My Formula 1 System

"...Luca sticks to the racing line, but Kristensen isn't playing it safe. He dives down the inside, his car slanting up the slope, momentarily nosing ahead!"

"...Kristensen is alongside! They're wheel to wheel through the rest of the corner!"

"WOOOOHH!"

Luca pressed down on the downforce, anticipating when Turn 4's contrasting left-hander would merge in. He had Side-by-Side King on full activation, feathering its influence on Kristensen due to the instability of traction caused by the turns.

Nonetheless, Luca had the upper hand, even by the slightest margin.

Positioned on the outer line, the elevated lane of the slope, Luca tilted his wheel gently as Turn 4's entrance cut in sharply on his part. But for Kristensen, he glided smoothly in from the inside line to the outside line, temporarily claiming P3 from Luca.

[4th Position]

"WOOOOHH!"

"...OLIVER KRISTENSEN SWINGS OUT OF TURN 3, TAKING P3!"

"WOOOOHH!"

**Stay focused, chap**

[Track Incline: +2.8° slope (moderate elevation change)

Racing Line Camber: -1.2° (favors inside grip, outer line prone to understeer)]

"Glad I'm on the inside then."

"... Kristensen on the outside, Rennick on the inside as they charge through Turn 4 toward the straight!"

[3rd Position]

[Overtaking Skill +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 37.5%]

[Straightaway ahead]

Luca gripped his wheel tighter, his focus sharpening as he could see Max and Aaronson already taking on the straight halfway with Aaronson slightly behind Max.

[Side-by-Side King failed due to unstable traction and track structure]

Luca knew the skill, Side-by-Side King had its limits, but on a definite, stable straightaway, where grip wasn't a gamble, it was a different story.

Kristensen was still holding his ground to the outside beside him, but Luca had already envisioned how this would play out on the straight, and he couldn't wait to attack it.

Luca quickly lifted his feet off the brake, switching to the throttle and pushing on ERS once the straight opened.

Kristensen performed the same feat, his Dallara lunging forward on cue with Luca, violet and red roaring down as loud as a SomberCore could growl.

Luca carefully executed all steps required for a smooth Side-by-Side King, pressing down on Kristensen as hard as he could as they barreled down the straight.

The moment Luca initiated Side-by-Side King, the pressure shifted for Kristensen. His violet Dallara was still level with Luca's red machine, but the balance of control had started to tilt.

Kristensen clenched his jaw. He could feel the weight of Luca's presence pressing against him, not physically, but in how every slight movement forced a response.

He wanted to counter, to break free from the invisible tether Luca had cast, but the straight had now become a narrow, suffocating corridor.

His wheel twitched slightly as he fought the urge to veer too far or concede too much. The speed was immense, ERS deployment at full stretch, but Luca had the advantage of execution.

"...and it seems Luca Rennick is dominating this duel, setting the pace himself! Kristensen is still hanging in there, but he's being squeezed inch by inch as they charge toward Turn 5, toward the next chicane!"

[Track Span Analysis: 7.8 meters wide (inside lane partially available)] [Optimal Racing Line Calculated: 3.2 meters]

[Car Width: 1.9 meters] [Margin for Error: 0.8 meters (0.3 meters on the left, 0.5 meters on the right)]

Luca subtly dropped his speed by reducing ERS, taking the curve first while Kristensen was disoriented by Side-by-Side King on the straight.

Both cars were overheating after roaring down a straight at high speed with high ERS usage. So, cautious, smart, and calm, Luca relied on a stable speed and self-steering to make it past Turn 5 and the chicanes.

Kristensen, however, was determined not to fully lose the duel he was already losing. He maintained high ERS usage and a speed that was never recommended for a turn.

"...Kristensen refuses to back down! He's throwing everything at this duel, even when the odds are shifting against him..!"

"...You can see the tire heat rising, the rear grip starting to waver—Kristensen is on the absolute edge! If he pulls this off, it's a masterclass in raw determination, but if he overcommits... he could be in serious trouble!"

As soon as Steve's words were broadcasted to the spectators, Kristensen overcommitted at the entrance of Turn 6, the chicane.

He tried squeezing in with Luca even when chicanes were known for their slim and tight apexes. Luca had totally covered the racing line, only giving space for a nose in and nothing more.

The last effort of Side-by-Side King was applied, and Oliver Kristensen was at a loss when he oversteered off track, drifting and driving onto the advertisement pavements!

"WOOOOHH!"

"...OH, KRISTENSEN OVERCOOKS IT! HE'S OFF THE TRACK...!"

"WOOOOHH!" the crowd stood in awe as Kristensen's Dallara skidded out like waste from Luca's rear and onto the blue floor designed with FIA sponsors.

"No! No, no!" Kristensen panicked as his tires instantly lost grip, and he skated sideways.

The rumble strips did little to help as his wheels rattled on them for a second before fully veering off. His stomach lurched as he careened into the center of the pavement, watching Luca drive off into Turn 7 unharmed.

"WOOOOHH!"

"...WHAT A MOMENT IN THIS DUEL! The crowd is on their feet—Luca Rennick holds firm, while Kristensen pays the price for that all-or-nothing gamble!"

Luca kept his focus forward, but his eyes flicked to the side mirror instinctively. He heard Kristensen's tires rumbling, felt the loss of heat from his car as well, and then the roar of the crowd.

The Retona Violet livery looked out of place against the brightly colored sponsor boards, its trajectory anything but controlled.

Luca could see the fight in Kristensen's hands, fighting and wrestling the wheel, trying to regain control before the car completely lost balance.

From Luca's assessment, it seemed Kristensen could regain control, but not before a few drivers overtook him. Just look at Derstappen, already in P4 now.

"...Albert Derstappen in P4!"

"...Albert Derstappen prende la quarta posizione mentre Kristensen è un'anatra seduta!"

"WOOOOHH!"

"....Kristensen is in trouble! He's still trying to recover, but the damage has already been done! Derstappen has swooped in and snatched P4, and he's not the only one on the hunt!"

"WOOOOHH!"

"...That overcommitment at the chicane has cost Oliver Kristensen dearly! He's scrambling to regain control, but the pack is closing in fast! He's now a sitting duck out there!"

[Side-by-Side King +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 50%]

[Analyzing 4th Position's distance from host and Dallara (F2 04)...]

[4th Position is 2.5 sec away, host.]

That was Derstappen now.

Luca took notice and continued to surge forward, leaving the fate of Kristensen into Kristensen's own hands. He wondered if he'd be able to accomplish the day's Daily Quest if Kristensen ended up not finishing because of what happened.

Luca shook the thought for now. But even as he pushed ahead, his mirror still showed Kristensen struggling, fighting to bring himself back into the race.

A deep breath. A reset.

No time to look back. Derstappen's a tiger!

"WOOOOHH!"

**Luca?**

Luca was surprised to hear Mr. Ruben's voice crackle through the radio. "Huh? Sup?"

There was a brief pause, one that felt longer than it should have. Then—

**5-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track**

Luca's eyes widened. "What—?!"

"...Luca Rennick has been given a FIVE-SECOND PENALTY...!"

"WOOOOHH!"

"ARE YOU... KIDDING ME?! OLIVER?!"

**Yes**

Luca's grip tightened on the wheel, his pulse spiking. "How the hell did I force him off?! He overcommitted!"

Mr. Ruben responded slowly. Even the penalty came as a surprise to him, so he tried to keep Luca calm under the conditions he was in now.

**Race Control determined that you squeezed Kristensen into an unrecoverable position before the chicane. The racing line was yours, but you didn't leave him a fair escape route. They see it as forcing him off**

What in the world.

Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

Luca let out a sharp breath. "Hmm! What did they expect me to do? Teleport out of his way...?"

**If we could teleport, we'd be at P1, ha! Keep your head down, chap. We'll manage this**

"...Race Control has ruled that Luca applied excessive pressure, leaving Kristensen with no alternative but to go off-track!"

"WOOOOHH!"

Luca shook his head and sighed as the circuit erupted into chaos, the roar so loud it sounded like a colosseum.

"Damnit. What has Side-by-Side King done to me now?" Luca asked himself. "I hope this doesn't mean skills have demerits—please, not!"

A five-second penalty—or even a penalty in general—was not what Luca was hoping for in this Mega Prix. He needed every millisecond, and here he was, being deprived of five thousand of them.

That meant he'd have to take it in the next pit stop, and that pit stop had to be as fast as a flash to reduce the impact of the penalty on his race.

Luca suddenly regretted giving Oliver Kristensen his all in their duel. Now, both of them had five-second penalties, with no one having the upper hand.

And just look at that—Kristensen was making it back on track, his tires gripping the asphalt as he rejoined the race from the brake marker of Turn 7 with fierce determination. He had lost time, but not the fight.

But not before Miles took P5.

"...Miles Bellingham in P5!"

"WOOOOHH!"