sour | oscar piastri

↳ 27. 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘹

Oscar grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Well, you know, gotta keep up with the competition."

Aelina laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Their banter was interrupted by the call of his engineer. With a reluctant smile, Aelina bid Oscar goodbye, the unresolved tension between them lingering in the air like static electricity. She then continued down her way to her brother's garage.

The session began with high hopes after the team had told her they had found a solution for the DRs issues but as Aelina embarked on her out-lap, and she activated the DRS down the Hangar Straight, she immediately encountered trouble. The rear wing failed to open properly, causing instability, and compromising her lap times. Now Aelina's FP2 session was also plagued by persistent DRS issues. This was not the second race weekend that she was having issues with it. When she thought they had finally figured what was wrong with it, here she was again frustrated as she clinked on her radio button.

"Andy, whatever you guys did, it did not work, still the same issue from before," she relayed the message to her engineer.

Andy's voice crackled over the radio, his tone calm "Let's try cycling it again on the next straight and see if we can diagnose the issue."

As Aelina completed another lap, she activated the DRS once more, hoping for a resolution. Yet, the problem persisted, frustrating her to no end. If this is how her weekend was going to go, she wasn't going to end up in the points.

"Same issue, Andy," Aelina reported, her voice tinged with frustration. "It's not responding as it should. I'm losing time on the straights."

Andy's voice remained steady, "Copy that, Lina. Let's bring it in for a quick analysis. We aren't able to see any electronic issue with it, there must be a mechanical failure. I know you lost time in FP1, but we'll get to the bottom of this."

Returning to the garage, Aelina's car was quickly surrounded by mechanics, each one working with urgency to diagnose the DRS malfunction. Andy leaned over her shoulder, analyzing the telemetry data with a keen eye, searching for any clues that could pinpoint the root cause of the issue.

"Looks like there's a hydraulic pressure drop in the DRS system," Andy observed, his voice muffled slightly by the noise of the garage. "We'll need to bleed the system and check for any leaks."

Aelina nodded. She went over her data while Theo handed her, her water bottle. Fifteen minutes lost to the team trying to sort out her DRS issues but soon she was back on track. Aelina resumed her FP2 session with renewed focus, pushing her car to the limit while Andy monitored the DRS system closely from the pit wall. With each activation, they held their breath, hoping for a seamless operation.

"DRS engaged, Lina. Let's see how it holds," Andy radioed, his voice tinged with anticipation.

As Aelina streaked down the Hangar Straight once more, she activated the DRS, holding her breath as the rear wing deployed smoothly, slicing through the air with precision. The car surged forward, delivering the performance she had been craving.

"DRS is holding, Andy," Aelina reported, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. "Feels good. I'm going to run the simulations for the race."

"Copy that."

As the day drew to a close Aelina had found herself making her way back to the car right behind Oscar and his trainer.

"Wait up," she called out to Oscar and watched as Theo raised his eyebrow but said nothing. Oscar stopped and turned. "Did you get dinner?" she asked.

"No, was going to just get something back at the hotel."

"Wanna check out another local pub with me?" she asked. It was awkward but she wanted to spend more time with him, and she couldn't help feeling the need to be around Oscar no matter how strange it felt.