Right On Track

Chapter 5

Kiara glanced around one last time,nodding at the mechanics who wished her good luck.She climbed into the car and allowed the team to do the rest.
Sitting in the car,she was focused on the track.She looked at the lights while everyone moved to their starting positions on the grid.She sensed all the movement behind her,the Aston Martin mechanics for Fernando,who was starting right behind her.
Kiara glanced for a second at the camera of a cameraman that filmed her.She soon looked away and noticed one of the mechanics beside her car started to round up.
"All right,"Santiago said on the radio."Let's show them what you've got."
All the team members and other people on the track began to round up,moving back to the garages and places that they needed to be.
The track was soon clear.Kiara pulled down her visor and moved her hands towards the steering wheel.She payed close attention to the lights that would soon go off,her gaze set on her target.She aimed to win on this night in Jeddah.As much as it was only the second race of the season,she wanted to plant her own win for the team here in the beginning.
And when the lights went out,she sped forward.

By lap 24,Kiara still maintained the lead.Fernando had managed to squeeze past her in the start.But the FIA soon handed him five-second penalty due an incorrect starting position,the driver incorrectly placing his car at the starting grid.But Kiara had managed to overtake the two-time champion by lap four,battling him out for the lead.Max,who had started at P15,had managed to drive into P8 by lap 12.Lance happened to retire,Kiara still in the lead at the race restart at lap 21.Fernando had headed into the pits,the pit crew needing to wait five seconds before proceeding.
Kiara was still leading at lap 25,but Fernando had gotten past.She pushed forward,trying to get the lead back from the Spaniard.They had gone wheel-to-wheel before the next turn.And she managed to proceed with the overtake at the next chicane.
"Max is at five seconds behind."Santiago said over the radio during lap 26.Kiara,though,wasn't suprised that her teammate had made it from P15 to P2 in twenty-six laps.But she just hoped that he wasn't the one she had to let through.
Later on,Max began to report a mechanical issue.He was assured that the team were happy at the moment and didn't seem to pick up the reported issue.Max,though,had insisted that something was wrong with the car during high speed.His race engineer had told him to just proceed on while they looked into it.But it all didn't seem to slow Max down.In fact,he even went against team orders to set the fastest lap.And Kiara could just tell that he definitely wanted to pass her as soon as possible.
Kiara knew that she could maintain the lead.She knew that she could turn it into a win.
"Good job so far."Santiago told her after some time."Keep it up."
"What is the gap to Max?"She enquired while moving through the last corner and onto the next lap.She wanted to ask about the position of a Ferrari,but pushed the urge aside and chose to focus fully.
"The gap still remains at five seconds."He responded."Slowly closing."
After hearing that response from her race engineer,she soon tried to increase the gap.But Max was still fast enough to maintain it.
During the final laps,Kiara sped through the straights and corners.Last year,she had nearly screwed up when racing on this track.Max had won,but she had ended up at P4,unable to pass Carlos no matter how many times she had attempted it.After the race,he had approached her and said."Maybe you'll be able to do it next year.Who knows?"He had not used a sarcastic tone while speaking the words,in fact.He had been trying to motivate her because of how down she felt after pushing so hard during that race.During that time of the season,she and Carlos had been on better terms.It was when she had just joined Red Bull as a rookie to the new season.Aside from Alora already being there for her,Sebastian Vettel and Carlos had been the ones who were there in the start,too.
But now in Jeddah 2023,it was not Carlos' motivational words from last year that made her want to excel for the win.It was his words from this year that made her want to prove him wrong,those words where he claimed that it was only her car that had done all the work and also his wishing her of bad luck.
Kiara was the one ahead this time,Carlos somewhere behind.She kept that in mind and continued forward with the final lap of the race.
Some time later,she was rounding the final corner of the circuit.
Then,she took the chequered flag.
"Yes!"Santiago exclaimed over the radio."That's P1,Kiara.Well,done!"
Kiara let out a laugh and shouted a cheer,thanking the team while doing so.She sighed in a joyful manner while fully realizing that she had won the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix."Oh,my god."She loosed a breath.
"Fantastic job,Kiara."Christian came on the radio."An amazing job done."
"Thank you."She joyfully thanked her team principal.
As soon Kiara pulled into parc ferme,she sprung up from the cockpit,stood on the compartment just in front of the halo and threw her fist up in celebration.All those around her and fans from the grand stands cheered for her.
She hopped down from the car and crouched down beside it,exclaiming as she pointed a finger at the number twenty-nine on the front of her car.
She soon stood up and ran off the track and into the arms of the her team who all waited past the pit-wall nearby,yelling and cheering her on.She slightly jumped forward into the arms of the Red Bull mechanics,engineers and many others who repeatedly patted her on the back.Though,she tried to ignore Jos Verstappen,Max's father,who just stood there unbothered by the celebrations right beside him while looking away with a bitter expression.
Max had gotten P2,yet the man barely even smiled for a second.
This was Kiara's third win in her Formula One career,her third win with Red Bull.
"Nice one,Kiara."Santiago was soon there,congratulating her with a broad grin on his face,his deep brown eyes shining with excitement as she thanked him.