My Formula 1 System

"...The crowd is on their feet, thousands holding their breath in unison! This is it—the final race of the season, the Italian Mega Prix! No more calculations, no more second chances—it all comes down to this moment!"

"...The lights are still on… still holding… the anticipation is unreal… and—!"

"Lights out, Luca," Luca huffed, engaging his controls. "Let's do this."

"WOOOOHH!"

"...LAST GRID OF THE SEASON! We're driving in Monza!"

Miles' tires spun in fury, the ridges gripping the asphalt for traction as fast as possible.

Luca's own tires were able to perform that just a little bit faster due to his Grid Launch. So, he got traction early enough, and instead of trailing behind Miles from the start, Luca jumped to share P6 with him as they crossed the start/finish line behind the leading drivers.@@novelbin@@

"...the Italian Mega Prix is underway! They crawl off the line with Luca Rennick jumping off to battle Bellingham even before Turn 1!"

[Grid Launch +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 12.5%]

Luca's cockpit view rattled once he leaped out of his grid box and joined Miles to begin the race. They quickly followed the leaders of the pack into the short path that led to Turn 1.

Solid barricades lined the track, towering walls of steel and advertisement boards closed down on them after the Tribuna Centrale. This brief confinement brought Miles' car close, fighting for an early grip as well.

One slight misjudgment, one twitch of the wheel, and metal would meet metal with nowhere to escape.

If Luca wanted to escape more of this in this race, he'd have to get as far as possible and as early as possible.

The short alleyway was completed and Luca could see Dani Walding's blue Dallara bending into Turn 1.

[Track Span Analysis: 7.5 meters wide (limited maneuverability due to barriers)]

[Optimal Racing Line Calculated: 5.2 meters]

[Car Width: 1.9 meters]

[Margin for Error: 2.3 meters (shared with other cars, potential overlap)]

Luckily it was a right-hander, and Luca was to the right, so he had a better chance of using the inside lane to his advantage.

He titled his wheel, directed by the numbers and the arrowheads of his system. He made adjustments when necessary and his engine supplied just the right power to make his chassis obey.

Miles saw he was losing P6 so early, but there was really nothing he could do about it. He covered enough ground on the left, but Luca's inside maneuver had left him powerless.

Luca glided in, forcing Miles to tuck behind before the right-hander abruptly changed to a left-hander, beginning Turn 2.

"...And Rennick dives to the inside for Turn 1! Top four hasn't changed but P6 surely has!"

"WOOOOHH!"

"...That's textbook racecraft from Luca Rennick—calculated, clinical! He saw the gap, committed, and now he's got P6, fronting his championship rivals in the Italian Mega Prix!"

"WOOOOHH!"

[6th Position]

That was a fantastic start to the race, fueling Trampos' optimism. The German crowd erupted in cheers, celebrating the moment, but the Trampos crew remained silent.

They didn't want to get ahead of themselves. They had seen races unravel too many times before, and with 75 laps ahead, anything could happen. Excitement was one thing, but they knew better than to let their emotions ride too high too soon.

No premature celebrations. Everyone had silently promised.

[Analyzing 7th Position's distance from host and Dallara (F2 04)...]

[7th Position is 0.8 sec away, host.]

Miles wasn't done yet, that was for sure. So, Luca, now on the defensive, had to make sure he didn't lose P6 over Turn 2 and Curva Grande, Turn 3.

Tire temp was building up much faster than Luca expected, so he could be able to drive efficiently through the steepness of Turn 3.

"...and Miles Bellingham would try to take back what's his! He's already closing in, just eight-tenths behind, and with Turn 2 leading straight into the sweeping third, he's got a golden opportunity to fight back!"

"...Luca might have won the inside line into Turn 1, but now he's on the defensive! He'll have to manage that grip carefully—because with the way tire wear is creeping in, he might struggle to hold pace through the high-speed left-hander ahead!"

[8th Position closing in]

[9th Position closing in]

Oh no. Luca had almost forgotten about the two other threats creeping up behind him. Barely ten seconds into the race, Luca bet they were already hungry for position.

He couldn't afford to focus solely on Miles. If he lost momentum, it wouldn't just be P6 slipping away, it'd be a disastrous drop to P9, with Max and Aaronson capitalizing on every bit of lost speed.

A split-second decision for Luca.

Instead of going full defensive, Luca realized the better move was to attack. Push for Dani Walding. Push for P5. If he could get ahead, he'd naturally create a gap, keeping Miles and the others at bay.

[Analyzing Dallara (F2 04) and host's distance from 5th Position]

[You are 0.5 seconds away, host.]

Unbelievable, Luca thought.

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Right at the apex of Turn 2, Dani Walding was already locked in a fierce early duel with Albert Derstappen, a veteran of the grid.

Maybe even Dani understood the situation that if he didn't keep moving forward, he'd be the one swallowed by the pack.

Smart, Luca thought.

So, from the aerial view, it was just a swarm of Dallaras, jostling and lunging, every driver desperate to carve their own path through the chaos.

Not until Turn 3 did the pack suddenly contort like an earthworm, snaking in a synchronized, desperate rhythm.

The arc of the turn coiled like a python, displaying the first field of grass in Autodromo di Lombardia. And then the steepness caused everyone's tires to scream with traction loss, rubber clawing desperately for grip.

They'd navigated this before in the qualifying session, but it totally felt different for some reason. Perhaps, different atmosphere and objectives caused this contrast.

Luca's helmet tilted a bit because of the G-load, but he endured it like a champ, compared to his rivals who suffered the strain to their neck.

[Endurance +1]

Slowly, Oliver Kristensen wormed his way through, Taubert followed, and Legrasse barely made it. In fact, he didn't—he had to take the runoff area at Turn 3.

A treacherous turn like that always had a runoff section. Runoff areas were extra tarmac, gravel, or grass beyond the track limits meant to slow down or redirect cars that couldn't make the corner. In Serpeggiare, it was still tarmac, but that didn't mean it was any less time-punishing.

Much to Luca's surprise, Dani Walding gave up the fight and diverted into the runoff as well.

**Great. Push**

"...Turn 3 forces Legrasse and Walding to regroup rather than risk a spin! Can they rejoin quick enough?!"

"WOOOOHH!"

In Luca's mind, there was no way they'd rejoin in time. He had three bloodthirsty drivers breathing down his neck, rivals who would seize any opportunity to keep him from advancing.

So even though it was guaranteed Luca would slip out of Turn 3's exit before Legrasse and Walding, there was no telling whether Miles, Max, and Aaronson would allow two cars to act as a buffer between them and the Trampos Dallara.

Zip!

Legrasse held his breath as Luca sliced out of the exit. The runoff was safer… but longer.

[4th Position]

Zip!

Miles followed, less than a second behind. Legrasse barely clawed his way back onto the track, rejoining from the intersection just before Mad Max could cut him off!

Max, forced to lift off, cursed into his helmet. The sudden obstruction killed his momentum, and all he could do was fume as Legrasse got away.

For Dani Walding, his worst fear of tumbling down the leaderboard was playing out regardless. Max—his own teammate—had just slipped through, and now his only hope was to slot in before Aaronson got there.

"…It's very tight for Dani Walding! He's desperate to get back in before Sean Aaronson, but Aaronson isn't lifting! They're side by side at the merge—"

"Cunt," Aaronson muttered under his breath, throwing his car past the intersection without a shred of concern for Dani Walding.

The moment Dani veered back in, Aaronson's back-left tire clipped his front-right.

"WOOOOHH!"

"…CONTACT BETWEEN ARONSON AND WALDING AT CURVA GRANDE!"

"WOOOOHH!"

Luca had been splitting his focus, glancing at his side mirror to track where Walding would rejoin. After all, Dani Walding was a Bueseno Velocità Jnr driver, and his finishing position could be crucial to Trampos' victory.

But now?

It looked like Dani Walding wouldn't be finishing the Italian Mega Prix at all.

His car sat lifeless at the side of the track, its front tires locked up in a choking cloud of smoke. Aaronson still moving, the entire crowd gone wild.