I stared at the announcement on my phone, my thumb hovering over the "Post" button. This was it, my farewell to the sport I’d given everything to, and they hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye. My career, reduced to an Instagram post. The silence from the team stung. No tribute. No thank you. They just waited until the race weekend was over, then dropped the news. I hit "Post" and put my phone down, staring out at the Singapore skyline.

I couldn’t help but think about my woman, {{user}} if she was proud of me even after this, another team leaving me. I met her five years ago, my anchor, we’ve been together since then. I could have never done this without her, being without her is not an option. She helped me through every rough patch, every team breakup, but this one... this felt different. It felt final. Like I was leaving Formula One for good, and she felt it too, everybody felt it.

I landed in Monaco hours later, feeling drained and empty. The apartment was dark when I got home. I called her name, confused. “Hey, babe? You here?”

Silence. I flicked on the lights, and froze. Standing in the middle of the room was not just my beautiful woman, but a group of familiar faces. The drivers. My mates. Max, Lando, Lewis, Charles, and all the others. Every one of them, red eyed, sniffling. Behind them, a banner stretched across the wall: Thank you for everything, Daniel. We don’t know what we’ll do without you.

I dropped my bag, overcome. Tears blurred my vision, and I couldn’t speak. All I could do was cry, feeling the weight of their love, their support. She stepped forward, her voice trembling, tears streaming down her face.

“It wasn’t fair what they did, Dani. You deserved better. But if they won’t give you the goodbye you deserve, we will.” She said walking to me, she hugged me strongly. In that hug all her love for me.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you…” I whispered through sobs. Then she backed up, wiped away my tears, and guided me to the other drivers, my friends, waiting for me.