🏁

BAHRAIN

A figure in a sleek Red Bull racing suit steps into the spotlight. The paddock is filled with the press, running like a hoard of cattle running away from a predator that's about to feast on them just so they can catch a glimpse of the girl who's making her way down to the garage.

There is a dark aura surrounding driver of car number seventy-seven, her sharp, calculating eyes under the sunglasses she's wearing and confident stride hint at the depths of her complex character that has been unleashed due to unsaid circumstances. Her racing suit is hanging off her waist, her blonde hair has been replaced by a shade of dark brown that only adds to the mystery of her ambience.

“Is that Son Seungwan?” David Croft's face is adorned with pure shock as the Red Bull driver disappears inside the garage. Beside him is Kim Doyoung who is accompanying him around the paddock. “The Red Bull driver was excused from the media activities by the FIA after the driver had fallen ill due to a viral infection,” he reports as both of them make their way to the journalist panel.

“She looks a changed person,” Will Buxton comments, once they make their way to the journalist panel and take their seats.

“That's what driving for Mercedes does to a person,” David Croft jokes.

“That's Son Seungwan's first appearance since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix four months ago and two months since she was officially announced as a Red Bull driver,” Kim Doyoung reports. He is glad that he is not joined by the Korean panel of experts because the last thing he wants is a repeat of the driver's lineup announcement. 

“I just talked to the Red Bull team principal Kim Taeyeon about the status of her drivers and the car, let me tell you that woman is pumped. She told us that the results in the simulators have looked really promising and they are really excited to be out on track for the free practice,” Will Buxton reveals to the viewers as the screen shows the footage from the Red Bull garage where mechanics are working on the car.

“Let's see if it'll be enough to beat Mercedes because the reports have said that they have built a car that's a second faster than last year's one,” David Croft adds.

The roar of engines and the scent of burning rubber permeate the air as the Formula One free practice in Bahrain International Circuit begins. The camera pans across the bustling garages of all the teams, sending out their cars on the circuit one by one. Soon it reaches garage number one and two, where mechanics in Red Bull Racing uniforms are hard at work preparing for the practice session. 

The drivers are nowhere to be seen as the mechanics are seen attaching the tyre blankets to the tires of the Red Bull car. Behind the wall stands Seungwan zipping up her racing suit while she watches her rookie teammate struggle with her gloves.

“Hi,” she whispers but it still startles Minjeong who almost jumps off and loses her balance but she holds the rookie by her arm and makes sure she's standing. “Nervous?” She asks and after a few deep breaths, the rookie nods.

“It's fine to be nervous. I was like this too on my first free practice when I was eighteen. I felt like I was going to pass out but as soon as I got out on the track the nerves were gone,” caressing the helmet of the rookie, she whispers gently and hopes that it'll be enough to calm her down. 

“I just want to do well,” Minjeong sighs and removes her gloves to wipe the sweat off her palms with her racing suit before she begins to wear them again.

“It's just a free practice,” she lets out a low chuckle and pats her shoulder. “The only thing that's going to be evaluated here is the car, not you.”

Minjeong nods and puts down her visor as the green flag gets waved to indicate the start of the session, “Go out there and enjoy yourself.” 

Both of them make their way to the front garage where Minjeong immediately jumps into her car and minutes later takes off to the pit lane before she joins the track to start her practice runs.

She's done putting on her helmet as her race engineer Sana corners her near the car with a tablet in her hands. “Minjeong is out on softs,” she nods to the information, not speaking as she allows the latter to keep going. “She's going to test the one-lap pace out for the qualifying and the team will adjust the car setup according to that.”

“I have the hards-on,” Seungwan quips and points to the white strip on the tires of her Red Bull. 

“I was getting to that,” her comment makes Sana roll her eyes while she explains to her that she's going out to test for the tyre degradation. She's going to do long runs on all three sets of Pirelli tires.  

The camera zooms in on Seungwan's eyes through the visor of her helmet, catching a hint of a smirk as she adjusts her racing gloves and gets inside the beauty that's RB17. The car gleams with corporate sponsors, reflecting the opulence of modern Formula One racing.

The visor locks in place with a sharp click, and she revs the engine. The deafening growl of the Red Bull engine vibrates through the air, drowning out the sounds of the bustling pit. A subtle but telling glance from her race engineer, who knows her quirks better than anyone in the garage, runs her through the plan once again.

The camera follows as she pulls out of the garage and accelerates down the pit lane before she manoeuvres the car to the circuit. The out lap isn't fast, she keeps it like that to go through the circuit thoroughly. Fifteen turns and approximately 5.5 kilometres later she approaches the pitlane as a familiar Mercedes comes into her view. She spares the car one glance unable to hide her irritation and grits her teeth, subconsciously the grip around her steering wheel tightens for a moment before a voice on her radio snaps her out and urges her to start her long runs on the hard tires.

It's the end of free practice two under the lights as both she and Minjeong are sitting in their ice baths, cooling themselves after two hot sessions out in the circuit. 

“It's nice out there isn't it,” she cups her hands and fills it with some water before splashing it on her face. There are helmet marks on her flushed face but apart from that it's been a long time since she has been satisfied with a practice session.

“You were right,” Minjeong nods and submerges her body inside the ice bath, only keeping her head about the water, “I enjoyed myself out there and the car felt really good.”

“The long runs went well, the tire degradation is showing positive signs too,” she shares and thinks about her time out on the track. Adrian Newey built a car that's less proposing than she's ever driven, it goes a long way in tyre degradation. The long runs on mediums and softs look rather promising, the graining isn't much and it's easier to get the temperatures right.

“One lap pace is good but not good enough to outclass Mercedes,” mutters Minjeong. “Do you think we can put it on the pole?”

She takes a deep breath and looks at the rookie, it's a trait in rookies that they are really optimistic but in this line of sports expectations aren't something people are fond of.

“Let me give you some advice Minjeong?”

“Hmm.”

“Always remember that points are given on Sunday.”

🏁

“Green flag is out and the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix is underway!”

Minjeong is out on the track along with the majority of the cars, it's important for her to pick up her rhythm and by sending her out early she can easily do one extra lap compared to her. She'll go out for an outlap in three minutes when the track temperatures have risen and it's a second faster. The goal is to use mediums for Q1 and Q2, that way they can use new softs for the flying laps in Q3.

She's in her car but her eyes are fixed on the screen that's on the corner of the garage where she is watching Minjeong ending her out-lap, making her way to the main straight out of turn fifteen. She can hear the roar of the Red Bull fans as Minjeong crosses the white line and starts her first qualifying lap in Formula One. 

She goes out on the track and shows the rookie a thumbs up who manages to put a time of one minute and thirty-one seconds on the clock putting her at P7, it's pretty good for someone's first qualifying lap.

She only does three laps in Q1 and manages P3, it's enough to get through but she isn't satisfied. She masks her dismay and makes her way back to the garage, glad that both the cars are through Q1. 

Opposite to Q1, she goes out first in Q2. The team wants to save the set of mediums, hence they only want to do two laps in Q2. The orders are clear telling her to not push, they need lap times in the one minute thirty seconds range to go through Q3.

“!” She curses out at the end of her first lap, clocking in a 30.3 lap time. Wanting a fast exit out of turn right she ended up locking up her rear tires in turn nine costing her some time and it resulted in a yellow second sector. She's P6 and according to her standards, it's a poor attempt.

She goes back to the garage and focuses on the screen to see how much time she needs to achieve to comfortably go through Q3. Her eyes are once again fixed on the screen as Minjeong starts her second flying lap, in hopes of improving her time that has currently placed on P10.

“Is she blind!” Minjeong shouts through the radio. “What the !” Seungwan watches as the Mercedes blocks her exit at turn five costing her some significant time. 

“She's on a flying lap too,” she hears Minjeong's race engineer through the screen. “Stewards have taken notice of that. Investigation after the race.” Minjeong punches the air in frustration after her lap ends as she fails to improve and stays at P10, putting her at risk of a Q2 exit.

In the last three minutes, both she and Minjeong get out on the track and start their out laps. The rookie stays ahead of her as she fixes her attention on the mirror to see the traffic behind her. She puts her Red Bull to the side as Kang Seulgi of Ferrari zooms past her. At the exit of turn thirteen, she slows down her car to let Minjeong get away first before she starts to increase the speed at the exit of turn fourteen giving her a much-needed boost for the main straight.

“They are really strong down the main straight,” she hears Sana through the radio and clicks her tongue. 'Of course they are'. “We aren't looking for a front-row start Seungwan, our setup is for the race–remember that,” Sana adds and it feels like she's reminding her. All she does is let out a sigh that tells Sana the answer she needs.

She looks at her time in P5 as Minjeong ends her qualifying at P8. She clutches her steering wheel tightly and at the start of turn fifteen decides that she wants that front row start and opens the throttle fully, entering the straight with immense speed. The oversteer allows her to get a good exit out of the turns in sector one and that's her goal to make up time in the first sector because sector two is filled with countless braking points that'll hurt her time. She feels her head jumble from left to right going through the last corner of sector two before she opens the throttle again to give herself the best chance at the front row.

“Kang Seulgi crosses the line to take P2! The Ferrari is down one hundredth from P1 but that's not their worst of worries because right behind her is the Red Bull of Son Seungwan exiting turn thirteen up by two-tenths! She has gone green sector one, green sector two–Can she pull something special to deny Mercedes a pole?”

Seungwan sees the straight and presses down on the pedal as hard as she can and hopes that it'll be enough. Surprisingly, she's nervous, more than she should be. The adrenaline and the thrill are pumping through her veins, it has her on the edge as she crosses the line and waits.

“P2,” Sana says through the radio. She slows down the car and nods to herself. The goal wasn't a pole, it was a front row and she got that. 'Baby steps, Seungwan ah, let it come to you.'

She parks her Red Bull next to the P2 stand and is greeted by Kang Seulgi, who taps her helmet and tells her that she did a good job. She takes off her helmet and then her mask and puts her on the designated stand before she grabs a bottle of water and starts to hydrate herself. She pours the water on her flushed face and runs her hand through her hair, pushing back the wet strands on her forehead.

She puts the empty bottle back on the stand before she looks to her right to see her. She looks down as Bae Joohyun finishes her interview with Kim Doyoung and starts to walk toward her. She hides her left fist behind her back and clenches it as tightly as she can when the Mercedes driver approaches her and offers a handshake. She doesn't back down and looks her dead in the eyes as they shake hands with no words exchanged before Joohyun walks away and she makes her way to Kim Doyoung for her post-qualifying interview. 

🏁

She manages to get some good sleep as Sunday approaches. She had expected some earful from Sana and Taeyeon after the qualifying but they were rather pleased with her decision of going against team orders to get the best possible result, they joked around saying she is already developing those Red Bull genes without even racing for them.

The first time she meets the rookie Mercedes driver Yoo Jimin is during the driver's parade. She stands alongside Minjeong away from the veteran drivers and the rookie joins them. “Sorry for the impeding yesterday,” the rookie apologises to Minjeong who brushes it away with a chuckle.

“It has become a tradition,” Minjeong mutters and leaves some space for Jimin to stand beside her. “We always end up competing, one way or another,” she adds.

“There weren't penalties during the karting days,” Jimin huffs in annoyance, “I got a three-place grid penalty on my Formula One debut, it's embarrassing.”

“I guess turn one will be eventful,” Minjeong jokes.

“You better watch out,” Jimin winks before she walks to join her Mercedes teammate who is talking to the McLaren and Ferrari drivers.

Seungwan runs her hand through her hair, concealing a smile and waves upon spotting the Red Bull flags waving on the grandstands. “You two seem close,” she mutters and wraps her palm around Minjeong's wrist waving her hand to the crowd.

“We have known each other since our karting days,” there is a gleam in Minjeong's eyes as she reveals that information to her. “Throughout our karting days to Formula Three and Formula Two, we have always competed with each other–There has always been this rivalry… at least that's what the media says,” Minjeong trails off.

“Is there something you want to add?” Seungwan questions and looks behind to see the rookie Mercedes driver talking to her teammate.

“Rivalry is something that's between people who challenge each other…I don't think I have ever been her competition–I mean she's a Formula Three and Formula Two champion and I'm just here,” mutters the rookie driver as she looks down.

“Rivalry is something that goes beyond stats Minjeong,” she wraps her arms around the latter's neck and pulls her closer. “It's never about the results, it's about the mental pressure that the presence of a particular person puts on someone's brain affecting their performance,” she keeps it as small as she can because the last thing a rookie wants is a talk that can affect her performance.

“She must've come across many drivers, some who are better than you but whom does she consider her competition?”

“Me?”

“That's all you need to know.”

She grabs Minjeong's cap and puts it on her head backwards as they focus on greeting the fans while the driver's parade reaches its conclusion. They rush to the garage after their media duties and get inside their cars. During the formation lap, her eyes look at the top step of the podium, that's her goal. She has the car for it and she has the skill for it. Mercedes may be fast on the main straight but Red Bull is fast on the corners.

“The Bahrain Grand Prix is set to be a thrilling showdown. Son Seungwan, a formidable talent and labelled as Formula One Golden Girl is starting in P2, while Bae Joohyun, the defending champion, had claimed the pole position, looking to start the new season where she left off. The stage is set for an epic battle between these two former teammates turned rivals,” David Croft roars and gets the atmosphere heated as the cars go around the Bahrain International Circuit for the first formation lap of the new season.

As the sun began to set, the Bahrain International Circuit was bathed in a golden hue, casting long shadows over the track. The tension was palpable, and the air was thick with excitement as the engines roared to life. Seungwan had her eyes fixed on the Mercedes in front of her as they made their way to the starting grid and took their position. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to focus on the lights in front of her.

“Stick to the plan,” Sana reminds her through the radio as she nods to herself and grips her steering wheel tightly and rests her foot on the pedal.

The first red light goes up and she inhales some air.

The second red light goes up and she keeps inhaling air.

The third one goes up and she finally lets out an exhale.

The fourth one lights up and she once again inhales.

The fifth red light goes off and she holds her breath.

“It's lights out and away we go! The Mercedes gets a good reaction and moves forward but right behind the Red Bull of Son Seungwan gets a better start and as they near turn one both of the cars are side by side! It's Bae Joohyun's Mercedes who's ahead by the end of turn one with Son Seungwan's Red Bull right behind!”

Seungwan is holding onto her steering wheel for her dear life as she stays on Joohyun's tail at the exit of turn four. Behind her Seulgi and Jennie are fighting for P3, the Ferrari driver lost her P3 spot to the Mclaren driver who had a better reaction time compared to the former.

“Seungwan, stay on the plan and just focus on managing your tires,” Sana reminds her again  through the radio.

“Copy that,” she obliges 'Let it come to you'.

“Kim Minjeong is now up to P5 after she overtook Ning Yizhuo on the main straight with the help of DRS and we have the Mercedes rookie overtaking the Ferrari of Park Chaeyoung for P7 who seems to be struggling with the hard tires.”

At the exit of turn fifteen, she spots the Mercedes heading into the pit lane for a pit stop and opens her throttle fully as Sana gives her the green light she has been waiting for, “They are switching to the mediums and she's going to come out in P2 six seconds ahead of Jennie in P3. Pick up the pace.”

She sets a 31.2 on her first lap, taking the gap between her and Jennie to nineteen seconds as the McLaren driver loses time defending against the Ferrari. On her second lap she manages a 31.0 and takes her gap to twenty-three seconds meaning if she pits the next lap, she can easily come out ahead of McLaren and challenge Mercedes for the lead.

“Red Bull pits Son Seungwan on lap twenty-six for a pair of new softs. It's a 2.2-second pit stop. I think this is an aggressive approach by the Red Bull pit wall. The goal here is really clear, they want to challenge Mercedes for the lead.”

“Son Seungwan in that Red Bull has done an amazing job with those used softs and those lap times are indicating that once she catches up to Bae Joohyun's Mercedes in ten laps or so, it'll be really hard to defend on those mediums. Their gap has shrunk from nine seconds to six seconds in five laps.” 

She comes out of turn right and sees