F1: VENGEANCE [COMPLETED]

Twenty-One

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Adam sat in his garage, looking at the rear of his number #12 car, decked out in his sponsor's colours - luminous green over black, with the Nvidia logo on the sidepods.

He watched as the other drivers went out for a shakedown lap as he studied the drivers' braking and turn-in points from the monitor.

"Ready to head out?" James, his race engineer asked, removing his headphones. Adam gave him the slightest of nods before slipping on the fireproof balaclava.

"Just get to know the car. It's the first time the car has ever got out onto the track since pre-season. So, don't go too hard. Fast laps aren't the priority this session, man." James advised, handing over the helmet to Adam.

The mechanics strapped him into the carbon-fiber seat before ushering the car onto the pit lane.

The twin-turbo V6 unleashed its beastly power as soon as Adam exited the pit lane.

"Comm' check, Adam." James radioed.

"Loud and clear."

"3 laps. Study the track. We'll keep you updated on the pace."

Adam was enjoying the speed of his Chevy-powered car. But he was struggling with the absence of power steering, using more strength to turn the car into the corners.

He'd raced in series where power assistance was extremely low, like V8S. But the complete lack of power steering and the sheer force coming through the single seater car's steering column was proving to be a huge challenge for Adam.

He'd trained hard for his return to the brutal world of single-seater racing. He'd spent several days at the Porsche Human Performance Center. He'd left his old gym to join a strength and power gym.

He'd already been preparing for the longer races and the doubleheader races in Indy by participating in Triathlons and Spartan races to build his endurance. He had already experienced the perils of endurance racing at the Bathurst 1000. He didn't want the Indy 500 to take him by surprise.

No, nothing would tire him out. Well, nothing, except his girlfriend.

Adam smirked at the thought.

.....

Lap by lap, the engineers in the pit wall noticed the improvements in Adam's lap time.

"Session's over, pal. That's 5th place, pretty nice job. Careful on the in lap, there's some debris on the track." James reported after Adam crossed the start/finish line.

Adam felt rather contented with his laps. But he knew he'd have to push twice as hard in qualifying.

All eyes in the motorsport world were on him. The news of him returning to single-seater racing had taken the racing community by storm. The pressure on him to perform was rather high.