QUALIFYING
Friday had been and gone, and now Alfie was pacing back and forth in her room by the Alfa Romeo building.
She was nervous for her first Qualifying session of the season, and couldn't wait to get back in the car.
To her disappointment, Antonio had taken her car for a spin in P1, so Alfie had less time than she would have liked racing in the car.
But today she would be racing against the clock, trying to push the pedal down to cross the line before anyone else does.
What she enjoyed.
There was a knock on her door, and a voice said, "Alf you decent?"
"Yeah."
The door opened and George walked in, dressed in his Williams overalls. "I promise I didn't spy on your team. May practically blindfolded me so I wouldn't see anything."
Alfie chuckled. "Don't worry about it."
She took her hair in her hands and began to braid it, until she was stopped by George. "Wait, let me do it."
Alfie turned around and raised and eyebrow at him. "You can do it? You can braid hair?"
George rolled his eyes. "I did it for like five years when we karted, I think I can do it now."
Alfie held her hands up in mock surrender. "Be my guest."
George walked behind her and began to braid her hair. George always used to do it when they karted together, because Alfie was so nervous her hands used to shake. He had made it his mission to learn to braid hair from Cara and his mother, and then did it for her before she got in the kart.
For a moment, Alfie thought she had gone back. Back to when she didn't know Antonio even existed. Back to when she didn't have press to deal with, or sexist comments of any kind.
Back to when her and George were juggling racing, and school. Somehow the pair had managed to last, even if they were both hanging on by a thread.
But the moment was short lived, when George finished tying the end of her hair into a hair tie.
"Thanks."
"No problem." he squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck Alf."
"You too."
He wrapped an arm around her and she turned around to wrap hers around his middle. The two hugged for a while, until George had a call off Nick to ask where he was.
George left the room and Alfie began to pace again.
Not long after George had left, May came into the room. "Showtime bitch."
Alfie smiled.
In the garage, Alfie was pulling on her helmet and gloves. May came up to her and discussed a few strategies, before Alfie settled herself in the seat of her car.
She got the OK from Alec, and she drove the car from the garage and threw the pit lane, out onto the track.
"OK, radio check. Radio check." She heard May through her radio.
"Yep, Radio is good."
"OK great. Track is almost clear, only Bottas and Checo on track, both on in laps and re-entering the pit lane."
"Thanks May."
Alfie drove her car around the track once, gaining battery power before attempting to put in a fastest lap.
She was pushing as hard as she could. Hitting the apex of every corner, breaking slightly before the corner, so she can shoot herself out onto the next.
When she crossed the line she slowed down to complete an in lap, and spoke to May. "How was that?"
"That was good! 1. 07.054 . You can defiantly go a little faster though."
"I was thinking exactly the same thing."
"Come back in for a little and then I'll send you back out."
"OK."
Alfie brought the car into the pit lane and stopped by the Alfa pit crew who were waiting for her to come in. She stopped the car and it was dragged backwards into the garage. She hopped out of the car and approached Dan.
"Hey! There's my favourite rookie!"
Alfie rolled her eyes. "Mate you're biased. I work for you."
Dan shrugged "Can't argue with that. Right, here's the strategy I've composed for you."
There was just around two and a half minutes left of Q3, and Alfie was nervous. Right now, she was settled in 18th, just in front of George and Nicholas.
Something Fred wouldn't be pleased with.
May ran up to her and handed her her helmet, which Alfie had placed on a shelf after she left the car. "You're up."
Alfie nodded and took her helmet from her friend's hand. She pushed it onto her head and walked back towards the car. She gave Alec a fist bump before setting herself in the cockpit.
Alec ran into the pit lane and checked for incoming cars, and signaled for Alfie to start driving, before moving out of the way.
Alfie cruised out into the pit lane, and passed the Rolex sign. She speed up her car when she exited the lane and onto the track, and began to warm up her tyres.
"OK, you have 1 minute and 55 seconds left. Should be enough for you to put a shiner in." May said over the radio.
"Yep, OK."
Alfie used her out lap to warm her tyres up before she pressed the pedal down and raced.
Around corners, kissing the apex and using DRS when it was available. This is what she missed. She missed the trill of the race. The speed, the adrenaline, the force of the car.
Everything that Alfie lived for.
She approached the start finish straight, and pushed harder than ever. Her Alfa wouldn't be able to compete for Q2, she knew that much. It had been too long away from racing for her to push the car that hard, and she didn't want to risk any damage, or make a mistake which could loose her time.
All she needed was to cut her time down a few seconds to get out of 18th.
She crossed the line, and immediately radioed May. "How was that."
"1. 05. 087. You're in 15th at the moment, but Ocon is behind you and is just finishing his lap."
Alfie took a few deep breathes before May spoke up again. "Yeah, Sorry Alf but he put in a 1. 04. 94. You qualified 16th."
"That's fine. That's good." Alfie smiled to herself. That was good for the first qualifying session of the season.
Alfie drove her car around once more and through the pit lane down into the Alfa garage. Once her car was pulled from the pitlane, she jumped out of the cockpit and removed her helmet.
She walked up to May who hugged her tight. "That was a well good run for a first quali session of the season Alf."
"Thanks May."
May pulled away from the hug and gave Alfie a piece of paper. "You've got a few interviews-"
Alfie groaned.
"I know but it's part of you're job. There's just a few outside the paddock here and then a conference with you, Max, Lewis, Pierre and Seb."
Alfie nodded and sighed. "OK, hand my my cap."
Alfie was stood outside the paddock, surrounded by press officers and reporters. She was stood with John, her press officer, who was dragging her around, setting her in front of journalists. She was currently stood next to Esteban and was talking to a very rude journalist.
"What do you think you did to gain the Renault seat for next year over people like Fernando Alonso?"
Alfie frowned at the man, and so did Esteban from where he stood. "Uh, I'm not really sure what the checklist is for Renault, you'd have to ask them. I just drive as hard as I can and push myself." she answered. John gave her a short nod from beside her, showing her she handled the question well. John knew that Alfie could get angry with certain journalists, but he knew how to calm her down if needed.
"Do you think that a person high up in Renault might have put a good word in for other reasons?" the man behind the barrier asked. Alfie widened her eyes.
Esteban looked at the man from where he stood and scoffed. "What a bastard." he thought. He leant to his left slightly and turned to the journalist. "I can tell you that Alfie scored the seat because she's good. So you can take you're sexist views, and get out of the paddock. there are plenty of other reporters here without stupid questions."
The man glared at Esteban, "Excuse me, don't you have you're own interview to be comple-"
"Hey!" The man turned to Alfie. "Look, you can torture me with you're dull questions all you want but don't talk to my friends like that. And he's right. You need to leave."
The man made one last disgusted look at Alfie before turning around and walking away. Alfie sighed. John spoke up. "Don't worry about it Alf. He's an idiot."
When Alfie didn't answer, Esteban nudged her. "Hey, don't get worked up about it yeah? He's a dick." Alfie smiled at the two men, who smiled back. But deep down Alfie was worked up about it. She was always going to get sexist comments, no matter how hard she worked, and how much she proved to others that she was doing well.
It was all fucking impossible.
After the whole fiasco in the paddock, Alfie had sat through a highly amusing conference, in which herself, Pierre, Lewis and Seb were laughing at the fact that Max's face mask was upside down. When Max asked what was wrong with the four of them, they didn't say anything, so Max let is go, not knowing that he looked like an idiot.
Once her day was over, Alfie lumbered back to the hotel and up to her room. She fell down onto the bed and sighed into her pillow. She was just going to go to sleep, until her door opened and she shot up in a panic, only to see Kota walking into her hotel room.
"Hey bitch. I want to watch a Marvel film, preferably Winter Soldier or Civil War so I can fangirl over Bucky. You don't really have a choice either so go get changed into something comfortable and I'll get the popcorn ready."
Alfie chuckled. "I really don't have a choice do I?"
"Nope. And you need to remember to lock your door. I mean damn Alf I could have been a mass murderer and no one would have known you died."
"He is just so hot like-"
"I Know!"
The two girls ended up watching both Winter Soldier and Civil War, and Kota had been berading Alfie about how Bucky Barnes was the hottest character in the films, and how he didn't mean to kill anyone. Dakota laughed at Alfie's reaction and when she heard the buzzing of her friend's phone, she said, "Your phone is buzzing."
Alfie rolled her eyes. "Yes thank you Kota, I do have ears." Kota held her hand up and turned back to the film. Alfie unlocked her phone and clicked on the message.
GEORGIE 💙
u did well today alf. es told me about the reporter too. he's a dick ok? don't listen to him. you're worth more then some stupid article and you know it. I'll see you tomorrow when I lap you around Remus
Alfie smiled. Kota looked from the TV to her friend. "What's got you smiling like a kid?"
Alfie shook her head. "Nothing." Kota raised her eyebrows and muttered a skeptical ok before turning back to the film once more. " Oh that move! see Bucky is awesome!"
OK so I'm sorry this took a long time to publish, I just had writers block for a while