VALE
"Box, box. Box, box."
Eric, the team strategist, calls through the team radio to ask me to pit in this lap. I quickly drop the speed of my car to 80 kilometers per hour as I reach the entrance of the pit lane. I slowly turn into the side of our team garage to get my car jacked for the tire change.
We were going from the medium tires to the soft ones, after warming up the mediums enough in the first third of the race. It wasn't ideal, but we realised that the soft tyres would provide us better grip for this race. The temperature of the circuit has changed significantly since qualifying yesterday, which was why our team was still having some trial and error during our actual race.
As the car drops back down to the ground when the jacks are removed, I adjusted my foot back on the accelerator. The moment the green light turned on, I placed a good amount of force on the pedal and quickly headed out of the pit lane.
With the pit stop, I fell behind by three positions, which isn't so bad knowing that the other teams have not had their drivers pitted yet. But on the soft tyres, we might need to do one extra pit stop.
I needed to get one more podium. With me and another driver, Alexander (Alex for short), being almost tied up for points, and me taking fourth, the battle to secure that third place after this race would be a tough one. It sounds easy, but not when he is leading the race and is driving the best car on the grid.
It was a really hard time trying to climb up with a car that is constantly on the edge of breaking down. Every time we get onto the start line, it was always a 50-50 chance whether we could race till the checkered flag was waved. And being able to be right behind the top driver so far for the season is indeed incredible for the team, and for me.
But if I really want to secure a place in the top teams, I have to win this championship. I need to prove to them that I am worthy of sitting in their machinery and able to push it to its fullest potential, despite being one of the relatively newer drivers to Formula One.
I only joined the grid two years ago, with my rookie year not being the greatest as compared to the experienced drivers on the grid when they were in their rookie year. It was mainly because of the kind of technology we had for our car back then. The team was struggling to figure out what worked best for it and ended up costing us lots of money to fix the damages of our crashes, which were happening way too often.
As I drove into the DRS zone, I pressed the switch for it and I instantly felt the car glide across the straight road and cutting through the air like a sharp pair of scissors to paper. The car easily went into the 300km/h and I took the opportunity to charge past Daniel, who drives for Fiantche, which was a team named after the car company who bought over them.
"Turn 8, defend and stick close to the apex. Don't let (Daniel) Simmons take back his position." Eric called out through the team radio.
"Alright. Time to hug the apex tightly like a koala bear and the tree." I reply back, wondering after I said it if it was broadcasted to the audience to listen. It might end up on my top radio moments on YouTube sooner or later, I'm sure. Oh well.
When Daniel was unsuccessful at overtaking me at Turn 8, I pushed the gears and sped down to the next turn, hoping to gain some distance before the next DRS zone. Letting him have any chance at overtaking me would not be good. He drives in a better car than me, so I have to seize every opportunity I'm given.
Fifty laps later, Daniel has fallen behind further by five more positions after having a little issue with the grip of the tires and getting overtaken because of his lack of pace for this race. His car had slipped a little while he was making his turn at Turn 4 and caused him to lose control of the car. He was lucky enough for the car to stop just before hitting any barriers, which meant that he could continue on with the race.
"Vale, (Alex) Prince dropped to third, which means he is right in front of you. Only two seconds gap from you and Prince. Can you try to overtake him? Let's aim for the podium position." Eric asked through the team radio.
"Right on it, Eric." I say through gritted teeth, as I feel the effects of high Gs pressing against my body as I increased the amount of force I'm applying to the pedal. I hit another DRS zone and was only less than a second away from the rear of his car. I checked behind for any cars in the mirror, before steering to the right of his car and was getting ready to pounce at any gap he might leave me. All I had to do was play a waiting game and wait until he messes up a turn.
But after three laps, Alex hadn't made a single mistake. It was understandable, since he had five more years of experience under his belt than me. He has already understood the many ways drivers could steer and overtake him, and would have probably found ways to block them and made sure they would never pass him. Just at twenty-five years of age (twenty five years, five months and eighteen days), he has already claimed the title for being one of the best drivers on the grid despite his years of experience (only 8 years!) and his age. He is indeed the GOAT of our decade of racing. No doubt.
And I was right behind his tail, a driver with only three years of experience, trying to push the limits of a car that was not meant to be in the top 5 positions. Playing the waiting game wasn't easy, but if there is one thing I know, I can easily beat him with the help of patience. I have never seen him wait in any line for more than fifteen minutes. He would just give up and try again another day. Which meant that, based on my calculations, he should be mentally tired playing this whole waiting game and would give up soon enough-
"Prince from the Munick team went too wide on Turn 6 over there. And here we see Broughton trying to squeeze through the gap between Prince and the apex. Will he be able to successfully pass Prince?" The commentator shrieked in excitement as the two cars fought head to head.
The Munick car starts to slow down and I could see the gap between us closing in. I snapped my head back into the game and into full focus mode. I quickly put my car into the highest gear and slide into the gap easily. But this tiny victory wasn't mine yet, because Alex noticed what I did and was now trying to close the gap between the curb and my vehicle, trying to keep me as far away from the next apex as he possible could without getting a penalty.
"Not looking good here, he is trying to keep me far away from the apex."
"Copy that. Keep pushing the car, our car seems to be better at turning corners than his." Eric replied instantly, and I did as I am told to.
"Now they are neck and neck, the gap between their cars getting a little too close for comfort. Prince seems to be trying to push Broughton away from the next corner to gain an advantage, but Broughton doesn't seem to be giving up so easily." One of the commentators exclaimed.
"Will Broughton be able to take a podium position? Or will Prince retain it until the very end? We are now only two laps away from seeing that checkered flag, and the two are battling hard for that third place." The other commentator added.
I needed that third place if I want a chance to get a place in the top teams. I need to have something to prove to them that I am worthy of being there. This would determine if I end up in the top 3 for the Driver's Championship, even if it is for a while. I had fought so hard to be fourth. I had never gotten into the top ten spots in the past seasons of my career, and I had given it my all just to be there. I needed this podium finish badly.
I just want to be up there, at the top 3, for a moment. Just to prove to the top teams that I have something special and that I am capable to race for them.
"Hang in there, buddy. You got this. Your overall pace for this race has been amazing, the best I have ever seen in any driver." Eric's encouragement comes through the radio, making me feel a little less anxious and a little more motivated.
"Thanks man." I gave a short reply, my breath feeling a little caught by how hard I was pushing this four-wheeled odd shaped box.
"Come on, come on. A little bit more Vale, you got this." I whispered to myself under my breath, giving myself an extra glimmer of hope that a miracle would happen.
"They are still neck and neck! Both are still fighting hard to get that third place. Broughton just can't seem to push his car any further than this, and Prince seemed to be tired keeping the same pace for the last few laps around the circuit. None of them seem to be willing to give up any time now. I have never seen such a race before!"
As I made a turn on my last lap, I felt my front wheels slip a little. They were definitely worn out and needed a replacement, but I was on the lap that mattered. I can't box into the pit lane and waste all my efforts.
The turns got a little harder as my handling of the car was being challenged. The loops in the circuit threatened my tires to skid off track, but I managed to gain control of the car before it could do so.
But with lesser traction on my wheels, I could see the distance between my vehicle and Prince's starting to increase. My heart breaks a little as the gap gets wider and wider after every turn.
Soon, I wasn't fighting with him for third any longer. I was fighting to keep my position of fourth with the driver who was originally a good five seconds behind me.
And when I passed the checkered flag, I ended up managing to block the driver behind and secured my fourth place. When I got out of my driver seat, there was sweat everywhere. My eyes were stuck wide open after focusing so hard on the track for too long, my hair flattened on the top but messy on the front because of my helmet, and my shaking hands and legs. I looked like I was freezing in the very much 33°C weather. My race suit was soaked from top to bottom and I could squeeze out the excess sweat from my sleeves and collar.
The team had to carry me out of the seat because I couldn't get my leg over the halo. I was way too exhausted and upset that my body became a block of jelly. I couldn't feel or move my legs. I could only waddle around after I was carried out of the car. The adrenaline was slowing down rapidly and I could feel my muscles feeling sore and tired out.
As I heard the anthems play on the podium stands, I couldn't help my let my tears fall. I was in pain, emotionally, mentally and physically. I tried so hard. But now it is out of reach for sure.
"Hey kiddo, you don't look too good. Here, get yourself hydrated." Eric comes over, sits down next to me and gives me a pat on my shoulder. He then passes me a drink from his other hand to me, which I gladly accepted. Nothing felt better than having a good bottle of water guzzled down my throat.
"I'm not going to be able to progress further than this. I'm stuck in fourth. I can't get past to third."
He brings me into a hug, which I let myself into and cried. I let all my sadness and disappointment out of me and as tears on his shirt.
"Son, you are doing so well. I know we aren't the top 3, but I think you still have one more shot at this." Eric assured me.
"On which circuit?"
"The Singapore Grand Prix."
"Eric, that's the hardest circuit ever. Both our cars retired from that race last year because of how tough it was on our machine."
"Show them what you can do."
"I won't even last half way-"
"It's not the car. It's the driver."
"Are you quoting Top Gun: Maverick in this serious moment right now-"
"It's not the car. It's the driver." Eric paused at every word to emphasise.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay." I nodded, feeling worried about that race, which just so happen to be the next.
We turn our heads to watch the broadcast playing on a television hanging from the ceiling of the garage. We watch as everyone from the podium got off stage and watched as the teams took their pictures with their winning drivers, celebrating with hard pats on the back and loud cheering. I watch as the chaos of blue, red and orange separated to different parts of the ceremonial area and gathering around their drivers. Fans were cheering and chanting their favourite drivers' names loudly from the grandstands.
Eric and I quickly head to the area where all the celebrations were taking place to join the rest of our team, who were celebrating alongside everyone else. In the background, I could hear fans chanting my name as I went close to the side of the barrier that separated us and the audience. I climbed the barrier and waved at everyone, making the crowd cheer louder. I give them my best smile, as well as one for the camera.
After waving at the fans, I got off the barrier and rush back to my team, where Eric is standing with one arm open, and wanting me to join their large circle which the whole team had formed nicely. I had a good laugh as we spun round and round, like a bunch of little kids having the time of their lives.
When we were back at the garage and settled down, allowing the adrenaline to wear off all of us, we had a general debrief for this race and got down to business. The team engineers and Eric were nodding their heads off as they were told how to improve from this race before we move on to the next race, the Singapore Grand Prix.
You could hear it in everyone's voices that no one liked it, since it was so challenging. There were groans and grunts echoing in the garage, as we all tried to get ourselves mentally prepared for it.
As we all got dismissed, and my ears were definitely not playing tricks on me, but as I passed by the door of Eric's room in the team's office, I heard him talking to someone on the phone.
"About that new upgrade, is it completed? Can we get it used for the Singapore Grand Prix? I need the best of everything for this race. I want to help our team get our first win from that circuit."
And I couldn't wipe the smile I instantly had on my face. My heart swelled hearing him say that. He is going to do everything he can to help me win.
"And as we can see, we have in first for the Driver's Championship, Devon Lefoc. In second, Louis Frow. In third, Alexander Prince. Unfortunately, now having a larger gap in points than last race, Vale Broughton is placed fourth..."