#legacyfa

March 2015

“Amor, the flight is delayed,” Olivia sighed, sitting down on one of the airport chairs.

“By how much?” Fernando asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, holding the phone between his shoulder and his ear.

“Three hours at least, I’ll get there in the middle of the night,” the woman sighed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the two monsters,” Fernando laughed. “And luckily Ester already made dinner before leaving…” he added, making her laugh too.

“Could you maybe not give them too much ice cream and put them to bed at a decent hour?” Olivia laughed, amused.

“I don’t know if I can manage that,” Fer joked. “See you later, ok?” he added, ending the call after a few quick goodbyes.

“Hey girls!” Fernando said with a smile, walking into the living room where, until a short while ago, Veronica and Amanda had been quietly playing with their Legos.

But that was no longer the case.

In the middle of the room stood an enormous fort made out of all the couch cushions. The room looked peaceful, except for the soft giggles coming from inside the improvised structure.

Fernando burst out laughing. He had been alone for fifteen minutes and the living room already looked like a battlefield.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked, amused.

“Come in, daddy,” said Amanda, four years old, sticking her head out of what must have been the main entrance to the castle.

“I don’t know if I can fit in there,” he laughed.

“Yes you can, daddy, it’s huge!” laughed Veronica, still hidden inside.

Fernando sighed, knowing that resisting would be useless, and crouched down to try to get in. He immediately noticed one thing: that fort was really enormous.

He stretched out, leaving his legs outside while the girls laughed uncontrollably.

They had brought in all their night lights (five of which were shaped like unicorns), part of Veronica’s toy kitchen, and an uncountable number of stuffed animals, probably more than thirty.

“What are you doing in here?” Fernando asked, amused.

“A school,” Amanda replied, wearing a pair of glittery fake glasses she had found who knows where.

“And you’re the teacher, my love?” he asked, looking at her, thinking she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I’m the little kids’ teacher, V is the big kids’ teacher,” she replied, pretending to write something in a notebook.

“I’m the boss,” Veronica cut in.

“No, you’re not the boss,” Amanda protested.

“Yes I am,” answered the older one.

“Daddy, she always wants to be the boss!” the blonde complained, pouting.

“I’m the boss,” Fernando said, while both girls looked at him doubtfully.

“But you’re not good at drawing,” Veronica objected.

“Hey, I’m great at drawing, does no one remember the fairy car from last week?” he replied, offended.

“That one was pretty,” Amanda admitted with a smile.

“But can you ask mommy if we can have dinner in here?” Veronica asked after a moment.

“Mommy’s not here tonight, she’s coming back late,” Fernando replied, and immediately both his daughters’ faces lit up, fully aware that if mom wasn’t home, they could probably do whatever they wanted.

“Can we, daddy?” V asked.

“Please, daddy, please,” Amanda echoed, and within seconds the fort was filled with a chorus of endless “Please daddy,” as both girls threw themselves at him to hug him.

Fernando laughed.

“Ok… ok… but if you stain the couch cushions, you’ll be the ones explaining it to mommy,” he said while the girls squeezed him and showered him with kisses, and he enjoyed their affection maybe a little too much.

“You’ll eat here with us too, right?” Amanda asked, her huge blue eyes only a few centimeters from his.

“Yes…” he said, giving in almost immediately, knowing he could never say no to her. “Maybe we can make it a little taller so I can sit inside, what do you think?” he asked, getting an enthusiastic chorus of yeses in response.

They spent the next half hour rebuilding the cushion fort, adding every other pillow they could find in the house to the ones from the couch.

The final result was a real castle, tall enough for Fernando to sit inside comfortably.

“Mom’s going to kill us,” Veronica said, hands on her hips, looking at their masterpiece.

Fernando didn’t answer, but he thought it was very likely Olivia would have something to say about that majestic structure now standing in the middle of the living room.

“Pizzzzzzzzaaaaaaa!” Amanda shouted, jumping around.

“No, no, no… what pizza?” Fernando exclaimed.

“Ice cream?” the blonde asked, tilting her head.

“Ester made dinner,” he objected.

“Ice cream dinner?” Mandy asked again, while her father burst out laughing, shaking his head.

“Real dinner first, and then maybe a little ice cream,” he said, going into the kitchen to heat up the food that had been left for them, returning a few minutes later with the plates.

The three of them sat inside the castle, and less than two seconds later, Amanda had already gotten tomato sauce on the first cushion.

He would definitely have to find a way to make it up to Olivia.

He wasn’t often alone with the girls lately, with all the traveling and commitments around the world, he had barely spent any real time with them. That stolen evening felt like a gift, and he wanted to spend it just like that, sitting in a fort made of cushions, eating dinner with them.

Amanda and Veronica were happy, telling him everything he had missed about school, dance, swimming, and all the little adventures from the past weeks.

Fernando felt truly lucky to have those two little girls who filled his life like nothing else.

After dinner and a minimal attempt to clean up the chaos they had made, it was finally time for bed.

“Come on, time to get your pajamas on, both of you,” he said, picking Amanda up and starting up the stairs.

“Can I brush my teeth with Nutella?” the little blonde asked.

“Excuse me?” he smiled, looking at her.

“Amanda says toothpaste always tastes gross and they should make one that tastes like Nutella,” Veronica explained, seeing her father’s surprised face.

Fernando started climbing the stairs again. “No, sweetheart, you can’t. It would be nice to make it to ten years old without all your teeth full of cavities,” he said.

“But the new toothpaste is disgusting,” the younger one objected. “And yours stings,” she laughed, putting her hands on her father’s cheeks and kissing his nose. “Can I, daddy, please, the Nutella one?”

“No, Mandy, you can’t brush your teeth with Nutella,” he said, staring at her as she huffed.

The bedtime routine was a little more chaotic than usual, but in the end, Fernando managed to get both girls with teeth brushed (not with Nutella) and perfectly in their pajamas.

Mission accomplished.

-

Olivia came home around midnight. The house was silent, lights off, everyone already fast asleep.

She dropped her bag in the entryway, took off her shoes, and went upstairs. She wanted to take a shower and crawl into bed, but first she peeked into Amanda’s room to give her a kiss : the bed was empty.

She went into Veronica’s room, but that bed was untouched too.

Olivia smiled, realizing they had, as usual, convinced their dad to let them sleep in his bed.

When she quietly entered her own room, though, she saw that the big bed was empty as well.

She froze for a moment, wondering where they could be, a flicker of worry crossing her mind, but Fernando would have texted if something had happened.

She went quickly downstairs and turned left toward the living room.

She found herself in front of something that definitely hadn’t been there that morning when she left.

A castle, a fort… a truly impressive structure, with Fernando’s legs sticking out from what must have been the door.

Olivia smiled and leaned closer, peeking through where a cushion had fallen.

Inside the fort was the rest of her family.

Fernando, lying down, with Amanda practically sprawled on top of him, and Veronica next to them, all three wrapped in a grey blanket, surrounded by a sea of stuffed animals.

Olivia smiled. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Formula 1 World Champion,” she thought amusedly, stepping back just enough to grab her phone and silently snap a photo, proof of the back pain Fernando would surely have the next morning after a night on the floor.

That was just how he was. When he started playing with the girls, he always brought their most magical dreams to life: a fort full of stuffed animals where they could fall asleep in their father’s arms.

What could be more wonderful than that?

June 23, 2013

Ferrari’s idea of letting kids interview the drivers had been brilliant, and it would definitely produce some fun content.

Too bad that less than an hour before the interview was supposed to start, the child chosen after casting after casting turned out to be sick.

The Scuderia Ferrari team immediately got moving to find a replacement, but finding, in one hour, a kid prepared and confident enough to interview a world champion was no easy task.

Until Stefania, head of the department, had an idea.

She walked up to Fernando and, without even saying hello, started talking. “We need to fix this, I can’t find any kids ready to interview you,” she said, making him laugh.

“Can we reschedule?” he asked.

“That would be a bit of a mess,” she replied, pausing for a moment. “But I did have an idea. Am I wrong, or do you have a daughter with a pretty impressive gift of the gab?” the woman smiled.

“Veronica?” he said, surprised, then burst out laughing. “Yeah, yeah, when it comes to talking, no one can beat her…” He stopped. “…oh God, do you want my daughter to interview me?”

“If you and Olivia are okay with it, I mean, she’s already got chemistry with you… the questions are ready…” Stefania said, a bit hesitant. “She’s around here anyway, right?”

“Yeah, somewhere with her mom and her sister… Give me… give me ten minutes and I’ll see what I can do,” he laughed, getting up from his chair.

—

“Can I ask him whatever I want? Even if we’re getting a pony for my birthday?” Veronica asked. She was sitting on a stool that was way too tall for her, swinging her legs while one of the hairdressers fixed her pigtails.

“No, you have to ask me the questions they told you earlier. There will be a lady there to prompt you,” Fernando replied, sitting in front of her.

Veronica stared at him with that way-too-clever look that promised trouble.

“No pony?” she asked, and the hairdresser behind her burst out laughing.

“You’re in for it…” the woman commented, looking at Fernando.

“I don’t know why I agreed to this,” he sighed.

“Can I wear makeup?” the little girl asked.

“No,” both parents and a couple of makeup artists answered in unison.

“You’re so boring…” she muttered, still swinging her legs.

—

Veronica: But do I really have to ask him to introduce himself? I already know who he is, he’s Dad.

Fernando: Amor, yes, you have to ask me so I can say my name…

Veronica: Okay. Hi, introduce yourself, Dad.

Fernando: Hi everyone, I’m Fernando Alonso, a driver for Scuderia Ferrari.

Veronica: And… were you good at school when you were little?

Fernando: Not really, I thought more about playing than studying.

Veronica: With cars?

Fernando: Yeah, I had lots of toy cars, and a track they gave me for my birthday. It’s always been my favorite game.

Veronica: But he’s also good with Barbies, can I say he’s good with Barbies?

Fernando: (laughs) Now that I’m grown up, I’ve had to learn how to play with Barbies too, yeah.

Veronica: We still have to finish building the castle!

Fernando: V, the questions…

Veronica: Oh right… What sport do you like besides Formula 1?

Fernando: Football, I’d say, both playing it and watching it on TV.

Veronica: What team do you support?

Fernando: Real Madrid. And you?

Veronica: Well… I dunno… If I say Inter like Mom, you get grumpy…

Fernando: (laughs) Didn’t you support Real too?

Veronica: But Inter has the prettiest jersey… Grandpa Aldo gave it to me…

Fernando: Then it’s fine, you support Inter.

Veronica: And Real sometimes… so you don’t get grumpy. Can we ask Amanda to support Real and I support Inter?

Fernando: Yeah, okay, let’s do that.

Veronica: Have you ever taken Mandy to the stadium?

Fernando: No, she’s too little…

Veronica: I have…

Fernando: You’re older

Veronica: Yeah, and then she cries…

Fernando: V, the questions…

Veronica: Can I have a pony?

Fernando: V, amor, the questions the lady told you…

Veronica: Yeah but why do I have to ask who your best friend is? I already know it’s Uncle Alberto…

Fernando: I know, but the others don’t know, mi nena…

Veronica: Um, who’s your best friend?

Fernando: Alberto, a classmate I’ve known since we were kids…

Veronica: See, I knew it was Uncle Alberto.

Fernando: V, let me talk…

Veronica: Do they know that you and Uncle Alberto only let us have ice cream for dinner when Mom isn’t around?

Veronica: Oh, I wasn’t supposed to say that in front of Mom.

Fernando: Well, now the whole world knows…

Veronica: Don’t be mad, Mom, only sometimes!!!

Fernando: (sighs, shaking his head)

Veronica: What’s your favorite track?

Veronica: Mine is Monza, because then we go eat at Grandma and Grandpa’s and they make like a ton of pizza…

Fernando: (laughs) Mine is Suzuka…

Veronica: Where is it?

Fernando: In Japan, nena. We were there last month, remember the pink flowers?

Veronica: Oh yesssss! And the ladies with the beautiful dresses!

Veronica: Will you buy me a dress from Japan?

Fernando: No, let’s keep going.

Veronica: Still no pony?

Fernando: No.

Veronica: Eeeeh, fine…

Veronica: When did you race your first race?

Fernando: I started with a kart my grandpa gave me when I was about four, more or less.

Veronica: Grandma said you used to crash all the time…

Fernando: At first, yeah. Then I learned…

Veronica: Did you have lots of crashes?

Fernando: Well, yeah, I had a few, some of them pretty dangerous…

Veronica: (eyes wide) Really, Daddy? (she leans forward and hugs him, sitting on his lap) Did you get hurt?

Fernando: No, amor, just a little, just a tiny bit.

Veronica: If you get hurt, Mom gets mad. It scares me when she gets mad.

Fernando: Me too, better not make her mad.

Veronica: So no more secret candy?

Fernando: Let’s say you shouldn’t let her know… And Mom is right there watching us…

Veronica: Oh… Hi Mom, we never eat it!

Fernando: (laughs) Never…

Veronica: You know Amanda wanted to color her nose with a marker earlier? Mom yelled…

Fernando: (laughs) What color?

Veronica: Blue… (she rests her head on his shoulder) I don’t remember the questions anymore.

Veronica: What’s the thing you like doing most when you’re not racing?

Fernando: Playing with you and your sister.

Veronica: (smiles) Even when I dress you up as a fairy?

Fernando: Even when you put makeup on me and dress me up as a fairy.

Veronica: I like it when you read books…

Fernando: Me too.

Veronica: And when we have pillow fights and you always lose and me and Amanda always win (laughs).

Fernando: (laughs) You two are the best.

Veronica: But you’re not very good at drawing, Mom is better…

Fernando: (laughs) Definitely.

Veronica: Is it true that you’re in love with Mom?

Fernando: True. For many years now, little one…

Veronica: How many?

Fernando: Ten…

Veronica: Ten???????? You’re kind of old…

Fernando: (laughs) Kind of…

Veronica: I love you, Daddy.

April 6th, 2008

Fernando was sitting on the sofa with Veronica in his arms. The little one was just over a month old, and he had already been away for more than ten days, first for the race in Australia and then for Malaysia. He had been back home for a couple of days, and he had barely stopped holding her since.

It had been such a different trip, not just because Olivia was not there, but because it was the first time he had left his daughter at home, and it had felt strange. He was used to travelling, to living around the world, even to being alone when Liv was not with him, but now he was a father, and everything felt so different.

He had probably been a little ridiculous, showing her photos to everyone. The drivers he got along best with, Mark, Seb, Jenson and even Lewis, had all asked about that tiny baby, had teased him and celebrated that special arrival together with him, maybe understanding in their own way how strange it must have felt for their colleague to be on the other side of the world with a daughter barely a month old at home.

“You can put her down, you know?” Olivia smiled from the doorway.

“Just a bit longer,” he laughed, leaning his head back against the sofa. “Have your parents left?” he asked, and Olivia nodded.

“Finally this house is quiet again. Both yours and mine felt the need to be here all the time while you were gone, and I cannot say I miss the noise… All I want is you with our tiny one in your arms,” she said, smiling as she sat down beside him.

They stayed silent for a while, watching Veronica sleeping peacefully, until the vibration of Olivia’s phone broke the calm. She picked it up, read the message and started laughing.

“Lewis is on his way,” she sighed, “and he is not alone. Mark, Seb and Jenson are with him.”

“What?” Fernando asked, frowning. “Why?”

“Maybe because you just had a daughter and they want to come see her?” she replied.

“They saw the pictures already,” he muttered, annoyed.

“You are such a grump,” Olivia teased him.

“And Jenson too?” he added, looking at her.

“Fernando, you cannot still be jealous of him. I just gave birth to your daughter,” she said, amused. “And precisely because I just did, trust me, the last thing I am thinking about for a while is men, you included,” she laughed softly.

Recovering from childbirth had not been easy.

Fernando laughed. “Okay, okay, you are right,” he admitted, as Olivia got up to ask Ester to prepare something for their guests.

She took Veronica to change her, and Fernando watched her for a moment as Liv kissed the baby’s head and whispered something to her. His wife had always been beautiful, but now, holding that little baby, she was even more so.

When the doorbell rang, Fernando got up reluctantly. He had not been home much, and he would have preferred to stay alone with his family, but in the end, it was nice that the people he had spoken to so much about Veronica were now there to meet her.

He opened the door and found Lewis standing there. “I come in peace. I know you did not feel like seeing us, but they insisted,” he said, laughing and pointing at the three men behind him, who entered and greeted Fernando warmly.

“Be patient, Alonso, you have been talking for two weeks about how beautiful your daughter is, we wanted to see for ourselves,” Mark laughed, following him into the living room.

“She is beautiful, that is all,” Fernando said, amused.

“Well, with the mother she has…” Jenson commented, earning a glare from Fernando. “Relax, man, it is clear enough that you are the one who won her,” Jenson added, laughing as he sat down on one of the armchairs.

Seb put a hand on Fernando’s shoulder. “Ignore him,” he murmured, just as Olivia came back into the room, Veronica in her arms and now awake.

“Well, look at all these drivers,” she said, smiling.

“Hey,” Lewis said immediately, moving to hug her before looking down at the baby. “Hello, little one, awake at last?”

“Very awake,” Liv said with a laugh, leaning to greet the others, who hugged her quickly.

“I swear I came here ready to tease Fernando and say she looks just like her mother, but… my God, Alonso, you have a clone,” Mark laughed, still staring at the baby.

“A much prettier clone, with her mother’s nose thankfully,” Sebastian added, standing beside Olivia.

“And hopefully her mother’s temperament,” Lewis muttered, making Olivia laugh.

“God save us from another Alonso in the world,” Jenson joked.

“Can we stop, please?” Fernando asked, receiving a firm “No” from all of them.

“Can I let someone else hold her, or are you going to bite, daddy?” Olivia teased, looking at him.

“If you really must,” he said with a smile.

“I must,” Mark said, taking Veronica gently. “Never thought I would ever be holding an Alonso,” he said, laughing as everyone joined in.

“How are you feeling?” Jenson asked Olivia, standing beside Mark to look at the baby.

“I am learning what it means to have someone who always needs you. Though I already had some practice with Fer,” she said, sitting on the arm of the sofa beside her husband to hug him. “But V is even more demanding than him,” she teased, making Fernando laugh too.

“You two are insane, you know that, right?” Seb said, laughing. “How the hell do you plan to handle Formula 1 and… this?” he said, pointing at Veronica.

Fernando smiled. “I have no idea. But she has a plan for everything,” he said, looking at Olivia.

Olivia laughed. “For a few years, our driver will be travelling mostly alone, I think. We just have to find our rhythm, it will not be impossible,” she said playfully.

“I could never do it,” Lewis said with a laugh. “I have no idea how you make it look easy.”

 “Oh, it is not easy,” Olivia said with a soft laugh. “But… we wanted it, didn’t we?” she said, looking at Fernando, who smiled back.

“My God, I am not sure I am ready to see you this lost over your daughter,” Jenson said. “It was already strange enough watching you lose your head over her,” he added, nodding towards Olivia.

“You are such an idiot,” Fernando said, laughing.

“Guys, there is a newborn here,” Mark warned, still holding the baby, who stretched and yawned. “She is the sweetest thing I have ever seen,” he said, standing up to hand her back to Olivia, who adjusted her in her arms.

“She is,” Liv said softly, thanking Ester as she brought something to drink for everyone.

They kept chatting and laughing, voices lowering every time Veronica closed her eyes, those four men who had come to visit them stealing glances at the tiny girl who now slept peacefully in her father’s arms.

It was past six when they finally left, and Olivia closed the door behind them with a smile.

“They were sweet,” she said, walking back to Fernando.

“I have to admit, they were,” he said with a smile. “But now, no more visits. I just want the two of you for at least a week,” he said, looking down at Veronica asleep in his arms.

“You are jealous, and she is only a month old,” Olivia teased, sitting beside him and kissing his cheek.

“She is my princess,” he said with a smile. “And she always will be.”

July 28th, 2025 – Monte Carlo

Olivia had woken up early, she hadn’t been sleeping much lately and when she did it was never well, she had gotten used to greeting the sunrise from the kitchen window, and that morning had been no exception.

The girls had woken up early too, finishing their suitcases for the flight at one in the afternoon that would take them to Silverstone to see their father for his birthday.

Olivia had tried not to think about it, to do everything as if nothing had changed, forcing herself to accept that new routine of separated parents, even if it wasn’t easy, not at all.

She was in the study, holding in her hands the gift she had bought for Fernando a few days before.

She didn’t even know why she had bought it, but she had seen that watch in the window and had immediately thought of him, it had been natural to go in and buy it, because she had always done that for twenty years.

She placed it on the desk after finishing to wrap it, looking on the bookshelf for a ribbon, she opened a cabinet and froze for a moment. It was the one where they kept the photos.

She took out an envelope and pulled out some old photographs from more than twenty years earlier, Fernando’s first world championship, the victory in Interlagos, and she smiled at the memory, it had all been so overwhelming.

“Mum?” Amanda’s voice broke her thoughts, the girl was standing in the doorway watching her. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for a ribbon,” she answered, quickly shaking off that dive into the past, while the girl approached and looked at the photos in her hands.

“Are those from dad’s win in 2005?” Amanda asked, and Olivia nodded, handing her the pictures that the girl began to look through.

“What am I missing?” Veronica’s voice echoed from behind them.

“Look!” laughed Amanda, showing her the photos she was holding. Veronica smiled when she saw them, then glanced at her mother, who had stood up and was tying a ribbon around a package on the table.

Olivia acted as if nothing really touched her, but both her daughters knew that wasn’t true.

The woman turned and handed the gift to the girls. “Can you give this to your dad?” she asked softly.

“Of course,” Veronica answered, taking it from her. “Why did you get him a present?” she asked without even thinking.

Olivia was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know, V, because…” she stopped for a second; she never allowed herself to falter in front of her daughters. “…he’s still dad, right?” she smiled faintly. “I’ll go finish something upstairs,” she added quickly, leaving the room before she could crumble.

“Should we bring some photos to dad? I don’t think he has many in the new house,” said Amanda, who had found another box of pictures. “There are tons of us when we were little,” she added, flipping through them.

Veronica reached for one taken during that famous 2005 celebration, their parents together under a rain of champagne after Fernando’s victory.

“This one?” Amanda asked, looking at the photo in her sister’s hand.

“No, I don’t think dad wants pictures of mum,” replied the older girl sharply, standing up and letting the photo fall to the floor. “Pick whatever you want, I’m putting this in the suitcase,” she said, leaving the room.

Amanda stayed there, picking up the photo her sister had dropped and setting it aside, together with another of the two of them as children and one of them with Fernando a few years earlier.

She hated this new situation, hated seeing her mother like that, but at the same time she wanted to see her father and be with him.

Everything felt so difficult.

-

July 29th, 2025 – Silverstone

Fernando was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with an empty breakfast plate and a cup of coffee in front of him. He had woken up early as usual, trained, taken a shower, and now sat there eating something quietly.

“Happy birthday, daddy!” exclaimed Amanda, running in and hugging him.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said with a smile, hugging her tightly.

“Happy birthday, dad,” echoed Veronica, sitting down at the table across from him, no hug for him from his eldest daughter.

“Thank you, V,” he replied, smiling.

“This is for you,” Amanda said, handing him a package that Fernando unwrapped curiously. Inside was a brand-new iPad.

“You lost yours, didn’t you?” the blonde teased, smiling. “So now you’ll stop using …” she stopped mid-sentence, realizing what she was about to say, “so now you have a new one,” she corrected quickly, pouring herself some juice.

“Thank you, I really needed this,” he said, laughing, letting her unfinished phrase hang in the air …so you’ll stop using mum’s…

They kept chatting through breakfast, making plans for the day, talking about nothing and everything, until the girls said they wanted to get dressed and head to town for a while.

“This is from mum,” Veronica said, leaving a package on the table.

“And these… I took them from home,” added Mandy, placing an envelope beside it.

Then both girls left the kitchen to get ready.

Fernando picked up the package and slowly unwrapped it.

Olivia had gotten him a gift. That had truly surprised him; he hadn’t expected anything like it after… everything.

He opened the blue velvet box. Inside was a watch, one of the models he collected, one he had been looking for.

Fernando sighed, rubbing a hand across his mouth. It wasn’t just a gift, it was her, it was from someone who knew him like no one else did, and that alone brought back the same weight in his stomach he had been carrying since he left home.

Despite everything, she had thought of him. Despite maybe hating him, despite everything, she had thought of him:  maybe out of habit, maybe because after twenty years of thinking of each other, it was hard to stop.

He set the watch down and picked up the envelope of photos.

The girls on the beach covered in sand, him with them on a boat a few years earlier, and then the last one, the one he recognized immediately.

Interlagos 2005, the victory that had made him world champion at twenty-four.

He and Olivia under a shower of champagne, her arms around him, that smile… how he had loved that smile, every single day of his life.

And that morning, he missed it more than anything. It was his birthday, and once again, reality had hit him like a cold shower — she wasn’t there, and she wasn’t there because he had decided to leave.

“Dad?” Veronica’s voice sounded to his right, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he said quickly, clearing his throat and putting the photo back on the table. “I was just… looking at the pictures Mandy chose.”

Veronica stepped closer, picking up the photo of her parents and studying it.

“Why, dad?” she asked softly, then raised her eyes to his. “Why?” she said again, and he knew exactly what she meant.

“V…” he sighed, “it’s complicated, okay?” he said carefully. “Your mum and I… we’ve been fighting a lot lately, all the time,” he admitted. “Maybe we just don’t want the same life anymore, maybe we’ve reached a point where we don’t understand each other…” he continued. “She thinks I should give everything up, Formula 1, racing, but… I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“So you left her instead?” she pressed, her voice sharp.

“We couldn’t keep screaming at each other, V… that’s all we did, all the time,” he said. “Because nothing ever felt right, nothing the other said ever was.”

Veronica was silent, lowering her gaze. “You know, I think mum… I think she’d be fine with any life, as long as you were in it,” she said, then looked up again. “I’m going back to Monte Carlo tomorrow,” she added. “I can’t leave her alone in that house.”

Fernando looked at her, wondering when that little girl had grown up so much, when she had become someone he now had to answer to for his choices and mistakes. He realized he needed to stop seeing her as a child — Veronica wasn’t one anymore.

“I’m alone too,” he said with a faint smile.

“But she didn’t choose it,” Veronica replied quietly, turning to leave the kitchen.

Fernando stared at the door she’d gone through, his daughter, his little girl, now building a wall between them.

She blamed him entirely for the separation, and maybe she wasn’t wrong. He had been the one to walk away, but things between him and Olivia had been tense for months. It had been a long road to that point, a painful one.

And it still was.

He missed Olivia terribly.

He had woken up that morning remembering his previous birthday, when she had come to him with a pastry and a candle on top, wearing a pink nightgown that fell on her like a dream, and that smile… God, that smile.

And this time he had woken up alone, feeling her absence so sharply that he would have given anything to have her beside him. But then what?

They would have gone back to arguing, to fighting… they weren’t capable of talking anymore without turning it into a war.

That didn’t change the fact that he wanted to hold her more than anything in that moment, to hear what plans she and the girls had made for the day.

His phone buzzed. He picked it up without thinking, staring at the message on the screen.

Olivia: Happy birthday

He stared at her profile photo, the one he had taken himself.

Fernando: Thank you. Thank you for the gift Olivia: We finally found that watch, didn’t we… Olivia: Say hi to the girls, have a wonderful day

Fernando closed his eyes, set the phone on the table, and covered his face with his hands.

What the hell was he doing?

He had never been this confused in his life, and maybe he had never hurt this much.

He felt that familiar tightness in his chest.

“Fuck,” he muttered, trying to breathe. He stood up but didn’t trust his legs and sat down on the floor instead.

It had happened before, and if he tried hard enough, he knew what it was: panic, pure panic.

He hid his face between his knees, hands gripping his hair.

The season was a mess.

The car was bad, and the team’s strategies even worse.

He was hanging all his hopes on a 2026 that was still a mystery.

His marriage was over, Veronica hated him, Amanda was clinging to the illusion that things could still be like before.

He forced himself to breathe, once, twice, feeling the weight in his chest, the pounding in his head.

“Dad…” Veronica’s worried voice came from beside him. “Dad, are you okay?” she asked, kneeling next to him. Fernando nodded, unable to speak.

“Daddy…” she said, trying to shake him.

“I’m fine,” he interrupted, lifting his head and leaning it back against the cabinet. “I’m fine, sweetheart, it’s just…” he paused.

“A panic attack?” she asked, and Fernando nodded. “Has it happened before?” she continued, and he nodded again.

“Not often,” he admitted. “At first, yes, back in 2007, but then they stopped… only came back recently.”

Veronica looked at him. “Since you’ve been here?” she asked, and again he nodded.

“Your mum was… good at helping me through them,” he smiled faintly. “You know, back in 2007, I’d lie down with my head on her lap and press my ear against her belly… you were in there… and I’d calm down. Sometimes you’d even kick me,” he said, laughing, and she did too.

They stayed quiet for a while. “Can we go to London tomorrow?” Veronica asked suddenly.

“You’re not going home?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“Let’s just spend some time together, okay?” she said, hearing Amanda shout something from the room.

Yes, her father had been the one to cause the separation, but he was hurting too, and the decision hadn’t been easy.

She couldn’t quite understand what her parents were doing, and she didn’t know how to behave around them.

It was hard not to take sides.

It was hard to be there for both.

It was all hard.

-

Olivia came down the stairs with her phone in her hand. She had found the courage to wish him happy birthday and felt a little proud of herself.

In the kitchen, Ester had prepared breakfast, and for a moment Liv was grateful not to be alone.

“Good morning, Ester,” she said with a smile.

“Good morning, Olivia,” replied the woman who had worked for them for almost eighteen years. “Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough, thank you,” she said, sitting down. The phone buzzed, Fernando’s reply appearing on the screen.

She stared at it, frozen, until she noticed Ester setting a cup of coffee in front of her. “Thank you,” she whispered, feeling the woman’s eyes on her. “It’s… Fernando’s birthday,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

“I know, the girls went to him yesterday?” Ester asked, and Olivia nodded.

“It feels strange,” she admitted, lowering her gaze. She didn’t want to cry again; she had shed too many tears already.

“I can imagine,” said the woman kindly, resting her hand over Olivia’s. “You’re strong, Olivia,” she said softly.

“I don’t know if I am, not on my own,” she replied with a bitter laugh. “I have to… rewrite my life from the beginning, and I don’t know how. He’s everywhere…”

“I can imagine,” Ester said gently. “Olivia, he…”

“…don’t say he still loves me,” Liv interrupted quickly. “Please, don’t.”

The woman simply nodded. “I’ll go tidy the rooms upstairs,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry, Ester, I didn’t mean to be rude, but…” she shook her head. “…it’s not true, he doesn’t still love me,” she said sadly.

“Don’t worry, I know it’s a hard moment,” the woman reassured her.

“We were always fighting… always,” Olivia sighed. “I should have… I don’t know, understood him more, maybe… I don’t know, maybe I’m just tired of living on the road and hoped we wanted the same thing, but we don’t.”

“Sometimes paths divide, Olivia, but you’ve shared twenty years together. You’ll find a way to live your future civilly, for yourselves and for the girls,” Ester said kindly, and Olivia smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and the woman nodded, squeezing her hand before leaving the kitchen.

Olivia looked down at her phone again, at the unsent message on the screen.

The 2012 season was turning out to be a strange championship, a year that was almost too balanced, without anyone truly standing out, with a different winner at every race.

Fernando wasn’t having one of his best seasons, he was fifth in the standings, consistent, just a few points from the leader, but something was missing: a victory.

It was his Grand Prix, his home race, his Spain, his people, the crowd that was there only for him, and Fernando could feel all that warmth, that presence, and he was grateful for it.

His car wasn’t perfect, but it was competitive, and no one like him knew how to get the most out of it, in every corner, through every difficulty.

He had arrived on Wednesday afternoon, calmly, with his whole family in tow, his Olivia, four-and-a-half-year-old Veronica, and little two-year-old Amanda.

And the press (and the crowd) went wild.

The girls had conquered everyone, the older one a little clone of her father, and the younger one with huge, clear eyes, a pacifier always in her mouth and her tiny hand ready to wave at anyone.

Olivia tried to protect them, but media exposure was inevitable on a day like that, especially there, in Valencia, home of the day’s hero, father to those two little wonders who were taking everything in without missing a thing.

Qualifying had gone badly, very badly in fact, an eleventh-place result that had satisfied no one, least of all Fernando, who was tense and angry with himself for such a placement in front of his Spanish crowd.

But then the unthinkable happened.

A perfect start, like only he could manage, climbing through the field faster than he could have hoped, Vettel in the lead, behind him a compact group of three fighting for the podium.

But Fernando was not one to give up, and with a series of brilliant maneuvers and overtakes, he kept gaining positions.

Then came the safety car: third place.

Then the unbelievable: Sebastian’s retirement due to a technical issue, a spectacular overtake by Fernando on Grosjean.

First place.

The crowd exploded, the garage exploded, and above all, his personal fan club exploded: his three girls watching him, even if two out of three didn’t really understand Formula 1 yet.

The victory came like lightning, as the red-and-yellow sea screamed his name. Fernando crossed the finish line and burst into tears, the tension that had gripped him finally breaking free, shouting “Gracias, gracias, gracias!” with a trembling voice.

The pit lane was chaos.

The garage was total chaos.

Olivia watched him, tears in her eyes, while Veronica jumped around everywhere, shouting in Spanish, “Papá ganó,”, daddy won.

Amanda clapped her hands, not really understanding why, but clearly something wonderful had happened.

During the victory lap, Fernando grabbed a Spanish flag, stopping under the grandstands to wave it in front of the delirious crowd.

He didn’t yet know that it would become one of the most iconic and emotional moments of his career.

The podium was filled with emotion, the Spanish anthem sung by the entire circuit, Fernando barely able to hold back tears, until he lowered his gaze and saw something that made him immediately laugh.

Down below, in front of the sea of Ferrari red mixed with Spain’s red and yellow, was his family. Olivia, holding Amanda in her arms, kept waving to him, but what really left him speechless was Veronica, hands on her head, mimicking bunny ears, exactly like she had seen her father do during his Renault victories.

Hands high on her head, wearing a white dress and a denim jacket, and as soon as the media realized where the champion on the top step of the podium was looking, every camera turned toward her.

And a moment later, toward him.

Because Fernando answered.

He brought his hands to his head, looking at his little girl, moving them like bunny ears, just as he had taught her.

Veronica burst out laughing and turned to glance at her mother, but Olivia wasn’t fast enough, even though she knew perfectly well what was about to happen.

Veronica started running up the stairs, past anyone who might have tried to stop her, straight to the podium, straight to her father, who lifted her into his arms, laughing.

“Has ganado, papá!!!” (You won daddy!) the little girl exclaimed, putting her hands on her head again.

“Hemos ganado, amor mío,” (We won, baby girl) Fernando laughed, kissing her cheek, while the two drivers on the podium with him smiled, amused by the unusual scene.

Then Fernando looked over at Olivia, laughing, noticing that Amanda was copying her sister, her little hands on her head, moving them like tiny bunny ears.

Olivia laughed, shaking her head, pride in her eyes as she looked at her husband on the podium before her.

It wasn’t just a spectacular victory,  even the celebration was one of a kind, like nothing Formula 1 had ever seen.

–

“Salta, salta conejito,” Veronica laughed, bouncing on the bed, imitated by her little sister, both of them still moving their hands above their heads in that silly way she had done before.

They had come back to the hotel, the four of them, after all the chaos, interviews, and celebrations.

Fernando was stretched out on the couch, relaxed in his tracksuit after a shower, watching the girls jump on the bed, and made room for Olivia, who dropped down beside him.

“I give up, they’re going to bed fully dressed tonight,” she laughed, tossing the girls’ pajamas onto the coffee table after trying to get them on for ten minutes with no success.

“I don’t think they’re going to bed at all tonight, you know?” Fernando laughed, wrapping an arm around her and letting her rest against him.

“They can watch TV all night for all I care, as long as they let me sleep,” she joked, tilting her face up to look at him.

Fernando was stunning.

Happy, relaxed, a smile painted on his face that he hadn’t been able to lose for hours, his hair messy, and those eyes she loved more than anything in the world.

“What a day, huh?” she said softly.

“Incredible,” he answered, lowering his face to kiss her.

“You drove an impossible race,” she said. “I mean… wow,” she laughed, making him laugh too.

“I never thought I’d pull it off…” Fernando admitted.

“You still manage to surprise yourself and to surprise me,” Olivia said. “And admit it, you have the best fan club in the world,” she added, glancing at the two girls still bouncing on the bed.

“Look at them, amor,” he said quietly. “They’re the most amazing thing in the world, those two.”

“Papá, soy un conejito!” (Daddy, I’m a bunny!) Veronica shouted, laughing.

“Un conejito maravilloso, amor,” (A wonderful little bunny, my love) Fernando replied with an incredible smile, one he saved only for those two giggling, bouncing little girls in front of him.

“Yo también!” (Me too) Amanda shouted, laughing.

Olivia watched him, wondering how it was possible to fall a little more in love with that man every single day.

And yet it was, it happened after every victory, every defeat, every smile he gave their daughters, every look he gave her.

“Maybe we should try calming them down,” Fernando suggested, not very convincingly.

“Want to try yourself?” Olivia asked.

“You know if I try, you’ll end up finding me jumping on the bed with them like a real bunny,” he laughed, amused, making her burst out laughing too.

“What a picture… at least warn me so I can take a few photos for the press,” she teased, while Fernando sighed and got up.

He had just checked the time on his phone, and it was early, very early, not even six o’clock. A faint light filtered in from the bathroom door they had left slightly open the night before, just enough to softly illuminate the bed.

Olivia was still sleeping deeply beside him.

Fernando turned his head to look at her; it was the first time in over six months that they had woken up together, in their bed. They had spent the weekend in that house full of memories, the one he had rented for them. They had talked, a little, and made love, they had lived in the silence, trying to understand how to rebuild a marriage that had fallen apart.

Fernando knew that nothing was really solved, that they had only begun to scratch the surface of that mountain of problems that still loomed over them, but at least it was a start. At least now he was back there, beside her.

The months he had spent at home recovering had been a blessing. They had healed his leg, his wounds, but in a way they had also healed something deeper. They had helped the two of them find again a way to talk without shouting, to face things without everything feeling like a battle.

He had watched Olivia change. At first, she had been rigid, composed, even frightened at the thought of having to be near him, closed off in a pain he could feel guilty for every time he looked at her. But little by little he had seen her soften, in a smile, a word, a touch, and slowly time had brought back a piece of what they used to be.

He looked at her for a moment, peaceful, asleep, her face relaxed, the woman with whom he had built an entire life, the woman who had softened every sharp edge of his character, the one he had loved and still loved more than anything else. They would have to work hard to put the pieces of their story back together, but being close again, being able to talk again, was a first step that meant everything to both of them.

He had never been the kind of man who felt the need to protect his woman, Olivia had never needed that, with her strong, quick-witted character and that confidence she sometimes showed too much, but now, looking at her, he caught a fragility he had perhaps always underestimated, and for the first time he felt the need to protect her from suffering as much as she had in those last months, because of him.

He had promised himself, the moment he realized she was willing to give him a second chance, that he would not be an idiot twice, that he would learn from his mistakes, that he would take care of the most important thing he had: his family.

He got up quietly, trying not to make any noise, and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

The house was silent, both girls still asleep, with another hour to go before the sounds of morning filled the villa. Fernando went down the stairs, enjoying the silence of his home, as if he were hearing it for the first time in months. Yes, he had lived there since September, but confined to bed, he hadn’t been able to move around the way he loved to, when his girls were still asleep and he was alone in the house he adored.

He went into the kitchen to make himself a coffee, glancing around: Liv’s flowers, Amanda’s iPad abandoned on the table next to Veronica’s watch, a glass left there.

He was home. He had truly come back home.

He realized it in that moment, with the cup in his hand and the other resting on the cold countertop.

He was there again, at peace with himself and with the world.

He finished his coffee and headed to the gym; he wanted to work out a bit. He still had to be careful, but he changed and got on the treadmill, starting to walk at a pace that was right for his still fragile leg.

The gym’s glass wall opened onto the frozen garden, the pool that Olivia had covered for the winter, the pale morning light shining over everything, giving him a sense of peace he thought he had forgotten.

Half an hour later, he stepped into the shower in the gym’s bathroom, and when he returned to the kitchen, changed and with damp hair, he found Liv sitting at the counter with a cup in her hands.

“Hi,” she smiled, still half-asleep.

“Hi, mi amor,” he answered, walking over to hug her and kiss the top of her head. She immediately leaned into his embrace, and they stayed like that for a while, saying nothing.

“You already worked out?” she asked after a moment.

“A bit… I have to be careful not to strain my leg,” he replied, brushing her hair gently away from her face, then smiling.

“What?” she asked.

“I missed all this…” he said softly. “...I missed home so much, I missed the silence when the three of you are still asleep, I… I missed you so much,” he went on, his hand resting on her neck.

Olivia buried her face in his chest, letting him hold her. “Me too,” she whispered without moving. She only wanted that, to stay in his arms as long as she could. Six months of breakfasts alone, of sunrises without him, of tears for an absence she thought she would never get used to. And now she could feel his hands on her back again, his voice wishing her good morning.

“Fer…” she said suddenly, lifting her head, looking at him. “...promise me we’ll really try to fix everything…” she went on, “...it won’t be easy, but we won’t give up, right?”

“No, we won’t,” he replied calmly. “We can make things right, Liv, one piece at a time,” he said firmly. “I won’t… I won’t make the same mistake twice, okay?”

Olivia nodded, lifting her face to kiss him. “I love you,” she smiled, pulling back slightly, and Fernando answered by holding her tighter.

“Good morning,” Amanda said with a yawn as she entered the kitchen, then stopped, looking at them. “Wow… I wasn’t used to this anymore, I like it,” she said simply, going to grab a cup and some cookies, immediately putting one in her mouth.

“Veronica?” asked Olivia.

“Shower…” mumbled Amanda with her mouth full, sitting down.

“So, is this how it’s going to be every time you two are together now? Do we need to be careful before walking into rooms?” she teased, pointing at her parents still hugging.

“Amanda…!” her mother scolded.

“I’m just asking, I need to know what to expect now that Dad’s back,” she said, pretending to defend herself.

“Expect what?” asked Veronica as she entered. “Good morning,” she added.

“That these two have turned twenty again,” explained the blonde to her sister.

“Show some restraint, okay? You’re old,” Veronica added.

“Thanks, love,” Fernando laughed, shaking his head and pouring coffee for both girls.

“It’s not even 7:30 and we’ve already been called old…” Olivia laughed, grabbing a cookie.

“Not old old… but too old to get caught by your daughters, you know?” Veronica went on.

“I was just hugging her, V, in the kitchen,” Fernando pointed out.

“You two are so cute…” said Amanda dreamily, making her parents laugh.

“Come on, I’m driving you to school today,” said Fernando, shaking his head.

“Admit it, you missed us,” Veronica said, eating another cookie.

“Like crazy,” he answered right away. “You can’t imagine how much,” he admitted, sitting beside Olivia.

“You have no idea how much we missed you too…” said Amanda softly, almost whispering.

“Hey…” her father said gently, “...I’m here, okay?” he reassured her, and she smiled.

“Can you take us to school in the yellow Ferrari?” she asked suddenly, changing the subject.

“As you wish, princess,” Fernando laughed as the three women around him stood up to start the day, clearing the cups and heading to get dressed.

In less than two minutes he found himself alone again, sitting at the kitchen counter, while upstairs he could hear the girls talking and Olivia reminding them of something.