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I was in the garage waiting for Q2 to end, Robbo called me with 2 minutes of the session left because I had done a lap fast enough to get through Q3 with no worries and we wanted to save the tyres just in case as we will need them tomorrow. I was listening to one of my engineers about how to improve the last sector when I heard the commotion coming from the stands and from some of the mechanics in the garage that were watching the session on a screen near them. I turned to see everyone looking at something with their eyes wide and worried faces. My heart stopped when I saw the white and red car missing part of the front wing and crashed into the wall, I walked closer to the nearest screen to see if the German driver was moving or responding to his team who were calling him on the radio. My eyebrows furrowed in anticipation as they red-flagged the session and all the cars slowly returned to their garages, with still no response from Mick. Fuck.
'What happened?'. I asked once I was in front of the chair wall of the team, where Christian, GP, Robbo, Hannah and Adrian were sitting.' Why aren't they showing what happened?'. I continued to question noticing the cameras avoiding filming the track or replaying the accident.
'They can't show him until they know he's okay. We're waiting for a response from the FIA about when we can resume with qualifying'. Christian turned on his chair and pulled his headset down as I continue to ask.
'But they will say something if he's not okay, right?'. Christian looked at me and then at Helmut who had come from Max's side of the garage to the chair wall and was now standing next to the team director.
'Lani, you should go back to the garage and talk with Callum and the guys about the floor problem you were complaining about earlier. We will update you if something changes but for now, you should focus on ending the session'. Robbo was the one to speak, knowing that the uncertainty of the situation and my asking questions were only making me more uneasy. I gave him a look and then looked at my team principal and boss who nod, before sighing and taking a step back from the team's area and returning to my side of the garage.
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'Car feels good in sector 2'. I told Robbo as the time for q3 was ending and I was about to open my last fast lap hoping to improve the time I had set earlier at the start of q3. The team had pitted both Max's and I's cars for a new set of soft tyres when we realized both Carlos and Charles were aiming for a target time 0.5 seconds faster with new tyres.
'Copy. That's good. Remember the target'. He reminded me as I approached the last curves of sector 3. I pressed the copy button before taking a deep breath and starting my last lap of the day. There wasn't much traffic, just some cars that were cooling off the engine knowing there wasn't enough time for them to open a new lap. When the second sector came I was holding in my breath and keeping my hands tight around the steering wheel. I saw from my peripheral vision the walls coming close and I left a sigh of relief when the tight circuit area was quickly left behind and I was soon entering the third sector. A bright Ferrari was cursing through the circuit and finishing his lap when I pressed the DNS button and the car moved swiftly and fast through the last straight before crossing the line. I took a deep breath and close my eyes for a second as I cool both myself and the car down, waiting for Robbo to tell me which position we have finished in.
