Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 15

A> 'Copy that. Should I be practicing quali pace or race pace?'

T> 'Start with race, then we'll send you out to do a representative time towards the end. Get yourself as comfortable with the car as you can.'

A> 'Okay, will do. Keep me updated on where I need to improve.'

When I was beckoned to pull out of my garage, I wasted no time in putting my foot to the accelerator. There was a bit of wheel spin from the lack of grip on the garage's painted floor but it had no impact on the tyres condition. Already in my sights was the Red Bull pulling out of the garage ahead. I couldn't quite tell if it was Max or Pierre since I couldn't see their helmet or driver number, but I was going to find out when I passed them.

The Red Bull took a tight line around turns one and two so I took a wide one. This meant that I could carry more speed and I eventually pulled up alongside the Bull. A quick glance to my side told me that it was Max as there was a red '33' plastered on the side of his car. The only thing that this meant was that I'm definitely not going to just let him have the track position. We may be dating, but I'm still going to be his biggest competition and make him work for it when he's battling me. I feel like I might have been a little more lenient in the past however that is stopping as of right here, right now. 

I stole the racing line right from under his nose as I switched my steering wheel to guide me around the left hander. Unfortunately, my tyres hadn't quite had the opportunity to heat up. As I went through four, the back end of my slipped out from under me and I rolled backwards onto the run-off area. I swear I saw Max give me a thumbs up as he drove past, most likely cackling to himself in his cockpit. 

A> 'Sorry, lost it. It's all good, though, so don't worry. Doesn't seem to be any flat spots.'

I didn't hear a reply from the team as I reapplied the accelerator to rejoin the track. There were no cars behind me so I didn't need to worry about an unsafe rejoin. I had barely shifted up a gear when I spotted the familiar smoke of a lockup at the corner ahead. A yellow flag was being waved so I approached the corner with caution, however didn't waste any time in retaking the position as Max waited to safely rejoin. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself at the karma he had just experienced. 

Max seemed to pull back as we continued around the track. My guess was that he was under team orders to pull back from me so that he would have some clean air to warm up his tyres without overheating the engine. Either way, I was glad to have the track ahead clear to weave around before starting my first proper lap of the session. 

I flexed my hands around the steering wheel as I rounded the final corner to start the lap. Whilst the majority of my focus was on the track ahead, I was keeping an eye out for indicators for a braking point as well as the data flashing up on my steering wheel. There was a lot going on at any one time but I'm used to it in the cockpit. Everything passes by you in a blur so it's vital to choose a spot ahead, such as a mark on the road. At turn one, I use a sign on the right hand side of the track as a guide for when I should brake as a starting point.

I kept close to the inside curb, however drifted further away as I rounded the corner so that I could carry more speed and be in a better position upon entry of turns three and four. I tried to feel the car for its grip to find the best turning angle into the corner. A wave of relief washed over me when the grip on my tyres held up so that there was no step-out from the rear of my car. I had an excellent exit onto the short straight so I was quick to get my car's speed up.