The tension in the Marussia garage is high. Even though it is the Monaco Grand Prix my brother has the chance to score some much-needed points for the team. I'm just glad that I was able to get some time off from my own commitments to see this. I am flooded with relief as my brother crosses the line in ninth.
It is at that moment I am pulled out of my dream by my alarm clock. Dammit. I was enjoying the dream/memory. It was of the time that Jules scored his first Formula 1 points. I hesitantly get out of bed as today is the media day. Sure I do have free practice to look forward to however I do have to sit through the media stuff. I am drawn to the kitchen where I can smell breakfast being made. That must mean that Nyck was up before me. I can't blame him for getting up early. It is a race weekend.
"Morning Jess," Nyck greets me. I can tell that his attention is more on the food.
"Morning Nyck," I responded. Thankfully Nyck is quick with finishing making the food. He passes me a plate as he sits down but I am hesitant. Mostly due to the fact that I have something on my mind. I have unfinished business with this track because of a certain Russian. It will be interesting to see if I can actually finish this race without any drama. I just hope that my wishes in regards to this race come true. I can feel Nyck's concerned glances so I quickly get to work on eating the food. At least Nyck makes for a good cook. It doesn't take long for me to finish the food. After another hour of getting ready Nyck and I begin the short walk to the garage. At least it is peaceful as there are not many fans. The truth is they will only be there tomorrow. We soon make it to the paddock where Nyck and I get to work on our various media commitments. The first on the list is the official press conference. This time I am finally with Nyck. After a few glances at each other, the press conference begins.
"How are you all feeling heading into Monaco E-Prix. Especially Jess and Nyck, given your experience at the track?" The standard opener with a twist.
"Well the truth is I haven't done so well at Monaco in the past but I am feeling a little confident," I kick start the conversation.
"I'm sure you will be fine. At least you have a benchmark," Nick Cassidy chimes in. He has a point. I am just hoping that the race won't end in a DNF like the other times that I raced in Monaco. Thankfully the questions move to the standard lot such as how confident I am about winning the championship. As always the answer is the same for me. We will have to wait until the last race in Berlin to see if I will win the championship. I realise that my answer is boring but Formula E is the most unpredictable motorsports series. After what feels like an hour of questions the press conference has come to an end. Now for the part of the day that I have been looking forward to the most. The first free practice session. I am looking forward to seeing if I can actually do well.
"Well, that was boring," Nyck remarks.
"Yeah. Now you know how I feel," I retort. I have never understood the reporters' desire to ask the same questions over and over again. At least no one asked what the difference between Formula 1 and Formula E is. We soon make our way to the hospitality area where we are met by our respective lead engineers. I find it funny that Kai has his head buried in sim data whereas Marcus is discussing some things with Nyck.
"Hey Kai, what is the likelihood of me getting into the points if I end up last?" I pull him away from the data.
"It depends on who the drivers are around you. Why do you ask?" Kai responds.
"Let's just say, if my previous attempts are anything to go by, I won't have much luck," I fill him in. I can see the stern look on his face give way to a more friendly look.
"We will use the two free practice sessions to give you the best chance," Kai gives me the answer that I thought I would get. After twenty-five minutes of doing various bits and pieces, I am finally ready to go. It may only be the first free practice session but I want to do well enough. With a gesture from Kristy, I leave the pits. Well here goes nothing. I get to work on establishing a rhythm. It feels weird being on a track like Monaco and being fast. I put it down to the fact that Formula E cars are designed with the sole purpose of racing on street tracks. Maybe I do have a chance of getting somewhere this time around.
"Jess we are going to get you to practice a full power lap for qualifying," Kai announces via the radio.
"Thank you for letting me know," With that, I adjust the settings accordingly. This is the part of the free practice that will give me an indication of how I will do. As soon as I reach the finish line I bring the car up to speed. It feels smooth. Maybe things really are looking up for me. I am quick to dismiss the thought as I feel like it has jinxed me. As the practice session goes on I am feeling more confident on the track. Sure I am tentative but at the same time, I am aware of the fact that Formula E is different to Formula 2. A lot different. I think I will be fine so long as I don't encounter Andre Lotterer.
"Jess, there is a yellow flag in sector two. One of the NIOs has locked up," Kai informs me. So much for a clean run.
"Have we got all of the data that we need?" I responded. There is not much point in staying out if we do.
"Yes. You can come in," Kai agrees with me. With that, I head back to the pits. I can see why Kai cautioned me about being slow. The NIO has been embedded in the barrier. I just hope that the driver is ok. He should be. It doesn't take long for me to bring the car back to the pits. I find myself perched on the halo while Kristy quizzes me on how the car feels. She has my helmet in her hands for me. Kai must have told her that I wasn't too keen on racing around Monaco.
"Look, Kristy. The car is all good," I end the conversation by leaping from my spot. Even though the distance from the halo and the ground is short I still land with a thud.
"Well then my job is done for now," Kristy remarks. She sounds relieved. In her defence, I have been a thorn in her side for the past two races. There is just one problem there are still things left to do. Like getting through the race. After ten minutes of waiting, I am joined by Nyck. He seems a little annoyed. I can guess why. He would have been caught in the aftermath of the NIO crashing. We soon started the short walk back to my apartment.
"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" I ask just to make sure.
"Let's just say that the NIO car coming off ruined my qualifying practice. How could you tell that something was bothering me?," Nyck confirms my suspicion.
"I know you too well," I retort. An idea soon crosses my mind. I pull Nyck towards my favourite cafe. I'll cheer him up with the best coffee in Monaco. Thankfully the cafe is still open. It doesn't take long for us to get our orders. To my surprise, my idea works. It is the day after and it is finally time for the qualifying round. I am feeling confident again. I should be feeling confident there was no more drama in the free practice sessions and I topped the timesheets as per usual. There is still a chance that something can go wrong. Thankfully I am quick to get ready. With a gesture from Kristy, I leave the garage to start the first round of qualifying. Even though I topped the timesheets for the last two free practice sessions I am surprised that the car feels quick.
"Jess Ian wants you to get the full power lap out of the way now," Kai informs me via the radio.
"OK," I respond as I make the necessary adjustments. It doesn't take long for me to set a respectable time given the fact that I am in group one. After fifteen minutes of putting reasonable laps, I am done. I soon bring the car back to the garage where I settle in to watch the rest of the qualifying groups. As the qualifying session goes on I find myself wincing at how close some of the others are getting to my time. However, as per usual I am the fastest. It is a bit anticlimactic in a way. Don't get me wrong I am glad that I am about to beat my qualifying record at Monaco but still. Ten minutes later I am back at it again. Being as quick as I can. I soon set one of my quickest lap times at Monaco. To my surprise, there is only one driver that has beaten me and that is Robin Frijns. It doesn't take long for the top three to make it to the media area.
"Hey, Jess you did well," Robin decides to compliment me.
"Well I could have done better," I responded. After all, it wasn't the greatest lap that I have completed this weekend.
"Unfortunately I snatched pole from you," Robin retorts with a smirk on his face. I start to wonder how Nick Cassidy puts up with him as a teammate.
"And I plan on taking the win from you," I threaten. Hopefully, I can follow through with my threat. It doesn't take long for the media stuff to come to an end. I find myself heading to the hospitality area for the wait between qualifying and the race. I let my thoughts wander. There is a lot that can go wrong with today's race. Well, Kai, Kristy and I will hopefully have everything under control. The biggest issue is I need to trust my abilities. After a long hour of waiting the moment has come. Time to see if I can catch Robin. As per usual I am quick to light up the tires to get some temperature into them. Now for the hard part. The lights go on. It feels like forever but the lights go out. I am quick enough to jump past Robin. Ok, now I should get to work on maintaining my lead. There is just one problem. Something doesn't feel right.
"Kai we have a problem. Something feels off," I use the radio to inform Kai of the issue.
"It looks like an issue with the brakes. I can see it in the telemetry," Kai replies. Oh boy, that isn't going to be good for me then. I send a silent apology to Kristy as it will be kinda awkward if the brakes failed at Monaco. It turns out that I have jinxed myself. As soon as the thought leaves my head I can feel the brakes lock up as I go through the hairpin. The next thing I know I am facing the wrong way in a small run-off area. I notice that the Envision Virgin car belonging to Robin is in worse shape than mine. I gesture at Robin to make sure that I have enough room to turn my car around. He gives me a thumbs up. With that, I get the car going again. By that time I have lost ten places. Still, it could be worse.
"Kai, I am able to continue. I am going to see if I can salvage any points," I let him know of my plan.
"Ok. Just be careful. I can't tell if you have any significant damage," Kai confirms that he has got my message. I understand why he is reminding me but I need points in this E-Prix. After all, this is the only race in Monaco where I have the opportunity. I soon begin hunting down the Dragon Penske car that belongs to Sergio Sette Camara. There is just one catch. Since Robin ended up being stuck the safety car has been deployed. It does give me a chance to think about when I should use my attack mode boost. Based on the fact that I caught Robin off guard I might get Sergio on the restart. We will see. After three laps under the safety car, we are about to get back underway. Ok, I just need to be careful like Kai said. The small LED light that is flashing yellow suddenly changes to green. As soon as that happens I bring the car up to full speed. My actions must have caught Sergio off guard as I am able to breeze past. I soon get to work on getting past some more of the drivers. After ten minutes I went from eleventh to seventh. Now for the fun part. Attack mode. I find myself being followed into the attack mode activation mode. It is Rene Rast. Like he wants to make as many positions up as possible. I guess I am not making his life easy as he hasn't gotten past me yet. Another twenty minutes have passed since then and it has come down to the last lap. Sure I am not going to get myself on the podium. That is only because I am still stuck in seventh. Not that it matters.
"Jess, you have more energy than Max. I suggest that you pass him now. If you feel comfortable I suggest getting him in the tunnel," Kai coaches me through the plan.
"I'll try my best. Max ain't making it easy," I reply. I am thankful that he is giving me a challenge. Now is my only chance. I make a bold move in the tunnel as Kai suggested. It is close but I am able to pull off one of the riskiest overtakes of my entire career in motorsports. With that, I crossed the finish line in sixth. Sure it is not a podium finish but it is my best finish in Monaco. I am happy with that as it didn't end in disaster considering that spin. To be honest I can't take credit for my small victory.
A/N if you are still reading this story I WANT FEEDBACK. I don't care if it is negative (Just don't be harsh) feedback I just want bits of feedback to help me improve this story if you are still reading. Yes, I feel dumb for asking but I know I can improve as a writer. Plus I would like some suggestions to fill up the story a little. Please remember to vote and/or comment if you are enjoying this story so far.