the man- f1

seven

siete

the man

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round 1/ bahrain grand prix weekend/ race day

tali was a mess. stressed, nervous, sad, happy.

you name it, she has it. she couldn't help it. her mental health depended on pills she had run out of the day before, add to that her f1 race debut.

as she waited for the national anthem and such, she remembered the picture her grandparents had sent, walking towards her bag where she had her wallet, where the picture was securely tucked into.

she walked towards where some engineers were working in the car and asked for some tape which they gladly granted surrounding the picture with the tape so it wouldn't fly away with the force and asked one of the guys to tape it inside the cockpit. as she was putting her phone away she saw how her mother had called a few minutes ago so before anything could happen, she called back.

"hola mamá." she said with a smile.

"hija, i'm sorry if i bothered you." the woman began sheepishly.

"no molestas ma." said the teenager with a soft smile.

"i know you will but i just wanted to say 'be careful' and all that." the woman expressed with her usual worried tone whenever her daughter would drive.

"i will ma, and i'll call you as soon as it's over and i can grab my phone." the girl reassured as she walked towards the track where the national anthem would be played.

"thank you." the woman said, sighing before taking a deep breath. "hija. i tried to but-"

"it's fine ma. really. i understand. he isn't ready to watch my races yet and that's okay." the girl said with a sad tone.

"you have to understand. after jules he can't bear the thought of losing you." her mom tried to elaborate.

"i know that mom, and i get it. i'd feel terrified as well. to some point i am too but it's what i love and i hoped he would see that and not just what could go wrong." the mexican-french told her mom.

"it'll take some time but he will come around eventually." her mom said softly. "i'll let you go now, the ceremony is about to start and you can't see it but everyone is waiting for you behind you." was the last thing her mom said before hanging up.

tali loved her dad. she really did, he was supportive and motivated her to never give up on her dreams. he did not want to be in the way of her happiness but he also couldn't be present when her daughter was driving at crazy speeds around weirdly shaped circuits.

standing between lewis and fernando she respectfully listened to the national anthem, signing the little grid kid's cap that had asked her to before going to the car and readying herself to get in the cockpit.

the lights were out and she was hitting the gas with no mercy.

her reaction time had been good and she was able to maintain the car in a good position. having started on p6 gave her just enough margin to not get in the mess of the first corner and allowed her to keep her position.

on lap 13 she saw oscar's dnf through the screens making her feel sad for her friend who she knew would be gutted from the turnout of events.

boxing meant losing positions which got her all the way down to p12 which she was able to overtake easily.