2001
Hours before the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, Robert Crawley was uttering a short prayer to himself as he makes his way to the paddocks, preparing for the final race of the 2001 season. Having already driven for Ferrari for four years already, he was always in the prospect in winning the World Championship title. But in his first three years, he had always fallen short., especially in the last races of the season.
He is currently in first place in the World Driver's Championship standings, but only just ten points ahead from the second-place holder: Simon Bricker of McLaren-Mercedes. If he loses this race, Simon will win the season - his third WDC in a row. And so, for this season, he wanted to finally break Simon's streak, winning his first ever championship.
Just as he finishes his prayer, he then saw some familiar people in the Ferrari garage, observing the mechanics as they go through the final checking on his car.
"Daddy!" he heard his daughters squeal as they all run towards him. Robert laughs softly, and knelt down to take all three of them in his arms.
"How are you three?" Robert inquired.
"We were all waiting for you, Daddy!" his youngest Sybil answered "They said you need to get ready now!"
"Well, come on then. Let's go and get ready!" he smiles happily as the girls cheered while he sets them down, then sprinting back to the garage where they were from.
He then saw his lovely wife, fitting their one year old son Alex with noise-cancelling headphones. The two then eventually noticed him as well, and smiled.
"Hello, love." he said sweetly as he gave his wife a kiss. He then turned to their son in her arms, who was giggling at the sight of him "And hello to you too, future F1 champion."
Alex giggled even more, making his father chuckle softly "Hi there, buddy. You look so handsome in your little race suit!" Robert cooed, gently rubbing his little legs "Are you ready to race too? Are you ready to race with Dada?"
"You really have high hopes for that, huh?" Cora teased, making him chuckle once again.
"One can dream freely." Robert countered, making her the one chuckling this time "But, what we are dreaming for right now…is for us to win the trophy."
"Good. Because that all the hope that I have today, too." Cora grins happily at him "Beat Bricker, and take home the win. Deal?"
"Deal." Robert grins as well. He was about to kiss her once again when he heard his manager, Marmaduke Painswick, calling upon him for a quick meeting before the race.
"Go on now," she assured him "We'll be watching and cheering you in the paddocks."
Robert nods and smiles, then giving her a quick kiss on her lips and each of their children's foreheads.
"I love you." he mouthed to her, then raising his left hand to show his wedding band – a symbol of his eternal love for her. She smiles lovingly. and gives him a flying kiss in return, making him grin happily once again before disappearing into the meeting room for the final preparations.
It was now the final laps of the race, and Robert's Ferrari and Simon's McLaren cars are almost neck and neck, with the Ferrari only a second and half ahead.
Back at the paddocks, Cora was watching nervously as other members of their family, including her sister-in-law Rosamund, who was also looking after the children as their mother was fixated on the screen. The latter then notices her fiddling her wedding band. Rosamund then gently held her hand and gave her a smile of assurance.
"He'll win this time, Cora." she said "I know he will."
"I really hope so, Ros." Cora looks at her, snow smiling a bit "I really hope so, too."
As they exchanged assurances and smiles, the noises from the television screen came blaring once again:
"Robert is starting to cut ahead, but he is not pushing his luck today on this tricky, slimy, race track."
As they heard it on screen, most of their family started cheering louder as Robert's Ferrari pushed past Simon's McLaren and speeding ahead on the rainy track. Rosamund and the girls started cheering as well, while Cora's eyes are still glued on screen, listening to more of the commentary ahead:
"I don't think Bricker has enough time – and he does not indeed have enough time to spoil Robert Crawley and the Ferrari's party."
"But it shows how worthy of a triple champion Simon Bricker is. He refuses to give up!"
"Come on, Robert." Cora muttered to herself, clasping her hands together, as she was reciting a prayer "Come on, you can do it."
"A magnificent race for Simon Bricker, superb race for McLaren – but a Fererillant race for Robert Crawley, who exits the chicane to WIN THE 2001 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX AND WIN HIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!"
Cheers erupted in the paddocks as the Ferrari car crosses the finish line. Mary, Edith, and Sybil cheered happily as they watch their father's car speed across the checkered flag. Cora, on the other hand, was stunned as she watches her husband celebrate inside his car, not even flinching as Rosamund hugged her tightly.
"He won." was all Cora said "He finally won."
Meanwhile, Robert almost wants to jump off his seat as cheering erupted all around him.
"You are great, Ross! You're great, Ross! All of you, guys! No, I can't-YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he radioed the pit lane "We did it! We did it! AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He then waves to the roaring crowd before radioing once more "Thanks, everyone! Give Cora and the kids a big kiss for me!"
After the interviews and small celebrations, Robert was more than happy to sprint back to his own small room at the paddocks, where he was greeted by his little family.
"You won, Daddy. You won!" their eldest Mary cheered as all three girls ran to their father's arms.
"Yeah. Daddy finally won the championship." Robert smiles tiredly, holding them closer to him.
"And you're the champion of the world?" Edith then said "Like, the whole world?"
He chuckles softly, and kisses her forehead "Yes. Daddy's finally the best in the whole world."
"So, Uncle Simon's not the best anymore?" Sybil inquired.
"Not this time, no." Robert replied "But don't tell that to your Uncle Simon. He'll get sad."
"Oh, I'll definitely tell him."
The driver laughed tiredly, before slowly sitting down on the settee beside his wife. Cora then slowly held his hand, and kisses the top of his head as he gently rests it on her shoulder.
"You alright, champ?" she asked in a mock British accent. He laughs once again, because he loves it when she does that.
"I'm tired. Very, very tired." he replied softly for only her to hear.
"You're not going to attend the party later?"
"No. I'd rather stay with you and the kids."
"For someone who was a party man when we were young, you really change a lot."
"What can I say? Having a family changes everything." Robert smiles at her "Clearly, you and the kids are the greatest prizes I ever had in my life."
"I know. And you are ours, too."
"As you should be."
Cora rolls her eyes, which made him laugh again and kiss her cheek "I love you. very much." he then declared "Have I told you that?"
"You don't." she said jokingly, making his face almost turn into a panicked expression. It was Cora's turn to laugh, and rests her forehead against his "I love you too. Very much."
Robert smiles sweetly, and moves closer to her, content with everything. Winning the world championship is one thing, but with his family by his side, they are the best wins that he could ever have in his life.