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George and Lewis made contact on the first lap of the race putting Lewis out entirely and leaving George to compete from the back of the grid. Somehow, George managed to finish the race in fourth place. He couldn't believe it given that he had been last by the end of lap one.
Lewis had blamed George for the contact initially. It wasn't until he returned to the motorhome to get changed that he made sure to also view the footage. That was when he found out that he had got it all wrong. Lewis hadn't been aware that Max was on the other side of George. There had been nowhere for his teammate to go. He now regretted what he had said on the radio about George. Then again, a lot of drivers would say things in the heat of the moment. At least he could go into the media pen and take full responsibility. Thankfully, neither Lewis nor George were given a penalty for the first lap incident.
Valtteri had gone to check on Lewis after he was finished in the media pen. He had felt horrible after stepping out of the car but he was better now that he had been given some cold water to drink.
The Finn was sweating by the time he actually found Lewis since it was so hot. Lewis chuckled when he saw Valtteri standing by the doorway to his room.
"Jeez, you look like you need a shower." Said Lewis.
Valtteri huffed.
"I do."
"Sit down, man, I don't want you passing out."
Valtteri gratefully sat down on the massage bed whilst Lewis sat by the table in front of his laptop.
"I'm sorry your race came to an end so early." Said Valtteri.
Lewis shrugged.
"These things happen. I feel bad because I blamed George to begin with but it was actually my fault."
"It's easy to blame someone when you don't see the full picture."
"Tell me about it."
"I honestly think that's the worst race I've ever had in terms of the conditions. They were so bad out there, Lewis."
"You did well to score points out there though, you and Zhou."
"Thank you."
George chose that moment to walk into Lewis' room unannounced. Once he spotted Valtteri sitting on the massage bed, he turned and walked out of the room.
"George!" Shouted Lewis.
The Brit didn't come back.
"Go after him." Insisted Valtteri.
"Are you sure?"
Valtteri smiled.
"Yes, now go."
It took Lewis a bit of time before he eventually caught up with George at the back of the garage by the stacks of tyres. George looked up when he heard approaching footsteps.
"I'm sorry I interrupted." Said George.
Lewis shook his head.
"You don't need to apologise. I'm the one who should be apologising."
George frowned.
"I'll be honest with you. I thought it was all your fault on the first lap until I saw the footage in the motorhome. Then I realised that it was actually my fault. I'm sorry about what happened on lap one." Said Lewis.
"You didn't know that Max was on the other side of me."
"No I didn't but that's not the point. We can't afford to take each other out during races or make the slightest bit of contact."
"We'll come back stronger next time."
Lewis smiled.
"I'm sure we will."