Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 31

"Well, she is one! And she threatened me!" Stoffel pointed an accusatory finger in my face, which I swatted away.

Toto looked between us with a blank expression before letting out a heavy sigh. "When did I suddenly get two adult children?" He asked, mostly to himself. His tone was laced with defeat, and I had a sneaky feeling that Toto was already done with us as a driver pairing. Without saying anything else, he turned back around as he shook his head, leaving Stof and I to glare at each other.

"You'll be impressive when you actually win a race," I told him with an overly sweet smile.

"It took you a while."

"At least I got a win."

The people around us had slowly been stepping away, clearly not wanting to deal with our antics this close to qualifying. Stoffel folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head to the side. "I was in a shit car," he tilted his head to the other side and blinked quickly with a forced smile, "what's your excuse for taking so long?"

"Someone was trying to sabotage me so I couldn't get the results I should've."

"Really?!"

I chuckled and nodded my head. "Yeah, crazy, isn't it?"

Stof's eyes widened at my nonchalant shrug. What happened last season was in the past. Sure, all the stuff Lawrence Stroll did to me infuriated me still, but I got my win in the end. He couldn't take that from me - ever. The whole ordeal felt like a lifetime ago.

"Lys! What the fuck?"

"It's okay, I'm fine," I reassured, dismissing the situation with my hand. "I know I'm safe at Mercedes."

"Dude! That's not okay. Go to therapy!" Stof placed his hands on my shoulders and gently shook. "Who was it? Did you ever find out?"

I placed my hands on top of his. "I'm not legally allowed to tell you, but you shouldn't look so worried." I exhaled through my nose in amusement. "You should only be thinking about how you're going to congratulate me when I get pole."

Scrunching you his nose, Stof cupped the side of my face. "Cute."

"I've been known to be," I teased. "I'll be especially cute when I take that pole from right under your nose."

"You're all talk, Archer. Just you wait."

***

T> 'Radio check.'

A> 'Check, check, check, you're all clear.'

T> 'We're sending you out in a moment, just waiting for a clear space. You're on the medium compound for now. There will be no need to tow.'

A> 'Sounds good.'

I wasn't waiting in my garage for long before I was beckoned to leave. I eased my foot on the accelerator, feeling my car lurch forward with the sheer amount of power in the engine. The team had released me just before Stoffel, and I was pretty sure we were some of the last cars to go on track. Although the field was a lot closer this season than it has been in the past, it should be easy for us Mercedes to make it into the third round of qualifying.

This is the circuit I'm most familiar with. Because of testing, I have driven this track more than any other in my life, other than maybe Silverstone. I knew it like the back of my hand and could probably drive it with my eyes closed. It was a little tedious during the race and I often found myself getting quite bored when the laps were the same. Despite this, it remains one of my favourite circuits.