Chapter Text
Ellie wasn’t born into racing, but it is in her bones. With a world champion for a father and an ex-rally driver for an uncle, she was more than raised on it. She’ll never forget their trip to Indianapolis when she was a kid. Her adoption papers had officially been signed, and to celebrate Joel had taken her, Tommy and his wife Maria to the track, and Ellie had looked up at Joel and Tommy in that moment and decided then and there she wanted to be a part of that legacy.
Joel had been reluctant at first, but she’d begged and begged, and with Tommy’s help he eventually caved and got her her first go-kart a year later. He took a year from racing to teach her everything he knows. He taught her where to brake and how hard, how to use every part of the race to her advantage, all of it. She eventually drops out of school and Tommy and Maria home schooled her instead, and Joel returned to the grid.
Ellie dominated karting, and eventually made her way F2, where she met Jesse. They became fast friends, did everything together on and off the track. For a fleeting moment Joel even wondered if they were dating. Ellie had given him a ridiculous look before walking away. Maria, who had understood immediately, pats a very confused Joel on the shoulder and mutters “I’ll tell you when you’re older”.
Jesse and Ellie raced for two seasons as rivals, and it’s delightfully sweet when they get to spray one another with sparkling grape juice that second year.
Then Joel dies.
It’s one of the most brutal crashes the sport had seen since Bianchi. She had known he wouldn’t make it out just by seeing it on the screen. He’d lost control of the car — a bad lock up or something — and crashed into the first barrier and the car had been sundered in two. Then he hit the second barrier, completely exposed. It didn’t stop Ellie from waiting for him to get out of the car. He always got out of the car. But as time stretched, one minute, two minutes, then five, and they’re pulling his limp body out of what was still left of the car, Ellie knows. And she breaks in two.
It was instant, the doctor had told her and Tommy afterwards. It was anything but, for her. She still had half a season to go and no idea how to do this without him. She took a year out after it was over, even though she knew she shouldn’t have. But after one too many anxiety attacks in the cockpit following the crash, and then again during pre-season testing, Tommy, now her sole advisor, gently encouraged her to take some time.
That same year Jesse is immediately signed to Haas. Ellie pretends it doesn’t sting. She’s the one who should have been on top of that podium at the end of the season. She knows it. But she keeps working, keeps training, keeps pushing and gets back in the car. She drives differently after that. Not carefully, but with steely focus, grief and even more hunger. It’s not just her in the car anymore. It’s Joel, too.
She wins the F2 championship the following year, by a landslide.
Haas take her on immediately — eager for more homegrown talent — and she and Jesse go from rivals to teammates. The Haas is a midfield car at best, and still in her first year, Ellie manages to finish in the top ten — at least, when she does finish. F1 does not come without its battles and Ellie’s has taken the form of up-and-coming Red Bull sensation with a giant chip on her shoulder: Abby Anderson. She’s merciless on the track and ice cold with the media. Always collected, always focused, and the rookie favourite. They don’t fight off track, but the tension is there whenever the media think it’s funny to put them together for an interview. They only really have one serious altercation, in Montreal their first year. Abby brake checks Ellie around one of the chicanes and it sends them both off the track. Abby’s rear is wrecked and Ellie’s front wing is sent flying before they both hit the gravel. Both cars are retired and Ellie has to use all her willpower not to storm up to Abby after she gets out of hers and shove her. Instead, she lets her team deal with it. Abby gets a penalty, but Ellie is still angry.
She thinks about Joel.
Ellie finishes eighth overall in the championship, which is a feat in itself for Haas. She’s satisfied, but she knows she could be up there with the others, sharing podiums with the sport’s current legends. She's starving for it.
Six months later, half way through her second season with Haas, Ellie is approached by Mercedes with the opportunity to fill their second seat. She’s looked up to the team for years, Hamilton in particular. She doesn’t think, she just signs.
Jesse is elated for her and the rest of her team are nothing but supportive. They know what she could do if she had the car to back her talent. Still, she gives every remaining race beside Jesse her all. They don’t get to enjoy any podiums but they do a leagues better in the constructors’ championship this year and that’s enough.
“A little parting gift,” she tells her engineer over the radio as she finishes P5 in Abu Dhabi.
“Thanks for two amazing years, Ellie,” she hears him say. “Mercedes are lucky to have you.”
“Thank you, guys. Take care of Jesse for me," she replies, waving to the stands.
They celebrate in style, taking in the city's nightlife, and then again when they get home to Austin. Then Tommy and Maria are helping Ellie pack for Europe. And when they drop her at the airport Tommy pulls her into a tight hug and whispers “y’know he’s so damn proud of you, right?”
She makes sure to turn back and wave at her family one last time, just in case.
*****
Dina has loved cars for as long as she can remember. Her father had taught her everything she knew. He had been the one to encourage her pursue racing, too. So when she passed, how could she not honour his wishes. Their family didn’t come from much, but her mother and sister did everything they could and then some to support her. She breezed through karting season after season and was one of the youngest GP3 winners to date. She raced in F2 for one year, the year after former F1 world champion, Joel Miller, had died.
She quits then, at seventeen, and goes into engineering. She keeps up with it all, of course, but differently now.
In the final months of her degree, the enigmatic team principal of Mercedes approaches her with a job.
“I’ve watched your career with interest, ever since your karting days,” Toto says. “Why did you stop?”
Dina shrugs. “I didn’t want it anymore. I think I was satisfied.”
“So what would satisfy you now?”
“Getting my hands on Mercedes machinery would be a start,” she jests.
Toto laughs good-naturedly.
“That was never in question. And I’m sure you’d do well as a mechanic for us, but that’s not what I was thinking about.”
Dina stays silent.
“I want you as a race engineer. We would train you with the promise of a position in the garage at the end of it.”
Dina can’t believe it. He’s got to be joking, right?
“You have the instincts of a driver,” Toto continues, “that much is clear. But if you’re not interested in racing anymore, and you still love the sport, this feels like a logical step, no? And strategically, I know you’d be an asset to us.”
“I’ll do it.”
And that was that.
Three years later, she’s getting ready for testing in Sakhir. This will be her first full season as a race engineer. She’ll be working with the team’s new driver, Ellie Williams; the prodigy from Austin. The anticipation in the garage is palpable as they await both drivers for the first round of many briefings before they ship off to Bahrain.
The pair arrive together, Ellie laughing at something Lewis is saying. He puts a steady hand on her shoulder before excusing himself to speak with his team.
The moment Ellie is alone, the levity drains from her posture and she hunches over, as if trying to make herself smaller in a room full of so many people. Ellie has always been quiet, at least, that is what Dina has gathered from watching her press, how she carries herself on the podium, in their fleeting encounters karting. Reserved, restrained, occasionally, hilariously out of pocket, and a silent killer on the track. But she never expected her to look quite so shy in all her success. It’s endearing, really, but more than that she wants to make her feel at ease.
Call it gravity or something different all together, but Dina finds herself moving towards Ellie. They need to work together after all, it’s not like Dina drawn to her in any kind of way.
“Hey,” she says, stopping in front of her. “I’m Dina.”
“Ellie.” She extends her hand. It’s sure and steady when Dina takes it. Then her eyes spark with recognition. “Wait, I know you.”
“Karting, 2011,” Dina confirms with a smile.
“Right! You pushed me off the track and I spun out.”
“Only ‘cause you didn’t leave enough space,” Dina teases. “I had the apex anyways.”
“I did leave the space!” Ellie retorts.
“Don’t be sore.” Dina chuckles. “You’re here now, right? Even if I kicked your ass way back when.”
Ellie opens her mouth, poised, it seems, to banter back, and Dina finds herself far too excited to hear what she has to say. But Ellie closes her mouth and just gives her a bewildered smile and for now that’s enough to satisfy Dina. It’s nice to know the seemingly untouchable driver she has a fraction of history with isn’t quite so… untouchable.
Briefings go well, as they do, and before they know it, they’re on their way to Sakhir.
Ellie is fascinating, Dina decides. She learns quickly that she’s quite the artist as well as a stunning driver. When they’re winding down or stuck in meetings that drag on for far too long she catches her doodling and sketching in the corners of her notebook. She draws the mechanics, the car, she draws Lewis’ smile, and the one time she dared take a closer look, she discovers Ellie has drawn Dina’s eyes. She tries not to read into it. Ellie is funny, too. Unfairly funny, and makes Dina laugh far more frequently and far louder than she has any business doing. They work well together, naturally. Ellie falls into step easily with Dina’s style, their thoughts feel like one and the same at times. Toto calls it synergy.
Dina thinks it’s poetry.
*****
Ellie doesn’t think she’s met anyone like Dina. It comes as no surprise that she is amazing at her job. An ex-driver in her position understands racecraft and strategy better than anyone, she wagers. And it was never in question that she is likely putting the other teams to shame with her skills.
It’s everything else about her that leaves Ellie just a little breathless after every conversation. She’s sharp, quick-witted, and keeps Ellie on her toes, always. They work beautifully together, too. And that’s saying nothing of the way her lips curve delicately at the corners when she smiles, or how she scrunches her nose adorably when she laughs with her entire body, or speaks in full sentences with her eyes—
Needless to say, Ellie is enthralled. It’s ridiculous really. No one has ever made her feel this way. She chalks it up to their forced proximity at first. When they’re working they do everything together. But as they arrive in Bahrain, Ellie fears it might be more.
Jesse stops by the Mercedes trucks on the way to testing. Ellie greets him with a fierce hug. They haven't seen each other in weeks.
“No more walk of shame, huh?” he says, checking out the space.
“Nope.”
“How’s it feel?”
“Pretty good.”
“The all black suits you,” he says, pointing to her new suit. He yanks the zip down, just to annoy her. She bats his hand away.
“How’s your new teammate?" she asks.
“Getting to grips with it. He’s just a kid, but I think he’ll do okay.”
Ellie spots Dina coming down the paddock then and straightens. Jesse gives her a look that she chooses to ignore.
“Ellie!” Dina greets her with a grin, climbing up the stairs past Jesse. “You ready?”
“Yep!" Ellie turns back to Jesse. “Duty calls.”
“See you on the track.” Jesse nods, pushing off the doorframe. “Good to see you, Dina.”
“Bye, Jesse,” she calls without looking back.
Ellie trails after Dina.
“What’s that about?” she asks before she can stop herself.
“Oh, we hooked up once.” Dina shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”
Ellie swallows the jealousy that curls around her throat. “Oh.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dina adds quickly. “It wasn’t serious.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
Dina looks at her over her shoulder.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Ellie lets the matter lie. She can deal with it later, or maybe never. Probably never.
Twenty minutes later she’s getting in the car, that conversation somewhat forgotten. It’s good to be out here, despite the heat. It may be a new car, too, but something about it feels like home. She thinks of Joel as she slides into the cockpit and gives her mechanics a thumbs up.
“Radio check?” Dina’s voice crackles through her radio.
“All good,” she responds.
“Alright, Ellie, give ‘em hell.”
She pulls down her visor, and drives.