Chapter one
Bianca
Belgium, July 2039
Circuit de Spa–Francorchamps
“Well, that’s the pre–race pleasantries complete. The drivers will head to their cars and get strapped in for the start of the race. This is one final blast before the summer break – any predictions?”
“Y’know, it’s looking good for the Red Bull team. Darren McCarthy starts on pole, but only after inheriting top spot from Maria Perez. The Spanish Ferrari driver topped qualifying but is serving a ten–place grid penalty for an engine change. The sister Ferrari of Haruto Tanaka joins McCarthy on the front row, with Bianca Rossi in third for McLaren and Gerrard Dubois in fourth for Mercedes.”
“And the formation lap begins! McCarthy leads the pack away.”
“All those frontrunners have gone the same route with brand new mediums for the start of the race. The track temperature is looking good, holding a solid 42C for the start of the race. Herewe’re seeing McCarthy easing the pack up to bring everyone together before he reaches the grid. Here we go… And it’s lights out!”
“McCarthy leads from pole as Rossi gets into second ahead of Tanaka. Oh! And further back, one of the Williams duo has been forced onto the gravel. The team will be disappointed with that.”
“On the run down the Kemmel straight, McCarthy is just able to avoid being slipstreamed as Rossi fends off Tanaka. They will all be desperately holding onto their places on track, preparing for DRS being enabled on the second lap.”
“So, we’re still seeing McCarthy leading ahead of the McLaren car, Tanaka with Ferrari in third. They seem to have settled into a comfortable order there, but we all know nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of Formula One, especially without the DRS advantage.”
“Right you are. If we take a moment to look at the rest of the field, we’ve got Robert Peterson with Aston Martin who’s just dropped to eighth behind Sophia Harrington, the talented young McLaren driver sitting further back in the pack than we’re used to seeing her.”
“DRS is enabled. Rossi is using it to reel in McCarthy at the front, but it looks like she can’t quite get close enough on the straights for an overtake. McCarthy is holding the line for now, keeping Rossi in second through the twisty bits on the second lap.”
“Coming into lap three now and– Oh! Superb overtake by Rossi. She’s been fighting for an opportunity to use her DRS, and she’s found one. The McLaren driver charges into the lead ahead of Red Bull’s McCarthy on the Kemmel straight.”
“We’ve had an update from Tanaka over the radio. He’s complaining of a battery issue and is swiftly coming underthreat from Dubois for third. Ahead, Rossi has set the fastest lap of 1 minute 49.109 seconds – that McLaren is flying along.”
“We’ve got five laps in the book and fan favourite Rossi still leads by one second from McCarthy, whilst Tanaka is still fending off Dubois. Sophia Harrington has worked some of the magic we love to see from her. The McLaren has found its way up to fifth, whilst her teammate Rossi – the only team with a female duo – has finally managed to move out of DRS range from McCarthy.”
“Things are starting to look up for McLaren, who have been really on point for most of this first half of the 2039 season.”
“Things are looking rather hot behind Tanaka. The Ferrari is leading a very tight group of talented drivers with Harrington at its tail. Can she get back in the mix for the victory fight? Only time will tell.”
“Rossi is the fastest driver on track as her lead grows to 1.8 seconds over McCarthy at the end of lap seven. The Red Bull driver seems to be responding to Rossi’s pace increase, trimming a tenth of a second off her lead, but will it be enough? It remains to be seen as Rossi comes in to pit.”
“The McLaren driver has been followed in by Tanaka and Peterson, all three drivers looking to switch to the fresh medium compound tyres.”
“Oh, here’s a twist! Sophia Harrington with McLaren also comes in to pit. Rossi has been given mediums, but her teammate is on a fresh set of hards. Interesting tactics by McLaren here. A clean getaway by all drivers—”
“Yes! In a real show of skill, Harrington gets the undercut done by exiting ahead of Peterson! Sophia Harrington is now within a real chance of getting up on that podium. She’s sitting in third – up from eighth.”
“We’ve just heard McCarthy asking to go long, but clearly Red Bull have overruled him as he comes in for fresh hards at the end of his lap, lap twelve.”
“That was a great stop. The Red Bull driver comes out behind Rossi but holds onto his position. Red Bull have told him "100% pace" which we all know means use all the juice from these tyres.”
“Another lap down, and McCarthy remains second – but he is only 7.3 seconds ahead of Harrington and the McLaren driver is setting the pace out on that track with her fresh tyres.”
“Heading into the latter half of the race and Harrington is able to use DRS gained from McCarthy ahead to keep Peterson at bay behind her. Aston Martin will want to do something about that.”
“Things are really heating up out on track. Harrington had been set to defend from Peterson but if anything, she is attacking McCarthy for second now! He can’t possibly hope to defend from McLaren on the hard tyre and that may prove to be his downfall here at Spa.”
“Yes! At last, the break McLaren have been waiting for. Harrington finally gets her chance and darts by McCarthy and into second on the Kemmel straight! The crowd is going absolutely wild ahead of what will now be a direct head–to–head battle between the two McLaren drivers.”
“We’ve just heard Sophia asking McLaren to "think about a one–stop". She knows Rossi will have to pit again and if Sophia pits again now, she will lose three places. I think it’s the best choice available to McLaren right now – but will Harrington be able to make those hard tyres last for the rest of the race?”
“They’ll have to bring Rossi in for a stop, whatever way they go. Those tyres just aren’t cutting it.”
