CHAPTER 18
The day after Finn finished therapy, he flew to Austin for the Grand Prix. It was perfect timing - the Grand Prix lining up directly after he finished physical therapy and right before he began school and race training once again. He had planned to train vigorously on a track in Columbus for the final week of January and for most of February, and then he would get back into official competitions so he would get back on the radar of the Formula racing industry.
The Grand Prix weekend was an incredible vacation, possibly one of the best of Finn's whole life. He travelled alone and normally that would be pretty boring, but because there was so much to do and see over the course of 4 short days, Finn barely noticed it. As soon as he arrived in Austin, he shot off a quick text to his family to let them know that he arrived safely, before taking a cab to his hotel. He quickly checked in before spending the rest of the afternoon/evening exploring the amazing city.
He walked past the State Capitol and Visitors Center, Zilker Metropolitan Park Attractions, Lady Bird Lake and Batty about Austin, all in the course of around 5 hours. After this point, the clock struck 8 and Finn was starving. Rather than going to a classic restaurant, he decided to go full-on Texas mode. He went to an all-you-can-eat ribs diner and stuffed his face to the extent that he practically stumbled back to the hotel.
The next day was Friday, and it was time for the first and second practise session for the U.S Grand Prix. Finn sat among all of the people in the grandstands, and watched in awe as all of his heroes took to the track and warmed themselves up and familiarized themselves with the track in preparation for the high-intensity events of the coming two days. In particular, Finn loved to watch Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes team. They were just a tier above all of the other races. Even elite names such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel couldn't match Mercedes' pace. However, slightly disappointing was Hamilton's Mercedes partner Valtteri Bottas, who although was driving such an incredible car, just wasn't on his game. Strangely, he hadn't been doing too well for several weeks now. Given that the U.S Grand Prix was the penultimate race of the season (ironically, the Abu Dhabi GP - in the country where he used to live - was the final race), so unless Bottas somehow managed to up his game by a huge amount, he probably wouldn't be getting a contract renewal from Merc.
The best part about the afternoon, however, was right after the practise sessions. His family had bought him a VIP hospitality ticket to the Grand Prix, meaning that he had the ability to be able to go down into the paddock area and meet all of the drivers. This was going to, by far, be the best moment of his life. He was about to meet his 20 biggest idols. These were men that started from the very bottom just like him, but had successfully made it in an industry where only 20 of the very best make it in the whole world. After the practise, Finn slipped down to the paddock and garage area to meet the drivers.
As soon as he walked in, the scent of burnt tires, the sound of engines roaring and the sight of all twenty cars lined up in their respective garages warmed his heart. He knew, beyond all doubt, that one day, he was going to be here or die trying. Almost immediately, one of the F1 staff members walked up to him.
"Sir, can I see your I.D, please?" He asked. Finn nodded and showed him the VIP Pass that was attached to the lanyard around his neck. The man smiled at him.
"Mr. Hudson. It's a pleasure to have you with us today."
"It's just incredible to be here." Finn replied.
"Are you excited to meet the drivers?"
"Oh yeah! Definitely! It's like a dream come true!"
The guy laughed.
"I'm glad. Now, are you ready? I'm going to take you through to the lounge area, where all of the drivers are meeting the VIP members."
Finn smiled and rubbed his hands together in anticipation and jumped on the spot.
"Hell yeah I'm ready!" Finn exclaimed. The man led him away from the paddock and into the adjacent building. They then made it to a pair of double doors which connected to the drivers' lounge. The man entered the room and Finn followed close behind…
When they entered, Finn nearly passed out. All of his favourite racers were there! Lewis Hamilton! Charles Leclerc! Max Verstappen! Lando Norris! Alex Albon! Finn actually had met Alex Albon before. Alex Albon was currently the youngest driver currently on the F1 circuit at only 19 years of age, and just over 2 years ago, when Finn was 16, he had raced against Albon in the F3 Asian Championship. The two of them had battled for 1st and 2nd for the entire year, with Finn eventually pipping Albon for first place in the final week. Sure enough, Albon recognised him instantly and walked over.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is, rising from the dead. You know, I genuinely thought that the roles would be reversed between the two of us."
"How's it going, buddy?" Finn asked, bro handshaking his old friend. Despite their fierce rivalry on the track, Finn and Alex used to be pretty close friends. Finn was living in the UAE and Albon was living in his home country of Thailand so the two of them often saw each other in across-Asia competitions.
"Not too bad." Alex laughed. "But that's kind of obvious. How are you doing? That's what I want to know. I heard about that crash and then two weeks later, you just disappeared from the circuit. What happened?"
Finn shrugged.
"Well, you know, spine injuries are nasty. I was supposedly done with any hopes of making it to F1. Also, I was pulled from the UAE because my parents got divorced and my mom didn't have enough money to keep me abroad. She also needed me home to help raise and look after my sisters, so I moved back to the States."
Albon sighed.
"Man, that sucks. I really missed you on the circuit. Let's face it… we were the ones who gave F3 life."
Finn laughed.
"Damn right we were!" Finn replied.
"So, is your injury permanent? Is there like a cure or surgery or something that can help?"
Finn nodded.
"I mean there was, but it was hella expensive so I couldn't afford it."
"Wait, your problem was with money? Why didn't you just call me? Look at the people I'm hanging with! Between them and I, we could have gotten you the money!"
Finn shook his head.
"I wasn't about to do that. I considered it when you first made it into F1 at the start of this season but I thought it would be rude, especially given that I hadn't seen you in almost a year."
"Well, do you want the money now?" Alex asked. Finn shook his head.
"Nah, my dad actually got into contact for the first time in two years and paid for the surgery in full. I've spent the past month in physical therapy and now I'm going to spend the next couple of months training on the track to get back in action."
"Wai… you're racing again?! Finn, that's awesome! Yo, you're for sure gonna make it into F1!" Albon exclaimed. Finn laughed.
"Well, that's the plan. It's going to be a hell of a long road to get there though."
"You'll make it, buddy. I have no doubt." Albon replied. "Now, come meet the guys."
Finn spent the next hour meeting with the other F1 drivers and getting photos and autographs with them. Obviously, the veteran racers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were more mature than the younger drivers, even the 18-20 year old drivers were pretty down to earth. Finn spent a while talking to Alex's teammate Max Verstappen, who was only 22 and yet the only driver who could possibly challenge Lewis Hamilton. It was the best day of his life, and the next two days were extremely enjoyable as well.
On Saturday, the drivers had their qualifying for the race. It was the beginning of the extremely high-stakes next two days. Lewis Hamilton, as expected, ended the day on pole position (P1), with Max Verstappen coming in 2nd and Charles Leclerc in 3rd. There were some huge surprises during qualifying as well. During the final qualifying session (Q2), Valtteri Bottas' brakes locked up on his crucial lap, leaving him 10th - a pretty bad result for someone driving a Mercedes.
Sunday was the best day though. It was the race day and the U.S Grand Prix had everything. In the first 10 laps, there were 2 major crashes and 7 drivers forced to retire for the race. Finn, along with the rest of the fans in the grandstands, was on the edge of his seat in anticipation. Surprisingly, due to the fact that a third of the drivers were out of the race, Alex was making incredible time and speed, and was actually in 3rd place! He had narrowly avoided both crashes and was just behind both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Finn prayed that his friend managed to hold onto his podium position and sure enough, he clinched the final podium position and Finn got to watch as his friend lifted his third place trophy and popped the champagne bottle. As Finn watched Alex in a state of pure euphoria and triumph, he felt a pang of sadness. If he hadn't crashed, it could've been him on that podium, living that luxurious life. NO! He couldn't think about that! He couldn't take back the past; he could only create his own future and with God as his witness, he would be in F1 by his 25th birthday!
After the race, Finn had around 3 hours before he had to head to the airport. He had now missed 9 days of school so he needed to get back. Also, he had missed a week and a half of Glee preparation for Regionals in March, which he was sure his friends would ream him out for.
Finn landed back in Lima Airport at around 11 pm and it was pouring rain when he stepped out of the airport. His mom was due to pick him up but her car was nowhere to be seen. Finn took out his phone and noticed that he had one unread message from Carole…
Hey honey, I'm so sorry but I won't be able to pick u up from the airport. Neve's come down with a bad fever and I've gotta take care of her. Could u pls just take a cab?
Finn sent back a thumbs up emoji before putting his phone back in his pocket and looking up. He then realised that due to the extremely late hour, there were no taxis around. Lima Airport was one of the smallest airports in the country so not many cabs ran in that area. Suddenly, after around 15 minutes of just standing in the rain and hoping and praying that a taxi would show up, one actually did. Finn jogged towards it but before he could make it, a whole family who had also just arrived got inside it. Finn groaned and resigned to just sitting on the ground, letting the rain wash over him. He ended up calling the one person he knew lived nearby and he could rely on. Sure enough, a silver Range Rover pulled up beside him 15 minutes later.
"Hey cowboy!" Emily exclaimed, sticking her head out of the window and smirking at him. Finn smiled widely.
"Hey, Em. Thank you so much for this." He replied, throwing his duffel into the trunk of the car before walking around to get in. Then, he attempted to open the passenger door but realised that it was locked.
"Um… Emily?" He asked, confused. Emily rolled down the window and threw a towel at him.
"You're soaking wet! You're not getting in my car like that! Dry yourself off first!" She demanded. Finn laughed and nodded. 20 minutes later, Emily parked the car in the driveway of Finn's house and he hopped out. After grabbing his duffel, Finn walked to the driver's side of the car and smiled at his friend.
"Em, I can't thank you enough. I thought I was going to have to walk home or spend the night outside!"
Emily laughed.
"It was no problem. I know you would've done the same for me."
Finn nodded.
"Still, it was a huge ask. OK, I guess I'll see you around." Finn said.
"See you soon, Finn." Emily replied. Finn watched as she drove off into the night and he smiled faintly. He had never felt the way he felt towards Emily before. It was all so new to him. He was torn: he could ask her out but if they broke up, he would risk losing his best friend in the whole world. The other option was to just keep living in denial about his feelings for Emily and still have Emily as a friend. Finn decided to with option 2. Nothing to lose with that option, right?