ALICE Ch 224

Austrian Grand Prix Starting Positions:

1. Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Flores (Freedom)

4. Wilde (FUTA)

5. Bottas (Aston Martin)

6. Tanaka (Mercedes)

7. Hamilton (Mercedes)

8. Woodcock, M. (Williams)

9. LeClerc (Ferrari)

10. Perez (Red Bull)

11. Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Ricciardo (Haas)

13. Norris (McLaren)

14. Darcy (FUTA)

15. Dunham (Freedom)

16. Laakso (AlphaTauri)

17. Pattinson (McLaren)

DNF Magnussen (Haas)

DNF Woodcock, S. (Williams)

DNF Ocon (AlphaTauri)

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

Matt Berry sits calmly, radiating mysterious gravitas.

“I would say that while the outcome of the qualifier is certainly interesting, particularly with regard to McLaren’s rather disappointing performance, it would seem to be overshadowed by rumors regarding Red Bull and Alice Wilde.” He folds his arms and shakes his head. “Alice Wilde, who looked for a moment this morning as though she wouldn’t be finishing. Do we know what happened?”

“She was instructed to retire the car. She didn’t,” the producer says.

Matt’s smile widens. “That’s drama. That’s what we’re here to see.”

“I thought we were here to see racing.”

“You were wrong. Poor Checo.” Matt sucks his breath in through his teeth and looks away. “Devastating. We’re very proud of Valeria, naturally.”

“Has there been talk in Freedom of approaching Alice Wilde?”

“It’s been brought up. It’s common knowledge that she’s frustrated with FUTA. Like Freedom, FUTA is a new team, but you can’t very well tell that to a hungry young driver and expect them to listen. At any rate, we can’t outbid Red Bull. On top of that, it’s not yet time to lose faith in Patty. She hasn’t taken off the way that some of the other newcomers have, but there’s a reason she’s in one of the twenty most coveted seats in the world.”

“How would you react if Alice Wilde were your driver this morning?”

“I’d be very upset, naturally. As well as Faye Darcy is driving, particularly considering the expectations with her record, driving for Mummy, and all this, it is somewhat clear that if FUTA is going somewhere this season, it won’t be Faye to carry them there. All of FUTA’s hopes are on Alice.” He shrugs. “That gives her some leeway in these situations. One does wonder what was wrong with the car this time.”

“It must be frustrating for everyone.”

“Oh, yes. FUTA is in an impossible situation, having to perform as a new team, retain talent, iron out bugs in the car, balance discipline with realism and so forth. Meanwhile, Alice isn’t necessarily out of line. Nothing is guaranteed in Formula One. Every race is potentially our last chance to prove ourselves. She took a chance because she didn’t want to start in eighteenth tomorrow. Who would?”