The paddock was already baking. By mid-morning the tarmac would be a griddle. I tugged the collar of my polo shirtand tucked the tablet under my arm as we turned into the garage.
The energy had shifted. Everyone was still moving — engineers checking tire temps, mechanics running diagnostics — but the usual smooth rhythm felt... jagged. Like they weren’t sure whether to meet my eye or keep their heads down.
Callum sat on a folding chair, helmet between his knees, fiddling with the chin strap. He glanced up as I passed and gave me a single, grudging nod.
“Nice move,” he said, not quite under his breath.
I didn’t slow down.
Heidi cornered me the second I stepped onto the gantry.
“Aleks.” She said it like a warning, not a greeting.
I turned. She looked like she’d already been up for twenty hours — hair scraped back, phone in one hand, stylus clutched in the other.
“You should’ve cleared it with me.”
“I know.”
“You put us in a difficult position.”
“I know.”
She crossed her arms, staring me down. “And?”
I hesitated. Then, “It needed to be said.”
She watched me for a beat. Then, unbelievably, smiled.
“You’re lucky it landed as well as it did. If you’d flinched once on camera, I’d be fielding sponsor walkouts right now.”
I didn’t smile back. But I held her gaze long enough that she knew I was listening. Maybe even grateful.
“Go find Patel,” she said, already turning away. “Valerie wants both cars on track as early as possible.”
I found Patel at the back of the garage, reviewing telemetry from last year’s data. He was wiry, clean-cut, and barely looked old enough to rent a car. When I stopped beside him, he looked up and nodded, tight-lipped.
“Morning,” he said. “Ready to see how it feels out there?”
I folded my arms. “We’ve run one sim session. You going to keep up when the car’s moving for real?”
That got a flicker of a smile. “I learn fast.”
He held my gaze for half a beat too long, then glanced back to his tablet. Confident. Not cocky. I liked that.
“Turn Ten usually gives a bit of understeer,” he added, almost casually. “Let’s get a baseline run in, then we’ll see where we stand.”
I gave him a short nod and moved on. I didn’t need warm and fuzzy from my race engineer. I needed fast and accurate. Patel might be green, but he had potential. And for now, that would have to be enough.
Practice One went smoothly. The car felt twitchy on the corners, but stable enough on the straights. I kept the radio chatter to a minimum. Patel was efficient, focused, and mercifully not overeager.
After the session, I peeled off my gloves and climbed out of the car. Valerie Lin was waiting just outside the garage, arms folded, tablet tucked to her chest. She didn’t say anything — just nodded once.
“That’s all?” I asked.
“I’ve got six FIA compliance inspections to prep for and half a team still in meltdown. You showed up. You drove clean. That’s all I need from you today.”
Fair enough.
