“You are not implying that my car is easier to drive than Rafael’s.”Thomas scoffs.“He’s the one who couldn’t handle how sensitive it was. They had to dumb it down for him.”
Hopefully Rafael doesn’t know any French.
“Both cars have the same braking systems,” Lorenzo says. “Is that all?”
If they’re supposed to be the same, then something’s definitely wrong. “No, sir. I drove Rafael’s car for two months. I know how it feels. The brakes are definitely worse in his car.”
“Julien, stop this. It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s much harder to brake, which might be the reason why Rafael downshifts so early before turns.” Julien looks around at the engineers along the table, but only the Brazilian driver meets his eye. “You can see it in the data. It could also be the shifts, but?—”
“It’s thebrakes!”Rafael says, whipping his head to Davide. “I bring it up everysingleweekend. The brakes don’t react! It’s never been so bad before.”
“We’ve changed the discs and pads for every race,” Davide assures him. “The brake system as a whole hasn’t been alteredsince you tested the car before the start of the year. You didn’t have an issue with it then.”
“I know I’m right,” Julien says. “I couldn’t place where I did today in Rafael’s car. I would’ve needed more practice.”
Thomas smacks the table with his fist hard enough for his computer to jump.“Are you implying Ferraro has given me an advantage? Why would they purposely downgrade one of their cars?!”
“I’m not saying you have an advantage, but Rafael is definitely at a disadvantage.”
“It’s pathetic. Just because you fucked him?—”
“Jesus, Thomas!” In front of everybody?! “This is why I didn’t want to say anything! Rafael hates me, you hate me, but I’m the only person in this entire fucking room who has driven both cars. I know what I’m talking about!”
The entire table silently stares at the brothers until Rafael asks, “What can we do about it before tomorrow?”
“We’re under parc ferme conditions until the race. We can only bleed the brakes without a penalty.” Davide scratches at his temple with the eraser of his pencil. “If we dismantle the car to even check the brakes, you’d start from pit lane.”
“Are we seriously considering a pit lane start when Red Boar is so close to us in the championship?” a strategist asks. “They’re both on the front row. It’s hard enough to catch up to them with our current…abilities.”
“I’m a good driver,” Rafael shoots back. “I can overtake the entire field if I’m in a car thatworks.”
Lorenzo clears his throat and the room falls to a hush. “We do not know if the brake system is actually a problem. We might not know until after the car is torn apart. All we have to work from is Julien’s limited experience. Rafael?—”
The Brazilian driver nods once.
“—You know what we expect of you. Are you willing to risk your seat on a pit lane start tomorrow?”
His seat?! No one said anything about Rafael’s career being on the line!
What if Julienismisremembering? What if he had a faulty shoe or something? Is his experience worth Rafael’s entire life?
“You know me, Lorenzo. I can overtake anyone with a solid car.”
“I think the better question is whether you are willing to trust a reserve driver’s diagnosis.” The team principal turns to Julien. He seems unimpressed by what he sees. “You have no mechanical background? No engineering? Do you work on cars as a hobby or something?”
“No, sir.” When it’s laid out like that, whowouldtrust him? “I, uh, drive a lot of different types of cars. I’m sensitive to their differences.”
“You mean on your computer?”Thomas scoffs.“This is real life, not a video game.”
Well, it doesn’t matter either way. The question is whether or not Rafael would trust the opinion of areservedriver—something he has already expressed no interest in doing.
Julien tries to keep his face as neutral as possible as the strategists discuss the pros and cons of waiting until the next race to change anything.
Rafael’s voice cuts through the noise. “What do you think I should do?”
When nobody replies, Julien looks up to see Rafael staring back at him. “Me?!”
