The Blackout ⤖ George Russell

F I F T Y F O U R

Nora played it safe, but risky enough to go on the outside of the first turn. Flashes of panic went through her body, so much traffic around her. The few first turns were stressful for Nora, especially the seventh corner. Her crash kept replaying in her head, but she knew she had to forget it. As soon when she exited the corner, she pushed down the pedal and created speed. The first lap was tough, Nora was testing the car and searched for the right pace. Many people expected Nora to fail, but she was driving P8 after the first lap.

People would say Nora did great, for a newbie she was doing better than some experienced drivers, but it wasn't for what she was looking for. She kept stuck on P8, driving 1.42's while the top was driving 1.40's. Nora knew this wasn't enough for Mercedes, she had to do better. But she was scared, something was stopping her from giving the full, afraid to crash again. It gave her the feeling she let everyone from Mercedes down, she let herself down, she let George down, who else didn't she let down? There was some kind of tension at the garage of Mercedes, it wasn't the results they hoped Nora would give them.

But it took a turn. Nora started to feel more comfortable in the car. She managed to shut down all her thoughts, she was only focussing on driving. She had to give everything, and if it did mean she had to push herself to the limit and the edge, then she would push herself to the limit and the edge. It almost went wrong two years ago, it was almost over, life can be over in a blink of an eye. Living with fear could be terrifying, but it also could give you more motivation.

The lap time changed to 1.40's, and she passed some drivers; she was driving in the top five. People at the garage straightened their back and looked more severe at the screens: something was happening. Toto shared a look with Bono, a look what looked hopeful. All eyes were focussed on Nora; she was giving green and purple sectors like it was nothing.

The race had surprising moments; there were a lot of fights in the midfield, but the top five was driving far away from the rest. Alex was still leading the race, with Charles, Max, Lando and Nora behind him.

In the 46th lap, Nora decided to have a second pitstop to get the fastest time if possible. She was currently driving second place. The gap with Alex was sixteen seconds.

"Albon is the threat out there. Forget the tire management and drive as fast as you can," Bono mentioned. "We're giving you everything now."

"Copied," Nora said. "Saving the best for last," she smirked.

The gap closed. Nora was driving 1.39's and Alex 1.41's. There was so much tension in the garage of Mercedes and Red Bull. Nora could make it, but one mistake and it was Alex who won. To many surprises, this wasn't a boring race.

"I want Alex to get his first win so badly," Nora mentioned on the radio. It was an unclear message to many people. "But not today, hun, I'm sorry. Ciao adios, cariño," she said when she passed Alex on the 54th lap.

Everyone on Lewis' team, well, Nora's team, started to cheer. The chance was small things would go wrong in the last lap, but you never know. The last lap was long, it felt like it was in slow-motion for Nora while she going through the corners with 300 kilometres per hour. She left the last corner and looked in her mirror, she saw Alex. Should I slow down and let him win? Or will I keep the win to myself? He can win more often...I can't.

"Get in there, Nora! P1! P1! You did a hell of a job!" Bono shouted excitedly and parted his lips. He was looking around the garage, more people were shocked by Nora's performance. To be fair, not many people had faith in her, they thought it would be a race to be disappointed about. "This was phenomenal!"

The garage cheered like they have won a championship, but the fact this was a driver who crashed two years ago at this circuit and made her debut race, was just joy what nobody could explain.