CHAPTER GLOSSARY

Jeddah Grand Prix: the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix (2/24 of the season)

Race Line: the optimal path to take around the track (speed and distance in mind) most drivers will take this line to maintain their position

Paddock: housing for all the teams, garages, and exclusive viewing of the race

Pit Stop: pitting involves leaving the track to enter the pit lane for a tire change (happens at least once every race) Drivers tend to lose around 20 seconds with a good, fast pit stop, so these are strategically timed

Tire Compounds: Softs, Mediums, and Hards. Soft: faster speed with less tire life; Hard: slower with longer tire life

Race Engineer: each driver has an engineer on the other side of their radio. This person is the direct point of contact for the driver during the race and it's their job to update the driver of all road conditions, call the car in for a pit stop and take mid-race feedback from the driver

Redbull / Sauber / McLaren: F1 Teams

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Jeddah was one of the most difficult races of the season. The track layout meant there was only one pit really needed and it was always go, go, go, on the throttle.

Jungkook had raced in Saudi the year before in F2, but it was entirely new in the cars of F1. They hardly slowed down on that track. Turns were taken at high speeds and if they weren't fully locked into the race, barrier collisions were all too common.

He hit the pitlane button on his steering to slow down at the pit entrance, tail lights flashing in the night race that prompted heavy street lamps across the area to light the track. He swerved into the Mercedes pit lane and pulled up to the jack, feeling the car jerk up from both ends as his degraded medium tires were swapped out to new hards. He hit the water button and drank some water in the seconds of a break.

He could make it to the end of the race in those tires.

Fresh tires meant he could try for the fastest lap of the race.

When he got the green light, Jungkook pulled forward and into the main road.

"Slightly slow pit, but you're maintaining position and entering behind Ader in the Rebull." His engineer's voice filled his ears and Jungkook let the car maintain the pitlane speed until he passed the line. "Clear entry. Sauber five seconds behind."

With that, he sped forward onto the ramp merging back into the track. Moving to the left lane until he picked up some speed on the straightest part of the track, Jungkook returned to the race lane as he hit the brakes to enter turn one. His seat pressed into his sides as he turned left and then sharply left through the chicane before evening out on a short straight.

"How close am I to DRS on Ader?" He asked before swerving into the continuous turns that made up turns four through twelve. Jungkook shifted up and hit the corners near two hundred kilometers per hour the force hitting his chest as he worked the pedals systematically.

"You're point-two seconds within DRS range."

Jungkook became ambitious with the news and forced more speed on the straights. The Mercedes was better on turns than the straights— especially compared to the Redbull. It was advantageous in Jeddah with minimal straight parts of the track.

The turn thirteen hairpin was a long radius hairpin, one of the slowest turns of the track, and yet he still racked up a speed of a hundred seventy on the race line.

He exited on Ader's ass, getting the slipstream and reducing his drag.

"Go DRS."

He hit the button and the flaps for the drag reduction system lowered. That combined with the slipstream made his overtake on the inside line of the next turns much easier. Jungkook pulled ahead of Ader out of turn eighteen. He cheered and hit the accelerator. The barriers were inches from his sides as he sped over the curbs in the weaving of the next turns.

"Excellent, Jungkook. That's P4! Farrow's Ferrari sub six seconds ahead, battling with McLaren."

P4 just tasted like the hint of a podium he was starving for. P2 may have been the first loser, but for him, P4 was worse. He could only look up and P3 was next. P3 meant a podium, a trophy and some of the top points. If his teammate, Avila, maintained P1, they would continue a strong start to the Constructor's Championship for Mercedes.

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"And Jeon weaves his way past the traffic of the Haas and Sauber that battle out of Turn 27! With three laps to go, this race's podium results are becoming close." Benjamin said into the microphone, commentating for Sky Sports' broadcasting. "He's closing in on Farrow and with the speed of the Mercedes that we've seen from both drivers this weekend, the probability of securing third is high for the rookie."

"Right? Ferrari is struggling in all the corners with understeer." Tom agreed. "Farrow and Kim are sporting two different front wing shapes for Ferrari's testing and it seems like Farrow got the better of the two. Kim is pushing the car to its limits incredibly well to hang onto P6, having climbed two positions from his start."

"Farrow lost the P2 fight with Bailey in that McLaren many laps ago, but if he can hang on just a few more laps, he'll keep his spot on the podium. Jeon's pace is two tenths quicker than the Ferrari's, so he's projected to close the gap in the next lap."

"What do you think about the Mercedes dynamic, Ben? Unlike that of the rest of the grid?"

"Quite, Tom. Generally for these drivers, your teammate is your biggest opponent on the track. If you have the same car as them and you're performing worse... it's a big red flag."

"Having a rookie and a champion on the same team like the Mercedes duo creates a completely different kind of relationship." Tom nodded as he watched along from the commentator's box. "Jeon is ambitious and fresh and Avila is strong and reliable."

"They can push and learn from one another quite well. Already seeing a change in Jeon since last weekend in Bahrain." Benjamin pointed ahead. "Speaking of, he's in DRS range. It might take both DRS portions of Sector 2 and 3 to get an overtake he can pull away with, though."

"Farrow's more aggressive on offense than defense, but still he doesn't let people pass easily... there's Jeon in his slipstream as they hit the high speed of sector two! And he goes around the outside to try and get in front before the slow down in turn twenty seven— oh! Not quick enough, the Mercedes pulls back behind the Ferrari in the last turn of the lap."

"Farrow could have given Jeon that turn with the DRS coming out of it, looks like he might not be confident in the Ferrari's ability to overtake that Mercedes." Benjamin pointed out. "And there's Jeon, whipping out and around to overtake the Ferrari in the straight as they enter the forty ninth of fifty laps of this race! The rookie is now P3!"

"Unbelievable! He's pulling away like a new boost has entered his system— heading into the fast corners of Sector 1 with a full second and a half lead on the Ferrari!"

"He held fastest lap for a while there until Ferrari put Kim in double mediums this race. Interesting choice that seems to be doubling down hard now, but he's holding that fastest lap point."

"Impressive with that wing on his car!" Tom let out a stark laugh. "In the midfield, we've got one last battle between Morrison and Pena for P12..."

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Taehyung crossed the line at P6. He breathed heavily, gasping for breath and slowing down as he entered a cool down lap. His engineer congratulated him while his brow ticked a bit when the bittersweet gratitude to the team came from his end.

He had been given a shit car. It hardly compared to the pace of Farrow's, that much had become clear in qualifying when he started four positions back. They were split in the standings by Ader in his Redbull by the end of the race, so Taehyung could be satisfied by that atleast.

He followed behind Ader into the pits, stopping the car outside the Ferrari garage as he drove ahead to Redbull. Parking just next to Farrow's car, Taehyung letting the sea of red fill his vision.

Reaching through the gap of the halo, Taehyung yanked out his steering wheel and set it on the body of the race car. He was helped out of the vehicle despite having the strength to grab the halo bars and pull himself out of the cockpit.

He jumped down and hit the ground, taking the pats on his back and cheering with grace. Instead, he pulled off his helmet and balaclava, feeling the breeze of the night hit his skin and chill the sweat littered everywhere.

Next came his gloves and raking a hand through his hair. Taehyung retreated into the garage to catch the monitors and escape media for a few minutes.

Plus, avoid Luc and his obnoxious presence post race. P4 was maintaining his position. It was like the Ferrari golden boy hadn't done anything all fifty laps but drive safe.

He did remember seeing the fight between Farrow and Jungkook near the end of the race and carefully watched the televisions.

He was weighed in and handed a water bottle to try and slowly make up the weight he'd lost in the past two hours.

Taehyung's grip tightened on the plastic as clips of the cool down room showed the top three of the race.

Avila, Bailey, Jeon— respectively.

They were called out to the podium and screens switched to welcome the American driver first, his smile wide and beaming as he stepped up to the lowest podium and waved to the crowds lit by strong street lamps. Cheers were audible in the distance, beyond the paddock and garages.

He saw people around him watching intently, hearing them talk about the Mercedes rookie who bowed and stood patiently as Bailey and then Avila came out.

The Argentinian and German anthems played for Avila and Mercedes before trophies were awarded.

Officials left the stage so the drivers could pop their champagne bottles. Avila went straight for his engineer to the side and Bailey went for Jungkook.

Taehyung seemed to be immune to the contagious smiles on the top threes' faces, taking that as his cue to stand and greet some of the others on his way to the motorhome.

Farrow had exited the garage on the paddock side and was surrounded by media as the podium celebrations were wrapping up. They would all be heading to the media pen for some coverage soon and then their team homes for debriefs, but Taehyung grimaced when his teammate caught sight of him trying to sneak past and called out.

"Kim!"

Media scrambled to get both Ferrari drivers in the same frame.

Taehyung wanted them to experience the feeling of being nailed into a wall with unwanted attention.

"Hi, hello," he glanced around the three cameras and two interviewers with paddock passes dangling down their front.

Taehyung reached out a hand and Farrow took it. Fingers squeezed his knuckles abnormally tight as their hands shook, pinching his skin and he shot Luc a look, the man obliviously smiling at an interviewer who asked a question.

The guy just always had a problem with anyone who didn't shine his shoes.

"Great racing today! Didn't see you on the track... where did you end up again?" Farrow asked him, throwing a friendly arm around his shoulder and Taehyung went rigid at the touch.

Asshole.

He bit his cheek hard before opening his mouth to keep their PR team relatively happy. "P6. Congrats on P4– so close to the champagne, I'm sure you can taste it."

Luc's eyes sharpened for a split second, dulling to a nonchalant and trained gaze just as fast.

"You both pulled through with the struggling pace of your cars." One of their interviewers brought their attention back to the microphones catching their every word. It didn't make either of them nervous, though, it only fanned the fire. "Best team finish behind Mercedes."

"We will do better next time." Farrow let out a harsh breath next to him and Taehyung stepped aside to let the arm around him fall.

"Yes, definitely try to improve more from our starting positions in the next race." The new driver for Ferrari smiled for the camera, liking that his jab seemed to tick at the other. The interviewers thanked them before briskly moving away to get in on the commotion following the Mercedes drivers as they entered the paddock area to join their team.

"Kim, how does it feel for the rookie to podium before you?" Farrow turned to him, standing between him and the crowds along the paddock lane.

"I could ask you the same thing. You're the one he overtook." Taehyung grunt out as he ripped open his race suit to relieve some of the heat trapped inside. Jeddah was moderate at night and he welcomed the cool down on his body as he tied the suit arms around his waist and let the long sleeves of the undershirt stick to him like a layer of skin. "With the better car."

"Please," the French man scoffed, mumbling something under his breath as he slid a cap on his blond hair. "He brakes too late like an idiot."

"You brake like your grandma is in that seat, Farrow." His accent was cutting in more as the anger spiked a second later. Why was he defending Jeon? It pissed him off and he didn't give the French man another second of his time as he turned and got to other duties post race before their team debrief.

It was some time later after the debrief in the motorhome that Taehyung changed into personal clothes and let the crew take his suit and race attire. The khakis gave his legs some room as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and popped open the top couple buttons.

As he waited for some logistics to wrap up and for them to be cleared for the rest of the night, he stepped outside to catch some fresh air. The motor home had gotten stuffy and Taehyung's senses raged in overwhelm with the bodies all around.

There were still fans and people scattered about the paddock area, so he retreated behind the motor home, catching the area of generators and wires powering the mobile buildings that was much more deserted and shadowed over from most light.

A flash of movement in his peripheral vision made him tense as he leaned against the back of Ferrari's property.

His eyes met Jungkook's, who was sitting on the ground just meters away, behind the Mercedes house. What was the guy doing out there? Still in his suit?

"The hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same." Taehyung raised a brow. "Done celebrating?"

"With you interrupting, yeah." Jungkook pushed himself up to stand and brushed down his legs. Their eyes met again and Taehyung saw a fight in the younger's dark eyes. Jungkook was always fiery. That's why people liked him. That American rebellious attitude they always heard about overseas shone through in the rare formula representation through the man.

Jeon Jungkook was the definition of fighting all odds to get where he was. He was charismatic, young, and talented. A pretty smile and smartass attitude got him far in the fan votes. His skills in the cockpit solidified him on the track.

He was the full package.

Taehyung despised it. Because he was anything but.

"You brake too late."

Why the fuck was he throwing Luc Farrow's words out of his mouth?

"Advice from the Kim Taehyung?" Jungkook shot him a mocking smile, crossing arms over his chest. His features were harder to make out in the shadows. "If you're so obsessed with watching my replays right after the race, just say so."

He snorted, unamused, at the implications. "The atrocious media makes me read up. They love my opinion on your life, Jeon."

"I'm sure you have plenty of strong ones." The American scowled before looking over his shoulder. Taehyung subconsciously noticed that he seemed keen on having a moment alone. "Don't rip out your grays analyzing my lines, Kim."

"Like I'd waste a breath on you, Champ," he leaned one shoulder on the wall of the motor home and buried his hands in his khaki pockets. "That's what you want, hm? Make history as a rookie champion?"

"I already made history today." Jungkook said proudly, licking his lips and his eyes darted around the open space, settling on the vast darkness of night beyond the fences of the venue. "Always have to think higher."

Taehyung stepped forward, crossing the barrier hiding him from eyes as he entered the lit space between Mercedes' and Ferrari's homes. "You know something about crazy late brakers like yourself? You rush, you hit a wall, and you don't give yourself long enough to think. There's no plan."

"Oh, get rid of that chip on your shoulder, Kim." Jungkook, too, stepped into the gap. The Mercedes blue on his suit became visible, same as the flush of his skin. "Just because you had a plan for Formula that failed doesn't mean I'm subject to the same fate."

He definitely wasn't suggesting that Jungkook was subject to anything. That would mean he cared about the Mercedes driver's future.

Why would he care about a man that was erasing his name from the books and writing over the dust in pen? Where Taehyung's name was followed by whispers of Jungkook's picking up his lost opportunities for the rookie to use himself?

After only months of presence in Formula 1, too. It twisted every nerve in his body.

"Jungkook!"

The Mercedes driver's face scrunched, a shallow breath rising up his throat before it relaxed into a smile and he turned to the woman walking towards them.

Asli Hikmet. Daughter of one of FIA's board members: Esme Hikmet. The Turkish millionaire had surrounded his daughter's life with racing since she was born, so she was a name in the sport long before Jungkook and her recently became an item.

She never got into a car herself, but she had a presence of her own whenever she stepped foot in the paddock.

Taehyung knew they would insufferably take over Forumla's news when they'd launched their relationship between seasons. He believed they'd met at some event in the UK? He wasn't quite sure. He didn't necessarily care for either of them.

He did, though, cringe as they embraced. Jungkook picked her up in a tight hug before setting her down, toes and then heels, on the ground.

"Hey, Kim." Asli waved a hand, bracelets clinking against each other. She was in slacks and a matching vest top, white heels somehow perfectly clean on the pavement. "Good race today."

"Sure." He pursed his lips.

"You smell like champagne." The woman said to her boyfriend and Jungkook grinned like the comment was the biggest compliment he could receive.

Taehyung knew the feeling. Champagne was for the podium. If he smelled like champagne, it meant he was winning.

"Go change so we can leave." She said instead and Jungkook frowned. "Andrea and Henri were asking about you. They want to go out somewhere."

"Just give me a few minutes." Jungkook managed to slip out.

Asli looked between them, crooking her arm to keep her purse on her arm. "Oh, were you two talking?"

"No," Taehyung raised a hand. "We ran into each other and I was just leaving."

"Yes, he was." Jungkook shot him a look and the Ferrari driver's lip quirked in a small smirk of amusement. Of course the Mercedes driver wanted the last word.

"I like the Marni. You should try their green, Taehyung." Asli commented on the Italian brand he was clad in. Jungkook looked at her with a grimace on his face. "What?"

Taehyung turned away to retreat behind the Ferrari home to go back inside and grab his things as he heard Jungkook ask her what the fuck Marni was.

One glance over his shoulder and he saw Jungkook laugh over something with Asli as she pulled him into a quick kiss before pushing him towards the Mercedes doors.

Taehyung saw the flash of the third place medal around her neck and his mood went sour again.

hope you enjoyed the first chapter :D
lots of love and I'll be back with an update soon!
- neeto <3