ALICE Ch 142

“Fuck me sideways,” Glynda mutters. The pit wall is built to keep rain off, not a bloody typhoon. Lora is beside her, stoic as always. “She’s terrified of this circuit,” Glynda says, covering her mic and leaning over to be heard without using the radio. “She’ll want full-wet.”

“Might be the right decision,” Lora replies evenly.

“It isn’t. It’s cowardice.”

“This is impossible to interpret,” Lora counters, pointing to the weather report. The storm looks like a series of squiggly lines. There will be rain, there will be dry, and there is absolutely no way to know anything about when or for how long. “Why are you being so hard on her?”

Intrusive images of Alice vigorously thrusting into her daughter crowd into Glynda’s frayed brain. She shakes her head.

“Use your best judgment,” Glynda grumbles, resetting her mic and going back to her screen. Rainwater drips on her glasses and she irritably pulls them off to dry them. And just what the bloody hell is going on between Alice and Kylie? It had better not be what Glynda thinks it is.

FF1

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

“In the rain, of course, it’s all about tires and grip. Rather morbidly, many spectators particularly enjoy rain races because of the expectation that it’ll be a bloodbath,” Will Buxton explains. “Well, no. That’s uncharitable. Anything can happen in Formula One in the best of times, but it’s different in the rain. It makes for more exciting races, particularly when one team is on a tear, when Lewis is winning every single weekend, or more recently, Max. The fans like the rain because it means that things might turn out differently than they typically do. Monaco is the most glamorous race and also, statistically, one of the more hazardous ones.” Buxton makes a pained expression and squints. “It’s not a circuit that I would want to drive in the rain. Formula One is always a test of focus and concentration. On a good day, a lapse means losing. In Monaco, the stakes are higher. That’s what makes this weekend really challenging. All these teams within spitting distance of taking new positions in the cup, and Glynda Darcy in the complicated position of acting as team principal to her own daughter with shall we say interesting rumors going round—meanwhile, her lead driver—let’s not pretend it’s any other way. Her lead driver has gone on the record with her lack of confidence in this circuit. In fairness, that may be exaggerated,” Buxton admits. “After all, Ms. Wilde set an absolutely blistering lap for that P2 placement, but still. There are teams struggling far more than FUTA, but one thing remains constant: Glynda Darcy has my deepest sympathies. And this rain.” He shakes his head. “It’s just adding insult to injury.”

FF1

The commentators buzz as though their coffee is laced with cocaine.

“And the lights go out! Look at that water! It’s like a standing start in the lost city of Atlantis! Nobody has a good start in these conditions but we’re off! And that’s contact! Contact in the first corner! Oh dear! Oh, no! That’ll be a safety car for certain! Chaos in the first turn, bits of car everywhere. Total disarray. Lewis Hamilton out in front! Max Verstappen still in one piece, but it’s all jumbled now! That’s Sissy Woodcock into P2! That’s the best positioning Williams has seen all year! Alice Wilde, undamaged—Charles LeClerc is out! Bottas missing a wing! Oh, dear!”