F1 stories
Chapter 1, the story of DF2
'Yes, the excitement for f1 this year is huge, but this year, there seems to be even more excitement for a different series, DF1 is getting a lot of hype this year, it has the same teams and same weekend build up as F1, the only difference is that there are no humans in the cars, but dogs.' A commentator visible on the tv said. 'Therefore, the nickname doggy formula one.'
'Definitely, the hype has gone up 1000% since paw patrol member Marshall joined Red-bull in DF1 this year after beating close friend Chase and rival Ace in the DF2 championship. And he is showing great potential. Very good at defending, so good in fact his teammate Russell might win the championship because of it. If Russell manages to win the championship now, he will become a 3-time champion. He has already confirmed he is retiring after this year, so becoming a 3-time champion in your final year in DF1 would be a dream.' The second commentator said.
'But what about Chase and Ace, sadly there was no place in DF1 for them just yet, but we do have some old dogs at Ferrari and Of course there will be an open spot at Red Bull. Not long from now we will witness them battle for a final time this year to see who will win the DF2 championship, and that might well decide where they will end up. I personally do hope Chase ends up at Red-bull with Marshall, that could create some great stories.' The first commentator said.
'Either way, the dog formula races are definitely races to watch today as we wait for the season final in F1 which we will see next week, and that concludes our episode of F1 news today, but we are not-
Chase turns the tv off. He just sits there, embracing the silence. Far away Chase can hear the music, meaning the crowd was already starting to come in, the end of the silence was near. And it ended, as someone knocked on the door.
'Come in.' Chase said.
'Hey bud, am I interrupting?' Marshall said while looking at Chase from the doorway.
'No of course not, a DF1 driver is always welcome in my little hut.' Chase said with a smile.
Marshall laughed. 'Good, are you ready for your race?' Marshall asked.
'Yeah, I am, I hope we can keep it clean this time.' Chase said.
'Don't worry about it.' Marshall said, sitting next to Chase. 'And besides, it's been Ace's fault a lot of the time, you'll be fine.'
'He has been so annoying this whole season.' Chase said. 'He keeps pushing me off track, losing me time. It's frustrating.'
'I guess me beating him to the title last year made him a bit cranky, but if he can't deal with that, it's going to be even more rewarding when you beat him to the title' Marshall said. 'He needs to learn to accept defeat, or he will never make it to DF1. Such a shame, he was such a nice guy when I fought him for the title last year. It's like he turned himself around, in the wrong direction.'
'Yeah, but you are right, more reason for me to beat him.' Chase said. 'I am excited though; Abu Dhabi is a beautiful place.'
'It sure is, too bad you don't race it at night yet, but it's indeed amazing.' Marshall said. 'I'll be watching your race from the pit box, don't want to miss you lifting that DF2 trophy.' Marshall said.
'Thanks Marshall.' Chase said.
'I'll leave you to it now, have fun.' Marshall said. Standing up and moving towards the door. His footsteps are not heard for long as the music outside gets louder. Chase looks outside his window and can watch the many team members, a lot of journalists and rich people with paddock passes walking around the paddock. Another knock on the door, it was a team member.
'You comin down to the pit lane bud, it's time to get yourself ready.' The team member with an Australian accent said.
'Right behind you!' Chase replied. Following his team member to the pit lane. The crowd was already crazy, the attention that journalists had put on the DF2 race had brought a lot of people who didn't have enough money for the F1 race to the doggy formula final race day. The stands were filled, something these DF2 drivers were not used to, and it showed on their faces. The commentators started to wake up as well as the LifeStream started. The drivers started to put on their helmets, hoping to seal out the crowds enthusiastic yelling. Chase did the same, he got into his car and one of the head members of the team came to shake his paw, wishing him a good race. It was time to go to the grid, to get ready, for the season finale.
'Ladies, gentleman and dogs. It's been a long time coming, but today is the day. We've seen a thrilling battle between the two drivers the whole season, but it's going to come down to this. 33 laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will decide which of these two amazing talents will claim the DF2 championship. It's Chase with the Dams team leading the championship with Ace from MP Motorsport not far behind. No other driver can claim the championship anymore. Red-Bull junior driver Casey from the Prema team tried to stay in contention last race but has sadly fallen out of contention. It's MP Motorsport vs DAMS and it's all to play for.' Alex Jacques, lead f2 commentator said.
'It's been so exciting so far, the two cars have touched each other all year, but no one could outrun the other. It's truly been an amazing journey, and I can't wait to see the outcome.' Ben Edwards, second lead commentator added.
'It's Ace who is on pole, he got very lucky though, Chase was looking to be on pole, but he got held up by traffic. Showing we could well have a battle right from the 5 lights.' Alex said.
'Honestly, if those two make it through turn one clean I will leave the commentator's booth and get everyone here a cookie. Cause I don't see them going through that first turn without hitting each other.' Ben promised.
'Oe I'd love a cookie right now Ben, let's hope they get through the turn cleanly though, we have all come here for an on-track fight, not a pitlane one.' Alex said.
'I agree, looks like the drivers are driving the cars to the grid now. We of course get a formation lap as soon as we hit the full hour mark, the cars will do a lap, line up on the grid, and get ready for lights out.' Ben explained.
'Alright formation lap in 30 seconds, have a good one bud.' Tom, Chase's race engineer said through the radio.
'You to. I'm ready.' Chase said.
'Ten seconds. Bring it home, in one piece if you can.' Tom joked.
'Copy that.' Chase said.
The green light went on and Chase got of the line quickly to stay close to Ace, warming up his tires, trying to give as much pressure as he could. He could not help but smile as he heard the crowd roar, everyone was excited and ready for this race to get underway. As the drivers went to the end of the lap the crowd suddenly went quiet, building then tension. It took a lot to focus up and to not get distracted by the silent excitement. Everything was coming together, for this moment.
One light. Two lights, three, four, five………….. six, nah just kidding.
'And we are underway here at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, both Ace and Chase get an equal start, Ace will stay ahead of Chase at turn one, and they make it through turn one clear. Ben, go get those cookies.' Alex said.
'Wow, impressive driving for these two talents to not come together, and yes Alex, I am going to get those cookies now, good luck commentating on your own for 5 minutes.' Ben said.
Chase focused up and stared at the back of that MP Motorsport car, but he had someone behind him, it was the Prema of Casey, that consistent young pup was right behind Chase, looking for an opening. But Chase didn't want to focus on that pup, he had bigger things to worry about, the championship. Ending in second would put Chase and Ace equal on points, but Ace had one more win to his name, meaning Chase had to pass Ace. But Ace looked aggressive, passing him now didn't seem like the right way to go, so thought his engineer.
'Just stick behind him for now, put on the pressure and drive away from the rest of the pack. Pit stops might give you an advantage.' Tom said.
'Copy.' Chase replied, putting all his focus on putting consistent lap times, sticking behind Ace by around a second.
'What's the deal with the championship?' Ace asked his race engineer.
'If you win this race, you will most likely win the championship, just keep this pace and stay in front of Chase.' His engineer replied.
'Alright.'
Both drivers locked in, the guys at MP Motorsport were nervous though. They knew Chase had it in him, and they knew exactly what DAMS was trying, this could be a lot of repair work.
'The fight for 3rd place is real! But these pups should get on with it, all this fighting is pulling Ace and Chase away from the pack, no one can catch up to them when they keep fighting over 3rd place so much.' Alex said.
'Ugh, where has my pace gone, I need to catch up to the leaders, not be fighting for 3rd place with these guys. Anything we can do?' Casey asked.
'We can't do much right now, the pit stops are approaching, try your best to keep position.' His engineer said.
'Copy.' Casey answered.
As fights started happening further back, the front of the field quieted down, but Chase was still within reach of Ace, but he had to wait. Patience is key, especially dealing with a driver that loves to tap you into the wall. Finally, the pitstop window opened, this is where everything had to go right for DAMS. This pitstop could change their race. If they pulled everything perfectly, they could push Chase right into the lead, pulling an undercut on Ace. But when was the time to strike, when was Ace planning to pit. The mind games happening between teams at these moments are crazy, and predicting the outcome is hard, dare I say impossible.
'Box now, box now!' Tom said through the radio. 'Pit confirm please.'
'Copy.' Chase replied.
DAMS had finished waiting for the right moment. Now everything had to go well, could the undercut work? Chase pulls into his pit box and the mechanics start changing the tire, compared to DF1 the pit stops in DF2 are much slower, as way less people are allowed to work on the car. But it is still extremely fast compared to bringing your car to the garage to get new tires. Chase comes out, p3, only Casey stood in his way, time to push. Chase pushed and surprisingly, Ace came in two laps later, weird that he didn't react immediately. Ace came out on the pit lane, just behind Chase. The undercut had worked, now to hold second place.
'Ace comes out right behind Chase, great work from the DAMS team.' Ben said.
'Now this is the moment we were waiting for, no more fights at the back, no more midfield battles. This is it, the fight for the lead. Casey may be in front, but he still has a pit stop to do. So, this is it, which driver is going to come out in front. Will it be Chase, or will it be Ace. Here they came into lap 23.'
'Ten laps to go, keep up your pace.' Tom said.
'Go get him Ace!' Ace's engineer said.
Both drivers locked in on their goal. Chase defending into turn one, holding off the fast orange car behind him for now.
'Ace seems eager to get past that blue car in front of him, Chase holds off for now!' Alex said with the enthusiasm of a real commentator.
'How long until these two touch you recon?' Ben asked.
'I give them two laps.' Alex said. 'Long straight after turn 5 now, Ace will get another chance here. He gains, he gains, he is very close, but not close enough quite yet.
'Oh boy, here we go.' Ben said.
Another straight here after turn 7, so many overtaking opportunities, but Chase knows where to put that car. What a display from him today, car and mind control of a real talent.' Alex said.
'But for how long can he hold him off, we now go through the slower section, the two cars very close, Ace might be close enough by turn one.' Ben said.
'I think it might be earlier than that Ben, he is getting really close, past turn 15, into the final corner. ACE GOES FOR IT!' Alex screams enthusiastically.
'But there is not enough room!' Ben yells.
Chase looks to his inside, sees the orange car coming from far back, and knows what's about to happen.
'ACE BRAKES LATE, TO LATE, HE HITS THE BACK OF THE DAMS CAR, AND SOMETHING BROKE ON THAT CAR!' Alex screams.
'Puncture, puncture.' Chase said.
'Chase pulls into the pits immediately; it looks like a puncture! Oh no what a day for him.' Ben said.
'Not even a word about the crash from Chase, he must be so mad he can't even comment.'
'We reported that.' Tom said over the radio. Hoping for some kind of response.
A clear sigh was heard from Chase over the radio. 'Alright.' Is all Chase said.
'We are going to put you on some old hard tires, we might still have a chance, don't give up bud. give these tires a good push until lap 29 and I'll come back to you.' Tom said.
'Copy that Tom.' Chase said.
Chase comes back out the pits, behind Casey, but Chase was determined to trust whatever the team had come up with and pushed forward.
'Chase within a second of Casey now, who has now pitted. How is he going to deal with this. A driver standing between him and the pup who put him back in p3.' Ben said.
'Here is where we can see what a real driver's mindset should be, do you become mad and drive mad for the rest of the race, or do you pull together and show the world what you can do? And I think Chase might be choosing the latter.' Alex said
'Following Casey closely, might be a move onto the straight after turn 5.' Ben thought out loud.
'Chase, a tire length of distance between the back end of the Prema, and the front wing of the DAMS car. Onto the main straight, drs open, Chase gets all the speed needed, and yes, he is past.' Alex said with some joy. 'Now he just needs a miracle to catch up to Ace, who is a lot of seconds ahead now, not many laps to go, lap 27 is being started now, what more can Chase and his team do to win this championship, not much I think.' Alex said.
'Well, it really depends how you look at it, we can look at this and say, he was so close, what a disappointing end. But you can also say, what a performance from him to end equal on points with a driver that has put him in the wall three times this season. Impressive performance.' Ben reminded.
'Oh wait Ben, Casey is going slow by turn 15, has his engine gone?' Alex said.
'I think the Prema engine might be giving up for the first time this season, and what a sad place to have it.' Ben said.
'I think he can make it to the pits without causing a safety car.' Alex said.
'A shame for Chase, he could really use a safety car right about now, put on some fresh softs he still has, and go right past Ace as we've seen in f1 of course in 2021.' Ben reminded everyone. 'Sadly, not the dream he hoped for, actually wondering though, why didn't they put Chase on fresh softs anyway. The Chase could've pushed more towards Ace, who by the way, might be getting a penalty for that move on Chase. But then again, he would get a five second penalty. Chase is three seconds behind that, he'd need to find some crazy pace on those old hard tires to get that done.'
'All the amazing strategy and teamwork from DAMS. All the luck seems to have finally run out. Every strategy doesn't seem to work for them today, they have been beaten. Complete silence in Chase's pit box. What could this team possibly pull off? Alex said.
'There it is, a 5 second penalty for Ace, it has no effect on anything. Chase is too far back, what could he possibly do?
'Okay Chase, get ready. We can go to a plan we have never used before, but I think you might know what I mean. We are going plan f, plan f. 'Tom said over the radio.
'Copy, when do I come in?' Chase asked.
'The start of lap 32.' Tom replied.
The team principle of MP motorsport heard the conversation. He looked at the chief engineers beside him, who were getting very excited.
'Don't cheer yet, we might lose.' He said with a strict voice.
'But how could we lose at this point?' An engineer asked.
'DAMS are pulling a DF1 move, never used in DF2 yet, but it might just work out for them.'
The engineers looked confused.
'Just tell Ace not to celebrate yet, this is not over until Chase crosses the line!' The team principle said.
'Ace, Don't celebrate yet when you cross the line, Chase has one more trick up his sleeve, just wait until I give you any confirmation.' The race engineer told Ace.
'I don't understand, why?' Ace asked.
'You focus on getting your car over the line with those worn mediums, I'll worry about Chase.'
'It's lap 32 and Chase comes into the pits! He goes onto softs, wait a minute Alex, is he doing what I think he is doing.
'Oh my, Ehm, ladies and gentleman. We thought it was over, but it's far from over. Chase is going for the fastest lap of the race, if he manages to get that fastest lap, he will win the championship!' Alex said.
'The fastest lap gives Chase one point, which would put him one point ahead of Ace!' Ben added.
'This tactic is used in f1 and DF1 sometimes, but never has it been used in the doggie junior league, and never has it made the difference in the final race of the season, but Chase has the chance to pull it off.
'Okay Chase, warm up those tires, focus up, I won't bother you until the finish. Best of luck bud.' Tom said over the radio.
'Thank you Tom, that's copied.' Chase said.
'3.2 miles for Chase to master on his fresh softs. He starts lap 33. This. Is. It.
Everything falls silent, not literally, because the crowd is going crazy, but no sound enters Chase's mind. The only thing he hears Is the engine, and his up and downshifting. This is being in the zone like nothing else. Past the first corner, the 3rd the 5th into the straight. Through 6 and 7. Onto the straight again. Past the long slow corner, corners that are barely corners. Into the slow section. Seemingly passing every corner like any 6-year-old kid could pull it off. Nothing could possibly distract Chase from this, but what would it be?
'Chase is flying through this track. Green first sector, barely under the fastest lap after sector two. This is going to be really close!' Ben said.
'Absolutely flying through the slower corners of this track. Only a few more corners away from the finish line, a few corners away from knowing how his season will end. Will Chase grab the fastest lap of the race, winning the championship, or will Ace keep his championship, winning purely on one race win more than Chase. It can go both ways here! Through turn 15, a bit of oversteer in turn 16. Nothing Chase can't handle. Onto the start finish straight, Chase comes across the line!
The fireworks are going off, but everyone was silent, waiting for Chase's lap time to appear on the screen. A silence only Will Buxton could break. Chase waited patiently, almost giving up as the silence continued. But suddenly, the crowd went wild. Chase dared to start smiling, as Tom finally came on the radio.
'Mate, you are a doggy formula two champion, you are an absolute legend, HAHA!' Tom said.
'YESSS hahaha, lets gooo!' Chase said, finally able celebrate after that chaos of a race.
'Chase has made it work, he becomes the DF2 champion by setting the fastest lap in the final lap, WHAT A RESULT!' Alex screamed full of enthusiasm.
'What a race, I can't believe what I just witnessed.' Alex reflected.
'In my years of commentating f2, and in my 5 years since DF2 became a thing, I have never seen such a rollercoaster of a final race. Wow, a race for the history books.' Ben said. 'I don't think this is the last we will see off these two, this will go on in DF1 I am sure of it.
'i'm sorry Ace, Chase got the fastest lap in the end, winning the championship by one point, still a great job all year bud, we're very proud of you, i'm sure some DF! teams will be to.'
'Why didn't you say anything, i could've gone for the fastest lap to.' Ace responded.
'We had no fresh softs available, and we din't expect this tactic, sorry about this. Another p1 trophy for your collection.' The engineer said.
'Well that doens't matter.' Ace mumbled.
'You can park your car on the p1 spot, we'll be there as well.' The engineer said.
'Ace comes home to park his car on the p1 spot, but I don't think he'll be celebrating. All celebrations go to the DAMS car parking his car in p2 now. Chase, your newest DF2 winner!
Chase climbs out of his car, the crowd loves it and cheers him on. Chase puts his paw in the air out of excitement and jumps off his car, running towards his team to celebrate, whilst the pup in p3 is already being interviewed. Chase quickly spots Marshall standing with the team and runs to him first, giving him a hug. 'Thank you.' He said, before going past the rest of the team to celebrate. The smile could not be wiped anyone's face at DAMS. They knew it, they had done something truly amazing. The crowd screaming like Abu Dhabi 2021 just happened. (So sorry for all the Hamilton fans, I'm no max fan I promise, I tend to get myself depressed with my driver choices.) then it's time for interviews.
'Wow what a reaction from the crowd. Chase, second place in the race, but not second in the championship. Tell us all about it.' The interviewer said.
'Yeah we had a pretty simple start, stayed behind Ace, not really a real opportunity possible. Then the team managed to get the undercut which put me in a good position. Then the contact, really thought it was championship over honestly, but the team kept believing and so I kept believing and with a little bit of luck, we have made it work.' Chase said.
'How do you look back in this race.'
'With frustration, of course you just want an on-track battle for the lead, it's annoying that it just causes an incident almost every time so, that's not ideal.' Chase said.
'Anything you can tell us about what you'll be doing next year?'
'I don't know, we will see what happens.' Chase said, not wanting to spoil anything.
'Alright, congrats on the championship win, and have fun celebrating.'
'I certainly will.' Chase said with a smile.
'Then of course we go to our p1 finisher. Ace, just short of the championship, any thoughts?'
'It's pretty simple, we should've won the championship, this is just unfair and I expect the FIA to look into that.' Ace said.
'What does the FIA need to look into?'
'Well he didn't give me any space out on track, I was leading the whole race so it should be clear who should have that trophies if you ask me.' Ace said with a mad tone.
'Thank you for your time, enjoy the race win.'
Without saying anything Ace walks away, to the cooling room where the top 3 meet. Ace walks in on the pup in p3 congratulating Chase, Ace decides to keep his mouth shut, as officials and camera's are everywhere. The drivers go on the podium, Chase and the p3 driver having a blast, whilst Ace stands in silence, just pure annoyance on his face.
'And with that the DF2 season comes to an end, we will see you next year for a new battle with new drivers. We hope, as exciting as this one was. Good night.
Wow, that was chapter one, make sure to leave a comment letting me know what you guys think of this story so far, and no worries, I have a lot of storylines and plans up my sleeve ;). 4K words in one chapter, must be a record, I think only the what if stories could beat that. Have a great day everyone!