Last Man Standing

Chapter 42

"Okay Marylinde, you have got this. We are confident you can do a good job. We are aiming for Q3, if and when you reach it, we will see what you can do from there." Christian patted Marylinde on the helmet. "Now get in." Marylinde gave a sharp nod. Her heart was racing when she put her first foot over the halo into the car. She took a deep breath before lifting her second foot in before lowering herself in the cockpit. It was all muscle memory so Marylinde could focus on calming herself down. She was strapped in tightly and was connected to the radio.

"Guys, please just keep me up to date on the absolutely necessary. Nothing more."

"We will don't worry. Are you nervous?" Marylinde huffed before pressing the radio button.

"Obviously I am. I am sitting in the car of arguably the best driver on the grid. I have big shoes to fill."

"Well, you would have to with every driver. Your feet are immensely tiny." Marylinde chuckled as she shook her head.

"Very funny. Can I go out already? At least you'll stop making fun of me then."

"Just two more minutes until the green light." Marylinde readjusted her gloves and put her visor up to allow a bit more fresh air into her helmet. Cameras and photographers were swarming the exit of her garage, awaiting the first female qualifier in years.

It didn't help Marylinde calm down in any possible way. In fact, it rather emphasized the fact that all eyes were on her in the absence of the current world championship leader. There was no excitement to who was going to take the lead – who being Lewis Hamilton - as Max was far enough ahead to skip a race and still be leading the championship.

"Okay, you are free to go." An engineer walked out in front of Marylinde and signalled her to drive out of the pit box.

The red 'eight' on the side of her car stood out against the dark navy blue livery of the Red Bull. The sun was shining but dark clouds were already looming in the distance.

"Okay, remember what we talked about, that is all you will have to do."

"Copy. Good luck guys." Marylinde drove the car onto the vibrantly coloured track. She picked up her pace to start her out lap and as soon as she left the pitlane, her nerves disappeared. She was calm, her heart was beating steadily. Even her worries of the weather forecast disappeared as she trusted the team would ensure she would get her laps done before conditions could possibly worsen. If it was even going to happen.

"Okay, make sure to warm your tires to the perfect temperature."

"Copy guys. Let's go, first shot." Marylinde accelerated out of the final corner and hurled down the straight. As she braked into the first corner, she could already feel her neck being slightly sore after an intense morning practice session where the team had made sure she was prepared for the race. Out of everyone, she had made the most laps, taking the tires to the absolute limit of what they could handle.

"Damn guys, this thing has a lot more power than the f2 car, I can already feel it." She laughed, making sure it sounded more like a joke, albeit it being very true. She finished the first sector and her screen flashed purple. The result of the second and third sector were the exact same.

"Great job. This lap should get you through to q2, but try to cool the tires down to see if you can do another lap with them." Marylinde did exactly as she was told and went for another lap. She improved by a tenth. "So that is p4 for now. Come in and we will see whether we have to send you out again." As Marylinde drove into the pit lane, she felt her heart racing again. When she stopped in front of her pit box she felt a couple of pats on her head. She was rolled back into the garage and a screen with data was placed in front of her. She had driven a decent lap, but it could be a lot better.