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@F1
A star studded paddock today! Henry Fox, Mike Faist, Ayo Edebiri and more joined us at the Miami Grand Prix for the qualifying session!
@vcttcl
what the FUCK DO YOU MEAN HENRY AND ALEX ARE AT THW SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME
@acdrarrizz
GUYS GUYS GUYSSSHDJFKFNFNG
@tifortyfive
WORLD STOP. WHAT IF HENRY IS ON ALEX’S SIDE OF THE GARAGE……
@hfoxcore
EVERYBODY STAY CALM WE MAY GET OUR FIRST EVER HENRY/ALEX INTERACTION
@vcttcl
did crofty just say that henry will be the one giving the pole position award…. alex i need you to LOCK TF IN
——-
Alex was lounging in the Ferrari motorhome, trying to relax between the free practice and the qualifying session when everything went down. He furrowed his brow after seeing the onslaught of tweets tagging him and begging him to have an interaction with Henry Fox. That was really confusing since Alex had never expressed any interest towards the actor and, as far as he knew, it was the same the other way around. He looked towards his sister and community manager, June, before asking:
“Why do so many people want me to interact with the son of Arthur Fox? I mean, I like his movies but what is going on there?
-I think it’s because he named you as one of his celebrity crushes in an interview or something along those lines”
Alex’s head shot up from the couch of the motorhome and looked at his sister with an incredulous look.
“He did what?!
-You didn’t see? Let me find the clip.”
After a minute of his sister typing away on her phone, she passes it to Alex. On it, a video of a Buzzfeed puppy interview that Henry apparently took part in.
“Q: Who’s your celebrity crush?”
Henry smiles after the question
“Ooh that’s a hard one let me think…” He thinks for a few seconds before seemingly finding his answer. “Okay, that might be a bit niche but I’m a huge F1 fan. I’ve been following the sport since I was a kid and would watch the Grand Prix with my dad at the time, I even went to Silverstone twice because he got invited and took me with! But anyway, there’s this driver named Alex Claremont-Diaz and he drives for Ferrari…. I don’t want to seem objectifying or anything and I apologize if it comes across that way but GOD is he beautiful if he gave me a chance I would take it without any hesitation”
Alex presses pause on the video and passes the phone back to June.
“Huh.
-Right?
-What’s most surprising to me is the fact that his PR team let that be published, can you imagine Zahra’s reaction if I said ANYTHING like that?
-She would’ve deleted the footage herself I fear
-Oh yeah definitely”
Alex lies back down and thinks about the information he just received. Henry is really attractive, that much was clear, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He’s had his bi awakening a few years before then. He did not officially come out or anything, inconvenient of being an athlete in a sport with only men and with really high scrutiny. Zahra, his PR agent made it very clear when he first came out to her.
“Listen kid, I’m very happy for you and whatever, but the public can absolutely NOT know about this. I know it sucks but unfortunately you haven’t yet reached the point in your career where it won’t matter. When you’ve won like 3 championships and have had a decade of driving in f1 under your belt? Or pull a Ralf Schumacher and come out once you’ve retired? Sure! For now though? You have to keep that secret locked up with airtight NDAs”
It sucked. Alex hated everything about this. He got around that problem by showing very strong allyship to the community. That didn’t seem strange to the public, thanks to drivers like Lewis Hamilton who were already very vocal about their support for minorities and Alex had always intended to follow in his footsteps. The guy was a role model for Alex.
All that to say, Alex didn’t really know what to make of the whole situation. He sighed, thinking that Zahra would probably have a plan to deal with this, but he really hoped it didn’t involve sticking his head in the sand and pretend like they didn’t see anything. It could be a fun thing to do and give fans a new thing to talk about, and a source of entertainment for Alex who loved to lurk in fan spaces on social media.
Suddenly, a hand was snapping in front of his face, it was Zahra.
“Okay so, I guess you saw the social media storm about Henry Fox?
-Yup, what about it?
-Could be good to have both of you interact, nothing much maybe just a short talk if you get pole or a handshake in the garage. Would also show that you’re an ally and are not getting weirded out by men choosing you as a celebrity crush, no toxic masculinity and all of that.
-I mean I’m more than an ally since I’m literally bi but whatever.
-Yeah but the public doesn’t, and cannot, know about it so we’ll take whatever we can to show you as an ally to minorities.”
Alex sighed “Yeah okay whatever.”
“Good to see you get it. If you get asked questions about this, which will probably happen, try to take it with humor. Something like ‘It’s always great to get compliments, I don’t care who says it, my ego gets boosted all the same’ or whatever you can come up with.
-Yeah I see, now if I get asked questions about the car? You know since driving one is literally my job?
- The usual shtick, the car feels good and you managed to put in good times in free practice, pole is definitely in the books but formula one is an unpredictable sport et cetera.
-Got it.
-I know you do. I don’t think I have anything more to say, just try to not start a fight in the garages or whatever.”
Alex cringed at that. “I did it ONCE when I was a rookie! You don’t need to keep reminding me!
-Yes and it was a PR disaster and something that will follow you your whole life anyways so I’m doing you a favor by making you used to it.
-Yeah okay sure Zahra.
-Now if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do, like make sure your community manager is not getting involved in Twitter fights with the official ACD account” she threw a pointed look at Nora while getting up.
“Again, once!
-And again, PR disaster!
-Yeah but at least you have some work to do
-With the amount you give me I definitely deserve a raise.”
Zahra got up and promptly left the room after giving June a few instructions for potential social media posts during and after the qualifying session. Alex let his head fall back on the couch and sighed. The PR aspect of things was definitely his least favorite part of things. He would love to speak his mind more often but unfortunately he had a lot of limitations on that end as to not hurt his career in the long run. He shook his head, put his headphones on and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the qualifying session ahead.
@acdrarrizz
OH MY FUCKING GODJKFHLD ALEXANDER GABRIEL CLAREMONT DIAZ YOU BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL MANNNJSFDJGSJDHDL
He. Did. It. He put in one hell of a push lap that even the McLaren rocketship could not beat. He had pole at one of the US Grand Prix. He got out of the car letting out a yell and celebrating a bit before sprinting towards the red sea of engineers and mechanics in front of him. He kissed June on the cheek, hugged Nora, his trackside engineer, and went towards the scale to do the mandatory post-session weighing. Once he got the all clear he walked towards the post qualifying interview zone, where the third driver on the starting grid, was already getting interviewed. He congratulated his teammate, Liam, who managed to get P2 and waited for his turn.
The interviewer grinned at him.
“Alex Claremont-Diaz, you are on pole for the first US Grand Prix of the season!”
Alex chuckled “Yes! That lap felt very good and I knew it was pole material, but this sport is so unpredictable you can never be sure until the clock runs out. Feels very good to do so on home soil, hope I can replicate that in Austin as well since I grew up there but for now Florida will do, I quite like it here!” The crowd cheered and Alex waved at them. He felt on top of the world at this very moment.
“It seems like Ferrari have been doing very good this weekend seeing as your very own teammate is starting right behind you!
-Well yes! Thanks to all the amazing people that work long hours back at the factory and here on the track, the engineers and mechanics, we have a great car to work with this year! It has been feeling great since the first practice sessions and the tweaks we made on it up to quali only contributed to make it even better. That’s great teamwork right there.
-Right, and how do you think you can be able to keep the lead and convert it into a win tomorrow?
-Well, Miami is an unpredictable track, but with good strategy calls and tyre management I think the win is definitely in the cards for tomorrow. The car seems to be the fastest but we still have to watch out for the Mclarens who start right behind us tomorrow, and I hope Liam can help me manage to defend against them.
-Great, congratulations again Alex!
-Thank you!” He waved to the crowd again and walked towards the photograph background to get his picture taken with the drivers who got P2 and P3.
Right after the pics were taken, the other 2 drivers left the frame and as Alex turned to get the pole trophy to sign he faced the most beautiful man he had ever encountered in his life. If Henry Fox looked good in photos and videos, his beauty in real life was on another level. He looked like a Greek statue that came alive. The driver put himself back together as much as he could and flashed the blonde a smile while shaking his hand.
“Congratulations Alex, that lap was magical”
Well, fuck. Alex thought. That accent was so hot and his smile is absolutely perfect. The American is not making it out of the interaction alive.
“Well thank you sweetheart, I put a lot of effort into it.” The nickname was not meant to come out of his moth, but if Henry disliked it, he didn’t show it. Alex signed the tyre and posed for the picture with Henry. The taller man put his hand around his waist and that made him feel like a hormonal teenager. After the picture was taken, Alex bid Henry goodbye and just as he was about to leave, the actor grabbed his wrist.
“Wait! Before you go I just have to say… I’m a huge fan of you, even above racing, I love the fact that you’re very vocal about your activism and what you’re doing, using your platform for good, is very inspiring.”
Alex lit up. It always feels good to have your efforts be acknowledged. “Thank you so much Henry, I try my best to do as much good as I can from my position.”
Just as Henry was about to reply, Alex heard Zahra call his name, he realized he was probably late for his other media duties. He looked one last time towards Henry.
“I’m afraid I have to go, it was great meeting you though!” The driver waved the blonde goodbye and sped walked towards his PR agent, towards the media pen.
Once all of his media duties and debriefings were done and Alex was alone in his room, he proceeded to follow Henry on Instagram. A step in his direction. If he spent an hour scrolling through his pictures and feeling tingles in his stomach after seeing pictures the actor took for an underwear ad, that was no one’s business but his.