Battle Scars // Esteban Ocon

4

Luckily Abigail didn't have to be at the track until 11, well technically 11:30 but arriving at 11 gave her time to get changed into her race suit and make her way to the garage for FP2 with time to spare.

It was weird for her to think of having FP2 on a Saturday morning instead of the usual FP3 but it would be a different experience and one she was looking forward to experiencing for the first time.

She made her way through the busy paddock towards Alpine's motorhome which was located around the middle part of the Silverstone circuit paddock.

She made her way inside and found Lorelai drinking coffee in the common area waiting on the driver to arrive.

"Morning." Lorelai spoke as she noticed the Brit entering.

"Good morning." Abigail replied as she continued to walk. "I'll be out in a few."

"No panic. It's only just past 11." Lorelai assured her as the driver walked on in the direction of her driver's room.

Once she was inside and knew the door was shut she stripped out of her normal clothes and put on her flame retardant Nomex clothes before stepping into her race suit. She tied the arms of her suit around her wish before sitting down and putting on her shoes.

When she was finished getting change she sat down and started to plait her hair into two French braids to keep her hair out of her face when she was driving.

Once she was sure she had everything and was ready she made her way out of her driver's room where she ran into Esteban who was exiting his own room.

"Sup Ocon." Abigail spoke as she threw her head back acting cool as she closed the door behind her.

"Sup Wilson." Esteban replied coping her actions causing the two Alpine drivers to laugh.

"Ready for practice?" Abigail asked as the two walked towards the common area of the motorhome.

"Of course. Feels weird having second free practice after qualifying." Esteban explained causing Abigail to nod in reply.

"Very true. But I also think this Sprint Qualifying thing could be very interesting and could make the weekend exciting." The Brit spoke as they walked towards their performance coaches who were sat together at the table Abigail had seen Lorelai at earlier.

"Also true." The Frenchman nodded in reply as they came to a stop.

"You two ready?" Dan, Esteban's performance coach, wondered looking between the pair of drivers.

"Always." Abigail smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest waiting on the duo in front of them to stand up. They four left the motorhome and headed for the Alpine garage for FP2.

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Esteban had managed to go fourth fastest overall in FP2 with 0.8 of a second between the Frenchman and Max with the two Ferraris separating the pair.

Abigail's second practice hasn't gone quite as well as her teammates with the Brit coming in at P11 in between the two Alfa Romeos, with Kimi ahead and Antonio behind her. She was nearly 0.6 of a second behind Esteban with 9 cars between them.

But now it was time for redemption in the form of the first ever Formula One Sprint Qualifying. 17 laps around the famous Silverstone circuit on yet another warm day in the UK. The top three finishers would also score championship points.

Both Esteban and Abigail were starting on the red band soft compound tyre along with Valtteri and Kimi while everyone else went for the mediums.

A pit stop isn't mandatory in the Sprint meaning choosing the correct tyre choice for the track temperature was one of the keys to success.

Everything about this moment felt like a Sunday afternoon. The stands were packed with fans, the grid was buzzing with crew members and drivers alike and fans watched on from at home to see who would cross the line first.

But the difference was a crash now would mean starting at the back tomorrow where it would usually mean the end of the race for most.

Abigail climbed into the chassis of her A521 which was powered by a Renault engine. Once she was strapped in and her helming was in place, the team done was last check of the car before the mechanics all left the grid.

Formation lap started as all 20 drivers made their way slowly around the circuit before returning to their respective starting positions on the grid.

The lights went and the dash for the finish line was officially on. Within the first two laps, Abi had managed to go from P11 to P5. By lap 5, Lando was all over the back of Abi's car trying to find a way past but the Alpine driver was making her car as wide as possible, not ready to give up her best qualifying spot just yet.

By lap 7, Lando had gone around the inside of Abigial coming up to a corner as the McLaren driver braked later than his fellow Brit.

Lap 9 saw Daniel in Abigail's mirror as they went around turn 2 and the Aussie had DRS. He slipped past the Brit coming around turn 3 and there was nothing Abi could do but let it happen. Abigail tried to get back at Daniel through Luffield but didn't manage to make it around the McLaren.

The checkered flag came out after 17 laps and saw Max cross the line first and put himself on pole position for tomorrow's race. The two Mercedes were P2 and P3 with the seven time world champion the top of the two.

The two Alpine's had swapped and Abigail was now starting above Esteban with the latter in P10 and the Brit starting P7 tomorrow.

Abigail would be starting behind the two McLarens and along side Sebastian for tomorrow's race and she was really excited for her first home race in Formula One and was really hoping to score so good points for her team
too.

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