Are You Fast Enough? (F1:MV)

Chapter 10

Nico Rosberg was speeding down the hilly straight, having just conquered Eau Rouge. It was a dry final practise session at Spa-Francorchamps. As he held the steering wheel, he suddenly started swerving, and he felt a wave of fear wash over him as his car spun out of control. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

As he collided with the barrier, his body grew tense. The crowd gasped. A Mercedes crashing was as rare as seeing a unicorn run across the track. The commentator shouted down his microphone. 'This is not a good practise session for Nico Rosberg, as he comes out his car, unable to set a better lap. Now I wonder what caused that crash...' He stopped as the footage just before the crash replayed. In slow motion, on the large screen, a clip of Nico's tyre exploding was shown. Everyone was shocked. 'That could have been tragic. Just a second earlier, and he would have blown up over Eau Rouge. The boys down at Pirelli are going to be in a lot of trouble.'

After the session ended, Max crawled out of his car, and quickly removed his helmet. He plodded over to the corner to talk to his dad. Cara was standing by him, smiling gently. Max gave her a quick kiss. Jos groaned. He was beginning to be a little concerned over Max's relationship with Cara. He thought that within a couple of races she would be gone, but she stuck around. And he didn't like it. But he let Max date her. She made him so happy. Every night Max would call her and they would talk for hours, about racing and other interests.

'Did you see what happened to Nico?' Max asked Cara fretfully. Cara nodded.
'It looked awful. I do hope he's okay.'
'Cara..' Max murmured, his voice trembling. 'I'm so scared. His tyre exploded. It literally just blew up. If it happened to him, it could happen to anyone. It could happen to me! I-'
Cara cut him off by calming shushing and placing a finger on his lips.
'It won't happen. Don't panic, just keep calm.'
'But how do you know it won't happen? Cara, everyone uses the same tyres. We all are under risk of an exploding tyre.'
'Max...' She said, peering into his blue eyes. 'I promise you it won't happen.'
'You promise?'
'I promise.'
'How...How can you promise? How can you be so sure?'
'I believe it, Max. You are safe as long as I'm here.'
'Okay.' Max muttered. He forced a smile to hide his uneasiness. He walked away with Jos to do some exercises before qualifying that afternoon. Cara leaned by the pit wall. A few press photographers took some pictures of her, but it was unlikely they would be of any use. Max said little about her, so no one knew anything about their relationship. And Cara stared blankly into the distance, hoping that Max would stay calm, and not let the nerves get the better of him. Reporters asked for a comment on how Max's session had been. Cara replied with one word.
'Fast.'

Soon enough, Max was back in the car for qualifying. As he rolled onto the track for his first flying lap, he focused on setting the fastest lap possible. He blocked out all the distractions around him, his eyes saw nothing but the road ahead. Before he knew it, it was the end of Q1. Max made P7, Carlos was P11. Q2 set off straight after, and Max fought as hard as he could to make it to Q3. As he was tackling the Force Indias' times, he sailed through the corners on the soft compound tyre. His confidence rose as he felt safe. He kept Cara's words in his mind as Q2 ended, Max achieving P5. Carlos was just knocked out in P11.

Q3 kicked off with the Mercedes rolling out on track straight away. But the Ferraris were straight behind, biting their heels with their speed. Max was behind the battle. He asked Team Radio what was going on.
'Guys, what's going on with the Mercedes?'
'Not sure Max. Looks like the Ferrari's are being held up.'
Max shrugged as he carried on tailing the battle. He figured that the Mercedes were a little on edge after yesterday's accident. Max would have been the same if it weren't for Cara. He qualified in P5. And it was all because of her.

After qualifying, Max pulled out of his car and took off his helmet. His dad walked over.
'Well done, son. That was a good session.'
'W-wow. Thank you dad.'
Jos smiled as he patted Max on the back.
Cara hugged him, as Jos left.
'Did you hear that?' Max said ecstatic. 'He praised me! My dad!'
'I know. You did great out there, bello!'
'Thank you Cara.' He blushed. Cara smiled as she kissed him gently.
'Tomorrow's the big race. Your home race.'
'I know. I'm very nervous.'
'Don't worry. How about you come to my hotel room tonight to watch a film?'
Max nodded. 'That would be nice.'
'Great. I'll text you the address. Arrive around 7.'
'Okay.' Max waved as Cara left, her face glowing like sunshine. He loved her smile, her beautiful eyes, her voice... She was his motivation to win.

Max knocked on the hotel room door. He arrived promptly in the early hours of the evening, taking a cab to the hotel Cara had texted him about. She quickly opened the door and hugged him.
'Ciao bello!' She called, kissing his cheeks as she led him inside. Max slowly sat down on the bed as Cara closed the door. She sat down next to him.
'Do you want to watch Rush?' She asked sweetly.
'Yeah, sure. I've never seen it before.'
Cara jumped up. 'What? But you're a racing driver!'
'I know, Carlos and Dany keep going on about how great it is. But I never got time to watch it. Too busy training.'
Cara nodded. She leaned back on the bed, and patted the space next to her to let Max lie down. He blushed as she snuggled up his side, while the film began. Cara pulled out a bag of popcorn from her nightstand, and slowly popped pieces into Max's mouth. He tried not to giggle.

When James Hunt was getting frisky with random women, Max got a little uneasy. He felt Cara's hand wandering away from the popcorn, down his chest and to his jeans. He said nothing until she tried to undo his belt buckle. He pulled her hand away.

'I'm sorry. I don't want to.'

She sighed. 'It's okay. I can wait.' But there was tiredness in her voice, the sound of her getting more and more impatient. And it guilt tripped Max. It hurt him; he wanted her to be happy. But he wasn't ready for a physical relationship. Not just yet.

As the film went on, Cara started slowly nuzzling and kissing Max's neck. Max sat up. Cara looked annoyed, but said nothing. She got up and opened a drawer, pulling out a long piece of fabric and a sewing kit. Max's eyes were glued to the screen. He turned to Cara as soon as she started sewing.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm making a flag for tomorrow. What do you think?' She asked as she held it up. It was a Dutch Flag with black letters spelling 'GO MAX!' on it. Max smiled.

'It's amazing.. Just like you.'

'Aww..' Cara sighed as Max kissed her. Soon Rush was over, and Max had to get home, so his dad wouldn't get angry.
'Bye Cara,' He said kissing her cheek.
'Ciao Max.'
He smiled as he left. Cara soon finished her flag, and put her sewing kit away. She was ready for tomorrow's race.