My Formula 1 System

"When I start racking up enough Skill Tokens, I'm gonna create something that stops me from getting passed again and again after someone takes me. Like, no more getting swallowed up by the pack just because of one move. I'll make sure I can defend right back or at least hold on and not get eaten alive out here."

Luca said this because right after, following Ailbeart's overtake, he had fallen straight into Luigi's line of attack at the home straight. This had happened so many times and he did no like it. Even though it was a normal predicament in F1 racing, Luca was looking forward to eradicating it from his races.

After the overtake, he had initially thought of using his new DRS Boost, coupled with his Slipstream Mastery, to latch onto Ailbeart and ride the momentum back into the fight. But Ailbeart was already pulling away, stretching the gap beyond the conventional reach, and Luca had missed the perfect DRS zone for that kind of recovery.

This lapse left him exposed, right in Luigi's crosshair. Luigi, seeing this chance to punish Luca and throw him further back in the order, took it without a moment's hesitation or breath.

[>>>>

┌———

T3

|

|

|

└T2——T1—————=—.

<<<<]

Down the remainder of the home straight, Luigi's slipstream use was minimal, but his real attack began at the next complex. As Turn 1 and Turn 2 opened, Luigi began lunging from one side to another, feinting and committing with relentless aggression to frighten Luca. Luca was forced to shift his focus from perfecting his racing line to simply defending his position from Luigi's cunning threats.

Unfortunately for Luca, the first straightaway emerged coldly and without mercy. The second-largest stand roared with electric excitement as Luigi, seeing the first DRS zone, ruthlessly activated it. In that moment of acceleration, he stole the position with ruthless precision—before they had even begun truly accelerating down the long straight.

[3rd Position]

"...Luca has lost P1 in just two sectors, first to Ailbeart Moireach and then to Antonio Luigi. We're not even at the 10th lap yet, and the driver who started from pole has already slipped down to P3. What an unexpected start for Rennick and the Stallions in the first 10 laps of the Spanish Grand Prix...!"

"....Qué conducción tan maravillosa! Lo que acabamos de presenciar es una verdadera exhibición de pilotaje magistral, un verdadero espectáculo de Fórmula 1 que nos deja sin palabras...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...ahora en P3, Luca Rennick, ahora en P2, Antonio Luigi!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

After that show, Luca knew he would need at least a lap or two to recover and assail for his P1 again. But in the meantime, he was left in the custody of two drivers who were callously wrangling themselves in a very first immersive duel of the race, a duel that was no less thrilling and set the crowd roaring.

It was Jimmy Damgaard and Luis Dreyer. Both drivers had qualified in P3 and P4 respectively, so many had already predicted this fierce showdown between them since they have been bitter rivals from the start. But their duel was first paused because Ailbeart had to do his flawless climb to the top first, thereby becoming an enemy of everyone for a while, his unstoppable ascent forcing them to lay down their swords temporarily.

Since nobody was able to suppress and arrest the Scottish man's rise, they've now returned to picking fights with each other—familiar drivers that you know so well and who were close enough to light up the race with personal vendettas.

Dreyer had always appeared to be the better driver than Jimmy Damgaard, and Luca was confident everyone knew that at the back of their minds. Jimmy Damgaard was simply a corrupted, rotten, spoiled Norwegian brat whose daddy or uncle probably had a webby networking that found him a seat in Red Bull, competing in Formula 1 and racing alongside a veteran; DiMarco.

Perhaps, this was why DiMarco didn't respect him and took him like a useless, unworthy plank of driftwood. Luca was a hundred percent sure DiMarco would prefer a teammate like Dreyer. The Spaniard had immense experience, racecraft, and true racing skills—real skills that could always speak for themselves. His Monoposto card truly spoke for him over Damgaard, who PILOTED A BETTER CAR yet still failed to prove he belonged.

┌──────────────────────┐

│ F1 MONOPOSTO DRIVER CARD │

├─────────────────────┤

│ LUIS 🇪🇸

│ DREYER

│ Outback Performance Red Bull

├─────────────────────┤

│ Experience: 86

│ Racecraft: 88

│ Awareness: 80

│ Pace: 85

├─────────────────────┤

│ Total Rating: 84 ⇑⇑│

└──────────────────────┘

Luca had once been told by Monoposto that the TR didn't mean the average of those stats, it wasn't a simple mean number. Rather, it was a weighted sum that took into account each driver's role, their racing character, their growth, and how the team balanced them with the car's behavior on track. It was a true measure of how much a driver's skill had been harmonized to the car's traits. And for Dreyer, that was a huge plus over Damgaard.

However, in Formula 1, it was still: "No matter the talent of the driver, it's the car that sets the limit."

┌──────────────────────┐

│ F1 MONOPOSTO DRIVER CARD │

├─────────────────────┤

│ JIMMY 🇳🇴

│ DAMGAARD

│ Bueseno Velocità Red Bull

├─────────────────────┤

│ Experience: 71

│ Racecraft: 75

│ Awareness: 77

│ Pace: 89

├─────────────────────┤

│ Total Rating: 79 ⇑⇑│

└──────────────────────┘

Luca was at Turn 10, feeling the hounds breathing down on him when he witnessed the perfect crisscrossing executed by Dreyer and Damgaard at the chicane of T7 and T8. It was Red Bull versus Red Bull, but with two different colors—Dreyer's was painted in the deep forest green of Outback Performance, while Damgaard's was a piercing light blue of Bueseno Velocità. Their clash was intense and beautifully precise, like a dance of apexes and throttle, each driver trying to impose his rhythm on the other.

Yet at Turn 9, Damgaard swept out clearly ahead because his RBioL was better—he simply had the quicker car in this fight. And for the nth time this season, Luca saw the brutal truth of F1.

"....Luis Dreyer's attacks have been shut down at Turn 9's sweeper...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

Damgaard took in a deep breath of relief as team radio confirmed he had cut off Dreyer for a moment's test at least. He smirked with pride, confident that he had finally dealt with the persistent Luis Dreyer once and for all, and now, he could shift his focus to Luca's Ferrari.

Now, that's the car he hated the most, and the driver inside, even more. Damgaard understood overtaking Luca in Spain would be more iconic and memorable if debaters ever wanted to place them head to head. So, with the momentum he had just gathered, Damgaard had marked Luca, and it was either overtake or crash.

"...But hold on..!"

"..Pero un momento..!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...Luis is not backing down! He's still lunging at Jimmy Damgaard, refusing to be silenced by Bueseno Velocità! He's back, pressing the Norwegian once more as they weave into the heart of Sector 3, up the hill to Turn 12, throwing everything he has at the back of that Red Bull...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

**Jimmy, Luis is back on your tail; he's pushing hard and not giving up. Keep your focus tight, don't let him unsettle you. Defend smart, but stay aggressive. We need you to hold this position and keep eyes on Luca up ahead. You've got this**

Looks like skill and persistence might just tip the scales in Formula 1 after all!

Damgaard, now suddenly aware that Dreyer was not done with him, had his smirk wiped away in an instant. That was a rude awakening for the Norwegian who, just moments ago, believed he had subdued Dreyer and could now focus entirely on Luca's Ferrari ahead; the Italian he hated the most, and the driver he wanted to lock horns with again. But Dreyer's relentless spirit and laser-sharp focus were about to prove that things in F1 can turn around in a heartbeat.

Luca, on the other hand, was the most unhappy because this little charade had brought them too close to him, threatening his own P3 position and the control he'd fought so hard to claw back.

[4th Position closing in]

[5th Position closing in]

[>>>>>

T9-----┐ ┌T12┐

| T11 T13

└T10┘ |

|

|

————————T14

<<<<]

Luca focused on Corner Chopping to annihilate anyone who attempted to compromise him by trailing his lines through the turns. At the same time, he was also ready for Straightaway Chopping the moment the straight that connected T13 and T14 opened up — a perfect spot to make them pay for even the tiniest slip.

He aimed to teach someone a lesson. It seemed this duel of theirs needed a third party's interjection to break it apart for good.

"...And Dreyer's not backing down! He's coming back with everything he's got, lunging again at Damgaard right at the exit of Turn 12. Damgaard thought he was clear, but Dreyer's not giving him a single inch. He's committed and ready to steal the position right back...!"

"...Esto es una auténtica exhibición de pilotaje en la Fórmula 1...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

P3— Luca Rennick

P4— Luis Dreyer ↑

P5— Jimmy Damgaard ↓

"...AND LUIS DREYER DOES IT! Right at the unbelievable twist at Turn 13, he snatches the place from Damgaard with an impeccable move, sending the Norwegian tumbling down a position in the blink of an eye. Incredible driving from Luis Dreyer...!"

The Spanish crowd roared for one of their own as he took P4 perfectly by slicing not from the inside but the outside of Jimmy Damgaard, who had totally miscalculated and left the door open for Dreyer to flash ahead.

It seems, perhaps, that in this rare instance, skills and Racecraft could actually outshine engineering and tech, a testament that even in a sport dominated by machines, the human element can still pull something magical!

However, Dreyer, in that fleeting moment of exhilaration, that instant where he burst out of Turn 13 with the great speed of a driver who had just snatched a big catch, met a wall.

Yes.... a wall.

His smile instantly faded and turned to panic. The Outback Performance engineers heard him grunt over the radio, as if he was trying to divert away from something unexpected and close.

[Straightaway Chopping +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 25%]

[Ding!]

[Straightaway Chopping completed!]

[New Car Skill Accumulating 2/3]