ALICE Ch 354

Singapore Grand Prix Starting Positions

1. Hamilton (Mercedes)

2. Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Sainz (Ferrari)

4. Woodock, M. (Williams)

5. Wilde (FUTA)

6. Alonso (Aston Martin)

7. Dunham (Freedom)

8. Mido (FUTA)

9. Flores (Freedom)

10. Tanaka (Mercedes)

11. Woodcock, S. (Williams)

12. Bottas (Aston Martin)

13. Magnussen (Haas)

14. LeClerc (Ferrari)

15. Pattinson (McLaren)

16. Laakso (Alpha Tauri)

17. Ocon (Alpha Tauri)

Pit: Norris (McLaren)

Pit: Ricciardo (Haas)

Pit: Perez (Red Bull)

Bright lights shine on the simple chair. Will Buxton looks almost sympathetic.

He sucks his breath in through his teeth. “The heat is taking a toll. I think some important things to take away from this morning’s qualifier are that, although we could call this a lackluster season, nothing changes the fact that Lewis Hamilton is the greatest racing driver of all time, and while a man like Max Verstappen looks poised to unseat him, that hasn’t happened yet. Whether this means that Mercedes has their car sorted or not—we’ll see. If we look past the sensationalism around FUTA and Freedom, perhaps the driver most likely to benefit from this chaotic season is Carlos Sainz. He has been a brilliantly consistent performer, bringing home plenty of points for a struggling team, and really coming through in all aspects of what might be asked of a driver. And this bothers me on a personal level as an enthusiast for the sport. Here, we have a man who delivers results and has plenty of charisma, yet he’s so obviously overshadowed by what I can only describe as other drivers and their antics. Now, I will say that FUTA’s car and FUTA’s drivers have not looked this tidy since the very beginning of the year. The wobbliness that has characterized their behavior, their performance, and their car did not appear to be present in this qualifier. And as FUTA rises, Valeria Flores stalls out while Patty Dunham finds herself starting in the points once again. It’s always been a funny old sport. Never more than this year. And it’s a jolly good thing that it’s looking up on the engineering side, because in Singapore, you fight against the heat. You can’t fight the heat and your car, too.”

FF1

The AC is running, but Glynda’s office in the motorhome is still too warm. Glynda fans herself and makes a decision not to be self-conscious about the sweat stains on her blouse.

“Lora. Please,” she says softly.

“What? Oh. Sorry.” Lora hurriedly sends a text and puts her phone away.

“The Ferrari girl?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Lora replies, setting her purse aside.

“I’m very happy for you. But I need you to make sure this press release is appropriate. Please.”

“Course.” Lora takes it and heads for the door.

“And with the situation as it is, I’d ask that you not fraternize with other teams before the race.”

“Of everyone on this team, are you sure I’m the one whose professionalism you want to make an issue of?” Lora replies. She doesn’t wait for an answer.

Startled, Glynda goes back to her chair. She’s glad that Lora’s growing a spine, but why does it have to be now?