Famiglia = family

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Italics: Italian
Bold: over the phone/not in person

Lucia Romano was relentless but she was not heartless.

She strived for success from all points of life but only if it meant that no one around her was being unfairly treated by doing so. It meant she always kept good work relationships with people, allowing for a good working environment where people didn't fear losing their jobs if they tried something new. Lucia strives to give disabled people opportunities others wouldn't and make people feel included.

Despite that, she still had a stern attitude to finding out how they could improve. She wanted to know exactly what was wrong and once boundaries have been set, emotions were replaced with work.

Then there was her daughter.

Marissa had grown into a lovely woman with high social skills and a lovable personality. She always wanted to laugh alongside someone or tell ridiculous jokes. She was always smiling no matter when you looked at her,

Having worked as Daniel Ricciardo's PR for nearly five years, they had developed quite a relationship. Lucia always thought something more was going on between the two of them during the Renault time and by the end of 2021, Marissa was inviting Daniel to family dinners.

Marissa couldn't help it. She and Daniel practically shared a personality and spent so much time together that it was clear something else was there. Did it make announcing their lineup slightly more suspicious (despite the fact it wasn't?) a little but it wasn't exactly new? After all, two of the drivers on the grid were together.

Lucia was happily divorced and she didn't plan on looking for a love life anytime soon. She didn't need it and she was happy just with how her life was. As long as her daughter was happy and Lucia felt stable, that's all she wanted.

Between Lucia and Marissa's job, they didn't see each other very often. Sometimes it got to Lucia a small bit but they soon learnt to find time during race weekends to check up on each other if Lucia wasn't in debriefing. At the end of the day, they were both adults with their lives and they didn't rely on each other.

Lucia had to admit that she missed the days when a little Marissa would curl up at her side and watch Disney movies with her in a mix of English and Italian so she was able to grow up with multiple languages.

However, she liked the way things were now, despite the fact it terrified her that the possibility of becoming a grandmother at some point loomed over her. She knew Marissa and Daniel wanted that at some point and Lucia felt like it would make her feel older than she was.

"I think it's great that you have Marissa here for a few days. It's been months since my son has visited me!" Lucia's old friend, Giulia, exclaimed.

"She's only here for a few weeks while her partner spent time at the factory, she didn't want to keep travelling from Milan, where she lives," Lucia explained. "He's a driver for our team, Daniel Ricciardo. A very sweet person but quite...childish at times."

"Much like Marissa then," Guilia replied with a huff. "Always so energetic, does she ever sleep?"

Guilia had been Lucia's friend since her early twenties but could be a handful at times. Like Lucia, she was incredibly honest but it could border rudeness at times whereas the Lamborgini Team Principle never steppe into that zone.

"Mamma, have you seen my blue suitcase?" Marissa questioned before seeing Guilia,"Caio, Guilia!"

"Caio, Marissa," Guilia nodded. "How are you?"

"Stressed but good. You?"

"I am well, thank you!" Guilia replied.

"Your blue suitcase is in the dining room, Rissa." Lucia answered her daughter's earlier question. "It is heavy, what have you packed?"

"We'll be gone for months, I have packed a lot," Marissa replied. "I don't want to keep coming home. I'm staying in Australia with Daniel for the three-week gap...unless he's called back to the factory. And then I don't want to come back until the Imola race."

"I did not understand a word of that," Guilia commented. "English. I hate the language. Couldn't learn it at school and won't try now."

"It's useful," Lucia replied honestly. "I would not have a job without it. As for your son, didn't he move to Spain?"

"Yes but he should still visit, Lucia!"

"I know that but a few months isn't very long when you have to pay for flights and time off work, Guilia, not to mention the fact he has three children," Lucia glared at her. "Have you thought about going to visit him?"

"He has not invited me—"

"Then ask him!" Lucia shook her head. "Gino would not say no to having you over, I am sure of it. He likely hasn't asked you because it's only been two months."

"I hate you sometimes with your wise words."

"Doesn't everyone?"

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Lucia Romono lived in Modena, just half an hour from the Lamborgini factory and new technology centre. She liked living in Modena and the quiet area the house resided in; she didn't see a reason to move to the smaller town where the factory was.

She had lived there all her life, though changed houses over the years.  The house she lived in now was private and more towards the mountain area on the outskirts of town, allowing her to keep the lifestyle she wanted. Lucia wasn't a very material person, the size of the house just happened to come with its privacy of it. It wasn't a full mansion but it was large enough to hold guests if she needed them.

For years, Marissa had tried to persuade her to move to Milan but she never wanted to. Now, her new job just gave her another reason not to move.

"You promise that you aren't updated with the situation, are you?" Marissa questioned, rubbing her arm,"Because Daniel can have a different PR..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Lucia replied,"You would be following him around anyway, you may as well do your job. It won't cause any problems."

The two were sitting in a coffee shop in the town centre. Daniel was due to land at the airport within the hour and Mick twenty minutes after him so Marissa was going to pick them up.

"Okay, just making sure because I would rather you keep your job...and media reputation I almost destroyed last month," Marissa frowned. "Why did you sign Daniel, mamma?"

"Daniel wasn't my first choice, Marissa," Lucia admitted. "I didn't sign him because of you so don't think what the media says is right. I signed him because he's a great driver and he need to get his love for the sport back."

"Hang on, who was your first choice?"

"Robyn Saunders was," Lucia replied in a small annoyed tone,"I was rejected within about four seconds. She said no amount of money would get her to move teams right now."

"But why would she not consider it?" Marissa questioned, tilting her head.

"She likes working at Mercedes too much and thinks she owes them something," Lucia answered. "She's going to be world champion one day. Right now,  Mercedes is her best chance at that unless Red Bull offers her a seat but I don't think she'd take that."

"Oh, I mean...that makes sense," Marissa shrugged. "She wouldn't have ever got into Formula 2, let alone Formula 1...if it wasn't for Lewis Hamilton which puts her loyalties with Mercedes."

Lucia nodded as she sipped her drink and stared out of the window. She knew a lot of people around town so it wasn't as though there was a lot of press following her around or fans. She liked that.

"Don't you think people will bring Daniel and my relationship into this?" Marissa questioned.

"Well, they might but anyone who's anyone isn't going to care when Lawrence Stroll keeps Lance on as Aston Martin's driver, are they?"

Lucia's words were the cold hard truth. While she knew Lance was an underrated driver, the lack of knowledge around contracts and how long he'll be there for all resolved back to the owner of the team.

While family was important, Lucia didn't mix family and business; it just wasn't a good idea and she had always thought people were stupid for doing so. It only caused arguments. You couldn't have a good team if you had inner family arguments going on in the process. Team Principle's had to put their foot down to get the job done and how they wanted it to be done.

One thing was sure though. 

Lucia Romono got what she wanted.

And she wanted to make her team the greatest of all time.