to the finish line || ollie bearman

part 21

(english)

"angel once your ready, we need you for a meeting and then data analysis." jules says, coming up to me.

"shit, im going to aston martin for qualifying." i say. i decide to push every thought that isnt about racing to the back of my mind.

"oh yes. go and get ready then come for the meeting. people are going to be here until at least midnight so whenever you can just come back alright?"

"will you be here still?"

"yes, so you won't be alone. and could you tell zac to come to the main garage?"

"alright." i reply before saying goodbye and heading to my shared trailer.

i open the door and see zac with his headphones on whilst sitting on one of the tables. once he notices me, he takes them off.

"hey zac. well done on the podium" i say, sitting on the floor whilst taking my mirror out of my bag.

"thank you, but how you doing? you got up to p5 right?"

"yep, then crashed." i say, sighing.

"anyone could see that it wasn't your fault though."

"yeah but i still don't get the points." i say, as my phone starts ringing.

i pick it up to see the contact name "seb" calling. i knew he was going to talk to me about the race, but even so i answer the phone.

(german)

"hi seb."
"angel, how are you feeling?"
"not gonna lie, pretty shit. did you watching the race?"
"yes, such a shame what happened it was definitely not your fault. but up to that point you did amazing!"
"it doesn't matter how well i did until then, because i still don't get the points."
"no you might not have gotten points. but you proved to everyone that no matter the car situation, your an amazing driver. and that's important in the driver market for f1."
"your saying f1 teams watch the races?"
"yes of course, there is so much young talent they could miss out on if they don't. like you, and your brother."
"yeah, i guess."
"and don't worry about the points, you still have tomorrow's race for points. and if you lose the championship lead, you still have however many more races to get it back."
"yeah... thank you seb but i need to go. i can talk to you maybe tomorrow?"
"yes whenever you need. goodbye angel."
"bye."

i put the phone down to see zac staring at me, his face full of shock.

(english)

"what?" i ask, confused.

"how many languages do you speak?!"

"quite a few. there's italian, spanish, english, german, and im learning french."

"your fluent in 4 languages? that's crazy."

"i guess. oh, i was told to tell you to go to the main garage."

"do you know why?"

"probably just something to do with the podium but i don't know."

"alright thanks, i'll see you at the meeting."

"bye!"

i brush my hair out before starting on my makeup. thank god none of it came off after the race, guess i have a really good primer and setting spray.

but i still redo it, i cant risk anyone seeing my black eye.

i change into my aston martin clothes which is literally just an aston martin shirt and leggings. and finally, i put on my watch, bracelets, necklace and to top it off, a ring.

i pick up an umbrella and run to the meeting room, finding everyone already sat down waiting. i'm not very good at being on time.

"sorry i took so long." i say, sitting down beside zac who was still in his wet race suit.

"don't worry, your just in time." says.

the meeting lasted an hour, with sebastien (team principal) trying to find out how to improve the car.

once that was over, i had to rush to aston martin. i had 15 minutes until qualifying started. i was hoping to pass ollie in the paddock, but i knew i wouldn't. and i couldn't.

"angel!" lance says, signalling for me to come over. he was stood with his dad.

"hi lance, and mr stroll." i say, as i approach them. i hadn't exactly met lawrence yet, not properly at least.

"please, call me Lawrence." he says.

"unlucky today in the race, really difficult conditions." lance says.

"yeah, we've had issues with the car all weekend. but hopefully it will be fixed soon." i reply.

i talk to them for a few more minutes before lance had to get into the car. i head over to the pit wall, where i was watching qualifying from.

i greet mike (krack, team principal) and sit down beside him in my usual chair.

"are you friends with the ferrari reserve?" he asks me.

"yeah, why?"

"he was watching the formula 2 race, the cameras showed him." he explains.

"oh right."

1 hour later, qualifying was finished. fernando was p4, lance p5 (in my book, aston martin are a good team). before leaving, i congratulate both the drivers. thankfully it wasn't raining anymore.

ollie was starting p11, which was good for his first race. i so badly want to go and find him, tell him how great he has done. but nick doesn't want me too, so i can't. i feel like my heart has been ripped out of my body.

i needed to find logan or oscar and find out when we would be able to meet. whilst heading to the williams garage, i hear a familiar british voice calling my name. shit, what do i do? for all i know, nick could be somewhere nearby.

thankfully, i see lando a little further ahead. i decide to congratulate him on getting p3.

"lando!" i say, greeting him.

"angel!! you alright after your race?" he asks.

"yeah, it's a disappointment but i still have tomorrow's race."

"it was such a dick move."

"i know right! but well done on p3." (reminder all results are made up)

"thanks, pole would have been better but the car just wasn't fast enough."

"yeah it's not the best. have you seen oscar anywhere?"

"he's just talking to some mechanics, why?"

"i'm doing a track run tonight with logan and oscar but im not sure on the time."

"oh right, wait here and ill go get him for you."

"okay, thanks." i reply as lando walks into the mclaren garage.

|| authors note ~ hope you enjoy 🫶🏼