Round 9: Austria
Final Race (36 laps)

Starting Grid

1. DangerDean (Scuderia Ferrari)
2. Viral Velocity (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
3. Akula (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
4. Fluttershy (Red Bull Toro Rosso)
5. Celestia (Alfa-Romeo)
6. Big Macintosh (McLaren)
7. Pinkie Pie (Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing)
8. Chrysalis (HAAS)
9. Rarity (Renault)
10. Ocellus (Red Bull Toro Rosso)
11. Suri Polomare (Renault)
12. Yona (ROKiT Williams)

"It's race day, here at the Red Bull Ring in Austria! Welcome all viewers to Round 8 of the 2019 Formula One Equestrian Series! Flim and Flam here, joined by Max Verstappen in the booth and we are about to get underway, as the drivers take off on their formation lap! But let's see who is racing for the points today!"

"For the first time this season, Dean will start on pole for Ferrari. And what a duel he had with Oscura! I think we nearly needed oxygen masks after that! Just behind him is Viral Velocity and Akula in the Crimson Arrows, both vying with each other for the championship lead, 37 points clear of their nearest competitor,"

"Fluttershy in the Toro Rosso just behind the front-runners, joined by Celestia and Big Macintosh. Pinkie Pie is just behind them, in the Red Bull and she is looking strong today. I think she might come away with the victory,"

"Chrysalis in the HAAS after the Red Bull, with Rarity starting the second-to-last row. Joining the Element of Generosity, is Ocellus the Changeling in her Toro Rosso. With the final row completed by Suri Polomare and Yona,"

"Our drivers are locking back into the grid! We are about to go green in Austria!"

Earlier
Scuderia Ferrari garage

"Well, Dean. You've made it to the final," Danger said to himself in his trailer, all dressed in his fire suit and his HANS sitting perfectly on the back of his neck. His helmet sat on a small table away from him, a balaclava draped over it.

"Plenty of competition, great track, great crowd, mares to please in the garage and no Oscura to worry about," He told himself, staring at his helmet, visions of him racing in his Ferrari and being showered in confetti and champagne on the winner's podium rampant through his mind.

He snuffed a laugh, before speaking again, "Let's get us a win," The pegasus then grabbed his helmet, stuffed the balaclava inside and left the trailer. After passing through the paddock area and the garage, he emerged on the grid, slipped on his balaclava and hopped into his Ferrari, as it sat proudly on pole position.

Once inside the car and buckled in, he put on his helmet. The helmet was nicely designed in a bright red colour, with racing stripes on top and with the two 'D's' that were also seen on his Ferrari. On the side, white lightning bolts and the number 15. Of course, there was the standard Ferrari sporsorship decals on the helmet along with the custom design, which included logos of Shell, UPS, Lenovo, Ray-Ban and Magneti Marelli (all are brands that sponsor the Ferrari team).

Sadly, the crowd wouldn't get to see much of his helmet design, due to the halo device obstructing the view. But nevertheless, he was still going to put on a incredible show for the fans and for all the mares in the garage.

Once he had placed the steering wheel into the vein and the car was lowered onto the track, a female voice that Dean recognised well spoke to him. 'Radio check, Dean,' It was a old friend of his, Crimsonia Dragonsfire. His chosen race engineer.

"Great day for a race, Crimsonia! Let's put on a show for the fans and the mares!" He replied, ready to race for the Prancing Horse.

'Aright, we are about ready to set of for the formation lap. You have been put on the softs, Akula and Viral are also on softs. Fluttershy and Celestia on medium. And Big Mac is on soft. No one has a hard on,'

Dean let out a snicker, having heard something both dirty and funny. Then, the lights went green and the field set off for their formation lap. It didn't take long and the drivers were back on the grid, locked into their positions and ready to go.

The first light came on and Dean fired up the Ferrari, the roars of 800 Italian horses joined by German, French and Japanese horses as the lights flicked on, one by one.

The light went out and the race begun.

"And it's lights out and away we go!!!!!!!"

Dean easily had the best jump out of the entire grid, as he maintained the lead going through Niki Lauda Kurve. Both of the Crimson Arrows were right behind him, neck-a-neck going into the first turn. But it was Akula who had the edge over the others and made a daring attack into Remus, sneaking by both Viral and Dean at the same time and taking the lead. However, Dean took the lead back at Turn 3. By the end of Lap 1, Dean held the lead, with Akula and Viral hunting him down.

Dean settled into his seat and took the Niki Lauda Kurve again, ready to hold off the Crimson Arrows for the race.

In the back, things starting going wrong for the changeling queen. She was running the same setup that she had used in the Duel, but it was now working against her in the race. It was proven that if the VF-19 had the right setup, the Dallara-designed car was capable of being the fastest car in the mid-field.

However, nothing was working with Chrysalis and she immediately fell back to 11th by the end of the first lap, only outpacing the Williams of Yona. Even though she had started on mediums, her HAAS was struggling for grip. "The car feels like I'm driving in the wet! I have no grip!" She reported, pushing her car to catch back up with the mid-pack.

On Lap 6, Dean and the Crimson Arrows had all but left the pack in their dust. The gap between Akula and Celestia was 4.2 seconds. And it wasn't that Celestia wasn't pushing, as she pushing and was trying holding off Fluttershy, Big Mac and Pinkie Pie.

However, approaching the end of Lap 8, Fluttershy suddenly pulled into the pits early for a set of softs. This left Celestia with Pinkie and Macintosh on her tail. The only problem was, that with a fresh set of rubber, Fluttershy would eventually catch her in the pit cycles. All Celestia had to do, was manage her tyres well and hopefully get a quick stop.

Lap 14 and the field started to come in for fresh rubber. However, the front-runners were staring to gain on the back-markers and would probably manage to lap them in the pits. In the back, Chrysalis was still holding off Yona, when the call came through to pit.

Coming around Rindt, she slowed down and aimed for the pit entrance. However, she didn't know that Yona was pitting as well and when she slowed down, she caught Yona by surprise and forced her to swing out and slow down. Just as that happened, Dean and Viral blew by to put them a lap down. But when she swung out, Akula then blasted by. But her sudden swing-out caused Akula to panic and move out of the way, sending him off the track somewhat. Thankfully, there was no collision and everyone was okay.

But Akula was furious. "WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT???!!!! I ALMOST KILLED SOMEONE!!!!"

'Copy, we saw it. Are you okay?'

"I'm fine. There's no damage. Whoever that was needs a penalty. Unbelievable. F****** idiot!!!"

On Lap 19, all drivers had completed their stop cycles and were pushing for positions. Well, nearly all.

Celestia was still out on track, having not pitted with the others. But the tyres would not take it and she needed to pit. Eventually, she came in at the start of Lap 20 for fresh softs. However, as she was stuck in the pits, Fluttershy was catching up.

She was released from the pits and emerged only just ahead of the Toro Rosso. But it wouldn't last long.

As they entered Remus, Fluttershy had the jump on the Golden Alfa and with DRS wide open, she caught Celestia under the braked and took 4th away from her. She pulled away from a clean overtake and pushed to gain back up with the leaders.

'That's it, Fluttershy! Nice work!' Her race engineer congratulated.

"Thank you, but the race isn't over yet,"

On Lap 25, Dean still held the lead. But, just like Celestia, his tyres were almost dead. They still had life in them, but he needed to come in soon. It was expected that he would come in at about Lap 31, but on Lap 26 he pulled into the pits. The Crimson Arrows stayed out, Viral taking the lead of the Grand Prix with Akula hunting her down.

Dean pulled into the pit box, the Ferrari pit crew expertly replacing the softs with mediums and sending him back out in record time. However, Dean still needed a miracle in order to get back into contention for the lead. And by miracle, Dean needed a Safety Car.

But things weren't any better with the Mercs. Akula knew that if Viral placed ahead of her, she would take back the points lead. And Akula didn't want to lose his lead again, after working so hard to get it back.

"I want to use my engine when I can, Petrov," The changeling reported, wanting the lead of the Grand Prix.

'Akula, we will be turning both cars down soon,' Petrov replied.

"But I still have engine life!" But Akula would not get an answer, until two laps later.

Viral had managed to hold off Akula for a while now, the changeling trying all he could to take his lead back. After a double-stack pit stop on Lap 26 that put both Mercs on mediums, they still held the lead. But on Lap 27, she then felt that her car was down on performance, like Bahrian was repeating itself. However, she realised that Akula was not any faster a few turns later. Something was up.

Before she could key her radio, it chimed for her. But the voice that spoke to her was not Neon's. The voice belonged to Mercedes technical director James Allison. 'Viral, this is James. We are managing an issue with the gearbox that is critical. Repeat, we are managing a critical gearbox issue. Please stay off the kerbs unless directed otherwise, both cars,'

Viral felt her heart sink. There was an issue with the gearbox and she only knew now?! And since both her and Akula had to stay off the kerbs, they would be losing quite a bit of time to the pack. But since there was nothing she could do, she keyed her radio and replied, "Gearbox issue, stay off the kerbs. Roger that,"

Seconds after, Akula was contacted by Allison. 'Akula, this is James. We are managing a critical issue with the gearbox. Please stay off the kerbs unless directed otherwise, that's both cars,'

Akula immediately realised that the vibrations caused by hitting the rumble strips must be damaging the gearbox on both cars. Knowing what was going on, Akula simply said, "Acknowledged,"

With only 6 laps to go, Dean really needed his miracle to come now. If nothing happened, the win would easily be fought out between the Crimson Arrows. Dean needed a safety car to come out. And sure enough, it did.

Back in the mid-field, Suri and Rarity were fighting with Ocellus for 8th. But on the exit of Rindt, the front-right wheel on Suri's R.S.19 suddenly detached from the car, nearly hitting Rarity as it came off. And with one less wheel, Suri brought the three-wheeled Renault to a stop off the track and got out. Her race was done.

This incident brought out the safety car, bunching the field back up together. Just what Dean needed.

With three laps to go in the Grand Prix, the safety car pulled in and the race continued. But this time, Dean was right behind the Crimson Arrows. He needed to get past them for the win.

There was no dice the first time around, as Viral and Akula were too fast. But with two laps to go, fate would decide the race win. Heading into the Remus, Akula tried to take Viral under the brakes. The two Mercedes clashed wheels as Akula tried to pull ahead, but Viral didn't let up. They were side-by-side heading down the straight into Schlossgold and Akula tried his luck again.

But as Akula got on the brakes and turned into the corner, the front end of his car began to slide. He was understeering. And Viral was right next to him.

When Viral tried to stay alongside Akula through the turn, the changeling understeered into his teammate. The Crimson Arrows clashed wheels again, understeer sending Akula being sent into the gravel and taking Viral with him. Luckily, the two maintained their momentum through the gravel and made it back onto the track, keeping the race under green.

However, their detour through the gravel had caused the teammates to drop back to 7th and 8th respectively, well out of podium contention. For the first time in the season, neither Crimson Arrow would finish on the podium. Even if another SC was brought out.

And Viral was understandably pissed. "F***************!!!!!! F***!!! F***!!!!! F***!!!! F***!!!!! THAT F****** IDIOT!!!!!!! FOR F**** SAKE!!!!!!!!"

'Tyres are OK. Pressures are OK. Watch for traffic and rejoin safely,'

"AKULA JUST RUINED OUR F****** RACE!!!! WHAT THE F****** S***????!!!!!"

'Keep calm, get your head down. We can still get some points for this,'

Akula, meanwhile, was not happy either. "F***!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!! F****** NOOOOOO!!!!!! GOD-F******-DAMMIT!!!!!"

'Are you OK? Are you OK?'

"I just took out Viral. Car is okay, but there's no way that we're having the podium. I am f****** stupid. I should've waited,"

Just then, team boss Toto Wolff came over his radio. 'Don't beat yourself up over it, it was out of your control. Keep your eyes forward, we can still pick up some points for this race,'

"Thanks, Toto. I'm keeping calm. *sigh* I should've waited for one more lap. Son-of-a-b****!!"

With the Crimson Arrows out of it, this left Dean in the lead with two laps to go. All he had to do was hold off Celestia, Fluttershy and Big Mac in order to win. And holding off those three would be a cake-walk for the British Speedfreak. He expertly used the power of his powerful Ferrari to pull away easily and hold it for one more lap.

And as he rounded the final corner, Dean saw the chequered flag flying from the marshal box and the Ferrari pit crew on the pit fence, cheering him on to the finish. Dean took the flag, taking the win of the Austrian Grand Prix. Just behind him, Celestia fought off Fluttershy and Big Mac to take second, letting the two behind finish 3rd and 4th respectively.

But it was all Dean, the victory was his. 'You've done it! You are an official Formula One winner!' Crimsonia cried out over the radio.

"YEAAAAAHHHH!!!!!! VICTORY NUMBER TWO!!!!! Graze mille, grazie mille!" Dean cried out, punching his hoof into the sky. He was so happy for his overwhelming victory against the two Mercs. And as he pulled into the victory box, he rejoiced with the members of his team as Celestia and Fluttershy pulled into the box.

However, just before he went over to celebrate with Celestia and Fluttershy, a surprise visit came when Viral arrived at the box, having managed an 8th place finish. She held out a hoof and Dean accepted, shaking hooves with the fellow pegasus.

When it was time for the podium ceremony, the three drivers were all happy with their trophies. Dean was so happy in fact, he gleefully spayed down Crimsonia with champagne (who had joined him on the podium, as part of a experimental podium ceremony planned for next season). He was just so happy with his weekend. AFter a race that took out his nemesis, he went on to win one of the most prestigious Grand Prixs of the season.

Dean couldn't be more happy.

Author's Note

Results

1. DangerDean - 25 + 1 points (Fastest Lap)
2. Celestia - 18 points
3. Fluttershy - 15 points
4. Big Macintosh - 12 points
5. Pinkie Pie - 10 points
6. Ocellus - 8 points
7. Akula - 6 points
8. Viral Velocity - 4 points
9. Rarity - 2 points
10. Chrysalis - 1 point (1 lap down)
11. Yona - 0 points (1 lap down)
12. Suri Polomare - 0 points (DNF)

Driver's Championship

1. Akula - 115 points
2. Viral Velocity - 112 points
3. Celestia - 89 points
4. DangerDean - 79 points
5. Fluttershy - 56 points
6. Gallus - 51 points
7. Rainbow Dash - 41 points
8. Oscura Galaxia - 34 points
9. Pinkie Pie - 33 points
10. Suri Polomare - 31 points
11. Twilight Sparkle - 31 points
12. Rarity - 30 points
13. Chrysalis - 30 points
14. Sandbar - 28 points
15. Big Macintosh - 24 points
16. Lightning Dust - 24 points
17. Ocellus - 21 points
18. Luna - 19 points
19. Applejack - 17 points
20. Silverstream - 17 points
21. Spitfire - 12 points
22. Yona - 10 points
23. Gladmane - 10 points
24. Cheese Sandwich - 7 points

Constructor's Championship

1. Mercedes-AMG Petronas - 259 points
2. Scuderia Ferrari - 144 points
3. Alfa-Romeo Racing - 122 points
4. BWT Racing Point - 104 points
5. Red Bull Toro Rosso - 72 points
6. Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing - 70 points
7. Renault F1 Team - 61 points
8. McLaren F1 - 41 points
9. HAAS F1 Team - 41 points
10. ROKiT Williams F1 Racing - 38 points