Lights Out • 1 • Formula One ✔️

Chapter 10

Bahrain. The race in the desert. We knew we weren't as competitive here as we would like to be so I had been given many orders to give it my all and push the limits.

The free practice sessions on Friday proved that we were not on our usual pace. One of the Toro Rosso drivers had even managed to get a faster lap in than Esteban and I could despite driving on the edge. I was also gutted that I wasn't able to put in an amazing lap for Marcus on his last full day in Bahrain. He had travelled such a long way only for it to end up mediocre.

FP3 was somehow even worse. Esteban spun out on the second corner, narrowly avoiding the wall, whereas I unfortunately clipped it meaning I had to end my session early to repair any damage. Because of this I had very little practice before qualifying later that day which didn't calm my nerves at all.

I had been hearing reporters talking about 'A', and not all positive things. Sure, there were some really nice people who had wished me luck however, there were also some people who declared me an unworthy driver and should stick to the PlayStation. While I admire their creativity in insults, I couldn't help but feel the pressure to perform well during qualifying on my shoulders.

My nerves were clearly seen; it had taken me three goes to make it around the track without an overly costly mistake. I narrowly made it into Q2 with the lap with a 1:29.766, far off the Red Bulls pace with Max and Dan getting into the low 1:28s. Esteban had a more comfortable time of 1:29.239 which securely put him in the top fifteen for the moment. Eliminated at this point we're both Williams, the Haas of Grosjean, the Sauber or Ericsson, as well as (surprisingly considering FP pace) the Mclaren of Vandoorne.

T> 'Alright, 'A', you're lacking in the second sector. Tighten up the corners and you could be competitive.'

I responded well to the instructions during Q2, managing to at one point be in the top five (granted two of the top drivers hadn't done a lap yet). I had improved on my time by over a second, getting into the 1:27s. However, as our team got better, so did the others and I was quickly pushed down into eleventh.

Esteban crossed the chequered flag without improving his time meaning he was at risk of being dropped in tenth position. I was halfway through my final lap, giving it everything I had, when the team radioed in telling me I needed to go quicker if I wanted a chance of getting through. I complied, leaving braking a fraction of a second later than I normally would.

When I crossed the line, my time of 1:27:470 flashed onto my steering wheel. I knew Esteban had a time in the mid 1:27s, I just didn't know what it was exactly.

T> 'Esteban was 3 thousandths of a second slower. You're P10, that's P10. Next session starts in ten.'

I couldn't quite believe it when I heard it, after all, I was always out-qualified by Esteban during every session. Whilst I was sat in the garage awaiting the green light for Q3, Esteban approached me. I was expecting him to be annoyed but instead he had the biggest smile on his face.

"Incroyable! Well done!" He patted my helmet, knowing I couldn't take it off. "I knew this day would eventually come, I was just expecting it much later on."

I lifted my visor slightly, thankful that he didn't seem pissed. "Thanks. If you wouldn't have slipped into the final turn you'd still be sat in your car and I'd be the one congratulating you."

"But it isn't that way. I made a mistake, you didn't, and I'm happy for the team for even getting this far - our stats predicted us 14th and 15th."

"Wow, they had a lot of faith in us." I joked. It's good to know that even though we felt like we struggled, we defied expectations.

Q3 kicked off in the best possible way from the teams perspective after Max had miscalculated turn two and hit the wall on his first flying lap. Thankfully he was fine, but it was also good news as we'll have a Force India ahead of at least one Red Bull.