The F1 Queen: A Women In A Man's World.

Part 10: Digging Deeper In Q2.

No question this session had been good to me. But it wasn't over yet. With a little over 10 minutes to go, this was still anybody's session. No matter how good my time was, there is still no guarantee that I had made it to the second session. Freddy on the other hand, seemed to think that it was in the bag. Typical blokes if you ask me. As I was being wheeled into the garage by several mechanics, I saw Nico over by the pit wall. He seemed to be just staring into space. Maybe he had lied, and has got something bugging him? I needed to find out before our date tonight, but now defiantly wasn't the time. The session still wasn't over and the possibility of me having to go out again hung over me like a leaf. I came to a abrupt stop inside the garage and I immediately jumped out of the car, as to give the mechanics time to assess any damage obtained whilst on my flying lap. Now that I wasn't on the track, I decided to go into the lounge area and watch the rest of the drivers struggle to compete with my lap time. Upon entering, I seized hold of my mobile, which was dumped carelessly on the glass table top in front of the cream sofa, and placed it hurriedly inside my overall pocket and slumped onto the sofa itself. Already, as I stared at the screen, I could see that Jenson Button was racing his way through the circuit, hitting every apex and steering clear of all the run off areas. It was a good lap. By the time he reached sector 3, he was already a 10th up on my lap time. I was starting to get alittle anxious as to whether or not I would have to make another formidable trek around the Aussie track once more. I really didnt want to if it wasnt necessary. My eyes darted this way and that, trying to keep up with Jenson as he raced across the television screen. Finally, he rocked past the line with an impressive time of 1.26.107. I sighed heavily. It was good, but not quite enough to beat my seemingly unbeatable time.

I knew anything could happen in F1, but I was starting to believe that Q1 was in the bag now. No one seemed to be able to top my impressive time. Even Sebastian, who was 2 10ths up in sector 1, only managed a time of 1.26.003, placing him second, with only 3 minutes left to go. It was slightly unnerving that I had (Probably!) secured my place in Q2 with just one attempt. Even rising stars such as Sebastian or Paul required at least 2 attempts before they where deemed safe. But I wasnt going to let myself dwell on insignificant details. Q2 was now a matter if minutes away.

The clock struck 0 and marked the end Q1, leaving behind the usual suspects and advancing the drivers who managed to get into the top 18. As I had expected, I remained the fastest driver on the grid, and surprisingly not being rivaled once by my usual competition. Sebastian managed to stay a comfortable 2nd, ahead of Jenson Button, who managed to keep 2 10ths between his and 4th place driver Kimi Raikkonen's time. 5th sat Fernando Alonso, ahead of a seemingly competitive Paul Di Resta in 7th. 8th was a surprise entry from Bruno Senna, just seconds in front of Mark Webber with a disappointing 9th place. Nico Rosberg marked the end of the top 10 and the usual mid pack drivers following closely behind. I was alittle disappointed with Nico's time. He only just managed to keep himself from being knocked out of Q1, which rose my concerns for him immensely.

Still watching the TV, the green light was given on screen, marking the start of another unpredictable qualifying session. At that moment, Freddy popped his head around the lounge door, half expecting me to be pumped and ready for the next session. What met his eyes though had seemed to lower his spirits, as he saw I was lounging lazily on the sofa, while staring at the screen, half expecting the cars to come flooding out of the garages. "You wanna go out yet Nikki? You did fantastically in the last qualifying session, and we want you out and back in as quick as we can manage" he rolled his eyes disapprovingly as I dragged myself off the sofa as unenthusiasticly as I could manage. "Alright Freddy, though I really do regret putting most of my energy into the first session. I havent half got a headache" I complained, clutching my head for extra believableness. He tutted knowingly, obviously catching on to my deliberate attempts at being difficult. "I'm sure you'll feel better once you've had another run on the track" Freddy chuckled, ruffling my already messy hair and beckoning me to follow him out of the lounge and into the garage. I did as I was asked and once again, made my way over to the car, making sure this time I had my gloves securely on my hands. As I got into the car, Nico approached from the pit wall, looking alittle depressed from what I could make out from under my helmet. I thought he might stop and chat, but my hypothesis was some what missed judged. He instead walked passed, giving me no indication that he had acknowledged me at all. He was out of sight before I could call his name. Something defiantly was up with him, and I needed to find out. Interrupting my thoughts, Freddy knelt beside the car, strapping me into place and making sure everything was ready to go. Before long, he was over by the pit wall and crackling inside my helmet. I heard the engine jolt into action and the mechanics move out of the way, as I descended from the garage. With the limiter contracted, I raced once again towards the pit exit, focusing determinedly on the task at hand. I was pretty sure that I wasnt going to set another amazing time, but boy was I ready to rock this track right out of its foundations. And thats just what I did.

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I darted into the pits, having set another time of 1.25.879 and hoping it was enough to secure a place into the much anticipated Q3. I was aware it wasnt as good as my Q1 time, but I still had high hopes that this one would pull me through. I knew everyone was going to pull out all the stops in order to have a shot at getting that all important pole position. This made it ever the more tough for me to keep my nearest rivals at bay, knowing that any one of them was capable of topping my time and potentially knocking me out of the runnings. As I struggled to get myself safely out of the car, I couldnt help being reminded of how much I needed to stay focused, and not get myself easily distracted by my personal life. Nico was undoubtedly unhappy, and it pained me to know that there wasnt anything I could do until after the the Qualifiers. It seemed selfish, but I needed to put that at the back of my mind and retain my composure. Q3 was around the corner, and even that wasnt a certainty for me......

(Sorry its late! enjoy and part 11 is coming soon! promise!)