“Slow pit stop at Rennen,” Michael reported, satisfaction in his voice.“You’ve got some breathing room.”
I pushed hard on the new tires, trying to build space between us, trying to create enough cushion that even my hesitation in certain corners wouldn’t matter.For five precious laps, I let myself believe.The new tires gripped better, the car felt alive beneath me, and the gap between us held steady.I could win this.I couldactuallywin this.
Then Lily passed P3, and then P2.
I felt it before Michael said anything—that creeping uneasiness that started in my gut and spread through my chest.When his voice finally came through, it only confirmed what I already knew.
“Lily right behind,” Michael said, his tone shifting from confident to cautious.“One second faster than you that lap, Henri.”
Then came the moment I’d been dreading, the part of the track that just hadn’t worked for me all race.The part where I lost time to Lily.
The sharp hairpin stretched ahead of me, demanding everything—complete commitment and absolute trust.My brain knew exactly what to do.I’d taken this sequence a thousand times before.
But my body betrayed me.
My foot lifted without permission.A fraction of a second, nothing more.Just enough time for the panic to flood in:You’re going to crash, you’re going to crash, you’re going to—
The rear end stepped out.My hands moved on instinct, catching the slide, wrestling the car back into line.I kept it off the barriers; kept it pointing forward.
For a split second, relief washed through me.
Then I realized what I’d done.
That moment of fear had cost me everything.In my mirrors, I saw Lily commit where I’d hesitated.She dove inside, fearless and precise, and suddenly we were side by side.So close I could see her helmet, could almost feel the heat of her engine.
We hung there together—two cars, two drivers, one clean racing line.
Then she was ahead.
“Fuck!”The word exploded out of me.
“Stay calm,” Michael said, but I could hear the defeat in his voice.“Six laps left.You can still catch her.”
But I couldn’t, and we both knew it.
My tires were gone, shredded by my laps of desperation.Hers were newer, better, gripping where mine slid.And more than that, she wasn’t fighting herself.She was just driving.
I pushed anyway, because that’s what you do.You push until the checkered flag; until there’s nothing left to give.But with every new lap, she pulled further ahead.
By the time we came around for the final lap, the gap between our cars was four seconds and growing.I crossed the line in second place, the word “P2” tasting like failure.
Through my visor, blurred slightly by rain, I watched Lily climb from her car.She stood on the chassis, fist punching skyward, screaming her triumph to the gray Canadian sky.The entire Rennen garage erupted around her, jumping and hugging and celebrating the kind of victory I’d let slip through my fingers.
I couldn’t make myself move.The engine ticked as it cooled.Rain drummed against the car, and I just sat there, numb, trying to understand how I’d let this slip away.
When I finally forced myself out, my legs nearly gave out beneath me.I yanked off my helmet with shaking hands, rain immediately soaking through my hair, mixing with sweat and something that might have been tears.I kept my eyes down, looking anywhere except at her.
“Good drive,” Michael said through my earpiece, but it felt obligatory.We both knew it hadn’t been good enough.
The podium ceremony was torture.Standing one step down from Lily, watching her lift the trophy, listening to her anthem play while rain continued to fall.She sprayed champagne with the kind of abandon that came from genuine joy, soaking the crowd, soaking me, not caring about anything except her win.
When we finally escaped the podium, when the cameras had stopped rolling and the post-race interviews had ended, I couldn’t get away fast enough.My team tried to follow, Michael calling my name, but I didn’t stop until I’d reached my driver’s room.
My phone buzzed; probably Michael checking in on me.Maybe to talk about what had gone wrong, but there was no point.No strategy could fix what had happened out there.No tweak to the setup could mend what felt broken inside me or erase the fear lodged in my chest.
I kept seeing it.That moment in the corners when my body refused to obey.When panic seized my foot and lifted it just enough.Just long enough for Lily to see the opening and take everything.The rain continued outside, steady and relentless, drumming against the windows.I sat in the dark, staring at nothing, feeling the weight of it all crushing down.
I was now second in the championship.