A\N Since the chapters with racing are long (for my standards) I have decided to divide the doubleheaders into two parts as I don't want to exclude too much of the action. Since there is an author's note I am going to remind you to vote and/or comment if you are enjoying this story.  

It has been a month since the ball and the only thing of note that happened was the fact that Nyck and I spent some time at Mercedes' HQ for some media work and simulator work. As per usual Nyck and I were a little competitive. That's what you get for putting two race car drivers in the same room. It of course led to some interesting scenarios. One of the hardest ones was the wet race scenario. I just hope that it doesn't happen but based on the weather forecast that Kai sent me, it is not looking too promising. At least the simulator time has boosted my confidence just a little for the next race. I am still not looking forward to the race as like Valencia it is a dedicated race track however the track is in poor condition. It will be the kind of challenge that I don't want as it is the first of four double header events. The reason why it will be challenging is due to the fact that the drivers, not just me, will have a lot of things to manage. At least I will have help from Kai and Kristy. I am pulled out of my thoughts as the familiar thud of the plane hitting the ground rumbles through the plane. I am glad that we have finally touched down. I find myself glancing at Nyck who seems like he is thinking as well.

"Nyck we have made it," I gave him a gentle nudge just to emphasise my point.

"Sorry I was thinking about the data that Albert sent me. It's not looking great," Nyck explains. He is referring to Albert Lau, his lead engineer.

"Let me guess. Doom and gloom," I responded. I get the feeling that it was a copy and paste of Kai's report based on the look on Nyck's face.

"Yep," Nyck replies with a slight nod. Well, we will have to deal with it on race day. Not that I mind as the only driver that I really have to worry about in regards to the championship is Edo. It has been a couple of days since we arrived in Mexico and it is the day that we have all been waiting for. The first free practice had a few dramas. A couple of the other drivers ended up in the wall but that goes to show just how hard the track in Puebla is. Luckily for me, I had Kai making sure I knew where to be careful. Right now I am getting ready for the last of the free practice sessions. Be careful down into turn one. Watch out for the grass and last of all try my best to carry enough speed around turn fifteen. I go over Kai's checklist that he suggested as I pull my balaclava over my head. There is definitely a lot that can go wrong but I am sure I can overcome the challenge.

"Jess I wanted to go over some things before you get your helmet on," Kai remarks as he joins me.

"Go ahead," I reply.

"So it turns out that the forecast for the weekend was wrong but I still want you to be a little more careful than usual," Kai says as he makes a few notes in his journal. I have never seen him this concerned. Even during Valencia, he was calm.

"You know I will be careful. Again it is what the other drivers do that you have to worry about," I retort. I am in the lead of the championship so I don't want to waste any opportunity I have to score points.

"Anyway I should let you do your job," Kai remarks as he gives me the standard good luck pat on the shoulder. With that, I get my helmet and HANS device on comfortably. After five minutes of waiting, I am sent out. It doesn't take long for me to find my rhythm however I am taking it easy for Formula E standards. Don't get me wrong I am still pushing but I know I can easily do more. The thing is I am conscious of the fact that I should only really push at my hardest during the race. I soon encountered an interesting problem. I can feel the tires making contact with the ground or rather the grass. I desperately try to keep it out of the wall to no avail. I am relieved to notice that there is only damage to the bodywork but I am a little peeved that I made a mistake that put me in the grass. Oh well luckily for me Kristy and her team are quick.

"Sorry about that guys. I was carrying too much speed into the corner," I use the radio to apologise. Something tells me that it will become a common occurrence. Yes, the track is that bad but there is nothing that I can do about it.

"Don't worry. It doesn't matter. Just don't bin it during qualifying," Kai reminds me. I know Kai is lying about it not mattering as I was not careful like he suggested. Oh well, I'll face his annoyance later.

"I'll try my best not to bin it," I responded. After thirty more minutes of driving the last of the free practice sessions has come to an end and I have brought the car back to the pits. Thankfully Kristy and her team are quick to get to work. It doesn't take long for me to rescue myself from the car. The interesting thing is I was not the only one that had trouble with the wall. I'll have to see what Kai and Albert have to say. It doesn't take long for me to find them in the hospitality area. I am quickly followed by Nyck who looks like he has his tail tucked between his legs. He probably made a similar mistake to me. Not that it matters as we have a chance to work out what went wrong in the time between FP2 and qualifying.

"What's wrong Nyck?" I tentatively ask.

"My mechanics have decided that they are going to risk giving me a grid drop penalty. You will have to ask Albert for more details," Nyck responds. That means I am not going to have much help if I qualify well. Oh well, I am not the race director so I can't control what happens. After a quick conversation with Nyck, we are joined by Kai and Albert. They are locked in an interesting debate.

"I'm telling you, Albert, you worry too much. Nyck is a good overtaker," Kai responds to whatever Albert said before. He doesn't seem too happy about what is going on.

"Well he is my driver and I know he won't be in a position to help Jess if she needs it," Albert responds.

"Nyck needs a working car to help me," I add my opinion to the debate. To be honest I am a capable driver but it all depends on who is behind and in front of me. It seems like my words have ended the debate. After an hour and thirty minutes, the time has come for the first round of qualifying. 

The mood is a little tense. I put it down to the fact that Puebla is the hardest track on the Formula E calendar. At least I know that the car has potential based on the times that I pulled in both free practices. With a hand gesture from Kristy, I am let out of the garage. 

As per usual I am the first out. I don't mind as that means I am less likely to run into traffic. The thing is I may be in group one but I seem to make the best of a less evolved track. It doesn't take long for me to complete the first lap. I am going to try and get as many as I can in so I can maximise my chances of getting into the Superpole shoot out. I reckon the times will be close. Like with the free practices the small amount of grass by turn seven is catching a few of the drivers unaware. At least this time I am not going to get caught out by it. After ten minutes of intense pushing, I have done as many laps as I could have done. I am glad as the circuit is brutal. I am starting to realise that I may not be able to last forty-five minutes plus a lap physically. The car will. I can tell you that for sure. I am quick to bring the car back to the garage. It is there that I find myself perched on top of the halo with my helmet and gloves in my hands. There is not much point in leaving the garage as it looks like there is a slim chance that I might make it to the Superpole shoot out. After twenty minutes and a crash, the time has come for the Superpole shootout.

"Please be careful at seven," Kai is basically begging me at this stage.

"Look Kai you know I'm not stupid. I'll be careful," I responded. I feel like Kai worries too much. To be honest he is my voice during the race.

"I didn't call you stupid. I just said be careful," Kai retorts as I make the final adjustments to my balaclava. With a good luck pat from Kai, I get my helmet on. Since I came sixth I will be setting the benchmark. Ok. All I really have to remember is to be careful around turn seven. After a brief wait, I am sent out. It doesn't take me long to get what I think is the perfect lap. I hope it's good enough. I will see in six minutes. I find myself watching the action over Kai's shoulder with my gear As I expected I ended up in sixth place. Not that it bothers me too much as I know that I have the chance to overtake providing that nothing major happens. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if something went wrong.

"See Kai I told you that you had nothing to worry about," I remarked, catching him by surprise.

"Come on Jess. It's my job to worry. I'm your lead engineer," Kai retorts. He's not wrong.

"I'll put it to you this way. If I am lucky then I'll find myself on the podium. Anyway, I am going to grab something to eat," I say.

"I'll talk to you later then," Kai responds as he turns his attention to the telemetry data. I find myself glancing at it as I leave. So far it looks like I might have a good race. It doesn't take long for me to intercept Nyck. I am quick to notice that he is annoyed. The cue is subtle but it is there. That can only mean one thing.

"I'm guessing you got the grid drop," I open the conversation.

"Yup and what makes it worse is I was in P7," He muses. I put his frustration down to the fact that he wants to help me.

"Nyck, you do realise that you can't always help me," I reply as I reach out for his hand. He returns the favour with a gentle squeeze. There may not be anything that I can do about the penalty but I seemed to have put his mind at ease through one gesture. I am quick to drag him to the hospitality area where I grab myself a sandwich. At least now I can have a break for a couple of hours while the mechanics check over the car. I find it odd that Kristy has the desire to check the whole car in the gap between qualifying and the race. Yes, I understand that it is her job but all she really needs to check are the tires.

"Jess, are you alright?" Nyck asks

"Yeah. For some reason, both Kai and Kristy are worried about either me or the car. It bothers me as the car is good and I'm fine," I explained. I know for a fact that I will give out physically before the car dies on me.

"You might as well add me to the list," Nyck jokes even though he is right. The thought makes me giggle. After two hours of waiting and media stuff, the time has come. The mood on the grid is tense. Right now I am trying to focus on what Kai is telling me over the radio but he is just going on about things on my stuff to avoid checklist.

"Look Kai I am going to stop you there. I don't need to add stuff to my stuff to avoid checklist. The race is tiring enough," I cut him off. I know it was rude but still. I don't need more things to worry about during this already demanding race. It doesn't take long for all of the crew to disperse. That means we have a minute left until the race starts.

"Good luck," Kai remarks.

"Thank you. Sorry about cutting you off," I reply. I know that there will be no hard feelings so long as I get some points. Thirty seconds. The tension has reached its peak. A single red light comes on. It is the signal for us to put the heat in the tires. Once all of the drivers are in position the lights come on one by one. Lights out. I launch the car. To my surprise, I am able to get a better start than Max Guenther. Because of that, I am able to get past him with ease. After a few laps of sitting comfortably in fifth disaster strikes. I can feel a snap of oversteer however it doesn't feel like oversteer. That can only mean one thing. Contact. I find myself looking onto the track. Yup another driver has hit me from behind. Thankfully I am able to rejoin the racing however I have lost a significant amount of places.

"Dammit. Kai, can you tell me what on this earth happened?" I demand via the radio. The other driver involved is lucky that we have a race to finish.

"Frijns hit the back of you but now you need to focus on getting the positions back," Kai explains. Well, there goes my podium. I am just glad that no significant damage was done. I soon find myself in a battle for sixteenth. I am up against one of the dragons. I assume it is Sergio because he knows what he's doing. At least I am able to get past Sergio cleanly. I don't think I could handle any more drama this weekend. As the race goes on I pick off some of the other drivers. Right now I am stuck behind Rene Rast. Sure it may only be for tenth but I want to make sure I can get past him.

"Jess, I advise that you use your remaining attack mode now," Kai informs me.

"No. Not unless I am able to follow Rast in," I say. As if on cue Rene peels off for his remaining attack mode. I follow his lead knowing that I have the chance to get past him whilst completing the joker lap. Thankfully my hunch is correct as we rejoin the main part of the track. Instead of being ahead as I thought I would be, Rene and I are alongside each other.

"I have some good news, Jess. You are one of the drivers with the fan boost," Kai remarks via the radio. With that, I use the added boost to get past Rene. Now I am in the points. Sure it is only one point but it feels good that I made it into the points after being spun around. It doesn't take long for me to pick off Oliver Rowland. It was a little too easy to get past him though. After fifteen long and painful minutes of pushing the race has come to an end. I am glad. It doesn't take long for me to get back to the garage. I reluctantly pull myself out of the car. I take off my helmet and balaclava to reveal a look of disappointment on my face. The thing is I had the potential for a podium. Robin is just lucky that I don't have the energy to confront him. I am soon joined by Nyck.

"Come on Jess. I'll treat you tonight," Nyck says, trying to comfort me.

"Sorry, Nyck. I need to spend the night resting. It's been a long day," I know he is just trying to cheer me up but I am not going to play along. As I said, it has been a long day and I need to reset for tomorrow's race.