Nora played it safe, but risky enough to go on the outside of the first turn. Flashes of panic went through her body, so much traffic around her. The few first turns were stressful for Nora, especially the seventh corner. Her crash kept replaying in her head, but she knew she had to forget it. As soon when she exited the corner, she pushed down the pedal and created speed. The first lap was tough, Nora was testing the car and searched for the right pace. Many people expected Nora to fail, but she was driving P8 after the first lap.

People would say Nora did great, for a newbie she was doing better than some experienced drivers, but it wasn't for what she was looking for. She kept stuck on P8, driving 1.42's while the top was driving 1.40's. Nora knew this wasn't enough for Mercedes, she had to do better. But she was scared, something was stopping her from giving the full, afraid to crash again. It gave her the feeling she let everyone from Mercedes down, she let herself down, she let George down, who else didn't she let down? There was some kind of tension at the garage of Mercedes, it wasn't the results they hoped Nora would give them.

But it took a turn. Nora started to feel more comfortable in the car. She managed to shut down all her thoughts, she was only focussing on driving. She had to give everything, and if it did mean she had to push herself to the limit and the edge, then she would push herself to the limit and the edge. It almost went wrong two years ago, it was almost over, life can be over in a blink of an eye. Living with fear could be terrifying, but it also could give you more motivation.

The lap time changed to 1.40's, and she passed some drivers; she was driving in the top five. People at the garage straightened their back and looked more severe at the screens: something was happening. Toto shared a look with Bono, a look what looked hopeful. All eyes were focussed on Nora; she was giving green and purple sectors like it was nothing.

The race had surprising moments; there were a lot of fights in the midfield, but the top five was driving far away from the rest. Alex was still leading the race, with Charles, Max, Lando and Nora behind him.

In the 46th lap, Nora decided to have a second pitstop to get the fastest time if possible. She was currently driving second place. The gap with Alex was sixteen seconds.

"Albon is the threat out there. Forget the tire management and drive as fast as you can," Bono mentioned. "We're giving you everything now."

"Copied," Nora said. "Saving the best for last," she smirked.

The gap closed. Nora was driving 1.39's and Alex 1.41's. There was so much tension in the garage of Mercedes and Red Bull. Nora could make it, but one mistake and it was Alex who won. To many surprises, this wasn't a boring race.

"I want Alex to get his first win so badly," Nora mentioned on the radio. It was an unclear message to many people. "But not today, hun, I'm sorry. Ciao adios, cariño," she said when she passed Alex on the 54th lap.

Everyone on Lewis' team, well, Nora's team, started to cheer. The chance was small things would go wrong in the last lap, but you never know. The last lap was long, it felt like it was in slow-motion for Nora while she going through the corners with 300 kilometres per hour. She left the last corner and looked in her mirror, she saw Alex. Should I slow down and let him win? Or will I keep the win to myself? He can win more often...I can't.

"Get in there, Nora! P1! P1! You did a hell of a job!" Bono shouted excitedly and parted his lips. He was looking around the garage, more people were shocked by Nora's performance. To be fair, not many people had faith in her, they thought it would be a race to be disappointed about. "This was phenomenal!"

The garage cheered like they have won a championship, but the fact this was a driver who crashed two years ago at this circuit and made her debut race, was just joy what nobody could explain.

Goosebumps spread out over Nora's body, and a gigantic smile spread over her lips. "What the fuck," she said. "Holy shit!" She cheered and processed the whole happening.

"What a race, Nora," Toto happily said. "What a race, well done! Congratulations on your first win in F1."

"Thank you so much, each and every one of you for everything today, this weekend, this year in general," Nora spoke and blinked a few times, she relaxed. "Holy mother of... wow."

She safely brought the car back to the pits, where she stopped in front of the big 1 sign. There were so many people waiting for her. Reporters, fans, even the teams were surprised by Nora's result.

Nora got out of the car and jumped off the vehicle. Her eyes were gliding over all the people, she had no idea what to do. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She ran towards them the team and jumped in the air. The team caught her and cheered happily while padding her back. They told her she did terrifically. She walked back to the car and removed the helmet and balaclava from her head. Her eyes were scanning the area, there was a massive ovation. She had no idea what to do, how to stand, where to stand.

Alex padded Nora's shoulder. "Congrats, babe," he said and pulled her in a hug. "You deserve this so much."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It had to be your race, your win...you deserve it more than I do."

He pulled back and looked at her, he was smiling widely. "Don't say that, Nora. You deserve it way more than I do. Be proud of yourself, you made it. Congratulations."

Nora shook her head and smiled. "Thank you," she speechlessly said and hugged him tightly for a few seconds. Her eyes fell on a white with blue car details, was it..? She let go of Alex. "You know who got p3?"

He shook his head and looked at the third car, which also gave him a frown. "No?" He looked at Nora. "This race is full of surprises, what the fuck."

It was the Williams who got p3. A tall man got out of the car; it was George. Alex' and Nora's jaw dropped, and they looked excitedly at each other. A Williams, on the podium. George ran over to his team and celebrated the massive victory for the team for a few seconds. He removed the helmet from his head and put on his cap. When his eyes met Nora's, he shook his head.

"You fucking did it," she said and hugged him firmly. "Holy shit."

"Congratulations, winner," he said and chuckled out of disbelieving. "What the fuck, this is...this can't be real." He let go of her and went to Alex, to congratulate him as well.

Nora was sent to the interviewer of the moment: Paul Di Resta. "Nora, congratulations on your first ever race and win in F1," he began. Nora smiled and nodded. "How does it feel?"

"Thank you," she happily said. "It feels...surreal. I...I..." A giggle left her mouth. "I don't even know what to say."

Paul laughed and nodded. "How was the race for you?"

"Terrifying," she said in one breath. He raised his eyebrows. "This was my first race after the accident two years ago, at the same track where it happened, and it was terrifying to face the track again and race on it. But overall, I had fun, and it felt good. And you know, after everything that happened, I couldn't imagine being back in this world. So thank you Toto, Mercedes and many other people for believing in me."

He understood how she felt. "And you won! You did an outstanding job. You are not the first woman to ever enter a Grand Prix, but you are the first woman to win a Grand Prix in the F1 championship."

"Yeah, well, Desiré Wilson won one race in the British F1 championship," she said back. "But yeah, the first woman in the F1 championship." A smile grew on her lips.

"Congratulations," Paul said.

Nora gave him a smile and a nod. "Cheers." She walked away, she needed to go to the cool-down room. How badly she wanted to wait for Alex and George, she had to go. Her eyes fell on Lando, who was walking around. He was smiling widely and gave Nora a nod. Nora shared in a questionable look. Lando showed four fingers, meaning he got p4. A happy, wide smile grew on her face, today was unreal. She showed her thumb and walked to the cool-down room.

One thing what many people noticed was that there wasn't any tension or competition between the four rookies. Alex was just as happy as Nora, George and Lando, and vice versa. They were genuinely happy for each other, there wasn't any jealousy or disappointment. Of course, Alex wanted to win, but he granted it Nora just as much as he granted it himself. It really showed how tight the friendship between Nora, George, Alex and Lando was.

Once on the podium, Nora chewed on the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to think about it, but this was how it should have been two years ago. Her eyes closed when the British anthem was played. She quickly removed the thought out of her mind and opened her eyes again.

Anything is possible when you want it, and fight for it. Even when it means you have to fall, but you will rise again.

Nora looked at George, who stood on her left. He proudly looked at Nora and winked. His first ever F1 podium was together with Nora and Alex, there wasn't much better he could wish for. George glanced over all the people who were watching them, it felt unreal, perhaps it was, he couldn't tell. The German anthem was followed.

When the three drivers and member of Mercedes got their trophies, only one thing was left to do; champagne. George and Alex looked at each other, having a massive grin on their faces. They were shaking the bottles and sprayed all the champagne on Nora, who was too late on protecting herself from it. She closed her eyes and turned away from them. The guy from Mercedes joined as well.

Nora grabbed the bottle what was for the winner, and she was shaking it as well. She finally found the strength to spray the champagne back. What should have been an adult celebration, it turned into a childish competition who could soak the other the best with champagne.

"You might want to re-do your hair," Alex chuckled and grabbed his trophy.

Nora shared a neutral look with him. "I might do it, I might do it not." She waited for George to leave the podium. "You know, it is that champagne is really good for my skin and hair; otherwise I would have yeeted you from the podium because this is feeling nasty."

George laughed and wrapped his arm around Nora's shoulder. "Yeeted from the podium. Interesting." They were leaving the podium.

"I would like to see that, actually," Alex added seriously. A teasing smile came on Nora's face. "Oh, it's happening! Run!" Alex laughed and quickened his pace.

"Don't give that woman any ideas," George smirked and gave his girlfriend a kiss.