Same but... different (Lestappen and Carlando)

Chapter 51

POV: Charles

Cars are roaring around me, and I'm completely focused on the lights in front. We've just finished the formation lap, and everyone is positioned waiting for the start. I really want to win this race, it's been so long since I got a taste of winning, and overtaking Max would be amazing.

It won't only be a matter of pace though, as strategy will probably play a big part in today's race. The weather seems rather stable for now, but the cloudy sky is giving me a bad feeling. My job is mostly driving fast though, and hopefully luck will be on our side this Sunday.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

I have a pretty good start, the car jumping ahead in a fraction of seconds. I'm so focused on Max's car and how quickly first corner is coming that I barely notice the other Redbull behind approaching at maximum speed.

Thankfully, I manage to stay in front of Perez out of turn one, but lose a bit of time in the battle and see my boyfriend's car already drifting away.

The next laps are surprisingly peaceful, the order of the cars not changing much, as my engineer lets me know the strategy they chose. Some cars are already pitting, but Max in front doesn't seem to lose much time yet, and I'm told to do opposite to what he'll do. There are about 10 seconds between our cars already, but Checo behind is pretty close to me so I can't really focus on closing the gap for now, especially on these old tires.

— So Verstappen in the pits, stay out for now.

I agree and focus even more, leading the race for the first time today. I just need to look after the tyres, shouldn't be so hard. But unpredictable events can always happen and I start feeling drops of rain, something my team immediately confirms through the radio.

— Heavy rain expected in the next 20 minutes, box for inters, box box.

— Are you sure? What tyres does Max have? I ask a bit worried while finishing the lap.

— Yes, please box. Verstappen... hard tyre.

The bad feeling I have doesn't leave as I enter the pitlane, although the stop goes fairly well. The rain now falling a bit more intensely, I carefully head out back on track, trying everything to heat the new tyres. I really hope this was the right choice, because I come out in 6th place, behind both Redbulls and Mercedes, and right behind my teammate. As he pitted a few laps earlier, right before Max, he's also on hard tyres and struggles a lot in the rain, almost losing the car a few times just in front of me.

I'm quick in passing him, the team giving us instructions not to fight anyways. But as I'm trying to reduce the gap to Bottas, yellow flags are suddenly raised, and they tell me it's Lando in the gravel. A light crash apparently, as he's able to drive the car back to the pits, but it doesn't really help my race. My tyres are cooling again, due to the slow pace we have to follow, and I can't even see the Mercedes in front of me in some corners.

Frustrated, I make a few mistakes and lose even more time, as my engineer tells me the gap to the leader.

— So Verstappen 24 seconds ahead, Bottas only 3 seconds. Rain expected to get lighter and then more rain again.

— Will it last until the end of the race?

— We are checking but yes, it should.

But contrarily to my team's words, it doesn't really rain anymore and the track is drying, fast. And the cars that had gambled on the hards earlier seem to come alive, Max setting fastest lap after fastest lap.

At this point, I know the win is no longer an option unless something really big happens, and I can only clench my jaw in frustration. These tyres were an error, and now I can only hope for a 4th place, maybe.