Mr. Luca di Montezemolo's letter to Bernie Ecclestone, discussing his first meeting with Keith Terrell
"He's not. Mr. Terrell started racing in Formula 3000 in mid 1998. He raced full time in F3000 in 1999, 2 years before the Red Bull program began." Ross answered,
"Yeah. Pretty much. When Sullivan started that thing, I didn't even register a blip on their radar. The guys that were selected in 2002, haven't even made it to F3000 yet!! Derek Hill didn't even register a blip on their radar too!!! And he was in F3000 at the same time I was!! I even teamed up with him for a time!!!" Keith added,
"Mid 1998? You must be very experienced, then." Bernie said,
"You ain't just whistling Dixie, brother. I want to win the F1 Driver's Title so I can rub it in their faces!! I want to make them pay for not putting me in that shit program!! And with Ferrari, I might do it!!! If they'll stop kissing Schumacher's ass to let me do it!! I don't think they'll let Barrichello win!! I would just love to punch Schumacher out!!" Keith said. Already, Ross was regretting bringing Keith out of F3000 and was now wishing that he could just drop him back in F3000. If he and Michael met, F1 World War I would start. Bernie on the other hand, was now a bit glad that somebody has the balls to say that about the great Michael Schumacher.
"This is what Formula One needs. A rivalry between an up and coming American versus the experienced German. A lot of fans would love to see Michael get his." Bernie said,
"It's not going to be a rivalry, Ecclestone!! It's going to be World War III!!! I'm the Allied Forces and Schumacher is the Nazi army!! The United States of America is the most powerful nation in the world!! We rule this damn Earth!! I will never kiss Michael's ass!!! I refuse to pull over for Mr. "I'm the greatest driver in the world!!" I'll kick his ass!!" Keith said before hollering out and starting his trademark "U.S.A." chant right inside Bernie's office. Ross was now regretting this.
"Oh, god. Save us all. I made a terrible mistake." Ross said as he placed a paper bag over his head and planned his suicide at the end of the 2004 season.
"I think I'm beginning to like you, Mr. Terrell." Bernie said as he placed his arm around Keith and the two walked out of the office. "With you driving for Ferrari, Mr. Terrell. The fans of the United States will tune into Formula One by the droves. And just think how the fans at Indianapolis will greet you when you arrive there for the U.S. GP to win it." Bernie said,
"You're damn right I'm going to win Indy!!! Nobody will get in my way to win!!" Keith said, his voice full of determination and confidence. This was going to be one wild ride. Both men left Ross standing in the office, looking at both of them in a weird way. He was thinking what the hell just happened.
[End Flashback]
"So, that is how Keith joined your team." Lorelei said,
"Sure did. I just have one small problem with him, though." Michael said,
"Oh, really... what's that?" Lorelei asked,
"Back during the late 90's, I acted like an egotistical, self-centered, win at all costs, late race crashes, on top of the world, insensitive, blame somebody else kind of driver. I had to win at all costs!! I made an attitude adjustment in 2000, which has made me a better person, most of the time. When I first met Keith at the German Grand Prix, I was looking at a younger, American version of myself. His mentality was I will win everything, get out of my way, you are below me, I'm the best thing since sliced bread, screw team orders type of driver." Michael answered, thinking about all the times he and Terrell argued about every little thing during Keith's one and a half years with the Italian team.
"So, you were looking at a mirror image of yourself." Lorelei said, getting to the point of what Michael is saying.
"Yeah. He's worse than me. And he still has that mentality when we go the United States. He has to win that race. He'll knock anybody out of his way to win. We nearly killed each other the first time we met!!" Michael said. There was a minute of silence between the two. The only sound that was heard was the roar of the V10 engines as the first session of qualifying came to an end with Kimi Raikkonen still waiting to go out.
"You better not hurt him by using me in your plan. Or... you will be very sorry you ever met me." Lorelei said evilly as she looked Michael in the eyes. He got scared and backed away from her. She was dead serious about what she's saying.
"I'm not going to kill him!! I swear to god!! I just have a plan for him and I need your help. I'll tell you it tomorrow!!" Michael panicked as he bolted out of the Ferrari lounge. Lorelei took a sip of her iced tea as Raikkonen made his lap.
"At least let me see Keith before you kill him, Michael. I know he hates your guts." Lorelei said to herself as Raikkonen finished his lap and the first qualifying session ended.
~~~~~~~
30 minutes later, the final qualifying session got started and everybody went faster on their second lap. The biggest losers of the day were Francois Deletraz, Mark Webber and Giancarlo Fisichella. All of them had problems on their lap and the three are starting at the back of the grid. Ash had the qualifying bug bite him again and his lap was tossed out because one of the tires had a puncture and he slowed down and threw away a really good lap. The big winner of the session was Jenson Button in his Sauber. The Swiss team found something in the car that made Button faster on his lap. He'll start in 3rd place behind Keith Terrell and pole winner Rubens Barrichello. Early pole sitter Eddie Irvine had a good day as he qualified in 5th place, proving to everybody that the Jaguar has a lot of speed at Monza. Finally, BAR drivers Olivier Panis and Riley Jenius got good starting positions in the points with Panis in 6th and Riley starting in 8th. Overall, the new qualifying format was pretty good, but some drivers want to go back to the old qualifying format when they go to Indianapolis in 2 weeks.
After the final session of Qualifying ended, Ash decided to call Brock and hear how his life is going since he and Keith left. Ash was in a so-so mood as he entered the hotel and headed for his room to change clothes. He backed up his Belgium win with a 9th place starting spot for the Italian Grand Prix. The qualifying bug bit him once again, even though Ash was on a lap that would have given him the pole. He screwed it all up at Parabolica. Since it was 2 P.M. in Italy, given the time difference, it would be around 10 P.M. in Pallet. He grabbed the phone and dialed Brock's number. He needed somebody to talk to and Brock was usually high on Ash's list. He didn't want to talk to anybody else. After a few rings, the other line picked up and sure enough, it was Brock.
"WHAT?!!!" Brock yelled out, sounding a bit pissed off like Ash interrupted him.
"Whoa, Brock. It's me, Ash." Ash said,
"Oh, sorry Ash. I thought you were another one of those damn phone salesguys." Brock said,
"Naw, it's just your friendly F1 driver coming to you live from Italy." Ash said,
"Speaking about the race... how did you do in qualifying?" Brock asked,
"Final Qualifying ended and I'm starting in 9th for the Grand Prix tomorrow. I was going to be on the pole, but I made a mistake at the final turn. Even though Keith has the best chance of winning, I have some chance of getting the victory. All the fans are betting on Keith to pull it off." Ash said,
"Can you blame them? Those people over there are crazy about that team." Brock said,
"I know. I used to drive for Ferrari." Ash said, remembering his races with the Italian team.
"Um, Ash. I don't know if you know this or not... but a group of girls started this fan club that is totally devoted to you. All of the members in it are girls who find you quite cute." Brock said,
"Oh, that fan club. I've heard about that. It started after I won Belgium. Seems like everybody is F1 crazy now." Ash said,
"The Pokémon league is losing popularity to you guys. My dad said that few trainers are out training and most of them are watching F1. Just be careful when you guys come to Japan. You're gonna be swarmed by a lot of girls when you get off that plane." Brock said,
"And some drivers are going to be really jealous of me at the same time. I know Riley will be. Oh, guess what!! Do you remember that girl from Pokémon Tech named Giselle?" Ash asked,
"I remember her. She graduated Poké Tech at the top of her class after you guys nearly destroyed all of the Pokémon League. Did you see her?" Brock asked,
"Sure did. I bumped into her on Friday. Seems like she has caught the F1 bug also and stayed up to watch the race. She even challenged me to a Pokémon battle, thinking that all this time in F1 has made me a little rusty at training. Boy, did I prove her wrong. I kicked her ass real good. So, how's everything with you and Suzie?" Ash said, getting to the real reason he called Brock.
"Well... you see, Ash... um, it's pretty good." Brock said, somewhat embarrassed. All of a sudden, Brock had to finish the call. "I got to go!! I'll watch the race tomorrow night! BYE!!" Ash heard Brock hang up the phone real fast. Then, Ash placed the phone on the receiver and wondered what got Brock so jumpy.
"What was that all about?" Ash asked himself. He shrugged the thought off as he wondered how he's going to do in the race tomorrow. Over in Japan, Brock placed his cell phone in his pocket as he heard his girlfriend Suzie, call out his name from the down the street. The two were in Celadon City's entertainment district, enjoying a Friday night out. This was the reason Brock had to hang up on Ash. He and Suzie were on a date.
"Well, who was on the phone Brock?" Suzie asked as she came to a stop next to Brock,
"That was Ash. He just wanted to check up on me. I couldn't stay on the phone long, though." Brock said as he adjusted the collar on his fancy shirt. Suddenly, Suzie grabbed his arm and started to drag him to a nearby dance club.
"At least he knows we'll be cheering for him during the race tomorrow. Now, let's get going!! There's this really good dance club I wanted to go to!!" Suzie said as she dragged a helpless Brock down the street.
~~~~~~~
Keith decided to check up on Riley. He hasn't seen his Canadian friend since the Belgian GP weekend. He saw Celia and Riley making really big ice cream sundaes. Well, Celia's was the big one while Riley had a small one.
"More chocolate on mine!! Now, put some on yours Daddy!!" Celia said cheerfully as she coaxed her father to put some hot chocolate on his.
"My personal trainer is going to kill me for this." Riley said as he dumped a lot of chocolate on his smaller sundae. He's not supposed to be eating anything sweet during the race weekend, but Celia had other plans. Keith laughed a bit at the size of Celia's sundae.
"Damn, Riley. Your kid has a bigger stomach than you. Or... maybe you don't like ice cream that much." Keith said as Riley blushed from embarrassment,
"Keith, shut up. I'm not supposed to have ice cream sundaes during the race weekend. But, I can't say no to her." Riley said as Celia took Riley's spoon, shoved it in the sundae and stuffed it in his mouth, causing Keith to laugh more. Celia has her father wrapped around her finger real good. All of a sudden, Keith's Poké Ball started moving around.
"Uh-oh. Suicune wants out." Keith said as the ball opened and Suicune made its appearance inside the room. Celia's eyes lit up at the sight of the Legendary Dog Pokémon. This was the first time she has ever laid eyes on Suicune.
"WOW!! What a cute little doggie!!!" Celia said cheerfully,
[I am not a "cute little doggie!!!!" Keith, who is that?!!] Suicune asked, looking at the young girl who reminded him of Riley.
"Suicune... say hello to Riley's daughter, Celia." Keith said, introducing the Legendary Pokémon to Riley's kid.
[It's the end of the world!! Jenius has spawned a clone of himself!!! We're all gonna die!!!] Suicune panicked for a while, trying to hide itself from Celia.
"Oh, shut up, Suicune." Keith said. All of a sudden, the group spotted Ash's Charizard walk past, en route to the Jaguar motorhome. Charizard was carrying a bunch of giant eggs as he walked by the group.
"Ash's Charizard has some giant eggs. Is he planning to cook them?" Keith asked,
[No, Keith. Those are Pokémon eggs. Some Pokémon left them behind and Charizard is taking them to Ash, so he can give them a good home.] Suicune said,
"That's real nice of Charizard. Looking after a fellow Pokémon." Keith said. Inside the Jaguar motorhome, the Ulsterman was getting out of his racing suit when he heard a knock on the door. He was getting ready to go back to the hotel and enjoy some time to himself by reading a Tom Clancy novel.
"Coming." Irvine yelled out as he zipped up his suit and opened the door. He saw Charizard there, carrying about 6 Pokémon eggs.
"Here, Irvine. Special delivery." Charizard said as he handed Irvine the 6 Pokémon eggs. Eddie placed them on his bed before asking what was up. Ash's Fire Pokémon has already mastered talking since he learned to talk yesterday.
"What the hell? What is this?" Irvine asked as he looked at one of the eggs up close. The egg was as big as his racing helmet. This was the first time he has ever seen a Pokémon egg up close.
"It's an egg. I found them while I was sleeping in the forest near the giant banking of the old oval track." Charizard said,
"I can see that. Do you want me to make a giant skillet out of this?" Eddie asked,
"No. This is a Pokémon egg." Charizard said,
"A Pokémon egg? Thing's as big as my helmet. What's inside it?" Eddie asked,
"I don't know. But I can tell you that these eggs are probably from a wild Charizard. You know, one of my kind. You told Ash that you always wanted one of me for your own. I overheard you talking to him during the Britian race." Charizard answered,
"Yeah, you're right. So... this will hatch into something that will become a Charizard in due time?" Eddie asked,
"Yeah. Just keep the eggs toasty warm. It could be one of my kind, but I really don't know." Charizard answered,
"Like a mother hen. Shouldn't you give one to Ash?" Eddie asked,
"He has enough problems with Pikachu being pissed off at him for missing that battle earlier. Well, I got to go. Ash is probably wondering where I am right now." Charizard said as he exited Eddie's room and took to the sky for the hotel. Irvine looked at the six Pokémon eggs for a second. He started to rearrange his room around so that all the eggs were kept in a nice, warm spot and knew where to check on them after the morning warm up and the race. Irvine saw back down on his bed and started to get out of his racing suit.
"Boy, I hope nobody makes fun of me for raising a bunch of eggs in my room. I don't want the drivers to call me "Grandpa Eddie." He said.
To Be Continued...
Well, the grid is set for the Grand Prix of Italy in the next chapter of Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver. And I hope you enjoyed this little look back about how Keith joined the Ferrari team.
Also, who or what left those eggs that Charizard found and gave them to Eddie Irvine? Can Ash make it two wins in a row tomorrow? Can Montoya gain some more points on Rubens in the race? Can Keith win the Italian Grand Prix for the second year in a row? Just wait for Chapter 27 in the next few weeks!! As usual, please read and review!! Send anything you want. Questions, comments, flames, etc. to Hornet19us@Yahoo.com
Here’s a bit of F1 terminology for you readers. The Tifosi are known in Formula One as Italian Ferrari fans. They literally go nuts when Michael or Rubens wins the Italian GP in their red Ferraris. The Tifosi swarmed the new Monza podium that is located over pit lane and can be reached from a walkway from the paddock as Michael and Rubens sprayed the bubbly. If you have ever watched an Italian Grand Prix on Speed Channel or ABC, you will literally see the stands covered in red and tons of Ferrari flags waving. The Italian people are just crazy about Ferrari. I don’t blame them.
Mario Alvarado
4/1/2003
Formula One Lives On Speed Channel!!!!!
Grand Prix of Italy Starting Grid
1st: Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari (1:25:524)
2nd: Keith Terrell, Ferrari (1:25:611)
3rd: Jenson Button, Sauber (1:25:835)
4th: Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams (1:25:973)
5th: Eddie Irvine, Jaguar (1:26:037)
6th: Olivier Panis, BAR (1:26:157)
7th: Alex Yoong, Minardi (1:26:389)
8th: Riley Jenius, BAR (1:26:733)
9th: Ash Ketchum, Toyota (1:26:822)
10th: Ralf Schumacher, Williams (1:27:021)
11th: Ronin Vertigo, Arrows (1:27:234)
12th: David Coulthard, McLaren (1:27:555)
13th: Takuma Sato, Jordan (1:27:733)
14th: Jarno Trulli, Renault (1:28:311)
15th: Kimi Raikkonen, Jordan (1:28:632)
16th: Nick Heidfeld, Jaguar (1:28:722)
17th: Allan McNish, Toyota (1:28:831)
18th: Felipe Massa, Sauber (1:29:104)
19th: Tomas Scheckter, Renault (1:29:212)
20th: Giancarlo Fisichella, McLaren (1:29:410)
21st: Mark Webber, Minardi (1:29:644)
22nd: Francois Deletraz, Arrows (1:30:450)