Pole Position: Between Logic and Passion

Kart time

Lando shrugged innocently, grinning. “Not my fault you guys didn’t have the same idea.”

Max, not one to let things slide, stepped in. “Alright, alright. If Amy’s gonna give advice, she should give it to the whole group, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “I didn’t come here to give a full strategy session, but fine, if everyone wants to know, I’ll just go ahead and ruin all the fun.” I smirked, trying to downplay the awkwardness of the situation.

I took a deep breath, scanning the group of drivers. Then, I pointed at Max, who was looking at me with raised eyebrows.

“Max,” I said, tone teasing but direct, “You always push the limits on the brakes a little too hard. You think it’s making you faster, but all you’re doing is overdriving the car. You’ve got to ease up a bit if you want to last the whole race.”

Max looked at me, surprised, but then gave a short nod. “Fair enough,” he said, half-smiling.

Next, I turned to Carlos, who was pretending to look innocent but couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “Carlos,” I continued, “You’re too quick to make adjustments in the middle of a race. It’s good to adapt, but you lose time trying to chase something you think needs fixing when, really, the car just needs consistency.”

Carlos let out a laugh. “Guess I can’t fool you, huh?” he shrugged, acknowledging the point.

I moved on to Lando, who was leaning casually against his kart, grinning like he already knew what was coming. “Lando, you know the problem with you? You always try to make the most out of the smallest gaps. That’s great in qualifying, but in the race, it’s too risky. You need to pick your battles more carefully.”

Lando raised an eyebrow but couldn’t suppress his grin. “Noted. I’ll work on being less of an adrenaline junkie.”

I turned to Charles. He was watching me carefully, but I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy one. “Charles,” I said slowly, “You can be too focused on perfection. Sometimes, trying to find that last little bit of performance can cost you more time than it’s worth. You’ve got to let go and trust the process a bit more.”

He stared at me for a moment, clearly processing. Then he smiled softly. “I’ll take that one to heart.”

I turned to Gasly, who had been silently observing the exchange, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips. “And then there's you, Pierre,” I said, pointing at him.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly interested in what I had to say.

“You’re too cautious sometimes,” I continued. “You have the pace, but you hesitate to commit to overtakes, waiting for the ‘perfect moment’ that never comes. You need to take more risks, trust yourself more.”

Gasly’s smirk faded slightly as he absorbed my words. “I’ve heard that before,” he admitted, nodding. “Maybe I do need to be a bit more aggressive.”

I crossed my arms, looking around at the group. “There you go. A little bit of honesty for everyone. Now, can we actually have some fun with this karting thing, or are you all gonna keep whining about it?”

There was a pause, and then they all started laughing, the mood lightening immediately.

----

The race had been tight, and the competition was fierce. The drivers had been giving their all, but Gasly’s aggressive strategy and perfect timing secured him the win.

“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Gasly grinned, pulling off his helmet, clearly proud of his win.

Lando let out a good-natured laugh. “You definitely caught me off guard there,” he admitted, looking impressed.