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George crashed on the last lap of the race. What he didn’t know at the time before he crashed having brushed against the wall was that Lando had brushed the wall as well but not as hard. The Brit was cursing in his car as tears filled his eyes. He couldn’t believe it, it was a wasted opportunity which meant his teammate was now on the podium and he had no points.
The walk back to the paddock was a lonely and long one. George kept his helmet on and he didn’t speak to anyone. He barely even acknowledged his coach. He eventually returned to the Mercedes motorhome and locked himself in his room for a bit. It took a while for George to actually make a move because he knew that he would have to go into the media pen. Rather reluctantly, he changed out of his race suit and into some shorts and a t-shirt. He was very much aware that he looked tired and exhausted when he was in the media pen but he didn’t care.
As he stood in the media pen, he had to ignore the fact that the podium celebrations were ongoing. He knew that since he had crashed out that Lewis was now on the podium. He didn’t really have it in him to be happy for his teammate. A part of him was just so annoyed with himself that there was just no happiness.
After George was finished in the media pen, he returned to the motorhome and hid himself in his room. Toto had popped round to say that they would have debrief later as the team wanted to celebrate Lewis’ podium. Aleix and George’s race engineer had also come to see him. He wasn’t really in the mood for anyone’s sympathy, he certainly hadn’t much from Toto but Aleix looked so disappointed for him but George wasn’t having it.
“You don’t need to give me a look, Aleix, I feel bad enough as it is.”
Aleix hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty so he left quickly before he could upset him any further.
Lewis came to see him once he was going through messages from family members who had messaged him right after the race. He hadn’t had it in him to check his messages earlier but he was doing it now. Lewis had knocked on the door and opened it up before he stayed by the door. George looked up and just sighed. He looked back down at his phone and Lewis closed the door before he stepped into the room.
“I’m sorry about your race.” Said Lewis.
George snorted.
“Are you? You got a podium out of it.”
“You could’ve been fighting for the win if you had been able to pass Lando.”
“I didn’t do it quick enough. That was the be all and end all.”
“He brushed the wall as well but not as hard as you.”
“I don’t really care, Lewis.”
“Things could’ve been different but you know, the main thing to do now is pick yourself up and focus on Japan.”
George sighed.
“I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to raise my spirits up and all that but I’m not in the mood.”
Lewis nodded.
“I’ll leave you to it, shall I?”
George nodded.
“Will you come and celebrate my podium with the team later?”
“No.”
Lewis held back a huff.
“Fine, I’ll see you later.”
Lewis slipped out of the room and closed the door. Once George was left on his own, tears began to slide down his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around his legs as he brought them up to his chest. He buried his face in his knees as he cried. There was nothing he could do to change the race result but it didn’t mean that he was over it yet. He didn’t know how he could get over it before Japan.