My Formula 1 System

"Hello? Who's this?"

Luca spoke into the microphone for the third time after still getting no response. What followed were some shuffling sounds and soft cracks before what seemed like someone finally grabbing the phone.

Foresighted curiosity wreathed Luca, but it was nothing like he expected. What flowed through the receiver was the sweet voice of a young lady.

"Sorry for the holdup. Please, am I speaking to Mr. Luca Rennick?"

Luca didn't know if it was right to tell a stranger they had the correct number, even if the voice sounded harmless and pleasant. He was a public figure, after all, and one slip could lead to a mess. It might have been a genuine call, but it could just as easily be something else. He wondered how the person had gotten his personal number.

So instead of confirming, he sidestepped the question.

"Is there an issue here?"

"Yes, sir," the lady replied quickly, her tone shifting to formal. "I'm Nurse Elodie Grace from St. Barlow's Clinic, Central London. I apologize if this is abrupt, but we had a woman walk in during the late morning hours. She appeared to be in mild distress while shopping nearby and asked for the number of her loved one. She identified herself as Mrs. Rennick and confirmed that her son is the F1 driver, Luca Rennick. You were the only contact she gave us."

Luca took a deep breath, and a soft wave of relief coursed through him. In the beginning, he'd expected the call to be tied to that ambiguous car confrontation from London. That encounter was still documented in his head.

But the relief was short-lived.

His mother, in the hospital? Luca sighed and rubbed his temple.

Since the nurse said "mild distress", he hoped it wasn't something severe like last time.

"Yes, I'm Luca," he finally admitted. "What happened to my mother?"

The nurse, now a little more assured, replied warmly, "Thank you, Mr. Rennick. It's good to reach you. Your mother brought herself in earlier today after experiencing some shortness of breath and mild chest pain while shopping nearby. She gave us your number and confirmed you as her next of kin."

After the information, Luca sighed silently again as he felt a short wave of frustration at Sophia. She was right there in London too. How incompetent could she be that their mother didn't think of her first, but her son miles away?!

'Shortness of breath, mild chest pain.'

These were symptoms of Mrs. Rennick's breast cancer. Studying his mother's complications, he knew all the symptoms, and so, this was one of the many that could prompt sudden hospital trips.

"Is she alright now?"

"Yes, she is stable now. We administered oxygen and monitored her vitals right away. She responded well to the initial care, so we've moved her for observation. She's conscious and in relatively good spirits now, though she's a bit tired."

It was good news actually, and nothing to fear about. Mrs. Rennick was sick, after all. Thankfully, this wasn't something that might've necessitated a travel back to London. But Luca didn't even know if he actually wanted to fly back temporarily. Deep down, that car confrontation intrigued him, and he wanted to embark on a Sherlock Holmes career to uncover what's actually happening.

Luca politely asked if he could speak with his mother, and the nurse agreed without hesitation. A soft rustling followed before Mrs. Rennick's frail, warm voice finally came through with relief. She sounded as if it had been two years since they last spoke, not a matter of days.

Mrs. Rennick immediately began to ramble, defending herself through slow words that she hadn't missed any medication. She had already begun to sound guilty—even though she wasn't—as if she was anticipating another scolding from Luca.

Luca heard the tone of vulnerability and brushed aside the blame to assure her it wasn't her fault. The call continued until it ended just as right. Luca then sat back in stillness.

A thought lingered in his mind. He had wrestled it a couple of times, but this time, he let it stay. Should he finally consider surgery for his mother? He had previously inquired about it and got to learn about the risks involved. Unfortunately, the risks appeared to be larger than the promises, and Luca immediately disregarded it.

Putting into consideration these flare-ups that might become even more frequent, perhaps it was time to weigh those odds again. It wasn't a guaranteed solution, but it was a step, a possible way out of this pattern of emergency calls and silent fears.

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Canadian Grand Prix

Location: Montréal, Canada

Date: April 8

Time: 3 PM

Track: Circuit Ladislas Duval

Track Length: 4.2 km

Total Laps: 70

Track Type: Semi-permanent street circuit

Lap Record: Antonio Luigi 1:12.056

The Canadian Grand Prix would host the fifth round of the season. For a week and a half—and five main days—Trampos Racing had gathered once again to reassemble their attributes and carry forward the same morale from two straight victories into the fifth round.

PROVISIONAL CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (ALL 10)

Position | Team | Points

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1. | Squadra Corse | 96

2. | Trampos Racing | 91

3. | Haddock Racing | 64

4. | Outback Performance | 60

5. | Bueseno Velocità | 45

6. | Jackson Racing | 22

7. | Nordvind Racing | 13

8. | Iberia Grand Prix | 11

9. | Velox Hispania | 2

10. | Alpine Swiss F1 | 0

If Trampos Racing continued their definitive winning streak into the fifth round, then there would be no doubt that they'd topple Squadra Corse and claim the top of the Constructors' standings.

With only five points separating them, a victory in Montréal would swing the momentum entirely in favor of the Rising Suns, placing Squadra in the unfamiliar position of playing catch-up.

It was ironic how Trampos Racing had slipped into the role many had originally predicted for Haddock Racing. Trampos had become Squadra's unexpected rival in this year's title chase! Instead of mounting a season-long battle at the top, Haddock now found themselves locked in the midfield fray with Outback Performance—both teams trailing significantly behind the two front-runners.

However, Haddock Racing's slip could not be compared to the utter disappointment of Bueseno Velocità. The team had been haggling for scraps of points ever since the season began, relying almost entirely on Jimmy Damgaard as their sole source of hope. Matteo, who arrived with all the noise and flash of a future prodigy, had proven to be little more than a failure wrapped in hype.

DiMarco's injury was simply the cause of this disarray. If there were ever a valid reason to spite the Mazerunner, this was it. Velocità was a bit glad that they actually had a cause to point the finger at for their downfall, and no amount of PR could dress it up otherwise.

But the team had a plan. They couldn't be bush-league for long since the F1 championship title was still the goal this season.

Even before DiMarco's crash and injury, the team had already begun training Jimmy Damgaard to adapt to the demands of a HiCE-powered machine, aiming to mold him into a super driver who could anchor their season. Since October, he'd been undergoing specialized sessions to adjust his driving rhythm to the explosive torque, sharper regen dynamics, and tighter battery window of the HiCE tech.

This was why he embarked on that seemingly useless pre-season tour.

Now, several months in, and with the urgency of DiMarco's absence looming, the team believed he was finally ready.

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