| Fan Fiction |
by SeventhStar
Here I am. In front of the gate of Sepang International Circuit. I hold the green pass card that hanging around my neck. It written “Wu Ji Zun , Official Petronas – Honda Test Driver. With this green card, I could come out and in to the circuit in the testing time freely. For your information there is no winter in Sepang because Malaysia is a tropical country. But still we called it as a winter test because according to the climate in Europe as majority countries in Formula one, it held in the winter season time.
Today was the first time I drove for Formula One. I’ve been in race career since I was 6 years old. Started from carting just like another drivers, since the first time I could touch the steer and break in the right time, I knew drive will be the only one that I will do for the rest of my life. Grew up in a small country like Brunei Darussalam, it never made me gave up my big dream.
As you should know, to be a professional driver, money and country support really a big deal. Fortunately I had family whom really support me and let me reached my dream by moving to Sweden so it made me easier to follow the race competition that being held in Europe. That decision made me able to compete with European drivers since the beginning of my career. So here I am, with a full confidence to beat and take over every driver in front of me.
I walked through the gate, exactly at the moment when I heard something beside me. A little girl fell in the ground while she wanted to reach her Ferrari replica that I thought must be fell before her self fell. I immediately helped her. “Hi.. little girl, are you okay?”
Then she turned her head to me. I’m so surprised she had a Chinese look. It’s so rare to found an Asian people here, because the community in Formula One dominated by European. She has really big adorable eyes with a pony tail in her hair. I bet she is four years old. Surprise to see I saw a green pass card hanging in her neck. She must be a relation of one of the people in the paddock.
“I’m okay Sir. Thank you”. With help from my hand, she stood from the ground and immediately cleaned up her dress. “Mom will be angry if she see me with a dirty cloth and hold the Ferrari replica.”
“What’s wrong with the Ferrari replica? Nothing wrong with it isn’t it? Is it because it so expensive and you made it fell?”. I can’t help my self to ask her because she seemed so worry on all over her pretty face.
She opened her mouth and said. “No… It because…”.
Before she could continue her words, a voice broke our conversation. A voice from a woman that immediately holds the little girl in her arms. “Dearie! What I always said to you! Never leave the room behind the garage! It is so dangerous! My heart almost stopped beating when I didn’t see you there!”
The little girl pouted her mouth and with puppy eyes she looked into that woman. I noticed the woman has almost same eyes and lips like the little girl. “I just wanted to see…”
Then the woman saw the Ferrari replica that the little girl holds tightly. “See the Ferrari team garage again? How many times I told you to not go there!”
“Sorry Mom.” The little girl’s voice reflected how regrets she is. So, the beautiful woman is her mother. The woman seemed so young but already had 4 years old daughter.
“I will take this replica.” The woman took the replica from the little girl’s hand.
“But he said I could have it.” The little girl mumbled and protested but her mother seemed pretended to not hear her protest.
After checked the little girl condition a couple of times, finally the woman seemed realize my presence there. “Sorry Sir, do you help my daughter when she fell? So sorry for the naughtiness of my daughter.”
I surprised to know that she realize her daughter just fell a moment ago. Perhaps that’s what you called as mother’s care. Mothers always know what happened to their kids. “That’s fine. It didn’t bother me at all.”
With still hold the little girl, she walked away from me. I kept looking at them, I didn’t know why. The little girl seemed like still protested her mom but her mother ignored her. I wonder who the mother is. Perhaps she is one of the driver’s wives here. In Formula One paddock, the view of driver’s family around it is a familiar view.
I kept headed to the Honda-Petronas garage. My team’s garage was in the last position of all team’s garage. Because we were the smallest team among other teams. No wonder because we just had a small budget and not like Honda’s main team it self, we still didn’t make our own engine. But I still glad I started my career from the smallest team because for me the real sudden glory was not eternal. If you faster reach the top you will be faster also to fell down. That’s like the pattern in Formula One.
I took a breath once again. Actually I’m so nervous, since the time I marked my foot when I passed the gate. I’ve been done races couple of times here but still the sensation of being the Formula One driver couldn’t be compare with anything. I passed the other’s garages when I headed to my garage. Not many drivers there because it just a winter testing and most of the drivers took holiday at this time. I didn’t see Kimi Raikkonen in Ferrari’s garage. I just saw Baron Chen.
Baron Chen, the phenomenon of Asian Driver in Formula One. Started his career 5 years ago and here he is. Already on the top team as a driver. Since 2 years ago he already became Kimi’s team mate. I took a glance to him, but seemed like he busy to set up his car. I knew exactly how tiring if you wanted to do a setting up of the car.
Finally I reached my team garage. When I stepped to the garage suddenly all the activities there stopped. All crews looked at me. It made me froze for a moment. I didn’t know what I had to do. I really felt nervous because this is the first time I’m being there. “Err.. Good morning all. I’m Wu Ji Zun. I will do winter test today as also my official test here to be a main driver in the next season.”
Then the old man, seemed like 50 years old grabbed my hand and shook it. He is John Carrey, the team principal. I’ve met him a couple of times when he interested to hire me. “Welcome Wu Ji Zun. Nice to see you here….”
“Although you already late for more than an hour.” A woman came from the back of the telemetry table in the cross road of the garage. Telemetry table is the board place where all telemetry data being shown. Surprised to see, the woman is the woman that I saw with her daughter a moment ago.
The old man headed to the woman and said. “Ella, he didn’t late I think. He came in a exactly time. Wu Ji Zun, please introduce your race engineer, Ella Chen”
A race engineer? A woman as a race engineer? She must be the only woman race engineer here. I gave my hand so I could shake her hands. “ Wu Ji Zun, everybody called me Chun.”
She ignored my hand. Also ignored my introduction. “I don’t care what people called you. I just care with the efficiency of time here. You made all crews works harder because of you were late to come.”
“But it stated that everything will be beginning at 9 am.”
Ella stood in front of me and with a clear voice she said. “Wu Ji Zun, use your head when you want to do something here, in Formula One we didn’t need driver with a low intellectual intelligence. You are a new driver here. You will do your first time to drive Formula One car. You think you are capable enough to immediately start drive without a briefing from me and talked to mechanics here about the setting up of your car? Do you think we already have data in telemetry about how you brake? Use your left foot at what time? Are you a typical of understeer or oversteer driver? We don’t have the data of you drive in Formula One car, because this is your first time. You had to know that we need to do more preparation for you than other driver. Please use your head before you do anything here. If you didn’t use it, your safety is the bet.”
Her words really true but at same time it also hurt to hear that. I felt so stupid. I made mistake since my first day in this team. I made my race engineer’s pissed. And I knew how terrible it is when the relationship between driver and race engineer is bad. A race engineer is a person that always gives instruction to the driver from the telemetry board in the race time. The race engineer also the one that decided what kind of strategy that you will use in the race. Basically race engineer is like a partner for a driver. In rally, it likes a navigator beside the driver. The difference is race engineer accompany driver not exactly beside him, but from radio communication way.
She looked at me once again. “Sigh. Even you didn’t use your overall yet. Go hurry and wear it. I decided to get your data first. After that we start over to do setting up. Today’s plan just to find the best set up for you. The next day if everything going to smoothly we move into next step. To find the best setting up for the car in the next season.”
I almost protest again because the reason why I didn’t wear my overall yet because I don’t have this team official overall. But I didn’t say it because I really afraid to her. I didn’t want to make this woman pissed again. Honestly I felt like the woman that I met with her daughter and this race engineer is different person. Because this race engineer just like a cold blooded race engineer that will make people around her agree with everything she said. Her expression now really different with her previous expression as a mother that lose her daughter. I even didn’t catch any vulnerable side from her right now.
I already wore my overall and took my helmet. I headed into the car cockpit and grabbed the steer. I saw Ella headed back to the telemetry board and used her ear plug and turned on the radio communication. A minute later I could hear her voice in my ear “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“In count of 5. 5…4…3…2…1…”
I pressed the start button and for the first time, I felt the sensation of driving Formula One Car.
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[Author’s Note]: Dear readers… I’m shocking with the comments that I had. Ha ha. But really feel so stressed when I read so many people interested with my forewords. Hiks. Really stressed because I’m afraid my story will be so under your expectation. And I thought it is. Especially grammatical mistakes. I really poor in my grammar. So sorry. And this is the chapter 1 for you all. Hope it’s not that bad. I have to explain little bit about formula one car world because I knew some people didn’t familiar with it. It made boring isn’t it? If you think my story is really bad don’t comment then, ha ha. If you wanna read more about this story please comment ^^. And for question is Ella older than Chun in this story? Yes she is.
[Information]: If you interested to see F1 race. In Sunday, there will be a race in Magny Cours, France at 7 pm Indonesia Time, 12 pm British Time. If you want to see it…. just take a look in your tv… ha ha. *Bernie… please give me money for advertise your F1 lol*