All the Way - an F1 story

13

Translations will be in the comments

6 June, 2021
📍Baku, Azerbaijan

(P) We will box now, Calì. Box now. Nico is coming in behind you.

If there was one thing Calina hated, it was double stacks. How the team managed to do one so calmly was beyond her, and when they did one last, in Spain, Nico was out in front. Now, it rested on her to not completely fuck up his stop, too.

(C ) Okay. Where will I come out?

The team was there, waiting and ready. Calina stopped, slightly over the markings, and was off again in the blink of an eye. As she pulled out of the pits, she could see Nico swoop in for his stop right behind.

(P) Good job! Youboth will come out in front of Ricciardo, you in 10th and Nico behind you. Bottas is coming down the straight now.

As Melissa had said, the black Mercedes had just passed as she merged back onto the track.

(C) Are we before everyone else?

(P) The others are going to be coming in soon for their stops. If you manage your tyres well, then we won't have any issues.

Calina took a lap to get the tyres ready, but points for p10 was not ideal, so she made quick work of overtaking Valtteri, who went into the pits anyways. DRS helped her with getting past Lando on the main straight, and it took her some laps to get close enough to Yuki.

One by one, Calina could see the cars going into the pits, the red and orange ones sticking out like sorethumbs. That was their goal, as Arno, their Chief Race Engineer, and Serafina, one half of the Head of Strategy duo, had decided on: to stay in front of the McLaren's and the Ferrari's. Now, she and Nico were ahead, and they really wanted to keep it that way.

(C) Where are we? What is the order?

(P) Vettel is leading, then Vertsappen, Perez, Hamilton, Stroll, then yourself, and Nico. Gasly is behind him, then Leclerc.

(C) If Nico wants to, he can go in front. I will defend.

(P) Okay. He will pass at the straight.

Calina rounded the corner, finally coming up to the main straight, and Nico waved in thnks as he drove past. It was a quick exchange, because she could already see the navy-and-white car following them. +2.324 was her gap on Pierre, while ahead, Nico had no problem getting past Lance.

(P) Calina, we are much faster than the Alpha's. Work on getting past Stroll now.

(C) How far in front is he?

(P) plus 3.5. Keep up your pace, and we'll get him two laps—Calì, are you alright?

It wasn't until Melissa had asked when she finally felt the pain that spread from her neck, and she hadn't even realised how heavily she was breathing.

(C) Yeah, Melì, I'm good.

Forcing herself to ignore the pain, she turned back to chasing Lance, who she was finally within a good distance to pass. The way she made sure she stayed close enough to Lance, she could already hear Melissa's mumbles of how much Calina stressed her out when she did that in a race.

Throughout the second DRS, Calina closed the gap even more, and when she finally sailed past him on the straight just after, she watched in near horror, as a plume of smoke rose up, and Lance was into the wall a half-second later. He spun around, and she had to swerve to avoid getting clipped by him.