“Congratulations on the 1–2 before summer break,” I said, my chair squeaking as I leant back against it. “I’m sure it was difficult to have first place whisked away from you, but you took the defeat gracefully.”
Bianca visibly stiffened. “Second place is hardly a defeat,” she argued. I could see I was getting under her skin, but something about her cavalier attitude with me so far spurred me to continue plucking at that raw nerve.
“Anything that isn’t first place is a defeat,” I replied.
“Then it’s a good job I don’t have my sights set on anything less.”
Her response surprised me, and the fiery brunette stared me down, almost daring me to continue debating the issue with her. Changing tack, I smiled.
“Good.”
Another knock, this one softer, came at the door and both Bianca and I looked up in time to see Sophia Harrington pop her head around the door. In stark contrast to her sullen teammate, Sophia was the kind of woman whose gentle demeanour shone from her like sunshine. The blonde smiled nervously and inched into the room.
“I’m not late, am I?” she muttered, checking the time on her phone.
“Not at all. Please, sit.” I gestured to the empty chair beside Bianca. “Kristian Wright – nice to meet you.” I extended my hand to her on the same fashion as I had to her teammate. I felt Bianca’s gaze flitting back and forth between us.
“I’m excited to work with you,” Sophia replied, obediently slipping into the chair.
I sat back down and took a moment to appraise the two women in front of me. It had only been within the last fifteen years that female drivers had become commonplace within F1. It had all started with Maddie Michaels. At twenty years old, my career had only just begun when Maddie had completed her successful debut and became the first woman to ever win the world driver’s championship and constructor’s championship. Maddie’s success empowered a whole generation of women, more and more of them joining the motorsport circuit, and with some healthy figures being pumped into funding the F1 Academy, we began to see some real talent coming through.
I’d never worked with a duo quite like Rossi and Harrington. They were like chalk and cheese – Rossi was infamous for her temper and her grit, powering her way to the front of the pack through sheer talent and aggression. Sophia was measured and intelligent in her tactics, choosing to play the system than to put herself or her car in harm’s way. Both women possessed skills that were vital to becoming a successful F1 driver and were the perfect example of there being more than one way to win a race.
I’d spent plenty of time preparing for this meeting. I’d memorised everything about my drivers, keen to get a jumpstart on how best to manage them, but as Bianca and I caught one another’s eye again, everything I had wanted to say seemed to abandon me.
“I want McLaren to win the constructor’s championship this year,” I eventually said, my voice sounding tight. “What can we do to ensure that happens? I’m asking you both, as the drivers on the front line. What do you need from me to make our success a reality?”
I could tell my question had stumped them. Sophia glanced to Bianca, clearly hoping her senior teammate would take the lead. The Italian frowned.
“I just need everyone to get out of my way.”
Despite my attempt to sustain a masterful poker face, my brows jumped up with surprise. Sophia laughed nervously.
“That’s an… interesting response,” I muttered.
Bianca shrugged. “You asked me what I wanted from you, and that’s what I want. Give me a strong, reliable car and the space to use it as I see fit, and I’ll bring the championship in for you.” She crossed her arms beneath her bust and I fought with all I had not to let my eyes dip automatically. I was almost relieved to have a reason to look away as I turned my attention to Sophia.
“And you?”
The blonde nibbled her lip. “I suppose I did well with the one–stop approach during our last race. More robust strategies and back up plans?”
I smirked. It was comical how ‘to type’ they were behaving. Bianca was just as stubborn and forceful as she was rumoured to be, and Sophia had given me exactly the sort of carefully considered reply I’d expected. If I could simply get each of them to embrace one another’s strengths, I knew we’d have a winning combination… but right now it felt volatile. Bianca leftunchecked would rip the team to shreds, and Sophia would tangle herself up in knots with data rather than taking action. They could each learn a little something from one another, and that was a task for me.
“Alright,” I said simply. Both women stared at me. “The car will be the strongest version of itself, I will ensure that.” I paused to eye Bianca before turning to Sophia. “And I intend to work closely with the senior team on refreshing some of the stale strategies I’ve seen from McLaren in previous seasons.”
“O–okay, great,” Sophia spluttered.
Bianca picked up her phone and began tapping away on it once more. “Can I go? I have that press appointment that you—”
“Go. We’ll be seeing plenty of one another over the coming months,” I replied, fixing the Italian with a confident smile. To my surprise, Bianca’s dark eyes looked me up and down and a brief, but sultry smile crossed her lips.
“Looking forward to it “
I wasn’t entirely sure if she was being sarcastic or genuine, but I forced myself to remain composed. Bianca and Sophia got up, heading for the door, but this time my base urges won over. My eyes dropped to Rossi’s shapely behind, her jeans fitting her figure like a second skin. I coughed into my fist and began leafing through paperwork.
“I’ll see you both soon,” I called out, maintaining the façade of shuffling papers until both drivers were gone and my door clicked shut.
“Fucking hell,” I sighed, scrubbing my hand down my face. I hunted through the piles of paperwork until I found the personnel files I’d requested on each of my drivers. I opened them up, pushing Sophia’s aside and bringing myself face to face with the bleary passport photograph of Bianca Rossi.
