ALICE Ch 217

Canadian Grand Prix Results

1. Flores (Freedom) 25

2. Norris (McLaren) 18

3. Verstappen (Red Bull) 15

4. Hamilton (Mercedes) 12

5. Dunham (Freedom) 10

6. Bottas (Aston Martin) 8

7. Tanaka (Mercedes) 6

8. LeClerc (Ferrari) 4

9. Sainz (Ferrari) 2

10. Mido (FUTA) 1

11. Darcy (FUTA)

12. Woodcock, M. (Williams)

13. Alonso (Aston Martin)

14. Perez (Red Bull)

15. Ricciardo (Haas)

16. Woodcock, S. (Williams)

17. Pattinson (McLaren)

18. Ricciardo (Haas)

DNF Ocon (AlphaTauri)

DNF Laakso (AlphaTauri)

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

A strange sort of energy radiates from Erica Bruhl. She wears jeans and an F1-branded quarter zip top, her clasped hands resting on her knee.

“What a weekend,” she remarks, smiling at the producer, who nods encouragingly. “In my career, I have never seen point standings like this. The battle for third place is now, as Will Buxton would put it, absolutely blistering,” she says ironically.

“That’s FUTA hanging onto third with 94 points, Mercedes just behind at 92, and Aston with 91.”

“But Lando only needs to win one race to get McLaren right back in there,” Erica notes, gesturing to indicate something sliding along. “Ferrari as well. Charles and Carlos underperforming today changed the whole story, I think.”

“Speaking of underperforming.”

“Well, AlphaTauri had to do an engine swap. Fernando’s got Covid again. Dunham and Tanaka found their footing at least today, finally. Remember that in the preseason, Akiko Tanaka was all anyone could talk about. She was supposed to be the next Max.” Erica chews her lip for a moment, looking vaguely wistful. “And then Valeria Flores happened. Patty Dunham as well, with a brilliant race. She overtook both Ferrari drivers.”

“What about FUTA?”

“Alice Wilde is the lead driver, and it’s a blow to morale to have her benched because of her wrist. Mio Mido is a rally driver, and her performance was tremendous under the circumstances. It was her first time racing Formula One, and while there’s all this talk of FUTA angling for a Japanese engine, the truth is that Mido has given results. If Faye Darcy wasn’t the daughter of the Team Principal, I’d think that she’d be getting quite nervous, honestly.”

“Darcy did climb.”

“She did,” Erica concedes with a nod. “And Mio started P9 and lost a position. She lost it on a straight to Tanaka. And we haven’t had time to review that footage in detail, but we’re going to find something that will make it look as though she had no power. This is becoming a pattern. But let’s get back to Valeria Flores. That’s two races in a row, and maybe it is Patty Dunham whose result really matters this weekend. That shows us how fast that Freedom car is. I think the pressure is on the mid-level teams right now, especially Aston Martin, as this is their first really competitive season in some time. But the person who is the most nervous right now? Christian Horner,” Erica says. "Valeria Flores is coming for him. Leaving a trail of bodies."