Except, very soon, she was desperately questioning whether this was the right thing to have done. In no time at all, her tyres started getting hot.
Worse, they were making her slow.
For two painful laps, she stayed off the dry line for most of the way round the circuit — keeping on the wetter and dirtier parts of the track. Even doing that the tyres weren’t cooling down. Much longer at these temperatures and they would start to blister — degrade — badly. They were not going to last any length of time.
Unfortunately, it soon looked likely that she would have to make another pit stop, which would seriously cost her in time, position, and points.
Over the next three minutes Sabatino lost ten seconds to Aston.
And there was no sign of the rain.
What the hell had they done?
‘Where’s the damn rain?’ she bawled.
This switch of tyres was killing her performance.
Three minutes after the predicted arrival, there was still no rain.
Another eleven seconds lost to Aston.
Four minutes and twenty seconds after the time predicted, the rain did start to fall. And when it came — it came. Water smothered the track in a matter of seconds.
All those still on drys were completely baulked — right back on the ice again.
In no time, Sabatino was running fully on the racing line — the line itself soon wet enough to keep her intermediates cool. Her tyres were no longer overheating.
By contrast, the pace of the dry runners fell away immediately, all of them tottering round the rest of whatever lap they were on — at less than a fraction of the pace they had just been setting. From laps in the one minute forties, they were now lapping at well over two minutes — and slowing all the time. One of the Ferraris lost control on Turn Twenty-two, slamming into the wall.
Before any of the front runners had made it back to the pits to change tyres, the safety car was deployed.
Suddenly, Sabatino was laughing. The field was completely bunched up, thus reducing the gap between her and Aston in P1. Not only that, she was the only runner on intermediates — while none of the other cars were permitted to switch their tyres until Race Control reopened the pit lane.
Two laps later the lights on the safety car went out — meaning they were racing again.
Less than three after that, Sabatino was twenty-five seconds clear of the field, Aston having pitted the moment he could but still losing out to Luciano, who had managed to get in and out again in front of him.
Sabatino romped home at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix by over thirty seconds clear of Luciano in second. Aston was third with Cunzer putting in a late surge to finish in the points, in P5. Adi Barrantes made it to P8.
This was encouraging news for Sabatino in the Drivers’ Championship. Enhanced by the points being tapered, her lead was now extended from two points to six — her 66 to Aston’s 60. Luciano’s eight points for second kept him in third, but in closer touch with 58.
People dismissive of Sabatino’s Monaco success as a rookie fluke had to credit her, now, with true all-round motor racing skill — evidenced by her phenomenal equanimity under the pressure, her tactical opportunism, and her brilliance of racing in the rain.
The Sabatino band wagon was rolling once again.
But not for long.
FORTY-FOUR
It all happened an hour after the chequered flag.
‘I’ve been summoned to Race Control,’ said Nazar sounding surprised. ‘Are we concerned about anything to do with the race?’ he asked his two race engineers.
‘Not that we’re aware of,’ replied Treadwell.
Nazar made his way to Race Control. As well as the rain, which showed no sign of letting up, the humidity was oppressive. The sensation of all-over dampness was impossible to shake off.
When Nazar arrived through the dark he was met by one of the stewards and shown into a side room harshly lit by the bluish glare of fluorescent light. Someone he wasn’t expecting to see was there waiting: Bo San Marino.
‘Mr President? What a surprise.’
San Marino, far from radiating his 1950s movie star contentment and charm, looked concerned and uncomfortable. ‘Come in, Tahm. Please take a seat.’
There was a period of silence from the FIA President. Finally, he said: ‘I’m afraid we have a problem,’ and slowly placed an envelope bearing the FIA logo on the glass and chrome coffee table between them. ‘Massarella have lodged an official complaint. We have to take the issue seriously, not least because of the precedent to their allegations.’
Nazar was surprised and deeply troubled by any accusation. He was equally distracted by how ill at ease San Marino appeared to be. ‘What are they alleging?’ he asked calmly without picking up the letter.
‘Unauthorized use of their intellectual property.’
‘What?’
‘It’s all in there,’ said San Marino, laying his hand on the envelope.
Nazar, in his precise Indian lilt, said calmly: ‘But that’s absurd. You can’t be taking their bullshit seriously.’
‘We are — we have to — given the supporting testimony we’ve received.’
‘From whom?’
‘Andy Backhouse.’
Nazar pulled a face of resigned exasperation.
‘He, now, represents an authoritative whistle-blower — a credible source. You can see why we would have to take Massarella’s allegation seriously?’
Hunch-shouldered against the rain, Nazar scuttled back through the dark to the Ptarmigan headquarters. Inside the motor home his team members were already there, two of them equally soaked by the continuing downpour.
‘We’ve been served,’ declared Nazar.
‘What?’ blasted Treadwell incredulously.
‘Massarella have lodged a formal complaint against us.’
‘For what?’ asked Sabatino heatedly.
‘Don’t know yet — I’ll read it to you,’ with which he opened the envelope and extracted the letter.
Mr Tahm Nazar
Ptarmigan Formula One
Dear Mr Nazar
Summons: Hearing before the World Motor Sport Council
The FIA has received a complaint against Ptarmigan F1 from the Massarella Formula One Team. They assert that Ptarmigan has received confidential designs developed by Massarella and that Ptarmigan has used these to its own advantage. The design in question relates to the spiral surfaces on the front wing first recorded on Ptarmigan cars at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps this season.
If confirmed, such conduct would be in direct contravention of the International Sporting Code. The FIA is suitably concerned by these assertions that it is demanding Ptarmigan account for its actions.
Your team is called to an Extraordinary Meeting of the WMSC to be held on 25th July at the FIA headquarters, 8 Place de la Concorde, Paris, to answer the allegations. We would ask you to submit a Statement of Facts and responses to the following points no later than two weeks before the hearing:
1. When did Ptarmigan conceive of the spiral surfaces for their front wing?
2. Please submit all the design, development and testing records relating to the spiral surfaces.
3. Please identify all your members of staff who were involved in the design, development and testing of the spiral surfaces.
4. Please confirm, in written statements from anyone concerned, what contact took place between Ptarmigan members of staff and Massarella this season. Where Ptarmigan personnel did make contact with Massarella, please list all the occasions, venues and the nature of such meetings.