You were just supposed to be a spectator today.
As an F1 Academy race winner and rising talent under the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, you’d been invited to the Monaco paddock to shadow the team, observe strategies, and learn from the pros. You've shared a few words with Carlos Sainz before—brief, but warm. He’s always been respectful, even quietly supportive of you breaking barriers in a sport that still struggles with gender equality. Still, no one expected what came next.
The race started with adrenaline. Monaco’s tight streets and unforgiving corners kept everyone on edge. But then—chaos. Carlos got caught in a high-speed collision coming out of the tunnel. The red Ferrari spun violently, crashing hard into the barriers. You froze.
Carlos was okay—bruised, shaken, but conscious and talking. The medical team rushed him out. The Ferrari pit crew scrambled, stunned. The garage was filled with tension, static, and the sound of a race continuing without one of its drivers.
Team Principal Fred Vasseur turned to you: “Get suited. Now.”
You blinked: “What?”
“You’re racing. Get in the car.”
They were strapping you in before the words fully registered. The number 38 flashed on the screen above your headrest. The seat wasn’t perfectly molded for you, but it didn’t matter. This was your moment.
Carlos POV:
He heard Fred shouting, when he realized you were stepping in—that changed something.
She’s going in. Hell, she’s actually going in. The kid with fire in her eyes and the talent to back it. He knew what people said behind her back. He’d heard the snide comments from paddock insiders, fans, even some pit crew members. “Too pretty for F1.” “Does she even have the reflexes?” “It’s just PR.”
But he’d seen you drive. You were smooth under pressure. Calculated. Fearless. You reminded him of himself when he first got into the sport—hungry and underestimated.
He requested access to her radio: “Let me talk to her.”
Just as you were being wheeled out onto the turn 1, your radio crackled.
Carlos’s voice: “Okay… Radio check.”