Dopamine | Adrenaline Book Two

37- Summons Thee To Heaven or To Hell

When the battle's lost and won.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

With the helmet over his head and the wheel positioned in place, Charles felt a dose of adrenaline coursing through him. The tension at Ferrari could not touch him and he knew that on the other side of the garage, Lewis was just as hungry for this trophy as he was.

The odds were arguably better for Lewis who only had to place second to take everything home. Charles would need first place and for Lewis to fall behind. It was an unlikely scene when taking into consideration how much of a fight Lewis had given the entire season. Charles' confidence only stayed intact at the reminder that even with the odds in Lewis' favor, nothing was certain. All it took was one mess up on either side for the outcome to change.

With a tap on his helmet, Charles looked up just as Bryan kneeled to get to his level. Every minute counted now and at any point he could be given the orders to bring the car out— a thought that made him more nervous than he could admit to himself.

"Doing all right?" his mechanic asked, bringing his head closer to Charles to avoid any eavesdroppers.

The Ferrari driver gave his mechanic a nod, his words getting stuck in the back of his throat.

"There's two sides to this garage right now," Bryan informed Charles, causing his green eyes to squint in confusion. "And everyone one of us here, on your side of the track, are rooting for you wholeheartedly. Hamilton doesn't have this in the bag just yet and we're not going to make it easy," Bryan explained with a reassuring smile, letting Charles know that the favoritism towards the senior driver in the garage was not shared by everyone. "I looked into the issues you had mentioned and we found a way to get around. You're driving on equal terms in terms of machinery," he said with a wink.

Charles was over the moon. There was a comfort in knowing that his direct team would do their best for him. He didn't know why they hadn't been open about their support of him before this moment but since Charles' job was on the line, he could bet that they stayed quiet out of fear of losing their own. He could never blame them for that but appreciated the gestures they were putting in now.

"Thank you," Charles choked out, feeling emotional at the support he was receiving not only from them but from Sebastian and Max as well. Not everyone hated him.

Charles wouldn't bring the anger that had been fueling him the last races into this one. There was no need. After his night with Max in Las Vegas, he understood that it wasn't the new version of himself that was making him win, it all had to do with the focus he was willing to put into the driving and how much of his personal feelings he could set aside. The pressure of the championship would be looming over him until the very end but he was going to win this on pure skill.

"You've got this," Bryan assured him, giving his helmet one last pat before he was given the signal to drive.

Nearing the very few seconds before the lights went out, a sudden silence of expectation surged through the track. For a fleeting moment, there were only three cars, their engine roaring loud like a spacecraft ready to launch into the sky. Every member of their teams, every fan in the grandstands, and every person watching the race through a screen waited patiently in those eternal seconds for the moment that the lights would go out and the race of the season would start.

This could be Charles' maiden win, but it could also be Lewis' record breaking title. Seemingly a recurring event for the British driver, given the similar circumstances he had gone through in the 2021 season. But their position was certain, Max would be trailing behind them, like an opportunistic animal ready to feed on any of their mistakes in order to take the title home, it wasn't all lost for him.