After igniting the internet, Marcus and the Caterham team plunged into full preparation mode. February 19, 2015, would be the first day of testing in Barcelona at Circuit de Catalunya. They had so much left to do: get the car back together, design, produce, and test any upgrades they wanted to bring to the track. While they could use the 2014 car, the chassis used last year showed major signs of fatigue. They had to make sure that these were still suitable for racing; otherwise, new ones would have to be built. After that, they would put all the components together and conduct the first test firing of the engine.
Meanwhile, they also needed to sign a new driver lineup. It would be easy to find someone to sign, as every racing driver's dream is racing in F1. But that's not enough for Caterham. They needed talented drivers, preferably young new drivers who could bring their own sponsors. These would be a lot harder to entice to take the Caterham seat. The logistics team was also busy streamlining their processes. They didn't want people to arrive at the track and find the equipment missing, situations that had occurred in the past quite frequently. Now that they had a bit more spending room, they did not always have to pick the cheapest option for travel.
The technical director was working on ensuring that the upgrade path for the car was thoroughly explored, ensuring they could get the maximum potential out of it. They knew their 2014 charger was a dead platform, and they would use it to test parts they could use for their 2016 car. That was a major part of their plan: extract the maximum from the current package while diverting most of the engineers' and designers' energy to their 2016 car. For this, they were also hoping to attract a designer with a bit more experience. Their current designers had been struggling to build a truly fast car due to multiple restraints, with financial constraints being one of them. But due to having worked like this for quite some time, they were used to thinking within those restraints. Someone new was needed to help think outside of the box, a fresh wind, so to speak.
While all this was happening, the marketing team had their work cut out for them. Day after day, they fended off questions from journalists wanting to know more about Marcus's pay driver status, what they were expecting from him during the season, and how much money he paid them for the seat. They had to stay exceptionally vague, only commenting that Marcus was now part of the team bringing them a new lease on life. On the other hand, they kept promoting Marcus in a manner that made it seem like he was their new driver but never explicitly stated it, keeping the rumor mill going.
During this time, Marcus was very busy, hands-on with all the departments, wanting to know the finest details while also not trying to interrupt their work too much. He knew he was new to this, and he needed to let the professionals do their job. This did not mean he would not point out anything he saw as wrong or inefficient, often due to not understanding the reason things are done a certain way. This approach made him known throughout the whole team as the man with unlimited curiosity.
There were a few things he took upon himself to manage, though. The first of these was getting the drivers signed. He went to Manfredi with four profiles and laid them out before him,
"These are the ones that I think would fit greatly in the team."
Moving two of the profiles to the front, he said, "These have my preference from the four."
"These two? Really?" Manfredi responded, pondering the profiles in front of him. "Are you sure? This one I understand, but this one? Really? Can they even drive an F1 car?"
"They have driven one recently," Marcus responded, "and they even have experience driving current-era cars. I think we should try it. Might even bring in a whole new range of sponsors. It's not like we are going to be fighting for points anyway. We have the slowest car from 2014 with little to no development driving against new 2015 cars that have built on the improvements they made throughout 2014. We have no chance anyway."
A bit disheartened, Manfredi decided to scrutinize the profiles again. Thinking about it from a different angle, he could see some positives. "This might even get us an in with Mercedes," he said. Suddenly looking up, he saw Marcus with a big grin on his face. "You already thought that far ahead, haven't you?" he wearily smiled at Marcus. "Yup," he responded. "We have to grab every morsel of advantage we can. And this is a big one. And since we have nothing to lose, why not build a bit of goodwill along the way." With a cheeky wink, he put one profile to the side. It was certain they were going to try and get that driver. Now to decide between the other ones.
"I think all of the other three are about equal, but I like this one. It's just that I can't say I'm experienced in picking drivers, so I will leave the final decision to you and the scouts. You should be able to pick the best out of these, right?"
"We will go over them once again," Manfredi responded, massaging his temples once again. He had been doing this a lot lately.
Finishing their meeting, Marcus, on his way to the marketing department, suddenly felt his phone buzzing. Flipping it around, the screen showed him the initials SS once again. It had been close to six months ago since they last spoke, and he was expecting her to call him during this time. The contracted time was almost up, so she would probably bother him about his recent return to social media.
"Sandra," Marcus picked up the phone, his tone flat and almost uninterested. Not about to let her get under his skin this time. "Mr. Kennedy," she replied instantly, poking Marcus where it hurts. Without stopping for him to reply, she continued, "You signed an agreement to rescind the Fernandes name and lay low for six months. Six months have still not passed, and you are now back in the limelight. This was not what we agreed upon. There will be consequences."
"Don't start with me, Sandra! We both know that I have not done anything in breach of contract. I have made a singular post on social media, and have not even been to any celeberty gatherings. Everything that's happening online cannot in any way be attributed to any action I have taken. I have also not used the Fernandes name anywhere since signing the contract. Nor will I. My name is Marcus Kennedy."
He had nothing else to say. It would only be a few more days before the contract would be completed. And then he would have no more dealings with his father, Sandra, or anyone else in the family. Letting the silence linger for a bit, he finally asked, "Will that be all?"
For the first time in years, he felt like he finally had the upper hand in a conversation with his father's secretary. It felt surprisingly liberating. "
This call is just to remind you to keep your end of the deal. Even after the six months are up, you will still not be allowed to use the Fernandes name. It would be wise for you to keep that in mind. Staying low profile would also ensure that you could live a smooth and worry-free life. I would advise you to stop with your current endeavors with that so-called F1 team. You are wasting the good graces your father..."
"Sandra," Marcus replied, his voice catching a frosty undertone.
"Don't.... call me again," and promptly hung up the phone. He was not going to let anyone dictate his future now. He was finally free of his father's overarching reach. Just a few more days.
He collected himself and moved to the marketing department. He had far more important things to do than speaking with that woman.
On the other side of the world, sitting at her desk, Sandra looked at her phone in disbelief. Marcus would usually at least hear her out, as he knew she was an extension of his father's will.
"Guess we will see him destroy himself even further," she sighed. In her mind, there would be no way his current endeavor would be successful. "At least now it won't be connected to his father anymore. That's all I can ask for, I guess."
A frown stayed on her face, though. She expected Marcus to try and get back in the family after the six months were close to ending, not him distancing himself further.
"How strange."