F1: THE REVOLUTION

Chapter 9: Plan

The team members from Falken-Tesla Racing gathered in a circle, hands around each other's shoulders before the start of their maiden race. Everyone was, of course, nervous, but at the same time, well prepared. The teams trained for months, some even years for this day. They had got arguably one of the best line-ups on the grid; a racing legend together with his rising star daughter, Victoria.

"You know the drill, guys. Safe racing. We'll intervene if things are getting out of hand. Follow the orders, we'll be fine." Max briefed in the circle.

"Don't let your guard down. We're a team, let's remember that...let's get em', guys!"

The mechanics and engineers cheered as they scrambled to their respective roles to make some final adjustments on the car before the race. Victoria turned to her father, her face tight, every thought focused on masking her fears - her eyes dimmed. Adam reached out and hugged her tightly, his arms as shields of love, a hug so warm yet so different than a motherly embrace.

He then headed towards the front of the grid and slipped his helmet and gloves on before squeezing into his car. The track marshal then escorted all of the team mechanics and engineers off the straight. Adam then took a glance at the number 20 car to his right...

"Have fun, kid..." He mused, swiping his visor down before the cars did their short jerk towards their respective grid positions, just a couple of feet in front of them.

"... and we go green in Dubai! Great start from Adam pulling away from his daughter, but look at how much momentum Lando Norris is carrying! What a move and he's up into the lead!" The fans were mental as the former F1 driver pulled off an ambitious divebomb down the inside of both Adam and Victoria.

But just after Turn 5, the race was neutralized as one of the Dragon cars collided with Felipinho's Venturi, causing a VSC to be deployed. The remaining drivers turned their settings down and reduced their power output to minimize their battery usage as much as possible.

"It's not over, Vicki. We're just 3 laps in," Max encouraged as soon as the green flag was waved around the circuit.

Victoria felt powerless as she spent most of the race far off the pace of the more experienced drives. She was down in P6, spending her entire stint at the gearbox of Lara's Jaguar, failing to find any way past her. Out in front, Adam was pulling away, just like the old times.

"Where's Vicki?" He wondered, noticing the cars behind him disappearing in his rear-view mirrors.

"Victoria is still in P6, trying to find a way past Lara."

"Ah well let's hope she gets through..."

Later

"Adam, Max here. Just keep your pace, everything's good. Victoria looks like she can pass Lara, she has more battery life at disposal." Max reported.

Victoria surprisingly wasn't frustrated at all, she was racing with a smile on her face. For the first time, she was racing without any pressure from the media or from external factors that could affect her drive. She was free on the track.

Nevertheless, at the halfway point of the race, Adam gave Vicki the green light to pit first, the same lap as Lara. The 2 sets of pit mechanics scrambled to change the options for a fresh set of primes before releasing the car.

Victoria slammed on the throttle and drifted onto the pit lane only to realise Lara was just squeezing in next to her. She had all 4 wheels between the white line, and Lara didn't have much of a choice than to lift off at the pit exit.

"Nice stop, guys!" Victoria praised. She was in P5, more battery power left than three of the four drivers ahead, and felt confident to score a podium finish.