My Formula 1 System

XXX— Victor Surmann.

"...That is the end of his race here in Bahrain. Thankfully, the driver is alright after that horrendous crash into the barriers in the first sector. The sport can be cruel, and the young German can testify to that this afternoon."

"...It wasn't only a telemetry disaster, in my opinion, Sam. A psychological spiral plagued the rookie, and it went from chaos… to collapse… to crash. From the way he walked absentmindedly to the garage… Trampos should do better. Don't you agree?"

"...Definitely. Ladies and gentlemen, Bahrain has just delivered the first sting of the season. The fans in red are clutching their heads once again. All hope relies on one man standing—Rennick—to bring back substantial points after this first round…"

"...The VSC leaves in a minute…!"

[Virtual Safety Car Ongoing....]

Luca was grimmed by the catastrophe that had just hit him and his team. While the Virtual Safety Car prepared to go offline, his focus was halved with pity for Victor, whom he had personally coached to wield confidence into this season, starting with this very race.

After what had just transpired, Luca wagered that his teammate had now lost every ounce of belief he had managed to imbue in him. It would now be a colossal task to stimulate him again.

And beneath Victor were two other young academics that Trampos had hurriedly signed into the main team, just to complete the team's structure of main and reserve drivers in case of dire emergencies. No doubt, Victor was far better than those two young men. So, Luca truly had no choice but to dump his entire efforts into growing Victor alone.

Cracking P5 had been a cumbersome mission because Dreyer and Nyström wouldn't let him have a single breath of comfort to attack Marko Ignatova. Moreover, for the majority of these twelve laps, Luca had been under restrictions from the Technical Observation. Hence, both his offense and defense had to be nerfed temporarily in order to obey the imposed orders.

But now, Victor's crash had come as a small blessing. It clustered the pack together once more, pulled the supers back to base from wherever they had flown to, and replenished the chaotic competition.

Therefore, Marko Ignatova was just right up ahead. So close, Luca swore he could smell the metallic scent of his Mercedes—Luigi's previous chassis in particular.

The VSC finally went offline, and that familiar tension that always accompanied this moment saturated the blurry air surrounding the drivers and their cars.

Luca paid close heed to Marko's speed as the pack began to increase their pace. He was fully aware of Dreyer right behind him, but Luca knew he had the advantage to stay ahead, especially since he still had a stock full of undeployed energy.

Think about it—under the scalding Bahrain sun, even in late winter, with the pack tightly clustered and accumulating heat, Luca's special Engine Feature was on a roll.

[Heat-Energy Recycling +5]

As they neared the home straight in perfect formation, he didn't stop monitoring Marko's speed. From there, he also decided to conduct a quick Chassis Comparison to see just how much difference there really was between them, and who actually held the upper hand.

[Chassis Comparison]

[Retrieving Data from registered car and car under analysis....]

[...Data successfully retrieved!]

[Selected Modes:

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24)

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09) ]

[POWER & PERFORMANCE:

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09): 100% «««

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24): 265% »»»

[AERODYNAMICS & CHASSIS:

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09): 100% «««

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24): 220% »»»

[HANDLING & DYNAMICS:

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09): 100% »»»

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24): 100% »»»

[ENDURANCE & RELIABILITY:

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09): 100% »»»

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24): 90% «««

[TECHNOLOGICAL INTEGRATION:

—Mercedes (AMG F1 W09): 100% »»»

—Ferrari (Scuderia Z24): 92%««« ]

After seeing the results, Luca saw no reason to doubt the Z24's abilities when under his command.

Damgaard zipped over the line after the supers, Marko followed, and Luca slipped through. His gloved finger dived for ERS the instant his rear tires crossed the finish line.

Instantly, at the working rate of catalysts and hormones in the human body, the recycled heat energy surged into the power unit. The thermal-electric conversion system responsible dumped its stored output into the Energy Store, and the MGU-K kicked in with full force in response.

The entire procedure looked like a Sync Buff, but more natural. And unlike Sync Buff influencing the whole car, the jolt of electric torque that followed only struck the rear axle.

The sudden energy release bridged the delay between combustion power and traction, and the Z24 lunged just like the AMG used to on rare occasions after storing enough energy. Luca had the edge because he could carry out this feat repeatedly in the same race and throughout the season, so long as there was enough heat for him to harness.

G-force hit, but with Endurance at (44), it merely apologized to Luca instead.

"...And it's Rennick with a crazy LAUNCH off the restart..!"

"...Ignatova's caught off guard! Rennick dives to the inside first at Turn 1..!"

"WOOOOOHHHH!"

Orders were imminently barked out at Marko to cover up that line as quickly as possible as if it were easy while moving at over 250 km/h. Both drivers were a blur, but Marko's Mercedes was more definite than Luca's Ferrari, indicating the speed difference between the two titans.

The Russian snarled deeply at his rival's efforts and deliberated between cutting in rashly, risking a crash, or letting go and making the early lunge for Turn 2's inside.

[Track Span Analysis: 3.2 meters wide (inner line open)]

[Optimal Racing Line Calculated: 2.2 meters]

[Car Width: 1.86 meters] [Margin for Error: 0.34 meters (0.17m clearance on each side)]

[Possibility of Successful Overtake: 81%] [Risk of Wheel-to-Wheel Contact: 12%]

Side-by-Side King helped Luca fully clutch the inside line he ever wanted, and Marko, in reaction, diverted away. Whether it was a reflex action triggered by Side-by-Side King or if he was already going for Turn 2's inside, Luca wasn't sure. But if it was the latter, he wouldn't let him.

[5th Position]

"WOOOOOHHHHH!"

"...a great duel between these two stars has evolved! Marko Ignatova loses P5, but it could be only for a second as he dives for Turn 2 where Surmann crashed earlier this afternoon..!"

"WOOOOOHHHH!"

This was peculiarly a very crucial duel not only to both drivers, but to everyone watching. Luca was still on the notes, and the world wanted to see if he still had it in him after suffering that cataclysmic injury back in September. The result of this duel would determine if he still needed to be feared or not.

The young man in question still had a stockpile of energy unused. But judging by his angle relative to Marko, he was at a disadvantage and couldn't claim the favorable inside line. Luca considered going for the outside, but Turn 3 wasn't a systematic track structure follow-up.

Bahrain International Circuit—ever unpredictable.

Thereupon, Luca delved deep into what he had honed and easily figured out a solution. Miraculously, his car swiftly angled into the inside line at an unbelievable side-moving speed, one that was supposed to either cause a drift or topple the entire car.

"...OH WOW..!"

"What?!"

Marko was struck with disbelief, as it seemed an invisible pulley had just dragged Luca in front of him.

[Turn type: Medium Left-hander] [Angle: 60°] [Braking Point: 80 meters before turn-in] [Recommended Entry Speed: 150 km/h] [Optimal Apex: inside curb]

With cunningness, Luca took the inside line.

[Navigable ERS Deployment +2]