My Formula 1 System

Chinese Grand Prix

Location: Shanghai, China

Date: Apr. 10

Time: 4 PM

Track: Shanghai International Circuit

Track Length: 5.5 km

Total Laps: 56

Track Type: Permanent road course

Lap Record: Silvio Maldonado 1:30.482

The Chinese Grand Prix used to be a great highlight in the F1 calendar back then. But as the years passed and the sport grew more modern, costly, and exorbitant, China made it clear that they were not really ready for the spiking growth.

At that time, the economy faced fluctuations, so the cost of maintaining the event, particularly with the evolving technological demands of modern F1, became too expensive for the organizers to sustain long-term.

But now, it seemed there was a recovery of key markets, or China themselves had realized that the Grand Prix was gold on its own and that they wouldn't miss out on an economic-boosting event.

So the Chinese Grand Prix was reintroduced, offering the FIA an opportunity to establish a permanent presence in Asia alongside other potential options like Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia

The best thing about this race event was that the circuit was one of the most beautiful in the world. Imagine a large-scale facility like an F1 circuit located in China, built and designed in the way known for China's metropolises.

Its seating capacity wasn't entirely large like the Spanish circuit, Mandalora, and the Italian circuit, Serpeggiare, but it still featured an impressive 84,000-plus seating capacity that surrounded the entire track without a break or a sector without grandstands.

Luca wanted an entire day to Track Walk and admire the place, but there certainly was no time, and the team agreed they'd do it in a jiffy on qualifying day.

The track had four straights and sixteen corners—relatively average and alright for a standard F1 track.

However, when someone considers the sixteen turns and the overall 5.5 km length of the track, they might presume it disproportionate.

This was all because of the back straight, the last straight of Sector 3. It was one of the longest straights ever in F1, eating up almost 25% of the track's entire 5.5 km length.

Luca imagined his Sync Buffed JRX-92B running down that straight with an unrelenting tenacity that had never been seen.

So while it might take others—with DRS open—thirteen to fourteen seconds to barrel down that lengthy straight, it might take a Sync Buffed Luca and his car just about seven to eight seconds or even less, depending on his stats.

Luca was going to eye this Straight 4 and exploit it to his advantage multiple times for the win. Ever since he won the Monaco Grand Prix, he had developed a subtle confidence, now knowing that 1st Place wasn't actually unattainable in F1.

PROVISIONAL CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (ALL 10)

Position | Team | Points

--------------------------------------

1. | Jackson Racing | 37

2. | Squadra Corse | 33

3. | Haddock Racing | 14

4. | Outback Perf. | 8

5. | Nordvind Racing | 7

6. | Velox Hispania | 2

7. | Bueseno Velocità | 0

8. | Iberia Grand Prix | 0

9. | Trampos Racing | 0

10. | Alpine Swiss F1 | 0

Jackson Racing and Squadra Corse had already pasted themselves as the favorites for the championship, distancing the rest of the grid.

Haddock Racing sat in third with 14 points, while Outback Performance (8 points) and Nordvind Racing (7 points) rounded out the top five heading into the next race.

Velox Hispania managed to get on the board with 2 points, but the bottom four teams—Bueseno Velocità, Iberia Grand Prix, Trampos Racing, and Alpine Swiss F1—were yet to score.

It was still early in the season, yet gaps were already forming. Not to mention, there were 19 races left to course.

PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP5)

Position | Team | Points

------------------------------------------

1. | Luca Rennick | 25 (+1)

2. | Marko Ignatova | 18

3. | Antonio Luigi | 15

4. | Marcellus Rodnick | 12

5. | Ailbeart Moireach | 10

During training today, Mr. Matthews made sure he had a one-on-one conversation with Luca concerning the Drivers' Championship Standings.

He wasn't interested in discussing the usual race strategies or technical adjustments, nor was he there to praise Luca for his early-season success. Instead, Mr. Matthews wanted to talk about something far more pressing, something not uncommon in F1's toxic atmosphere.

"What's the word…?" Mr. Matthews pondered. "Resentment. Yes."

Luca wasn't just leading the championship; he was a rookie leading the championship. That alone made him a problem for the grid.

It would be an insult—a disruption of order—to the experienced drivers we all know on the grid to see him successful in his first goddamn F1 season.

Some might start viewing him as an opportunist who got lucky, others as an arrogant upstart who needed to be put in his place. Either way, he was now a target. Not just a P1 target, but a Luca Rennick target.

Mr. Matthews feared Luca had attracted his own enmity very early in his career, and his biggest challenge wouldn't be winning races but surviving the storm that came with success.

Luca wanted to assure Mr. Matthews that he was just overreaching, that things weren't as hostile as he made them seem. After all, this was only the second round of the season.

He tried to make his Team Principal understand that what he feared was just the usual competitive friction that came with Formula racing and its fierce drivers.

Mr. Matthews admired Luca's ignorance and innocence on this crucial matter. He knew such naivety never lasted long in Formula 1, and Luca would be the one to grow into awareness.

As a Team Principal, he could already sense the nuanced unhappiness from his star driver, Marcellus, who didn't seem too pleased with his P4 finish in Monaco when he had to defend his title as a 2x F1 World Champion.

Not to mention Di Renzo, who had humbly voiced a complaint, saying he respected the team's choice of fielding Luca on track, but as a young driver with a career to pursue, he wanted to be put behind the wheel soon.

It was a sport of desensitized and remorseless ambition, where personal gain took precedence over team growth.

"Depending on your performance on Sunday, we'll determine if you or Renzo will be on the grid in the US," Mr. Matthews said, tapping Luca on the back. "You're driving well. Keep it up."

Mr. Matthews' words resonated in Luca's mind. The realization that his driving streak could be cut was disappointing, but Luca swallowed it and bowed his head quickly.