"WHAT WAS THE PR stuff?" isabel asked. she didn't glance in max's direction at all as she pulled one of her assigned meals out of the fridge. she'd arrived in italy an hour earlier and had so far spent the time settling into the apartment. and avoiding max like the plague. the hotel room was silent up until this point, neither of them looking at all near the other.

max hesitated. will's words played in his head like a broken record, trying to force the words out. the apology was building up on his tongue. "uh—" his throat felt tight. he was sitting at the bench in the centre of the kitchen with his own breakfast half-eaten. clearing his throat, he said, "nothing." liar, he thought as will's voice intercepted his thought pattern.

'even if she doesn't want to hear it, she will hear you say it. apologise. be civil for once . . .'

'is your rivalry this important that you're willing to lose your seat . . .?'

isabel scoffed openly as she shut the fridge and left the kitchen. "whatever," she muttered under her breath, the urge to roll her eyes strong.

she was already pissed off because ferrari, lamborghini, mclaren and alphatauri were all staying in a different hotel. in hers was red bull, mercedes, alpine, aston martin and haas which meant that she really couldn't go ask to stay on the couch in someone else's hotel.

it was starting to feel like they were silencing isabel's cries for help by separating her from her close friends and family in the other teams — and even her own team. tori had already found out she had been spending nights in her friends' rooms instead of the one she was supposed to be in but isabel had completely given up.

none of this is fucking worth it, she dropped down onto her bed and opened up the container that held her breakfast. i'm more miserable than i was before.

x

IT DIDN'T TAKE A genius to realise that isabel leclerc was distracted.

fp1 left isabel in p5. fp2 was no better with p6. fp3 was the worst of them all with p8.

the urge to slam her hands into the wheel until it was broken was strong as she slowed down from the flying lap. "sorry, belle," harry's voice only made her feel worse, "that's p8. do you wanna know the ten?"

"may as well," isabel muttered in disappointment.

"verstappen, leclerc, norris, magnussen, alonso, ricciardo, perez, you, bottas, vettel. it's alright, kid, you know you can come back from this."

"sorry," isabel said as she drove around the track to head back to the pitlane. "i just— i can't work out the car," it was like all her senses had gone blank and she was a kid trying to work out a kart all over again. emilia-romagna was one of her better circuits: it was where she had earned the nickname of 'tinkerbelle' years ago now when she had won her first ever grand prix. but right now it was looking like this circuit could be her downfall.

the nickname had derived from her rookie year at this circuit. after a terrible qualifying that landed her in p16, she had spent almost the entire race battling drivers with years and years of more experience than she had. between turn twelve and turn sixteen during a later lap, she had managed to weave around the whole midfield until she got to p4. from there, in the remaining laps, isabel managed to outplay lewis, valtteri and charles and go on to win the grand prix. she'd been compared to tinkerbell in the way that she quickly weaved around the other cars at a high speed as if it were nothing, and the nickname had stuck ever since.

"don't worry about it," harry tried to lift her spirits. "you'll be fine once the race starts. you're overthinking too much." she knew harry was right. he'd been with her since her rookie year and he probably knew her better than she knew herself.

when she was in the garage and out of her car, isabel hadn't expected daniel to walk up to her as he was passing the garage to get to the paddock.

he knocked on her helmet twice until she lifted up her visor. he could just see her eyes crinkling in a slight smile through the gap. "thought i'd stop by," his usual smile was pasted on his lips, immediately forcing one to try slip through her disappointment. everything about daniel ricciardo was contagious, even if mclaren looked like it was wearing down his energy more and more with every passing week.

"hey, danny ric," isabel greeted as she took off her helmet and then the balaclava under it. despite being tied back in a plait, her hair was already frizzing up from all the heat.

"i'm headin' to the paddock to go do some interviews . . . and to go mess with the others," daniel explained with a sly smile. "wanna come with?" he didn't know her as well as lando did, but he knew that a p8 from her in fp3 was enough to dampen her energy and burn out the spark that she needed for qualifying. "i promise it'll cheer you up."

that was another thing about daniel ricciardo: it was impossible to say no to him. "okay," she nodded as she slipped off her gloves and dropped them inside her helmet with her balaclava. "give me one minute, yes?"

"no worries," daniel nodded and remained in the garage as isabel quickly went to her driver room to wipe her face and put on more deodorant.

x

THE PADDOCK WAS BUZZING by the time that daniel and isabel got there. drivers were being interviewed inside the media pen but there were some that were talking to journalists in the spaces around it.

"i can see pierre," isabel nudged daniel as she gestured to the media pen.

daniel's grin was instant. "man, you're my favourite," he decided before walking closer to the pen. "pieeeerrrrrrreeee gaaaasssslllyyyyy!"

pierre instantly burst out into a fit of chuckles mid-sentence as he turned towards the culprit. daniel's loud laughter was a dead giveaway in helping pierre spot him, and his chuckles turned into laughs when he saw isabel waving at him dramatically beside the aussie.

"oh my god," pierre shook his head with a laugh.

daniel pointed at george russell. "odds on you tackling george to the floor?"

"out of, like, twenty," isabel answered as she glanced at george. he looked like he was in the midst of a very professional question based off his facial expressions.

"easy," daniel nodded. "on three. three . . . two . . . one . . ."

"seven."

"seven."

"oh, mate," isabel broke out into a fit of giggles alongside daniel at the fact that they said the same number at the same time. "i knew i should have fourteen."

"go on," daniel nudged her forward. "i wanna witness this before i gotta go."

"fine," isabel rolled her eyes before walking into the media pen and quickly making her way over to george before the lady interviewing him could give her away. from what she could hear, he was being asked an incredibly professional question about mercedes that she was about to interrupt.

without warning, she jumped onto his back and leaned all her weight forwards so that he would move that same way. george grunted as he lost his balance and ended up half-kneeling on the fake grass. "isabel, is that you?" he asked as he got over his shock.

"yep," isabel grinned as she climbed off him and held out her hand. her and george were good friends, but not close enough for her to properly tackle him to the floor like she would have with carlos or pierre. "you miss me?"

"sure," george chuckled as he took her extended hand to help himself up. "always a pleasure, belle."

isabel was about the leave when the woman with the microphone glanced between the two drivers. "you two seem like you've been friends for a long time," she laughed.

"i did karting with him, alex, and lando," isabel informed the woman. "i moved around to a couple different groups, from charles and pierre," and max, she thought bitterly, "to them."

"she was almost the youngest out of us all," george added, "and the only girl. being young, we all thought she wasn't that good until she beat us all. yeah . . . we became friends after that."

isabel laughed. "i live to prove men wrong," she then turned to face george. "i'll let you get back to it. good luck for quali!"

"you too!" george smiled at her before she walked away.

"really quick! isabel!" a man called out, a hint of an english accent lacing his words. isabel almost considered pretending she didn't hear him so that she could leave the media pen sooner but decided against it. tori wouldn't be impressed.

"ciao," she greeted the man as she walked over to the fenced edge that he was standing on the outside of.

"hi," he said back before delving into his question. "i couldn't help but notice your free practice results. are there issues with the car again?"

"non," she shook her head. "just getting a feel for the track again, that is all." a total lie. it was believable enough because last year, emilia-romagna was the second race of the season and isabel ended up in a mix up with george russell on the first turn which had forced her to retire on the first lap.

"ah, understandable," isabel nodded kindly at him and tried to excuse herself when he spoke again. "let's talk about australia. many believe it was your fault. do you have anything to say to that?"

isabel's eyes widened unnoticeably as she quickly and subtly looked around for a way to get out of the conversation. she spotted daniel thankfully, and she was even more relieved when he was already walking in the rough direction that she was in to leave the pen.

daniel immediately noticed isabel's eyes flash with a silent plea of help. he changed direction just a little so that he was walking over to her instead. "aye, belle!" daniel loudly greeted as he slung his arm around the younger girl's shoulder.

the man's question about australia was left forgotten at the sight of daniel. "hi, daniel," isabel leaned into him a little, silently trying to explain that she wanted to leave.

on the spot before the man could even speak, daniel sputtered absolute bullshit. "sorry to interrupt but i've gotta steal isabel away from you," he then turned to look at isabel. "family discussion. arthur called it."

"oh!" isabel nodded as she looked at the man outside the pen. it was believable enough because arthur was here at imola with the f3 teams. "i'm very sorry to cut this short!" she apologised. "it was lovely talking to you."

"no worries," the man nodded. "it was lovely talking to you, belle."

isabel internally cringed at the way he said her nickname but nodded anyway. "another time, then," she said quickly before leaving the pen with daniel. "you are a lifesaver," she whispered.

"anything to help a damsel in distress," daniel joked as his arm dropped from her shoulder. "good luck in quali."

"same to you, and thank you again," isabel bid him goodbye and walked off to another section of the paddock.

x

THE THIRD QUALIFYING SESSION wasn't off to a bad start. on her first flying lap, isabel managed to secure a p3, but other drivers were getting faster and pushing her down to p8.

"one cool down and then you can go again," harry told her. they were in the midst of q3, so there was definitely better than p8.

"copy," isabel mumbled, too focused on the cars around her. one lap passed, and then she went again.

qualifying was painful when cars were amidst cool down laps and flying laps. it was notorious for causing angered drivers and sometimes accidents when drivers didn't veer to a certain side to let others doing flying laps go past.

isabel completed another flying lap as soon as the cool down was over. "how much time?" she asked quickly, immediately lapsing into the cooldown so that she could go again.

"4 minutes," harry answered her radio message. "that one was p6. come on, belle, bring it home."

"what's the order?" she asked, fingers tapping against the steering wheel, antsy to wait a whole lap just to go again.

"verstappen, leclerc, norris, magnussen, alonso, you. we're happy with p6, belle, but i suggest you go again."

"on it," isabel hit her radio button to break contact before taking a deep breath. as soon as her car crossed the line, she went for another flying lap.

after annoyingly almost ending up going straight through kevin magnussen's car because he was in the middle of a cooldown, isabel lost some time but didn't let it rattle her. you can come back from any position, she told herself as she shifted her gears higher upon approaching the straight to the line. you've done it before.

isabel hit her radio button the second she crossed the line. "i do not think i did much better," she said, half her words unintelligible by her panting laced with her accent. "how was it?"

"p4, belle. p—fucking—4! finish your lap and head back in," she could hear the smile in harry's voice. "'m proud of you, kid."

"thanks, harry, i appreciate it," isabel dropped a few gears as she headed around the circuit once more in a slow manner. "grid for tomorrow?"

"verstappen got pole. then it's leclerc, norris, you, magnussen. noah's starting p9."

despite the fact that she obviously wanted better, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that lando was starting p3 tomorrow. and charles with a p2 start? he's definitely starting the season off strong, she thought as she slowed even further to enter the pitlane. "rolling in now," she told harry.

x

IT HAD RAINED ALL night. the track was going to be wet for the race.

the race was beginning soon, and even though the rain had settled, isabel was still uneasy. not for herself, though. for noah.

noah's wet-weather driving wasn't on the level of some of the other drivers but it was more so a confidence issue than anything. he spun out in france last year due to the torrential rain and ended up breaking a number of his fingers and spraining his wrist. he still drove the next races despite the injuries, but it was clear that it had taken its toll on him since it was only his firs year.

"drive safe," isabel embraced noah. "we care about you being safe more than whatever result you get, okay?"

"okay," noah nodded against her shoulder before pulling away. "drive safe, too. i'll see you after the race."

"see you then," isabel smiled once more before walking around to head into her garage. minutes from there, she was settled into her car with the help of her team and listening to harry go over some last minute things.

"go on, kid," harry pat the top of her helmet per usual. "safe race, yeah?"

"yeah," isabel nodded as she flipped down her visor. determination coursed through her as she waited for the signal for her to roll out of the garage to join the others on the track. this was her australia redemption race. somehow she had managed to cop the blame from fans about the collision max had with her, and she was determined to prove them all wrong once again.

isabel took notice of the stands as soon as she entered the track from the pitlane. the seas were red and gold for ferrari and lamborghini, putting the two teams on high pedestals for today's race. extra pressure was on them because of it, so they had to make it count.

isabel stopped behind charles on the grid once the formation lap came to an end. "come on," isabel muttered to herself as the other drivers began to settle into their spots. "this is your race."

the red lights were beginning to illuminate one by one and everything fell silent to isabel. as each one flickered to life, she thought about the five things she was racing for.

for her family.

for those she'd lost.

for jules. the one who got her into motorsport in the first place.

for women in motorport. to prove that women could do the same thing and be just as successful, and then even better.

and mostly importantly. for herself.

each light represented one of them and flashed through her mind every time she was waiting beneath those lights. flashes of jules' smile, her brothers and her playing with hot wheels cars in the backyard, going with charles and pierre to lay flowers at the spa circuit, her first f1 race, her first grand prix win . . . it all ran through her mind like a montage in the short amount of time that those red lights were illuminated for.

the lights extinguished.

"it's lights out and away we go!"

imola was a track that was difficult to read, even more so when it had been raining. it was technical and had complex curves.

lap one. within the first few turns on the first lap, charles had dropped from p2 to p5. isabel was comfortably sitting in p2 with lando behind her, and checo was behind him.

sector one got yellow flagged seconds later. daniel hit carlos caused them to both spin off the track and into the gravel. daniel managed to keep going, but carlos got stuck.

"radio check," harry voiced.

"loud and clear," isabel answered.

"there's a safety car. ricciardo took out sainz."

"is carlos okay?" isabel asked immediately as she slowed for the conditions.

"yeah, no crash involved. car got stuck in the gravel."

isabel sighed in relief.

lap eight. charles managed to overtake lando just before the chicane, dropping lando to p4. glancing in her mirrors, isabel noticed the ferrari but wasn't worried as of right now since there was a huge gap still.

lap thirteen. isabel was still stuck behind max in p2. "weather update," harry said over the radio, "we've got some class 0 to 1 rain in the next thirty minutes."

"thank you," isabel said quickly as she focused back on max. being in the drs zone and within one second from max, she activated it to pull out and overtake but he defended her roughly, forcing her to fall back in behind his car and wait for another opportunity.

lap nineteen. her radio chimed. "box, box. you have enough time."

"if you are sure," isabel slowed as she pulled into the pitlane and stopped once she reached the mechanics. she had new tires put on and was leaving again in under two seconds. she rolled back out onto the track in p3 since charles hadn't pitted. checo was now sitting p4 with lando in p5.

lap twenty-one. charles finally pitted since he had a decent enough gap with isabel. her car slid a little around the turns which lost her time, but up ahead she could just see charles roll back onto the track.

the best part? isabel had warmer tires than her brother did.

she moved to the right to fake an overtake, which forced charles to move over to that same side to block her. as soon as he moved, she drove wide to her left and shifted into a higher gear before overtaking him into turn six.

lap thirty-five. sitting p1 after overtaking max with drs, isabel's radio chimed. "you've got the fastest lap so far. 1:18.445. hold onto that and you'll get the extra point."

"let me know if anyone gets quicker, then," isabel responded before hitting her radio button once more.

lap fifty-four. the race order was currently max, isabel, charles and then checo as isabel flawlessly made it through the chicane and gained more speed to close in on max, one glance in her mirrors and she saw a red car spin. charles.

"harry?" isabel asked as sector three got yellow flagged. "what's—"

"he's fine," harry quickly cut her off. "he's back on the track now, green flag. just hit the corner wrong."

in the time that it took for charles to recorrect himself, charles dropped positions drastically."order is now verstappen, you, norris, perez, russell."

"copy," isabel noticed the orange car in her mirrors. lando was a safe distance away so she had no reason to defend as of right now.

lap sixty-two. max was in front of isabel by eight seconds and would be difficult to catch with his constantly increasing speed and it being the second last lap. lando was almost five seconds behind her and trying to close in. she knew she couldn't catch max in these track conditions, especially since red bull had the better cars.

she could settle for a p2 since she still held the fastest lap and would therefore earn an extra point because of it, and if lando could hold off checo for the final lap and a half, it would mean that she could share a podium with him for the first time in a while and red bull wouldn't earn as many points.

lap sixty-three. final lap. max comfortably won with an eleven second gap. isabel crossed the line in p2, and lando then crossed it seven seconds after her after blocking all of checo's attacks.

"that's p2, belle!" harry cheered, and isabel could faintly hear cheers from the rest of the team. "nicely done! first ten is verstappen, you, norris, perez, russell, bottas, leclerc, tsunoda, vettel, noah. congratulations!"

x

"CONGRATS ON YOUR RACE today," a brunette woman dressed formally said to isabel outside her garage.

"thank you," isabel smiled kindly at the woman, trying to ignore the big camera that was pointed at her face.

"this season is off to a great start for you so far with sixty-two points. how are you feeling?"

"honestly, i feel great," isabel replied. it was mostly the truth considering she knew she could've earned more points in australia. "i hope i have many more good races to come."

"that's always the spirit," the woman smiled with a nod. "question for you before we let you go, are there any pre-race rituals you have?"

isabel shrugged. "not really. i sometimes sit in my car for a while before the race to get myself in the zone, but that's really it. i haven't figured one out yet."

"whatever you're doing seems to be working," the reporter said, "between us, i'm a proud lamborghini fan, and i wish you the best for the rest of this season!"

isabel's cheeks tinged pink at the rare compliment. "grazie! grazie," she smiled. "much appreciated! lovely talking to you," she bid the reporter goodbye before leaving once the reporter began to focus on another driver.

isabel had heard the dutch national anthem so many times that she could probably sing it if necessary. she completely ignored max once the champagne bottles were broken out and instead celebrated with lando. his iconic celebration left her drenched in alcohol. as soon as he had slammed the bottle down onto the floor and it erupted, he immediately turned it on her.

as soon as isabel went to celebrate with her team, lando and max gravitated together to celebrate.

alicia sputtered as her driver sprayed her with champagne but then broke out into a laugh before embracing the girl. "good job, kid, you did amazing."

isabel beamed. "thanks, alicia, couldn't have done it without you."