SEVENTEEN

"LARA!

"LIS!"

All Larissa could remember was stepping off the podium after placing second at the Monaco Grand Prix. After that, it all seemed to go black.

She felt arms lifting her from the ground as she began to stir in to consciousness, before a wet cloth began to dab at her forehead, to attempt to cool her down.

Her eyes began to peel open, to see herself in the medical tent, with the hazel eyes of Daniel Ricciardo worriedly staring down at her.

Lewis Hamilton rubbed circles on her hand with his thumb as his eyes were glassy and red. His lip had been quivering slightly as he worried for his little sister's unconscious body.

A small groan left her lips, alerting the two men to her awakening, their eyes meeting each others before they softly nodded at each other, quickly moving her weak body in to a more comfortable position.

"Lara, how are you feeling, babe?" Daniel spoke softly, making sure his voice was not too loud in case it made her head hurt.

He gently pressed a damp cloth against her forehead, as it had been way too warm and had only begun to cool down as he pressed the cloth against her skin.

"As if King Kong thought that I was an airplane." Her voice was hoarse and quiet, but loud enough for her to grimace at the volume.

"The medics are on their way, Lis." Lewis pressed soft kisses to her knuckles. She was just about able to see the tears in his eyes, causing her to bring her hand up to his face to cup his cheek.

"Congratulations on third, Lew. Obviously, it's not a win, but looks like you can't beat the honey badger." Daniel and Lewis smiled, chuckling softly at their girls teasing behaviour, even after she had blacked out.

"Glad that you're in my corner, babe." Daniel smiled down at her, winking at her and seeing her tired face light up in to a smile.

"Always will be, Danny boy. We both don't want THAT idiot to beat my dad's record, so you're my favorite person in the hope that it puts him off." Larissa smiled tiredly, straining to lift her body to kiss the Australian man's cheek.

Lewis stared at her expectantly, since she always used to kiss his cheek but saw her signature smirk crawl it's way up on to her face. "Oh, I see how it is."

The trio smiled, laughing quietly before a doctor entered the medical tent, with a clipboard in his hand. Daniel felt the Brazilian squeezing his hand tightly, so he squeezed her hand back to comfort and provide support to her.

"Miss Cohen, I have read your notes and it seems like you have deliberately ignored the doctors advice in Shanghai." The doctor spoke, earning confused and upset looks from the two men beside her.

"She did what?" Kimi Raikonnen spoke coldly as he had just entered the tent to check on his niece. Behind him, was Sebastian and Fernando who both looked disappointed at their niece.

"It appears that your niece deliberately ignored the doctors advice back in Shanghai, and raced without permission from a doctor. The G force felt by racing made the head injury what she suffered with, worse, placing more pressure on the brain, and caused her to faint. As for her ribs, since they are healing slighter slower than usual, I would suggest that Larissa here, is not meeting the adequate levels of food ingestion a day which is then slowing down the healing process, because she is not meeting her body's basic needs."

The doctor explained to the group as Zahra stood dumbfounded in the entry way with Pierre and Franz by her side, with the elder man not looking happy.

"You're off the team, kid." Franz interrupted before the doctor could continue, earning horrified looks from everyone in the room.

"You can't do that!" Pierre

"That's not fair!" Zahra

"She just got you a podium!" Daniel

"You can't just drop her!" Fernando

"She can sue!" Sebastian

"You have no right!" Kimi

"At least give her a chance!" Lewis

And Larissa?

Larissa Cohen burst in to laughter.

"Okay, boss." She laughed, seeing her friends and family's head snap towards her in shock.

Why was she giving up?

"I'll contact f2 and let them know that you're dropping back down back to them." Franz informed her, since she didn't seem bothered.

"That's fine, boss." Larissa nodded, watching as the man walked away from her and the tent.

She offically had no team.

"Lis, what the hell? You can't just let him drop you!" Zahra yelled as her friends and family ran in front of her to attempt to get her to fight for her seat.

"Mon Cherie, you have to fight for it, you deserve that seat more than anyone, even more than me." Pierre held on to his team mates hands as he crouched in front of her. He had nearly fainted himself when he saw her collapse, he was so worried.

"Anyway, doc. You were saying?" Larissa immediately changed the subject, surprising the people in the room.

"Hmm, yes." The doctor cleared his throat. "I would like to suggest running some tests as to what damage you have done by racing when you were supposed to be resting, and for your ribs, I recommend actually eating the right amount of food, if you are unable to, then contact me and I will find a way of getting your body the nutrition that it needs."

"We are going to be having some very harsh words." Kimi spoke as his blue met her brown, staring concerned in to his niece's eyes.

"Looking forward to it."

____________________________________________________

"Larissa Cohen, what a surprise. Are you here to clear out your trailer?"

Franz Tost spoke as Larissa walked in to his office just as he was about to call her old team in Formula 2.

"No." She shook her head, taking a seat in the chair on the opposite side of his desk. "I wanted to talk to you, without everyone being around me."

"You know I won't change my mind, kid. You deliberately went against doctors orders, and we could be blamed for it." Franz admitted with a sigh.

"You won't. I take full responsibility for my actions." She denied with confidence.

"But I assure you, if I go back down in to Formula two, I will expose your sexist treatment towards me during the past few months."

Franz's eyes widened as the words left her lips. "Sexism? I'm accused of sexism? Woma-"

"There we go again, always having to mention my gender. Why is that important?" Larissa scoffed.

"I have noticed far more than your little 'woman' comments here and there. My workouts are completely different, even Lucy noticed how most of my exercises were concentrating on my ass than anything else, which was why she changed it to one that would actually help my body and not my ass, since my ass is not what is going to get me points. I'm a racing driver, not a catwalk model."

"I have noticed how my diet consists of a lot less calories than Pierre, and that in itself is slowing down the healing time of my injuries because I am not eating the right amount of food. I have asked you about my diet, and you mentioned how I needed to keep myself skinny to fit in to my suit, but in reality, I have been losing weight and can barely fit in to it anymore because it is getting too big."

"I am not allowed to lift anything heavy because apparently I am unable to, even before my crash, if I tried to lift anything, then a male would come and lift it for me, even if it was something which I could carry, like my weight bag. I have noticed the stares I recieve when I get results which get me in front of Pierre, and I know that it is not because of my rookie status."

"Lariss-"

"No, I'm talking, no interruptions." Larissa glared at her team principal.

"I have been spoken to as if I am an idiot, as if I do not understand how to simply change a tire. That, only adds to the condescending attitude towards me when my own team of mechanics speak to me as if I am not fluent in English. Yes I am Brazilian, but I have better English skills than most of the men in here, including you, boss."

Franz eyes widened to the size of saucers as she finished her rant, having to catch her breath from how fast she was talking without taking a breath for oxygen.

"But go ahead and take my seat from me, I would like to see how long you remain as team principal."

Franz gulped as she stared him down, it was as if he wasn't looking at her anymore.

It was as if he was staring straight at her father.

____________________________________________________

"Mon Cherie, I have spoken to Franz!"

Pierre Gasly ran towards the Brazilian as she was sat in the Mercedes garage comfortably, as she was sat inbetween Valterri, who was showing her photos of his home country, Finland, and Lewis, who was holding her hand.

The team principal of Mercedes, Toto Wolff stood behind her, watching carefully to ensure she ate, as he had given her some food from Mercedes hospitality as soon as she had demanded to speak in private with his wife and himself being the only ones present and told them everything about her treatment from Toro Rosso.

As she turned to look at her team mate running towards her, chewing on the food given to her by Toto, she noticed the frantic look on the French man's face.

"What's wrong, docinho?" She pouted as he came to a stop, panting in front of her.

"I have spoken to Franz about him dropping you." Pierre spoke, trying to get air back in to his lungs. "I have told him, that if he is still planning to drop you, then I quit."

Larissa's eyes shot open in surprise. "What?"

Pierre continued his speech. "You are one of my best friends, so I told him that I quit if you are to be dropped. I don't want to be part of Formula One if you are not in it. I don't care about breaking my contract, or the fine that I will recieve, I'm not letting you do this alone."

Larissa's eyes softened, as she handed the Hamilton man her plate of food before she rushed to her feet and barrelled in to the chest of her team mate, hugging him as tightly as possible.

Pierre released a sigh of content as he hugged his team mate back. Even if they were both with out seats, they were still a team. No matter what.

"I'm banned from Toro Rosso again, hi Mercedes man!" Zahra arrived, waving at Toto who waved back at the dark skinned girl.

"What did you do now?" Larissa smiled as she stepped back from the hug, but stayed close enough so that the French man could keep his arm around her waist.

"I borrowed a wooden spoon from Mclaren and said that it was a gift for him because he's dropping you." Zahra grinned proudly, knowing that Franz had been terrified because she had threatened to castrate him with a wooden spoon.

"God, I love you." Larissa laughed, shaking her head before the best friends hugged each other tightly.

"You have a seat." Kimi spoke up as he too arrived at the Mercedes garage. He was still not happy with his niece, but he refused for her to not have a seat. "Sauber will have you as a test driver, it's the best that I could do with the time I had."

"That's great news!" Zahra beamed excitedly. "Obviously it's not what you should have, but at least it's something, right?"

"Any room for Pierre? He gave up his seat for her." Lewis spoke up, as Toto shook his head with a smile.

"Gasly is welcome here, as is Cohen. Though one of you will be a test driver, the other will not so may need the Sauber opportunity." Toto smiled as Pierre's face lit up.

"Really?" Pierre gasped, as the rest of the Larissa Cohen club stormed past the Mercedes garage, heading for the Toro Rosso garage.

Sebastian, Fernando, Esteban, Charles, Arthur, Yuki, Mick, Gina, Daniel, Max, Kevin, Checo, Nico, Carlos, Lando, George, Alex, Anthoine, Gunther and her trainer Lucy, stormed angrily towards the Toro Rosso garage, and it seemed like they were out for blood.

"Hey, hey! Guys, guys stop!" Larissa ran after the group of people who were looking like they were about to murder someone, or more specifically, Franz.

"Lissy, they can't do this!" Lando raised his voice, as soon as he was told by George, who was told by Charles who was told by Anthoine who was told by Pierre, about his best friend being dropped because of disobeying doctors orders.

"Yeah, we're rioting!" Arthur nodded, raising his hand to fist bump the air.

"Too right!" Yuki yelled in agreement.

"Our dad can't be here, so we're going to be extra angry, just for him." Gina smiled at her best friend as Mick nodded his head.

"Nothing stops us angry Germans." Mick smirked as Sebastian, Gina and Nico Hulkenburg made noises of agreement.

"My mum is on her way with my dad and nobody likes getting yelled at by an angry Thai woman." Alex Albon spoke up as George laughed, frantically nodding his head.

"True."

Sebastian smiled sheepishly at his niece as she gave him a stern look. "I called for reinforcements, because we can't let them drop you."

"Haas is available if he does though." Gunther smiled cheekily at the young girl, sending her a wink before noticing that he was being glared at by her uncles. "Okay, okay, sorry. Just saying."

"The Larissa Cohen fan club is rioting whether you like it or not, Lar." Esteban informed his best friend.

"Definitely, we riot!" Checo smiled fondly at the girl who he had begun to see as a niece.

"That's true. Christian has said that he'll join our riot later." Max and Daniel spoke at the same time, strangely in unison.

"He won't drop you." Maurizio spoke up from behind her, making her jump to get away from him just at the sound of his voice. "Ferrari will support you, if he does."

"No thanks, don't need that support." Larissa grimaced, shaking her head at the thought of her father turning in his grave.

"She has everybody else's support, she doesn't need Ferrari's." Anthoine sided with her, seeing her discomfort and knowing how much she hated the team.

"I'll quit my job if you get dropped." Lucy, her trainer voiced her opinion. "You're their only shot at a race win this season, no offence, Pierre."

"Non taken." Pierre muttered.

"We won't let you be without a team, ma princesse." Charles smiled softly at the girl that he cared deeply for.

"I speak French, Leclerc, watch it." Fernando eyed him carefully. "But we appreciate your support in this situation."

"She's a Cohen and has great potential, plus she can easily get in the top ten and in the points, even with a rubbish car. So what if she disobeyed orders, she thought she was okay." Carlos smiled at her, staring in to her eyes as she stared at him.

The Brazilian girls phone burst to life as she recieved a notification of a text message.

FRANZ: You have kept your seat, now please send your fan club away from my garage.

Larissa lifted her head to see a large crowd of people staring at her expectantly. The Cohen girl couldn't hide her smirk for any longer.

"Looks like I'm still in contention for a championship title, I've got my seat."

___________________________________________________

A/N

no I do not think Franz is like that, but for the story, let's imagine he is. Apologies.

-RUBY ❤️