‘Thanks Minnie.’
I run my tongue across my front teeth. She thinks this is over, but it’s far from it.
Chapter 6
MINNIE
The media viewing room’s a far cry from the Paddock Club’s. Sixty-ish journalists are yabbering in twenty-five languages around the screens, but all quietens as the grid’s lights switch off one by one, and the engines roar to life.
Jack powers off the line.
Micah catches up to him by the first corner, obscuring them both in a shower of orange sparks.
Étienne swerves to avoid Eilo and nearly smacks into Kurt.
A DFK makes contact with an Alpha Prime at the back.
Everyone manages to make it to Turn 2, with Jack already widening his gap at the front. My heart’s hammering against my ribs from the excitement.
While the journalists around me are tapping feverishly on iPads, I uncap my fluffy pen and scribble notes. The chatter resumes, with particularly loud German and Spanish phone calls making it difficult to hear Brian and our lead commentator through my earphones.
Eighteen laps later, all that changes. Étienne and his teammate Tom Webber are fighting side-by-side for third place, and the commentary is anything but quiet. I can imagine the colourful swearing Étienne’s barking down his team radio,which I’m sure he’ll be scolded for later. He’s no stranger to FIA fines. Brian refers to him as ‘the hot-headed Frenchman’ and I pin my lips together, imagining Étienne’s reaction when he watches the race back.
I hold my breath as he leads into Turn 7, only to be overtaken immediately after. The Martinellis take Turn 8 together, but Étienne has the stronger racing line and inches ahead on the straight. Bolstered by DRS, Tom soars ahead like he’s released NOS, cuts back at the apex, and brakes aggressively. His fresher tyres and superior grip allow him to be tougher on the brakes, and he cements his position with finesse. The Australian driver has fifteen years on Étienne, being the oldest driver on the grid. The judgement, the lines, the calculated risk – it all reeks of experience.
It’s this event Brian exclusively focuses on during our show’s post-race segment. Not Jack’s comfortable win, Kurt retiring with a failed power unit, or Matteo D’Ambrosio climbing from sixteenth to eighth. Maybe viewers want two-thirds of the show dedicated to one battle – it was exciting, and who am I to come in fresh and start demanding changes?
I do, however, know you have to work in motorsport to fully grasp the jargon Brian’s throwing around. Channel 3 is a free public broadcast station, and our audience is mass. I have a whole notebook dedicated to the show’s demographic data. Over the last three years, viewership has plateaued. Last year, it even declined a bit. And I think I know how we can fix it.
Sky viewers need to buy a dedicated sports package to view their content; we’re free. We have the power to reach people with no prior affiliation to the sport or even sports in general. We can diversify F1’s UK audience.
However, only 4% of our current audience are female. F1 has hundreds of entry points for women – the high-octane competition, the team drama, the glamour, the sex appeal, thecars. Similarly, we’re not reaching men under thirty-five. Why? We’re not talking to them in a language they understand.
With patronising terminology, inaccessible verbiage and references from twenty years ago, Brian’s only speaking to the viewers we already have. Most of them are probably his die-hard fans from ‘the good old days’.Vom.
My body fizzes with the possibility of making a tangible difference. It’s been so long since I’ve felt useful and proactive, spotted an opportunity and acted on it. I have a year to get that graph pointing northwards. Brian’s the expert; I’ll be the everywoman to counterbalance. The youth to his seasoned veteran. The entertainment to his serious stats.
‘Sublimeuse of brake bias adjustments there from Webber,’ Brian enthuses, standing to the side of the portable screen showing replays for the thirtieth time. ‘Really helped keep Blanchet at bay going into Turn 11.’
I resist the urge to roll my eyes when Krunal says, nodding like a dashboard dog, ‘Another excellent point.’ All he does is enable Brian. He never disagrees with anything. If things are going to get better around here, it’s for sure not going to come from Krunal.
‘Just stunning. I haven’t seen racecraft like that since Luca Zanetti,’ Brian goes on. ‘His wheel-to-wheel with Jack at Zandvoort comes to mind. Simply stunning.’
‘It really was great entertainment,’ Krunal agrees. For crying out loud, stop nodding! ‘Tom’s got the experience and Étienne’s got the hunger and, now in his third season, he’s much more capable of matching his teammate. I think we’re in for some great battles this year. This is only the start.’
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
I’m mid-working out a way to nudge the conversation towards Kurt and Eilo, who are also teammates to keep an eyeon, when Brian swivels his gaze to me. ‘Was Étienne always this feisty, Minnie?’
Wow, nice of you to remember I’m here.
His use of ‘feisty’ is unsettling. ‘Sure. He’s an incredibly passionate driver, and that can work for and against?—’
‘Do any school memories come to mind? You have known each other a long time.’
Where’s this going? ‘Ever since I’ve known him, he’s been enthusiastic about the sport.’ That feels suitably evasive.
‘Was he well-liked?’
