The Formula 1 Series - Part I: Liz & George

Race day

I woke up more tired than all days before. I couldn't sleep until 2AM and thought about what Naomi said. I laid awake for more than an hour tossing from side to side. I even got up and went to Naomi's bag to check for any messages in my phone, but there were none. I tried to go back to bed, but it took another half an hour until I finally could sleep. I did not dream of anything, or at least I did not remember. And by my current state of mind I was glad about it.

We had our alarms set to 7AM and I took a steaming hot shower. We quickly grabbed some breakfast and then headed to the track. I wore something similar black than the day before and tried to hide my under eye circles as good as possible with Sarahs expensive concealer.

The events of the race Sunday were way more hectic than the days before and time flew by. We did not see any of the drivers, as we were not allowed in the paddock before they took their positions on the grid. We went inside the Ferrari garage just before they took their took the first round around the track and warmed their tires. They got back in position and I looked out for George. He was the first car after front row and I hoped he will stay in the front after the start. The lights went on and then off and the whole paddock became silent for a moment. Then the squeaking of the tires gave away that the race had begun. Verstappen stayed ahead of the field, but Leclerc also had a nice start and stayed second for now. The whole Ferrari team was cheering. George on the other side did loose positions as he was overtaken by Sainz and Perez. Ferrari was cheering for Sainz as well, but I could not bring myself to smile. For the next couple of rounds not much happened regarding positions. Two cars took each other out in the mid field right at the start. It was Norris and Gasly. I felt sorry for both, as I have sympathy for both drivers. But I kept my focus on the leading cars. George was still 5th before the first teams announced their pit stop. The Red Bulls went in first one lap apart and staying with soft tires. The weather was nice and I doubted anybody would go to medium. The field was tight in the front and both Red Bulls lost a few positions due to their early stop. I am not sure if their strategy really took off. After their stop Charles was first, Sainz second and George third. Lewis Hamilton has made positions in the back and was currently 10th. Ferrari announced to pit stop with Sainz first and the mechanics got ready. It was quite amazing seeing a pit stop in real life just meters away. The human I can barely follow what these men are doing in this short period of time. Sainz stop took 3,8 seconds. That's not the fastest but quite crazy when you think about it. George pitted the lap after Sainz and his pit stop was 3,4 seconds, which was enough to take thirds place after Verstappen. Only Leclerc still had to pit in the front field and it seemed to be an ongoing discussion, when the right time would be. In the end they pulled him in 6 laps after Sainz as they noticed his tires underperforming. We watched the second pit stop in front of us, but it didn't run as smoothly. The mechanics at the back left tire had problems getting of the tire. Oh it was really painful to watch. Everyone went silent but hectic at the same time. You could see Charles shake his head due to the huge helmet they all wore that seemed to intensify all their small moves. They tried again and again, but only after what felt like ages the tire came off. They put a new soft on and away Charles drove. 11,2 seconds. That's really bad. This will put him way back outside the points. He came in 12th on the track even behind Hamilton. Oh it really was a shame. The mood of the whole garage went freezing cold. Everyone felt the disappointment and everyone felt sorry and guilty for the team. I felt more and more uncomfortable being in their garage and I could see on the expressions of my girls' faces, that they felt the same way. The new positions in the front were Sainz, Russell, Verstappen, Perez and then Riccardo. George tried to fight of Verstappen, but as soon as he got into DRS he had no chance and Verstappen claimed second place. Perez was way behind so George hat actually a good chance to keep P3 for the last 10 laps. In the end it was exciting to watch the race between Sainz and Verstappen. They fought until the end and the vibe in the garage got back on track as well. Everybody was cheering for Carlos, us included. I really hoped he would stay first, otherwise it would be double the disappointment for Ferrari. It was intense. In the last lap Verstappen made it to DRS but could not overtake before the next corner, which was the second last on the track. Sainz pushed the car to a max and the tension in the garage was unbearable. Verstappen was still in DRS for the last straight part of the circuit and everybody clenched their jaw. It was a fight till the end but Sainz made it into the corner first and Verstappen had to back away. The whole garage was screaming and the mechanics ran towards the fence. They climbed up on it and waived as Sainz made it past the checkered flag. It was an amazing moment and I felt pure joy for these men working so hard. I looked up the pit lane and also Red Bull and Mercedes were cheering for their drivers. The final order was Sainz, Verstappen, Russell, Perez, Riccardo, Hamilton. Its quite impressive Lewis made 6th after he had to start in the back of the grid. Charles was 9th in the end, but everyone was happy he made it back into the points.