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@F1
BREAKING : Mclaren driver Samuel Wilson to replace Steve Rogers at Mercedes in 202X
#F1
Steve’s retirement came as a surprise to the entirety of the motorsports community. He was a child prodigy, people considered him the second coming of Michael Schumacher who brought the championship back to Maranello three times in a row and then proceeded to win another championship in another team. The second he got a car capable of fighting for wins, he exploited it to the maximum and extracted every single millisecond out of it. He achieved in a single decade things that some drivers with longer careers could only dream of. Alexei Shostakov, for instance, had been on the grid for 20 years and hadn’t won a single race since Steve arrived. There would never be another one like him.
Bucky was trying to make sense of the fact that his teammate was leaving him. While he could understand the reasoning on a rational standpoint, he struggled not to feel like he was getting abandoned, left to fend for himself in the ruthless world of Formula One, the one that had tried to knock him down so many times before. He left him alone to try and get along with a new teammate he knew almost nothing about apart from the public stuff. Sam Wilson was one of the rising stars of the grid. He came really close to winning a championship during his first year in the sport, but it got stolen by Red Bull Racing and John Walker on the last race, creating a general uproar in the Formula One world. Bucky knew Steve was the one that pushed for Sam to get signed instead of Walker, and he was grateful for it. He didn’t get along with the Red Bull driver at all. However, he didn’t know Sam that much, and the few interactions they had were always involving Steve in some way. They were just a couple of guys with a friend in common and Bucky was already mourning the partnership he had with Steve.
Of course he couldn’t say that to any of the media, his PR manager would kill him for it. So he just smiles and repeats whatever bullshit she was feeding him.
“So, James, how do you feel about getting a new teammate next year?
-I’m pretty excited about it. Sam is a great driver and it will be good to have fresh blood within the team, I’m sure we’ll work really well together.
-How do you feel about your partnership with Steve Rogers coming to an end?”
Horrible, like everything was crashing down around him and like he was getting betrayed on an metaphysical level. “While I’m sad to see such a great driver and person leave the paddock, I’m sure he’s making the best decision for himself and I’ll support him in whatever he’ll do next. This might be the end of a professional partnership, but our friendship started way before Formula One, so it will most likely survive after it.
-Thank you James, now Peter-“
Bucky tuned out the rest of the press conference, only replying when getting asked questions. Whoever handled the press conference groups probably did it before the news broke because they would’ve paired him with Sam Wilson otherwise. They would’ve never let an occasion like that go.
Once the press conference was done, Bucky went back to the Mercedes hospitality on autopilot, stopping here and there for photos and autographs when he came across Sam. He smiled and shook his hand, knowing his PR team would be delighted with the free content. “So, I hear we’re going to be teammates.”
Sam grinned. “Hell yeah we are. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to destroy you too bad, give you one or two wins here and there.”
Bucky smirked, huh, that guy was funny. “That’s rich coming from the guy that couldn’t do the last GP because he crashed during the formation lap.”
The other man raised an eyebrow, visibly amused. “Oh yeah you wanna play that game? If I remember correctly you’re the one that somehow managed to put it in the wall during Q3 in Singapore.”
Bucky’s smile grew bigger and he started to leave, looking to the people around them. “Did yall hear anything? So weird I could swear his mouth was moving but no sound was coming out of it.”
Sam chuckled. “Alright, alright, see you around man.
-See ya.”
A small smile stayed stuck on Bucky’s face all the way to the motorhome, maybe the next few years weren’t going to be that bad.