Disclaimers:
You know them by now. So, I won't waste my time writing them. Just look back on last chapter to see it.
Mario's Notes:
If you read the last chapter, Ash Ketchum pulled off an impressive victory in his Toyota over Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari in the rain soaked Grand Prix of Belgium. The biggest shock of the race, or perhaps the season was Francois Deletraz's 3rd place finish. If you readers have ever watched a Formula One race, the three podium finishers go to a press conference room, where they talk to the media about their race. There is this guy who asks the questions but we don't ever see his face or know his name. So, I'm continuing that tradition in my crossover fanfic. Also, Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld meet after their altercation in the race. The sparks will fly!!
Ash Ketchum Formula One Driver
Chapter 21: Let The Celebration Begin!!!
I knew that I was going to have a fight with Rubens for the Driver's Championship. We both have something in common: Our burning desire to become Champion. For Rubens, his dream is to become one with the great Brazilian F1 past Champions and bring the title back to Brazil in a long time. If he did, his name would be remembered forever with the names of Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. For me, I have my own reasons for winning the Driver's Championship. Not only to I want to win it for Sir Frank, but I want to win it for Columbia. That's why I'm going to give it my all against Rubens Barrichello. And I know that Ferrari WILL actually let him win the title if I slipped up. Now that Schumi is still sidelined with that injury and the American is still learning the ropes of F1, looks like Rubens and I are going to have a good, fair fight until the end.
One of Juan Pablo Montoya's comments to Speed Channel before the Belgium GP.
"And now, here are the podium finishers for the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix. We have Ash Ketchum, your winner of the event, 2nd place finisher Rubens Barrichello and 3rd place finisher Francois Deletraz, making his first ever podium appearance in his early Grand Prix career. Ash, congratulations on your 4th career F1 victory and your 2nd this season. Did going back to Pallet and missing the Hungarian Grand Prix give you some kind of motivation to win here today?"
Ash Ketchum: Well, it did really. I was kind of getting used to being at home with my mother and friends back in Kanto and it was kind of hard to get back into my rhythm when I returned. Also, I had to fend off all of my old enemies that I left behind to go to F1. So, it was relaxing and stressful. To tell you the truth, I wanted to win a race for my Mom and my friends back home in Pallet. Well, I did it. I just hoped they watched the event today.
"Your team had a mixed qualifying session where you started in 10th and your teammate, Allan McNish started in 18th. But when the race started, you muscled your way to 6th place after the first lap. What did the team do to your car? Did they make any 11th hour changes?"
Ash Ketchum: The team finished a new version of this year's Toyota engine. It's much more powerful than the one Allan and I used for much of the season. Ove Andersson decided to let me have the new engine for this race. I didn't want to use the new power of the engine in qualifying so that's why I was down in 10th. Allan stuck with the old engine.
"Did the time you spent away from the car become a factor in Friday practice and Saturday Qualifying? We saw the speed charts for Friday and you were near the bottom in both sessions."
Ash Ketchum: I'm not going to lie. It took me a while to get comfortable in the car. But, after morning warm up for the race, I was fully comfortable in the car the way I always was before I left.
"Thank you, Ash. Rubens, you were one point behind Juan Pablo Montoya in the Driver's Title. Then, you were stripped of your win at the European Grand Prix because of the wooden plank issue and it was given to Montoya, who finished 2nd that day. So at the start of the race, you were 12 points behind. What was going through your mind?"
Rubens Barrichello: My Championship Run was over. For any team, 12 points is near insurmountable. But, Michael was determined to not let me lose this chance for me to become an F1 World Champion and bring it back home to Brazil. After the race was over, Michael told me that Juan crashed out, so I gained some points on him. To tell you the truth, I didn't know that Juan was out. I was too focused on driving.
"How was your race? Were you going to try to win and pray for Montoya to have a problem to get some points back or just drive near the front and take what you can get?"
Rubens Barrichello: That was my biggest worry. I knew I had to get some points from Juan, so I tried to get the lead at the start, but Panis, Jenius and this kid stopped me throughout the whole race. I've never raced that hard just to catch Ash. Catching him is one thing, passing him is in a league all by itself. I was lucky that we didn't take each other out. Normally, I don't like to wish bad things to happen to other drivers, but we'll take these points we gained and go to Monza. Hopefully, we can do better there and gain some more points.
"The rain arrived on lap 27 and soaked the track real good. Did Ferrari expect the rain to come as late as it did?"
Rubens Barrichello: No. The team was caught with our pants around our ankles. All of us were caught out by it, but not this kid next to me. He predicted the rain coming and came in to change to rain tires. Rain racing is always hard, but I'm glad that nobody was hurt in any of the crashes today.
"Thank you Rubens. Francois, this is your first ever podium finish in Formula One. Plus, this is Arrows' first podium since Hungary 1997. Did the team make any radical changes at all?"
Francois Deletraz: Actually, the setup in my car was one of my own that I made. Nigel is very lenient about drivers putting their own setups in the cars. And I didn't know it has been THAT long since Arrows was up here. I only started watching F1 back in 2001. So, I'm still a bit clueless about F1's past.
"Yes, it was Damon Hill who got 2nd place after leading the race for so long."
Rubens Barrichello: Then... that $2 gearbox of theirs broke while leading the whole damn thing!!! And lost it to Villeneuve!!
Ash Ketchum: I'm surprised that Damon still hasn't killed himself after that.
Rubens Barrichello: I still think that Damon should have killed Tom Walkinshaw for that. Lucky for us, he got into that battle with Ronin this year and got him kicked out. Money grubbing son of a bitch.
"Well, thank you for your colorful insight on Tom, Rubens. Francois, did you ever expect that you would get a podium finish at all with the Arrows?"
Francois Deletraz: Not really. I was amazed that I out qualified Ronin this week. And I was even more shocked to see myself far up in the points at the start of the race. On the other hand, the rain did help. The Ford Cosworth engine we got in there does love the rain. As for me expecting a podium finish this soon, I'm still shocked. I just can't explain what emotions went through me as I passed Riley for 3rd on the final lap. I just can't.
"The next race is at the legendary Monza circuit for the Grand Prix of Italy. Ash, what are your thoughts about going back to the track where you got your first ever podium finish with Ferrari in 2003?"
Ash Ketchum: Monza is a special place for any driver to race. I just wish the Tifosi doesn't mob me again and make Pikachu shock everybody there. I hope I can do good there this year with my Toyota and carry our momentum there.
"Well, thank you for your comments, gentlemen. Now we would like some words about the race in your native languages."
~~~~~~~
As the three started to talk about the race in their native tongues, a disappointed Riley Jenius headed for the BAR pits. He lost 3rd place to his buddy, Francois Deletraz on the final lap and couldn't get it back. Sure, he was happy for Francois, but... Francois was driving for Arrows. Riley got beat by the worst team in F1. He got beat by an Arrows with one of Jaguar's 1-year old Ford Cosworth engines.
"I got beat by an Arrows!!!!!" Riley yelled out in frustration and threw his helmet at the wall. "I got beat by the worst team in F1!!!!" He screamed out this time. Knowing that screaming won't do him any good, Riley gave up and entered the BAR pits. Unfortunately, nobody was there waiting for him. He saw a note posted on one of the telemetry monitors.
Riley:
The team and I had to go see the FIA board of directors about Olivier slamming Nick Heidfeld out of the race on lap 21. We had to restrain him from killing Bernie and Heidfeld. So, by the time you read this, we will not be in the garage and trying to keep Olivier and Nick from tearing each other limb from limb. So, you're free to return to Great Britain. Just leave your racing suit and other stuff in here. We'll take care of everything.
Sorry about us not being there to console you after you lost 3rd to an Arrows. Despite that, you drove a fine race today. I'm very pleased about your performance in the rain today.
David Richards, your boss!!
After reading the note, Riley tossed it into the trash and sat down on the side pod of Olivier's car to mope by himself. He didn't see his daughter Celia enter the garage.
"What's wrong?" Celia asked,
"I lost my 3rd place to a Arrows. How could I lose the final podium spot to an Arrows?!! An Arrows!!!!" Riley said as he kept replaying the pass in his mind. He was starting to fight off tears in his eyes.
"Is that bad?" She asked as she hopped on the side pod to sit next to him,
"Arrows is the worst team in F1. I'm driving for one of the finest F1 teams to date. How could I screw up so bad?" Riley asked as he replayed the mistake in his mind over. He looked at Celia, who was still puzzled on why he was sad. Then, Celia got onto his lap and hugged him. Riley shook off the shock and lifted the young girl in his arms so Celia can give him a proper hug. "To tell you the truth, honey. I wanted to get that trophy for you." Riley said quietly in her ear. The initial shock of discovering that he was a father wore off quickly when he held her in his arms for the first time ever.
"You tried, Daddy. There is always next time." Celia said as Riley held her, not knowing that Keith Terrell was spying on them.
"I can't believe that you're a Dad, Riley. I guess there is hope for the world." A voice said from outside. Riley and Celia looked to see who it was and saw Keith leaning next to the garage door. He was already in street clothes after retiring when his Ferrari V10 done blowed up on lap 25. All of a sudden, a drunk Ronin Vertigo stumbled into the BAR garage in his street clothes and a bottle of vodka in hand. Looks like he started drowning his sorrows already.
"Awww... isn't that cute?" Ronin said as the alcohol took effect and his voice started to become slurred. Keith let out a small laugh at his Russian friend already hitting the bottle.
"Hey, Ronin. I thought you and I were supposed to be drowning our sorrows together. Why'd you start without me?" Keith asked,
"It was calling out my name, you American!! I can't ignore the call of my family's vodka!!" As Ronin and Keith decided to leave and let Riley and Celia have some father-daughter time, they both saw a bloody Nick Heidfeld land hard on the ground right in front of the BAR garage. The German had a bloody nose and some facial bruises as he got back up, only to be punched in the face by an even bloodier Olivier Panis and the two grabbed each other's blood coated racing suits and just delivered an endless barrage of rights to the face. Looks like the two wanted to kill each other since the incident and they are doing it right now!!
"Holy crap!! Where they come from?!!" Riley said as some drivers appeared and were hooting and hollering like frat boys at a drinking binge,
"Street fight!!!" Felipe Massa yelled out as he and a giant group of drivers, team members and the media watched the pissed off men beat the shit out of each other as many FIA stewards tried to break up the fight. This started in the FIA Stewards office, where Panis was asking the officials why he was disqualified. Then, Heidfeld busted inside and the shit hit the fan. Heidfeld was pissed off at Panis for knocking him out of the race, but Panis was really pissed off at the Stewards and taking him out of the race and at Heidfeld for blocking him for 3 laps. The fight was now getting out of hand as team members tried to break up the fight, but it wasn't working. The drivers on the other hand, were egging them on and a few of them were making bets!!
"I got $50 on Panis!!" Kimi Raikkonen yelled out as he showed a fistful of bills in the air. The fight raged on as Olivier was on the ground, holding onto the left side of his body. Nick punched there so hard that a few ribs were broken and then, kicked Panis to the ground and started to kick him like a wounded dog. Bernie Ecclestone had seen enough of this senseless fight and with the help of the BAR and Jaguar teams, got in between the two drivers. He allowed the drivers to fight every once in a while if their emotions got out of hand and they would calm down after around 3 minutes of fighting. Then, Bernie would make the drivers settle their differences after the fight. In the end, the boss would only fine them $30,000 each and it would be that. This time however, it went too far.
"That is enough!! Both of you!! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from any driver!!!" Bernie yelled out as Panis finally regained his composure. Heidfeld saw him drop his guard and broke away from the officials and punched Panis hard in the face once again. Panis dropped to the ground as Eddie Irvine and several other drivers tackled Heidfeld to the pavement. After a few more minutes of chaos, Bernie Ecclestone finally got the two drivers under control. "Mr. Panis!! Your actions just have been offensive to Formula One. If you do not cease your anger at this instant, you will be suspended for 2 races!!" Bernie yelled out, thinking that Panis started the fight. Olivier was at the bursting point. Nobody would listen to him at all and nobody wanted to side with an old French driver like him. At that point, he had enough.
"What?!! You're letting that little shit Heidfeld get off scot free?!!! Are all of you blind?!! That's it!! I'm leaving!!" Olivier yelled out as he pushed some BAR team members out of his way, cringing somewhat due to his injuries he suffered.
"Mr. Panis!! I am not finished with you!! If you leave here, I will fine you $1 Million for insubordination!!" Bernie yelled, but Panis just brushed the threat off.
"I don't care, Ecclestone!! So, just fuck off!! I'm going home!" Panis yelled out as he headed straight for the BAR motorcoach. Moments later, he exited with his gear, hopped into a getaway car and drove off. Nobody said anything for a few minutes. Nobody has ever talked back to Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One Supremo ever. Much less, just walk away and ignore his warnings.
"Is Uncle Oliver in trouble?" Celia asked as she looked up at her father,
"Olivier is not your uncle, honey. He's my teammate. And yes, he is in trouble." Riley answered. He knew that Olivier looked after Celia when she arrived. In her mind, Olivier Panis is her uncle.
"You better leave, Panis!! Nobody wants to be around an old relic like you." Nick Heidfeld said as Eddie and the Jaguar guys still held onto him. Celia didn't like what she heard from Heidfeld and decided to take action, and show everyone another one of her special traits. She wanted Nick to lower himself to her level and when he did, she grabbed his blood stained suit.
"Listen, you bad man!! Nobody talks to Uncle Olivier like that, you piece of shit!!! If you hurt him, I'm going to beat your fucking face in!! And if that old prune who wears a skirt tries to hurt Uncle Olivier, I'm going to kick his ass!!" Celia yelled out as she let go of a very stunned Heidfeld and performed a perfect flip kick. With all her might, the kick broke Nick's jaw and he fell to the ground. Everybody in the garage saw this little display and was shocked!! A 6-year-old girl swearing at a F1 driver and then breaking his jaw with a perfect flip kick. First, she nearly killed Bernie Ecclestone and scared everybody shitless by appearing out of nowhere and yelling out a cheerful hello. Now, she know bad words and can break a guy's jaw with ease. She IS just like Riley.
"WHOA!! SHE IS JUST LIKE YOU, RILEY!! GODDAMN!!!" David Coulthard yelled out, not believing what he or anybody else just witnessed. Riley was the most surprised as he grabbed his daughter, walked into the BAR garage and started to drill her about using those "words" at all.
"CELIA!! WHO TAUGHT YOU THESE WORDS?!! If it was Keith, I'm killing him!!" Riley yelled loudly at her. He was just in pure shock at his young daughter having a potty mouth.
"Mommy always used those words at home. Why can't I use them also?" Celia asked fearfully and meekly.
"Daddy wants to have a talk with you about these "words" you said just now. And pray that Bernie won't suspend me for you nearly killing him." Riley said as he took his daughter away from the garage and to the BAR motor home. Nobody had anything to say to Riley. He was caught off guard like the rest, but one man had something to say.
"Some father you are, Jenius. Letting your daughter speak like that. I would use the belt on her right now if she was mine." Michael Schumacher said behind Riley's back and began to walk back to the Ferrari garage. The Canadian stopped for a second, kneeled down to tell Celia something. He got back up and walked through the crowd and caught up with Michael. He felt like somebody was behind him and turned around, only to have Riley grab a fistful of his shirt and looking at him with a lot of hatred in his eyes.
"I WILL NEVER, EVER PUNISH MY DAUGHTER BY HITTING HER!! AND IF SHE COMES CRYING TO ME SAYING YOU HIT HER, I WILL MURDER YOU RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE WORLD!!!" Riley yelled out in pure rage as he punched Michael in the head so hard with a right hook, that Michael started to lose consciousness as he fell. Riley did the one thing nobody has been ever able to do to Michael; knock him out with one punch. The German was on the ground unconscious as Riley walked back to the BAR motorcoach with Celia in his arms. Riley is a bit touchy about the subject about disciplining kids by hitting them. Only Keith knows the real reason why Riley hates that.
"What a day. We have a great race, then a giant Hockey like fight breaks out and blood is spilled. To top that, a little girls curses out Heidfeld and flips kicks him, breaking his jaw. I'm getting too old for this." Bernie Ecclestone said quietly as he saw Keith pick Michael up and drag him to the medical room.
~~~~~~~
All the way in Pallet, Delia Ketchum was busy working on her garden with the help of Mimey like she has always done when a Pokémon trainer ran down the street, shouting happily. Seems like somebody stayed up and watched the Formula One race.
"ASH KETCHUM WON!!! ASH KETCHUM WON THE GRAND PRIX TODAY!!!!" The trainer yelled out and ran down the road to Viridian City. Delia heard this and stopped working on the garden.
[What's wrong, Master?] Mr. Mime asked,
"Ash won? Won the race? What is that trainer talking about?" Delia asked herself, wondering if Ash really did pull it off.
[Why not check the TV? If he did win a race, the news will probably have tons of things about Ash.] Mimey suggested,
"You're right, Mimey. And I think that's enough for today." Delia said as she got up and went inside the house with Mimey following behind. She turned on the TV and a lot of channels were showing highlights of the Grand Prix of Belgium and Ash's celebration on the podium. Both he and Rubens doused Francois with the bubbly. Delia changed the channel and caught a news show that was just about to show the highlights of the event.
"Hello, we have interrupted our normal programming due to a giant celebration by Pokémon trainers all over Japan. Ash Ketchum, a former Pokémon trainer now turned Formula One driver from Pallet Town, has won the Grand Prix Of Belgium earlier today. Here are the highlights from today's F1 race." The TV guy said as they showed the start of the race where the BAR drivers led into La Source. The crash of Mark Webber and Takuma Sato was shown on the same scene. Next, the footage went to Ash making his way through the field at the end of the first lap. The altercation with Ralf and Montoya was shown as Montoya dropped to the back and Ralf made the stop and go, only to drop out on lap 9. This was followed by Rubens trying to pass the BAR drivers, but was held off. The next clip was of Francois' Arrows as he was in the points all race long and after that, Ronin's Arrows was seen pulling off the road on lap 13 and that was the end for him. The altercation between Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld was next and it clearly shown that the FIA officials didn't even see Nick block Panis all those times until the Frenchman punted the Jaguar off the track. A clip of Panis being ordered to withdraw was shown as the BAR Renault pulled into the garage. After a few more pictures of Ash and the pit stops of Riley Jenius and Rubens Barrichello, the engine blow up of Keith Terrell's Ferrari on lap 25 was shown. Next was the arrival of the rain and Ash's stop for rain tires was shown as the team got him out fast. The pit stops of other teams were shown as well. The Yoong/McNish incident was next where Allan McNish didn't stop rain tires and he went wide, trying to cut off Alex Yoong's Minardi. The end result was Yoong hitting McNish and making him crash out. Then, the retirement of Kimi Raikkonen on lap 32 was shown and they did a slow-mo of Ash's Toyota just blasting through the thick smoke with Barrichello in hot pursuit. That tense moment actually made Delia's heart rate jump up a lot, but was glad to see that Ash made it through safely. The next scene was the retirements of David Coulthard and Juan Montoya on lap 34. Juan was trying to pass Deletraz as David was trying to pass Montoya. The two hit and they were in the gravel trap, out of the race. Felipe Massa's retirement on lap 40 was seen as he lost control at La Source and was out of it. Jenson Button's lap 42 retirement was shown next as the engine stopped due to a fuel line failure. The footage of Ash taking the checkered flag ahead of Barrichello was next, followed by Francois' pass on Riley Jenius at Rivage. Finally, the podium celebration was shown with Ash, Rubens and Francois spraying the bubbly. After hearing the results, Delia was overjoyed that her son won a Grand Prix race so soon after returning to F1.
"Oh, my! Ash did win!! My baby won!!" Delia said excitedly as she started to jump in the air, letting out all of that excitement that was built up from just watching the highlights. While she and Mimey were celebrating, the TV showed Ash's comments about the race and finished the report with the low down on the points finishers.
"So, Ash Ketchum wins his 2nd race of 2005, the 4th win of his young F1 career and snags 10 Championship Points. Rubens Barrichello and his Ferrari gave it everything he had on Ketchum, but it wasn't enough. He'll have to settle for 2nd and 8 vital Points in the Driver's Title. Arrows Ford driver Francois Deletraz shocks the F1 world by passing Riley Jenius' BAR Renault of the final lap when Jenius made a mistake to take 3rd place and 6 Championship Points, a great result for the young Frenchman. This finish also is the first podium finish Arrows has had in F1 since Damon Hill in Hungary 1997. Overall, a great day for Nigel Mansell's team. Riley Jenius' mistake on the last lap in Rivage, drops him to 4th and earns 5 Points for his day's work, despite being near the lead for the first half of the race. Eddie Irvine and his surviving Jaguar finished in 5th and earns him 4 Championship Points. The Ulsterman had a great battle with Tomas Scheckter and his Renault for the remainder of the race. Scheckter finishes in 6th place and 3 Championship Points. Alex Yoong's day ended well when he battled back from his collision with McNish to finish in 7th and gain 2 Points as Jarno Trulli's Renault finishes in 8th place and gets the last Championship Point."
The next day in Kanto, everybody was still talking about Ash Ketchum's victory in the rain at Belgium. Many Pokémon trainers became Formula One fans that day, with their support behind Ash. Actually, most Pokémon trainers who became F1 fans yesterday are girls! To them, Ash Ketchum is the hottest guy in the whole world! He was now more popular than those cute guys who are musicians or movie stars. And the talk of the day was a rumor about the start of a fan club dedicated for Ash. A group of girls Ash's age, were already talking about it at a local café in Cerulean City.
"So, did you hear? Some people are actually starting a fan club dedicated to that cute Ash Ketchum." The first girl said,
"Yeah, I heard. I'm thinking about joining this fan club. Ash Ketchum is such a hunk." The second girl said as she put in her two cents on the subject,
"I wouldn't mind being his girlfriend. Traveling all over the world, visiting all the places that F1 goes to." The third girl said dreamily, just daydreaming her being with Ash on the F1 World Circuit and celebrating with him when he wins.
"I'm hooked on F1 now. Those guys aren't so bad after all. I honestly think that French guy that was with Ash after the event was so cute." The fourth girl said as she instantly fell in love with Francois Deletraz. Besides being one of F1's bad boys with Keith and the others, he is handsome in a cute way in the eyes of women.
"I know that French guy is cute. But, Ash is even cuter with that red and white racing suit he wears!!"
"What a man!!" The four girls said dreamily before bursting out in laughter. One girl who would have to agree that Ash is pretty cute these days was Giselle. Since graduating from Pokémon Tech days after the Formula One drivers nearly took over entire Pokémon League in late 2003, she has captured a lot of Pokémon, competed in many Pokémon tournaments and beat her opponents senseless. With the attention of the public now sifting from Pokémon training to F1, Giselle actually stayed up to watch Ash win Belgium. Now, Formula One intrigued her to no limit. The cars themselves were very intriguing because of how they are exotically designed and the way the drivers drove them to their limits was exciting. She sipped on a latte as them girls near her kept on daydreaming about Ash.
"Hmm, I must admit. Ash Ketchum is very handsome since the last time I've seen him. I think I might go to their next race in Italy and have a battle with him. I just hope all those years with those foreign guys hasn't stopped Ash from training his Pokémon." Giselle said, remembering the first time she met Ash. It was back 7 years ago when Misty, Ash and Brock found the tech and Misty wanted to give Giselle a piece of her mind. Later, Ash beat Giselle in a Pokémon battle by having Pikachu use attacks that would make Giselle scratch her head in wonder. She really wanted to fight him again in a Pokémon battle ever since. She was looking at a website on her laptop that was selling tickets to the Italian Grand Prix. There was plenty of great seats left and in Italy, the Tifosi are probably going to get them all real fast. A few minutes later, Giselle bought one of the best seats at Italy and was already making travel arrangements to the legendary track. "Look out, Ash Ketchum. I'm coming to battle you." She said cheerfully as she finished making her preparations. Thanks to being in all those tournaments, Giselle has a great deal of money to burn. Looks like Ash will have more to worry about than keeping his winning streak alive at Italy.
~~~~~~~
Back at Spa, the team transporters were all loaded up for the trip back to their respective shops. Some of the drivers have already taken their private jets back to the shops, but a lot of them were going to leave with the teams. It was a bittersweet moment for Michael Schumacher, though. This was the final race at Spa. He got his first Grand Prix win at Spa in 1992, won his 52nd and record breaking win at Spa. He loved this track and was saddened to see it dropped. This was also a bit hard on Keith. He won his first ever Grand Prix win on this track last year.
"It's tough to leave this place. I got my first win here last year." Keith said as he and Michael took a look at Eau Rogue for the final time. Keith drove with all his heart in 2004 in a great battle with David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya and Oliver Panis and won this race for his grandparents. He also made history that day by becoming the first American driver to win a Grand Prix event in over 2 decades.
"I got my first win here as well back in '92. This track was so good to me in years gone by. I just wish I was well enough to get in the Ferrari and take a few laps around, just for old times sake." Michael said sadly, remembering his first victory he had ever got with Benetton in 1992 and his win with Ferrari in 2001. This track has been good for Michael in years gone by.
"Hell, even Eddie Jordan got his first win here as well in '98!! This track loves first time winners." Keith said and the two laughed a bit. People have been saying that the team got drunk at their celebration that night. Michael remembered that race for the incident he had with David Coulthard in 1998. He was in a war with Mika Hakkinen all season and Michael hit the back of David's car real hard, ripping off the right front wheel.
"You're right, Terrell. You're damn right. But, Formula One needs to move on. Let's head back to Ferrari HQ and plan our attack for Monza." Michael said as he put his arm around Keith and the two walked towards the Ferrari transporter,
"Look out, Tifosi. Keith Terrell is coming back to win again!!" Keith said cheerfully as he pumped his right fist in the air. Michael just chuckled at Keith's enthusiasm. He has a right to be so happy about going to Monza. Keith won the Grand Prix last year and made the Tifosi go nuts. The Patriot will be flying high at Monza.
To Be Continued...
The race is over and the teams are heading back to their shops to get their cars ready for the Grand Prix of Italy in two weeks. What will become of Olivier Panis after his fight with Nick Heidfeld?
On Valentine's Day 2002, I made my FF.net debut. It was one of my new year's resolutions to become a writer on FF.net. My 1-year anniversary of being a writer has come and gone!! So, Valentine's Day does have some meaning to me these days. I want to thank all the people who have supported me throughout this whole year and I hope you'll stick with me for another year.
One more thing. One anonymous reviewer suggested that all the female characters that appeared in the Pokémon series, minus one redhead, start a fan club that is totally dedicated to Ash Ketchum. I thought that was a kick ass idea and I just had to get the start of the fan club in this chapter. So, to the anonymous reviewer that sent in that idea, thank you so much.
Mario Alvarado
2/18/2003