My Formula 1 System

Race Day: April 10, Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China.

The Shanghai International Circuit roared back to life. After years of absence, the Chinese Grand Prix had finally returned to the calendar!

By 4 PM, every grandstand, hospitality suite, and standing terrace was packed to capacity, overflowing with eager spectators. Home fans dominated the crowd, occupying 85% of the seating, while foreign spectators filled the remaining 15%.

The seating arrangement felt undeniably one-sided. With limited tickets available for foreign fans, many were left watching from outside the circuit or on television.

Complaints surfaced about this, but they fell on deaf ears since the race organizers had full control over distribution, making their priorities clear.

While other nations often aimed for a 50:50 or 60:40 split, China took a different approach. With the entire world eager to witness the return of this long-lost race, they ensured their home crowd had the overwhelming majority.

"...Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix...!"

F2 had already left its mark on the track the day before, delivering a remarkable performance in which Max Addams—once again—secured victory with a marvelous P1 finish.

Luca had heard about the intense battles, particularly between Max and Aaronson, who fought fiercely until the very end, with Aaronson settling for P2.

The asphalt bore the evidence of their duel like rubber streaks from aggressive braking and acceleration, along with a damaged barrier in Sector 2, most likely from a crash during the heated contest of thirty drivers.

However, another dented barrier—this one at the infamous Turn 14 hairpin—wasn't a result of F2's breathtaking action. Instead, it was a reminder of the drama that unfolded during Thursday's qualifying session.

Haddock Racing took a brutal hit when Ailbeart Moireach lost control on the long straight, where speeds pushed past 320 km/h.

Braking for the hairpin was always a fine balance, and Moireach got it wrong. He hit the brakes too late, locking up instantly. The rear snapped out, and no matter how hard he fought to wrestle it back, the car was already gone.

He spun straight into the barriers at high speed. The impact tore through his rear wing, sending debris flying as the car came to a crushing halt.

Funny enough, that was Q3 meaning Moireach had made it all the way to the final stage of qualifying, only to end up disqualified.

In F1, drivers who crash during qualifying and bring out a red flag often have their lap times deleted, essentially disqualifying them from their previous efforts.

This rule prevents drivers from gaining an unfair sneaky advantage by setting a competitive fastest lap before deliberately causing a session stoppage.

Unfortunately for Moireach, his crash at Turn 14 was severe enough to warrant this penalty even when he wasn't the fastest lapper at that moment or he had the intent to stop the session.

And disqualification simply placed Ailbeart Moireach at the back of the grid—P20.

In the case where more than one driver crashed during qualifying and received a similar penalty, the starting order is determined by their previous lap times before the incident.

If neither driver had a valid time, the order is usually based on their final classified position from the previous session (Q1 or Q2).

Q1 was less competitive than Q2 and Q3. When Luca started his flying laps, he was able to get a score that placed him among the top five fastest lappers for Q1.

1. Antonio Luigi ⬩ 1:31.438 (+0.000)

2. Hank Rice ⬩ (+0.064)

3. Mikhail Petrov ⬩ (+0.172)

4. Elias Nyström ⬩ (+0.284)

5. Luca Rennick ⬩ (+0.361)

Then the slowest drivers that made up P16 to P20 on the grid were:

16. Jimmy Damgaard⬩ (+1.574)

17. Luis Dreyer ⬩ (+1.667)

18. James Lockwood ⬩ (+1.776)

19. Yokouchi Yūichirō ⬩ (+1.952)

20. Erik Haas ⬩ (+2.101)

Sometimes, Luca felt as if the word "slowest" was a bit of a stretch. Considering formula racing dealt with milliseconds and each of these drivers didn't seem slow—not in the very least—Luca believed the word should be "less quick" rather than "slowest."

Because in the grand scheme of things, none of them were slow.

When it came to Q2, Luca was a bit faster than his Q1 best time. But even then, he was ranked lower than the top five as everyone brought out their best.

Jackson Racing strategists encouraged Luca to thrust forward for the challenge and settling back for that P11–P12 advantage wasn't always going to be his level.

So, at the end of Q3, Luca ranked 7th and moved on to the final session to determine the top 10.

1. Marko Ignatova ⬩ 1:30.945 (+0.000)

2. Marcellus Rodnick ⬩ (+0.047)

3. Desmond Lloyd ⬩ (+0.089)

4. Ailbeart Moireach ⬩ (+0.131)

5. Antonio Luigi ⬩ (+0.164)

6. Hank Rice ⬩ (+0.201)

7. Luca Rennick ⬩ (+0.249)

Then the slowest drivers that made up P11 to P15 on the grid where:

11. Davide DiMarco ⬩ (+0.312)

12. Denko Rutherford ⬩ (+0.354)

13. Józef Konarski ⬩ (+0.419)

14. Ansel Hahn ⬩ (+0.471)

15. Alejandro Vasquez ⬩ (+0.528)

It was announced that the Chinese Grand Prix Q2 qualifier was one of the tightest in recent history, with mere tenths separating the drivers.

While the broadcast played, Luca was too busy savoring the sight of Davide DiMarco, a major rival, ending up in P11. It was far from the top spots, but then he recalled Jackson Racing's well-known qualifying loophole concerning P11, and his excitement quickly faded.

"Davide made—"

**Yes, yes. We know. Big problem**

Luca felt uneasy. "Do you think he—y'know—timed it on purpose?"

**Not sure. No clear signs of slowing down, at least not that we can tell**

Luca gnawed at his lips, clearly unhappy with DiMarco's grid position. But there was nothing he could do except secure a better spot himself. So when Q3 arrived, he gave it his all, Ailbeart Moireach's crash fueling his determination.

In the end, he landed P5—originally P6, but with Ailbeart Moireach's crash bumping everyone up a position.

Strangely enough, Luca found himself directly ahead of Antonio Luigi and just behind Marko Ignatova.

P1— Hank Rice

P2— Elias Nyström

P3— Marcellus Rodnick

P4— Marko Ignatova

P5— Luca Rennick

P6— Antonio Luigi

P7— Mikhail Petrov

P8— Javier Montez

P9— Desmond Lloyd

P10— Davide DiMarco

P11— Denko Rutherford

P12— Józef Konarski

P13— Ansel Hahn

P14— Alejandro Vasquez

P15— Jimmy Damgaard

P16— Luis Dreyer

P17— James Lockwood

P18— Yokouchi Yūichirō

P19— Erik Haas

P20— Ailbeart Moireach

Jackson Racing strategists practically jubilated when Ailbeart Moireach's disqualification pushed Davide DiMarco up to P10 instead of P11.

The advantages that came from starting from P11 which we all know were not supposed to be placed in the hands of a driver like Davide DiMarco. So they were truly grateful to another rival, Ailbeart Moireach, for his crash.

"...P5, Luca Rennick....!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...P4, Marko Ignatova..!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...P3, Marcellus Rodnick...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...P2, Elias Nyström...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...P1, Hank Rice...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

The little mascots, all Asian kids, were escorted out of the grid where they had been playing with their go-karts. It was time for the lights-out countdown, the circuit wild with air horns.

"...AND HERE WE GO! FROM MONTE CARLO'S STREETS TO SHANGHAI'S METROPOLIS...! THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX IS FINALLY HERE AFTER SIX LONG YEARS...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

Luca was mindlessly saying a prayer when he was interrupted.

[Ding!]

[Daily Quest has been Issued!]