Chapter Text
Mydei had been fascinated with racing since childhood. His father, a former racer and four-time champion, was delighted when his son also took an interest in the sport. But racing wasn’t Mydei's only talent; he also had a remarkable gift for mechanics. His father provided him with everything he needed, so Mydei's talent developed at an incredible rate. As he was constantly developing his skills, he gained an advantage over other racers. Mydei debuted in Formula 1 at just 19 years old and became a five-time champion by 30. But fate played a cruel joke on him. A devastating crash in his early thirties changed everything. Because of the injury, he was banned from Formula 1 as a racer.
When he was first told the news, Mydei thought it was a joke, but no one laughed. For the first few months, he thought a lot about rehabilitation and the unlikely possibility of returning to racing, but all was in vain. So he redirected his attention to his other passion – mechanics. It took him some time to obtain all the necessary documents, but he was finally able to return to the Ferrari team and Formula 1.
~🏎~
He continued to follow F1 during the couple of years he was recovering and, of course, noticed the young Red Bull driver, but his focus was still on the Ferrari ones. He noted all the poor tactics and car problems so that he could immediately begin improving them upon his return. As he predicted, Ferrari began to lose ground when he was out of the race. Mydei found their decisions baffling and often costly. They still occasionally reached the podium finish, but rarely finished first.
When Mydei came back, the Ferrari team welcomed him quite warmly, remembering the road they had traveled together. For the first time in several years, Mydei felt like he belonged again. Back when Mydei was still a Ferrari racer, he usually was the one who came up with various tactics, which weren't always supported by management, but ultimately led to victory. But when the accident happened and Mydei left the team, Ferrari’s decline was obvious. Sure, Mydei was certainly a talented one, but other Ferrari drivers could have won too, had management made the right decisions. After getting back to the team, it turned out they were stuck in the same rut as two years before, but Mydei believed he could change that. He offered various tactics, car improvements, and driver training. At first, the team listened to him, but as time went on, he was told that it was unprofitable or dangerous more often. At some point, Mydei realized his words no longer carried the weight they once did. He was no longer the team's driver, the man everyone leaned on, but merely a mechanic. What shocked him most was that all the tactics he devised only worked because he was the driver himself, and others simply couldn't pull them off through a lack of experience or talent.
~🏎~
At some time, Mydei caught himself paying more and more attention to the Red Bull driver. There was something magnetic about his aggression, his relentless drive on the track. But when he got out of the car, he immediately transformed into a sweet, smiling golden retriever. It was his duality that grabbed Mydei's attention. He certainly felt bad for his driver when he finished second or third, but something fluttered in his chest as he caught Phainon’s bright smile as he was standing on the top of the podium finish. Something he couldn’t quite put into words.