Eight Years Ago…
James "Jimmy" Potter was excited. His Aunt Athena had invited him to see her race in what was her final season as a Formula One driver.
What's more was that it was Jimmy Potter's first time in Japan, the country that was described as the "Land of the Rising Sun", and he was excited, especially as he had always wanted to visit the country.
It was the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, and he was excited. Not because he was able to meet his aunt's teammate, Kevin Magnussen, for the second time in the season, or that he and his dad, former Red Bull driver Harry Potter, had been invited to watch the race from the McLaren garage (Although Jimmy did wear the McLaren race suit his aunt had given him, much to the torment of the Red Bull supporting Harry!).
But his excitement was because it was the first time he had been to a Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit, and despite the heavy rain that had been predicted, he had had a feeling that the race was going to be an exciting one.
Athena Potter had been doing well in the Championship, sitting in 8th place, trading points and positions with the Williams driver, Felipe Massa, and Jimmy was proud to be a fan of his aunt's.
The race had started with the rain pouring, causing heavy spray as the cars went along the track, impairing the visibility of the drivers. Sitting in the garage with a headset on, Jimmy could hear his aunt's comments about the track and the visibility.
"They need to red flag this." Harry said to his son, seeing the Caterham of Marcus Ericsson going into the gravel trap on one of the screens in the garage.
Jimmy heard his dad mutter something under his breath, and could see that the elder Potter was gripping the table where they were sitting really hard, his knuckles whitening.
He knew his dad had some memories from his days as a Formula One driver that he never mentioned, and his mum wouldn't mention them either, but seeing his dad acting as he did, he knew it had to be something bad (something Jimmy wouldn't know the whole story of, until he was a Formula One driver himself).
"Dad?" Jimmy asked, concerned. "What's up?"
Harry looked at his son, who everyone said was a smaller version of himself, and loosened his grip on the table.
"Nothing James." He sighed. "Well, to be truthful, I just can't believe Charlie let Bernie and the Honda people overrule him."
Jimmy knew his father was referring to the race director, Charlie Whiting, and the commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone. He had met the two several times, the first time being at the 2005 British Grand Prix, when Whiting had offered to let him press the button that started that race.
Fortunately for his dad's nerves, the race had got red flagged after two laps, but nobody could have predicted what would happen later on in the race.
Present Day…
Jimmy was standing there, trying not to be embarrassed. His father and aunt were filming a segment for Sky Sports with Jenson Button, and he was going to have to say something on camera. But they'd been chatting away about something else entirely—they were talking about their past as Formula One drivers.
"Do you remember 2009? The season that Harry won?" Athena said.
"It was a fluke... a fluke I say. I was so close at various points, and then that pesky Red Bull car came along..." Jenson said. "At least I wasn't beat by a by a red and silver menace!"
Harry laughed at that. "Well, I did have wings you know!"
Jenson shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep at night!"
"Anyway," Harry continued, "the point is—"
"That you were a pesky Red Bull car!" Athena interrupted.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, whatever. If you want. We all know you only won in '05 because I won the previous year! You couldn't do it without me!"
Athena's face fell slightly. She looked around the room. Everyone was laughing at her. Even Jimmy found himself chuckling into his hand, although he wished his gran was there as she'd soon put the two Potters back in their place.
"Okay, okay, let's move on," Jenson said. "We're here today to talk about serious things... like motorsport safety."
He glanced at Athena. "How do you feel about the new rules for next season, with the changes to the halo device, especially after what happened at Silverstone."
"The halo is an absolute necessity," Athena said. "Especially with the incident that happened last year between Lewis and Max at Monza, and then with Jimmy at Silverstone. Having a rounded top will on the roll hoop will mean it won't get stuck in the ground."
Turning to Harry, the Team Principal at Alfa Romeo got asked for his opinion.
"There are always improvements to be made," he said. "But the changes to the halo is a good step forward. When I had my crash in 2003, we never had that, all we had was the HANS device. I mean, having seen several incidents, both as a driver and as an advisor to Red Bull and AlphaTauri, you can see how much better the halo is. It might not look pretty, but it'll save lives."
"Good," Jenson said. "And finally, what's your prediction for today's result?"
"Max will win it here. It'll be a Red Bull one-two... personally though, I think they should delay the start of the race, especially in these conditions." Harry responded.
"What do you mean?" Jenson asked.
Harry shrugged. "Well, when it rains like this, it means there's more debris on the track. If you delay the start, wait for the worst of the rain to go, we can have a better race. Do you remember Spa last year? 3 laps of racing in yellow flag conditions. 2014 here? Rain, Adrian Sutil crashing, Jules Bianchi crashing. Canada 2011? All those spins. Heck, Brazil 2003 still haunts me at times."
Everyone went quiet. They all knew what Harry meant, and the way he'd phrased it only added to the intensity of the situation.
"I'm sure we could speak further about the weather," Jenson said, "and Harry does have a point. But there's not much we can do about it now. What are your predictions for the race Athena?"
"Well, Charles looks good, despite the Ferrari strategy being all over the place. But I'm going to have to go with Harry for once. Lando and Daniel will get into the points."
"Ever the optimist." Harry said, smiling.
"Oi, I was about to say that your AlphaTauri's will have a good race, but I do think Jimmy will beat them. Although I would laugh if he did what I did in Canada back in 2011."
"Nah, he isn't starting from 7th! Anyway, I still don't know how you did it. 5 pit stops, 1 drive through penalty, playing bumper cars with your teammate, and still getting the win! Heck, I started next to you and I only finished 4th!" Button said.
"Yeah, well, it's easy when you have the best car in the field!" Athena said, smiling.
"Okay, so we've all given our predictions. We've also got here Jimmy Potter, who will be appearing in the race, Jimmy, last time you were here you were a kid, supporting your aunt. This time its in a car yourself, how do you feel? And what are your thoughts on today's conditions?"
"To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. The last time I was here, as you said, was supporting Aunt Athena, and then the incident dad mentioned happened. Dad and I were in the McLaren garage at the time, watching the action from there. So I'm a little apprehensive and if I'm honest, I don't know what to expect. I am a bit concerned about the rain though."
"You're not alone there my friend." Jenson said, nodding. "A lot of people are nervous, myself included. But I think we all have faith in each other."
"Yes, and I hope that faith is justified." Jimmy said.
"Its like this. Some things in life are worth waking up early for, and this is one of those days. Welcome along to Suzuka in the rain, potentially the title deciding race, on the track where the Formula One adventure started for Max Verstappen, at the age of 17 years and 3 days old, he became the youngest driver to take part in a Formula One practice session. This is the track on which he, and the other 19 cars are going to be racing on. 53 laps in the rain at Suzuka, 18 corners, 8 to the left and 10 to the right."
Jimmy Potter was nervous. He'd had a chat with Yuki Tsunoda before having to head back to his garage for the start of the preparations for the race, discussing what the best parts on the course were great for various manoeuvres, the Japanese driver having spent a lot of time on the circuit before he graduated to the Japanese Formula 4.
But he still had worries, especially with the rain that was falling. Watching as the team completed the final preparations on his car, having his seatbelt fitted, he could see the fans were cheering for their "hometown hero", the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda. Knowing that the team had fitted the green striped Pirelli tyres, the 'intermediate' ones, he had a bit of extra grip, but he was still worried about aquaplaning off the track.
"Three minutes to go." He heard his brother call on the radio.
"The forecast is 100% rain for the duration of the race. It's the intermediates that are the best tyres, with most of the cars being fitted with them, but could the rain intensify, the wet weather tyres, as worn by Scorpius Malfoy in the Aston Martin, and the two AlphaTauri's of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, could prove key.
"So the starting grid then for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, and we have Pierre Gasly starting from the pit lane, Nicholas Latifi from 19th, Scorpius Malfoy in 18th, next to Kevin Magnussen. Ahead of those, Alex Albon, alongside Mick Schumacher in the Haas in 15th. Jimmy Potter in 14th, next to Yuki Tsunoda in what is the first Japanese Grand Prix for the two drivers."
"Two minutes to go" Al called over the radio, "You ok?"
"Nervous. Hoping that everything goes right. Just hoping not to go off the track." Jimmy replied, "How's grandad?"
"He's sitting in the back of the garage, watching. Dad came in just after you left, wanting to wish us good luck. He said that he saw you earlier."
"Yeah, I wanted to speak to Yuki and Pierre, wanted to wish them well." Jimmy replied, sighing. "I just hope this rain comes off soon."
"The radar shows it raining throughout the race."
"Cheers. That's the greatest news I've heard."
"And Verstappen, on his last two visits to Suzuka, has collided with a Ferrari. Jenson Button alongside me, who still says that he was cheated out of the 2009 Championship by the incoming AlphaTauri Team Principal, Harry Potter. Jenson, that is stat that Max Verstappen does not want to repeat."
"No, exactly Crofty, hello to everyone back home, and hello down in the AlphaTauri garage to Harry Potter, who won't be able to hear me say that he was lucky. Seriously, its an exciting race ahead of us, we've got Max wanting a dry run into turn 1, we've got a proper fight on our hands, as he's got Charles Leclerc next to him, he's got the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz behind him, you don't know where the fight is going to come from."
"That's right, and in Sky Race Control, someone who is a champion, a 3 time one at that, Athena Potter, Athena, what other challenges do you think we'll have today?"
"Well, you've got the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, you've got Lewis, I agree with Jenson, we've got a good fight on our hands. But at the same time, don't count out the midfield. You've got Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin, Lando Norris, both having come off great races in Singapore, and then slightly further back, you've got the Alfa Romeo of Jimmy Potter facing off against the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda, both aiming to score some points. I don't know who my brother, and fellow three-time champion, will be rooting for in that, but I do know that today will certainly be interesting!"
"One minute to go." Al called over the radio, as the team removed the tyre blankets.
Eventually the clock turned to the top of the hour, and the cars headed off on the formation lap.
"Its got wetter in the last five minutes Crofty, Jenson, its really started to proper throw it down, the weather is coming from the south west direction, up to the north east, there is more as some of the Team Principals have said, coming later in the race, so its right on the border line between inters and wets."
"Thanks Ted, and with Scorpius Malfoy in the Aston Martin, and the two AlphaTauri's of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda all opting for the wets, the rest of the field the Inters, with any more rain coming down, we might see if the initial setup by those three will be replicated by the rest of the field."
"The thing is though, if you can use the inter at the start, then you will because they have a better life, but with the gamble by Malfoy, Gasly and Tsunoda, could they have made the better choice? I mean, those wet tyres, they're not as good in the high speed corners, they're a bit lazy."
Heading through the Casio Triangle, Jimmy could see the performance of the AlphaTauri in front of him from was slightly better, however there were some loss during some of the corners, such as around the Spoon Curve.
As he got back to the grid, he could see that the rain was still settling on the track. Watching as the lights lit up, ready for the race to start.
"Pierre Gasly from the pit lane has much warmer tyres than those on the grid, as the back of the pack arrive."
"So watch out and try and pick your favourite driver amid the spray, it could be a title decider for Max Verstappen as its 53 laps, and its lights out, and away we go. Verstappen crawling away, Leclerc having a good start up the inside, Esteban Ocon, into turn 1 we go, as Jimmy Potter goes through the middle of his teammate and Daniel Riccardo to get to 11th, and Verstappen is ahead of Charles Leclerc, as they now head towards the S's, and Daniel Riccardo gets the place back from Potter."
"We have a yellow flag in sector 1, as Potter and Bottas, and we have Vettel, spinning out on turn 1, he's back on the track, green flag."
"Jimmy Potter, now 11th following Vettel's spin, and now, Vettel is carrying on, his record of qualifying in the top 10 in every Japanese Grand Prix, with Verstappen in the lead."
James Potter was sitting in the back of the Alfa Romeo garage, watching Jimmy's progress, the screen he was watching having the data from the car, seeing how his other grandson, Al, was on the headset, communicating with his brother, keeping him updated as a race engineer would.
James missed his racing days, and doing the odd TV interview with his friend, Martin, kept him occupied, but today he wasn't in the Alfa Romeo garage working.
He was there to provide support for his Al and Jimmy, he was there to support his grandchildren.
But James was worried. He had been present when his son, Harry, had been involved in the infamous 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, a race which claimed several cars on one corner, and then two cars, one of which was his son's car, on the straight. He had been present when Athena had almost span off in a very wet Canadian Grand Prix in 2011, and now he was here, in another race which a member of his family was in a race that there was heavy rain.
He could see, however, that James Sirius Potter was doing well off the start, and with the extra safety features and lessons that had been learnt over the years, he hoped that nothing would go wrong for him.
But then Sergio Perez aquaplaned off the track, and the worry came back, twice as hard.