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~Of Friendship & Rivalry~
Fifteen laps to go in the final stages of the Belgian Grand Prix. Sitting behind the wheel of his McLaren Mercedes, and just exiting the pitlane was the driver in p2- Varun. Three seconds down the road was the leading Ferrari, pilotted by his childhood friend. This was no dream, THIS was reality. This was the penultimate round of the championship, with the top two contenders drawn for points: him (Varun) and his Ferrari counterpart (Mukul). Both of them had grown up together: racing go-karts and Formula FISSME cars for almsot two decades agaisnt each other. Now, the moment for which they had been waiting had been thrust upon them: a Formula One Championship decider between them. The best part was, the track was wet and a there was a slight drizzle, which would make the remaining 15 laps all the more memorable.
Ever since he could remember, Mukul had been his fiercest rival on the track and his best friend off it. In every competition he had enetred, he could remember Mukul and him standing together on the podium, soemtimes Mukul grabbing the win and sometimes him. The podium ceremony had always been full of smiles and hugs for the duo, no matter what had happened on the track.
But those happy memories of the last 18 odd years were the las things on his mind as he focussed all his attention, all his concentraion on one aim- the task of overtaking the scarlet Ferrari in front of him within the next 15 laps and thus win the World Championship. If he had to overtake his best friend, then so be it.
As he roared through the corners, the balance of his McLaren nowhere near perfect in these wet conditions, he thought about his chances of overtaking the rival Ferrari. True, in the dry, his McLaren was no match to the Ferrari. But now, conditions were different; the rain had pretty much evened things out. He knew he had a genune chance to win the World championship, something he had dreamed of sicne the first time he heard the growl of a Formula One engine on his TV.
Now, as he roared through the Eau Rouge chicane, made immortal in F1 circles due to its high speed nature, he was going extremely , extremely fast. As some drivers would put it, he was "in the zone. " Man and machinery were thinking and behaving as one. In his mind's eye, he could see the next corner perfectly clearly, the braking points and the apexes ingrained in his memory to help in precisely such situations. The adrenal
ine pumped through his veins as he fought to correct the understeer on his car. Visibility was worse than ppoor, he was practically relying on instinct and impulse rather than vision to plant the car in the right direction. The Ferrari of Mukul had just set the fastest lap time, his pit crew exclaimed. No matter, I'll better him, was Varun's steadfast reply. And better him, he did! Over the next five laps, the gap came tumbling down to only 0.2 seconds.
"You have 10 laps! Repoeat, 10 laps! Overtake the Ferrari ahead of you!" came the blaring voice of his team boss. Obediently, he planted his nose down the inside of Mukul's car. The move didnt quite work out and he was still stuck in P2. Ahead of him, he imagined the final corner on the circuit, the Bus Stop Chicane, loom up. He narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and took God's name and made is move. Luckily, this time Mukul had no answer and his McLaren surged ahead into the race lead. The next couple of laps were quite comfortable, but suddenly the Ferarri found some pace and overtook him again. It was a clean racing move, and he knew it. Mukul was playing on his weakness: the inability to get the pwer down while coming out of slow corners had been a chink in his armour for quite some time.
Now true character would shine out. More than anything else, this was a battle in their minds, a war of mental temperament. These were two young drivers, both of them extremely motivated and both of them very evenly matched on skills and machinery.
He was really beginning to enjoy this: the thrill of competition and the smell of victory hung in the air as he zoomed past the grandstands. He could hear the fans cheering, as he quite expected. The support from the Indian contingent was amazing: the media had hyped this year's championship as India's battle on the racetrack. Fans screamed their names out and screamed in anticipation.
The speed of his car was there: he knew he could overtake Mukul again...now it was down to the last lap!! The gap was barely a whisker, nose to tail, through all the corners! The final set of corners approached - and Mukul made one msiatke - braked a fraction too late - and Varun saw it! Down the main staright both the cars came, side by side, with the mcLaren's nose in front!! In this formation they crossed the line, the driver's champuionship was his!!!!!!!!!!! TIME FOR CELEBRATION!
Like a true friend, ofcourse, Mukul partied with him late into the night. Their rivalry on the racetrack ended when they stepped out of their speedy stallions. THIS was ideal friendship, THIS was sportsmanship!
Ever since he could remember, Mukul had been his fiercest rival on the track and his best friend off it. In every competition he had enetred, he could remember Mukul and him standing together on the podium, soemtimes Mukul grabbing the win and sometimes him. The podium ceremony had always been full of smiles and hugs for the duo, no matter what had happened on the track.
But those happy memories of the last 18 odd years were the las things on his mind as he focussed all his attention, all his concentraion on one aim- the task of overtaking the scarlet Ferrari in front of him within the next 15 laps and thus win the World Championship. If he had to overtake his best friend, then so be it.
As he roared through the corners, the balance of his McLaren nowhere near perfect in these wet conditions, he thought about his chances of overtaking the rival Ferrari. True, in the dry, his McLaren was no match to the Ferrari. But now, conditions were different; the rain had pretty much evened things out. He knew he had a genune chance to win the World championship, something he had dreamed of sicne the first time he heard the growl of a Formula One engine on his TV.
Now, as he roared through the Eau Rouge chicane, made immortal in F1 circles due to its high speed nature, he was going extremely , extremely fast. As some drivers would put it, he was "in the zone. " Man and machinery were thinking and behaving as one. In his mind's eye, he could see the next corner perfectly clearly, the braking points and the apexes ingrained in his memory to help in precisely such situations. The adrenal
"You have 10 laps! Repoeat, 10 laps! Overtake the Ferrari ahead of you!" came the blaring voice of his team boss. Obediently, he planted his nose down the inside of Mukul's car. The move didnt quite work out and he was still stuck in P2. Ahead of him, he imagined the final corner on the circuit, the Bus Stop Chicane, loom up. He narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and took God's name and made is move. Luckily, this time Mukul had no answer and his McLaren surged ahead into the race lead. The next couple of laps were quite comfortable, but suddenly the Ferarri found some pace and overtook him again. It was a clean racing move, and he knew it. Mukul was playing on his weakness: the inability to get the pwer down while coming out of slow corners had been a chink in his armour for quite some time.
Now true character would shine out. More than anything else, this was a battle in their minds, a war of mental temperament. These were two young drivers, both of them extremely motivated and both of them very evenly matched on skills and machinery.
He was really beginning to enjoy this: the thrill of competition and the smell of victory hung in the air as he zoomed past the grandstands. He could hear the fans cheering, as he quite expected. The support from the Indian contingent was amazing: the media had hyped this year's championship as India's battle on the racetrack. Fans screamed their names out and screamed in anticipation.
The speed of his car was there: he knew he could overtake Mukul again...now it was down to the last lap!! The gap was barely a whisker, nose to tail, through all the corners! The final set of corners approached - and Mukul made one msiatke - braked a fraction too late - and Varun saw it! Down the main staright both the cars came, side by side, with the mcLaren's nose in front!! In this formation they crossed the line, the driver's champuionship was his!!!!!!!!!!! TIME FOR CELEBRATION!
Like a true friend, ofcourse, Mukul partied with him late into the night. Their rivalry on the racetrack ended when they stepped out of their speedy stallions. THIS was ideal friendship, THIS was sportsmanship!
Tags & Keywords : f1, ferrari, sport, sportsmanship, mclaren, friendship, formula one, speed