Chequered Flag | FORMULA ONE (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

I rounded off the final corner of the Yas Marina Circuit with no cars in front of me. I could see the chequered flag in the distance, ready to be waved. All the spotlights beside the track were starting to light up, and the fireworks were igniting. I got onto the gas pedal early, beginning the final stint across the finish line.

There was a flash of a white in my left side mirror, and for a second, it scared me. I turned my steering wheel right as an instinct. And then, I lost control of my car. My car spun and hit the barriers with a loud 'clunk'. It came to a halt around three meters from the finish line.

A white Formula One car with red and blue streaks crossed the line... before me.

The last thing I saw was a thick, black number '28' before my car suddenly burst into flames.

I jumped out of my bed, a few drops of sweat trickling down my back. Why did I have that dream? Was it foreshadowing what was going to happen in the last race? Or was it just my mind messing with me?

The thought of Ember winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix made my heart ache. Of course I felt bitter about it, but now that I hurt her, I felt extremely sorry for her and disappointed in myself. Honestly, I kind of hoped she would win. Anything to make her feel better.

Hopefully she could even accept it when I give her an apology once she feels happier... But she hates me now, so I doubted that'll happen.

Well, that's one part of the dream, the less frightening part. What about the flames that consumed my car? What happened then?

***

For almost the whole duration of the break between the final two Grands Prix of 2021, I spent most of my time working out and messing around with the simulator. I was quite desperate to improve my performance on track, now that my replacement teammate has won a race before me.

I came to Yas Island on Wednesday, feeling decent about myself. I did a lot of work in the past week, and hoped they would pay off nicely. At least all the three practice sessions went fine. I was generally on par with Ember on the timing sheets, so I was satisfied to an extent.

Now it was time to focus on qualifying in front of me. The team released me onto the track, and after driving through the underground tunnel, I went for a warm up lap. Despite being at night, the track temperatures weren't cold at all. I got my tyres up to temperature relatively quickly, and I was ready for my flying lap very soon.

Since I started my lap quite early into Q1, there weren't many cars on track, and I got to get a good lap in. Despite not having a tow from other cars on the straights, my lap time was sufficient for me to get into Q2, and I didn't have to go for a second run out on track for the rest of the first qualifying session.

I stayed in my car during the break, analysing my lap, and figuring out any points on the track that I could use to improve my lap times. Well, maybe I could turn into the chicanes later to carry more speed into the exits. I could even be more aggressive on the throttle sometimes, as long as my tyres allow me to.

T: Okay, Mick. We're sending you out now. You won't get a slipstream but considering your pace on track, you should be fine for now.

M: Copy that.

Again, I went for a quick warm up lap, followed by my first Q2 run.

I accelerated across the line and nailed the brakes into turn 1. After that, it was full throttle all the way until turn 5, when the car slowed down drastically to manoeuvre around the tight chicane and hairpin.

Then, I went full on flat out along the long straight, reaching 304 kilometers per hour at the end of the straight. I turned my steering wheel left and right quickly to get my car through the chicane. Then, it was another flat out straight for the next few hundred meters.

The car decelerated as I slammed on the brakes once more. I drove my cars onto the inside curbs at the apexes to maximise the speed of my car through the corners. Although that upset the balance of the car a little, but not enough to slow me down. I regained traction shortly after the exit of the corner, and I was off into the distance.

As I tacked turn 14, I went full throttle for the subsequent corners. The G-forces were almost unbearable here, but I managed to hold on. I braked as late as possible into turn 20, turned the steering wheel right, and got onto the gas early.

But I wasn't accelerating nearly as fast as I expected.

M: Loss of power.

T: I see. Your engine has blown. So sorry Mick, but you need to come back to the pits now.

A wave of frustration hit me, and I groaned loudly in my helmet, and slammed my fist onto the headrest. Why must this happen to me? I slowly drove my car back to the pits, and my mechanics lifted my car into the garage to inspect the power unit.

***

Knock knock...

"Hello?" Ember opened the door to her driver's room. "Oh, you again."

"Ember, I want to say I'm.."

"Come on, Mick. You think I forgave you already? Come back in a century and I'll consider that!" Just like that, she slammed the door with a loud thud, leaving me outside, alone.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I just want us to be friends again!" I yelled at the door, hoping Ember would hear me in the room.

There was no reply. I decided to turn around and walk away, and reflect on my bad day. But just as I turned around, I heard a sound coming from inside Ember's room. It sounded like she was sobbing.

I circled around the room, and eventually I came across a small window at the back. The curtains were shut, but there was a still small gap at the side of the window for me to peek through.

Ember was sitting on the floor, curled up into a ball, sobbing. In her hand held a picture. I tried to make out what, or who was in the picture, but couldn't.

She must have sensed someone was watching her, because she looked in my direction. My reflexes were speedy enough and I backed off from the window.

No point stalking Ember now, I thought. That's not repairing our relationship, is it? Also, it's not a good image for me.

And so I backed off, all the way to my hotel room.

Qualifying Results:

Lec, Ham, Ver, Bot, Wil, Per, Nor, Ric, Sai, Gas, Vet, Str, Alo, Oco, Msc, Tsu, Rai, Rus, Gio, Lat (Mick changes his power unit so he starts from the back of the grid.)

OMG the next chapter is the last one. We've almost reached the end and I'm emotional 

:')