“Holy fuck.”
“I can’t believe Julien Dubois heard us talking shit about him.”
“Y’know, I’ve always been a fan.”
Julien laughs at the absurdity of it all. “You guyssuck.”
“So was that really Rafael, then?”
Julien nods, and this time they can actually see him. “We shared the flight to China. He was snooping and I didn’t mute in time.”
“Rafael Souza knows I exist?”
“I can’t believe this.”
“Hang on, you’re like, racing tomorrow. You’re on pole and everything.”
“I know!” Julien exhales with disbelief. “Thanks for running Japan with me so many times. It was probably frustrating out of context, but?—”
“Wait, did it actually help you in real life?!”
“Pole position in Japan…”
“I can’t believe our Romeo is going to win a Formation 1 race.”
“Don’t jinx him! Bottle the start, Romeo.”
This is going so much better than expected. Even with the news, they’re acting exactly the same as they always have. Nobody even mentions Thomas—it’s just Romeo’s friends discussing Julien’s accomplishments.
It’s everything he could’ve hoped for.
“So… Do you guys forgive me? For never telling you who I was?”
“Kevin’s gonna be pissed he’s not the popular one anymore.”
“Hey! Don’t say that!”
“Bring Rafael back on the stream and we’ll call it even.”
Race days are packed with strategy meetings and press obligations and speaking engagements and national anthems and drivers parades, so Julien doesn’t catch a moment alone with Rafael except in passing.
“Any last words?” Julien asks, with a grin.
“It’s a long road to turn 1, so defend it with everything you’ve got.”
Julien was expecting something a little sexier, but actual advice works too. “Right.”
They can save the sexy talk for after the podium.
Rafael looks extra serious when he says, “Even on a track like this, you need to fight to maintain your position.”
Okay, it’s starting to sound condescending now. “Yeah, Iknow. Defend, defend, defend.” This isn’t Julien’s first race. “My brother won’t pull his punches. I get it.”
“I won’t be out there when you set up, so I need you to internalize it now. No matter what Thomas says beforehand, you need to fight him.”
Huh?
“What do you mean ‘what Thomas says beforehand’?” Sure, they’re brothers, but Julien and Thomas never talk during set-up. They stick with their own garages. “He has his own race to worry about. I doubt he’ll be chatty.”
