The sound of drizzling rain rings through the garage. It has been a month since the trail ride and the time has come for the action to start up again. Only, I am not sure if the Belgian Grand Prix will even go ahead. Still, my team and I are working to get the car ready for Mick. I can feel the tension oozing from the rest of the team. Luckily for me, there is not much that my team has to do since there has been little action. The first thing that I notice as I pull myself away from the car is the fact that Mick is pacing. That can only mean one thing. I am quick to excuse myself.

"Mick are you alright?" I caught the German's attention.

"Not really. The forecast says the rain is only going to get worse," Mick explains as he comes to a stop in front of me. I try to think of things that I could say to reassure him. Nothing comes to mind. Wet races usually end in disaster and I know for a fact that Mick can't afford any more disasters this season.

"I hope that either the forecasts are wrong or we don't race," I responded. Mick nods in agreement. After a few minutes of waiting, Mick has shed his raincoat and replaced it with his helmet and balaclava. With My help, Mick is quick to get comfortable in the car. I find myself glancing at Cal before giving Mick the go-ahead to start the second free practice session. After a few tense minutes of watching the data, the rain falls silent. A sigh of relief ripples through the crew. Still, I am a little on edge as the track has to dry. After a quite thirty minutes the first free practice session has come to an end and I am relieved for two reasons. Not only was the free practice session quiet Mick didn't give me much work to do. Right now I am getting ready to go. Unfortunately, it is wet again. It seems like the world is against us for this race. I am quick to don my raincoat. I get to work on sprinting to the car. Even though I am relatively quick I still get a soaking. After a minute of waiting, Mick joins me. He is more annoyed than ever.

"What's wrong?" I tentatively ask.

"I spent most of the free practice sessions sliding. It's not your fault. The tires can only do so much," Mick replies. A sigh falls from my mouth.

"You should try watching," The words fell out of my mouth before I thought about it. Damit Morgan. Thankfully Mick is driving.

"Sorry, that was bad. I spoke without thinking," I apologise to cover my tracks.

"It's all good you're stressed. You are not the only one," Mick counters. He is right but that is still no excuse. I find myself watching the water droplets race down my window. The truth is I am worried about Mick. If anything happens to him my personal life will be ruined. What I am trying to say is the thought of what happened to grandpa happening to Mick has just invaded my thoughts. Thankfully it doesn't take long for us to reach the hotel.

"Hey Mick, can we talk? I have something that I need to get off my chest. I've been thinking about something," I remarked. This time I meant to bring up the topic.

"Of course," He replies. I followed him into his small room. I take a position at the end of the bed. There is just one problem. I am at a loss for words. I try to pull the words from my mouth however they refuse to budge. Instead, the stupidest thing falls from my mouth.

"Can you promise me that you will be careful?" I say. I inwardly cringe at the fact that I am asking Mick to promise something that is hard to do.

"I can't really promise that much but I will try," Mick's response catches me off guard. It is the day after and this time the drizzle has given way to a downpour. It is official. This day has gone from bad to worse. After a minute in the soaking rain, Mick and I made it to our respective places. To my horror, the garage has a small sheet of water on the floor. Oh well. That means I'll get wet if there is anything that I need to do to the undertray of the car.

"Proklyatiya. Not only do I have to work with an idiot,  I also have to keep him safe," Yuri moans as he joins me. I put his annoyance down to the fact that it is going to be a wet one. There is a part of me that is hoping that the session may be delayed further.

"Well, you should get back to work," I counter. In saying that I do understand how he feels.

"I've done everything that I need to do. To my surprise, there was not much. Would you like some help?" He offers. I glance at the car. It looks like my team has everything under control. That means the only tasks that need to be done involve getting the water out of the garage.

"The only things that I can think of are mundane," I say. After a couple of hours of delays, the time has come for the qualifying to begin. I can feel the air being drained out of my lungs as I watch the cars go around. For a majority of the drivers, it looks like they are sliding rather than driving. That means the full wet tires are at their limits. Just so long as no one slides into the barrier.

"These conditions are horrible. I don't know if I can improve my time," Mick announces after five minutes of pushing.

"Mick don't worry about it till Q2," Cal replies. After what feels like an eternity the first round has come to an end. To my shock, Mick has made it to Q2. Don't get me wrong it is good but the weather must be making it hard for Mick and the others. This time Q2 flies by. Unfortunately Mick misses on Q1 by one place. For some reason, I don't budge from the pit wall. My eyes are glued to the broadcast. It is showing Lando Norris who is on his first flying lap. It doesn't take long for disaster to strike. The rear end of Lando's car loses grip going over the crest of Raidillon. The next thing I know is that Lando's car is wedged in the barrier.

"Dammit," I utter. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. I finally managed to tear myself away from the broadcast. I make a beeline for the car. It doesn't take long for the action to start up again. Luckily for the others, there is not much action.

"Morgan, if it is like this tomorrow I will not race," Mick announces before leaving the garage. I can make a pretty good guess as to why he is not staying back to help me. At least he has expressed doubts about this race.

It is the day after and it is an all-hands-on-deck situation. It's not the kind you would expect from a Formula 1 race. Since the weather has not improved at all the race has been delayed. The reason why it is an all-hands-on-deck situation is all of the work is done on both sides of the garage and we are trying to think of ways to keep ourselves occupied before the rollout. It is proving to be a challenge. I am quick to notice that the Williams crew are holding a rubber duck race. I find myself watching until I notice someone in a green race suit.

"Hey what can I do for you, Seb?" I ask.

"I'm just looking for Mick," Sebastian responds.

"I think he is finishing a game of chess with his trainer. I'll find him for you," I reply. To be honest I am just using this as an excuse to stretch my legs.

"Thank you," Sebastian says as I leave. I am quick to pull my hood over my head. I make a mad dash towards Mick's driver's room. Despite my rush to get there I am drenched. Just in case he is with his trainer I knock on the door.

"Come in," Mick's trainer replies. The first thing that I notice as I enter is the fact that the game has just finished which is good for me.

"I'm just letting you know that Seb wants to speak to you, Mick," I deliver my message. Mick seems happy that he has been rescued from the game.

"Ok. We'll continue this during the Dutch Grand Prix," Mick announces to his trainer. With a few swift movements, Mick gets his bennie and raincoat on. Now that he is ready we make the mad dash back to the garage. Luckily for me, the dash back is quicker since Mick is dragging me along. As soon as Mick spots Sebastian his face lights up. After a tense conversation between the pair, Mick disappears for a second. It doesn't take long for him to reappear with a football.

"Do you want to join?" Mick asks as he gets to work on juggling it between himself and Sebastian.

"Nah. I have no skill," I responded. The truth is outside of Formula 1 I'm not good at most sports that require skills. Besides, I'm happy watching. I'm not that bored yet. The thing is I get the feeling that we are going to have a long wait. As the wait drags on the various teams find creative ways to keep occupied. Now it is getting boring. After a literal eternity, we receive the go-ahead to get the car ready for the rollout. Of course, the announcement has me on edge but I know for a fact that Mick won't do anything stupid.

"Just so you are aware Mick, it will be a safety car start. It's just to give time for the race director to work out if the track is really safe," I eavesdrop on the conversation between Mick and Cal. To be honest it is not that hard since we can hear via the radio.

"Thank you for letting me know. The thing is I am going to follow the safety car in. I don't think the weather is going to improve," Mick responds. Luckily for me, he didn't mention our promise. After five minutes of waiting the time has come for the attempt at a race. A single light comes on to signify the start of the rolling start. Immediately I notice how much spray the full wet tires are flinging up.

"Come on Mick, bring the car home," I catch myself uttering. Luckily for me, Mick has made it clear that he is not going to race. As if on cue Mick's voice sounds via the radio.

"I can't see enough," Those words make my stomach drop. I reckon Mick isn't the only one struggling. In fact, the only person who doesn't seem to be struggling is Max. It is due to the fact that the tires on the safety car are not kicking up as much spray. I am surprised that Mick was the first one to complain. I suppose it is taking every ounce of Nikita's concentration to keep it out of the wall. After a minute and a half, the first lap had ended. No luck. After the next lap and a few complaints from both Mick and Nikita, there is still no luck. A third lap. Still nothing. As the train comes through the start/finish straight the voice of the race director comes on the radio.

"Attention all drivers you are to head back to the pits after this lap. The race will not go ahead on safety grounds," The race director announces. That must mean that he has had many complaints from the various team principals. After a couple of minutes, I am flooded with relief as Mick brings the car to a full stop in the garage. With some help, Mick is quick to get out of the car. It doesn't take long for my team and I to descend on the car. After an hour of work, the time has come for Mick and I to leave. After one last mad dash, we made it to the car.

"Thank you," I find myself thanking Mick for some reason. I guess it is sheer relief talking. I honestly couldn't tell you.

"For what? The promise was just as useless as this weekend," Mick replies. I hear the frustration ooze from his voice.

"I think the only reason why they did those five laps was so that those fighting for the championship could get points. Besides it's better for a promise to be useless instead of broken," I mustered some much-needed optimism. I notice the corners of Mick's lips raise into a smile.

A/N I want to apologise to those that would rather forget Spa 2021 but I needed something to fill in the gap between the trail ride and the next piece of drama. If you have read the previous version of this story you already know what is going to happen. Anyway since this is an author's note I am going to ask that you vote and/or comment on this story if you are enjoying it.