( ACT I. ── Fading Imprints )
chapter seven / Hypothetically...

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( INSTAGRAM )
giselamariaibanez posted !

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giselamariaibanez There are a thousand things I could choose to say about today, but I will choose above all to remember how special it is that I am here at all. As a little kid I idolized Michèle Mouton. I cheered the loudest for Susie Stoddart that day. Formula 1 was always the dream for me, but most of the journey was spent not knowing if my dreams would ever come true. They have. And whether or not I am happy with today's results does not matter; what matters is this ─ that I am here.

Hay mil cosas que podría decir sobre el día de hoy, pero sobre todo recordaré lo especial que es que esté aquí. De pequeño idolatraba a Michèle Mouton. Aquel día animé más fuerte a Susie Stoddart. La Fórmula 1 siempre fue mi sueño, pero pasé la mayor parte del camino sin saber si mis sueños se harían realidad. Ahora se han hecho realidad, y no importa si estoy contenta o no con los resultados de hoy; lo que importa es esto ─ estoy aquí.

Muchas gracias 🇲🇽❤️

see all comments

maseratisonusracing We will come back stronger in Jeddah 💪💪

user1 We love you Gisela!! Never give up!
liked by creator

user2 a DNF in your very first race is heartbreaking :(

user3 maserati deserves more than the silent treatment for that. prison.

user4 to be fair you were in P22 anyway.... not much use in continuing the race

user5 a dnf in your first race no wonder your dad abandoned you 😵‍💫
comment hidden

user6 never give up hope

user7 "at least it didn't explode" ─ famous last words from bram

user8 they should have signed pourchaire

user9 pookies at zero finishes and last in every champ standing 👍

user10 i kind of get why gerard was embarrassed of u now

user11 we miiiight need to retake that dna test... and then pay him back for all that wrongful child support 🤣 no shot this is the conway legacy.

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( MESSAGES )
logan & gisela

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sela
hypothetically in a universe where we never came to europe and certain stuff never happened do you think we would have fallen in love with each other

logie
ew hell no

wtf

sela
ok you could have just said no

logie
wanted the emphasis there

sela
my mom wouldn't have approved of you anyway

pasty ass american

logie
ah yes very different from the pasty ass australian right

also marcia loves me, for the fucking record

sela
don't call my mom marcia tf

logie
she loves me bro she told me i can even call her marcy if i wanted 😇

sela
i need to have a discussion with her about preying on younger men

logie
don't??

i'm an enthusiastic participant

sela
EW

logie
what prompted that question about if we would have fallen in love? answer is still a HARD no but i'm curious.

sela
jus thinking about invisible strings n whatever

logie
oh GODDRDDD here we go

sela
just tell me to shut up if you hate me so much

logie
shut up 😍

sela
i will not be doing that

i was just thinking about what if neither of us went into single seater racing and we both stayed in the states and everything else stayed exactly the same what do you think would have happened

logie
you would have gone to engineering school and became an indycar strategist and married pato and had 300 kids and i would have gone into nascar and won every race forever until i retired to spend more time with my 80 dogs

sela
no i don't like that one

logie
mf what do you want from me

sela
do you actually think i would have married pato

logie
hey did you genuinely read that message and believe i spent any amount of time pondering over it

NO

tell me what you want to hear so i can say it and we can stop having this ridiculous conversation

sela
do you think oscar was my soulmate

logan

hellooo

wow rude

logie
i have told you before i am NOTTT getting involved in whatever willtheywon'tthey game of chicken you guys have going on I WILL NOT

go get a new boyfriend if you want one so bad

or better yet just go for jonas whatever his name is

he's right there and also infatuated with you

gisela
adíos

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"The performance of the car has the potential to bump us upwards into points positions, but there have been errors in the execution that hindered the function."

So feel I.

Her DNF halfway through the race was the error that hindered Gisela's function. She sat in silence through the debrief. Arms folded. Barely listening. The ringing in her ears was to the rhythm of all the cars that zipped past her while she jumped free from her smoking vehicle. Bram had also been knocked loose from contact in the opening lap, and his damage had been too great to reach top speeds and required him to eventually retire the car ─ the low speed being probably the only thing that prevented him from suffering the same breakdown as Gisela's car.

The only bright side, it seemed, was their wonderkid in F2 who had gotten his first podium on debut. Of course Paul was empathetic to them, but there was no restraint for celebration. Gisela didn't blame him. It wasn't his job to care about the performance of this particular car until one of them got sick and he had to climb in it himself.

"Where to?" Gisela asked Bram tiredly as they walked side-by-side out of the paddock.

"Flying out early," he replied, stretching his shoulders. "Trying to get the most out of a week."

"Seeing family?"

"No, just gonna hit some clubs probably."

She frowned, confused. "We aren't allowed to drink on a race week."

Bram laughed a little, and Gisela was reminded of how adults would most often pat her on the head and chuckle when she would speak as a child. It made her feel defensive.

"Well, we aren't," she repeated stubbornly.

"Think of it this way, Ibáñez ─" Bram held out both hands, "─ Maserati has a bad car. Gabriele knows damn well he won't find anyone else this experienced who's desperate enough to race in it. It's job security for us. We're getting paid regardless."

Gisela scowled. "That's pretty pathetic."

"That's what we're here to do. Race the cars, yeah; but mostly as lackey figureheads. They wanted publicity, so they got a World Champion and a girl. Recognition doesn't get any better than this."

Gisela was glad to see her manager waiting for her at her car. "Whatever you say, Rynsburger."

They parted ways with Gisela feeling annoyed. Bram, of course, had no feelings towards the situation in either direction ─ his life was too eventful to let every conversation with every coworker get under his skin. She had to learn how to shake things off the way he did. He didn't care what he said or who said what about him. Like a duck dipping beneath the water, droplets sliding off feathers and leaving everything beneath untouched.

"Hi, Gisela. How are you feeling?" Percy, her manager of six years, hadn't been around much this weekend, even when she was around the media. He was busy. Everyone seemed so busy. Sometimes a feeling encroached upon Gisela that she needed to be doing something ... if not just to emulate those around her.

She shrugged. "Not good, I think."

"Mm. Judah had to call me for a ride back to the hotel earlier."

"Fuck," she swore silently, pressing her hands against her embarrassed face. "I forgot he was here."

"I noticed." Percy squeezed her shoulder humorously. "You ought to work on getting closer with him."

Gisela turned to look at him in the eyes, contemplating whether or not she should confess her most recent shameful secret. He scratched his gray mustache, waiting.

"I slept with him in New York," she admitted.

"Are you pregnant?"

"What?" she blinked in surprise, "No."

"Okay, then this is good."

"It's good?" she demanded.

"As far as I'm concerned you followed all the rules. Just some extracurricular activities."

She wasn't sure what she was hoping for. Maybe she had a small wish that Percy would acknowledge some kind of problem and put an axe in the contract. Goodbye, Judah, you were lovely but Gisela needs to focus on herself. But there was no such opportunity.

Percy just got in the car.

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( note )
and out of left field... an unexpected btd chapter as the first update after a few busy weeks?? unheard of.

but listennn after jeddah things are gonna start getting juicy..... melbourne and monaco i love everything you've got going on... and summer break you beautiful beautiful event... you guys are gonna love it.