//------------------------------//
// Australian Grand Prix - Practice (updated) 
// Story: Formula Shy 
// by RushingWind-01 
//------------------------------//

March 8 2022...

Fluttershy is in her room in the AlphaTauri garage. She looked quite nervous. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, 'Shy. Mind if I come in?" It was Pierre Gasly, her teammate.

"N-no, not at all. Come in.", Fluttershy said.

Pierre opened the door. "Hey. How are you feeling?", he asked.

"Nnnervous...", Fluttershy said unsure, not knowing what to do once she was in the car.

"Don't worry, 'Shy. This is just Practice, so we won't be pushing at 100% for long durations. This is just about getting used to the car, gathering some data for the race and the factory teams... And the rest is just bragging rights.", Pierre explained.

Fluttershy sighed. "I can't do it... Just why did I agree?", she asked in slight fear.

"Hey. Back when I was around your age, I was also scared of a race, because I didn't know what would happen. You survive the race, or you fail trying. And from what I heard, I think you do have the talent to handle that car.", Pierre said.

Fluttershy felt a bit encouraged. "Are... are you sure?", she asked.

"Of course I am. I went through the same deal like you did, and look at me. I got a win to my book, AlphaTauri is happy with me, and I feel confident. And I also seek the chance to rejoin Red Bull anytime soon.", Pierre said.

Fluttershy smiled. She was happy to have someone like Pierre to back her up. "I'll do my best today. And who knows what's gonna happen?", she said.

"That's the spirit!", said Pierre, and patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. "Alright, see you on the track!", he said, and left the room.

Fluttershy let out a big sigh. "Come on, Fluttershy. You got this.", she said to herself, trying to give her courage.






FORMULA 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2022 - Round 1 - Practice


"Welcome along, then, to the first Practice session of the new Formula 1 season. This will be a thrilling hour, with the drivers testing out their new cars, which are far different from their last ones, thanks to the latest reg changes. Now, the light's about to go green, so let's join the action trackside."

"Alongside with me, of course, is Anthony Davidson. It's great to have you with me here today. Now, what can you tell us about this year's driver lineup? There are a few new faces, as well as some well-known ones, right?"

"You're definetly right, Crofty. There have been some interesting driver moves lately. So, who do you want to start with?"

"Let's talk about Fluttershy, the new driver at AlphaTauri."

"You're right, that's someone to keep an eye on."

"If anyone followed last year's F1 Esports Event, you know how great she was, and that she certainly has some talent behind the wheel. Interesting enough, she was trained by one of the greatest race drivers on the west hemisphere, a man named Rushing Wind. Now, we know she didn't win the Esports Championship, but the talent in precise and clean driving that is required in this sport is something that might get her far this season."

"This very young AlphaTauri driver isn't the only new face we see in this season, right?"

"No, in this season, the fans get to meet Guanyu Zhou, a very promising Chinese driver. Then, regarding other driver moves, George Russell has moved to Mercedes, and joins the eight time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, whose former teammate, Valtteri Bottas, moved to Alfa Romeo following Kimi Raikkonen's retirement. Then we got Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, Alexander Albon from Thailand, and finally, Nico Hulkenberg. Now, speaking of him, there's been some recent controversy about former Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel. During winter testing, he received a number of penalties, among them one for being involved in a serious crash with Yuki Tsunoda, who now sits in hospital. That was a nasty sight. Sure, on the questions regarding the incident, they kept a professional attitude to Vettel, but I can hardly imagine that this was also the case behind closed doors. I think that Hulkenberg is pretty delighted to be back in the seat and will seek to start his push for his first ever podium in Formula 1."





As Fluttershy sat down in the car, suddenly, a voice spoke to her.

"The first race of the season is always difficult for us trackside, but also for the team at the factory, as this is the first time that the car is driven since winter testing. The more constant your mileage is, the happier we'll be.", the voice said.

"Whoa! Who was that?", asked Fluttershy, a bit startled.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Jeff. It's good to have you and your friend onboard. Now listen, I don't know how race control would react if they knew you were a girl, so I'll be referring to you with your driver number, which is 26 in this case. Got that?", Jeff asked.

"Okay...", said Fluttershy, a bit unsure.

"I know you want us to talk to you with your real name, but the first thing we gotta do is make sure that no one knows about you. F1 is similar to pirates - it's normally just men, and female pirates conceal themselves with men's clothing. But don't worry. As long as you'll keep the truth to yourself, you'll be fine.", Rushing Wind said.

"Okay, the track is clear at the moment, so what do you say you take some laps and tell us how the car feels?", Jeff suggested.

"Of course. Get me going!", said Fluttershy in determination, excited to get out on track.

"Okay. The track is still green at the moment, so take some laps to get the tires up to temperature, and feel your way around the track.", Jeff said as Fluttershy fired up the Honda engine and the AlphaTauri car is being put onto the tires.

With one last big sigh, Fluttershy drove out.

As she headed for the pit exit, she looked at the steering wheel. Rushing Wind has already explained the numerous functions to her, but getting used to might take a bit of effort herself. She did know where the pit limiter button was, so once she reached the exit, she pressed it and started to accelerate as normal.

Rainbow Dash was right - this truly felt entirely different from the game she played at Rush's home. It was just her, and the beast of a car she needed to tame. Fluttershy decided that it would be the smartest to take one slower outlap to get used to the car as well as to the functions of the steering wheel.

She also heard from Rushing Wind that these cars, unlike in the game she played, had neither traction control nor anti-lock brakes available, so she needed to adjust.

As Fluttershy then came down to the start/finish straight, she accelerated faster, opened the DRS, and started her first hotlap on the Hard tire compound.

It was just like she anticipated - the car had insane acceleration, and she approached the first turn faster than she thought. She decided to go for a couple hotlaps to get used to the car at high speeds, as well as to the track. It wasn't easy. From what she heard from Rush, the Hard tire compound had the lowest grip, which meant slower acceleration, but cornering grip is still present, and it wasn't less.

As she completed a couple of hotlaps around the Albert Park, Fluttershy got used to the car further and further. Rush also told her over the radio that she should keep an eye on her tire temperatures. As long as the carcass temps are in the optimal operating window, which was 92 to 100 degrees Celsius, the tires would have the best grip. Thanks to the latest reg changes, which reduce the temperature of the tire blankets, it was harder to get your tires warm without losing too much speed, but it was something everyone had to get along with, even her.

After she completed her fifth hotlap, Jeff radioed in: "Well, 26? How is the car?"

"Good. And I think I got to grips with this beast now.", Fluttershy responded.

"Very good. Come into the pits so we can analyze the data.", Jeff said.

Fluttershy did as she was told. In the meantime, there were more drivers on track, among them Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and even Sergio Perez.

Back in the pits, Fluttershy took a look at the data on her dual-monitor that was put on the car once she was back in the garage.

"Say, 26... Now that there are a few cars on track, how about you go out on a fresh set of Mediums and try out the Race Strategy Program? This will be useful to gather data for the race so we can calculate a good race strategy for you.", Rushing Wind suggested.

"Sure. I'd love to!", Fluttershy said in enthusiasm.

Said and done - the Medium tires were fitted to her car, the car was fueled up for 8 laps, and she was sent out.

"Now, about Race Strategy - treat this program like a race simulation. Try getting a few good laps in so that Jeff can calculate a good strategy for the race. Also try for overtakes should the need arise.", Rush explained.

"Okay, I'm on it.", said Fluttershy, and as she came onto the final straight, she accelerated and started the simulation.

As she raced over the track, she felt the difference in grip with these Mediums. They have great grip, so she can accelerate faster than with the Hard compound, and the tire life is also pretty good.

She approached one of the slower cars, Mick Schumacher in the Haas. Out of turn 12, she went into his slipstream and caught the German with a neat move into 13.

"Good job, nice overtake.", Jeff said.

She completed her first lap quick enough, with a 1:22.704. "Great lap, you delivered just what we asked for. Keep this up!", Rush cheered.

And Fluttershy did. She raced over the track with grace, passing Alexander Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, and even Lando Norris during her Race Strategy laps, and always seemed to improve her times. A 1:21.470 in Lap 3, and a 1:21.108 in the last lap of the program were her best ones.

"Program complete, and a job well done! We got some excellent data with that run, so come back into the garage and I can take you through the numbers.", Jeff said.

When Fluttershy returned to the garage and the car was brought in, she got out of the car and took a look at the data with Jeff and Rush.

"Now, from looking at these numbers regarding tire wear, you should be fine for the race if we attempt a 1-stop strategy with Soft and Hard.", Jeff explained.

"Sounds good, but so far, we only have data for Hard tires. We didn't collect data for Soft tires yet.", Rush reminded.

"True, and that's where Practice 2 will come in later this day. We're going to run Qualifying Pace as well as Tire Management, both on the Soft compound tire. Based on this data, we will enhance the race strategy further, and we can anticipate where we could potentially qualify on the grid.", Jeff explained further.

"To be fair, something like Q2 would be fine for a rookie in their first race, if you ask me, Jeff.", said Rush.

"Q2? What is that?", asked Fluttershy, unsure about all this data.

"I'll explain this to you, Flutty. In Qualifying, there will be three sessions - Q1, Q2, and Q3. After every session, the bottom five are eliminated from Qualifying, and they'll start on the positions they qualified for. Those who advanced, they have a chance at advancing further, and if you get into the Top 10 in Q2, you have a chance for the Top 10 shootout, where it's about taking pole position.", Rushing Wind explained.

"Oh, I get it now.", Fluttershy said.

"Take a breather. We'll gather more data in Practice 2.", Rush said.

"Okay.", Fluttershy said.

Her first practice, and it went so well. Fluttershy was certainly beaming with excitement and joy, and she couldn't wait to get back in the car for Practice 2.





PRACTICE 2

Some time later, the second practice session was underway, and everyone at AlphaTauri, including Fluttershy, was eager to begin. She climbed into her car, got buckled up, and Rushing Wind radioed in.

"Okay, Fluttershy. I hope you are feeling refreshed, because we got a lot of work to do. We need to collect data for the Soft tire compound, so we are going to run Qualifying Pace, as well as Tire Management, both on the Soft tires. And if you want, we can save Fuel and ERS Management for the final session.", he explained.

"Alright.", Fluttershy said, "So, what should we start with?"

"Nobody's out on track yet, so I suggest to start with Qualifying Pace, since the track still has its share of rubber on the track, increasing grip.", Rushing Wind said.

"Okay. Get me going, then.", Fluttershy said. And just like that, the mechanics lowered her AlphaTauri with the number 26 to its wheels, and she was sent out.

"Now, about Quali Pace, this is one of the most interesting practice programs of all time, as this will give us data about where we could be on the grid, as well as a potential pole time. Don't worry about your tires, just give it all you got in one quick run, okay?", Rushing Wind explained.

"Alright, I got you.", said Fluttershy, and as she came close to the last two turns, she enabled Hotlap ERS Deploy, opened the DRS on the straight, and started her hotlap.

With low fuel load, Hotlap Mode, and DRS, the car accelerated like a rocket, and it clearly showed. Out of Turn 9, the car got close to 310 km/h so quickly, until she had to slow down for the swerving turns 11 and 12. Then, through the final sector, Fluttershy maintained a great pace, ending her run with a time of 1:19.325.

"Great lap, 26. Come back into the garage, and we can take a look at the data.", Jeff said.

Back in the pits, Fluttershy analyzed the data with Jeff and Rush.

"Now, from looking at this data, this time should be sufficient for Q2, maybe Q3 if you're lucky.", Jeff said.

"Would be a solid result for someone who just gets started in F1, to be honest.", Rushing Wind said.

Fluttershy smiled. Starting close to the top 10 might be a good thing, as this gives her the chance to fight for her first point. And debuting with a points finish is something any driver can be proud of.

"Potential pole time is at 1:18.2, so I don't think we will reach that. The car is not capable of challenging the top pack yet. The only thing we can do is hope that some drivers drop out of the race, or that the drivers in front of us make a mistake.", Jeff explained.

"True. The AlphaTauri is normally no car for a championship contender.", Rushing Wind said.

Fluttershy knew that too well. When she played F1 2020 back at Rushing Wind's house, she always liked to drive with the Mercedes, and she always dominated the races with it. But now, she was in an AlphaTauri, which was far from what she knew from the game.

"Okay, 26. Get back in the car. Let's continue with Tire Management.", Jeff said.

Back in the car, a new set of Soft tires was fitted to Fluttershy's car, and then, she was sent out again.

"Alright, in this program, we want to make sure that you can manage your tires throughout a lap, so try to keep wear minimal in the turns. Be especially careful when accelerating at the apex of a turn, you hear me?", Rushing Wind said.

"Okay.", said Fluttershy, and when she hit the final straight, she started the practice program.

Through the first two turns, Fluttershy noticed that the car became unstable on the rear.

"Whoa!", she said, startled by the sudden rear end swing.

However, the entire first sector didn't go well, as the rear kept going wild when accelerating.

"Something's not right. The car is very slippery through sector 1.", Fluttershy said.

"Yes, confirmed. The DRS is stuck open, you need to come in so we can attempt a fix. Box for repairs.", Jeff said.

Back in the pits, Fluttershy received her third and final set of Softs for Practice. Also, the mechanics worked on the rear wing.

"Is that the reason why the car was so slippery?", asked Fluttershy.

"Yes, it was. When your DRS is stuck open, you do have way better acceleration, but thanks to the latest regulations, DRS is more effective than ever, so you'll have a lot less rear downforce if you open it.", Rushing Wind said.

A few seconds later, the mechanics succeeded in closing the wing. "That should do it!", one of them shouted. Then, Fluttershy was released back onto the track.

"Okay, keep in mind, you won't be able to open the rear wing for some time. We're trying to sort this issue out, so just make the best of it.", said Jeff.

"Copy.", said Fluttershy.

Now with the rear wing down again, the car felt way better. And even without the help of the DRS, she managed to keep tire wear at a low level. The first lap ended with a barely fast enough time, and low tire wear. And shortly before her third lap in the program, the DRS was working again. And then, she pulled out a great lap, along with low tire wear.

"Program complete, and a good job indeed. We got some valuable information out of that.", Jeff said.

Fluttershy went back to the pits and took a look at the data.

"Now, judging by this data, if we put it into the race strategy, doing a one-stop strategy with Soft-Hard is now not at all impossible to do.", Jeff said.

"Great work, Flutty. This data is exactly what we need. I'm sure that this will be an interesting race.", Rushing Wind said, slightly excited.

"I'm excited too, to be honest. I can't wait to show what I can do out on the track.", said Fluttershy, happy with her performance today.

"Now, we don't have enough time for another program, so I guess that's it for today.", Jeff said.

"Seems like it. You did good out there, Flutty. And tomorrow, we can move on to Practice 3, for the last remaining data.", Rushing Wind said.

"Thank you.", said Fluttershy, and went back to her room with Rush.





At night, Fluttershy prepared herself to go to sleep. She didn't have her pajamas with her, so after getting out of her overall and taking a shower, she changed into her casual outfit from back at home. It felt light enough to not give her heatstrokes in bed, so she thought this was sufficient.

Before she went to bed, her smartphone rang. It was Posey, Fluttershy's mother.

"Hi.", said Fluttershy.

"Hey, Fluttershy. How are you doing Down Under?", asked Posey. She has heard about Fluttershy joining F1, and therefore knew about the first race weekend.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. Did you watch Practice?", Fluttershy asked.

"I did, and I have to say - no matter where you will come out in the race, I'm proud of you, my dear!", Posey said.

Fluttershy giggled. "Aw, thank you.", she said.

"Just promise me that you'll be careful when you're out on track, okay?", Posey said.

"I will, Mom. Don't worry.", Fluttershy said.

"Okay. Good night, my darling.", Posey said and ended the call.

Fluttershy put her smartphone on the table, grabbed her plush bunny, and climbed into her bed. It certainly felt so different to sleep in a foreign area she was absolutely not used to, but this seemed to be every driver's business, so she had to put up with it. She closed her eyes, and thought about the upcoming day...





PRACTICE 3

Fluttershy entered the pit garage, and is being met with Jeff and Rushing Wind.

"Good morning, Fluttershy. I hope you slept well.", Rushing Wind said.

"I did, surprisingly. I feel pretty good today.", Fluttershy said.

"That's good, because there's a lot to do today. We need to collect some more data, and soon after, there's Qualifying coming up.", Jeff said.

"He's right. And I suggest we get started as soon as possible.", Rushing Wind said.

Fluttershy nodded, put on her helmet, and then climbed into the car.

"We got one fresh set of Medium tires remaining, so we need to make the best out of it while we can.", Jeff said over the radio.

"Exactly. There are two programs remaining - Fuel and ERS Management. What do you say should we start with, 26?", asked Rushing Wind.

"I say we start with Fuel Management.", Fluttershy replied.

"Okay. Fire up the engine, we're starting soon.", Jeff said.

Fluttershy did what she was told, and after a few moments, she went out onto the track.

"Now, about Fuel Management, this will ensure that we don't run out of fuel while we're in the race, so we want you to focus on fuel saving techniques like Lift-and-Coast to save as much fuel as you can. But remember, you still need to beat the target time.", Rushing Wind explained.

"Got it.", Fluttershy said, and began her first lap.

She tried out what Rush said to her - lifting the throttle, and coasting towards the turn, overall shortening the braking distance. This in turn allows for a safer approach into a corner, as she won't be coming up with high speeds.

The first lap went well, with a good fuel efficiency. The second one went even better, with a faster time while still having the same efficiency. And finally, she topped it all with a fast lap with better efficiency.

"Great job, 26. We got some good data on that run, so come back into the pits and we can take a look at it.", Jeff said.

On her way back into the pits, Rushing Wind suddenly radioed in: "Okay, red flag, red flag. Drive back to the pits."

"On my way.", Fluttershy said.

Back in the garage, Fluttershy got out of the car. "What does a red flag mean?", she asked her beloved friend.

"It means that there was a severe incident on-track, causing the session to stop. Let's see who was responsible.", Rushing Wind said.

Looking at the TV in the garage, they could see that Nicholas Latifi in the Williams has lost it in the first two turns and slammed into the barrier.

"Oh my... Is he okay?", Fluttershy asked, a bit worried.

"He just got out, so I'd say he's okay. Can't say the same for the car, though.", Rushing Wind said.

The Williams with the number 6 sure looked like it took a strong blow. The front wing was off, the front left tire has fallen off, and the car overall didn't look too good.

A few minutes later, the wreck was brought out of the way, and Practice could continue.

"Okay, let's get back to business.", Rushing Wind said, "There's still ERS Management to take on."

"Exactly. Let's get to it, 26. This will also deliver some important data.", Jeff said.

Fluttershy jumped back into the car and fired up the engine before she, once again, drove out of the garage.

"Now, about the ERS Management test, this is about managing your battery charge and keeping under the target laptime. The more efficient you are with your battery charge, the better the score will be. Use the Overtake Button on your steering wheel for maximum power, but be advised that energy will drain rapidly.", Rushing Wind explained.

"Copy.", said Fluttershy, and began the first attempt.

It looked simpler than it was - she could switch between no deploy and Overtake Mode, by the push of the Overtake Button on her wheel. But from some experience with the game she played at Rushing Wind's house, she knew that it would be the smartest move to use Overtake Mode on DRS straights, which is mostly used to counter attackers who try to overtake with DRS. However, Fluttershy also knew that the long fast section heading for Turn 11 also is pretty fast, and therefore, a good spot to make use of the Overtake Mode.

And on her first shot, Fluttershy got the data that the team wanted.

"Awesome job, 26. We already got the data that we wanted. Come back into the garage, and we'll look into it.", Jeff said.

When she returned to the pits, Fluttershy got out and took a look at the data.

"So I see you mostly used the Overtake Button on the DRS straights. And you also deployed energy after Turn 9, on the long, speedy section heading for 11.", Jeff said.

"Keep in mind, Flutty - the Overtake Mode is most useful if you accelerate. You shouldn't waste it when you're close to your top speed. It's just like with Nitro in cars that I drive on the road.", Rushing Wind said.

"Okay, I get it.", said Fluttershy.

"Alright, I think we pretty much got the data that we need. We should be in with good knowledge for the rest of the weekend.", Jeff said.

"Good to know. That means we can save the car a little bit more stress, gaining on reliability.", Rushing Wind said, "That reminds me, Fluttershy. I think it's time I tell you something about the engine itself."

"Okay, shoot.", said Fluttershy.

"Now, this V6 Turbo engine, manufactured by Honda, has a very high power output. I'd say it's even on par with Ferrari regarding pure performance. This means that this engine gets more power than any other power unit in the field, giving us the edge in high speed circuits, just like Melbourne is.", Rushing Wind explained.

"However, I have seen that Honda engines are usually unreliable. In 2020, the engine of an AlphaTauri went up in flames in 1 out of 10 races, same deal with Red Bull.", Jeff added.

"Yeah. So it's the best move to save the car as much stress as possible to avoid these things happening during the race. And also, we don't want something like Abu Dhabi last year.", Rushing Wind said.

Fluttershy gulped. She remembered the clip. That Red Bull that Max Verstappen drove was also fitted with a Honda powertrain. So what would be if what happened to Verstappen, would happen to her? She'd burn to death, and nobody would ever hear from her again...

The Dutchman was lucky, that was certain, otherwise, he wouldn't be here today.

Fluttershy shook off this dark thought. What happened in Abu Dhabi was history. Now she had to focus on the upcoming Qualifying, which sure might become interesting, and she was also keen to see where she would qualify on the grid for tomorrow...