The Limit (Sebastian Vettel)

2. As Time Goes By

Silverstone, 16th April 2017

Lily gazed through her open visor.  She was focussed, not even blinking as she listened to the last minute instructions of her race engineer, Martin, in her ear. 

She knew what she had to do.  She knew she was capable of it.  The only thing stopping her from doing it were her rivals.  They were all as ambitious as she was, all as ruthless.  It was her job to prove that she was the best in the field.

This was the third race of the first weekend of that seasons European Formula 3 championship and she was determined to finish the weekend with a win.

Her qualifying had been practically faultless, with two pole positions and one second.   The first two races however hadn't been straight forward.  

The first had lasted only three laps before contact with another driver, not her fault, had damaged the car badly enough that she'd had to retire it.  

The second race had been a lot better, resulting with her finishing on the podium in second place.   However she knew she should have won the race.  She'd started on pole but made a silly mistake on the first lap which had put her down to fourth.   She'd fought back well. Another lap and she knew she would have won. 

This race was going to be third time lucky, she told herself.   She was starting on pole again and this time she was determined that she would be the one standing on the top step after the chequered flag had been waved.  

She had so much to prove, not just to the other drivers, who all believed themselves superior to a girl, but to herself.  She had to beat them.  There was no alternative if a he wanted to make the jump to Formula 2 the next season.  She was already a couple of years behind the drivers she'd started karting with.  Most of them were already in their second year of Formula 2.   There were even teenagers in Formula 2, and here she was, nearly twenty four and in her rookie year of Formula 3.   There was no way she was prepared to hang around here for another year.

To be fair she had no one to blame but herself for not making it to Formula 2 already.    After her father's death she'd fallen into a depression and had refused to sit in a kart for three years.    The only motorsport she'd watched was Formula 1, and that was just in the hope of seeing Sebastian.   The German driver's kindness had stayed with her through the tough times, and if she was honest with herself she'd developed a crush on him. 

Every year she'd wait with anticipation to hear if he'd named his car again, and he never failed.    Everytime he revealed his new car's name he'd stare directly into the camera and she'd known it was a message for her.  He hadn't forgotten her. 

Or that's what she'd thought for the first couple of years.   Finally she realised that he had forgotten.   He didn't care.  No one did apart from Joel.    If he'd cared he'd have made a point of getting in touch, of seeing how she was.   No, he was too busy now he'd been promoted to Red Bull.  

Finally something had snapped inside her as she watched the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2010.   Watching Seb win his first world title had lit a fire inside her.   She wanted to race again.   So she'd spent the next year getting herself ready for a return to racing.   As Seb had won his second title she, along with her newly appointed manager Helena, had lobbied racing teams trying to find someone to give her a chance.  

Her chance came thanks to her Dad's old championship team, McLaren.    They agreed to sponsor her for the 2012 season in British Formula 4.

She'd dominated against the younger drivers, winning the title at her first attempt. The following two seasons she'd competed in Formula Renault, finishing her first season as runner up to Kevin Magnussen, and winning the title in her second season, beating Carlos Sainz in the last race of the season to seal the championship.