in between silver arrows and losing my mind (Sophia Laforteza x Reader AU)
After the horrifying crash in Sao Paulo, Sophia insist she is fine but Y/N knew that the driver that came out from the wreckage is a totally different person.
tags: f1 driver!sophia, red bull engineer!reader, female!reader, down bad sophia, romcom but with angst this time around, f1 jargons, tons of swearing, also swearing in tagalog
starring: katseye, and you of course ft. most of the 2024 f1 drivers and team principals
author's note: the kats in this series are aged up and will not mirror their irl age. also, for the sake of the story, the Mercedes pitwall crew doesn't follow the IRL pitwall crew line up. again, Red Bull's former team principal is replaced by an OC and would not be mentioned here because of his issues. trigger warning to those who want to look him up. if you can, squint for easter eggs and references!
you can read part one here | in between series masterlist | in between: all access playlist
WARNING: inaccurate paddock, pre and post race, and garage activities depictions. the races are also altered for plot purposes. do not take it as the truth. all things mentioned here are purely FICTIONAL.
Rain had finally stopped pouring over San Paulo after what seemed for an eternity. But the atmosphere inside the hospital room remained cold and unsettling.
Max had won the Grand Prix, the team informs her. With Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, both on Alpine, claiming second and third respectively — it has been a long time coming to have both cars on podium since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix with Kimi Räikönen and Romain Grosjean. She knew everyone back in the garage will be celebrating Max's win and that she was happy for Ocon and Gasly as well, but Y/N can't seem to find herself to be in a festive mood. Not with Sophia still stuck in this stupid medical bed, still completely knocked out and showing no signs of waking up soon.
The whole F1 community, especially the drivers, extended their heartfelt wish of recovery. Lewis spoke about how the FIA should have declared the track too slippery, postponing the race until they made sure it was clearly safe for the drivers to go out on track. The rest of the grid also backed the Mercedes driver's words, and the fans empathized on that, critizing FIA for the disregarding safety.
Meanwhile, Franco, who was very guilty of putting Sophia in such a state (Lara and Toto reassures him it was a racing accident and none of it was his fault) came over as soon as the race ended. He left shortly afterwards as he could not bear seeing the Filipina, leaving behind flowers, fruits, a handwritten letter of apology, and promises of coming back to talk to the Mercedes driver once she is awake.
Lewis also came by shortly after Franco, checking up on his teammate and shakingly shared to the Red Bull engineer how worried he was to see Sophia's car trashed on the barriers, reminding him of how he saw Zhou Guanyu's car do the same back in Silverstone in 2022 on his side mirrors and of Grosjean's in 2020. That he felt helpess and lost on how he could help. Y/N consoled him and told him that Sophia's going to be okay.
With the room now void of any visitors nor attending nurses (Lara had left with Manon and Lewis a few minutes ago to get some supplies, like food and other stuff they might need), Y/N was left alone to look after Sophia. The Red Bull engineer watched as her chest rise up and down in a steady rhythm.
Then Y/N's phone buzzes in her backpocket. She fishes it out and sees the caller ID — it was Matteo Huh, their team principal. "Hey, boss." Y/N greets as she answers the call.
"Y/N, heard from Hannah that you left early to look after Sophia. How is she? Everyone, even VCARB, is worried about the kid. But not at much as Daniela and Megan though. Dani had been crying for majority of the race while Megan was so out of it that we had to tap her out with Richard."
The Red Bull engineer sighs. "She's... well, she's still unconscious. Doctor said it would take time for her to wake up due to the amount of g-force that struck her body during the crash, CT showed no signs of potential hemorrhage. Aside from that are bruises. No broken bones or whatnot."
Matteo sighs in relief. "Thank God. That's great to hear. And I'm sure Dani and Megan would be relieved to hear that as well."
A beat of silence. "Do you need me back at the paddock?"
"No, no. We can hold things from here." Matteo says. Y/N remained silent on her end, clearly guilty of leaving mid race. "Look, Y/N. You are like my own daughter. I know when you are clearly worried for someone, you put them above everything else — I've seen you do that to Yunjin when she had fever and she was alone on her dorm. My daughter told me thay you didn't attend your afternoon classes and the following day just to take care of her and be with her until she can run a marathon again.
"And seeing you do that to Laforteza is already enough reason for me. I may be your boss but she is your friend, and that weighs more than our job. All I neee you to do now is make sure that kid gets fully recovered and back on track, Max said a while ago that he'll feel lonely if he doesn't see her speeding ahead of him at Las Vegas. Team orders."
Y/N chuckles at the team principal's words. It was typical Max behavior. She knew from the moment Sophia had entered the paddock, the Dutch driver would take her under his wing. And it has been the running joke on the paddock that the Filipina is officially Max and Lewis' child of divorce.
"Thanks, uncle." Y/N mutters as she finally lets go of the professional honorifics, glad that Matteo didn't give her an earful. She can feel the Red Bull team principal smiling on the other side of the line.
The call ends. Y/N places her phone on the cusion of the bed as she looks Sophia. "Anytime now, superstar." She whispers, hopeful. "You still gotta prove to the whole world that you deserve to be the world champion."
Lara and Manon returns after an hour, with Yoonchae in their tow. In their arms are paper bags filled with groceries. Y/N points out that it was too much for the four of them to consume but Lara shrugs it off. "You never know who may just come over and talk our ears off about Sophia's very aggresive breaking." She reasons out. Meanwhile, Manon forces the Red Bull engineer to eat despite her protests.
"I almost had a heart attack and I'm not looking for another." The race engineer grumbles as she practically shoves the bento box into Y/N's hands. "Now eat."
As the quad ate their food and talked about small things in between, a knock on the door erupts. Y/N stood up to open the door. She swings it open, revealing Toto and his wife Susie on the other side. The Red Bull engineer freezes.
Toto looks at her with an unreadable expression before a small smile appears on his face. "We came to visit." He says simply. "May we?" Y/N nods before stepping to the side wordlessly, allowing the couple to enter the room. "I'm sorry I took so long, I had to escape the media before they can catch on where I was going."
"It's fine." Lara answers. "Have a seat, please." She motions to the vacant chairs next to Manon. Toto leads his wife to the chair and allowed her to sit down first before he does. "You mentioned the media?"
Toto nods. "As usual, they wanted to know more than they already should. It is annoying for the most part. But we've handled it. I also asked Bernd and Dr. Ian to keep the hospital location a secret, knowing that the media would come after them if they didn't get any answers from me."
Susie was quiet, her eyes never leaving Sophia. "How is she?" She finally breaks her bubble.
"She's okay, we're waiting for her to regain consciousness." Manon follows Susie's line of sight. "We hope there aren't gonna be any more complications."
"Sophia can take all the time she needs, honestly. The next grand prix won't be upon us until three weeks time." Susie turns to Toto who nods. "She had already done so much for the team for majority of the season and right now the best course of action is to let her recover."
The Mercedes team chatted for a little while until the couple decided to bid good bye, citing they need to catch their flight back to Monaco for a short recharge before they head to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, one of the last three races of the season, leaving the quad alone in the room.
"You should head back to the hotel." Y/N proposes. "Get some rest."
"What about you?" Manon asks. Y/N then points to the chair previously occupied by Susie and Toto.
"I'mma stay behind and look after Sophia."
Yoonchae raises her hand, as if to stop the Red Bull engineer. "Y/N-unnie, we appreciate the gesture but you need to rest somewhere comfortable too. You have been in this room longer than us, and if there's someone that should look after Sophia-unnie. It's us."
"Yeah," Lara seconds. "And besides, people at RB might be looking for you already. Wondering where you have run off to mid-race."
Y/N shook her head. "I talked to TP, he knows. And Hannah knows as well, and probably majority of the people back at Red Bull. So, if they want to drag me back to the paddock — they know where to find me. Also," The Red Bull engineer stood up, puts the chairs previously occupied by the Wolff couple together and lays down. "I won't go back to the hotel. I'm not leaving you guys behind."
"Y/N—" Manon was about to argue but YN stop her.
"No, and no, Manon." Y/N starts to het comfortable as she stretches her whole body like a cat. "My decision is final. Now, let's get some sleep. I'm tired as fuck."
"Language! We have a kid in here!" Manon and Lara shouts in unison.
Yoonchae, who knew who they were pertaining to, frowns. "But I'm not even a minor anymore—"
"Honey, the adults are talking." Lara cuts her off.
Hours passed and everyone was fast asleep; Lara and Manon decided to bring in (technically, forced to take the ones in Sophia's room back at the motor home before they could be bought down by the Mercedes staff) some cusions and were already sprawled on the floor, both were lightly snoring. Yoonchae took the couch for herself. Y/N was already a dead weight by the chairs, mouth wide open and would occasionally mumble something incoherent.
While they were on dreamland, Sophia's hand twitches once. Then again. Soon, her whole hand starts to move as the Mercedes driver slowly opens her eyes, silently groaning as the ceiling lights assulted her vision.
Being a light sleeper, the Mercedes performance engineer's dream of eating tteokbokki was cut off when she hears slight rustles coming from the hospital bed. Yoonchae opens her eyes and sees Sophia trying to push herself slowly upright. "Sophia-unnie?" She asks, the Filipina looks at her. "Oh my god, unnie! You're awake!"
The commotion had woken up the rest. Lara got up first, Manon follows. Y/N was frozen in her place. "Fucking—! You scared us, you piece of shit!" Lara slaps the Mercedes driver's arm, making her wince. Lara bursts into tears. "Don't you do that ever again!"
Lara continues to hit Sophia as she cries. "Ow! Ow!" The Mercedes driver winces even harder, but she doesn't make a move to stop her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She mutters in between hits.
Sophia's eyes then drifts to where Y/N was. As soon the Filipina's dark brown eyes met hers, a brief look of surprise and relief washes over her. But there was something beneath it and she couldn't tell what.
"Hey, superstar." Y/N forces the greeting out to get herself out of her frozen state, the Filipina smiles. "Nice to see you finally awake."
"Yeah." Sophia croaks out after a passing moment. Clearing her throat, she turns to Yoonchae. "Who won?"
"Max did." The performance engineer answers. Sophia chuckles as she muttered 'as expected of the Flying Dutchman' or something along those lines. "Esteban and Pierre took second and third."
Sophia gasps. "Really? Estie and Pierre won? Oh wow." She huffs proudly. "Man, I missed the good stuff. I'mma send them a text and throw some champagne in there too for good measure."
As the trio continued chatting with Sophia about what went down on the rest of the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Lara and Manon doing most of the talking and with Yoonchae agreeing or just giving out reactions on the background. Y/N stares at them with a fond look on her face. She was so glad that Sophia is finally awake. But a voice at the back of her head was nagging so hard that something is wrong with the Filipina — and exactly just like Manon, she chooses to ignore it. Mainly because she thinks it's the lack of sleep that's making her go crazy and not because it was raining over the circuit.
Las Vegas, Nevada - 2024 | Race 22 - Free Practice 1 & Race Day
After the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix, Formula One has now arrived at the doorstep of Sin City with the hopes of racing under its majestic city lights and probably grab some glass of wine along the way. And right now, Free Practice 1 is about to begin.
Everyone is excited to see Sophia entering the paddock with her usual megawatt smile and energetic wave. Fans immediately swarmed around her to take a photo to which Sophia was able to allow some due to safety concerns and well, time constraints. The media, like usual, tries to ask her about what happened in Sao Paulo but Lara deflects them all before they could even get the chance to shove their equipment into her personal space. While Manon, who was walking behind the two, made sure that no one dares to push their luck by towering over the very insistent reporters.
"Hey, kid. Glad to see that you're back." Charles greets with a huge smile as he sees Sophia approaching Mercedes' motor home. He and Lewis were standing at the foot of the entrance for a few minutes now, chatting about Las Vegas. "How are you?"
"Still in my same old programming." Sophia joked, smoothening out her hair as the breeze got a bit stronger. "Missed out the good stuff. Heard the Alpine boys finally secured double podium after so many years."
"Yeah, they deserve that. Especially Esteban. He defended like hell during the race, wouldn't let anyone get pass through him." Lewis commented, but he noticed that his teammate had a calculating gaze admist the large smile she had on her face, which was off for her usual bubbly personality. It made him frown a bit as it got missed by both the Ferrari driver and his teammate. "You alright?"
"Hm? Yeah, never better."
But Lewis wasn't convinced, yet he brushes it off. Probably the nerves on being at the car again after that large crash. "So, Charles. What you were saying about that yatch again?"
Soon, Free Practice went underway and all of the drivers started to hop into their respective cars. Manon watches from the pit wall as Sophia's car pulls off the garage, still mulling over the fact that the Filipina might face another accident like in Sao Paulo. It scared her. What if this time, she never make it back? Bono notices that the Swiss' hands were shaking and decides to pat her by the back, as if to comfort her in his own way. The British was a man of few words outside of their work as a race engineer, so it mattered a lot to Manon. She cranes her head to him and whispers a quick thanks.
"Okay, Fia. Let's try to get a few laps under our belt as a 'welcome back' party. Push now." Manon says over the radio but Sophia doesn't reply — which was unusual since the Mercedes driver has a lot to say.
The race engineers and Toto watched as both Lewis and Sophia made their way around the track, setting time after time. However, the Filipina was pushing harder — not that she doesn't, but the way she flies around the corners, marking every section purple over and over again to make sure the fastest lap stays with her, and degrading her tires much faster than she usually does is so uncharacteristic of her. Toto notices this and raises his eyebrow at Manon, as if to ask her silently what was going on. The Swiss shakes her head, not knowing what to say.
Sophia was cruising by the straights in between Turn 16 and 17 alongside Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin when she presses the overtake button, moving to the side to do so. But Lance did not see her on his side mirrors and accidentally clips her right end tires after he slighly moves to the side, making her skid to the barriers.
"Oh no, there has been contact at Turn 17 between Laforteza's Mercedes and Stroll's Aston Martin! Sophia spins, hitting the barriers, rendering the car completely useless! Lance's front tire is completely obliterated! Both of them out of FP1! Double yellow flag waving at the side!"
Normally, when Sophia gets caught in crashes against other drivers like this one (sans the recent), she would be the first one out of the car and will make sure that the other party is alright — so far that she goes to check up on them as soon as they got out.
But somehow, this time around, it's different.
"Putangina naman! Apaka bobo! Tangina talaga! Panira!" The Swiss race engineer hears Sophia shouting. She rarely swears, even if she was angry because she fears that Yoonchae would pick the habit up (despite the Korean's protest that she was already in the right age to say 'fuck' but Sophia wouldn't have it). But right now, profanities in Tagalog continued to come through the radio. "Puta, bulag ba sya o ano!?" (Son of a bitch! Such an idiot! Goddamit! Spoilsport! Bitch, is he blind or what!?)
Manon and Toto shared eye contact as Sophia continued ranting about Lance, the team principal was silently asking the same question as she does: are they hearing Sophia right?
But the Filipina's aggression doesn't end there. As soon as the two drivers returned to their respective garages, Sophia storms in angrily into hers. She throws her gloves by the empty space by the telemetry area, then removes her helmet from her HANS device followed by her balaclava and throws all of it into the direction where her gloves are. Her in-ears were off next as she harshly pulls it off and throws it blindly somewhere in the garage, not caring if she hits an engineer in process. Sophia marches out again, this time with Yoonchae and Manon in her tow.
"Lance fucking Stroll!" She shouts as she stomps her way towards the Aston Martin garage. People who were there to witness the scene looks at her with pure confusion and horror. There was something in her aura that screamed bloody murder and no one dared to make a move to stop her, not even Manon nor Yoonchae. "Get the fuck out of the garage and face me you fucking dickhead!"
Fernando Alonso immediately steps in before Sophia could get deeper into the Aston Martin garage. "Woah, woah. Okay, Sophia. Calm down now." He says, trying to pacify the Mercedes driver but it was useless.
"Move out of the way." Sophia voice drops a pitch lower than her usual tone but Alonso doesn't budge. "Don't force me, Fernando." She warns one last time and again, no move from Alonso. "Okay," She chuckles yet no humour was present. "you asked for it."
Sophia pushes Fernando to the side, making him stumble backwards. Good thing, his race engineer caught him on time before he falls butt first on the floor. Just in time, Lance emerges with his trainer. Sophia lunges forward and punches him square in the face.
Manon and Yoonchae tries to grab her but they were obviously no match against Sophia's strength as F1 drivers go through extreme exercises to withstand the physical strain being thrown at them in each races. The Aston Martin engineers rushed to help their Mercedes counterpart and tries to pull Lance away from Sophia's reach. But the driver was quick in her feet and manages to land another punch.
News spreads quickly through the pitlane and soon, the commotion at Aston Martin reaches the ears of Toto and the rest of the Silver Arrows, including Lara. The team principal and the Mercedes driver's manager rushes to where Sophia was and finds both Daniel Ricciardo of VCARB and Nico Hülkenberg of Haas holding each driver down, keeping them at a safe distance with each other; Daniel with Sophia and Nico with Lance. Turns out, after landing a second punch, the two started a boxing match that the nearby garages of VCARB and Haas were forced to intervene as Aston Martin's and the two Mercedes engineers could no longer contain them.
The news also travelled through Red Bull's walls and Y/N abandons her post without another word to check up on Sophia. When the Red Bull engineer arrives, she found Lara screaming her head and lungs out at Sophia for being reckless. The VCARB driver remained hovering behind the Filipina in case she decided to bolt at the Canadian driver again, yet despite that he still maintained a respecful distance from both Mercedes employees to give them ample privacy to sort the mess out. Nico did the same with Lance. Toto was already in deep discussion with Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin's owner and Lance's father, as well as Mike Krack, Aston Martin's team principal, and some stewards who now arrived to investigate the commotion.
"What the hell happened here?" Y/N approches Yoonchae as she eyed the Filipina and her manager hurl heated words at each other with visible concern. Manon steps in to pacify them both, not wanting more trouble to befall on the Mercedes driver for causing another commotion at the pitlane.
The Mercedes performance engineer sighs. "Sophia-unnie got knocked out of FP1 after Lance tipped her off from the track and into the barriers by hitting her at the rear. She was pissed and started a confrontation with him as soon as they got back at the garage."
Y/N frowns. This is so uncharacteristic of her. Everyone at the paddock knows how bubbly and patient Sophia can be despite being a menace on track — sure, she was reckless as she was aggressive, every driver is and will always be. This is why they race, this is why they win and stand on top of a podium. But she was never this aggressive. Never she dared to go after other team's driver just because they pushed her off the track.
The Red Bull engineer turns to the still arguing duo. "Jesus, stop it!" She pulls Lara away before stepping right in the middle. Y/N's eyes darted to the stewards and back to the two people next to her. "Do you realize that whatever stunt you two are pulling would be placed under the things the FIA can actually slap your ass for!?" She harshly whispers. "And I am sure you're not fond of doing public service on a weekday!"
God, she wasn't going to lie, Y/N had never prayed so hard her entire life. Holding her breath, she continued doing so in her head as she braced for whatever the two may do next. Lara and Sophia glared at one another for a while, until the Mercedes driver stormed out of the garage. Lara rolled her eyes, muttering words in Tamil that Y/N couldn't catch on before she decided to step out as well, going into the opposite direction — probably back at the motor home.
Manon exhaled loudly, as if she was also holding her breath this whole time. "Thank God you're here." She says, relieved. "This is a total disaster."
"Yeah, I figured." Y/N shook her head. "Nothing screams like a welcome back party than to pretend you are Manny Pacquiao and turn a whole Formula One team garage into a makeshift boxing ring." Y/N looks at the stewards again then back to Manon. "Have you tried to talk to Fia before this whole shit went down?"
Y/N hands over her headset to Manon. "Give that to Dani. I'll go after that throttle head to see if I can dose some ice in her head. Also, keep an ear out. Tell me if something happens with that talk between Toto, Mike, and the stewards." Manon was about to protest but Y/N was gone from their sights.
"Bitch didn't even let me speak. Unbelievable."
Y/N jogged around the paddock, hoping to catch a ravenhead in a black Nomex suit sitting by the pavement or hiding in the dark corners where she thinks nobody would see her. Nothing. She went by the parking lot. Still nothing. She tried asking around the loittering stewards if they have seen a five foot six inches woman with an angry expression walking past them. Nope, nada.
"Where are you?" Y/N whispers to herself, whipping her head left and right. Eyes relentlessly scanning the open space before her. Yet, she still haven't found Sophia.
Realizing that her search was futile, Y/N reluctantly returns back to the race truck to resume her job. But as she was about to round the motor homes, she spots a familiar figure sitting near the wall of the Williams suite, head hung low. She knew who it was. Y/N cautiously approaches the figure.
"They say Las Vegas has everything; money, glamour, pleasure." Y/N says as she stops before Sophia, towering over her. "But why do you look like you came straight out of the casino with zero digits on your bank account and at the same time got dumped by your ambitious wag?"
Sophia said nothing so Y/N took it as an opportunity to sink beside her. "What's going on up there, superstar? You alright?" She asks, voice soft and void of tease that she had moments ago.
"It's nothing, and yes I am fine." The Filipina answers after a long beat. She raises her head and the Red Bull engineer was able to take a good look at her; her gaze still had that fire she saw back at the Aston Martin garage, angry. But there was also something beneath all of it. Something foreign.
Y/N didn't try to press further. With Sophia's current temperment, it is not ideal for her to get triggered even more. "Okay." She says. Silence envelops the two, it was suffocating unlike what they usually have — calm and comfortable.
After what seemed for a long time, Sophia stood up and dusted herself off, seemingly much more calmer now. "Let's head back." And with that, she went ahead. Not really caring if Y/N had already stood up or had been following her trail.
Race day rolled around and like the usual routine, Sophia is out front. And right behind her, for the first time, is George Russell in the Williams. Not too far is Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen sitting on sixth.
Earlier, the stewards summoned both Sophia and Lance to make them explain about the 'physical contact' while reviewing CCTV footage from Aston Martin's garage. Both drivers were given penalty points on their super license while the Mercedes driver needs to serve two days of public service within six months that the penalty has been handed over because of unsportsmanship.
Crews started to pull out from the race lane and cars started to rev up as the lights started to come to life one by one. Counting down 'till it goes green.
"And tonight in Las Vegas, it's lights out and away we go! Mercedes pulls away first, George making sure he sticks on her trail, Pierre exchanging places with Charles—"
Lara watches from the motor home, as usual, but this time she wasn't as invested as much. As Sophia's car enters Turn 6, she turns off the TV and leans against the sofa, groaning softly in frustration about what went down earlier.
Meanwhile, the race outside was still on. Sophia maintains a manageable distance between her and George. "Fia, please take care of your tires. Its starting to wear out much faster than it had been before. Also, your pit window won't open until three laps time."
"Shut up Manon and leave me alone!" Sophia snaps for the first time ever, stunning the race engineer. "I know what I'm doing and I know those tires will fucking last until I say so!"
Manon turns to Toto who was shocked as he was. "Fucking hell is wrong with this kid?" He mutters, rubbing his temples. "She's going to blow both the tires and the race away at this point."
Sophia indeed made the tires last despite being at the brink of exploding due to weardown and overheating. She enters the pit lane for her stop and the crew immediate started getting to work — in a record breaking speed of 1.79 seconds, the fastest to date since McLaren's 2023 1.80 second pit stop. Sophia was released from the pit service and reenters the race at sixth position.
The Mercedes driver was clear of one thing as she overtook most of the drivers in front, earning her the second spot before the end of Lap Forty-Five; she came here to win the race like she always does. And with her points in the championship already ahead of everyone else and now would be very impossible for them to catch up on — even Max who was her championship contender — she is about to become the first ever Filipina and female driver to win the World Drivers' title. But George, who was running at first place, isn't willing to give up his position to her. Not when victory is at his reach.
Manon inhales sharply. "Can she do it? Can she win it?" She asks her fellow engineers. James Vowles, Mercedes' Chief Strategist, eyes the live feed and answers Manon with just one sentence:
"Sophia had caught unto George at Turn 9 — the Mercedes sets her sights on the Williams! The battle for P1 ensues as George holds into his position, Sophia not taking no for an answer, makes a move! Laforteza trying to pass on the outside— no good! She tries again, this time, as they come closer to Turn 12! Sophia moves again on the outside and oh—! She just makes it through, George now behind, will try to regain what he had just lost but the Mercedes picks up the pace! And now te door on becoming a grand prix winner is closing itself on George as Sophia stays ahead!"
The Filipina takes a glance on her side mirrors, the Williams slowly fading from the reflection. This was it. It's finally happening.
"It comes down to this! And in this moment, it looks like it gonna go the way of Sophia Laforteza! Just when everyone thought it would be over for her back in Brazil, she comes back much stronger than she had ever been! Mercedes will be delighted! It was a brilliant championship battle for everyone, but the championship could only be won by one — and it's going Filipino in 2024! Sophia Laforteza, for the first time ever, is champion of the world!"
The fireworks goes out on the night sky, painting it with beautiful colors that reflected on Sophia's visor. The fans who were watching from the stands roared with delight.
She can't believe it, she won. She actually won.
The Mercedes enginners rushes to the side of the wall and cheered as Sophia crosses the finish line. The whole garage erupts into celebration. Manon exhaled a shaky breath as she opens her comms on the Filipina. "You did it. You fucking menace." She whispers but loud enough to get picked up by the mic. "The dreams we had shared years ago is finally happening. Fia, mate," Manon chuckles but soon chokes on her own sob. "you deserve this. You have driven an incredible race this season, take a bow!"
"Sophia," Toto's voice came through next. "I've seen how much you have grown from a girl dreaming of making it big to finally winning your first world title. I have no words to describe how proud I am of you. You made everyone in Mercedes feel they are also on top of the world. So, let me do the honors by saying: Sophia Laforteza, you are the world champion! The world champion!"
On Sophia's side of things, the Filipina was still reeling in the fact she is now among the best of the best, now with the people she looked up to as heroes. "Oh my god." She says finally over the radio. She laughs in utter disbelief. "We won. Oh my god." Tears of happiness finally escaped her eyes as she slows down for a cooldown lap. "Maraming salamat! Sobrang— oh my god, maraming maraming salamat sa tiwala ninyo! Para sa inyo lahat ito!" (Thank you so much! Really— oh my god, thank you very much for your trust! This is all for you!)
As soon as stops by the number one board, Sophia hops out of the car and pumps her fist into the air, facing the crowd who was celebrating with the rest of Mercedes. She spots a Philippine flag being waved on the crowd and she points right at it, and to the one stitched on the waist part of her suit beside her last name.
Sophia jumps off and immediately ran into the arms of Toto who hugged her tight, like a father who is happy to see his daughter. "Congratulations, Fia!" He greets again, patting her tenderly on the back before lettting go. She then to the engineers who carried her like a hero, thanking them one by one as they paraded her around the paddock. No one can deny how happy they were for the Filipina.
"Congratulations on your first world title, Sophia." One reporter says as Sophia did her media duties at the parc ferme. Sophia beams bright at him. "I am sure that everyone; us, the fans, your team, and especially the people back in the Philippines and your family, are so proud of you. How does it feel to be the first ever Filipino and the first ever female driver to win the Worlds title?"
Sophia adjusts the cap on top of her head. "It's... uh... honestly, it still feels surreal until now. Even if a lot of people had came up to congratulate me, I still try to convince myself that I must be dreaming or something." She laughs. "But nevertheless, I am very very happy. You know, it has been my dream to step into Formula One and to represent the Philippines in the sport, as well as to bring home the title. And I have managed to do so that thanks to the team who believed in me since day one. Thank you Mercedes, it means the world to me."
"Sophia," Another reporter interjects. "Base on FIA regulations; if a driver manages to keep a hefty amounts of points against other drivers who are also competing to win the title just like you do — you immediately win the championship. And since you had kept Max Verstappen, your contender for the title, in a safe distance from the crown, have you already expected to come home tonight as the world champion?"
"No, not really." Sophia admits. "I never tried to look at the points since the only thing that matters to me is to win the race and to bring the car back home in one piece."
"Sophia, last question before we let you go." And another reporter steps in. Sophia turns her attention to him. "There had been reports of a scuffle between you and Lance Stroll after FP1 that prompted FIA to intervene. The scuffle also caused you to argue with your manager, Lara Raj. What triggered you to raise your fist against him? And after Las Vegas, what are your plans?"
The Mercedes driver took a deep breath. "Honestly? I was mad. I was mad my practice is ruined. He knew I was coming behind him, he knew I was going to overtake him. He was on a cooldown lap, I wasn't. So when he suddenly clipped my rear when he moved, I lost it. It was disappointing honestly." She says simply. "For my plans?" Sophia looks at the camera with a devilish grin. "Win the remaining races. I don't care if I already won the championship, I want the rest of the calendar to be filled with my name."
Doha, Qatar - 2024 | Race 23 - Race Day
"Sophia tried to push me off the track!" Oscar Piastri complains over the radio as the Mercedes driver rounds the outside in Turn 4. "Fucking idiot!"
"Copy, Oscar." Tom Stallard, Oscar's race engineer, answers. "We'll have it checked. Stand by."
The incident involving the Filipina was informed to the Mercedes side who then reviews the onboard footage while the stewards investigated. Manon groans in frustration as. "Is she going to try and kill the grid while she's at it?" She complains to Bono before turning on the comms. "God, Sophia Laforteza! Are you out of your mind, lad!?" Manon screams.
But what infurates her even more is how Sophia responded. "What?"
"What the hell do you mean by 'what'!? You know exactly what I mean!" Manon then remembers that she has to be professional over the radio at all times, given these are also broadcasted. So she inhales deeply to calm herself down. "Please be advised that you are to handed down a 5-second penalty for trying to run Oscar off the track, to be served on our next pit stop."
"You gotta be fucking kidding me."
"That's a fucking joke! Oscar is a fucking cry baby! I didn't even go near him!"
"Tell Toto that I ain't going to serve that. I'm gonna fucking revolt."
Sophia's comms went silent after that. Manon groans and turns to Toto and to James. "She says 'no'." Pertaining to the penalty given. Toto rubs his temples. "What do you want me to do?"
"We are going to force her to serve it." James says, beating Toto into it. "It would only add to her finishing time. And that is not going to be great for her." He sighs. "What the hell is happening with Sophia?"
"I don't know, whatever she is doing is going to hurt the team in the long run and that is not good." Toto says. "Did Lara say anything?" Glancing at Manon, who shook her head. "What about Yoonchae?" Another shake. The Mercedes team principal needs to do something before everything blows up into their faces. "Manon, you are her race engineer but moreso her friend. I need you to help us out."
Manon thought about it. "Fia won't listen to me, I'm sure of that. But I know someone who can help. Someone who can definitely knock some sense into her."
After the race, Sophia ended up in sixth place — her lowest of the season. She was beyond pissed. After getting weighed in at the FIA garage, she tried so hard not to explode at everyone the moment she steps back into the Mercedes garage. She places her helmet down by the telemetry area with a loud thud before walking away, going straight into the paddock.
"Hey, superstar." Y/N gently greets but Sophia ignores her. Still, the Red Bull engineer pushes on. "Can we talk—"
"Not now, Y/N." She says through gritted teeth. Yet Y/N was still relentless and continues to follow her back to the motor home. The engineer calls out again and with the last slimmer of patience she had left finally snaps, Sophia whips her head, glaring at Y/N. "What the fuck do you want!?"
"Woah, woah!" Y/N laughs, but no humor was in it. Everyone passing by were looking at them, curious of what was unfolding. "Let's not get into our heads now—"
"Edi puta manahimik ka!" (Then shut up bitch!)
That was the last straw. Y/N pulls Sophia harshly to a more secluded side of the paddock and lets go of her hold so hard that it made the Mercedes driver stumble a bit. "First of all," Y/N starts. "what's with you and why are you being such an asshole right now?"
"Asshole? I'm an asshole?" Sophia scoffs.
"Yes! I don't know if you're actively trying to ignore whatever comes out of that mouth of yours or you've just gone stupid enough not to think. But don't you realize that you are literally shitting on the people who didn't even do anything wrong?! First, you fucking went after Lance, then Lara, now Manon, and now you're going after the stewards, who handed you a very fair penalty by the way, and your own fucking boss!? Who's next? The president of FIA?!"
Sophia clenches her jaw. "You don't know nothing."
"Oh, I do know everything, Laforteza! Newsflash, I am pretty much part of Formula One as much as you are and I have been at it for two years now!" A dab to Sophia's chest. "And let me remind you that without us, drivers like you won't last a lap! Who gives a fuck if you are some sort of a protégé from a tropical island in South East Asia or the reincarnation of Albert Einstein if you don't have people to give you the all the things you fucking need to win a single race!" And another, Y/N was already fuming with anger. "So either learn to fucking respect the people around you or have your title stripped off before you can kiss it good night."
"Are you threatening me?"
Y/N laughs, again void of humour. "I'm not threatening you. I'm stating the truth that you can't seem to swallow."
"Honestly, why do you even fucking care!?" Sophia throws her hand in the air out of frustration and anger. "You're not even a part of Mercedes and most importantly, you're not even relevant to me! So, why don't you just go and focus on that little bullshit of a team of yours while you let me do my job as a driver? How about that, huh?"
Something flashes within Y/N's features; anger at the way Sophia chose to handle the situation, embarrasment for allowing her to scream at her back at paddock, and most definitely pain at the way Sophia said that she has no relevance in her life. Sophia knew she fucked up but her ego will not let her just back off and apologize, so she stood her ground.
"Okay," Y/N backs away, expression unreadable. "If you say so."
The Red Bull engineer walks away, bumping her shoulder against the Mercedes driver intentionally — making her stumble a bit. Sophia just stood there, torn between running after Y/N or just return to the motor home and pretend none of this even happened.
"You know, unnie. For someone who's trying to act like the villain and all, you're very bad at it."
Sophia turns around and sees Yoonchae standing at the corner, her gaze offered no sympathy yet never dared to say it out loud. "Chip? You heard that?"
"Yeah, from the moment you started called her a bitch."
"That's not even the point here, unnie." Yoonchae cuts her off. "The point here is you've been acting strange lately and it's starting to rub off in the way you handle things and how you interact with people."
"No, unnie. Listen." Yoonchae cuts her off again, voice sharp. "I don't know what you are going through right now but we are worried about you. Y/N- unnie is worried about you. If there is something bothering you, let us help. Let us in."
Sophia looks away. "I'm fine."
"You're not." The Mercedes performance engineer bites back. "Y/N-unnie told me that you aren't. She noticed everything from the very beginning; from the way you started to slowly withdraw on us during your time in the hospital back at Sao Paulo, to the way you reacted when Lance-ssi crashed against you, your bold claim on wanting to win the remaining races in the calendar, and now with you trying to drive Oscar-ssi off the track." Yoonchae lists it all down. "This is not you, Sophia-unnie."
"This is me, Yoonchip." Sophia tries to reason out with her but it only irked Yoonchae even more.
"Stop lying unnie! You can go tell that to the world, to Lara-unnie, to Manon-unnie, to Y/N-unnie, to the team, and to yourself but you know that won't work on me."
Yoonchae was starting to tear up and the sight broke Sophia's heart. She always have a soft spot for the performance engineer; she was the last to enter the team this year and when Sophia first saw her entering the main campus in Brackley, it was evident that Yoonchae was intimidated with everything around her — being the only Korean in the team and having to move from South Korea to England a month before the current season starts.
Sophia made a move to make sure that Yoonchae would end up working directly with her, so far that she subtly dropped hints at Toto during their meetings, coffee breaks, and small talks even though she wasn't sure that her plan would work, as Mercedes has the final say to which engineers would work with her (luckily for her though, the team principal noticed and placed Yoonchae as her performance engineer).
From there, the Filipina made sure Yoonchae was well taken care of and was able to adjust to her new world in Formula One, knowing very well how a newcomer felt when entering a household name like Mercedes.
Sophia tried to reach out to Yoonchae but she takes a step back, and it broke her heart even further. "Chip, I'm sorry." She whispers. "Please."
"No," Another step back. "Get away from me."
Yoonchae runs off before Sophia could even try and grab her hand. The Mercedes driver groans, ruffling her hair. "Tangina." (Goddamit.)
Defeated, Sophia returns to the motor home and finds her room empty. Lara was nowhere to be found. Even Manon. When she tried asking the staff on where the two of them could be, some of them answered with hesitation — they have left a few minutes ago with a visibly upset and still sniffling Yoonchae. Others can't look at her in the eye. And for the worst part? All of them were scared of her. The news of her public outburst had probably reached them that they feared that if they get into her bad side, she would lose control again.
And that is when it hits her: everyone is doing the exact same thing she did — put themselves in a distance and act like a totally different person.
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi - 2024 | Race 24 - Race Day
Sophia couldn't sleep. She has only been taking a few short naps and Monster energy drinks in between just to keep her going.
It has been days since she last spoke to any of her friends; Lara was still there, arriving with her at the paddock in the same car, but neither of them really spoke to each other. Manon kept it professional with her on the radio unlike the usual banter they share, probably mad for what she did to Yoonchae and to Y/N. Speaking of Yoonchae, she also made sure to keep every interactions short and direct to the point before disappearing into the motor home, not really coming out unless it was necessary. The whole paddock splits itself into two whenever she's around, even so to quickly apologize if they had done something wrong before scurrying away like a mouse trying to escape from its predator. The media and people in the internet were eating her alive.
Y/N avoided her like the plague.
The Red Bull engineer made sure that their paths never cross, so much so that she started to think that Y/N had filed for resignation. Sophia first tried asking Daniela but she straight up ignored her. She then went to Megan who shrugs before dismissing her presence. When she went to ask Max about her whereabouts, the Dutch driver would either turn it down or completely talk about something else — all in while looking at her as if she just offended his entire bloodline. Sophia then tries her luck by asking Checo. But like Max, he too would turn her question down but in a much harsher way — like a father protecting his kid.
"For what? For you to scream your head off again and call her a 'puta'? No, Sophia. I can't let you do that."
Having no luck from the Red Bulls, she tries her way with VCARB only to get turned down again but this time by Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel. Both of which never really bothered to explain why because their disappointed look says it all.
(Sophia can't really ask help from the other drivers since no one really knew Y/N in a personal extent, professional sure — that she was Max's engineer, but the line ends there.)
With no one else to turn to, she asks advice from Lewis who seemed to be the only person in the paddock who was not judging her silently or trying to openly voice out his disappointment.
"You know, I've seen that look in your eyes." Lewis pointed out, making Sophia frown. "That look that says 'I'm not going to let anyone win this thing'. I had that once when I was around your age." Lewis pours them both a cup of tea in the lounge of Mercedes' motor home as Qualifying just ended . "I had..." He stops, hesitation laced in his voice. But he kept going. "Having to move from McLaren to Mercedes, I was hungry. I was so determined to prove to the whole world and to the team that I can be someone. I even destroyed bridges with a... well, acquaintance, and with the people I care about just because I wanted to have the glory just for myself."
Sophia remained silent, not really touching her tea and just watching the steam rise from it. "Formula One breaks and makes people, Sophia. You should remember that. The pressure will be there as long as we remain inside the car, we line up every weekend, and hear the engines roaring behind our backs. But we should never lose sight of our identities just because we wanted to be at the top." Lewis takes a sip of his tea. "I know that you are afraid of failing but there is more than just a title. Max knows that, I know that, even Seb would say that to you if he was still driving." The British driver chuckles. "Tracks never run out, kiddo. As long as there is one, you'll have a chance to putting your name out there."
It was race day. Everyone had started to line up on their usual position in the grid. Sophia sat on pole position with Lewis behind her. Max on third. Yoonchae was there to give her last briefing on the data they gathered from Qualifying.
"Are we okay with those?" She asks to which Sophia nodded.
"Yeah, don't crash the car. Got it." Sophia gently teases, testing the water. Yoonchae freezes and the Mercedes driver was about to regret it when she sees a small smile trying to escape from the performance engineer's lips.
"Don't crash the car." Yoonchae repeats, muttering, before turning around to leave.
Sophia then opens the radio. "Manon, radio check."
"Loud and clear, Sophia." Manon responds. "Radio check."
"Copy." Sophia shakingly exhaled. "Manon, I'm sorry. About everything. I know... I know this isn't the right way to talk about it but I..." Another short shaky exhale. "I just don't know how to talk to you guys without fucking everything up."
Manon's line was silent and Sophia feared for the worst. Until a sigh came through. Then Lara's voice rings out, probably called by Manon to the pit wall while she was ranting. "Come back safely to us first, then we'll talk."
Sophia grins so hard behind her helmet that she feared she might split her face in half. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, she replies with unmasked excitement. "Understood."
"For the last time this season here in Abu Dhabi, in the heart of the Yas Island and with the battle for the Constructors Championship will be decided here once and for all — it's lights out and away we go! Sophia Laforteza pulls away from the pack, Lewis Hamilton not too far behind as he makes sure both Red Bulls will stay behind the Silver Arrows!"
Lap after lap, Sophia and Lewis made sure that their position will remain theirs until Manon's voice came through the radio. "Okay, Fia. Pit window is open, we are going to double stack. The boys are ready to receive you so let's box, box!" The Mercedes driver almost teared up at the mention of her nickname.
Sophia enters the pit lane first, Lewis followed shortly behind. The pit crew were waiting in front of the garage, tires and equipment at hand. Sophia stops exactly in the front and the pit crew changes her worn out Soft tires to Medium and was quickly released. Lewis does the same thing and the crew changes his tires in the same compound.
"Both Mercedes cars are about to exit the pits and to rejoin the race on seventh and eight respectively." The commentator for Sky says as the live feed shows both Mercedes cars. "Max and Checo now leading the race, but the two Red Bulls haven't pitted yet so there is a chance they might get the position back by playing the long game."
Sophia and Lewis releases the pit limiter and immediately speeds up the track, rejoining the race with fresher tires. The Mercedes duo manages to regain their positions back when both Red Bulls also double pitted at Lap Forty-Five. Enter Lap Fifty-five and the battle between the Raging Bulls and the Silver Arrows starts to unfold — Checo and Max makes a move to suprass Lewis but the British driver won't relent. Sophia notices this.
"Manon, tell Lewis to come closer!" Sophia says over the radio. "I can hold both Bulls off!"
"Negative on that, Fia. We need you to stay ahead."
But Sophia won't agree. "Lewis has the pace and I don't! Let me do it! I can do it!" She pleads. "Trust me!"
Manon, on the other side, hesitates. She looks at James and tells him of Sophia's request. James nods in agreement. "Do it." He confirms.
"Okay, Fifi. You are clear to provide Lewis slipstream."
Lewis was informed of Sophia's plan through Bono. "Lewis, Sophia is going to provide you some slipstream. Please come closer to car number seven. Again, come closer to Sophia." The British driver inches closer to the Filipina, providing him with less air that is crucial for overtaking.
Knowing that it was already enough for an overtake, Lewis gets ahead of Sophia and the Filipina allows him — swapping positions effectively. The Filipina Mercedes driver holds the two Red Bulls off as Lewis pulls away. "Go get it, Lewis!" She shouts.
And in Lap Fifty-Eight, Lewis crosses the finish line. Sophia on second and Max still in third. The fireworks goes off and everyone celebrates.
Mercedes wins the Constructors against Red Bull. It was a double win.
Lewis approaches Sophia as they stopped by their respective boards. "You did great, kid." He says, enveloping her in a hug. Sophia returns it, patting him in the back.
"You deserve that race win, Lewis. Thank you."
Max congratulates both drivers with a eager shake on the hand and they all return to the garages together. Manon, Lara, Daniela, Megan, and Yoonchae were already waiting for Sophia by the pitwall. Lewis notices this and excuses himself to join Bono.
"Hey, Fifi." Manon calls out softly. Sophia stood there and hesitated to approach them, making her roll her eyes fondly. Lara extends her arms, inviting her into a hug and this made the Mercedes driver break out in tears.
Sophia runs towards them and quickly jumping into Lara's arms, she beckons to the resg to come closer to which thy did. Tears started flowing freely, followed by a strings of apology from Sophia. Lara caresses the Mercedes driver's hair, Manon wiped her snot against her Nomex suit as a 'payback', Megan cried so hard her eyes went red in a second, Daniela too but because of the garage gunner beside her. And Yoonchae? She said nothing and just indulged in the moment, missing her Sophia-unnie so much.
"Welcome back." Lara jokes. Sophia bawls even harder, making them chuckle. "We love you, Fifi. It's alright." They all break off from the hug. "But you got some serious explaining to do." Lara catches from the corner of her eye a familiar Red Bull employee talking to Max by the foot of their garage. "But before that," She beckons, making Sophia turn around. "go get your girl."
"Y/N has been waiting for you," Daniela adds with a slight shrug. "Not that she would admit it out loud."
"Yeah, so do us a favor and save our ears from the late night yearnings. I am losing sleep here!" Megan whines while the race engineer laughs, knowing well the feeling.
Sophia looks at them, the group had nothing but an encouraging smile on their faces. Yoonchae pushes Sophia slightly towards where she was supposed to go.
"Just go, Sophia-unnie. Don't worry about us. We'll be back at the motor home stuffing our faces with cake."
The Mercedes driver nods before running off. They looked at Sophia's retreating figure with a proud look. Sophia manages to catch both Max and Y/N before even leave. Catching her breath, she gathered all her courage to ask: "Max, can I talk to Y/N for a bit?"
Max looks at Y/N, silently asking her if she'd agree. The Red Bull engineer nods. "I'll leave you two at it." He says. Sophia thanks him before facing Y/N who had an unreadable expression on her face.
"Y/N... first of all, I am sorry. Back in Sao Paulo, when I woke up in the hospital, I immediately thought of the race. Of the crash. The team. Of my journey here. That because I didn't win, I have failed a lot of people in the process. I couldn't stand it. I was so angry of myself. That's why I told myself that after Sao Paoulo I need to win no matter what the cost is. And I can't do that if I won't be much more aggressive that I ever was and so I tried, I treated everyone like an enemy. A threat to what I was going for. And then, I started losing myself to my long time to it, not until you and Yoonchae talked to me. It was stupid. I am stupid. I know its not an excuse and I hold myself for it, but I want to say I am sorry. I am sorry for what happened and for what I said back in Qatar. Please give me a chance to prove myself to you again."
Y/N was still sporting the same expression even after Sophia was done explaining. The silence dragged on for what seemed a long time to the Filipina until Y/N raises her hand and lands a solid punch on her shoulder, making her wince visibly.
"You—" Y/N punches her again. "I hate you. I do." She mutters. "But God forbid that I still care. I still care about you so much even if it hurts. That even if I tried so hard to stay away and pretend none of this ever existed, as long as you came back, I'd still welcome you in." Sophia envelops her in a tight hug. Y/N breaks down in her arms. The Mercedes driver didn't let go and started whispering strings of apology and promises.
After a long while, Y/N lets go of the hug. "I never got the chance to say this to you but I hope I ain't late," She gave a watery smile. "Congrats, superstar."
Sophia grins, her heart making a somersault. "I miss hearing that." Y/N laughs. "So..."
"There's a coffee shop here in Yas Island that sells one of the best coffee latte in the world, next to the one we tasted in Canada." Sophia takes the Red Bull engineer's hand in hers, feeling a little bold before flashing her boyish grin. "We can slip out of here when the whole pitlane goes for a celebration then we can talk about how I beated Red Bull's ass and if you're down for a date?"
Y/N rolls her eyes fondly at Sophia. "Whatever you say, superstar." Then she finally interwines her hand with Sophia's. "But yeah, we can."
paddock vip passes: @goofymickeyr, @jusnough
