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Chapter Text

Five Days Earlier… (Wednesday)

James Potter had been in his office when the news broke. The Czech Formula 2 and Formula 3 team Charouz Racing System was up for sale.

He had heard rumours for a few weeks that the Prague based outfit had been looking for a new owner when the news had suddenly broken amongst several of the managers of various drivers in the two feeder series.

The eldest Potter had been considering investing in a team ever since his two children his been in Formula One, even coming close to buying out the Marussia team in 2015.

But he was glad he had not made that choice, as the Banbury based team, who had been formerly owned by airline and records tycoon Richard Branson, was haemorrhaging money, and had subsequently folded at the end of the following season.

But James had a good feeling with this. Formula 2 and Formula 3 were the steps up to Formula One, and with the opportunity there to guide another generation of drivers into becoming the stars of tomorrow, especially with his own children having benefited from his management, and his grandson making his own way in the sport, it was too good of a chance to turn down.

He knew from one of his former colleagues that a German team was looking at purchasing the team, and he knew he had to act fast.

Emailing his accountant, the choice was set. 

He would make an offer for the Charouz Racing System team.

James spent the next few days studying the team's financials, as well as their track record in the feeder series. He also reached out to some of his contacts in the sport to get their opinions on the team and its potential.

Although the team were more of a midfield team, he had the idea that maybe, just maybe they could be a contender, especially if they had the right management and investment.

Feeling confident, James made his offer. It was a bold move, and he knew that there were no guarantees in the cutthroat world of motorsports.

He also thought about who he would want to bring in to run the team. He had a few names in mind, but he wanted someone who had experience working in Formula One...

...such as his daughter, Athena.

He knew that she had rejected a job offer from Toto Wolff, and her Sky TV contract was due up, so it was decided.

She would make for a good Team Principal.

By 2023, the brand new JLP Racing team would be on the track, ready to get results, and James had heard just about one up and comer who had won Formula 3, and one young driver who was looking for a race seat in Formula 3.

James smiled to himself as he thought about the potential of his new team. He knew that the key to success in motor sports was to have the right team in place, and he had a feeling that the two new rookies would be the perfect addition to the JLP Racing team.

Perfect to make into the stars of tomorrow.

The Next Day (Thursday)…

Jimmy Potter was a bit happier than he had been nearly 2 weeks ago. He was in Texas, and it would be just under a month until he could see Lis again.

Although they had facetimed each other, he still missed her, having seen her last just before he had departed Belgium for Zandervoort, Holland. It had been one of those rare days off, and he had managed to spend the day in the town of Stavelot with her, having looked at the fountain on the place Saint Remacle, the organ and three altars of the Institut Saint-Remacle on the avenue Ferdinand Nicolay and the historical and archaeological site of the old abbey church.

But video chats weren’t as good as being able to being with her, and he missed her something chronic.

Seeing his dad had just finished in the Team Principals press conference, having been covering those duties for the person he was replacing, Franz Tost, Jimmy knew he had an ample opportunity to talk to his old man.

Watching as Harry had finished taking off the microphone that had been attached to him, and starting to leave the room where the conference was being held, he sighed.

“Dad?” he said, watching as the slowly greying man came out of the room, “Do you have a minute?”

Jimmy could see his dad was stressed, but he needed to talk to the elder Potter.

“Not really…” Harry started, to see his son’s face. “Come with me.”

The two started walking to where the paddock was, and as soon as they headed outside, Jimmy sighed.

“I need some advice.” He said, just as his dad started walking faster. “About Lis and me”

Harry stopped and looked at his son, ready to go on a rant about being irresponsible.

“No…no… she’s not… I mean we… I want to ask you how you and mum managed to cope. I mean I Facetime Lis, and we talk and that, but…”

“It’s not as good as being with her, that you wish she was with you right now, and that you hate your conflicting schedules?”

Jimmy sighed. “Yeah, I mean, I know technology has advanced since your days…”

“Cheeky git!” Harry replied, knowing his son was joking. “We had email, we had landline phones, and mobiles as well!”

“As I was saying dad, how did you and mum manage to stay together?”

Harry guided his son over to where the motorhome that the AlphaTauri team was using was, and sat on the steps, patting the side of it so Jimmy could sit down. “Listen son, it was hard, I will admit that, and I know some days you will feel down, but the best advice I could give is to communicate. Don't go overboard though. Your granddad did with your gran, and she didn't appreciate it.” Harry said, wrapping his arm round his son. “I’d also suggest whenever you get the chance, either arrange for her to come out to wherever you are, or make arrangements for you to get over to her.”

“Is that what you did with mum?”

“I did son. When you mum and I started dating, after we had met at the 2000 British Grand Prix, we went on a date later that night, and then another one a day later when she had got back to Uni. Back then we only had basic text messages, none of that emoji stuff, and we could call and email each other.

“But I’d also drop into see her when I got the chance, or I’d bring her, your grandad Dan and your grandmother Emma, over to where I was. It was actually after the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix, when her studies at Oxford had ended that we had spent a couple of days in the city and…well, we made you.”

“Dad!” Jimmy said, embarrassed at the thought of his parents doing that.

“Seriously, you need to just communicate, spend virtual date nights, and see each other whenever you can.”

“Do you still do that with mum now, especially as you’re back on the road a lot?” Jimmy asked.

Harry looked down at the floor when he was asked that by his son. It was then that he had realised that over the last two weeks, hadn't followed his own advice, all because of his anger.

“Dad?” Jimmy asked.

Harry looked at his son and looking at Jimmy he saw one of the four things he was proud of. He saw his eldest child, one of the five reasons he had to live, and he knew he had messed up.

“Not as much as I should do son. I mean, with the Malfoy thing, and throwing myself into my job, I’ve made myself a right idiot. I’ve been so angry with everything, and I know your mum and your gran will be… I need to phone ‘Mione.”

Jimmy hugged his dad, who was pulling his phone out of his pocket and stood up, feeling a bit better having talked to Harry. Watching as his dad started phoning his mum, Jimmy had an idea on how to keep his relationship alive, and how to keep it going for the better.

Two Days Later… (Saturday)

The news had reached the paddock as the first qualifying session was going on.

Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull, had passed away.

Following a meeting between Helmut Marko, Christian Horner and Harry, a decision had been made.

Getting approval from the FIA had been difficult, however the trio had managed to get them to agree with it.

They were going to run the AlphaTauri cars in the livery carried by the first car that had been ran by the team, back when they were known as the Torro Rosso team, the darker shade of blue compared to the blue that the Red Bull team, and the gold tipped nose cone. An adaption of the livery that the STR1 had carried in the 2006 season, but with the AlphaTauri name.

The Red Bull team were going to carry a livery based on the RB1, the car that the team had entered in the 2005 season, with the only logos being the Red Bull logo.

But both cars would sport two words.

Danke Didi.

A dedication to the man who had founded Red Bull.

The decision to pay tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz had been met with mixed reactions in the paddock. Some felt that it was a fitting tribute to the man who had brought so much success to the Red Bull brand, while others felt that it was a distraction from the racing.

But for Harry, it was important to honour the man who Harry had worked for as a driver at Red Bull, as a driver coach and advisor at the Red Bull Junior team, and finally now, as Team Principal at AlphaTauri.

As the news of the tribute spread, Harry received messages of support from several drivers and team principals in the paddock. It was heart warming to see the respect and admiration that Dietrich had garnered in the motorsport community.

Even though the news of Mateschitz's passing had cast a sombre mood over the paddock, Harry was determined to lead his team to success in the upcoming race. He knew that Dietrich would have wanted nothing less.

Working through the night, Harry and his team prepared the two AlphaTauri cars for the race, making sure that everything was in perfect condition. He knew it would be hard for the team, but everyone knew that they had a job to do and that their performance on the track would be the best way to honour Dietrich's memory.

Chapter Text

“Well, here we go then, following a fitting tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull, we’re here in a place where it’s all about the horsepower. We’re here in Austin and the 2022 United States Grand Prix. It is the 10^th time we’ve raced at the Circuit of the Americas, and its Round 19 of the 2022 World Championship.

“The Constructors Championship could be settled here today, so the Texas Longhorn and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders could be cheering Red Bull, if Ferrari don’t outscore them by 19 points. And its 53 laps today before the chequered flag today on this 3.42 mile circuit. There are 20 corners, 11 to the left, 9 to the right with 6 breaking events, 3 of which could be described as heavy.”

“Three minutes to go.” Al Potter called out to his brother over the radio. “You can do this.”

Jimmy was in a good mood. He had been in a meeting the previous day with his managing agent, and his Team Principal, Frédéric Vasseur, and it had been agreed that the team keep to the contract that he had, to have him as part of the Alfa Romeo team for the next season.

The meeting, which lasted over an hour, had followed one that the team had had with his former ART teammate, Théo Pourchaire, who was confirmed as the reserve driver for the Alfa Romeo team.

Ever since a talk with his manager, his uncle David, and the meeting this morning, Jimmy felt like his load had been lightened.

“And here is the starting grid then, with lots of drivers out of position because of penalties, Esteban Ocon starting from the pitlane, with Yuki Tsunoda taking a late penalty for a gearbox. Jimmy Potter almost made it into Q3, but with a deleted lap, a grid penalty to boot, he starts alongside Nicholas Latifi in 17^th.”

“2 minutes to go.” The call came over the radio.

Jimmy looked to the side of him to see the dark blue Williams of Nicholas Latifi, the Williams crew doing their final preparations on that car. His own team were doing their final preparations on his car, with the Ferrari powered Haas of Mick Schumacher in front of him.

“And Max Verstappen on the front row, right next to Carlos Sainz on pole, the two Red Bulls along with the two AlphaTauri’s both wearing special liveries for this race, but Martin Brundle, what do you think will be the result for the Constructors Championship?”

“1 minute to go” Al called out over the radio.

“Cheers” Jimmy said, getting himself ready for the clock to go to the top of the hour, and the formation lap.

“And Carlos Sainz, very sluggish as they start off onto the Formation Lap, we say thank you to Dietrich Mateschitz for his love, his passion for motorsports and all things Formula One, the man who invested in Sauber, and then went on to buy not one, but two Formula One teams, Red Bull and AlphaTauri, sadly passed away. We go live to the AlphaTauri pit wall, and the man who had the idea for the special liveries on both the AlphaTauri and Red Bull cars, next season’s Team Principal, Harry Potter. Harry, thank you for joining us.”

“Thank you Crofty, yes, it’s a sad time for us here at AlphaTauri, and I’m sure Christian over on the Red Bull Pit Wall would agree. As a former Red Bull driver myself, I can honestly say it was an honour to race for him, and I know he had watched every race, not just of mine, but of every member of the Red Bull and Torro Rosso teams.”

“Harry, we see that both AlphaTauri cars wear an adaptation of what was the first Torro Rosso livery, back in 2006, tell me, what gave you the idea to have it adorn the cars?”

“Well Marty, I knew Dietrich loved motorsports, and I thought, what better way to honour the man than by having the cars wrapped in the original liveries. That's why the AlphaTauri is in the same livery as the STR1, and the Red Bull in the same as the RB1, the first Red Bull.”

“Thank you, Harry, one more question, with Nyck de Vries joining AlphaTauri next season replacing Pierre Gasly, is Yuki Tsunoda going to be staying with the team, or will he be replaced?”

“Yes, Yuki is 100% staying with AlphaTauri, Franz, Yuki and I have agreed a contract to last into next year. We want to give him the extra experience, but I have faith in him to perform well.”

“Thank you Harry, now several of the drivers on the grid owe their role, their profession, to Deitrich Mateschitz, and of course many of the drivers who are not on the grid today, such as Harry Potter on the AlphaTauri pit wall, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Sébastien Buemi, the list goes on and on, but meanwhile, it is all eyes on what is predicted to be an amazing race.”

Jimmy Potter made his way through the 20 turns on the circuit, ensuring he was within the prescribed 10 cars length of Nicholas Latifi, knowing that Yuki Tsunoda in the special liveried AlphaTauri was behind of him.

Going through turn 15, Jimmy knew that his tyres needed warming up a bit more, so started driving up to the back of the Williams, then slowing down, and then restarting the procedure.

As he rolled up to the back of the grid, ready for the start procedure, he knew that to gain a place or two, he would have to be quick off the mark, especially with the Williams next to him.

Seeing the 5 lights start up, having his hand on the throttle, they extinguished and off he went.

“With a tailwind in the high-speed section, it could be a rollercoaster ride, riding a bucking bronco over the 53 laps, we’re all set for the 10^th United States Grand Prix here at the Circuit of the Americas, we’re in the Lone Star State, and its lights out, and away we go. Verstappen getting away better, and has that inside line going into turn 1, and he’s ahead of Carlos Sainz, and there’s a lock up, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Sainz, he’s spun round.”

Jimmy had just started his way round the first turn, not managing to have the better launch over the Williams of Nicholas Latifi, when the Ferrari had spun, causing Sainz to end up behind him, only just avoiding hitting him.

Heading to turn 11, Jimmy managed to overtake Kevin Magnussen, the Hass driver slowly losing a bit of pace, and was now lining up a move on the AlphaTauri that was in front of him, when Latifi in the Williams got overtook on turn 13.

Passing through the final turn on to the home straight, Jimmy knew he would have 1 more lap until the DRS, the drag reduction system, was enabled, and he hoped that he could keep within the 1 second gap required to overtake the Williams.

Heading into lap 2, Jimmy had only got as far as the 2^nd turn, before the Williams overtook the Haas of Mick Schumacher, so he aimed to place his car close to the German driver, ready to overtake on the corner of turn 11, which would lead to the back straight.

Heading into that turn, he found that his move had been countered, meaning that he was unable to overtake his friend, but halfway down the straight, due to the superior speed of the Ferrari engine Alfa Romeo, he was able to get past the Haas, with Latifi being in his sights again.

Approaching the start/finish lines, Jimmy heard the news that would make him happy, had he not been in a train of cars.

“DRS has been enabled.”

As he headed round the circuit, he knew that the first DRS detection point was coming up, and as he headed into the turn that led to the back straight, he got himself ready to press the DRS button on his steering controls, that extra boost being as useful as a safety car in green flag conditions as he was in the middle of a DRS train.

Coming into the breaking zone, he knew that the DRS would end, so he followed the group of cars, hoping that he could catch Latifi on one of the corners.

“It’s a real test for tyre management this afternoon, to get speed and keep the grip alive on those tyres, and some drivers seem to be struggling on them.”

As lap 9 came along, he was stuck behind the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.

“Tsunoda’s off track all the time.” Jimmy called out over the radio.

“We’re checking.”

He thought about bringing the car up in front of Tsunoda, but didn't want to risk an accident, even though it would mean he could overtake. As he was in DRS range, tried to use it to get closer, but the AlphaTauri was still close to breaching the track limits.

"He's all over the place!" Jimmy said on the team radio.

"Understood. Box, box."

He knew that pitting from 13^th place would mean that he would lose position, but he needed fresh tyres as well, especially as the tyres he had on were starting to blister, starting to soften and break away in chunks from the body of the tire.

As he pulled into his pit box, the mechanics quickly worked on the car, all of them racing to their respective tasks, trying to get his car ready as quickly as possible to return to the race.

Getting back onto the track as he was released, he was behind Alexander Albon in the Williams, down in 18th place. Unfortunately, being 4 seconds behind the Williams meant that he would have to hunt him down.

Meaning that he would not be able to use DRS.

Being his out lap, he would lose some time because of the pit stop, but as he came round back to the start line, he could see that Daniel Riccardo coming out of the pit lane. Applying the power, he managed to overtake the McLaren into turn 1.

The next car that he would come across would be the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.

"I've got some oversteer" Jimmy called over the team radio.

"Understood. We'll check the data."

Lap 11 was completed, and he was still holding his spot in 17th place, but Jimmy knew that it was only a matter of time before he might fall further back.

Chapter Text

“Yellow flags in sector 3, has Valtteri Bottas had a bit of a moment in the final sector? He might well have done, down in turn 19.”

“If he’s spun there, then he would have flat spotted the tyres quite badly because its super quick through there, oh, he’s very much spun there.”

“Spun and beached, for Valtteri Bottas in turn 19.”

As the laps went through, lap by lap, Jimmy saw how the field had changed, as during lap 17, his teammate Valtteri Bottas had a spin, leaving him in the gravel trap.

“Is Valtteri ok?” Jimmy asked on the team radio.

“Yes, safety car has been deployed.” Al responded. “Mode SC, follow the delta, follow delta.”

Jimmy pressed the safety car button on his steering wheel, which reduced the speed of the car, requiring him to run within a pre-defined lap time to be the gap between that pre-defined target and his current lap.

Through the digital displays on his steering wheels, Jimmy could see if he fitted within that time, trying to get as close as possible to the pre-defined minimum time, but without going below it.

The advantage of having a delta when trying to get up when the safety car meant that no driver was better or worse off, neutralising the race.

Cruising along the back straight, he came up to the Williams of Alex Albon, making sure that he was following the Thai driver within the 10 car lengths that were prescribed.

“So, you are currently P16” Al told him on the radio.

“The car’s keeps sliding” Jimmy reported to his brother.

“Understood, stay out, stay out.” Al replied.

As lap 19 started, both Albon and Kevin Magnussen had pitted, allowing Jimmy to rise to 14^th.

“After the serious incident in Japan, all drivers are being told that there are recovery vehicles on track at turn 19, and teams of course are obliged to tell the drivers that. Some drivers, in Japan, went past that truck twice, and never knew it was there. In fact, a delegation by all 10 team principals, led by the incoming AlphaTauri Team Principal, Harry Potter, and the Aston Martin owner, Draco Malfoy, had very strong words with FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, about the situation, which resulted in an investigation by the FIA, and changes made.”

Jimmy received the radio message about the recovery vehicle. Coming round turn 5, he asked Al a question.

“Is it a bad window for us?”

“Stay out, just focus on the race. You’ve got Schumacher ahead of you, Magnussen behind, it’s still a long race.”

Following the pack, the safety car led the race along lap 20, the recovery vehicle heading to behind the fences. The safety car went back into the pits, the pack slowing down as Max Verstappen acted as the defacto safety car.

As he approached the line, Jimmy lined himself up to make a move on Mick Schumacher, who was in 13^th place.

His attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and a place drop as well, as Kevin Magnussen overtook him.

“Crap” Jimmy muttered to himself.

Following the Haas through the turns onto the back straight, he suddenly found himself having to take evasive action as he went along the straight, having to avoid the damage from a collision between Scorpius Malfoy and Fernando Alonso.

“Safety car deployed. Mode SC. Is your front wing ok?” Al called out over the radio.

“The front wing is ok. My left mirror is a bit off, and there was debris on the track.”

“We’re checking the data, stay out, stay out.”

“Copy.”

“Woah, and Fernando Alonso goes off the track, that’s a high speed crash, and he’s made contact with his teammate for next year, Scorpius Malfoy. That is a big moment down the back straight, and we’ve got another safety car coming in here at Austin.”

Draco Malfoy was shocked. His son had been in 7^th heading into the back straight, the Aston Martin going along one of the high-speed sections, when he had been impacted in the rear by the teams signing for the next season, Fernando Alonso.

Sitting in the back of the garage of the team he owned, he could see the production crew for the Netflix show F1: Drive to Survive approaching him, but he didn’t want them interviewing him with the mood he was in.

Heading out of the back door, he could see his father, Lucius Malfoy, standing in the paddock on the phone.

“Hold on a moment Narcissa, Draco wants to talk to me” the older Malfoy said. Muting the call, Lucius looked at his son.”

“Scorpius just got ran off the road by Alonso.” Draco said.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know, but he hasn’t even come back to the garage yet. I’ve just been trying to avoid those Netflix people. They’re filming that F1: Drive to Survive, and they seem to have taken up residence in the garage.”

"Well, what do you want me to do about it. You wanted to buy the Stroll family out, you wanted to own a Formula One team, and now that you have, you're complaining that a TV show has taken up residence in your garage?" Lucius said. "That's why I let you be the public face of the company."

Draco scowled at his father.

“You better get more information on what happened, and I want the truth. I don't want half-cocked accusations to end up with me looking like a fool. Again. Your little plot with the allegations you had made about Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri working to fix races blew up in your face, and by extension, mine. James Potter has taa.” Lucius said, signalling to his son that the conversation was over.

Draco stormed off, leaving his father standing in the middle of the paddock area by himself.

Alison "Lis" Longbottom was happy. It was the last lap and her boyfriend, Jimmy Potter, was in 14th place. Since she started dating the young driver, things had been going really well, despite him travelling to races and her being stuck in Oxford.

The only downside for her was that her housemates, most of them on the same course at Uni as her, were all pretty jealous of the relationship between the two of them. She knew that some of them would never have a chance like this if they ever met someone as good as Jimmy Potter.

But to be honest, she couldn't understand how any of them could be so upset. He was cute, funny, smart, and he treated her the way that she deserved to be treated.

The only other problem was, since she had started dating him, and she was living in an all-female house share, was that they had all started becoming fans of Formula One, and they were all trying to rate which driver was the hottest.

Not that Lis cared. She had Jimmy.

Pushing the thoughts of her friends, and their constant comments about what a great catch she had, out of her mind, she settled back in her seat and watched the cars go around and waited for the chequered flag to come out.

When it did, she heard the cheer from the crowd as Max Verstappen passed the chequered flag on the television.

But she was more interesting on the progress of her boyfriend. Much to the annoyance of those she was in the living room with.

Eventually Jimmy came through in 14th and she was happy. He may not be a winner, but he had won her heart the day he stopped by the roadside. Leaving the room, she headed to her bedroom.

There, sitting on her desk, was a gift from Jimmy. A small box wrapped in silver paper. She remembered how he had had it delivered to her the previous day.

Taking it out, she carefully opened the package and inside was a pair of earrings. They were simple gold hoops, but to Lis they were beautiful.

Just like her boyfriend.