greeted, "Thought you would miss the flight."

"Ten bucks for me, mate." Charles said.

"Did you guys make a bet if I'm making this flight or not?" I asked.

"Someone partied hard last night." Carlos commented, chuckling.

"It was the tequila I swear," I groaned, head still pounding.

Carlos laughed, "Oh! Let me swap seats with you."

I looked at Carlos, confused, "What for?"
Carlos' eyes went to Maria, who was sitting not far behind us, telling me that she was present. "Oh that's kind of you, Carlos."

"No, no, I insist." And he got up, forcing me to swap seats with him.

Charles did not say anything, just observing the whole situation in front of him. I sat next to Charles, immediately buckling my seat belt knowing I would forget if I don't.

"Good morning, Sol." He greeted with a smile.

"It's a shit morning, Charles." I replied, sinking down onto my seat, struggling.

Carlos took a photo of us unbeknownst to Charles and I, and sent it to the group chat we had with drivers, their partners, Lissie and I.

Carlos Sainz: Look how cute they are @Charles Leclerc @Soleil Senna
George Russell: Called it. Period.
Lando Norris: You've use the dot mate @George Russell
Max Verstappen: How's your hangover @Soleil Senna
Soleil Senna: Don't even
Daniel Ricciardo: Mr Sunshine x Ms Grumpy
Kika Gomes: Agreed

And since then, Charles and I always sit next to each other on flights. Sometimes he'll lean onto my shoulder, or the other way round.

I crashed as soon as I got to my hotel room, struggling to sleep on the flight because Charles was freaking out every two seconds with the turbulence. Especially during landing. I've never had someone hold my hand that tightly before. Carlos was holding onto the arm seat as we landed while Martin, Carlos' engineer, Nicholas and I were just laughing at them and of course, a few photos were taken.

*

Charles got pole for qualifying today, starting front row for the fourth time this year. He was definitely in his prime, so was Ferrari, and it shows. Daniel qualified second in his home race, something we all have been waiting for. A win in his home race was Red Bull's goal for tomorrow. Carlos qualified second, followed by Max then Lando. Everything went smoothly today, no hiccups with work. Maria barely tells me what to do these days, acknowledging that I was more than capable, she was satisfied with my work. She was always open to new ideas, which I always give her. It took me a while to have the courage to speak up about my ideas to her, but she loves them. On top of that, she seemed to still believe the lie Charles told her at the start of the season.

I went back to the hotel early, deciding to go for a short swim. I changed into a yellow bikini, a black oversized t-shirt as a cover up, and a pair of slides. As usual, I ordered myself a drink, a pink cosmo this time, took a photo for my Instagram story before going into the pool. The sun was still out in Melbourne, with barely any clouds. I did a few laps of freestyle, barely anyone was in the pool. I'd assume that people would still be at the track. Knowing that the sun was setting in an hour, I decided to lay down in one of the poolside beds, trying to get a tan while I still can, sipping my pink cosmo. I put my sunglasses and airpods on, swapping sides every few songs to make sure I got an even tan.

The rooftop view of the sun set by the pool was mesmerizing, with the clouds reflecting all the orange and pink. That is, until someone stood in front of me, block my view.

"I thought we agreed on red last time?" A familiar voice asked.

I took my shades off, showing Charles standing in front of me with his red qualifying trackpants and the Ferrari team t-shirt.

"I think it was just you, Charles." I replied.

"Um, no." He stated, still blocking my view of the sunset. Before I could reply, he took off his tee, revealing his toned torso and handed it to me, "Now you're wearing red."