Some days come back to you for no particular reason. Not because of what happened after, but because of what, quietly, happened before.

We were staying at the same hotel. I opened the door to my room, and at that exact moment, the door next to mine opened too. It was Ayrton.
“Where are you going?”
“To Tokyo Disneyland, just for a walk.”
He smiled. “Can I come too?”
And so we ended up there, just the two of us, surrounded by music, mascots, and wide-eyed children. He walked slowly, taking everything in as if he wanted to memorize every detail. He seemed happy. Not loudly happy, but quietly and peacefully so, the kind of happiness that only shows itself to those who know how to recognize it.

Eventually, we got hungry. We stopped at a fast food place, the air full of that familiar smell of grilled meat and fries.
“I’m getting a hamburger,” I said.
He turned to me, eyes lighting up: “You know, I haven’t had one in two years.”
He burst out laughing. Then, lowering his voice, he said:
“Nuno Cobra isn’t here… this time I’m having one.”

And he did. Not just one, but three. He devoured them like he was making up for something he’d missed. I only had one, but I watched him, and I understood.

Ayrton wasn’t allowed to eat food like that because his trainer had him on a strict diet. But that day was different.
It wasn’t just hunger, it was a craving for life.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that "F1 is finished" for him after rumours of a return to racing in the series.

The German driver retired from the championship at the end of the 2022 season, but this didn't stop rumours about a potential return from circulating. This was fuelled at the time of his retirement by fellow champion Lewis Hamilton, who claimed he would not be surprised if his former rival made a comeback.

The seven-time champion also backed Vettel as an "amazing option" for Mercedes following his exit for Ferrari. “You’re always going to miss it,” Hamilton explained to the media at the time. “It’s the greatest sport in the world and it’s the greatest experience in the world. It’s the most amazing feeling to be working with a group of people towards winning something, achieving something.

“Probably there’s nothing that’s going to ever feel the same. I’ve not asked any of the drivers what they’re missing, but I can just imagine. But I would love for Seb to come back. I think he would be an amazing option for the team, to have a multi-world championship-winning driver, someone who’s got amazing values to continue to take this team forward.”

In addition to links to a driving return, Vettel has also reportedly been in talks with Red Bull, where he drove from 2009 to 2014 and secured his four championship titles, to potentially step into Marko's role.

During an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Vettel confirmed that his time racing in the series has come to an end, but didn't address the potential of a Red Bull advisory role.

"Formula 1 is finished," Vettel explained.

"At some point, the time will be ripe to leave the field to others. You can see that with the rookies. I think it's good that a whole bunch of them have now been replaced. It's not a vote against the old guys, but in favour of the young ones. In the past, I wasn't interested in which of the established riders no longer raced. The main thing was that I was allowed to drive."

The former Red Bull driver suggested that the World Endurance Championship could be a good fit for him.

"I don't want to rule out that something will come of it.

"There have been talks, but somehow it hasn't worked out yet. In the past, I honestly wasn't that interested in endurance racing from my perspective as a lone competitor. Today I see it differently. I find it totally exciting, this team structure, sharing a car, making compromises. In motorsport, it's hard to say: I only drive half the races.

"The WEC would actually be a good fit with its eight races, which are also staggered differently to Formula 1. It's always a question of how intensively you want to do something. For me, it's always been the case that I want to do it properly when I get involved in something. Just going along for the ride is not for me."

Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he trained to be a sniper during his mandatory military service between 2008 and 2009.

Talking to the Red Flags Podcast, the 10-time race winner explained to its hosts - including former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner - what his time in the military looked like.

"You cheaped out," Steiner joked when Bottas mentioned he had "only got to do six" months of mandatory military service.

"Because I was racing," the driver responded. "But in six months of Finnish winter, I became a sniper. Yeah, oh you know, like a... I don't think 'scout' is the right word, but the one who goes behind or in between the enemy."

Steiner continued to push on the subject, asking whether he would be asked to return. "They could, that's why..." Bottas began, before Steiner playfully finished the sentence: "You're not going back to Finland?"

"Yeah," Bottas laughed. "I was a good shot. That's why they made me kind of a sniper."

Conscription for men in Finland is mandatory for those over the age of 18. Taking place at the Finnish Defence Forces Sports School in Lahti, in the short time Bottas spent in the military, he rose to the role of lance corporal.

“Looking back at it, it was actually fun," he said, speaking to People.com. "But for sure, sometimes when I was there, it was not so much fun. Like when you're tired and sleeping in the freezing cold forest for two weeks.

“But to me, it makes a boy a man. That is kind of the transition for many people and to me, it did exactly that. You definitely learn resilience. You learn a lot about teamwork. Because you need to work as a team when you're in extreme conditions or situations.

“You learn self-discipline for sure. And respect, in a way, for everything. That time also made the small things in life feel more serious. Like having a warm and soft bed after some of the camps was a luxury.”

Soon after his time in military service, Bottas made his Formula 1 debut with Williams in 2013 before eventually moving to Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton, replacing Nico Rosberg in 2017.