Are You Fast Enough? (F1:MV)

Chapter 4

As Max finished testing in Silverstone, he felt confident that he could do well this race. Although the track was difficult, he knew that if he kept calm and focused on the high speed corners and the braking, he could perform fantastically. In free practise, he came 7th, which he was quite pleased about, and he was three places ahead of Carlos. Before Qualifying, he texted Cara.

You better root for me, are you ready for quali?

She soon replied:

Yep. Go get em xx

Max smirked. He would 'go get em.' He was going to chase them down, and try to make it to Q3 if possible. As he sat in his car, all the garage team surrounding him like bees, he looked ahead, yet his vision felt blurry. It was a tense atmosphere. Q1 was halfway through, and all Max could hear was the sound of his rivals blazing down the track. He cleared his throat, as he started sweating in his race suit. His team radio turned on.

'Okay Max, you're ready to go. There is about 8 minutes left in Q1, but take it easy.'

'I will,' Max replied, although not truthfully. He drove the car out, and as he rolled out of the pits he felt his hands tremble with anxiety. He needed to set a decent lap. As he started his first timed lap, he navigated through the track sloppily, taking too much curb, and not speeding up at the right times. A few laps in, and he got more used to it, as he set faster and faster lap times. At the end of Q1, he was P8, so he was safe. His teammate was close behind in P11. As Q2 began, he pushed further, determined to not be knocked out. He held P5 until the Mercedes were released. After Rosberg and Hamilton set their times, he was pushed down to P8. Luckily, he stayed at that position and survived, moving into Q3. Carlos was less lucky, as he was P12. He was knocked out.

Q3 would determine where he would start, and potentially how well he will do in the race. He set his first lap, putting him into P4, until the Red Bulls and Mercedes overtook him. This put him in P8.

'Oh fuck... I need to do better...' He whispered to himself when team radio told him his position. He kept his eyes forward, and timed his acceleration perfectly, taking advantage of the long straights. He knew that if he concentrated and timed his speed changes just right, he could pull off a good lap. He thought it was a good lap, but it only beat Kvyat, so Max only moved up one place. Soon, Qualifying was over, and Max was in P7. He was actually really happy with his result. Deep down, he didn't expect to make it to Q3, never mind not be last. He got out the car once back in the garage, and high-fived Carlos.

'Nice result, bro!' The Spaniard said.

'Thanks. It was hard, but I made it. You did well too, Carlitos.' Max flashed a little grin. Carlos laughed.

'Good luck for tomorrow. The race can often be very different from Quali.'

Max laughed and gave Carlos a gentle punch on the shoulder. 'You trying to Curse me, Sainz?' They both laughed.

'I'll see you tomorrow,' Carlos said, waving as he left.

Max smiled as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Cara was calling him. He quickly answered.

'Hello?' Max said.

'Ciao bello!' Cara's sweet voice replied. 'You were great today, molto bene!'

'Grazie,' Max replied, blushing at his poor pronunciation of Italian.

'Ah, so you do know some Italiano. Sei un ragazzo intelligente!'

'Erm... Now I'm lost...'

Cara giggled. 'I said you are a clever boy!'

'Thank you.' There was a pause.

'I just wanted to say... Good luck for tomorrow.'

Max laughed. 'Yeah, I'll need it.'