Chapter Text
News spread fast in the paddock, you had come to learn that in your time as a PR manager at Ferrari.
George becoming the successor of the second Mercedes seat was a hot topic, even before you knew it was confirmed, but the way the press were swarming George like vultures was crazy for you to witness first hand.
The news hadn’t officially been announced yet, with Mercedes in the heat of their championship battle both in the constructors and the drivers championship, it didn’t feel like the right time to be dropping such extravagant news.
And you were just bursting with pride and excitement, you wanted to tell everyone, but secretly you were enjoying that you were one of the few people who knew the truth.
Most of the drivers were aware, again most of their suspicions confirmed, it wasn’t exactly shocking news to them, they knew George was an impeccable driver.
Charles especially, when he found out the news, was so excited, especially to speak to you about it.
You had been working at your laptop in the Ferrari motorhome on the media day of the Dutch DP when you heard a soft knocking at the glass door.
It had been a long day of transcribing and recording, reading news articles and organising social media posts, your head was pounding.
Your eyes ached a little as you gazed up from your laptop to the door, barely noticing the time had reached 8pm, a tired smile falling on your face as Charles entered the room.
“Do you ever rest?”, Charles questioned, throwing a bottle of water in your direction, which you quickly put your hands out, more to defend your face than to catch it, as it crashed to the floor.
“See, you’re too tired, your reflexes aren’t even working”, he giggled to himself, his energy much higher than yours, as he took a seat across the desk from you.
You grumbled as you shut your laptop over, “I don’t know why you couldn’t have just passed me it”, you said, your tone slightly unamused.
He shrugged, a satisfied smile still plastered on his face, “Why not?”, he retorted, making you roll your eyes in return.
“What can I do for you Mr Leclerc?”, you asked him, a sweet smile on your face to mask your disapproval of his antics.
“How formal of you”, he teased, causing you to lighten up a little, a soft laugh escaping you.
His eyes gleamed with something, you couldn’t quite place what, but he seemed a bit too giddy, especially when you had no idea what could be making him quite so.
“A little birdie told me….”, he started, his eyes looking directly into yours, making your heart race a little for just a second from a mixture of nervousness of what he might be asking, and also some unrecognisable emotion.
“That you know a secret”, he finished, twitching his head to the side a little as his fingers drummed on the side of your desk.
“You’re going to have to be more specific”, you replied, nonchalantly.
Great.
He definitely knew about George going to Merc, but it wasn’t your news to share, and you didn’t want to break it if George hadn’t yet.
“Oh come onnn”, he drawled, throwing his hands in the air as he spun around in the chair.
“I don’t understand how you have so much energy at this time of night”, you said, trying to divert the conversation slightly to the best of your ability.
“Don’t change the subject on me”, he laughed, turning to face me once more.
You sighed as you looked at him, a playful look on his face.
You weren’t winning this battle.
“Alright, you tell me what you know and I’ll either confirm or deny it”, you compromised, packing your laptop into your bag, getting ready to leave.
“I don’t like those terms”, he countered, furrowing his brow slightly at your words.
“Well, I’m not saying anything then”, you shrugged, causing Charles to react in faux outrage.
“Fine”, he said, crossing his arms over like a petulant child.
You let out a satisfied laugh as you took your phone out to text George.
“Texting Mr Russell are we?”, he questioned, his eyes trying to peer over the desk to look at your phone.
“Perhaps”, you replied, paying him hardly any attention as you responded to George.
G- Still at the paddock?
Y- Yeah :( Busy day unfortunately x
G- Let me know when you’re done and I’ll get someone to drop you to my hotel x
Y- Won’t be long x
You text him back, your heart warming a little at his gesture to get you home safe, he was always looking out for you.
“That noticeable huh?”, you responded, not realising quite how much your face had lit up at just the mere thought of George.
Charles nodded slightly, a cheeky smile on his face as he stood up from his chair.
“Well tell him congrats on the Mercedes seat”, he declared, causing your eyes to dart up towards him, seeing him giggle as you registered what he said.
You stood dumbfounded for a moment, unsure what to say to him in return.
“How did you find out?”, you asked, sighing slightly, but couldn’t help the relieved smile that appeared on your face now that you had someone else you could share your excitement with.
“News travels fast around here”, he winked, a satisfied smile on his face, “But truly I am happy for him”, he continued, a bit more serious now.
You beamed at him, “I’m so happy for him”, you said, your voice barely a whisper, causing Charles to send you a comforting smile.
“I can imagine”, he replied, “But just know, I will not be taking it lightly on him if we are fighting up front”.
You laughed at his words, “I wouldn’t expect any less”.
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The Dutch GP perhaps wasn’t the most notable race amidst all the flurry and chaos that was the 2021 season thus far, but it was still a sight for you to see.
It had been the first Dutch race in decades, and with a Dutch driver fighting for the championship, the atmosphere was nothing short of electric.
Before the race, you were out with Charles, snapping pics of fans inside the paddock, trying to get a glimpse of their favourite drivers, the colour orange sweeping the crowds, not for McLaren, but for the home boy, Max Verstappen.
You soaked up the atmosphere as you heard the crowds beginning to roar as the pre-race DJ began the set for the crowds, you heard somewhere that Tiesto was around, perhaps it was him hyping up the crowd, you thought to yourself.
It was still hard to believe this was your job, that this wasn’t all some cruel joke being played on you, you smiled to yourself before you started making your way to the garage before the drivers made their way to the grid.
Smiling at a couple of kids on your way, you decided to take a quick detour to the Williams garage to wish George good luck.
As you stood not too far out the garage you heard a voice calling your name, making you turn around to find the source.
“Are you ever working?”, teased Darcy as she wandered over to you.
You smiled at her, relieved it was a friendly face and not a journalist wanting an interview from you.
You had only just managed to deal with them after going public with George, but now with the impending Merc announcement it felt like you were back at square one, as if all your PR knowledge had simply left you at the overwhelming mound of questions being thrown at you at all times.
“I could ask you the same thing, what are you doing down here?”, you asked, curiosity in your voice.
“Looking for Leo, seems as though I’m the only one that remembers we have a job that doesn’t concern anyone from Williams”, she laughed, her eyes darting around to find your colleague.
“Ah well, I’ll only be a minute”, you promised as Darcy grumbled, walking in with you to find Leo.
You smiled at a few of the mechanics who had come to know you, one of them pointed their finger in the direction you assumed George was, whispering a small ‘thank you’ to him before heading the way you were directed.
You found George sitting on a bench in his drivers room, eyes closed as he listened to his music, getting himself ready for the impending race.
He jumped a little as he felt the vibrations of the door closed, but lit up with a smile as he saw you.
“Bloody hell, I’d rather not have a heart attack before I even get in the car”, he jested, taking his earphones out and walking over to you to give you a hug.
You leaned into his embrace, basking in his comforting warmth, “If you want I can just leave”, you tease, looking up to him as he towered over you, a playful gleam in your eye.
“Don’t be so dramatic, darling”, he retorted, leaning down to bring his lips on to yours, enveloping your mouth into a sweet, yet passionate kiss.
Your heart thumped a little as you returned his kiss, breaking apart breathlessly just to giggle.
You gave him a small kiss on the nose before pulling away from him.
“Be safe out there”, you told him, looking into his eyes, to which he nodded.
“And show them why you got that Mercedes seat”, you declared, swelling with pride as he beamed back at you.
“You know it”, he returned, giving you a quick spank on your ass as you turned to leave the room, causing you to turn around in flushed shock as you gasped, with him only laughing in return as a blush spread over your cheeks, shooting him a warning look as you closed the door behind you.
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You watched the race intently from the back of the garage as you multitasked responding to fans through the Ferrari twitter account, whilst Leo was out taking pictures and videos in the pitlane and Darcy had disappeared on a phone call.
The race wasn’t particularly eventful from a Ferrari perspective, but still exhilarating nonetheless.
You had to stifle your wince near the start of the race when George and Alonso had a near miss with each other, which luckily both walked out unscathed.
The Zandvoort crowd roared for their home country hero as Max led the race for the most part, the Mercedes just unable to keep the lion at bay this time out.
There was a slight spin with Seb which caused a few Ferrari mechanics to roar in exhaustion as he managed to get his Aston Martin back on track.
Your heart sank a little as you noticed George had picked up a 5s penalty for speeding in the pitlane, which didn’t affect him too much, but your heart sank even lower when the team announced on the radio that he was having gear box issues and told him to retire the car.
After this news you diverted your attention back to the action on the track, trying not to feel disheartened, especially when the driver you worked for was still in the points.
But the real story came at the end of the race as you heard on the radio for Valterri to abort his fastest lap attempt after already setting purple sectors, to allow Lewis to pick up any available extra points in this already narrow championship.
Unfortunately, the team's pleas fell on deaf ears as Bottas swept up the fastest lap point, causing Lewis to pit on his final lap to secure that final precious point.
You watched with anticipation, whilst simultaneously silently giggling at some of the fans' reactions to this debacle on twitter.
The roaring of the crowd signified the end of the race, and before it was even confirmed who won, orange smoke filled the grandstands, seeping its way down to the paddock.
Charles and Carlos finished 5th and 7th, respectively, with Carlos being overtaken on the last lap by his fellow Spaniard, Alonso, causing the garage to jump in uproar, shaking their heads.
After the drivers completed their pre race duties and headed back to the garage before their interviews, you made your way over to Charles, beaming.
“P5!!”, you exclaimed, giving him a small hug, feeling his sweat seep through his suit, but it didn’t bother you too much.
He returned your hug, smiling widely at you, “Not too bad huh?”, he replied, happy to see you.
“And! That’s us back up to P3 in the constructors!”, you told him excitedly as he took a sip of his water, his eyes widening slightly at your words.
He finished gulping his water before speaking, “Still a long way to go though”, he stated, matter of factly.
Can always trust Charles to see the downside of everything.
You shook your head at his words but smiled nonetheless, “Hurry up and get changed, we’ve got reporters to deal with”, you told him, giving him a small push as he made his way to his driver's room, his eyes locked on you even as you turned to walk away.
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The two of you did your usual post race interviews, answering all the journalists that swarmed you, one by one, giving the same answers regurgated over and over again.
If you were feeling tired merely holding the voice recorder, you couldn’t imagine how tired Charles was.
The two of you wrapped up your interviews and headed back to the garage, chatting along the way, stopping to take pictures of any and all fans that asked. Charles was good like that, you had to admit, albeit slightly annoying when you just wanted to sit down.
You pulled out your phone and checked the time, it was getting late.
With Monza being the last of the triple header coming up next week, you were flying back to Maranello tonight in anticipation of Ferrari’s home race.
“Shit”, you mumbled to yourself absent mindedly as you checked your phone, opening the door for Charles.
“What is it?”, he asked curiously and slightly concerned.
“It’s just my flight is in a bit and I’ve got some stuff to wrap up here, and I wanted to see George before I left”, you sighed.
Charles gave you a small comforting pat on the back as you entered the motorhome, “Just finish your work on the plane, we’re all going to be in a debrief for a bit anyways, I’m sure Andrea won’t even notice”, he suggested, genuine care showing in his eyes.
You considered his suggestion for a minute before responding “I don’t want her thinking I’m slacking off because of him”, you said cautiously.
Charles rested his hand on your shoulder looking at you intently for a second, “I’ll make sure she doesn’t”, he reassured, giving your shoulder a small squeeze, smiling at you as he gazed into your eyes, perhaps a little too long you thought.
You looked down a second before nodding in agreement, who were you to say no to Charles Leclerc?
“Alright”, you agreed, letting out a relieved sigh. It was crazy how being in Charles’ presence always made you feel at ease, despite him having the temperament of a child with undiagnosed ADHD most of the time.
He smiled broadly at you, still grasping your shoulder, he shook you playfully, “There we go”, he said.
You smiled back at him before pulling him in for a departure hug.
It was a comforting hug, lasting just long enough as Charles inhaled the scent of your hair, letting out a sigh that only he heard.
“Thank you”, you mumbled into his chest, before pulling away.
He straightened himself out as you pulled away, “No worries”, he returned as you pulled out your phone to text George.
“Well I’ll see you in Monza then!”, you told him, perhaps a little too cheerily, especially when he still had a drivers briefing to sit through.
He gave you a small nod and a wave as you made your way out of the garage to find George.
His eyes followed your frame until you disappeared from view, only looking away when he felt a presence next to him.
Carlos stood by him, trying to follow where his eyes were looking but could barely make out your figure, if at all.
“Alright mate?” Carlos asked tentatively, curiosity in his voice as Charles jumped at the suddenness.
Ruffling his hair, Charles turned to face his team mate “Jesus mate, you scared me”, he mumbled.
“My bad”, Carlos shrugged, his eyebrows still raised as he tried to figure out what Charles was transfixed on.
“Are you coming in?”, Carlos asked, still watching him curiously.
Charles snapped back to reality, barely realising that he had zoned out for a minute, frantically nodding his head at Carlos, a composed grin on his face, “If we must”, he teased, putting his hand on Carlos’ back and following him into the debrief room.
As he walked in, he rubbed his face, shaking his head slightly.
For some reason which he couldn’t comprehend, there was a feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t quite place.
And as much as he shook his head, and rubbed his face, the image of you still lingered in his brain, his eyes wishing to follow you just a little bit longer.