Last Man Standing

Chapter 4

"You say that as if it is easy."

"For you it is. Racing is like breathing to you. It comes naturally. That's why no one is upset by the qualifying you had. If anyone is capable of the craziest things such as qualifying sixteenth and winning the race, it is you. Now off you go. You don't want to miss all the excitement." Marylinde took off in a slow jog, keeping her muscles warm, but not tiring herself. She greeted people along her way.

"Mary!" Mary nearly ran into the tall figure of Alex who was trying to make sure she wouldn't run past him, George and Lando. "Hey there."

"Hey." She smiled brightly, but a slight tremble was audible in her voice.

"How nervous are you?" George took her hands, making her stick them out in front of them and then letting them go. They trembled. "Oh love." He pulled her towards his chest, hugging her tightly. "There is no reason for you to be nervous."

"I know."

"Yet still you are."

"It's not like I am you guys. If I were, I would have driven qualifying with you lot earlier today."

"It's a good thing you are not!" George laughed. "I am pretty sure the world couldn't do with one more of any of us. It would be chaos."

"Either way-" Alex cleared his throat. "You will have all of our support, no matter what."

"What about Callum?" The three young men looked at each other and then shrugged.

"He knows he has no chance against you in our books." Before even being able to shake her head in disbelieve at their actions, they engulfed her in a last tight hug.

"Go get 'em, tiger," Lando called after Marylinde when she continued her way to her car, making people look up. Sometimes she really hated the lad for how he would have no feeling of embarrassment, causing her to feel it more than she wanted. Over her shoulder, she therefor flipped him the finger, making the three Brits she left behind laugh. Always the lady.

When all the preparations were finally over and Marylinde was sitting in the car, the nerves came back. She would have just one more lap before placing the car on the grid one final time before lights out. She would position it strategically, knowing that people would try to pass her on all sides, but she would have to keep her position at least, preferably make some up. She would have to show what she could do.

She followed the cars ahead weaving to get some heat into her tires. Her hands were trembling again. She would have to get that under control. She took a deep breath, remembering all the things she was told. The temperature was high with a 28 degrees Celsius, making even the formation lap very demanding.

It would be thirty-two laps, thirty-two laps in which she would have to remain focused. She needed to do so in order not to crash, whether it would be into a wall or a fellow driver. She could not permit herself to make mistakes. The long line of cars drove onto the second DRS straight, just a couple more corners before they would line up the grid. She weaved even more on the final straight between turn thirteen and fourteen before taking place on the sixteenth grid slot.

"Guys, something is wrong? Why is the place in front of me empty?"

"Jehan Daruvala had to pull into the pits." Marylinde frowned, she apparently had been too focused on her focus to notice him pulling out of the line of cars. Apparently, she had overdone it. "Don't mind it, it just means a little bit more breathing space for you at the start, just let it go and remain focus on your own car." The team was right, it was just her out there, her avoiding other cars in order to get a good result.