The Team // A Formula One AU

Esteban

"Do you think you could pass for eighteen?"

"Um... Why?"

"Why do you think?" Valtteri grins at his little minion Lance. I glance up at them from underneath my kart where I'm dismantling every moving part to clean it of the Dallas dust. Three weeks left and I still have so many changes I'd like to make, although I'm not sure when I'll have time now between Weird Old Phil's gym sessions, Tom's racecraft lessons and Erik's teambuilding games. It seems like the better we get, the more work we're forced to do.

"You can't go to a casino, what if Tom finds out?"

"Lance, it's fine. We're only a couple of years off, we can probably get in if we choose the right clothes."

"You know the age limit is twenty-one in the US, right?"

Lance and Valtteri stare down at me with looks of confusion. Then Lance's expression softens and he turns back to Val.

"See, there's no way we can pass for twenty-one."

Valtteri still stares at me though. I know exactly what he's going to say.

"Esteban, do you want to come with me to a casino?"

"No, I'd rather not get kicked out of the team," I reply.

"Wow," he raises his eyebrows, "you're agreeing with Lance? Have you finally gotten over the fact he put you to the bottom of the table, then?"

I glare at Val before returning to my work. I'm only bottom according to our finishing positions last Sunday, one good race and I can go up to ninth or tenth.

"So nobody wants to enjoy Vegas with me?"

"I'm enjoying it plenty, thanks," Lance laughs and they both walk away to leave me in peace. If you can call taking apart my entire chassis peace. I grit my teeth as someone speeds past my pit box to the track. There's nothing wrong with my kart, so why am I not winning races? Even Pierre has started to find consistency by now.

The morning passes quickly as I rush to finish rebuilding my kart, then I decide to do a few practice laps just for fun. I haven't changed anything since yesterday but I came here to drive, not become an engineer. Erik says its important to build an understanding of this side of racing. If that were true I think it would be more beneficial to stay in school learning maths and physics.

I floor the accelerator at the end of the pitlane. At least my kart still works after my half-informed handicraft. There's no better feeling than driving a new circuit, the sun warm on my white race suit, visor cracked at the bottom to let the air blow through. This track is a beauty, too. Two uphill straights followed by a collection of banked corners heading back down towards the pit lane. Both technical and soulful, like all great tracks should be.

I go around again. My pedals could use adjusting, leaning forward in on the downhill sections means I'm struggling not to press them too hard. The steering feels great though, and the thin foam strips I've added to my seat. But now there's a weird noise coming from my engine. I pass the pit lane once more to try and figure out what it is.

I curse when I realise. I'm out of fuel.

I slow down and pull over at the top of the hill, turning my kart off. How much damage have I done to the engine? Opening the fuel tank reveals it's almost completely empty, way below the minimum fuel line. Now I face the problem of getting the thing back to the pit lane. At least it's downhill.

"Hmm... How am I going to do this?"

I place my left foot in the kart and take the wheel with both hands. All I have to do is push it far enough that the incline starts pulling me down the hill and I should be able to get back to the garage easily, or at least close enough that I can push it the rest of the way. It's like riding a scooter, just making an effort to steer in the correct direction.

Checo and Fernando fly by, having their own little race. Maybe a blind corner isn't the best place to be doing this.

The kart picks up speed and I hop inside with only the brake to rely on, but even that isn't necessary. I'm hardly going very quickly at all. It's eerily quiet without the engine. Another couple of drivers go past then Checo and Fernando again, and then finally I'm back to safety. I push my kart into its proper position in the pitlane.

"What happened?" Lewis asks me as I climb out.

"Problem with the engine," I reply. "Nothing I can't fix."

"Looks like the fuel tank is empty," Kimi indicates with his foot and I shoot him a scowl. "That would certainly cause a problem with the engine."

"Like I said, nothing I can't fix."

My problems are doubled when Tom marches over, flanked by both Peter and Erik. He does not look happy about my little stunt.

"What's wrong with your kart?" He asks tersely.

"He ran out of fuel," Kimi speaks for me. I open my mouth but Tom interrupts before I can.

"Do you think it's okay to free-wheel down the track while your teammates are out there going three times your speed?"

"I had my brakes, I could stop if-"

"This isn't about brakes! Someone could have been seriously hurt, Esteban. Do you understand that?"

I sigh heavily and nod. "I just didn't want to wait for someone to have time to to come and rescue me."

"Well next time you wait, okay? Five place grid penalty."

"What!?"

"You heard."

My stomach sinks to the floor as Tom walks away. Erik shakes his head as he looks at my kart, probably wondering whether I know how to go about fixing it. Lewis and Kimi have disappeared but just when I think I'm alone Checo pulls up and stares at me as he takes off his helmet. I stare back and he turns away.

I sit down on the ground. I really do have a lot of work to do.