Chapter One
I remember the moment that got me here so clearly, it might have happened yesterday rather than two years ago.
It was the Miami Grand Prix. My dad had some corporate hospitality tickets, and I thought it would be something fun to do. I had just finished my school year at the University of Georgia, so I was home. I figured I might as well tag along, thinking I’d enjoy the experience even if I wasn’t into cars.
But that was before Ifeltit.
My mind flashes back to that moment when I walked into the Miami International Autodrome, the temporary Formula 1 circuit built around the Hard Rock Stadium for the race. It was the first day, and we took our seats to watch the practice sessions.
And I, Isla Foley, fell completely and totally in love.
Not with a man.
But a sport.
Formula 1 racing was like nothing I had ever experienced. I was studying sports journalism with dreams of covering a major pro team, and in two weeks I was about to start my internship at Total Access Total Sports Miami.
The second I inhaled the scent of fuel and rubber? Felt the reverberations of the race cars run through my body as they headed toward speeds of two hundred miles per hour? Heldmy breath as a driver made a risky move to pass ahead of a competitor?
The sport is dangerous. Breathtaking. Full of speed, drama, strategy, and risk.
And I washooked.
Now I’m standing on this very track two years later, at the Miami Grand Prix, with the opportunity of a lifetime. I have been freelancing for Total Access Total Sports Miami since I graduated from Georgia, doing things for their social media channels. But the entire time, I’ve also been creating F1 content just for fun on my social media channels.
I thought that’s what it would always be. Me creating racing content just for fun.
I was wrong.
Someone from The Downforce Network saw my Connectivity Story Share—one of the major social media platforms I use—and hired me to do some fluffy, behind-the-scenes pieces for their social media channels during the Miami Grand Prix.
So here I am. I’m in the paddock that has actually been set up inside the football stadium. It’s the area where motorhomes are magnificently transformed into what are called mini skyscrapers, housing racing teams’ offices and hospitality for the week.
I’m here for a tour of the Collings Motors motorhome, giving viewers an inside peek of the hospitality space used by the elite racing team that’s in contention for both the individual Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship for teams.
If it goes well, I hope it will lead to something I desperately want.
A career working in Formula 1.
An excited shiver races through me as I walk alongside Chip, the intern assigned to help me today. I never expected this kind of break. Especially not from my videos on TikTok andConnectivity. But that—along with my reporting for Total Access Total Sports Miami—has given me this chance.
And I intend to make the most of it.
I can’t help but smile as we make our way toward the Collings Motors motorhome. It’s amazing how in city after city, going around the world, they are able to set up these motorhomes and construct something like a mini city. We pass by some of Collings Motors’ biggest competitors—Hoffman, an elite team from Germany, and Drago, from Italy. But today’s feature is all about Collings Motors, a storied racing team and luxury car brand. From what I’ve gleaned off YouTube, they have one of the most lavish motorhomes in the paddock.
Collings Motors has an interesting problem on the grid—two drivers who are equally worthy of being the team’s number-one driver. Mason Clark, a young Brit, has stormed his way right up to the top of the podium twice in the first five rounds of the season.
However, his teammate has landed on the podium three times already, getting closer and closer to his first win of the season.
Oh, and that teammate?
Caleb Collings.
Collings, as in a member of theCollingsMotors legacy.
I smile to myself. Now that’s a bit of drama for the season. There was never a doubt Caleb Collings was going to have one of the two seats available at Collings Motors. But it was understood that Mason was going to be the lead driver.
Now that’s become a debate, and pundits and social media commentators suggest there is some tension between the two of them.