My Formula 1 System

NOTE: Slipstream Mastery was already at (19) before the last chapter. Apologies for the oversight in Chapter 275, where Luca had already upgraded it from (18) to (19).

This means that after gaining the last point in the previous chapter, Slipstream Mastery is now fully completed at (20).

Hence:

[Slipstream Mastery Completed!]

[New Car Skill Accumulating: 1/3]

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The loss of control only lasted for a second or half. Luca was able to make good use of his impressive Agility, high Reflexes, and Track Awareness to pilot his spinning car.

He spun 360° three times, the second time losing car integrity with a subtle hit to the cage barriers.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

[Traction Unstable]

The hit wasn't a hazardous one, and it actually helped Luca regain control, cutting the tires to the left when it skidded to the right.

[Traction Detected]

**Luca! Are you still in it?!**

".... IT'S ABSOLUTE CHAOS BEYOND THE TUNNEL!"

"...HANK RICE'S CAR SPINS OUT AND HE CLIPS LUCA MID-DRIFT! THAT'S A FULL-BLOWN TANGO ON THE ASPHALT...!"

Rhythm was lost, but at least he'd regained control.

Luca's gaze darted to his mirrors as his engineers sought his response.

"I'm still running," he replied, his eyes searching for the cars he had just fought with in the darkness.

For a split second, everything was a spill of color until Luca's vision cleared, and he could see Hank Rice's Audi calmly parked at the 90° turn.

Definitely a DNF, Luca thought.

"…It's a second yellow flag session in this Monaco Grand Prix as Hank Rice has seen red…!"

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[20th Lap]

Silence reigned in Luca's 92B as he focused on his thoughts, reminiscing about Hank Rice's sudden fallout from the Monaco Grand Prix.

Honestly, Luca had believed—from the way they were positioned—that Nyström would be the one to meet a bad ending.

Back then, he had felt a little guilty for contributing to the pressure Rice was forced to endure—was unable to endure, rather.

But that was F1. Its nature was unforgiving and ruthless, where any moment of hesitation, any fraction of miscalculation, could decide your fate.

Still, Luca would have loved to square off against a great driver like Hank Rice on these streets. He supposed he and Nyström had pushed a little too hard for the veteran.

Yet Luca wondered how Hank Rice would have handled the situation if he had been piloting his usual Nevada Ferrari and the Warpburner.

Perhaps Luca himself might have been the one walking off the track—or maybe still Nyström. Who knew?

[8th Position]

After the incident, Luca had, of course, climbed to P8, once again trailing behind Dreyer on the leaderboard.

Nyström was still behind him, but Luca knew that wouldn't last long because he had been slapped with a 5-second penalty for forcing his way into Rice's inner line back then, which ultimately led to their contact.

It was a racing incident at first glance, but the stewards deemed Nyström's move too aggressive, especially given how tight Street Turn 11 was.

Luca assessed his performance so far in his first Formula 1 race.

Started at P11. 20 laps in. Now at P8. 40 laps to go.

He wondered if he had truly advanced on merit or if his position was simply the result of two DNFs favoring him, essentially boosting him up the leaderboard.

So far, the Monaco Grand Prix had seen four DNFs in just 20 laps.

The first three had only warranted yellow flags—Jimmy Damgaard's tire delamination, Hank Rice's suspension failure, and Mikhail Petrov's own tire delamination.

But a red flag had been raised once for a crash at the tail of the pack. The safety car had been deployed for the incident, and Luca wasn't surprised when Erik Haas's name disappeared from the leaderboard.

It must've been humiliating for Haas. Imagine losing control all on your own, with no pressure from anyone, only to slam into the barriers at the back of the pack. P20 to DNF.

That really had to sting for Trampos.

P15 — Yokouchi Yūichirō ↑

P16 — Józef Konarski ↑

XXX — Jimmy Damgaard ↓

XXX — Mikhail Petrov ↓

XXX — Hank Rice ↓

XXX — Erik Haas ↓

Luca scanned the P15–P20 section but didn't see Ansel's name. Looking further up, he was impressed to find Ansel at P13, astonishingly ahead of Javier Montez.

Boosted by the DNFs or not, jumping from P18 to P13 was still an impressive feat in F1.

[Tires are in good condition, host. Fuel level at 65%. DRS is now available. Engine temperature is optimal. Brake wear at 5%.]

[Telemetry reports smooth handling. Aerodynamic efficiency optimal. Recommend maintaining current pace.]

[Tire Wear Management +1]

[Longevity +2]

"Ahhhh?"

"What did you just increase?"

[Host's Car Attribute: Tire Wear Management]

[Host's Engine Feature: Longevity]

[Both have been leveled up accordingly.]

Luca had almost forgotten about these newer aspects of his system. Only now did he fully grasp how much broader the scale had become.

This meant he now had to tilt his focus away from improving himself but the car now.

As far as Luca was concerned, he knew he could dominate this grid if everyone had the same chassis and engine.

But the varying features and capabilities across the field were creating subtle, yet crucial, differences!

"Longevity got boosted by two? Is that how this category works?"

[Affirmative, host. Engine Features receive random boosts instead of a fixed point increase.]

"It doesn't help fill up the Sync Bar?"

[Negative, host.]

"Tsk. Should've seen that one coming. Thanks, by the way. (7) Longevity is definitely better than (5)," Luca said. "This is just the beginning! S-level, here I come!"

**Marcellus will be seeing the pits. Track belongs to you**

The drivers who had started the race on soft compounds were now considering a pit stop after experiencing clear signs of degradation.

The relentless nature of Circuit de l'Étoile, with its tight street corners and heavy braking zones, had accelerated tire wear, making grip a growing concern.

Some were still pushing the limits, trying to squeeze out a few more laps before diving into the pits, while others, like Rodnick, had already made their decision.

Luca, however, had hard tires fitted to his 92B, so he was still as solid as a pillar!

**Luis will take the pit lane. We can advance from here now**

Luca didn't fully grasp Mr. Berry's words, until he cleared the final street section and approached the home straight.

Right in front of him, Luis Dreyer, who had been just a second ahead, had his brake lights flashing as he veered into the pit lane.

A wide grin spread across Luca's face, stretching to both ends of his visor.

"Yes!" he celebrated, surging into P7, flying down the home straight to start another lap around Circuit de l'Étoile.

"....Luca Rennick in P7!"