No Going Back (Nyck de Vries X OC)

Gaining ground in London (Race 2)

It is the day after and I am looking out of the window of the car as Nyck and I make our way back to the excel centre. Thankfully the weather has cleared up. That means I will be spending more time driving and not sliding. For some reason, the thought brings a slight smile to my face. It is a relief, not having to worry about the rain. It should make it much easier for me. Not that I minded the challenges that were caused by the rain. After a few relaxed minutes in the car, Nyck and I made it to the excel centre. As we are walking through the paddock I notice that the crowd of fans has only gotten bigger. After signing various bits and pieces we made it to our respective driver rooms. With a few swift movements, I have my gear, excluding my gloves, balaclava and helmet on. Those will come when it is time for the last free practice session. It doesn't take long for the all-too-familiar knock on the door.

"Are you ready?" Molly asks as she pokes her head through the gap she made in the door.

"Let's go," I reply as I follow her to a somewhat private spot. It doesn't take long for Molly to dispense her instructions.

"At least the weather is better this time around," Molly remarks as I start the required warm-ups.

"Yup. That means less sliding so less work for you before Berlin," I joke. It seems to bring a smile to Molly's face. After twenty minutes of various exercises, I am finally done with the warm-ups. With That out of the way, I grab my helmet and balaclava as I head to Kai's workstation.

"Kai what have you got for me," I announced my presence.

"Nothing new," He confirms my feelings. Plus I am sure he will have something to tell me after the free practice session. After a few minutes, I am finally comfortable in the car. Now that I am comfortable in the car Kristy sends me out. After a few easy laps, I start my push laps. Thankfully I am able to spend more time on the throttle rather than sliding. It is a big relief for me as yesterday was a drain. After thirty pleasant minutes of driving the free practice session has come to an end. At least nothing went wrong. That means everyone will be happy. It doesn't take long for me to rescue myself from the car.

"Jess, is there something that I missed?" Kai gets to work on questioning me as I get my helmet and balaclava off.

"What do you mean?" I ask even though I get the feeling that I know what he is trying to hint at.

"That session was too perfect," Kai retorts.

"Kai you need to stop being all doom and gloom. I know what I am doing. Not only am I not stupid but the ten races that we've had has given me enough experience," I counter. Sure I am still a rookie but I am second in the championship. That should give Kai some amount of assurance. Thankfully Kai is quick to give up. I may be his star driver but he cares a little too much. After a quick debrief I head to the hospitality area. It is there that I find Nyck. Like me, he seems happy.

"Someone seems happy," Nyck is quick to turn his attention to me.

"Well of course. I'm not sliding everywhere," I say, getting a slight chuckle from Nyck. I am quick to sit next to him. It doesn't take long for a discussion to break out between us. It encompassed what our strategy will be for the race and the championship standings. What I didn't know until now is the fact that I am catching up to Edo in the standings. He mustn't have scored any points. Either that or I am now being more consistent. The thing is I know I can't let this revelation get to my head as I need to focus on myself, not the others. It was something that Jules drilled into me. It was possibly his best piece of advice. For some reason I let my mind wander. There is honestly not much that I have to do before qualifying.

"Hey, Jess. Are you alright?" Kai asks as he takes the seat opposite Nyck and I.

"I'm just thinking. There is barely anything that I need to do before qualifying," I responded. Kai gives me a funny look as he gets to work on eating his snack. The reason for the look? Well, the only reason that I can think of is the fact that he has a lot to look at so that he can help Kristy and her team get the car ready.