No Going Back (Nyck de Vries X OC)

The break is over

"Jess, do you want to wait for FP2 to work on Charlie Mode 4?" my lead engineer asks.

"No, I can give it a go now and try again tomorrow if I need to," I responded. I reckon it would be a good idea for me to get my qualifying practice done now. I quickly adjust the settings on my steering wheel. Well here goes. To my surprise, the first couple of laps go well except for the fact that I have hit traffic. Not that I mind. I have done all of the required things in terms of CM 4.

"Is there anything else I can do Kai?" I check-in with him. I want to take advantage of the fact that I am feeling comfortable.

"Just make sure you are feeling comfortable," he replies. Ok, that was the answer I needed. With that, I get to work on making sure that taking attack mode won't be an issue. It looks like I am not the only one with that idea. I hold back just so that I can avoid most of the traffic. To be fair traffic is probably an overstatement but I am following the two BMWs and one of the Nissans. Thankfully we are all respectful of each other. I still wonder if the blue flags will come out. I am not convinced as we are all being respectful. It doesn't take me long to get past them. After ten more minutes of driving, I have decided to call it quits as I have gotten enough practice for the day. I soon brought the car back to the garage. I am relieved that nothing went wrong with the car. It doesn't take long for me to rescue myself from the car.

"I am guessing everything felt good," My lead mechanic asks as I get my helmet and balaclava off.

"Yeah. You and your team did well as per usual," I reply. I will be giving more information during the debrief. After five more minutes of waiting for Nyck, the briefing has begun. The good thing for me is they seem to be focusing on Nyck more as he is having some issues. It turns out that it has gone quite quickly. Nyck and I are soon dismissed. With that, I have decided to get something to eat before I head back to the hotel. I find myself thinking about how well today went for me considering the circumstances however my thoughts are soon interrupted.

"Jess, can I speak to you?" A Scottish accent calls out. There is only one person in Formula E that has a Scottish accent. That I know of.

"What can I do for you, Susie?" I ask.

"Well I was wondering if you could help me with something tomorrow in regards to my girls in motorsports initiative," Susie replies.

"It depends but I am sure we can work something out," I say. It would be good for me to become an advocate for it as I know what it is like to endure the struggle of being in a male-dominated world.

"Ian suggested that you show the car to some of the girls that are interested and I thought it would be a good idea," Susie outlines her plans for me as we walk to the Mercedes hospitality area.

"I would love to do that," I accepted Susie's plan. It will hopefully push the thoughts of the last race out of my mind. I don't know why I am thinking about it like that as I need to break away from the past. There is nothing that I could do about it unless I had a time machine. After a quick conversation with Susie, we parted ways as I made it to the hospitality area. I notice that Nyck has the same idea as me. I grab a packet of small biscuits then I sit down next to him.

"I saw you were talking to Susie about something," Nyck remarks.

"Yup. she was wondering if I could help her with a project that she is working on and I said yes before you can ask," I reply. My explanation seems to have captured Nyck's full attention. I further explain what the plan is. It is the day after and I am using my free time between the free practice and qualifying sessions to talk to a group of girls that have come to the race as part of Susie's girls in motorsports initiative.