ALICE Ch 270

“Valeria Flores, appearing to have some difficulty with power,” the commentator goes on breathlessly. “Yet Sainz can’t get by. The gap widens, leaving plenty of room for Norris to try to fight Verstappen. He wants to retake that position so badly! Sainz is under pressure from Woodcock, meanwhile, her sister is also gaining positions! Oh!”

Erica shoots to her feet, clapping her hands over her mouth.

“They touched! He’s off! They’re both off! Norris and Verstappen! That’s Norris in the wall! Verstappen trying to correct, but Flores is on her way!”

“Oh! Oh!” Erica hops up and down, fanning her face. “Yes! Go!”

FF1

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

“I don’t know,” Will Buxton says thoughtfully, “…that I have ever seen a single driver control an entire Grand Prix so completely. Were it anyone else, I might chalk it up to luck or coincidence. But this is Valeria Flores, Formula One’s fastest rising star. To think that her actions in this race were calculated; that she was able to correctly interpret the behavior of the drivers in front of her and with only the information relayed by her handler, exert her influence over the cars behind her as needed—it’s something. We’ve seen this sort of strategic action from people like Fernando Alonso, but Fernando Alonso has been driving for longer than Valeria Flores has been alive. She seems to lack the gusto of drivers like Alice Wilde and Lando Norris, but one might argue that isn’t slowing her down at all.”

Hungarian Grand Prix Results

1. Flores (Freedom)

2. Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Alonso (Aston Martin)

4. Woodcock, M. (Williams)

5. Perez (Red Bull)

6. Laakso (AlphaTauri)

7. Bottas (Aston Martin)

8. Dunham (Freedom)

9. Tanaka (Mercedes)

10. Wilde (FUTA)

11. LeClerc (Ferrari)

12. Mido (FUTA)

13. Pattinson (McLaren)

14. Magnussen (Haas)

15. Ricciardo (Haas)

16. Ocon (AlphaTauri)

17. Woodcock, S. (Williams)

18. Hamilton (Mercedes)

DNF Verstappen (Red Bull)

DNF Norris (McLaren)

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

“No. I haven’t attended many races,” Annette of FUTA Global admits with a laugh. “But I was here to speak to Glynda, and I do pay attention to the points and stuff. This was a good race for a lot of drivers who haven’t been bringing much home. Kirsi Laakso, and some others. The standings weren’t affected too much. I guess there’s some relief for us; we always expect Lewis Hamilton to finish with lots of points, and we didn’t want to see that lead open up any more than it has. So that was a stroke of luck. I love that it’s at least possible for Freedom to take the cup.” She shrugs. “What can I say? This is a blast.”

“You aren’t worried about your team’s performance?” the producer asks.

“Well, we want to do well, obviously. But this is our first foray into motorsport, and it’s Formula One. If Freedom wasn’t out there doing it, I’d say that you can’t expect to come out on your first day and stomp the competition. And FUTA programming has always been more about the spectacle than the points,” Annette adds, giving the camera a playful look.