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MATTIA BINOTTO, TEAM PRINCIPAL OF Scuderia Ferrari sits on his stool, thinking hard to himself. They were pressed for time. It's been months since Sainz signified his move but they have yet to fill up that now vacant spot in one of the red cars. There were just so many prospects, so many potential talents... but Binotto knew he needed not only a good driver for the team, but a good driver for publicity as well just to reel in more support from the fans. Formula One racing and winning it requires a balance of everything; speed, teamwork, money, fame, and politics. That new driver must help them check off all of those. Charles and Carlos were already perfect... They were talented and most of all, fast. They're both from prominent families and they were also dubbed as the most handsome team on the grid once. Ferrari had been thriving with their teamwork but Sainz must have been yearning for a title that their cars have yet been able to provide them with. Fast forward to a few months later, all the seemingly good choices for a replacement are already signed to other teams... Norris, Verstappen, Vettel, Ricciardo...
Binotto knew that his only hope lied within the Formula Two racers with potential but that would mean they would be signing a rookie driver. Having someone debut whilst donning Ferrari's red will put a lot of pressure not just on the driver but on the team as well. It's been almost 50 years since Ferrari signed a rookie driver too... The media will scrutinize everything. That's for sure. If the driver underperforms, it would be so embarrassing that Enzo Ferrari would churn in his grave. So that's why Binotto just knew he needed to find not just a good racer but a brilliant one at that.
As the team principal continues to drown himself in his thoughts, suddenly a loud and high pitched zoom sent him shuffling on his seat by surprise. Fazed for a moment, Binotto adjusted the glasses on his face and looked to the Formula One car being test driven around the circuit. He totally forgot for a second that they had Andrée Renaldi, a Formula Two driver, testing out the car they were to use for the next season... Although, it does bring him back to the pressing issue of who exactly should officially be in that cockpit in a few months time.
Andie speeds through the Fiorano circuit seamlessly, having memorized every nook and corner of the track. With a small smirk on her face, she crosses the finish line, ending her last lap, and slows down to stop the car. Usually, she'd hear an engineer speak to her through the radio by now but nothing was coming through. She props herself up with the halo, takes her helmet off and sends over a wave at the engineers at the garage who just gawk at their screens.
Binotto cocks a brow and goes over to the engineers to see why they seemed so baffled. Though, as soon as he saw the numbers on the screen, he understood why.
0'56.54
"Mamma mia..." Binotto muttered, astonished.
"Sir..." One of the engineers slowly called the team principal's attention, "Renaldi just broke Felipe Massa's record and nearly broke Michael Schumacher's. She just recorded the new third fastest lap on this circuit."
"Sì..." Binotti replied, completely speechless.
Who exactly is this driver? He asked himself. The engines of today have been tweaked a bit for safety reasons, meaning they are slightly slower than those before. The fact this woman was able to break records that day was sorprendente. She outperformed the car. Binotto quickly turned to the papers on the engineers' tables and grabbed Renaldi's profile, reviewing it once more but this time, more seriously. The last time he did this was very passively, not exactly interested or keen on signing a female rookie driver on the team. However, her Formula career records only stupefied him even more.
How could he have overlooked this before?
Is this the tell-tale sign he has been praying for from the heavens?
But before he could finish that thought, there came Andie, running towards the team with a curious small smile on her face, "Ciao! How did I do? What was my lap time?"
"You were phenomenal. Record-breaking." An engineer spoke up.
Andie's eyes brightened up, "Really?"
As the young woman celebrated her feat with the engineers, Mattia Binotto had a flash of inspiration and grit. He had a good feeling about this and he knew he needed to act on it now. He pulled one of his assistants aside and quietly informed her of his last minute decision.
A last minute decision that will lead to one of Ferrari's most unprecedented moves in their history.
"We might have found Charles his new teammate. Call for a meeting with the heads for me to discuss this with them."
The assistant nodded, "Right away, sir."
Binotti looked back at the young driver and grinned, confidence building up within him regarding in the gamble he was about to make.
