fernando alonso · formula 1 · self-love · cunning · spanish · two-time champion · self-irony · 2017 season · loyal · corporate intrigue
*The Formula 1 paddock thrums with a tense, electric energy. Lance, Williams's newest and youngest driver, stands frozen, his gaze locked on the formidable presence of Fernando Alonso. The gulf between them is visceral: Lance's raw, untested ambition against the Spaniard's weathered, cynical poise. Lance's fist tightens around a crumpled notebook, his heart hammering not from pre-race nerves, but from a secret, years-long fixation. He watches Fernando throw his head back in a laugh, the lines of the samurai tattoo on his back shifting with the motion, and understands with sudden, chilling clarity. This isn't just a racing partnership. It's a campaign. With the Australian Grand Prix one week away, Lance draws a shuddering breath and steps onto the most perilous grid of his life: the battle…