Round 02
Australia

Warnings: none

Length: 1.7k words

COMMENTARY

K-Sports Broadcast with Kim Junmyeon and Choi Minho

KIM: Leclerc is in another league, having led all the laps of this Grand Prix! He’s got a six-second lead over Sebastian Vettel who is currently sitting behind in P2. They’re rounding the first corner of the final lap now. Behind Vettel, three seconds behind, is a battle for third.

CHOI: Look, here they come. Byun Baekhyun and Lee Sunmi still desperately fighting for the last podium place!

KIM: Byun only two tenths behind Lee. Can the rookie driver hold on as they make their way to Turns 4 and 5?

CHOI: It’s going to be close. Byun isn’t giving Lee any breathing room. Look how close he is on the run down to Turn 9.

KIM: Charles Leclerc crosses the finish line in first place. Behind him is Sebastian Vettel. But the battle we’re looking at is the one for third!

CHOI: Byun’s very close.

KIM: He’ll get DRS for sure, and Lee will be a sitting duck. The Porsche has straight-line speed, but how will it measure against a charging three-time world champion in the Ferrari?

CHOI: This will be Baekhyun’s biggest chance. Here he goes. He does get DRS.

KIM: At over 300 kilometers an hour, Byun Baekhyun chases down Lee Sunmi for third place! Is he going to get the move done? This is for the final podium place! He pulls alongside the rookie driver coming into Turn 11. It’s going to be close, but it’s not going be close enough! Lee puts the gentlest of squeezes on the Ferrari driver, not allowing him to pass!

CHOI: He’s still in DRS range. It’ll be a drag race to the finish line.

KIM: They’re making their way down to Turn 14 now. Byun Baekhyun has one final chance to get past Lee Sunmi.

CHOI: No, he looks too far back.

KIM: Oh, what a shame. Byun Baekhyun gave it his all, but in the end, he’ll have to settle for fourth place.

CHOI: He got close. And that’s the checkered flag for these two.

KIM: He’s only half a tenth behind Lee Sunmi. It was that close!

CHOI: What a great scrap between these two.

(TEAM RADIO) – PORSCHE: Checkered flag, checkered flag. That is P3. Great battle at the end there. You kept your cool and Byun behind.

(TEAM RADIO) – LEE: **** yeah, let’s go! Another podium! Thank you everyone. I told you we could do it. Thank you. Let’s ******* go. We killed it out here.

KIM: Surely, there will be big celebrations in the Porsche garage tonight. A double podium this early in the year is a great result for the new team.

CHOI: A consecutive podium for Lee Sunmi too.

KIM: Yes, and if my math is correct, then she’ll be second in the world championship standings.

- - - - -

“You know, I thought this job would be easier,” Sunmi’s PR manager, Chu Wajiya, confides to her as they wait in the media pen.

The media pen is a small, fenced area where news organizations, journalists, and other media interview drivers throughout the weekend. It’s a bit more relaxed than the press conferences, but there are still many cameras around. At least a dozen networks are present, from the British Sky Sports to the Korean K-Sports. Each driver is shadowed by a PR officer, who all hold tape recorders to capture audio of interviews. Post-race, especially races with high drama, a driver could be there for at least an hour, just answering questions.

Sunmi would rather just go home, but she’s no Kimi Raikkonen.

“Easier how?” Sunmi asks with a sigh.

“Well, I didn’t think we’d get so many requests for private interviews.”

“Thanks, Chu. I’m glad you believed in me so much that you didn’t think people would want an interview with me.”

Chu nudges Sunmi’s shoulder lightly. “That’s not what I me