Circuit de Monaco, Monaco

Formula One Equestria Duels series

Duel 6: VRL (Mercedes-AMG Petronas) VS CHS (Aston-Martin Red Bull) VS SAN (ROKiT Williams) VS RAR (Renault)

Duel Type: Qualifying

"Welcome back, all motorsports fans, once again to the Formula One Equestria 2019 season! I am Film, joined today my Flam and one-time winner at Monaco, Olivier Panis for Round 6 here in Monte Carlo on the gorgeous French Riviera!"

"Ah, yes, dear brother! It's just a shame that the commentary booth faces away from the coastline. The backdrop of the Riviera for this track is just incredible eye-candy for us ponies! We don't have anything like this in Equestria,"

"It may be nice, brother, but don't let the backdrop fool you! This track is infamous amongst both drivers and fans for the number of accidents caused at this track. Mr. Panis, you know this better than anyone. Care to elaborate?"

"Of course. Driving at Monaco requires nerves of steel and unbreakable concentration, with a bit of luck needed as well. Even the smallest error could spell disaster. The best names in Formula One have crashed at this circuit, most I had the pleasure of racing against,"

"Do you have any advise for the drivers?"

"Yes. Keep calm, be patient and pray,"

"Thank you for the insight, Mr. Panis! We'll be getting underway shortly, so stay tuned!"

Later...
Renault team garage

"Of all the things that could happen, this is THE! WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!" Rarity exclaimed, her gaze not averting away from the screen.

In fact, the entire Renault pit crew were staring at the screen. For on it, was the live coverage of the driver that had gone on ahead of Rarity's scheduled run.

On the track, all TV coverage was concentrated on the cameras at the Swimming Pool section and all showed one thing.

A cream-and-light-blue-coloured Williams, upside down at the exit to the Pool section, with bits of debris strewn across the track, marshals flying the red flag and paramedics using a tow truck to flip the F1 car back onto its wheels.

While taking his lap, Sandbar had clipped the inside wall while entering the Casino Square, knocking off the right-side wing on the nose. However, this didn't get Sandbar to stop and he just continued his lap. However, that missing wing part would come back to bite him in the flank, as when he entered the Swimming Pool section, the sauage strips that lined the rumble strips caused his car to gain some air and due to the corrupted downforce, the FW42 then tipped over and rolled into the barriers. The impact with the barrier sent the car into the air sent the colt into a roll, before he ended up upside-down.

Although the Williams was in pieces, Sandbar was okay. However, he was trapped in his cockpit until the car was righted.

Throughout all of the Duels, there were quite a few crashes. However, Sandbar's was the most shocking by far (excluding Akula).

Rarity was the next driver to head out, but with the red flags out, she would have to wait until the debris was cleared. In the meantime, it would allow the unicorn to recover from her moment of temporary hysteria.

Later...

The wreckage of what once was Sandbar's FW42 had been cleared up and Rarity was given the green flag to take her lap. But Rarity still had a tiny bit of fear keeping her doubtful. What if she ended up like Sandbar? Or worse?

However, Rarity had to do her job and race. So, with some hesitation, the unicorn then entered her garage, dressed in her full race suit and her helmet in her grasp, ready to race.

But before she could hop into her R.S.19, she felt somepony put a hoof on her shoulder. Rarity turned, to see Suri Polomare was the pony that had stopped her.

"Rarity, you got a minute?" Suri asked. Rarity just nodded in response and turned to face the mare. "I know that this track is tough, but I know that you have got what it takes to tame it! You can do this, for all of us fashion ponies back home and for your friends!"

Rarity was surprised. Suri would never try what she had just did, but she just did it. Then again, they were in the same team and at one of the fashion capitals of the world. The two fashion mares had to make a great impression on the Monaco crowd!

Rarity smiled at Suri and said to her, "Thanks, darling. I really needed that," The two then embraced, a rare sight, "I'll see you in the final!" And with that, Rarity left the embrace, threw on her helmet and entered her white-and-purple Renault.

Once inside her car, the tyre blankets covering the tyres were removed and the fuel hose was disconnected. Rarity rolled her car out of the garage, out of pit road and up the Beau Rivage for the first time since Free Practise. The narrowness of the Monaco course felt like the difficulty of treading a needle of a sewing machine to Rarity, but she knew that she could deal with it easily.

Within seconds, she had completed her warm-up lap and began her timed lap. She blasted through Sainte-Devote and up the hill, towards Massenet. Her Renault caught a tiny bit of air as she hit the crest of the hill and went through Turn 3, lifting off just a bit. But going through Casino Square, she nearly lost the back-end. However, she was able to save her car and kept under control through Mirabeau Haute, the Grand Hotel Hairpin and Mirabeau Bas. Rarity went back onto the throttle, nearly to full speed down the Tunnel Straight, before getting hard onto the brakes for the Nouvelle Chicane. Back onto the throttle and through Tabac and kept her speed up through the Pool Section, before slowing for La Rascasse. Passing through the final corners of Anthony Noghes, she crossed the line, her Renault still in one piece.

'Lap over. Time was a 1:11.020,' Rarity's race engineer reported. Rarity mentally jumped for joy as she pulled the car around the track once more and brought the car back into the garage, happy that she had a great time for the race.

Rarity was the last driver to take her lap. Viral Velocity was the first onto the track. However, this time it was different. At Baku, Viral was nervous and she had crashed. But this time, the confidence of her victory in Spain and the Mercedes 1-2 was carried over into Monaco. While the pegasus was still fearful of the circuit, she handled it like a true champ and posted a lap time of 1:12.402. And while it wasn't fast enough to get pole, it was competitive.

As for Cheese Sandwich's lap, he would get a bit too throttle happy going through Massenet and clip the outside wall, losing a bit of his rear wing and losing control through Casino Square, making his second crash of the season.

Author's Note

NOTE: There are a few things that I forgot to mention about the Equestria Series that I'll mention now.

• The Equestrian Duels and the Final Race both take place after the main series race. So, the humans will go first, then the Equestrians.
• The ponies participate in the same Free Practise sessions as the humans, so the mentors and Equestrians can share info about setups.
• Despite the name, the Duels take the place of Qualifying, as the laps times in the Duels determine the grid. This also means that the 107% Rule is not used in the Equestrian division, due to the reduced grid.
• Before the race weekend begins, the Equestrian drivers are allowed to look around the location of the track before the week begins.