Page 3 of Racing for Redemption
I am Violet Colton. I refuse to let this be our finalchapter.
Chapter 1
Architect of its demise
Violet
Iwant to enjoy Japan, but honestly, this entire trip has been riddled with disappointment.
In the garage, the air vibrates with the roar of engines, my heart mirroring the speed of the cars. Nicholas—our sole remaining driver—is out there somewhere in the chaos of the Suzuka Circuit.
Dead last.
As usual.
I hold my breath, waiting for his car to appear around the last corner leading into the main straight.
“Come on, Nicholas,” I mutter under my breath, digging my fingernails into my palms. “Do something. P19 is rightthere!”
The familiar black and red livery of our car flashes into view, pushing hard, and for a moment, hope surges through me. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes. Nicholas’ car spins wildly,colliding with the barriers in an anticlimactic spectacle of carbon fiber and sparks that was barely televised.
I close my eyes. This is a nightmare. It must be.
When I open them, the harsh reality remains for everyone to see. Criticise. Mock. Our fourth consecutive DNF.
And now, we only have one car on track for the rest of the season. This one.
The one that barely manages to start from the end of the grid.We can’t seem to catch a break.
Blake appears at my side, his face grim. “Mechanical failure. The engineer says the gearbox gave out.”
Reliability issues.
Driver issues.
Reputation issues.
Are there any issues I haven’t accumulated on this team?
I nod, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Of course it did,” I say, my voice low and bitter. “Why break tradition now?”
As we retreat to the garage, the weight of a hundred eyes presses down on me. Journalists, rival team members, even our own mechanics—all judging my every move.
Some pity me, having just arrived at the team and facing this shitstorm of bad events that not even a bad plot randomizer online could come up with. Others think it serves me right, because I just took over a Formula 1 team without any experience in the field beyond being the daughter of the great Frederick Colton and having managed some companies outside of this field.
And there’s a small fringe of people waiting for me to break. Waiting for me to come crashing down completely. To see this team stop holding on to that plank of wood from the sinking ship and just… drown and end this misery.
Back at the team’s motorhome, I collapse into the chair at my desk in the impromptu office, the facade crumbling. Blake follows me into the room. “This can’t go on, Blake. We’re a laughingstock.”
He sits across from me, his expression full of concern. “We’re slowly figuring it out, Violet. We will.”
I want to believe him, but the voice of doubt in my head is deafening right now. “We’re taking too long. The errors and mistakes happen fast, and the improvement is nowhere to be found. The pressure is immense. The demands are close to impossible to meet. From where I’m sitting, it looks like I’m a couple of hours away from being sacked by the board of directors. And worse still? I can’t seem to find a solution for this shitshow.” I sigh deeply and lower my forehead on the desk. “Am I really a good Team Principal? I’m starting to wonder.”
A knock on the door interrupts us. One of our junior marketers approaches us, looking pale and nervous.
“Ms. Colton? There’s… There’s something you should see.”
He hands me his tablet, open to a sports news site. The headline makes my stomach drop:
