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Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, what are you saying?” Zhong Chenle froze in his spot holding a stack of cups that he was unloading from his dishwasher while holding the phone in his other hand up to his ear while talking with his manager.

“I’m saying what time works for you to go to Milton Keynes to meet with Red Bull to talk about an F1 seat next season?” Johnny Suh, his manager, repeated himself but it feels like Chenle is hearing him say that statement officially for the first time. Chenle, a current Formula 2 driver under the Ferrari Racing Academy and racing for Prema this current season, was still trying to comprehend those words that is making him wonder if this truly is real life right now. 

“Time? Red? Talk? Season? Milton? Meet? Bull? Keynes? About? F1? Next? With? To? Seat?!” He asks, emphasizing each word with more shock as he finally got out of his own trance and put the cups away in their respective cabinets. 

He could hear his American manager sighing on the other side of the call. “Chenle, I’m being serious. I know next season both seats at Ferrari are full with Huang’s contract still having some years on there and Park being announced in Austria.” Referring to current Ferrari driver Huang Renjun and current Ferrari reserve driver Park Jisung. “Trust me I was expecting you to be racing for another season I was even talking with the people at Prema getting ready to see if I need to book a flight out to Italy myself but next thing you know I’m getting a call from the literal team principal himself asking if it is possible to set up a meeting while we are still on summer break for the time being. I don’t know what your thoughts are, but this is a big opportunity for you as this is the first team to even show interest in potentially having you race for them next season.” 

Chenle was finishing up unloading the dishwasher while Johnny was talking about the reasoning and he could understand where he was coming from. He closes the dishwasher and grabs his phone again, turning off the speaker mode that he turned on to be able to listen while finishing his chore and putting the phone back up to his ear while he walks to his couch. He was thinking a lot, and just even having this news so close to summer break being over and who knows what could come out of potentially going through with this meeting and securing a seat for next year. But there was one question he had on his mind. 

“Wait, if they want to meet with me would I be in the actual Red Bull like Oracle Red Bull Racing or did he say I would start in Visa Cash App Buy One Get One Free Junior Varsity Red Bull Racing Bulls whatever the hell they are called nowadays because weren’t they called AlphaTauri for some time?” He would assume VCARB because there was one seat available there. 

Another sigh comes out from Johnny. “He said that he is potentially considering having you take a seat in Red Bull.” That was when Chenle screams at the top of his lungs “WHAT THE FUCK?!” That was probably one of the craziest news that he will hear for a long time. But after the initial thought passed, then came another thought and it was one of dread. 

“Wait, if he wants me to have the Red Bull seat, and Mark Lee is already still signed for a couple more years in his seat, then that means…oh fuck.” 

“Yeah…” 

It meant that if this followed through, he would be replacing Na Jaemin.

~

Milton Keynes was nothing that Chenle was expecting it to be, considering that he has spent a majority of his time in the Formula series in Maranello. But the fact that he was now here to discuss a potential seat for next season, makes this trip both exciting and nerve-wrecking.

But now, after a few hours of tours and looking around, he was sat in a conference room with Johnny and the first things that comes out of the team principal’s mouth after pleasantries and introductions were exchanged was, “so with your performance and achievements you’ve accomplished so far, we are looking to extend a contract to you to drive with Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula One team for the next season.” He nearly choked on his spit, but he was trying his best to keep his composure. 

He took a look at the contract, taking in every detail that is in the fine print, and then passing the contract over to Johnny. He began to start taking deep breaths, doing some counting, and questioning how he got to this point in time. He heard Johnny start to talk some more with Horner and he was only brought back to reality when Johnny nudged him in the shoulder. “Chenle, is there anything that you want to talk about?” 

He looked at Johnny, and then back at Horner. “I just have a few questions.” He asked the questions that he had to the Red Bull people, omitting the internal question that he has about what is going to happen with Na Jaemin, who by default is one of the popular drivers at Red Bull along with Mark. Mark Lee is the reigning driver’s champion, and Jaemin came in second place last season. This season, Mark is on his way to his second straight championship but there have not been too much success for Jaemin but there still is some. Jaemin came up from Formula 2 a couple of years ago (3 to be exact), and has been teammates with Mark ever since. He wondered why there was even any interest in him in the first place, like was there potential hope to bring up any young people for some more fresh faces from Formula 2? There is already going to be a new rookie coming in, so is this just Red Bull catching up in that aspect? He would never know, and he most likely would not want to know the answer, but maybe if he finds out later on in time it’ll ease some of the stress that comes with driving in the sport where anything can happen, including who is on the grid or not. 

After more discussion, they came to the conclusion that he is going to be a good fit for the team next year, and as their time ended, the lines were signed, the t’s were crossed and the i’s were dotted. 

“So what are the plans for announcing Chenle? And can he tell other people in his life as long as he promises that they won’t tell anyone?” Johnny asked. This was mainly because Chenle was really aching to tell his family now that he was going to be a Formula 1 driver. 

“He can tell his family, yes.” Horner answered simply and the conversations continued. They set up announcement times and statements and all of the other important information that he would need, take a couple of pictures for Chenle to post when the announcement is released, and then they left the offices.

On the way home, Chenle pulled out his phone and called his mom on Facetime. Although she was in China and he was currently in England, at this time he knew that it was around the time that she would start waking up for the day. He waited for a little bit and after the fourth ring, she answered the call looking a little disheveled. 

“Lele, why are you calling me this early in the morning?!” His mom groaned. Oh, she was definitely still waking up based on the tone in her voice. 

Chenle took a deep breath and began to speak. “Mom, I have some big news that I just got and I wanted to share with you first.” 

What his mom said next was in more of a sarcastic tone as this is not something that either of them would imagine happening in his life. “Let me guess, you signed with a Formula 1 team.” She then chuckled, and then when Chenle didn’t respond with the same tone of laughter and was just staring at his phone with a small smile while staying silent, her face came to the realization that he was looking serious. “Chenle, you’re joking, are you?”

“Mom, I’m not joking.” Chenle answered. “It’s officially true now. I’m going to be a Formula 1 driver next year.”

His mom gasped and on the screen, it looked like she dropped her phone and scrambled to pick it up while screaming. “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD MY BABY BOY! ZHONG CHENLE OH MY GOD!”

“Mom you’re gonna wake up dad!” Chenle laughed but just hearing the joy from his mom made all of this worthwhile. And he also got to hear his dad in the distant ask what the fuck was going on and he got to share the news with his dad as well making sure they promise not to say anything until the official announcement was posted. 

“So what’s the team? Are we going to be wearing orange? Pink and blue?” His mom asked. That was when he realized he had to drop the bomb that he is replacing Na Jaemin next season. 

“Uhm…red and blue and yellow.” He answered. His parents thought for a minute, and his dad pulled out his phone to look up the different teams together. When they came to the realization, they looked at the screen again. 

“Red Bull?! Or is it uh…Visa Cash App Racing Bulls? AlphaTauri or whatever the hell their name is. It would be the second one right?” His dad asked. “They have a seat open.” 

“Uhm…” Chenle repeated again. “It’s not VCARB. It’s the legit Red Bull Racing.” That warranted another round of cheers from his parents but then after that came the realization. His parents enjoy watching the Formula 1 series and know about the drivers on the grid. So they know that Mark is still on for next season and they just assumed Jaemin would be as well, like everyone. 

“Oh my god, no!” His mom says. “Jaemin!”

Chenle sighs and nods slowly. “Yep.”

“I love Jaemin!”

“Everybody loves Jaemin, mom. Everybody loves Jaemin.”

“What’s going to happen with him?!”

“I don’t know, mom. I think he’s going to go out and look for teams now.”

“Well does he know?!”

“I don’t know. But when the announcement drops in a couple of days, he most definitely will.”

They finish up their conversations and end the call. Chenle sets his phone down as he looks at the road ahead of him, thinking about how in a couple of days, his future in motorsports is about to take a massive turn for the upcoming season. Not only is his career and future going to change, but a current driver’s career and future is going to take a massive turn as well. 

~

BREAKING: Na Jaemin to leave Red Bull Racing at the end of the season. 

BREAKING: Zhong Chenle signs multi-deal with Red Bull Racing.

Chapter Text

“So you’re leaving at the end of the season?” Lee Jeno, a driver for Mclaren F1 team, asked on arrival to the paddock on his way to his garage. 

Na Jaemin turns his head around and nods somberly. “Yeah I am. I’m going to be honest, I did not expect to be replaced at all. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my career here. But like every other sport in this world, anything can happen. Baseball, basketball, American football, and football players get traded and dropped all the time. I know it happens in the motorsport world as well but I just didn’t think it would happen to me.” Summer break ended and it was just announced that he was leaving and being replaced next season by Scuderia Ferrari Academy F2 driver Zhong Chenle. He was informed about his departure beforehand so this didn’t come as a surprise, but he just wishes that he would spend a little more time with the team that helped him start his career.

“I did hear a little bit about the Chenle lad.” Jeno sits on one of the chairs nearby. “He’s currently second in the Formula 2 standings, but he’s also an FIA F3 champion and came third in the F4 series as well. Really good at karting too.” Jaemin didn’t have time to look up who his replacement was yet, he was just more focused on trying to see how to set up meetings with other teams that could potentially take him in and let him drive for them. He already had meetings with Alpine, Williams, and Aston Martin. “You know, there is an empty seat at McLaren next season.” Jaemin did know that there was going to be an empty seat at McLaren with the retirement of F1 great Lee Taemin at the end of the current season. “I know it probably wasn’t on your radar, but I can put in a word to Andrea Stella or Zak Brown to set up an interview with you and Minho.” Choi Minho was Jaemin’s manager. 

Jeno was right. Mclaren wasn’t a team that was on Jaemin’s list of teams to interview. But it would be nice for Jeno to put in a word for him with the team to hopefully set up an interview. 

“If you want to put in a word for me, that would be awesome. Anything at this point would be awesome. I just want to still drive next year. It’s only my third year on the grid and I don’t want to go yet.” Jaemin tells Jeno, which puts a smile on Jeno’s face. This is mainly because if Jaemin does get the McLaren seat, he would be teammates with Jeno and they were teammates back in F2 years ago. 

That would mean a lot to be with a friend.

“I’ll let Andrea know! See you on the track today!” Jeno says standing up and walking to his garage. Jaemin started smiling a little bit because while this could be sad to have to leave a team and a great teammate like Mark, it’ll be a great restart. 

“What were you and Jeno talking about?” Mark asked Jaemin as Jaemin walked inside the paddock. 

“He was offering to put in a good word to the McLaren folks about me for next season.” He answered while grabbing a glass of water. “I told him to put in a word and hopefully I’ll get at least a talk with someone. Do I know who? No. Will I get something? I hope.” 

Mark chuckled and pats his head. “I trust that you know what you’re doing. And it is sad that you’re leaving after this season. But I want you on the grid next season because you deserve a spot on the grid.” 

“I never thought I would hear that from the current reigning world driver’s champion on his way for the two-peat.” Jaemin chuckles. “But you will always be remembered by me as my very first F1 teammate.” 

It was the first time that the two were having a heart to heart since Jaemin joined the team three years ago. Just a fresh faced boy coming up from Formula 2, similar to what Chenle is going to go through. They never competed in the juniors as Chenle was always a year below him, but all that mattered right now are two things. 

One, finish the season to the best of his ability. 

Two, find a team for next season. 

~

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: GUESS WHAT?!

Me: You finally asked out Renjun.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Be more realistic here, Nana

Me: alright you won the Dutch Grand Prix.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: I mean I already did 🙂but not that

Me: Alright what?

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: I got you a meeting with Zak and Andrea to talk about a seat!

Me: JENO MOTHERFUCKING LEE YOU DIDN’T

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: I DID!!

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: the meeting is during Monza on media day so we’re gonna get done with our media shit and I can hear the same questions about my championship race with Mark and how I’m catching up with him and such after the chaos that is this season we’re gonna meet in the McLaren paddock.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Minho has been informed as well

Me: I could kiss you right now

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: I meaaaaaaaaannnn

Me; Focus on your crush on the Ferrari driver.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Fuck you

~

“So good media day, boys.” The PR manager says as they are walking. “Answered the questions well, and we can focus on getting you both ready for Monza and free practice tomorrow.” 

The two Red Bull drivers nodded, listening and signing things for the fans as they walked by. Jaemin was thinking in the back of his head what could go on with this meeting. When they returned to their paddock, they spoke to a few more people before changing and going their respective ways. 

Mark went back to the hotel.

Jaemin went to the McLaren paddock.

Arriving at the McLaren paddock at this time, Jaemin knew that there would be some comments or news articles or posts made about this trip considering all that is currently going on with the silly season. Never in a million years would Jaemin think to be in silly season within his career, but alas he’s here and he’s back to meeting teams. 

He already met with the Williams and Alpine teams while Aston Martin already announced that they’re keeping their current lineup for next season. He will admit that James Vowles has a way with words, and in his words to Jeno he would like him to narrate some calming thing for him to fall asleep to. He’s keeping Williams under his belt as that’s a potential but with how they are performing this season, and depending on how the McLaren meeting goes he might have to turn down the offer that’s on the table right now.

He texted Jeno that he was outside the paddock and Jeno sent a message back telling him to come inside. He walked into the paddock and already knew he was going to be greeted with an onslaught of orange. “It’s papaya.” Jeno said after the comment about the orange.
“It’s still orange to me.” Jaemin comments while following Jeno to the meeting room. “So who am I meeting with today?” His question was answered as he saw Andrea Stella sitting at the table. 

“No Zak today because well since he’s the CEO of McLaren he’s at some other races, and I think he's either at IndyCar or Formula E. So it’s only Andrea. He’s still the big boss, just more related to Formula 1.” Pleasantries were exchanged as Jeno left the room and Jaemin took a seat next to his manager who was already there. 

“So Jaemin, we were already talking before you arrived and based on what we want for the team, your history in racing, and Jeno, we do want to put forward an offer of a contract to race with us next year following the retirement of Lee Taemin.” 

Minho shows Jaemin the contract that was already in front of him and they went over the logistics. Basically in terms of drivers, they would have Jeno as the main driver and Jaemin as number two, similar to what Jaemin is going through right now at Red Bull, but there would be a lot more going on. 

Pay was good, everything looked good as well. 

There was discussion about the contract and more. But in the end after a couple of days going back and forth with Minho and other people, as well as some debate, Jaemin signed with another Formula 1 team for next season.

~

BREAKING: Na Jaemin signs with McLaren

~

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: So future teammate.

Me: No I do not have plans to revive the silly little traditions we did in F2.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Damn it.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Well I was going to say that I do have a little date with Renjun during the little fall break that we have coming up after Singapore.

Me: Do not fuck it up I’m rooting for you we are all rooting for you!

Me: Even Wonyoung is rooting for you!

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: Why are you mentioning our F1 Academy driver?

Me: We talked a little bit in Miami.

Jeno Leeeeeeeeee: At this point who on the grid doesn't know about my crush on Renjun??

Me: Literally only Renjun coz you're TOO CHICKEN TO CONFESS!!

~

Beomgyu: Did you see that the driver you’re replacing is going to McLaren next season??

Me: Damn. I literally just saw the Taemin retirement announcement and then you texted me about who's taking his spot.  

Beomgyu: This silly season is so crazy with you and Jisung moving up to F1, Jaemin moving to McLaren and will be with his former teammate, Taeyong to Williams, I could say more!

Me: Well there’s only a few more races until the end and then everything will become crazy. 

Beomgyu: Well I am going to miss being teammates with you next season, but I can’t wait to be with you on the track again.

Me: I will miss you too, gyu. You’re going to do great things at Alpine. Now let’s finish this season on a high note!

Chapter Text

The season finishes with Mark winning his second World Driver’s Championship in a row, and now that the final car has crossed the finish line at Yas Marina and post season testing has officially ended, the offseason officially begins. Chenle works on cleaning out his things from Prema and the Scuderia Ferrari Drivers Academy places and says his goodbyes to all of the people that were there for him during his time there. 

Yes, tears were even shed during the goodbyes. 

The move on up was anything but easy. Chenle had to go over all of the FIA rules with the engineers, having measurements done for his suits, and even some other changes. He had to choose what his permanent number would be and when he saw the numbers that were available, he immediately jumped on the one he would choose if it was free. 

“Number 30.” He says pointing to the number. The engineers were shocked at how quick he chose the number. 

“Is there any major significance to the number? Something related to your career or something?” One engineer asks. 

Chenle shakes his head. “No. I just love Stephen Curry.” 

“The point guard for the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry?”

“Yes! If I wasn’t a driver I more than likely would be in the NBA or at least playing professional basketball in China.” 

No other questions were asked and Chenle was number 30 for his race number. 

His official contract began when the new year passed. He didn’t know what else to expect for the time being, but there was one point where he had to have a mic on him for something, and it was just filming a lot of content that would be posted on the offseason. The first one that was filmed was him meeting his new official teammate. 

“So Chenle, how are you feeling right now?” Someone on the other side of the camera asked him. 

“Well I am not sure what to expect here but I’m excited nonetheless. I mean when your now teammate is literally two time world champion Mark Lee I think you can sense a few things are about to go down in that room.” He answered. 

Without wasting any time, he opened the door to the office room and walked in. Sitting in one of the chairs was Mark Lee. 

It goes without question to say that when he was in Formula 2, Chenle was intimidated by Mark Lee’s driving. The fact that two years  ago he brought the championship battle to the final race and was able to win his first championship was a masterclass of its own. But other than that, he didn’t know how Mark was off the track. He should’ve also mentioned that he can be a little intimidating in interviews as well. 

But today, he was greeted by the two time world champion with a smile on his face and a hand extended. “You must be Chenle!” He said. Just that gesture was able to ease some of the nerves that Chenle had about his new teammate.

“Yeah I am. You must be two time world champion driver Mark Lee.” That earned a laugh from Mark, and he could tell that this was going to be a good little first meeting. 

“So Chenle, we have some questions from uh marketing here that I am to ask you about who you are so uh yeah let’s get started.” Mark sits back down as well as Chenle while grabbing some cards. “So first question, what is your name?”

“Zhong Chenle.”

“What team do you drive for?”

“Well uh before Ferrari Driver’s Academy but now Red Bull.” 

“How old are you?”

“I am 22 years old.”

“Where are you from?”

“Shanghai, China.”

Mark stopped for a moment and looked at the people behind the camera, “Why are you giving me questions like I’m trying to make small talk? I know it’s my teammate but guys this is starting to feel awkward!” He wasn’t wrong. The questions were starting to become awkward. “Anyways, who is your sporting idol?”

“Stephen Curry.” He answered quickly.

“Okay that was automatic.” Mark said, mainly because he jumped a little at the response. “Why?”

“I just love the way that he plays, how he commands the court and is a great captain all around. That’s someone who I aspire to be like in my racing career.” 

“I like you already. Okay, do you have any friends on the grid currently or friends that will be rookies next season?”

“Uhh yeah my former teammate Park Jisung will be driving for Ferrari, and my other friend Choi Beomgyu will be driving for Alpine. We all raced in Formula 2 so it’s going to be fun finally competing with them in the big leagues and also know some rookies as well.”

“That is amazing! Okay, if you were not a race driver what career would you want–based on his response from earlier my best guess is basketball player?”

“Yes!"

The questions kept going until they were out of questions. Mark was the one that did the outro for the video and the cameras turned off. Chenle feared that the video was just a facade for Mark, but it turns out it was anything but. 

“It was great to finally meet you, Chenle. I heard great things from Christian about you and I just know you’re going to do great things this season.” Mark tells Chenle with a smile. “I do hope you’re not too nervous, but it is alright to be nervous with all of this. It’s only the offseason and we don’t start the official season until preseason testing in Bahrain. But from watching your footage from Formula 2, I have a feeling we could have a future world champion in a few years.” 

Just that alone was enough to almost make Chenle cry. “Thank you, Mark. To be honest, I didn’t think I would make it this far in my career at all. By the way, let's just walk and talk. I think it’ll be better than just standing awkwardly in this office.” And walk they did. “I started karting a little later than one might think, I think I was nine, but I kept on going while in school and such. I was able to get into Formula 4, and then move up into Formula 3 where winning the championship was probably the highlight so far. Formula 2 was amazing also and the competition I had for the championship with Beomgyu was amazing. Now that I’m here and will be racing in a few months, I can’t imagine how it’s going to feel.” 

Mark listened intently to the younger, and then spoke when he was done. “I did see a lot of similarities to myself when I was younger. You got a drive, and you want this big time and you know you got to work hard for this battle. I will also tell you this. There are going to be highs, and there are definitely going to be lows. But whatever you do, do not let the lows get in the way of the highs. You learn from those and you use that as your drive towards greatness.” He pats his back and now Chenle was truly crying. “Oh my god did I say something? I’m so sorry if I did!”

Chenle wipes his eyes and pulls out a tissue. “No you’re fine! Again I didn’t think I’d be here and hearing all of that from you, an actual world champion that is going to be my literal teammate, is kind of like a fever dream.” 

“I can understand.” Mark states. “Anyway, let’s go get some food. I started a tradition with my last teammate where I buy them lunch.” They start walking out of the building.

“Wait, you mean like last teammate Na Jaemin?” Chenle asks. 

That was when Mark let out a big sigh. “I have a feeling that you’re thinking that it’s your fault that you’re replacing Jaemin. Like any other sport, it’s all about transactions. Who can win you championships and such. Jaemin sadly was not looking so good so people looked in other places and found you. And Jaemin’s talents were picked up by McLaren and I think that he’s going to do really well there. It’s about finding your fit. Hey, in a few years you might think Red Bull is not for you and want to go to another team. Hell, maybe even another part of motorsports. There are Formula 1 drivers in NASCAR, IndyCar, I think some drive in the European Le Mans series, IMSA, and even World Endurance Championship. Your manager was actually my very first Formula 1 teammate coming into Red Bull. I didn’t know Johnny represented you!” 

Chenle totally forgot that Johnny used to be a Formula 1 driver before an accident made him retire early in his career and he decided to represent Chenle as a manager now. “I didn’t know that Johnny was your teammate! He never mentioned anything and in the meeting to sign my contract he just acted natural.” 

Mark chuckled again as they got in his car, Chenle in the passenger’s seat. “That’s Johnny. He knows when to be serious and when to have fun. I’m glad he’s still around the grid even if it’s just as a manager. Now what are you hungry for?”

Chenle buckled up and sat back. “Anything really. It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to see what the upcoming season brings me.” With that statement, they drove off.

Chapter Text

“Chenle!” Jisung screamed seeing his best friend from his makeup chair while the other walked by. Chenle stops in his tracks and turns his body towards the young Ferrari driver with a smile. 

“We made it!” Chenle cheered, running over and giving Jisung a big hug. The two of them have been friends since Chenle started karting, racing in similar leagues and competing against each other. But off the track they remained close friends through it all. Through the epic highs and lows of motorsports. 

“I can’t believe we are actually here! Well not yet, as it’s only filming for the intro as well as other things but WE’RE GOING TO BE IN THE FUCKING INTRO!” Jisung screamed again. “Okay I think I had a little too much coffee this morning but it’s an early start to the day and I needed the caffeine.” 

Chenle laughs and pats the young boy’s head. “I feel you, dude. I feel you. Anyways, I’m going to get ready. I’ll talk to you later?” Jisung agrees and goes off to get ready. He first throws his racing suit on (which he had to take multiple pictures of himself in from multiple angles) and does some quick makeup and hair touch ups. Once he finished with getting ready, he made his way to the studio area where he will be filmed for the tv introduction of the drivers, get professional pictures done for other important factors, be recorded for if he ends up winning a race this season, and film the infamous Grill the Grid segments and other silly segments to learn about the drivers on the grid this season. 

But there were a few things that he was not expecting to happen on his way back from the set. One of them being that he would run into the person that he did not want to run into at all at any point today.

Because standing in front of him was the driver that he ended up replacing. 

Na Jaemin fixed himself up, standing clad in the orange–sorry, papaya– McLaren race suit (“I don’t know why they call it papaya, it's just an orange suit” , says Jisung last year). His brown hair was fixed up neatly and he was wearing a minimal amount of makeup to cover up any blemishes that were appearing on his face. He was tall, muscular, and well, yes, hot.

And he was standing face to face with him.

“Sorry!” Chenle panicked as he tried to work his way around Jaemin, but in his attempt Jaemin steps in front of him to block his way.

“So you’re Chenle?” Jaemin asks in a serious tone. One that could make someone startle a little (like Chenle). Chenle nods frantically. “Pleasure. I’ll see you out on the tracks.” He says and walks away. 

Was that it? Was that all he had to say? No “I hate you for taking my seat”? No slapping or hitting? Well, whatever that was, it’ll probably not happen again. He snapped out of his thoughts and went back to the dressing room to get undressed and head back to his hotel room. 

“Wait, see you out on the tracks?” He said to himself. “That means–oh fuck.” 

Jaemin might’ve not explicitly said it, but in layman terms “see you out on the tracks” could means “I’m about to fuck you up during a race and make you regret your life decisions.” 

~

Jaemin returns to his hotel room and flops onto his bed. He opens up his phone and starts facetiming someone who he hasn’t talked to in a while. 

“Nana!” Mark cheers on the other line. “It’s been a while! How are things over at McLaren?”

Jaemin remembers that Mark told him to call him whenever he just wanted to talk, and this is one of those moments when he wanted to talk to his former teammate but still friend on the grid. “Is it criminal for me to not talk to you before testing begins? And McLaren is treating me well. I mean, I was teammates with Jeno back in F2 so this feels like the old times, but in a setting that we both dreamed of making.” He answered with a smile. “I do miss drinking one Red Bull a day for promos.” That was heavy sarcasm as while he does enjoy a Red Bull, he does not miss it one bit after leaving.

The last statement earned a chuckle from Mark. “I’ll still bring one over to you because I’m sure you enjoyed them.” Jaemin didn’t like them when he arrived at Red Bull but during his tenure he tolerated them. “But I have a quick question now that you’re calling.” Uh oh. “Did you do something to Chenle?” 

Chenle. The same person who a) replaced him and b) ran into him while they were filming footage for the intro and other videos that will be released as the season progresses. He didn’t say much because he didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, but he said that he will see him out on the tracks (although he really wanted to say he’s ready to make his season a living hell for taking away the only constant in his life up until that point). “No, he accidentally bumped into me and then we went our separate ways.” Not a total lie, but not entirely the truth. 

That got him hearing a sigh on the other line. “Okay well Chenle looked a little spooked out and I don’t know what your thoughts are on him, and I honestly could care less about your thoughts as a driver and competitor. But as your friend, please go easy on him. He hasn’t even lined up on the F1 grid and you haven’t seen what he’s capable of.” 

“Well, I’m sorry for that and not wanting to explode in the face of the person who replaced me at the same place where I started and thought I would finish out my first renewal contract at.” Jaemin retorted with a huff. He held in his feelings about Chenle for as long as he could. When he first got the news about his replacement, he entered the first stage of the five stages of grief, denial. He was mad that Chenle even accepted to replace him as there were other teams at the time that had open seats but he had to take the seat of someone already on the track?!

“We can rant about this later. But for now we got to rest. Testing is next week then after that the season officially begins and we can’t be doing anything stupid before the first race week. Just please promise me you’ll be…nice to him off the track at least.” 

“Fine. Only because I’m ready to see you win a third championship.” 

“Don’t you want to win one? I hear the McLaren this year is fast. Potentially faster than the Red Bull and Ferrari. When was the last time someone won the championship for McLaren, drivers or constructors?” 

“I don’t know but it’s probably before I was even born.” Their last one was 1998, and Jaemin was born in 2000. 

Mark knows a lot about the ins and outs of Red Bull considering he’s their top driver in the brand. But hearing that about McLaren? Scary.

But despite that, Jaemin definitely thinks Mark is most likely going to win the three-peat. 

“Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Jaemin comments. “I gotta get going but I’ll see you in the paddock?”

“See you in the paddock, Na.”

Chapter Text

Welcome one and all to a new season of Formula One Racing. We ended the season with Mark Lee and a back to back championship win in the drivers and Red Bull constructors. But once again, we start from square one. New season, some new drivers, and some new teams as well. Zero points for everyone across the board, and the journey for the title begins here at Bahrain International Circuit. Hello everyone, Sung Hanbin here alongside Myung Jaehyun and we are both excited for this season to begin. Now Jaehyun, we saw a lot of moves happening during the summer breaks and fall breaks of last season and now we are finally going to watch those moves become a reality. Why don’t you kick things off and tell us about some of your thoughts from those moves.

Well, Hanbin, I think we can all agree that the most shocking move of last season was the news over summer break that Na Jaemin was being replaced by Formula 2 vice champion Zhong Chenle at Red Bull. To follow that up, McLaren picked Jaemin up as the second driver alongside his former Formula 2 teammate Lee Jeno after the retirement of eight time drivers champion Lee Taemin at the end of last season. When that news dropped we were all scratching our heads like what is going on? Not a lot of people follow Formula 2 but you really should follow the feeder series because this season, I have a good feeling about who took over Chenle’s spot at Ferrari Driver’s Academy, Maeda Riku. But after seeing how things went at the preseason testing in Qatar two weeks ago and what we can hopefully expect today during Free Practice 1 and 2, it’s clear to me that Zhong Chenle is deserving of a chance at Red Bull and the hopes of a future driver’s champion.

Took the words right out of my mouth, Myung. Now let’s check out the Ferrari garage where Zhong Chenle’s former F2 teammate and other rookie, Park Jisung is getting ready for his first FP1 as a full time F1 driver…

~

Chenle was going over some of the necessary changes that were made to the car with his engineer, Jeong Jaehyun, and the rest of his team. He was nodding while looking and listening along. “So that was what we changed after testing two weeks ago. I hope that these changes work out but it’s only free practice one and two today. Let’s get you into the car. The session starts in ten minutes.” 

Ten minutes. Ten minutes and Chenle will officially be in an F1 car on the track for an official F1 session. He knows what to expect and he feels ready to take on a new car but similar setting. He’s raced at Bahrain before in the feeder series, but being in the top league now is making him nervous a little more. He takes a deep breath and zips up the rest of his race suit, grabs his helmet and puts it on. He steps up and into the car wiggling himself down into his seat and setting his feet up properly. The shoulder and head support come over and onto him and he is buckled into his seat. He is handed his steering wheel and he pushes the wheel into place checking on everything to make sure that it is working properly. 

“And radio check, Chenle radio check.” Jaehyun says into his radio.

“Check check one two check.” Chenle responds. 

“Alright Chenle let’s fire up the car and let’s get onto the track.” 

He nods and looks at the countdown clock on one of the big screens as it counts down from five, four, three, two, one, and zero. 

Free Practice One has begun. 

He waits patiently for the call as he notices a few cars driving past him in the garage and to the pit stop exit. He smiles to himself as he sees the Alpine of Beomgyu and the Ferrari of Jisung. “Alright Chenle you can head on out.” Jaehyun says as he sees one of the pit stop crew members signaling for him to come on out, and he officially drives out and onto the pit lane towards the exit. He waits patiently behind the Aston Martin of Liu YangYang as he inches towards the official exit. Once the car in front of him exits, it’s now his turn and he officially exits onto the track for an out lap. 

“Alright Chenle just follow my lead and change the gears when I say.” Jaehyun says and as he is giving signals for gears, Chenle is changing them quickly to get a feel for what gear will change where and when. He approaches the finish line and he picks up speed to go on his first flying lap of his F1 career. 

Alright there goes Zhong Chenle for his first flying lap of his career. He’s making good progress so far and testing a few weeks ago he told us that he was feeling ready for the season and how he can work to improve. He’s got DRS range and makes his way out of the first sector in good timing from first place of his teammate Mark Lee. Now Jaehyun, this is Mark’s third official teammate in Formula One he came in as the teammate of Johnny Suh who is actually now Chenle’s manager and was replaced with now McLaren driver Na Jaemin and now Chenle. I wonder how the two drivers are going to fare up against each other in the championships because Chenle’s got a hunger for winning and he finishes his first flying lap up into third fastest time for the session! Wow what a drive from the rookie from Shanghai! 

“Good job Chenle!” Jaehyun the engineer says excited. Chenle couldn’t help but smile a little to himself. “How did the car feel?”

“It felt good. I mean going from turn 9 into 10 is still a challenge but we can figure that out as the practice goes on.”

“We have all the time we need before quali tomorrow. That’s what practice is for.”

~

The rest of the free practices came and went with ease, but now comes the part of any race weekend that Chenle normally dreads. Qualifying. The part of the race weekend that determines how the grid is set for the main race the following day. Everyone is wanting to start in pole position, or the first spot on the grid, and Chenle does not expect to get pole position this early into his Formula 1 career, but he feels that he has a good feeling that he will make it into the third session of qualifying, which sets the top ten. 

Chenle waits patiently in his car while going over the data, talking over what corners need some fixing and where he did well. He has made it through the first session of qualifying, which was all he was hoping could happen so far and with all of the people’s eyes on him and what he could do, he was hoping to make it through Q2.

We are now heading into the second round of qualifying, with both Red Bulls, both McLarens, both Mercedes, both Ferraris, the rookie Choi Beomgyu of the Alpine, the Haas of Kang Yeosang, and the Williams of Kim Taeyong. Now, Jaehyun, I have to say that seeing all three rookies make it through into Q2 is very impressive. Especially knowing that they all have eyes on them with the reigning Formula 2 champion and vice champion and the incoming kid for Ferrari.

I agree with you, Hanbin. We all know that making it to the top of the league is hard enough but once you get there everyone is judging your every move. I have to say that I am really impressed with how things are going today and I can’t wait to see how the rest of qualifying goes for tomorrow’s first race of the season.  

Chenle looks at all of the data and goes through everything with Jaehyun, and points out any changes that can be made during this next time around. Once that was gone, he waited patiently for the signal. He then sees in front of him one of the engineers signalling for the crew members to take off the warming blankets for his tires and then signaling for him to come out of the garage. He slowly makes his way out and enters the line to exit the pit lane. 

Not before almost seeing a McLaren car stop in front of him. 

“What the hell?!” He said into the radio.

“Don’t worry about that. Just keep your head down and worry about this lap.” Jaehyun says. Chenle huffs and pulls into the pit lane and when he sees that he is clear, he goes out for his out lap. 

“Alright Chenle, how are the tires?” Jaehyun asks through the radio. Chenle takes a moment and responds. 

“They are alright. I mean, they’re warming up.” 

“Alright let’s get going and let’s do a hot lap.” 

And there goes Chenle across the line for his first flying lap of the second qualifying session. Now there he goes into turn one and two heading into the DRS range he’s got some good speed going on in there towards the next turn he’s had a bit of understeer heading into that turn he’s gone green within the first sector I think he’s gotten used to qualifying now but will we see this rookie heading into third qualifying and there goes his teammate Mark Lee up into first place and after him goes the Ferrari of Huang Renjun Chenle makes his way past the Haas of Yeosang who’s still on a warmup lap and Chenle has gone purple in the second sector he’s coming down the final straight into turns 14 and 15 and crosses the finish line AND TAKES FIRST PLACE FROM HIS TEAMMATE! Wow, what a drive from the rookie from Shanghai!

“Great lap Chenle!” Jaehyun states from the radio. “I think it’s close enough to get you into Q3, but we will see.” 

“God, that took a lot out of me.” Chenle responds and he goes for his in lap. He was taking his time until he hears his radio again. 

“So we have just had the lap time deleted for track limits at turn 11.”

Track limits?! He got track limits?!

“What the fuck! Ugh, alright let’s get this last one in.” 

Chenle would finish Q2 in 11th place and would start the race from that spot on the grid. 

~

With the disappointment of qualifying yesterday, Chenle was determined to at least get into the points for today’s race. 

He would be lucky if he got a podium in his first race but his main priority is points. Mark ended up taking pole position.

The anthem finishes and the teams return to their cars. He gives a quick handshake to Jisung, who qualified 6th, and Beomgyu, who was right beside him in 12th, and got his suit up and his helmet on. He then hops into the car and gets settled in. 

“Alright and radio check, Chenle.”

“Don’t stop us now! The moment of truth! We were born to make history!” Chenle sings. “Yep it works.” 

Jaehyun laughs. “Alright now let’s get this show on the road.” 

When the sign showed how much time is left before the formation lap, the crews finished working on the cars and stepped off to the side. Chenle watches as the clock hits the top of the hour and one by one, the cars leave their grid spots to do the formation laps. When the car in tenth position, Kim Jungwoo of Mercedes, left his spot, Chenle started going for the formation lap. Swerving around to warm up the tires. He could feel his heart racing as he makes his way around the track knowing that in a few moments, he is about to race in his first F1 race of his career. He takes some deep breath and turns on the radio. “I just want to say thank you to everyone. I can’t believe my first race is here. Thank you for believing in me and let’s have a great season!”

That was great to hear from Zhong Chenle, one of the three rookies starting this season. It takes a lot to get to the pinnacle of this sport and now the dreams will become a reality.

You’re right Jaehyun. And as the final car lines up on the grid and the safety car pulls up behind we await the green flag. Green flag is waved and here comes one, two, three, four, five red lights….AND IT’S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO WITH THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX! Mark Lee had a great jump but Lee Jeno is coming up next to him they go into turn one AND JENO PASSES MARK LEE THE REIGNING CHAMPION INTO TURN ONE! We got the midfield going here goes the Alpine of Choi Beomgyu aside the Red Bull of Zhong Chenle Chenle gets ahead and in the back we got Xiao Dejun in the Kick Sauber making his way up to 17th and it appears that Chenle has made it into the points position and how about that start from Lee Jeno in the McLaren!

The start was thrilling, and all that Chenle could imagine as he went from P11 up to P8, which is points range. But any chance he can move up in the points is good for him. He’s keeping the pace and does so throughout the race, making overtakes on those around him. 

“Alright Chenle, box box.” 

First pit stop time. He turns the last corner before entering the pit lane and into the box. He stops, waits, and when he sees the green he heads off. “Jaehyun how quick was that?” He asked. 

“2.2 seconds.” 

“Damn that was quick it felt like nothing!” 

“You and the radios are going to be fun this season.” 

He was about to chuckle but he had to focus again because he was working on doing an undercut of one of the Ferraris. He makes it out and focuses on warming the tires up and continuing with the race. 

“Okay Jisung pitted you’re almost there.” 

He speeds up, and passes the pit exit just as Jisung was coming out. The undercut worked. He has since moved up to P5. 

“Okay Jaemin is 1.7 seconds ahead of you.” He hears as the papaya car appears in front of him. He just needs to get into DRS range and he can do an overtake. 

But the race is almost over. 

And they are on the final three laps and Chenle is almost in DRS range of Na Jaemin do we think he can do a last minute overtake? 

Chenle does think he can get a last minute overtake as in the second to last lap, he gets into DRS range. When they get into the zone, Chenle activates DRS and moves along the outside as he’s right next to Jaemin. He puts his foot on the pedal and gets ahead of him at the turn but they almost make contact. But once in the straights, he gets ahead and is now into P4. Chenle crosses the finish line.

“And that’s the checkered flag. P4.” 

“Oh my god! Woo! Great job today! Great strategy. So close to a podium I can feel it coming. Great race and awesome start to the season! Let’s keep it up!” 

Jeno took the win. Mark took second. Renjun took third. 

Chenle was the highest scoring rookie of the race.

One race down, 23 more to go. 

Chapter Text

“So how are you doing, current Driver’s championship leader!?” Jaemin says to Jeno as they are leaving the paddock from the Bahrain Grand Prix. Jaemin finished fifth in the race because of a late move from Chenle which pissed him off to the max because he thought that Chenle was about to push him off the track. But after reviewing the footage, it was a clean move. But he was still mad no matter what. 

Jeno sighs and chuckles. “It’s great to have the lead, but of course I want that championship. It’s only the first race of the season and people are freaking out that I’m leading!” 

“But you’re leading! It’s been a while since someone was leading the championship that wasn’t Mark! The last time was Renjun two seasons ago and then Mark took over and then the fight with him and Taeyong to the end occurred.” Jaemin adds as they made it to their respective vehicles. “We’ll talk more about this when we get back to our hotels okay?” Jeno nods okay and off they go back to their hotels. 

Once the vehicles arrive at the hotels, Jaemin gets out of the car, and even takes the time to sign some autographs for fans that were staying at the hotel after the race in shock to see that a driver was at the place they were staying for the weekend. He thanked them and then got into the elevator. As the door was closing, a hand shoots in to stop the doors and they reopen. Jaemin was about to step to the side, but froze to see who was coming into the elevator. 

Chenle. 

The young man sighs and just steps in, looking at the buttons but doesn’t press anything. “Are we seriously on the same floor?” Jaemin mutters to himself. 

“What was that?” Chenle snaps his head around to look at him. 

Still pretty upset about the move, Jaemin couldn’t help but snap. “I said are we seriously on the same floor? Taking my spot and now being in my line of sight every waking moment!” 

He could tell Chenle was trying not to snap back, but he did. “Well you’re still here aren’t you! It’s not my fault that you had a shitty season last year!” 

“Well, you could’ve said no!”

“I had nothing lined up for this season before the call! I had no plans!” 

“Yes you did! Every young driver dreams of getting into Formula 1!”

“Well I–” The elevator dings signifying that they are on the floor where their rooms are. Jaemin huffs and walks out, shoving Chenle to the side. “This isn’t over, Na.” Chenle shoves back, walking faster past him and going into his room. Thankfully for Jaemin, his room was farther down so he walked past the other’s room and into his room crashing onto the bed. He didn’t have a lot of time to comprehend that exchange because they would be leaving the next day to fly to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix so he had to lock in and not let the encounter be a distraction.

But it could be a distraction for Chenle? And it can work in his favor?

~

Jeddah came and went, and this was a race where Jaemin actually got second place! He stood on the podium with Renjun winning the race and Mark taking third so it was great to see someone new on the top step even though he wishes it was him on the top step. Renjun has already won two races before Jeddah so now it comes to the next race, Australia. The FIA was trying out something with keeping races in specific regions together in order to cut back on fuel when flying, and with going back to the part of the world where he is from is nice.

Oh, and Chenle got fourth again in Jeddah.

“So have you ever fucked at a Costco?” Jaemin asked Jeno out of the blue while they were doing their track walk of Albert Park. He did plan on asking that because of something he saw on the internet, but he didn’t realize he told Jeno that in a time where he was taking a sip of water which caused him to turn and do a spit take on the grass. 

“Na Jaemin what the fuck?!” Jeno laughs as the two continue on with the track walk with their engineers. “I think you need to step away from the internet for a bit.” 

Jaemin could handle a bit of multitasking as he talked to Kun, his engineer, while calming down from the laughter. “Listen, in the midst of everything that is on social media sometimes you just need a little laugh like I just made you do.” he states as they turn the corner. He talks with Kun a little more as they finish up the track walk and get ready for any media day activities that they have to do. This includes any press conferences, filming with the social media team for content, and more. 

The press conference came and went, with the same questions almost every time. Jaemin sat with Mark and Renjun, so people had plenty of questions for the other two while he got some questions such as “How does it feel to be back where you got your first F1 win with a new team?” or “You’ve been having many battles on the track with Chenle. How do you feel with the playing field as it’s you against a rookie?” Yes, his very first Formula 1 win was at Albert Park last year. 

“Yeah, the battles are entertaining. It’s good that we are both keeping it clean and it’s nice to be working with a great group of people over at McLaren to get a competitive car and getting it high into the points that we are able to. The podium at Jeddah was a great beginning and hopefully as time goes on, I can get my first win at McLaren.” Jaemin answered the second question with a nod. 

After they were dismissed, the content filming with social and Jeno happened and then they all went back to their respective hotels to rest for practices and qualifying. 

~

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, Sung Hanbin and Myung Jaehyun here with you all again in the land down under as we get started with the qualifying session of the Australian Grand Prix. The third round of this Formula 1 season and Jaehyun I do have to say we were both coming into this season expecting another Red Bull runaway from the get go but it’s only the third race and we have seen a McLaren and a Ferrari stand on the top step. What is going on in the Red Bull camp?

Hanbin, you gotta remember that this is still the beginning of the season and anything is possible even after a season that we had last year. But we are here at Albert Park today, 14 corners and two DRS zones. We all remember the fiasco from last year when champion Mark Lee suddenly DNFed to an engine issue which would end up bringing Na Jaemin his first F1 win of his career here…

Qualifying has always been one of Jaemin’s many weaknesses to his Formula 1 career. Yes, he has made multiple third qualifying sessions, but there were times when he felt like he should’ve gotten pole position but would either have a mishap or end up on the front row. Those stats would probably feel like something great to others, but Jaemin has been one to push himself to want to achieve more as he goes on with his racing career. It’s an ideology that he’s had instilled in him since the start. 

And similar to the last two races, Jaemin ended up making it to the third round of qualifying. The top ten here will include both him and Jeno, both Red Bulls, both Ferraris and Mercedes, Kim Doyoung of Williams, and rookie Choi Beomgyu of Alpine. 

No one expected the three rookies this year to make it to the third round of qualifying this early in the season, but when the competition is now as close as it is, this is anyone’s game.

All that Jaemin could do at this point in time is just make his qualifying as smooth as he can for tomorrow. There is rain to be expected and he wanted to make sure that he is in a decent position in case of any mishaps. 

When the light went green and the cars started filing out of pit lane, Jaemin waited patiently for his turn to go, and then he left to go on his warm up lap. He manages to get second after his first flying lap, so now he waits in the pits, and repeats the cycle one last time for the qualifying session.

Alright now the clock is almost out and here we go with Lee Jeno, the championship leader out on his flying lap he is doing well out of the first turn and into the second now he already has a couple of pole positions from the past few seasons his first coming two years ago in Imola and he is picking up the pace right now and his teammate Na Jaemin crosses over the line for his final flying lap Jeno gets purple in the first sector is seemingly slowing down in the second only a tenth slower than the last sector clock is now at zero Mark Lee goes over the line at provisional pole but it looks like it won’t be for long Lee Jeno CROSSES THE LINE AND HAS POLE POSITION BUT BEHIND HIM IS HIS TEAMMATE WILL THE FORMER RED BULL DRIVER TAKE POLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MCLAREN AND HE DOES IT! NA JAEMIN IN HIS FIRST SEASON WITH THE PAPAYA HAS TAKEN HIS FIRST POLE POSITION IN HIS ENTIRE FORMULA ONE CAREER and coming behind him is rookie Zhong Chenle AND HE TAKES THE SECOND SPOT AWAY FROM A MCLAREN FRONT ROW LOCKOUT! 

Jaemin was waiting patiently as he drove around in his cool down lap and then Kun comes on over the radio. “So Jaemin…pole position.” Wait, did he just say pole position?!

“Wait what?! Can you repeat what you just said?! Am I pole?!” 

“You are on pole. Chenle is next to you on front row.” 

“Holy shit! Holy shit! This is amazing! Thank you guys. Let’s finish this tomorrow! Great car today!” Jaemin shouts as he pulls into the pit lane and parks the car in front of the one spot. He turns off the car, take off the headrest, and unbuckles. He takes the wheel off and sets it on top of the car while he climbs out and reattaches the steering wheel. Jeno comes over and gives him a high five. 

“Pole position! Finally!” He hears Jeno say excited as he goes over to get weighed in. People can’t see it but his smile was wide. 

Then in his peripheral vision he sees another person walk over and he knows it’s Chenle. He looks at the younger and sees him hold out his hand. He takes a deep breath and shakes his hand. 

“See you on the front row tomorrow.” Chenle says with a nod and goes to get weighed in also. 

Little does Jaemin know what the race is going to bring him. 

~

And coming into the final sector is the man who got his first career pole position yesterday. Where he got his first ever Formula 1 win in his career last season, and today is where he will get his first Formula 1 win with his new team! Na Jaemin wins the Australian Grand Prix in dramatic style after a near collision with Chenle at the beginning! Behind him as the crowd cheers him on for his first ever Formula 1 podium is Zhong Chenle for second and finishing out the podium in third is Lee Jeno! A McLaren 1-3, and a first podium for the young driver from Shanghai!