Fifty Shades Of Red | Charles Leclerc

1. Hit And Run

Hailey's pov

"Hailey, he's breathing down your neck." Was the last thing I heard from my radio before that asshole crashed his car into mine...again.

'Shit.'

A feeling of disorientation and confusion engulfs my entire body with the sudden jolt when his car makes contact with mine. I grip tight the steering wheel, my nails digging into my gloves as I try to keep my car under control.

But it's too late...

He hit the entire back part of my car, causing me to take a swerve, my car spinning uncontrollably as it hits the safety barriers. Dust and little shattered pieces fly all around from the impact of the crash until my car finally comes to a stop. Only once I stop shaking and the adrenaline dissolves from my body a little do I feel the sudden pain exploding on my rib, making it harder to breathe while still wearing my helmet, the feeling of it over my head making me feel claustrophobic.

It takes a few painful seconds until I finally manage to get my body to respond to me again. The only thing I'm able to see when I reopen my eyes is smoke -a lot of it- coming out from the front wing, my chances of winning this race being shattered to complete dust, the impact of this realisation much more painful than the actual physical damage.

"Charles motherfucking Leclerc!" I scream angrily while hitting my steering wheel with my hands.

"Are you okay Garcia?" Christian Horner, my team principal asks me through my radio with a rushed voice, but I'm no fool to actually take the shake of his voice as concern. Concern for the state of the car? Maybe.

I'm not okay.

Cold sweat is dripping down my forehead, my head feels heavy, my vision is blurry and I'm eager for revenge. That asshole used his 'hit and run' strategy against me...again, causing me to dnf yet another race while he climbs up on the podium.

I'm going to murder him.

"I'm fine." I respond in a forced but calm voice while slowly getting out of my car, finding it a bit difficult to get my shaky legs over the halo. I immediately remove my helmet, allowing the air to fill my lungs, ignoring the sting as I inhale, shaking away the dizziness as I examine my car which is now lying on the side, almost in pieces.

So much more damage than I had expected.

One of these days the first Ferrari driver will make me end up in pieces together with my car. I was lucky I got to walk away from this, yet another accident...alive.

Stepping aside, I wait on the side of the track to get picked up so I can return to the pit. Cars drive by with a breakneck speed and I wish I was still racing as I can still feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Only if I had managed to avoid contact with the Ferrari car on time, maybe I would still be racing right now.

I really thought I had it this time, but of course Charles had to come along and ruin everything.

                                   -————-

Returning to the garage after a dnf is torture. It feels like doing the 'walk of shame.' I wish I could say that it doesn't happen that often, but from my experience, it has been happening for the past three races.

These results are not doing any good to my reputation. Being the only female racer in the grid, people expect just these types of results and I'm not one who takes failing easy. I had a good first few races, proving myself to the world of Formula One, whether that was because the other drivers underestimated me doesn't really matter. I actually managed to prove them wrong...that was until Charles.