Page 48 of Red Queen
MATEO
Ididn’t know a woman could be so cruel. After Rosa’s little stunt in Silverstone, I left for the next race with a bitter feeling. It was the first race after the crash in the UK two weeks ago, but I could only watch it from the sidelines.
Hungary wasn’t an easy weekend; our car isn’t really suited for these kinds of tracks. They’re hard and demand a lot from both the driver and the car, but the team snatched some good points. Asher finished in 4th place only because—thankfully—Atlas’ car isn’t suited for these tracks either.
He’s starting to close up on me, but not too much. I still have hope, although I will have to work twice as hard when I come back. It’ll be hard to make up for lost time.
Rosa left yesterday. She said she wasn’t feeling well, and actually, she did in fact look awful. She said she might’ve eaten something bad, but I think there was more to it. She was clutching her stomach the whole 12 minutes I went over to check on her after I was done on track, and I think I also heard her throw up throughout the night.
I had another nightmare about that night with my dad, and I had a hard time going back to sleep, especially with the strange noises coming from her room.
Now, I’m sitting in the garage with the rest of the team, inspecting the data Aiden and Milo provided us over the free practices and qualifying. I wish I could drive, to be the one sitting in the car, putting the helmet on instead of Milo, but I’m grateful they let me help out as a strategist. It’s the least I can do after I’ve intervened in this year’s budget.
Rosa wasn’t feeling well today either, so I’m alone once again. I told her to stay at the hotel and rest, and then told Clover to reschedule the interviews we were supposed to attend today.
Mateo
Any better?
I send her a quick text, hoping she’ll answer this time. This is the fourth message I sent her today. It’s been hours since I left, and I’m getting worried about her.
“Only 10 minutes to go,” I hear on the radio, putting my phone away.
We go over Aiden’s and Milo’s strategy again, ready for the most unexpected events that could happen. They did a good job of collecting data, so we might be one step ahead of the rest of the teams. They had the most laps completed in free practices, so they stand a good chance to fight for a double podium or even for the win.
“Milo, you have done a great job so far, just keep doing what you’ve been doing, kiddo,” I say on the radio, trying to encourage him.
I know how nervous you can be before your first Formula 1 race.
The stakes are especially high for him, as he’s currently sitting in 3rd place in Formula 2, and some drivers don’t have signed contracts for next year yet, so these champs are in favor of stepping up.
The lights go out, and away the grid goes once again. They reach the first turn, a very dangerous and sharp turn to resolve. And…each car managed to do it without driving into the other. Nice job, everybody. I think this is the first in many years that there are no incidents at the first corner on this track.
Spa is definitely not an easy track, and I truly feel sorry for Milo. He’s been dropped into the deep end, but so far, he’s been doing great this weekend, especially considering that he’s a rookie.
“Good job, Milo. Look out for Kyle, he’s on your ass, but you’ve got more chances to overtake Liam before Kyle can overtake you. Vamos, kiddo,” I inform him, watching as he steps into action.
He listens and attacks Liam a couple of times during the first few laps, then at the eighth lap, he manages to pass him.
“Vamos! P6, now P6. Go hunt Xavier down.” I’m actually having fun as the strategist. His engineer informs him about the times between the drivers, while I follow him on the computer, giving him racing advice.
I take down the headphones, now going over to the other side, checking on Aiden.
“How you doing, mate?” I ask, after the engineers say I can chime in.
“Good. Hayes’ damn good at defending. He’s not giving up easily.” I chuckle at his reply.
“You thought he would happily let you pass him and give up his second place?”
“No. But stop joking. I need data and strategy calls, mate.”
“Yes, sir.” I chuckle, then get back to work. We need this win.
The race goes on, and after the pit stops during the safety car, they managed to gain good positions. There was a crash around halfway through the race, but thankfully, the driver walked away in one piece. It was a typical race accident; he just got unlucky. Now Aiden’s trying to overtake Hayes to gain the first position, while Milo’s fighting for the third.
I spot Enzo walking toward me, his face filled with worry.
“You have a minute?” he asks, and I take the headphones off.
