#f1 grid

The last race before the summer break has just ended, so you and Oscar have decided to explore the city before flying back home.

Oscar is already waiting in the hallway by the time you close your hotel room door behind you. He smiles as soon as he sees you, his eyes giving you a once-over while you give him a little twirl to show your outfit off.

“You like it?” You grin, almost feeling shy. “I’m sorry I took so long, though.”

“I love it, baby.” He smiles softly in response. “You can take as long as you want. I don’t mind waiting,” he says before reaching his hand out. “Let me hold your bag, honey.”

“Are you sure? It’s heavy.”

“Exactly,” he murmurs, gingerly taking your bag from your hands. “No need to tire yourself out when you’ve got me, hm? Plus, you get to show your pretty outfit off.” He grins as he plants a soft kiss on your temple, his movement careful to avoid ruining your makeup. He slings your bag over his left shoulder and offers his right hand to you.

You think you are going to melt right then and there.

—

As you are walking, you reach an area with heavier foot traffic, people bumping into each other here and there, and bicycles passing swiftly. Without blinking, Oscar takes three steps and before you even realize it, you are walking on the inside of the street. Simultaneously, your boyfriend shifts your bag to your side, so it’s closer to you and farther from the traffic. Once settled, Oscar gently takes your hand in his once again, and with that, you both continue your way through the city.

You don’t even have time to process everything that has happened in less than two minutes, but you feel like your heart is going to burst.

Walking further down the street, you spot a café and excitedly pull Oscar into it. Yes, he opens the door for you.

Once inside, you look through the display and scan the menu before deciding on what you want and informing the cashier of your order. You then turn to Oscar. “What about you?”

When he finishes ordering, you reach for your bag on his shoulder in an attempt to take your wallet from it. However, Oscar is quicker to offer the cashier his card.

“Osc, I was going to pay!” You lightly swat his arm, and he lets out a soft chuckle.

“I know. It doesn’t mean I was about to let you pay though.”

Yeah, you are definitely going to spontaneously combust.

—

You are sitting on the couch of your shared home when Oscar walks out of his sim room and into the kitchen. You pay him no mind as you keep your eyes on the book in your hands, your focus on the story unwavering.

After a few minutes, your boyfriend walks into the living room, places a glass of water on the coffee table in front of the couch, along with a few tablets of painkillers.

You look up at him in confusion, “Thank you, honey, but what are these for?”

“For when your cramps or your headaches get bad,” he says, as if that is the simplest, most obvious thing in the world.

“How did you know I’m on my period?”

“I’ve got an app to track it.” He smiles, kissing the top of your head. “Take a nap, honey—or not. Just holler when you need anything, ‘kay? I’ll leave the door open.”

You don’t know if it’s your period that is messing with your emotions, but you feel like crying right then and there.

When you crawl into his lap wearing his clothes while he’s busy with his sim, he does not even flinch. Instead, he adjusts himself around you and continues driving like it’s the most normal thing in the world. And when you fall asleep by the time he finishes, he carries you into bed like you weigh nothing, tucking you in and drawing the curtains shut.

—

It has been another shitty day at work, but you are grateful that tomorrow is a Sunday. Your boyfriend does not have a race coming up either, which means that you get to spend the rest of the weekend in your pajamas, watching romcoms, and napping to both your hearts’ content. The thought of your Sunday plans with the love of your life does not automatically erase your bad day, though.

The first thing you do when you step foot into your home is look for Oscar. As soon as you spot him on the couch, you walk over. He does not say anything and simply stands from the couch with his arms wide open, and you practically dive into them.

He holds you closely in his arms, gently swaying you back and forth as his hand rubs your back softly and slowly, just how you like it. Meanwhile, you keep your arms wrapped tightly around him. You do not want to let go and he does not force you to; instead, he stays there with you for as long as you need, occasionally whispering sweet nothings into your ear and kissing your head softly.

And when you do pull away, he gently guides you towards the couch and urges you to sit with him, still wrapped up in his arms. This time, your head is laying on his chest, his heartbeat almost immediately calming and lulling you to a much-needed nap after your long day.

Later that evening, you are sitting beside Oscar, his hand resting and occasionally moving up and down your thigh soothingly.

The sound of your deep sigh breaks the silence in the room, causing your boyfriend to turn to you. “You alright now, honey? Wanna talk about it, hm? No pressure at all.”

At the shake of your head, he smiles and kisses your temple gently, his hand coming up to rub your back comfortingly. He then speaks, his voice still soft and quiet, “That’s okay, baby. Take all the time you need. I’m right here.”

“Thank you for being here, Osc.”

The paddock was much louder than she’d expected.

Louder, and bigger, and filled with so many unfamiliar faces that it made her stomach twist and her fingers twitch at the hem of her sleeve nervously.

But Charles had promised. “Stay with me, ma chérie. I won’t let you out of my sight.” And so far, he’d kept his word. His hand was still wrapped around hers, warm, steady, safe, as he guided her through the crowded areas.

“Okay, that’s the Ferrari garage just there,” he said, slowing to a stop in front of the bright red blur of it all. “Looks very cool, no?”

She nodded, wide-eyed. She was wearing one of her brother’s vintage Ferrari jackets. It hung off of her, but it was so cosy. “It’s huge.”

“You’re tiny, so everything feels huge.”

She elbowed him in the ribs—lightly, but enough to make him laugh.

Then a voice called out from behind them.

“No way. Is this the famous baby Leclerc?”

She turned just as a grinning man in a blinding McLaren kit jogged over.

Oh. Lando.

She knew him from the races, obviously. But also from the YouTube videos Charles let her watch—usually late at night with popcorn when they were supposed to be asleep.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

Lando crouched slightly to meet her height, even though he was only an inch or two taller than she was. “Hi! I thought Charles had made you up to win sympathy points.”

She blinked at him.

“I do not need sympathy points,” Charles deadpanned.

“You do when you qualify P19.”

“Lando.” He cursed.

She giggled.

And the nerves began to fade.

—

By the time Max had given her a familiar fist bump and George offered her a sip of his iced coffee (“you’re a child, you don’t need caffeine,” Charles had immediately protested), she was smiling for real.

She sat in the Ferrari hospitality with Carlos, who insisted she try every flavour of Italian cookie, and played Mario Kart with Mick on her switch that Charles had remembered to stuff into her backpack.

Every time Charles glanced her way, she was either laughing or quietly watching everything, soaking it all in with a curiosity that reminded him so painfully of when she first moved in with him—wide-eyed, unsure, but eager to belong.

“You okay?” He asked as they walked back to the motorhome after lunch.

She looked up at him, cheeks flushed from the sun. Sunblock, he thought with a self-deprecating frown. That’s what he’d forgotten. “I really love it here.” She whispered.

He smiled so wide it hurt.

“Good,” he said, tugging her hood up over her head. Sun protection. “Because you’re stuck with me now. Forever. So you’ll probably spend more time at tracks like this than at school — but we won’t tell anyone that.”

She rolled her eyes but leaned into his side anyway.

And when the race ended hours later—when she waited at the back of the garage, clutching a team radio and bouncing on her toes as he stepped out of the car, sweaty and grinning and exhausted—he didn’t hesitate.

Helmet off. Arms open.

She ran straight into them.

“P2,” he said breathlessly into her hair. “For you.”

She beamed up at him. “I want to see you win, though!”

Y/n got another podium in Shanghai with a P3 then in Suzuka she was P5. Clearly some work needs doing to deal with rain, but they're back in the dry desert in Bahrain.

Familiar territory for y/n since testing was done here and before she came int the season she tested here with the team. She's feeling good.

Yet to finish outside the top 5 is a good record to hold, especially when she's proving to be the teammate pulling in the points after Kimi crashed in Shanghai.

Bahrain has really been a weekend y/n has dominated, she lead all the practices, she got pole and she's been leading every lap. She's got the fastest lap.

"Y/n took pole, she is being hunted down by Charles Leclerc, she is doing everything right. It is her last lap, if she can keep Charles behind her then she-she's gone off y/n is-Charles is leading the race." Crofty exclaims as they watch y/n make the error, getting over steer and ending up in gravel that she comes back out of but Charles has past her and she's lost her lead with no chance of getting past him before the line comes up on them and when she does cross the line.

Her radio is silent because they know to leave her alone.

"Well sometimes certain things don't need pointed out. Y/n is a podium sitter but never a race winner and I think that may be the story of her life."

Mercedes gets to the barriers as y/n pulls up, wanting to sit in the car or get out and march away but the type of repercussions that could have, would just not be worth it even if she dared to.

She can't even face the team as she immediately moves to get weighed with her helmet remaining on her head lifting the visor just enough to wipe the stray tears she can't contain.

Eventually she moves to the team who try to assure her that these things happen. It's happened to Charles even and he won the race today.

Charles is celebrating but the podium is painful and y/n is gone before anyone has a chance to pick up the champagne bottles to spray. Oscar being the other driver on there and while he's not exactly shown much support to y/n but he can read a room.

"You were amazing out there." Dakota states as she leans on the physio bed, head dropped down but she turns with a rage behind her eyes that lets the trainer know that it was not the right thing to say or the right time to even try to convince her that she's a good driver.

"I lost, Dakota. What about that was amazing? Humiliating myself? Do I look like I'm enjoying the degradation I get every time I fuck up for the world to see? Don't praise me when I don't deserve it because I'm not fucking asking for anyone to feed me lies to boost my ego and that includes you." Y/n spits letting her anger get the better of her.

Dakota knows it's not really her that's the problem, so she just gives Y/n the space she clearly needs.

She's the last one out into the media pen nearly missing it since usually they'd pack up by now but they waited to speak to her. It's too juicy not to after such an embarrassing end to the race.

"Hey, y/n. Not really the way to end such a strong weekend."

"No. It wasn't but what do you want me to say? I apologise to the team, they deserved this win. They've worked their asses off and I screwed it up on the last lap. And you guys are going to rip into me like you always do because you never learned how to respect woman and quite frankly I'd like to speak to your parents about how disgusting you can be. Same for quite a few drivers, I could have a word with them about how much disrespect their sons have. But I'm just a woman with a pretty face who can't win a race so what the fuck does my opinion matter, right?"

The media girl next to y/n eyes widen in horror at the PR nightmare that has just be set a light while the reporters are speechless.

"Thanks for your time." Y/n nods before leaving with the girl following as she moves to the press conference which is nearly completely done. She'll get a fine for being late but at this point she's beyond caring.

She gives one word answers to every question even when they attempt open-ended questions to force her to say no, but to them she only shrugs.

She's being an asshole, she knows it. But she can't hurt feelings anymore than hers have been hurt.

They deserve everything she gives them after the way they've treated her.

-

"Nico, you like to defend and underdog a lot and you are a father of girls. What are your thoughts on y/n's comments to the media about not just the media but other drivers." Simon states as the Sky reports stand together for the Thursday pre-weekend run-up show.

"I truly think she said what needed to be said and actually I think a lot of the media and the drivers should heed her words. Maybe she should speak to their parents because that might get them to realise just how badly they've treated her compared to other drivers. Kimi and Lewis have defended her but beyond that we haven't really seen anyone actually speak positively of her and Max, Charles and Lando all made fairly sexist comments about her being in the sport." Nico explains with his usual no bullshit attitude.

"How do you think she's going to cope going into Jeddah?"

"Well we already saw that she's nearly on a complete shut down for the media. One word answers, no smiling. It might be instructions from the PR team with a bit of a if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all rule after she gave the media her raw thoughts."

They do move through the weekend, spending a lot of air time focusing on y/n who isn't shown the strength in practices that she showed in Bahrain which of course only supports the media's narratives of y/n being good as a one off.

More comments from Lando, Charles, Liam, Max, Carlos and Fernando joking and commenting about how she failed to get the win last weekend which just shows how much improvement is needed.

Dakota got an apology from y/n directly after she finished with media and the team debrief from the race. Though it wasn't long because Toto seemed to acknowledge there was nothing good to come from dwelling on her mistake.

Y/n gets a P3 for the starting grid and sitting in her grid slot heading into the race, y/n honestly feels like her heart is in her mouth.

Her confidence took a big hit last weekend, she's still sore and bruised emotionally from the loss and despite best efforts to stop her from seeing it she's seen the headlines and comments about her.

"They're taking their time lining up. But I just want to say, that you don't need to worry about a think, win or lose. We are a team and we do it together." Dez states trying to settle her nerves but his words don't exactly provoke anything but almost making her sick, because they lost with her last week.

"I'll win." Y/n promises simply.

She might not feel as mentally strong as she did before last week, but that's not to be mistaken as weakness or as a means of her not having the motivation to win.

When the lights go out, y/n actually jumps ahead of Lando and speed to chase Oscar since the McLaren's got a 1-2 for the starting grid.

Jeddah isn't necessarily the easiest track on the planet to pass and it takes up till lap 10 but y/n takes a dive and passes the McLaren actually making it look a little too easy, but she shoots off now in the clean air.

And this time she keeps it, keeping the lead after pitstops and taking it home over the line with a 15 second margin and having lapped the back runners.

"Y/n! You won! You are a race winner!" Dez practically screams through the radio while y/n laughs then cheering into the radio.

"We won. We fucking won. We are race winners, you and me-the whole team. I'm so happy-where's Kimi?"

"P3. We got a 1-3 podium." Toto answers then congratulating her further. "You didn't need to win to prove yourself, but you earned this. No one came close to you today and you didn't need a pole or to lead every practice to win."

"Thank you, Toto. For everything."

"We never had any doubts in taking you as a driver."

Y/n does rush her in lap a little, only wanting to celebrate with her team and when she gets out she is running to the team who lift her up chanting her name while she feels them do everything to pat and congratulate her.

Eventually she's set down and finds Kimi waiting for her, taking him into her arms as they exchange an impossibly tight hug before she moves to let him celebrate with the team as she gets weighed.

As she steps off she's pulled back into a hug by Lewis who is actually the P2 between the drivers of his old team.

"You showed them." Lewis states as she turns and hugs the older man. "You owned that race."

Y/n smiles before she pulls off her helmet and begins to gulp down some water since Jeddah is a wearing race.

Eventually she steps up for her post-race interview which is with none of than Nico Rosberg, a man she's been silently thanking for defending her and he also gets a hug before she steps onto the marker ready to talk.

"Y/n that was a dominant performance, you passed the McLarens, maintained lead. You had nothing you needed to prove but you really put yourself in P1 and you didn't waver for a second. How does it feel being a race winner?"

"It's incredible. I really cannot explain how this feels, it's the best. As a driver this is exactly what we're here to do, we're here to win, to get the most points and to do everything we can to give the team the results they deserve because they're the ones putting the work into these cars, they're working with me to help me drive the car to the best the car can perform. We're going to be celebrating tonight, that's for certain." Y/n nods not being able to wipe the smile off of her face.

"Well as a former driver, as a former Mercedes driver, I have to say that you have amazed me. I'm sure your team could not be happier with you than they are right now in this moment."

"Yeah, now I just have to keep it up. It's a tight fight with the people at the top." Y/n states before thanking Nico as they broadcast cuts for her to leave for the cool down room. But she doesn't leave without an extra comment. "I also just want to thank you for the comments defending me. It was really something I needed to hear."

"I'll never let them speak down about a good driver. And you shouldn't take it."

Y/n gets to the cool down room which is a much better vibe than any other cool down room, she feels relaxed and she's talking with both the men in there with her.

There's something special for a lot of the young girls who are aspiring to be in y/n's position one day. Standing there above two men; one man a legend of the sport specifically a legend in the team she now sort of leads and the other man predicted to be a threat to the grid but being outshone by his female teammate.

She's a race winner and she's about to make everyone recognise it whether they're willing to admit it was won on merit or not.

-

Y/n still wants to troll the media a bit so she makes them wait as she showers and takes her fine ass time putting on an outfit to put everyone to shame. Because what's the fun in having a pretty face and winning a race if she can't make sure they're getting her in her best form?

"Y/n, you always keep us waiting."

"I don't keep important people waiting and that's all that really matters." Y/n smiles as she sits down for the press conference after giving the media pen polite but degrading answers for their questions.

They'll paint her as a monster with an ego that needs knocking down and an image problem. But she has to redeem herself a little after last weekend, especially since they may have allowed her the Sunday to go unpunished but she did get a call from Toto on the monday informing her that she can't talk to or about people the way she did. Though he only did it because he had to, really he would let her continue if she wanted to. It just has to be on record that he spoke to her about it being inappropriate.

"Anyway, I had to make sure I'm dressed for the occasion and winners always have to be the best dressed in the room...which by the looks of things. I can see that's exactly what I've achieved." Y/n smiles then patting Lewis' knee while he just smiles proudly at her shrugging off the indirect dig that even hit him as a presence in the room. "Though it's usually hard to compete with a man in red, I think I've managed it just fine."