LDR Ch 25

“I shouldn’t have called.”

[Leo, you have a responsibility to look after the driver’s mental health.]

“I don’t have that responsibility.”

At the factual reply, a small laugh was heard from the other side of the phone. Leo, realizing he too was smiling, turned his chair to face away from the window that led to the hallway.

[You’re coming to Imola, right?]

As he said, after this Grand Prix, the next race was in Imola, Italy. Since he could not go to the one after that in America, he was of course planning to go to Imola.

“Yeah. But you’re coming here before that.”

[That’s true, but that’s not what I mean. If you win a lot this season, wouldn’t it be okay for you to come up to the podium once?]

Very occasionally, a team’s sponsor would join them on the podium, and it was a given for the owner, so what Harrison was saying was not entirely impossible. But Leo answered without even thinking.

“No.”

[Why?]

“I like watching from below more.”

He had never told Harrison, but in fact, Leo had been like that even during his time as a driver. Of course, he liked being on the podium. But that was the sense of accomplishment from having a good enough race to be on the podium, not a desire for the position itself. Rather, he preferred being below, surrounded by all the team members. There was no other place where you could feel as much that so many people had worked towards a single goal.

[Okay. Then I’ll try to spray the champagne a little better.]

“You already do it well.”

[You always notice first and step back. The champagne doesn’t reach that far.]

As Leo was about to reply with a laugh, a knock was heard from outside the door. Leo, who had his back to the door and did not even know someone was coming, finally came to his senses.

“Someone’s here. I really have to work now. You should go to sleep soon. Good night.”

[Yeah. You sleep well too.]

At Harrison’s reply, which did not consider the time difference, Leo was about to smile naturally but forced himself to manage his expression and hung up the phone. Only then did he get up from his seat and open the office door, and fortunately or not, someone had just come to deliver some documents. Leo received the documents and sat back down in his seat.

Leo did not know whether he should sigh or what. Until now, it had been either a long-distance relationship or an office romance, but this was the first time it was a long-distance and an office romance. He felt he needed to set some new ground rules.

Only about an hour had passed since he had resolved to adjust the distance between work and his relationship, but Leo was playing a video of Harrison’s press conference. He had seen the short interviews between sessions, but he had not yet checked the separate press conferences. So, he had the excuse that this was also work in a way, and also the excuse that it was his lunch break, so it was his rest time.

— Harry, before we talk about this week’s race, I want to first mention the last race in Saudi Arabia. At the time, your tire choice was unexpected. Was it discussed in advance? In particular, it was surprising that your tire combination was different from your teammate, Nathan Morel. While Nate’s tire combination was standard, Harry’s tires were a surprise, weren’t they?

Skipping through the other drivers’ answers, he found Harrison, and Harrison answered the question naturally.

— It was planned in advance for Nate and me to use different strategies. It was definitely not a typical choice, but I was confident it would be fine from the moment we lined up at the start. In fact, the tire management went well and the pace was fast, so it was a good choice.

Harrison smiled naturally with that answer. It would be a natural smile to others, but perhaps because Leo knew it was a practiced expression, he found himself laughing instead. On top of that, Leo had also watched that strategy meeting remotely. Harrison was now speaking as if he had obediently followed the team’s instructions, but in reality, a great deal of persuasion had been mobilized, and in the end, a bit of browbeating had been effective.

— In the last two races, you’ve always been at the very front, running all by yourself. Isn’t it boring or disappointing?

And at the following question, he could not help but think it was quite early. Only two races had passed, and a question like this was already coming out. But since Harrison had been competing so fiercely until now, it was also true that it was about time for it to come out. Everyone thought Harrison was highly competitive and enjoyed overtaking and defending in races. But, the Harrison Leo knew was not that kind of person.

Harrison was unusually not very competitive, not just in F1 but even if you expanded the scope to motor racing, or sports in general. In the first place, when asked what he wanted most during a race week, while not only the other drivers but also the team principals, engineers, and everyone in the paddock would say victory, Harrison was the only one who would say racing.

Harrison had no desire to win even from a very young age. He would even easily move aside if someone came up from behind him while he was karting. Nevertheless, the reason he had always been first since he was a child was purely because he was good at karting and fast, and the reason he always preferred to run at the front was so he could run without being disturbed. Not because he wanted to beat others.

— Not at all.

At the clean and firm answer, laughter was heard from the reporters’ side, and Harrison smiled along and added.

— It’s just that the situation is different. Last year, I was in a position where I frequently encountered other cars, and this year, I’m not. I’m doing my best to race wherever I am.

At that model answer, Leo somehow felt a certain curiosity. Could you, perhaps, have just continued to kart?

William, while training Jude as a professional, realized that there were too many parents in this world who shouted at their children. And that there were many who forced their dreams onto their children. So, William would support Harrison in any way he wanted, but he had no intention of taking the initiative to make Harrison a professional. On top of that, Harrison also preferred lapping the track by himself when there were no people, rather than participating in competitions.

The first time that Harrison entered a competition, not just a small one at the karting track but a large-scale one, was because Leo had encouraged him. He had to. In Leo’s eyes, it was absurd for a kid like that not to enter a competition.

It was around that time that Harrison’s driving style changed. Naturally, as the scale of the competition grew, the competition became fiercer. In every race, there were always a few participants who would push aggressively to overtake, and some of them would cause accidents. After being subjected to that a few times, Harrison got annoyed that his driving was constantly being ruined, and his driving style changed to an extreme one that said, “If you ruin my driving, you won’t be able to finish either, so don’t touch me.” And that has continued to this day.

— Harry, traditionally, ABW Racing has shown strong performance on street circuits rather than dedicated race circuits. But in your last interview, you said that this season’s car has a different tendency than before. How do you think that will affect your run on this circuit? It’s the first street circuit of the season, after all.

— That’s a good question. It’s true that ABW Racing has had better pace on street circuits until now, but if you look at last season, in fact, all of ABW’s wins were on dedicated race circuits. Depending on the car’s tendency, it might be a better match for a street circuit or a dedicated circuit, but in the end, I think what’s important is the car’s fundamental potential. The potential and performance of this season’s car are excellent, in line with our expectations, so we will show a good race on this season’s first street circuit, just as we have so far.

Leo stopped the video after listening to the question that had moved on to another driver. In the screen, which was still focused on Harrison, Harrison was looking down and arranging the microphone wire, as if it was bothering him.

That sight was nothing but natural. His presence in that place, too. So, Leo erased all the other thoughts that had unnecessarily come to mind.

William had chosen a karting class for Harrison that prioritized safety rather than encouraging competition, and he would not have been the first to suggest a junior competition, let alone a small local one, and Harrison would not have been the one to want to enter a competition first, but it was clear that someone would have recognized Harrison.

In the first place, William was famous, so there were many people watching his sons, and it was only a matter of time before someone recognized Harrison and tried to develop his talent.

Leo quietly looked at the figure, whose face was not clearly visible because he was wearing a hat and had his head bowed. So, even if it wasn’t me, someone would have discovered you, and you would have ended up in that seat.

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Italy, Imola Circuit

Overturning everyone’s optimistic expectations and boring predictions, both of ABW Racing’s drivers retired from the main race of the Australian Grand Prix. Nathan, who started in 3rd, was swept up in the chaos at the start and retired along with two other drivers, and Harrison, who started in 1st and was running well in 1st, had to end the race on the 50th of 58 laps due to a broken engine.

On top of that, other teams were closing the gap and catching up quickly, to the point where it was unclear how everyone was making so many updates so quickly with the budget cap.

In the midst of all that, at the first European Grand Prix of the season, the team was half trying to be positive, and half hiding their anxiety. Although a problem had only occurred once, since there had only been three races, it was a large percentage.

Leo looked at Harrison, who was doing his formation lap amidst the highly charged atmosphere. In terms of practice runs alone, ABW Racing’s pace was 2nd. The car had not found its pace even in qualifying, so Harrison had barely managed 2nd, and Nate was 5th.

At least ABW Racing always had better long-run pace than short-run, but since the engine had already blown once, they could not just think positively. On top of that, the Imola circuit was a difficult place to overtake, so they had to do well in qualifying, and after that, they had to gain as many positions as possible at the start.

And there was no one in the car currently lined up on the grid, and no one in this paddock, who did not know that.

Finally, the lights on the traffic signal went out.

— Alfred Hansen had a good start, but Harrison Turner gets ahead first! Nathan Morel also has a very good start, he’s already in 3rd! ABW Racing has been struggling quite a bit on this circuit, unlike in the previous Grand Prix, but their starting pace is quite good.

Harrison became 1st at the start, and Nate immediately moved up to 3rd. It was certainly a very good result for the team, but Leo was instead consumed by a greater sense of anxiety. Imola was not only difficult to overtake on, but it was also narrow, so there was a high possibility of an accident when overtaking. And Harrison was now in 1st, so naturally, someone would try to overtake him.

He could not even blink at the sight of the car racing relentlessly on the track. The track was already one where it was easy to read the rear tire grip, and on top of that, it had rained a little in the morning, so the track was still slightly wet.

Don’t ride the curbs. Leo kept repeating that sentence in his mind. This season’s car was definitely fast, but they had sacrificed a certain amount of rear tire grip for it. On top of that, this track was one where cars frequently lost control due to losing rear tire grip, and to make matters worse, the curbs were higher than elsewhere.

That issue was also one of the reasons they had not gotten a proper pace during practice runs and qualifying. By riding the curb at corners where you have to go around it, you can drive a little more in a straight line and save time. But even so, it was meaningless if you lost control and could not finish the race. So, while talking with the engineers, they had concluded that they would drive without riding the curbs as much as possible.

However, as if no such discussion had ever taken place, Harrison raced down the track, cutting across the curbs. Every time the car jolted, every time the rear of the car shook, his fingertips grew colder and colder.

It would be easier to think he would stop after a little while. He could not keep driving like that, if only for the sake of tire management. But the problem was, Harrison was not able to shake off Alfred, who was in 2nd. Just as the distance would widen a little, he would catch up again, and because of that, while other drivers were now slowly starting to manage their tires, the two of them continued to push their cars aggressively.

— Harry, how are the tires?

— They’re still okay.

Just then, a record showed that Alfred’s team had also made a radio call. They had asked about the tire condition and were told not to talk to him because he was busy. Alfred’s tire wear would be worse, as he was running behind, but Harrison’s condition could not be good either, as he was also continuously pushing the car.

And at that moment, a gasp suddenly erupted from the mechanics. He instinctively turned his gaze from watching Harrison’s onboard, and Nathan, who was running in 3rd, had lost rear tire control while passing through the 17th and 18th corners, commonly known as the Rivazza corners, and went off the track.

— There’s a problem for Nathan Morel! Rivazza is a place where it’s hard to control the rear tires. Especially, ABW Racing has been struggling with rear tire grip since the practice runs, and is the problem finally showing up today as well? It’s a very unfortunate thing for Nathan Morel. He had such a good start!

Fortunately, it was a corner with a buffer zone, so he was able to return to the track immediately, but he had lost his position and dropped to 5th.

— The rear just spun.

— Roger. I’ll check it. The car?

— There’s almost no grip in the rear. I told you so!

— Roger. For now, run without riding the curbs.

After the conversation between Nathan and his race engineer ended, Manuel’s voice immediately came through the radio.

— Harry, don’t ride the curbs.

And then, no answer came.

— Nate had a problem at Rivazza. You could have a problem too, so don’t ride the curbs.

— Understood.

At Manuel’s renewed request, Harrison replied this time, but Leo knows there is no sincerity in that reply. Rivazza was practically the last corner of the track, and after that, a long straight followed. The ranking depended on how quickly you exited that corner and gained acceleration on the straight.

On top of that, for some reason, the car of Alfred, who was currently chasing Harrison, was slightly faster than Harrison on the straights. So, for him not to ride the curbs when his competitor was, was the same as saying he had to give up his position on the following straight.

— From the radio messages, it seems ABW has a problem. As I just said, the rear grip was a chronic problem that appeared even during the practice runs. It also appeared for Nathan Morel a little while ago. But right now, Harrison Turner’s pace is quite good.

— Yes. That’s true, but Harry also struggled quite a bit with that problem until qualifying. And right now, both Harry and Alfred are continuously pushing their cars, so they are both starting to lose pace, ah!

— Alfred Hansen is getting closer to Harrison Turner, closer, closer, closer! Indeed, will Alfred Hansen be able to take the position…, Harrison Turner has defended his position!

Leo listened to the excited voices of the commentators and suddenly surveyed the garage. He knows what everyone wants. For Harrison to defend his position until the end. It was what Leo had always wanted. For that, everyone in this place, and everyone at the headquarters in the UK, had worked tirelessly day and night. And yet, at this moment, Leo wanted Harrison to give up that position.

There was a considerable gap with 3rd place, so if he dropped to 2nd now, he could finish the race without any further threat. And at the same time, Leo knows that such a situation will never happen. Because even he himself would not dare to say it out loud.

And when Leo looked at the screen again, he could only watch as the car of Harrison, which he had been watching continuously, suddenly, in an instant, crashed into the wall.

— My goodness! What happened? They’ve collided!

— In my opinion, it looks like Harry couldn’t have done anything about it! My goodness, it’s really unfortunate. There was no space at all.

At the same time, Simon, who was next to him, took off his headset and held his head in his hands, and several other team members watched the situation with their hands over their mouths. Amidst them, Leo focused on the sounds coming from his headset.

— Ha, sh—, I can’t believe it, are you crazy? If you push me into the wall, f—.

— Are you okay?

— No. It’s f—ed. Is Alfie okay?

— Yeah.

With those words, Harrison got out of the car, took off his helmet, and no more radio messages came through. The screen that had been showing Harrison was now broadcasting the full story of the accident. Harrison had exited the straight first, but by the time they entered the following corner, Alfred was slightly ahead. But it was Harrison who had taken the inside of the corner, and Alfred, while turning on the outside, had not given Harrison any space, causing them to collide.