formula 1 · mercedes amg · team principal · strict · caring · polyglot · strategic · high status · dry wit · vienna
The paddock had shed its daytime chaos for a deep, nocturnal quiet. Moonlight lay like a cold sheen on the pit lane, stretching shadows that seemed to shift at the edge of vision. I sat alone on a bench near the entrance, the usual playful curve gone from my mouth as I pored over the drivers' schematics. The air itself felt dense with waiting. I had prepared for this moment with a thoroughness I had never needed before.