beyond measure - lewis hamilton

prologue.

abu dhabi twenty ten.

flicking down my visor of my helmet, I rub my thumbs over the buttons on my steering wheel before gripping it with my gloved hands. in and out. I focused on my breathing, taking in the smell of the exhaust as my engine of my rb16 comes to life. steve o, johnny, bam and dunn stand saluting me from the pitlane wall, all dressed in pilot costumes, a running joke about my job. I quickly stuck my finger up at them, needing to focus on the five lights above me.

all I needed was to place fifth and the championship title would be mine. qualifying in fifth, meant that I only needed to maintain my position, but I was never one to settle. I press my foot hard against the throttle as the lights shut off, aiming for the outside line. complete focus on the road in front of me as if there is nobody else on the track.

"Davidson, keep your focus button now behind you, Alonso in front" my race engineer ali's voice carried over the radio, only slightly mumbled by the movement of the car. "keep the pace and defend till the end. simple?"

"not necessarily easy" I reply back, making it difficult for anyone to attempt an over take, breaking late on the corners. the adrenaline has hit and the nerves are gone. complete focus on the road in front of me as if there is nobody else on the track.

"but the rewards are endless" he finishes the familiar quote we have spoken about multiple times before. the struggles and hardships are what make it worth it.

going two hundred kilometres per hour, the first few laps flew by without a hitch. my fresh soft tires tearing up the grey pavement. jenson's red and grey car now more visible in my side mirror, now able to hear the engine of his mclaren roar. I knew the corner would be close but I did what I always do breaking at the very last minute but he had already backed off knowing this was how I drove and the fight would be better done on the next straight if he could maintain the gap.

"gap to button within the second. don't throw the championship for one position. one corner at a time." a laugh leaves my lips at his words. I will fight to the end but I know when to see the bigger picture. "we are keeping to plan a. plan a"

"fair call. play the song then" if there was one thing that focused my mind and kept me cool, it was music and much to the dismay of Christian, it had been a common occurrence for the team to play music over the radio as I drove. teen spirit came pumping through the radio, curtesy of dunn, who created a whole playlist for me having each song cut so there wasn't a gap between them.

I really fucking wanted this win. for myself, for the guys, for my personal team, and for every women out there. but redbull didn't mind either way, constructors was taken easily earlier in the season and now the battle was between their two driver for the world champion.

working on a one stop strategy, I created distance between myself and the mclaren that had been tailing me for the last few laps before pulling into the pitlane. two seconds and my wheels are back on the ground speeding back out onto the track, entering just behind Alonso who had the same plan.

"gap to alonso .7. don't think he will let you by easy..." my brain dials out what ali continues to chatter about, focusing solely on the car positioned in front of me.

I keep my car tailing him. everything is down to the millisecond, any chance of a gap I needed to take otherwise I will be stuck back here in seventh and I can kiss the title goodbye. I pull up going tire to tyre with him through the corner, he takes the inside line attempting to outbreak me.

my car surges past his, as I predict his movements not letting him take control. I push the car as much as it can take down the straight but he doesn't let up.