Under the Microscope (Book One of Three)

Chapter 1

It was simple enough, go quick. That was my job, go quick and try your damn hardest to be the absolute fastest person out there. It was something I was good at. I was almost always the fastest. Whether against other women or against men, I regularly stood on the top step of the podium. I had finished my last race of Formula 2 a couple of months ago and after narrowly missing out on the championship win by 1 point, I was getting promoted to formula one. The best of the best. The fastest cars going round the most complicated tracks. And I was going to be the first woman to do so as a starting driver for a team in a long, long time. It was a lot of pressure, knowing that everyone would put down my entire gender if I didn't exceed their expectations. 

While men could move into formula one and crash out and get demoted without their gender being bought into it, I could not. Any bad result was not going to just be a bad result for me, but for my entire gender. It was bloody hard enough to get into F1, but to stay in it. That was the real challenge. Everything I did, both on and off track was going to be scrutinised and I knew that. And that's what I was thinking as I sat in front a Netflix camera in my new team gear. Williams. I was thinking about my win two months ago because I was very aware that it was likely the last win, I would be experiencing any time soon. But it was a chance, I would be driving in every race, not just free practice sessions, and I would be able to learn how to drive at the next level. It gave me the opportunity to demonstrate that I could be capable of pulling the required G-forces of a formula one driver. There were several reasons I took the Williams' seat. Firstly, it was offered to me. Second, I was a Mercedes driving academy driver, and so it was a normal route to try. Thirdly, they had agreed to let me help design the steering wheel. It sounds dumb, but it was important to me that I had at least got a say on that part of the machinery. While I wasn't an engineer by any means and so had no real input on how things should be changed, I did know that a regular F1 wheel was not going to cut it. My shoulders were naturally slimmer than the men are, so it's one of the parts of the car that is unknowingly sexist. A regular steering wheel was too wide and really uncomfortable, I knew that from test driving for Williams last season, plus with the number of buttons I needed to reach easily, I needed them closer together so my genetically smaller hands could reach them easily. 

So that's what I was doing at the Williams' HQ that day, meeting with the team and the engineers to go over some options for the wheel that year. Well, that and film some media stuff, not just for Netflix but also for Williams' media and PR team. 

"Are you ready?" the Netflix producer called out to me. I nodded happily, checking with my new PR officer Olivia that I was in fact ready. I knew when I joined F1 this year that there was going to be a lot of media, and Netflix in particular had made it clear that regardless of how I did this season, they wanted regular meetings and interviews because of my "unique situation" is how they put it. But it was because of my gender. Regardless of the reason, my ability to do press easily got me the sponsors I needed to get to F1, and so I wasn't too bothered about it in the long run. When I looked back at the producer, I saw her getting comfortable in her seat across from me, and that the red light on the camera was now blinking. 

"We're just going to start with introductions, just about you, we will get to racing in a bit" she said looking at me expectantly. I smiled softly back at her nodding and giving out a breathy laugh as I got ready to answer.

"Okay yeah, so my name is Elodie Carter and I'm a driver for Williams Mercedes F1 team." the smile took over my face as I said it. This finally felt real. The producer caught on to my genuine elation and smiled warmly.

"That feel good to say huh?"

"Bloody amazing!" I answered cheekily, my cheeks getting red under the thin layer of foundation I had. After a moment I covered my mouth with my hands. "Oh god! Can I say that?" my eyes wide with worry that I had already messed up.