“Mic check, Rossi. One, two.”
“Received.”
I clambered up onto the car, slipping down into the cockpit. It was like diving beneath the water. The race commotion was still going on all around me, but when I was here, crammed inside my race car, everything faded away. I was focussed on one thing, and one thing only – winning this last race for Kristian.
A signal sounded, alerting me to the time. One minute to go until lights out. I started up the engine, the car roaring to life and vibrating through my whole body. The rest of the team scattered, hastily retreating to the safety of the pits. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.
Here we go…
I waited for the green lights to be illuminated on the gantry, signalling the start of the formation lap. When Sophia inched away from me, I quickly followed suit, McCarthy falling in behind me with the rest of the field. We weaved back and forth, eager to warm the rubber in our tyres ahead of the race starting.The track in Budapest was often compared to a karting circuit with its lack of straights, and that was where I really shone. Finding a good rhythm was key to setting fast lap times, and overtaking Sophia was going to be a challenge, but I was primed and ready to fight for the opportunity.
In no time at all, we were back at the starting line and waiting for the race to begin. My hands tightened around the steering wheel. I fixed my sights on the back of Sophia’s car and clenched my jaw. My teammate didn’t know what was coming for her.
Five red lights illuminated one by one along the gantry and with a bleep…Five, four, three, two… One!The lights extinguished and I floored my accelerator, my car screaming off the line behind Sophia’s. It was three–wide into turn one as I edged alongside my teammate and McCarthy squeezed me tightly into the middle. Sophia held her nerve and so did I as McCarthy ran out of road and got pushed off the track. I watched, everything happening in slow motion as the Red Bull driver rejoined the race ahead of me.
“Hey! What the fuck?” I shouted into my mic. “He needs to give that place back!”
“The stewards are reviewing,” came the response from the pit wall. “Just keep your head down and focus on your own race for now.”
I gritted my teeth, pushing ahead, now sat in third place. This was not how this race was supposed to pan out. McCarthy held onto P2, and I waited anxiously to hear what conclusion the race stewards would come to. Thankfully, I wasn’t kept in the dark for long.
“Stewards have recommended that Red Bull let you pass and retake P2.”
“Received,” I replied, fighting on ahead and keeping my eyes fixed on McCarthy for signs that he was going to let me overtake him and get back to my rightful place. He eventually moved tothe side, and I shot in front of him. I glanced at the instruments on my dashboard. Sophia was 2.3 seconds ahead, but McCarthy was only 0.8 seconds behind. Shit, I needed to get some space between us. I could practically feel the Red Bull driver breathing down my neck.
Just as I had been advised, I kept my head down and pushed hard, rejoicing as I gradually increased the gap between myself and McCarthy. By the seventh lap, he dropped out of DRS range and my attention turned back to hunting my teammate. Sophia looked comfortable out front with a decent 2.6 second lead, but I knew how quickly things could change in this sport.
“Next lap is the pit window for those who started on mediums,” Carlos’s voice said across the radio. “We’ll call you in as late as we can.”
“Okay, received.” I knew the plan. Our race was going just as we had expected (with the exception of that run in with McCarthy.) I knew I was being called in for a pit stop first before Sophia, but I itched to close our gap just a little more.
By lap sixteen, the message I’d been waiting for was relayed.
“Box, box. Box, box.”
I obediently dove into the pit lane, my worn medium tyres being switched out for a fresh set of hard compound ones. It was a great stop, and I managed to only drop one place, coming out behind McCarthy, third place once more – but this time I had the upper hand. With fresh tyres, my car ate up the tarmac and by the time we were heading into lap nineteen, I was within striking distance, just waiting for the opportunity to slide past the Red Bull driver.
Sophia was called into the pits ahead of me, but there was no chance that McCarthy or I would be getting out ahead of her. My teammate held onto her position at the lead, storming ahead on her own fresh hard tyres. Sophia was 3.2 seconds ahead now,putting in a quietly flawless performance so far. Ihadto keep fighting.
At half–race distance, McCarthy messed up a corner, going wide, and I capitalised upon his mistake immediately. I shot down the inside of him, retaking second place from him with ease. With the Red Bull driver out of my way, I pushed my car harder still and for the first time since the race began, I hit my groove. I was soaring around the track, setting the fastest lap time consistently and I didn’t have long to wait until Sophia was back within my sights.
It was just the two of us now. McCarthy’s mistake had cost him dearly, allowing both McLaren cars to pull clear. We headed into the thirty–third lap with a healthy 8 second buffer between us and the Red Bull driver in third place, and all I needed now was the go ahead from the pit wall to fight for P1 against my teammate… Yet the instruction never came.
I stuck to her like glue, just waiting for an opportunity. I had to admit Sophia’s driving was on point. Perhaps my tutelage had been a littletoogood over the last few months. Why wasn’t I being allowed to challenge her? What was going on?
Towards the end of a frustrating forty–fifth lap, a request came in over the radio, but it wasn’t the one I had been hoping for.
“Box, box.”
I obediently dove into the pit lane, accepting my new medium compound tyres. This was the strategy we had discussed at the briefing meeting this morning, but I still couldn’t understand why I was being held back from Sophia. It was another decent stop, and I rejoined the race without losing a position. Sophia would be pitting on the next lap too, perhaps with a fresh set of tyres on both cars I would finally be given a chance at winning this thing.
Sophia entered the pits, and I screamed past, taking the lead. It wasn’t how I liked to win a race, I much preferred to battle it out and gain my place fair and square but I wasn’t about to be complaining. Winning this race was too important. I surged ahead, eager to put as much distance between myself and Sophia as I could.
Carlos’s voice came in over the radio. “Re–establish the order at your convenience.”
“What?!” I spluttered. They wanted me to give the place back to Sophia? Why? I knew my teammate had driven impeccably today and a small part of me knew she deserved this win, but I couldn’t concede. Not now. I needed this win, not for myself, but for Kristian. I clenched my jaw and forged on ahead, pushing the car harder.
My lead extended further still until I was 4.2 seconds ahead of Sophia and gaining. There was no way she would catch me now unless I allowed her to.
