Page 122 of Overtake
Nico waves to the fans, then pushes back from the roof railing and offers his hand. “Close. Just a few adjustments. Yours?”
She squints up at him, then takes his hand and follows him toward the stairs. “Asuka’s found something in the differential mapping.”
At the bottom of the stairs, he kisses her hand then her lips. He doesn’t care who photographs them. Let the world see. Nico Belmonte loves Petra Hayter, and he’s not going to hide it anymore.
FP2 starts clean and easy with installation laps, temperature checks, systems verification.
“Hayter’s just gone purple in sector 1,” Roxana reports. “Setting personal bests through the sequence.” She learned from their foray onto the roof.
Nico checks out the huge screens stationed around the circuit as he flashes past. They broadcast views of the track for fans to watch, and he catches a glimpse of Petra’s dark green car flying through corners like she’s transforming off-track stress into pure speed.
“Your brake temperatures are stable,” Roxana says in his ear. “Heinrich wants you to push.”
“Vale.” Nico sets up for a flying lap, watching Petra’s sector times flash purple again. She’s always been fast here—the technical sections suit her precise style—but today she’s outstanding.
“Hayter’s two tenths up through sector 2,” Rox updates. “She’s really attacking that brake zone.”
Of course she is. Every challenge, every doubt, every question about her integrity, she’s answering them all on track.
Nico pushes harder, finding his own rhythm, but Petra’s pace today is blistering.
If she keeps this up, Sunday’s race promises to be challenging.
“Box this lap, Nico. Box, box. Let’s make some adjustments.”
“Alright.”
In the garage, he watches footage on his monitors of Petra’s car flashing past the start-finish line. She nabs another purple sector.
Baz leans into the cockpit. “Changes feeling good?”
Nico nods. “Better through sector 3.” The car feels more planted, brake temperatures finally cooperating. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
His number one mechanic guides him out to the fast lane and he takes an easy out lap, building temperature in the tires and seeking that perfect window where everything works together.
“Track clear ahead,” Roxana reports. “This is your lap, Nico.”
Turn 1 flows into 2, every apex exactly where he wants it. The car’s screaming through the long straights, a joy to drive. Then hard on the brakes for 4, 5, and 6. The changes work, and the car responds precisely, rotating just right through the technical sequence.
“Purple sector 1.”
The altitude tries to rob power, but Nico’s learned this circuit’s tricks over the years and knows how to compensate.
“Two tenths up through sector 2.”
Into Foro Sol now, the car skating a fine line between traction and slide. Everything is dialed in and he’s one hundred percent in the flow. He crosses the finish line, and the delta flashes green on his display.
“Purple.” Rox confirms it. “You have the fastest lap by three hundredths.”
Nico spies Petra starting her final run as he heads for the pit lane.
Game on, mi corazón.
The post-practice interview with Graham’s media team goes better than expected. They mostly stick to racing questions, though there are plenty of double entendres. There are no directaccusations, but plenty of implications about team loyalty and championship pressures. Nico ignores any question that isn’t about racing.
Afterward, he heads for the hotel restaurant and dinner with Petra. She’s already claimed the best table when he arrives, looking relaxed in pink sweatpants, a vintage Ayrton Senna tee shirt, and a leather jacket, her hair loose and sexy and held away from her face with her amber-tinted aviators.
“Survive the interview?” she asks as he sits.
