ALICE Ch 83

Australian Grand Prix Results

P1 Verstappen (Red Bull)

P2 Flores (Freedom)

P3 Wilde (FUTA)

P4 Norris (McLaren)

P5 Perez (Red Bull)

P6 Sainz (Ferrari)

P7 Bottas (Aston Martin)

P8 Woodcock, S (Williams)

P9 Darcy (FUTA)

P10 Ricciardo (Haas)

P11 LeClerc (Ferrari)

P12 Alonso (Aston Martin)

P13 Woodcock, M. (Williams)

P14 Laakso (AlphaTauri)

P15 Ocon (AlphaTauri)

P16 Dunham (Freedom)

P17 Pattinson (McLaren)

P18 Magnussen (Haas)

DNF Tanaka (Mercedes)

DNF Hamilton (Mercedes)

Alice had spent some time thinking about how it would go when she had her first real face-to-face meeting with Val again. It’s a complicated subject. They were never close, but they couldn’t help but bond over soccer, seeing their coaches stealing a quickie, and that unforgettable night with the go-karts. There’s also something like rivalry, and a little anxiety because Val has turned out to be really pretty, so of course that makes Alice self-conscious.

Alice had also spent some time thinking about what she’d do on her first podium. She wants to act normal and not embarrass herself or anyone else. She planned to just goof off with the champagne the way that she’d seen the boys do it for her entire childhood.

She did not plan for these two things to happen at once.

The crowd roars in the warm, dry, Melbourne air. The sun is like a hammer, and her FUTA cap hardly helps.

She stands like an idiot, clutching her oversized bottle of champagne and staring at Val.

Max has had so many podiums that he’s just looking at them curiously. It’s the most awkward thing that anyone has ever seen. Val is glaring at her.

“What?” Val demands.

“Uh,” Alice says. “I dunno. Hi.”

Val’s mouth drops open, then she irritably sprays Alice in the face and turns to do the same to Max. Things take their natural course after that, and nothing else gets said. So much for Alice’s tearful reunion with her old teammate.

FF1

There are entirely too many cameras and journalists. But signing things, allowing the occasional selfie, and answering interview questions all at once is nothing compared to driving a Formula One car.

“Alice, any feelings at all about taking your first podium on a technicality?” one man demands. Alice is only beginning to get used to how being an F1 driver lets everyone in the world call her by her first name.

“I can live with it,” she replies, signing a sexy FUTA advert glossy of… Coach Riley’s ass. It’s from the first season. “That’s a collector’s item,” she says, handing it back to the teenage boy who owns it.

“I understand that a tactical call early in the race played a role in this outcome,” another reporter cuts in. “Do you expect fallout?”

“From Faye? No. We’re fine,” Alice assures her.