DNF - c.l [1]

06:00

I'm pushing, harder than I should, to gain on Lance Stroll ahead of me but I knew I needed to pit soon, the rubber on my tyres was wearing thin from the heat, but I was only a quarter of a second behind him, DRS should be activating any second. 

"Careful on turn 5 Scott, there's debris on the track from Lando," Albert says through my ear piece and I ease off the gas ever so slightly, taking the corner carefully, seeing Lando stepping out of his car in the rubble.

I thank the lord above for him being okay but also giving myself a pat on the back for driving well I wasn't in the position.

The loud beep for DRS rings through the car and I'm back on the gas, taking the outside line around Stroll, smiling to myself as Charles was now only a few paces ahead of me.

Screw defending him, I was going to beat him.

"You don't deserve to be here," his words rang through my head as I pulled along the straight past the grand stand, not looking at the crowd as it would've distracted me.

I could see Charles now, he was so close I could almost reach out and touch his car.

We were coming up to the 40th lap and neither of us had pitted yet, making us both have a disadvantage but they couldn't pit us now as we were right behind each other and the gap between Stroll and I wasn't large enough.

"Scott you need to ease off, I repeat, ease off," Albert says as I push harder into turn 7, hoping DRS would kick in any second.

This part of the track wasn't a straight but it was barely a corner, but taken at the wrong speed could result in a fatal crash. 

I keep on Charles back bumper, making it known I wasn't here to play, pushing him further and further into the corners, waiting for an opening.

I know this would cost me a big telling off from Vasseur but I wasn't think about that right now.

I needed to make podium this week.

I see an opening on corner 14, deciding to try it short, I accelerate into the small gap, hoping Charles wouldn't collide with me, when suddenly my offside tyre connects with him.

In an attempt to back off and correct myself I break, but Charles did too, causing the two of us to crash our tyres into each other again, but this time I'm spinning.

Time slowed for the second time on that race track, as I'm sliding across the rubble and into the barrier. 

I watch at Charles car is spinning into the barrier too, a few feet ahead of me, the tyres flying up in the air as he makes contact with the soft landing.

I feel the impact hit me from the right, Charles now out of my view as a cloud of dust is surrounding me, my head smacking onto the side of the halo rim.

my ears begin to ring as I try and focus my vision on what had happened. wiggling my toes and clamping my hands together, I snap myself out of my dizziness, unclipping my harness. I take the steering wheel off, putting it on the nose of the car and hoisting myself up and out of the car.

looking around I see camera's and fans surrounding the fence nearest to me, all yelling but all I can hear is Albert.

"Madeline? Madeline are you hurt?" Albert says with sincere lacing his voice. "Unfortunately not," I say, kicking the tyre of my car in annoyance.

Suddenly I'm shoved from behind, almost sending me flying onto the ground.

Turning around with my helmet still on, I can make out Charles standing before me in the cloud of dust around us.

"Are you fucking stupid, what the hell was that move you tried to pull?" he grabs me by my shoulders shaking me violently as if my brain cells hadn't already been rattled today enough.

"There was an opening, you cut me off, AGAIN!" I  yell back at him, shoving his hands off me and pointing my finger onto his chest.

"You could've killed us both," he replies as the marshals and first aid surround us, asking if we're okay and beginning to move the cars.

It only then hits me that I realise we're both out the race, and my hunger for beating Charles was the reason for that. it was a rookie move on my behalf, as I knew it was too tight of a gap to try and squeeze in-between. 

"I'm sorry," I stammer out, looking around at the mess I had caused.

Charles took his helmet off and threw it onto the ground, the dust around us acting like a barrier from the world.

he places his hands on either side of my helmet, scanning me up and down, concern overtaking his face.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, his voice soft as he unbuckles my helmet strap and helping me remove it. "No, no I'm okay I think." I say, looking back at him, watching him as he studies my every move.

The dust around us begins to fade and he drops his hold on me, taking a few steps back and away from me.

His touch lingering on me again, as if I had never felt a man on me before. he doesn't stop looking at me as the medics swarm us, asking us both millions of questions and shining lights into our eyes, poking our bodies and asking if it hurts.

We don't stop looking at each other. 

Back in the paddock, Vasseur storms towards us, a furious look on his face.

"Do you have any idea what you've done girl?" he shouts in my face, capturing the attention of a few cameras and interviewers.

I being to stammer out a response, trying to think of anything that could get me out of this mess. I knew he would be mad for the overtake, but attempting to overtake then causing both of us to not finish the race was something I didn't prepare myself for.

"It was my fault," Charles stands in front of me, between Vasseur and I. "I cut her off, I didn't want her to overtake me," he says, drawing the attention away from me.

I was at a loss for words at Charles defending me, I thought he would've wanted me to get a good telling off.

"Don't think I didn't see you blatantly dismiss Albert's instructions Madeline, and you Charles, don't try and act like the good guy now." he says through gritted teeth, "this isn't the end of this," he finishes before walking away, followed by a few other senior directors towards the meeting room.

"Thank you," I sheepishly say as Charles turns to walk away.

"Yeah well hurry up and fuck off, just standing next to you infuriates me," he says, back to his usual cold self.