𝚂𝙷𝙾𝙾𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙸𝙻𝙻 ,, formula 1: drive to survive

09

BBC Sports: Exclusive McLaren leak hints that the F1 team may be making a move to steal AlphaTauri's McManus for pit crew position in 2023

( on screen interview with zak brown, team principal of mclaren racing )

"dakota is one in a million. she's as good as it gets in terms of crew mechanics, and i simply believe that alphatauri don't have the tools or the opportunities for someone of her caliber to really show her strength. it's no secret that alphatauri are a midfield team at best, and it's a sad waste of dakota's potential. i would be honored to have her working with mclaren, and i think that my team  is a better fit. she'd make a great team principal one day if she sticks around long enough, although she might be dakota tsunoda by then."

2022 SEASON

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

SATURDAY - QUALIFYING

Mac felt sick to her stomach as she walked through the maze of motorhomes towards the FIA motorhome where interviews were held and buffet table was kept fully stocked. 

Watching Charles take pole had brought back memories she didn't want, even though he was one of her closest friends. They both agreed that what happened in Baku meant nothing, and she and Yuki weren't even together at the time.

So why did she still feel this guilty, months and months later.

Qualifying had gone better than she had hoped, at least Pierre made it through to Q3. Barely in the points, but at least it would be something if he could keep that position throughout Sunday's race.

The prospect of this conversation with Daniel made her nervous. What if Daniel found out about Baku and was going to try and give her advice about it? Make her tell Yuki? Shatter everything she had worked so hard for.

She had a job she loved, a boyfriend that she cherished more than anything, and friends that would be forced to pick sides if anything happened. And she was worried they would side with Charles instead of Yuki, leaving the rookie to pick up the shattered pieces on his own.

She couldn't think like that. When Dakota reached the hospitality suite, she wrenched the door open, sunglasses over her eyes even in the darkness incase any Drive to Survive cameramen or paparazzo were lying in wait.

It had been like this since she was nineteen years old, when she made history as the youngest woman to be signed to an F1 pit crew with Toro Rosso.  Suddenly there were cameras wherever she went, and she was as big a media presence as the drivers themselves.

She couldn't feel her feelings anymore without become a story in a gossip rag. It made her sick to think about.

Daniel Ricciardo was waiting for her at a round table by the window, his bad qualifying result seeming to have no damper on the McLaren driver's mood as the crew chief settled down across from him at the table.

"So that happened." Dakota faked a laugh, still stinging from her boyfriend's defeat. After Abu Dhabi, she was hoping that losing a driver in Q1 was a thing of the past.

"No kidding." Daniel's Perth accent was strong, even stronger than Dakota's Queensland dialect. He pushed a small styrofoam cup in her direction. "I bought you some Middle Eastern gelato."

Dakota raised an eyebrow, reaching for the plastic spoon. "This is a conversation that needs gelato to soften the blow?"

He had to know about Charles, there was no other option. Three lives about to be upended over something that never meant anything at all. An honest mistake made in a moment of weakness by a girl who was scared to face her feelings for a certain rookie driver.

"Well, Zak was going to come and talk to you himself, but after I reminded him how you kicked Max's ass a few years ago when he was beating on Esteban, he thought he'd send a familiar face."

Wait, Zak? Team principal of McLaren Racing? What did he want?

There was no way this was about Baku.

"What does he want?" Dakota scoffed, inhaling another spoonful of the gelato.

Daniel sighed, passing her a yellow envelope. "He knows your AlphaTauri contract is up this year, and he's looking for a new crew chief. He wants you, Dakota. He thinks that having you with us will give McLaren the leg up over Mercedes and Ferrari next year."

Koda's stomach dropped to the floor as she pried the envelope open, heart beating out of her chest as her shaky hands pulled a thick sheaf of paper branded with the McLaren Racing logo out of the envelope.

"Daniel, I don't know what to say. AlphaTauri has been my home team since I was eighteen years old. I was practically raised in that garage when they were still Toro Rosso. I know they aren't the best team, but we could be. We've scored podiums, we've gotten points before. Today was just a blip."

"Think about it, Mac." Daniel said sincerely. "The offer is open until the end of the season, a few weeks after the constructors come out. Wait and see how the season goes. It's the same job, slightly better pay and more benefits than me and Lando get. Zak really wants you in our corner."

The mechanic sighed, sliding the contract back into the envelope. "Are you forgetting the absolute slander that they threw my way when I first got my Toro Rosso contract? When I was accused of sleeping with Brendan and Pierre just to get a job? When photos of me hanging out with you guys were everywhere and the guy in charge of the hiring department hinted that my contract might not just have been about fixing cars? 2019 was a hard year for me, specifically because I had to go into my first grand prix with that hanging over my head."

The McLaren driver reached for her hand, remembering the phone call he got before the season opener that year, a sobbing Dakota on the other end worried about how she was going to face the press after a particularly harsh rumor that she had blackmailed a certain former Toro Rosso driver to give her a job or she'd go public about the fact she was his side piece.

Dakota was beside herself for those first couple of races while the FIA tried to find out how was starting the rumors and shut them down.

"What are they going to say if I leave AlphaTauri for McLaren, especially since my boyfriend is Alpha's rookie driver, hey?" Dakota's voice was small, her bottom lip quivering. "I can't go through that again. I got here because I'm good at my job, and it took half of my first season to convince the world about that, and another five races after my promotion."

"Just think about it. You may find that there's less pressure if you and Yuki aren't working for the same team, you may not. But you're welcome by the garage any time, even if you don't take the offer, you know that."

"I know."

( on screen interview with dakota mcmanus in the final episode of season 1 of drive to survive )

"... my name is dakota mcmanus, i'm nineteen years old and i just became the youngest woman to ever sign to an f1 pit crew like, three hours ago! *grins widely* it's still so surreal, oh my god. i'll be in italy over the winter break to work the winter testing, and we'll see where it goes from there, i guess. i'm looking forward to coming back. the track really is my second home"