Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 30

thirty chapters already?!? damn
you know the drill - please comment throughout to help me feel valid 😭

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Despite having two weeks until the next race, both Max's schedule and my own were busy in preparation for the triple-header. We wanted to fit in a date at some point but it just didn't sync with the calendar. If either of us had any time free, the other was caught up with work, and the fact that I had such a horrible weekend in Baku was the cause of me having few breaks. Most of my time was spent working at Mercedes on the setups of the car. Zandvoort was a new circuit for everyone so it required more focus. It was an exciting time for us all, especially Max because this was going to be his own Grand Prix. Just seeing his face light up whenever he talked about racing in the Netherlands made my heart swell with joy and I couldn't help have some of his positive emotions rub off on me.

My moment of redemption for the disappointment that was Baku didn't appear like it was going to come. Practice sessions of the car on Friday in Zandvoort proved we didn't have the same pace as our competition, however things started to look up for our qualifying. I set the second fastest time, however had the five place penalty meaning I'd start seventh. Charles's penalty five place penalty knocked him down the order despite setting the third fastest time. Esteban G did pretty good, all things considered, and would be starting P3 with Ocon for company on the second row. It was a relief that we didn't experience the same issues from the last qualifying, and Esteban stayed out of my way unless actually giving me a tow.

Max started on the front row with Seb, whereas I had the other Ferrari for company on the fourth after our penalties. Charles had apologised for the accident in Baku and I told him it was all forgotten. It most definitely wasn't; I just wanted to keep the peace with as little drama as possible. When Seb was cleared to race, I felt relieved. He was still an important person to me and I knew that he wanted to be competing for the championship. I think they had to alter something with his pedals because there was some tenderness in his ankle, but it didn't put him at either an advantage or disadvantage.

As a team, we expected some sort of safety car to be deployed at some point during the race, whether it were virtual or full. There was a split in the strategy between Esteban and I for the race. Whilst I was going to be making a two-stop, the team wanted to try the one-stop for my teammate's last race. The advantage for his was that he'll have track position, and he could potentially help me out later on in the race. It all seemed to work out better when I got the jump on the Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly at the start, however Charles did, too.

A safety car was deployed for debris on the fastest part of the circuit after contact between two of the back-runners, Hülkenberg and Magnussen. They were both able to continue on lap twenty five of the Grand Prix, however it did play into my advantage since I had yet to pit (unlike Charles and Max). My pitstop therefore took considerably less time than if I had taken it under normal conditions and I came out in the lead with Seb right behind me (he had spun during the opening lap, dropping him back to my level).

Battling with a car similarly matched to my own was always fun. Unfortunately, I didn't come out on top, my lack of experience shining through when up against a four-time world champion like Seb. I was a bit annoyed, but the racing driver in me was happy to actually be fighting without contact.

When the next round of pitstops came, we attempted the undercut. It didn't work out for us when traffic slowed me down on the out-lap, but it needed to be done because of the condition of my tyres. Seb emerged on top, and maintained that position for the rest of the Grand Prix no matter how hard I tried to pass. I couldn't be mad a second place, yet another podium for the records. Max was understandably disappointed to finish fourth behind Charles at his home Grand Prix, especially after such a strong qualifying, so vowed to get his own back for the race in Spain. My teammate finished fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly, who yet again struggled for pace in his Red Bull. I felt bad for him as a friend, but relieved that I wasn't dealing with more competition from another car. My former teammate was forced to retire after an engine failure of some kind.