Mind of Steel | Part two | L.N.

LXVI

"You ready?" Max smiled at her as he pulled the balaclava over his head. Leah smiled flipping her visor up so he could see she was smiling.

"Fuck yeah," She adjusted her gloves as he patted her head. "I'm beating you."

"You can try," Max pushed her away from him. "Get through Q1 Lee."

"With ease," She snapped as she returned to her car hopping in. Isabella leaned over and yanked on the straps.

"I haven't had those come undone in a while," Leah smiled. Isabella rolled her eyes as she pushed Leah's visor down. Slowly one after the other, they were directed out of the pit lane.

"Norris on the right," Isabella radioed while Leah was on her out-lap. Lando passed quickly the orange blurring together. "Oscar now." Another orange blur.

"Tell him I love him," Leah smiled as she went faster. "I really wish I had songs to listen to, it would make me drive faster."

"Yeah, but then you would end up like those TikToks that have the images of the songs that won't be played in their car and then crash, so no music for you," Isabella reasoned as she radioed to Will that Leah said she loves Lando.

"Leah wanted to say she loves you," Will radioed. Lando smiled a little.

"Oh, really, well tell her the same, also tell her to go easy on me," Lando used his DRS around the second sector increasing his times.

"So what do you think, Ted, I mean the Red Bull of course is performing extremely well. Both cars breaking the top speeds so far for the first and second sectors. How do you think this will come out for Q1?" John asked as they watched both Red Bulls go to the top of the charts with only minutes left in Q1.

"I think that of course the top teams, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and possibly Ferrari if they can keep themselves together are going to make the top stops for Q1. AlphaTauri isn't looking too hot this year, especially with the new rookie Nyck Devries. The other two are looking average as well, but that is expected. First race is nerve-racking."  Ted explained as new people got faster time laps in.

"And Mclaren jumps up to the top fifteen but barely, one minute until Q1 ends," John explained as he looked at the last five names.

Q1 ended and the cars went back to their paddocks to get their tires changed and inspected. Isabella checked Leah's straps once more.

"Am I good doc?" Leah asked as she held the halo bar. Isabella shook her head and hit her visor down as she motioned for them to take her back out. "Did you guys hear the rumor about the new thing from the FIA for the Qualis?" Leah asked as she avoided hiding Alex. "Fuck, where did he come from!" She jerked her wheel backend forth as they followed one another out.

"I don't know and no try not to crash into people please, it's a new car." Isabella sighed as she looked over at Cassidy show as laughing at her.

"Do I wanna know? If this feeling flows both ways," Leah sang to herself as she went around a corner nearly clipping the wall by centimeters. "Wait I gotta start from the beginning. Have you got color in your cheeks?"

"Focus Leah," Isabella sighed.

"Do ever get that fear that you can't shift the type that sticks around like summat in your teeth? Are there some aces up your sleeve? Have you no idea that you're in deep? I've dreamt about you nearly every night this week, how many secrets can you keep? 'cause there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat until I fall asleep, spillin' drinks on my settee, do I wanna know?" Leah crossed the line getting herself up to P1.

"P1 Leah, you are ahead of Max by .234 seconds," Isabella told her, but Leah kept singing.

"If this feeling flows both ways? Sad to see you go? Was sorta hoping that you'd stay baby we both know that the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day, hit the course Iz?" Leah offered it to her strategist, but the line was silent. "Fine, back to me. Crawling back to you, ever thought of calling when, you've had a few? Cause I always do, maybe I'm too, busy being yours to fall for, somebody new, now I've thought it through, crawling back to you!" Leah screamed her little heart out as she went for another fast lap.