Round 7: Canada
Final Race (35 laps)

Starting Grid

1. Oscura Galaxia (Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing)
2. DangerDean (Scuderia Ferrari)
3. Viral Velocity (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
4. Akula (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
5. Gallus (BWT Racing Point)
6. Celestia (Alfa-Romeo)
7. Lightning Dust (Scuderia Ferrari)
8. Cheese Sandwich (Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing)
9. Luna (Alfa-Romeo)
10. Applejack (McLaren)
11. Rarity (Renault)
12. Big Macintosh (McLaren)

"Welcome all, once again to the Formula One 2019 Equestria Series! We are on the Notre Dame island in Montreal, for the Canadian round of the F1 season. I am Flim and joining me once again, Flam. We are quite looking forward to this race and we are possibly going to see some rain for the first time in the series. Let's take a look at the grid,"

"Oscura Galaxia of Red Bull has the pole, for the first time in her career and the first pole for Red Bull in general. Behind her, is DangerDean in the Ferrari. We can expect to see the front row fight for the lead all day,"

"Behind them, we have a Mercedes 3-4-5, with the Crimson Arrows of Viral Velocity and Akula taking Row 2, with Gallus behind them in the Racing Point. Alongside, Celestia in the Alfa-Romeo, looking like a true threat to the front row,"

"Lightning Dust and Cheese Sandwich behind them on Row 4, with Applejack and last round's champion Rarity behind them and Big Macintosh all alone on the final row. And it looks like we are about to get underway here in Canada!"

Earlier that morning...
BWT Racing Point Paddock Area

Morning on Earth. How Gallus loved it. So much different to the mornings in Griffonstone, where all the adults screech loudly all at the same time, forcing everygriffon up at that time. One member of his pit crew told him that 'his mornings are alot like being woken up by a crowing rooster, except much worse'. But since the griffon was used to getting up at a certain time, he was always one of the first up.

Today was no different. As the sun began to rise over the horizon of Montreal, Gallus snapped his eyes open and awoke from his sleep. Letting out a yawn, he threw off the blankets, grabbed his race suit and exited the trailer. After emerging from the trailer, he decided to go and see who was up before getting himself some breakfast. Walking down the paddock area, he enjoyed the relative peacefulness of the silence in the area.

It didn't last long, as once he did a lap of the paddock, the griffon then ran into his mentor, Lance Stroll.

"Hey, Gallus. Nice to see you on this fine morning!" Stroll greeted his protégé. The griffon rushed over and shook hands with his mentor, surprised to see him up this early. "You going to get something to eat?"

"Nah, I'm not hungry yet. I'll get something sooner or later," Gallus replied.

"Okay, I see. By the way, someone wants to see you. He's waiting in the pit area. I'll see you during the race," Stroll then told him.

"See you then, Lance," And with that, Gallus waved goodbye and entered the pit area. But he was not expecting the creature he ran into, was none other than star Mercedes driver, Akula. He was just standing in the pit box, staring up into the sky with his red eyes, not even acknowledging Gallus' presence. The griffon slowly approached the changeling, when Akula broke the silence.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up this early,"

"That's just Griffonstone rubbing off from me. But why did you want to see me?" Gallus questioned, walking over to stand at the changeling's side.

Akula didn't change his expression and turned only his head to face him. "You're not afraid of rain, are you?"

"What? No!" Gallus snapped.

Akula just smiled. "Good. Because I have a feeling that we are going to get a little wet come race time," He then pointed a bloodied hoof to the Canadian skies. Gallus followed where the changeling was pointing and saw it. A massive, dark rain cloud. Heading in their direction.

"That's a massive raincloud. You think that the FIA is going to cancel?"

"I doubt it. We haven't gotten a chance to use our wet condition tyres at all this season. Besides, we can't let a little rain upset the racing experience for the fans,"

"I hope so. I'd better get myself something to eat, or my tummy is going to be very upset,"

"I'll see you when it comes time to race. I'd better go find Viral, see how she's doing," And with that, Akula trotted back to his pit area, leaving Gallus alone to head back to the paddock area.

Hours later...
Circuit Grid

When it came time to race and the crowds had filled up the grandstands, it was clear that Akula wasn't kidding. The entire sky was blocked out by a massive cloud of grey and a light haze of rain had begun to settle onto the track. Thankfully, the rain didn't look like it was going to pick up anytime soon and the race was allowed to go ahead as scheduled.

Gallus sat in the cockpit of his RP19, eyeing up the tailgates of the two Mercedes W10s of Viral and Akula. And behind him sat the golden Alfa-Romeo of Celestia, so Gallus was within some very nice company on the grid.

All of a sudden, his race engineer, Felix Cohen, came over the radio. 'Afternoon, Gallus. Radio check from the pit wall,'

"Copy you loud and clear, Felix,"

'Roger. The race will start from behind the Safety Car. There will be no formation lap, as a result. The first lap after the Safety Car will be the first race lap. Do you understand that?'

"Yep, I understand. Let's have a good race,"

The Safety Car then pulled away, as the grid set off after it, beginning the first lap of the Final.

"Now, I would say that 'it's lights out and away we go', but that's not going to happen this time, sadly,"

For two whole laps, the field drove under safety car conditions, warming their tyres and brakes before the start of a race, like they would do during a formation lap. And since the rain that had fallen on the track would be too much for the dry tyres to handle, everyone would be starting on Wets. The Wet tyre was designed for rain conditions, with special grooves cut or moulded into the rubber (like the grooves on regular cars seen on the road) to allow the tyre to quickly displace the water between the ground and the rubber on the tyre, keeping the car gripping the road.

But as the second lap started, some of the drivers were becoming impatience and wanted to get going.

'Okay, how are the conditions, V?' Neon asked.

"Still pretty wet for now, Neon. But maybe one more lap and the track will be good," Viral responded, anxious to get going.

But at the end of Lap 2, it was announced that the safety car would be in and the race would begin. Going through the Hairpin, the SC then pulled away from the pack and entered the pit lane. Seeing this, Oscura then picked up speed to get herself a lead over Dean.

And seeing this, Dean chased after her, with the rest of the field following behind him. And as Oscura crossed the line to begin Lap 3, the race well and truly began. Going into the first corner, there were no incidents and the pack spread out easily.

Nothing much happened, but it was becoming clear that the track was drying up and the rain was settling down for now. But nopony wanted to risk it and kept on the Wets. However, that wouldn't last long.

In the mid-field, some of the driver fighting for points were starting to lose grip and needed to come in for some fresh rubber.

"There's no grip! The track is too dry for the Wets, I need to box!" Lightning reported, trying to keep control of her Ferrari.

'Okay, we hear you. The rain has picked back up. The rain has picked back up. Stay out, if possible,' Her race engineer responded.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THERE IS NO RAIN!!!" Lightning snapped.

But Lightning's engineer was right. The rain was picking back up, slowly. Not enough to affect the track, but it was picking up. And Akula noticed this.

"Petrov, can you please inform Viral that she should NOT box for Inters. Repeat, Viral should NOT box for Inters," Akula informed.

'Copy that. What is the reason? Question,' His race engineer questioned.

"I can feel the rain picking back up. If she does box, those Inters won't do her any good. She needs to stay out!"

Akula's engineer agreed and ferried the message to Neon. And the message reached her just in time, because Viral then chimed in on the radio. "Neon, it's getting too dry! Let's box for Inters,"

'Stay out, V! Stay out!' Neon immediately responded.

"Box, Neon! I NEED THOSE INTERS!"

'Stay out, stay out! Akula thinks that you should not box for Intermediates. Recommendation is not to box for Intermediates!'

"Copy that. Staying out, staying out,"
Neon then breathed a sigh of relief and prayed that Akula had make the right call.

Surely enough, the rain began getting harder and harder. Eventually, the conditions turned the track surface into a circuit-shaped puddle. But the water levers were so high, even the Wets were struggling to clear all of it and the cars began to aquaplane.

It was especially worse down at the Hairpin, with all the cars struggling with grip and aquaplaning all over the track. And with all the water being kicked up, visibility had been reduced to almost zero. Eventually, all of the drivers began crying out over the radio for something to be done.

"Ah' have no grip! No grip! Very difficult to keep the car controlled!" Applejack cried out.

"Get the stewards to deploy the Safety Car, Petrov! Aquaplaning heavily!" Akula suggested.

'Acknowledged, Akula. The stewards are listening to your comments, as well as all the other drivers,' Petrov replied.

"We need a Safety Car, Rossano! A lot of aquaplaning, a lot of aquaplaning!" Celestia reported.

Eventually, the FIA stewards that were present decided that the rain was getting too heavy for the race to continue and sent out the safety car. However, some drivers didn't know that the Safety Car was out, as they were nowhere near the start-finish line.

"THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!!! WE NEED TO COME IN!!!!" Luna bellowed.

'Stay out, Luna! Stay out!' Her race engineer told her.

"TOO MUCH WATER!! TOO MUCH WATER!!" Rarity cried out, struggling to keep the car under control going through the Hairpin.

'Safety Car has been deployed. Stay out,' Mireille told her.

"THERE IS A LOT OF AQUAPLANING!!! WHY DO WE HAVE TO STAY OUT??!!"

Eventually, the chaos subsided and all of the grid lined up behind the Safety Car as the yellow flag flew in all sectors. However, Mother Nature would not play along and the rain continued to pour. All of the drivers to the circuit at the pace of the Safety Car, some begin to wonder how long the Safety Car would last.

It didn't help when the amount of water being kicked up by the front-runners caused all those in the mid-to-rear of the pack to be near blinded by the amount of water. And soon, it was decided to fly the red flag and halt the race until the rain calmed down or stopped.

All of the cars went to the grid and stopped in the order they were placed in at the time. The pit crews of the cars on the track immediately rushed out with jacks, umbrellas and other necessary equipment. Thankfully, the crews reached the drivers and set-up before the rain picked up even more and drenched the track.

It was then decided to bring the cars back into the garage and suspend the race until the weather cleared up, allowing the drivers to warm up with refreshments.

After two hours of torrential rain, Mother Nature eventually decided that the race had suffered enough and the rain began to let up. The cars were rushed out of the garage and the race resumed, albeit under the Safety Car. Eventually, the rain cleared up and green flag flew on Lap 21. Once again, Oscura took the lead with Dean in hot pursuit.

Eventually, the track dried up enough and the two leaders eventually pulled into the pits to swap their warn Wets with Intermediates. The Intermediate was basically the bridge between the slick tyres and the Wet. They were used when the track was too wet for the dry tyres to be used, but too dry for the Wets to be used. They were basically the same as the Wet tyres, but the grooves were more shallow in order to prevent excessive heat build-up.

The two enemies joined the field in 7th and 8th respectively. The Crimson Arrows inherited the lead, with Gallus and Celestia just behind them. However, they were starting to lose ground to the other behind them and soon they came in for Inters, with Akula choosing to go with the Soft-compounded P ZERO tyres to replace his worn Intermediate-compound Cinturato tyres.

Eventually, Oscura and Dean caught back up with the front, but now were losing ground to Akula. It appeared that the track was dried up enough for the dry tyres to be used, so Dean immediately pitted for Softs. Oscura stayed out on the Inters, as they were working well for her.

However, while the Inter tyres on Oscura's Red Bull were good enough to let the dark unicorn take the lead away from Akula, it was Dean that was gaining the most ground. Eventually, with only 7 laps to go and on the approach to Turns 3 and 4, Oscura understeered and went straight on over the grass, missing Turn 4. As the dark unicorn re-joined the track and moved back onto the racing line, Dean (who saw an opportunity to make a pass) was squeezed towards the outside wall and was forced to slow down to avoid a collision.

"What the buck! She just came back on the track so dangerously! What was she thinking?" Dean complained, not pleased with his nemesis' manoeuvre.

'Copy, Dean. We're onto it,'

A few laps later on Lap 32, everything thing changed when the FIA stewards came out with an announcement. Oscura Galaxia of Red Bull would be given a five-second time penalty for an unsafe re-entry and forcing another driver off the track. Needless to say, Oscura wasn't happy when she got the news.

"ARE YOU F****** KIDDING ME??!!! I HAD GRASS ON MY WHEELS, THERE WAS NOWHERE TO GO!!!! IT'S DEAN'S FAULT THAT HE DECIDED TO GO THE STUPID WAY, LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES!!! I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED THAT HE WOULD ATTEMPT THAT!!!" Oscura snapped.

'Copy, Oscura. Just stay focused and we can still win this race. Stay focused and we can still win,' Her race engineer told her, trying to calm her down.

And just after that moment, Oscura realised that if she just put a five second gap between her and the Ferrari, she would be able to keep her win. So, the unicorn calmed down as said, "Okay, I am already focused. Let's just get this over with,"

But try as she might, Dean would not be shaken. Although the track was still a bit damp and Dean almost lost control of his car in Turn 5 on Lap 34, he would always catch back up and keep within five seconds of the Red Bull. And as the chequered flag flew on the last lap, Oscura crossed the line first.

And 2.18 seconds later, came Dean. And since the British Speedfreak was within five seconds of Oscura, the red pegasus would be credited the victory. And 6.2 seconds after Oscura, was Akula.

While this was happening, Gallus was in 5th, trying all he could to hold off Celestia. Viral was already long gone, with 4th hers to keep. But while Gallus was happy with finishing 5th, he did not want to finish behind Celestia at his mentor's home track. He had promised to Stroll before the race that he would finish in the Top 5, and he was only just inside, with one of the best racers in the season hot on his tail.

But happily, Lady Luck seemed to be on the griffon's side. Nothing seemed to come together for the Princess of the Sun and Gallus held her off for one more lap, before coming to the line and finishing in P5. He instinctively punched his claw into the sky upon reaching the finish, having lived up to his promise.

'Chequered flag, chequered flag. Well done today, Gallus! You did a great job!' Felix congratulated.

"YESSS!!!! WOOHOOHOO!!!! WHAT A RACE!!!" Gallus cried out, very happy with his result. With lots of joy in his mind and heart, he completed the parade lap and pulled the car into the pit lane.

However, when he got to the pits, he saw something unusual. Parked on the side of the pit entry, was Oscura's Red Bull. It was required by FIA regulations that all cars that made the top 3 are to park in the victory box and the drivers to proceed to the cool down room before attending the podium ceremony.

However, still upset at the stewards decision for giving her a penalty for something she had no control of, Oscura refused to park in the victory box. Instead, she parked her Red Bull at the entrance of pit lane, switched off, got out and just left her car there. She then refused to attend the podium ceremony, until she had calmed down a bit and an FIA offical collected her and took her to the cool down room.

But while passing through the victory box on the way to the cool down room, she took the opportunity to make her point. While passing through the box, Oscura then walked up to Dean's Ferrari, removed the #1 sign from in front of the car, placed that sign where her RB15 should've been, moved the #2 sign from where her car should've been and placed it in front of Akula's Mercedes and took the #3 sign and placed that final sign in front of Dean's Ferrari.

And with her point made, she proceeded to the cool down room, her point made.

Author's Note

Results

1. DangerDean - 25 points
2. Oscura Galaxia - 18 points (5 sec penalty applied)
3. Akula - 15 points + 1 (Fastest Lap)
4. Viral Velocity - 12 points
5. Gallus - 10 points
6. Celestia - 8 points
7. Lightning Dust - 6 points
8. Big Macintosh - 4 points
9. Applejack - 2 points
10. Cheese Sandwich - 1 point
11. Rarity - 0 points
12. Luna - 0 points (DNF)

Driver's Champoinship

1. Viral Velocity - 90 points
2. Akula - 84 points
3. Celestia - 71 points
4. DangerDean - 53 points
5. Gallus - 51 points
6. Fluttershy - 31 points
7. Twilight Sparkle - 31 points
8. Oscura Galaxia - 30 points
9. Rarity - 28 points
10. Chrysalis - 28 points
11. Sandbar - 28 points
12. Rainbow Dash - 25 points
13. Lightning Dust - 24 points
14. Pinkie Pie - 21 points
15. Luna - 19 points
16. Suri Polomare - 19 points
17. Silverstream - 17 points
18. Ocellus - 13 points
19. Spitfire - 12 points
20. Yona - 10 points
21. Gladmane - 10 points
22. Applejack - 7 points
23. Cheese Sandwich - 7 points
24. Big Macintosh - 4 points

Constructor's Champoinship

1. Mercedes-AMG Petronas - 205 points
2. Alfa-Romeo Racing - 104 points
3. Scuderia Ferrari - 102 points
4. BWT Racing Point - 66 points
5. Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing - 54 points
6. Renault F1 Team - 47 points
7. Red Bull Scuderia Toro Rosso - 43 points
8. HAAS F1 Team - 39 points
9. ROKiT Williams F1 Racing - 38 points
10. McLaren F1 - 11 points

Alright, I have the results for the question I posted earlier in the blog. Looks like the Junior Formula class that the CMC and other fillies will be:

Formula 2!!!!!

Thanks to all that sent in their votes and I will reveal the race grid for the event in a later blog. See you there!