Race Engineer - Daniel Ricciardo

Chapter 6

"Alright, safety car is ending, Max" I tell him, knowing he'll know it as well, but still. Everyone speeds up again as the safety car ended, making me sharper. I try to follow Max on track and check all the data at the same time. I get an exciting feeling, as I see both Red Bull's pulling away slightly, enough to have room to breath. Daniel and Max have around 1.2 seconds between them and another 1.5 seconds between the number 3, which is Carlos Sainz right now. But the Ferrari's are pretty close behind.

In the 8th lap, Felipe Massa goes in to change tyres and I watch the amount of time he loses, so I know what Max'll lose when he does his pitstop.

"Alright, Massa just did a pit stop, lost about 21 and an half second. So let's say you'll lose around 22 seconds per pit stop, keep that in mind"

"Okay, copy. When do I stop?"

"Don't know exactly, I'll call you in in a couple of laps" Max doesn't reply to that, so I just keep checking his tyre wear. Daniel goes in first on lap 11, so Max leads for half a lap.

"Alright, box at the end of this lap" I tell Max, as Daniel drives off again.

"Copy" Max says. His car appears in the pitlane and the team is ready. I turn around to watch, hoping it goes quick. And it does. 22.369 seconds is what my screen says. Raikkonen went in right behind him, so he is in front of Raikkonen, behind Vettel and Ricciardo. Max tries to keep pushing and after everyone has done their pitstop, Daniel is leading again, with Max behind him. Raikkonen is behind Max, with Vettel behind him.

I just watch and check everything, not really talking to Max during the next couple of laps.

"What strategy is Daniel on?" Max asks me suddenly. I check with Simon quickly, before I tell Max.

"3 stop, you're on a 2 stop" I tell Max.

"2? When am I boxing then?"

"Soon. We need to undercut Ferrari and I know you can keep those tyres alive, you've proven it in the FP sessions"

"And Daniel has pitted now right?" Max asks.

"Yeah. You're leading Max, you're doing extremely well" Max doesn't reply anymore, wanting to concentrate. I hope he realizes that if this continues, if he can keep Ferrari behind, he's going to atleast get onto the podium. After a few more laps, I call Max in.

"Box at the end of this lap, Max. Box, box" he does so and the pitstop is just a little faster than the first one, putting him P3. One lap later, Raikkonen pits. With Daniel in front, Vettel second, Max third and Raikkonen fourth, we have a pretty good afternoon up till now. This order stays this way for 2 laps, when Vettel pits for the last time. He's going to Mediums, which is the tyre both Max and Raikkonen are on as well. Max starts leading the race again, when Daniel pits on lap 43, going to Mediums as well. But Vettel stays in front of Daniel, making it a Ferrari 2-3 right now.

"Alright, leading again Max. Raikkonen is close behind you, just outside of DRS, keep pushing" I tell Max, seeing Raikkonen coming closer and closer.

"Let'em come. This is going to be fun" Max replies, making me and some other pitwall members laugh. Simon frowns, as he didn't hear.

"Max is enjoying himself" I just tell him, getting a grin from Simon. Daniel is luckily closing in on Vettel, which gives us hope, but my attention stays on Max. Raikkonen has now moved himself into the DRS zone, but on 0.8 or 0.7 seconds from Max, which should be far enough.

"Just a heads up, Raikkonen is within DRS of you" I don't get a reply, which I don't mind. I just keep watching Raikkonen coming closer on the pit straight, but falling off again after it, lap after lap.

"10 more laps, Max. Keep pushing" that's his motto, keep pushing. I love it, so I want to keep using it with Max. The next couple of laps, Max stays in front of Raikkonen, the same thing happening over and over again, Raikkonen coming close on the pit straight, but being too slow on the rest of the lap. Max is making zero mistakes, driving absolutely amazing.

"5 laps to go" I just say, feeling myself getting extremely nervous again. This is it. 5 more laps and he'll be a race winner. Just 5 more laps keeping Raikkonen behind.

Another lap goes by of Max staying in front, and then another one. My leg can't stop bouncing, as that's how I show that I'm nervous. Before I know it, it's the final lap.

Daniel comes in, with a puncture and that breaks my heart for a little, as his chance for a podium washes away completely. But Raikkonen is still on Max's tail. Last couple of turns.

"No way" I mumble, as Max comes round the last corner, in front. He crosses the finish line, chequered flag comes out and people all around me start cheering, very loudly.

"Yes, yes!" is the first thing I hear from Max.

"Unbelievable, Max! Unbelievable!" I just say, knowing Christian would want to say something.

"I can't believe it" I hear Max's voice before I hear Christian's.

"Max Verstappen, you are a race winner. What a great debut. Fantastic job" Christian says.

"Thank you very much, Christian"

"Jeez, Max. This is brilliant. I'm so proud of you! Didn't make a single mistake, great job" I say, now a bit more explained.

"Thank you, Mackenzie! For everything, your hard work payed off!" I smile widely, as team members congratulate me. I put my headset off and make my way towards the podium, moving in between team members.

"Mackenzie! Over here!" Jake yells at me. I make my way towards him, as he gives me a hug.

"Congratulations!" he yells over the loud noises.

"Thank you! You too!" I tell him. Jake smiles widely, as we wait until the drivers get onto the podium. Soon enough, Vettel and Raikkonen walk on and I know Max is next.

"And first place, Max Verstappen from Holland!" Max walks on as everyone from the team cheers loudly. I can see Christian a little further, along with Max's father, Jos. I push my way towards them, as Christian's eyes fall on me. He pulls me in for a hug.

"Great job, Mackenzie!" he tells me, making me smile. Jos smiles at me as well.

"Hi sir! I'm Mackenzie, Max's race engineer" I tell Jos, holding out my hand. He shakes it as smiles widely.

"It's nice to meet you Mackenzie. Great job this weekend"

"Thank you, sir! Congratulations to you as well" I tell him. I turn back around to see Max getting his trophy. He holds it up high and the entire team, including Jos, cheers loudly. He looks so proud, so happy. I already can't wait for the celebration party tonight.

-

After having the winning photo taken, everyone just moves around the garage. Max gets interviewed by everyone, while Daniel is already dressed.

When I want to walk away, he calls me back.

"Mackenzie!" I turn back around to be faced with Daniel. He smiles weakly, probably a bit disappointed.

"I wanted to congratulate you, you did great" he says while smiling more genuine now.

"Thank you, Daniel! Ready to party tonight?" I ask him, which makes him get a bigger smile on his face.

"Off course! About that. I was thinking, maybe I could pick you up tonight and we could go together" Daniel looks kind of nervous while asking, suggesting this. I just smile at him.

"Yeah sure. What time should I be ready?" I ask him. He gets another big smile on his face, looking a bit surprised, even.

"Around 8?"

"Okay, sure. I'll make sure to be ready"

"Alright. I'll see you then" Daniel waves at me and walks away, leaving me alone with my nervous and flustered feeling.

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Hello!
So, I just wanted to say that the next updates will be uploaded late, probably. I almost forgot this one, as I'm exhausted.

Let me know what you think of the story so far!

Xx