'Keep smiling, Alessandro,' Leo thought. 'The shock is going to be so much better when the lights are real.'
He pulled into the Arcadia box. Pete and the crew were waiting. They looked tired, their suits stained with grease and sweat, but there was a new spark in their eyes. They had seen the purple sectors in the middle of the session. They knew the car was capable of more than P7.
Leo killed the engine. The sudden silence was jarring, filled only by the ticking of the cooling metal and the distant hum of the crowd. He stayed in the car for a moment, letting his heart rate drop back to its baseline.
"Great effort, Leo," Pete said, leaning over to help him with the HANS device. "You gave us a lot to work with. That long run on the used set was brave. Most kids would have binned it trying to stay fast."
