The Force of Gravity

Chapter Twenty-One

Much to everyone's joy, I pulled off a solid qualifying. Now here I am P7 on the grid. As I coast around the track during the formation lap, I feel anew. Tingling down my arms through my fingertips, lady luck is on my side. I squeeze the wheel tightly hoping to transfer it into the car. The first third of the race is uneventful. I take my first pit and pull out still in P7.

Around lap 29, Perez has some mechanical failure that results in a yellow flag. Gasly takes the opportunity to pit. So, as the race resumes, I'm left in his dust and find myself in P8.

You're still in the points, I remind myself navigating through the turns. I'm sure there's brilliant battles going on somewhere, I don't seem to be involved in any. I'm too far off Gasly's pace to offer any excitement and shockingly better than Ocon's to get anything from him. We carry in our trio for the next 20 laps.

The crackle of the radio pulls my focus back. "Strategy 2 in two. Strategy 2 in two." My engineer announces.

I hit the pit confirm button.

One lap down, one to go. Hopefully, I can get some more pace with a set of softs. I'm itching for fresh tires so that I might challenge Gasly.

I round past the pit entrance just as three cars are pulling out. Lando is right on Perez's tail with Charles close behind. It causes a backup and forces Gasly and I to slow. Ocon sees this as his opportunity to creep on me as I notice him lurch closer in my mirrors.

The five of us have become quite bunched up and form a sort of line. Lando tries to overtake Perez, but suddenly his papaya car is sent spinning. Charles front wing is caught in the mess and soon the red car is spinning alongside the papaya. Gasly's car jerks and I notice his rear fly towards me. I weave wide to avoid the mess. Ocon takes the opportunity to try and pass on my inside. But I notice his car catch on Gasly's and join the entanglement. Dumb ass.

"What was that about?" I ask over the radio as I push past the chaos.

"It appears Lando's McLaren had some sort of failure. Has the car taken any damage?"

"No."

"That's a red flag. red flag. Pit. Pit." My engineer adds.

I slow down and make my way into the pits. Pulling off my helmet, I remain seated in the car and the mechanics rush around. My engineer approaches and crouches by my side.

"Do you think this will be a long one?" I ask.

"Can't say for certain. Gasly managed to drive off, but his side pod has a massive gash."

"Where does this put us?"

"P4, behind Perez. After the restart you'll have Sainz and Alonso on your rear. But they're already on their second set of tires. You'll have a fresh set of softs. Sainz doesn't have a pair of softs left, but Alonso does. In terms of power, they're both big threats."

"Well let's hope Alonso keeps Sainz distracted."

"Let's hope. There are only 10 laps left. Drive clean and you're looking at 12 points."

The next shock of the day comes in the place of a short red flag. Soon enough we're back on the track. They opt for a rolling start. This gives me a bit more hope.

In my mirrors I can see Sainz defending against Alonso. So, I push off ahead of the duo and go for broke.

As I pass the pit entrance, I notice the red bull of Perez slowly ambling in.

"Is that Perez?" I ask my engineer.

"Confirm. Perez is retiring. That's P3."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Helpful."

"Careful of debris."

I roll my eyes and hit the pit confirm button.

"Last lap last lap. Alonso is past Sainz. Alonso is past Sainz. He's a second over our pace and 40 meters behind."

I hit the pit confirm button and check my mirrors. I see Alonso's car growing as it approaches.

"30 meters."

"I can use my eyes. Please shut up."

"20—."

"Fuck off."

We approach the final turn. With nothing to lose I take a gamble and slow slightly. Alonso already has the pace over me and easily takes the bait. I push the car even further into the low-pressure zone behind Alonso. As we exit the corner, I slingshot past him into the straight. In a better car, a tow like that would probably guarantee me the win. But there are no guarantees in this race. I quickly send the car to the left so I'm on Alonso's racing line. Yea maybe it cost me some time, but it'll cost him too to get back on my side. In my right mirror I see his front wing come right along. Screw it, I send my foot down and look squarely ahead.

I cross the checkered flag. The radio is silent. I wait for the crackle hoping it might be good news. It's agonizingly silent.

"Y'all finally took shut up seriously I see." I send over the radio.

No response. I take a deep breath. The adrenaline sinks into my gut, and I can't help but fear Alonso caught me.

The crackle snaps in my ears. "P3! P3! That's a podium!"

I scream out in joy, "holy shit!"

Slowing the car down, I keep screaming. Alonso pulls beside me and waves his hand. I wave back.

I pull my car behind the number 3 and hop out. The entire garage is there screaming. You'd think I won the championship on account of the celebration. I jump up into the arms of God knows who and feel the screams and shouts of the team. So many people are tapping my helmet, but I'm too happy to care.

Eventually, I'm pulled away from them and towards the weigh ins. I pull my helmet off and carry it in my arms waving my hand dramatically at the team which is still shouting.

After being weighed, I find myself in the cool down room with Lewis and Max. No one is really talking when I walk in. My smile is still enormous, and I burst into the silent room as the lone enthused individual. I know I walked by their cars in their respective positions, but I genuinely have no idea which one of them is victorious.

"Well shit," Lewis says with a smile, "when I heard a Haas was on the podium, I thought Bono was playing a joke on me. But here you are."

"Here I fucking am!" I laugh twisting the top of off a water bottle then throwing my arms wide. The bottle spills a bit onto the floor. "Whoops!"

Max smiles and shakes his head, "congratulations."

"I really should be thanking Lando!"

In front of me, the TV switches to the clip of my final corner. The three of us watch in silence.

"You did that?" Max gestures towards the TV.

"No, it was actually two monkeys in a human skin suit, and I just switched places for the podium." I joke.

My hands are shaking with adrenaline and the water spills down my chest as I drink.

Lewis laughs, it sounds like my grandfather. "You're weird."

I cough choking on the water, then smile and nod.

"In all seriousness, pulling a maneuver like that off in only your—what third race? That's impressive. You've got yourself to thank."

I nod, "and you for the compliment."

~~~~~~~~~

a/n

In which everyone is dumb except for Jo.

Surprise surprise I am alive.