Lights Out • 1 • Formula One ✔️

Chapter 15

Saturday - FP3 and Qualifying.

I started the day once again feeling nervous, however I had a bit more confidence than yesterday. In the final free practice I was able to lap a time which put me comfortably in the top ten, only half a second behind Esteban. Considering my lack of pace, getting within a second of the session leader was a major achievement.

Susie approached me during the break between FP3 and qualifying to discuss my performance. She was thankfully very understanding and even offered a couple of tips on staying focussed.

The rain came about ten minutes before the cars were due to go out for the first qualifying session. It wasn't overly heavy, just enough to dampen the track. Our strategy was to let other cars go before us and dry up the track so that we didn't waste a pair of wet tyres which were anticipated for the race tomorrow.

Shortly before cars were due to go out, the rain stopped. We still kept to our main strategy, exiting the pits with five minutes left on the clock. Esteban was released before me as he typically had faster pace.

My first flying lap was enough to secure me a place into Q2, as was Esteban's. We placed 8th and 6th respectively. As some of the other teams had a similar strategy to wait for the track to dry, we had to keep pushing until the end of the session just to ensure none of the middle-pack teams could push us out. The more laps I put in, and the less I messed up going into the corner where I had previously crashed (turn 6/7), the more confident I grew. This was reflected in my times which were slowly, but surely, improving.

Those eliminated in Q1 in order from 20th to 16th were : Ericsson (he crashed at the chicane), Hartley, Gasley, Sirotkin (he couldn't get a fully clean lap in before spinning off due to the wet conditions) and Leclerc.

I managed to put a decent lap in Q2 before the rains came once again. This put me at an advantage as other teams such as the Red Bulls, Mercs, and Ferrari's had waited to go out. Kimi has spun out on his first flying lap, narrowly avoiding the wall. Max, however, wasn't so lucky and clipped the wall after only putting one time down.

A> 'Do I have to go out again?'

T> 'At the moment, you're P3. Esteban is P2. The other cars are struggling so you should be safe. We might send you out to set a fast lap on the intermediates, though, so stay focussed.'

A> 'Copy.'

In the garage, it was easier for the team to communicate with me over radio as it can get quite loud with the mechanics working constantly around you. I spent my time waiting for more orders in the car as I went over my stats for the fastest lap I set - I could definitely improve in the second sector.

Eventually, Q2 came to an end. Those who were eliminated were: Grosjean (15th), Verstappen (14th, his crash meant he couldn't improve), Stroll (13th), Sainz (12th) and Vandoorne (11th).

It was a short wait before the cars were allowed back out on track however no one seemed to be rushing. It appears as if the other teams were mimicking the strategy we had in Q1 as the track was still slightly wet.

T> 'We can't afford to wait as the tires have cooled. The Haas car is going out, as is the McLaren. Follow Esteban out of the pits.'

A> 'Okay. Am I still on the Soft tyres?'

T> 'Yes. We don't want to use our intermediates if we can help it. Keep it clean for the first couple of laps and wait for the track to dry. Rain is predicted at the very end, but the session might have ended before.'