My Formula 1 System

In a sport measured by milliseconds, Luca had just experienced the longest second of his season.

His delay off the line lasted roughly a second, but in Formula 1, especially at the start where every inch counts, that single second was an eternity. His sharp recognition of the anti-stall trigger and lightning-quick reflexes helped him recover before further damage was done, but the cost was immense.

Luca lost four positions before he could even take Turn 1. In an untrackable succession, he was passed ruthlessly by Di Renzo, Ignatova, Nyström, and Rice. None of them hesitated to capitalize on the Mazerunner's falter.

By Sector 2, Derstappen managed to squeeze through as well, exploiting the final beats of Luca's destabilized rhythm. But Luca knew that was where the bleeding stopped, not because his car was back in shape, but because the next driver in line was Victor.

Victor, being his teammate, knew exactly what to do without being told. Luca, his mentor and the main driver, was experiencing a peril. It was his job to assist Luca's recovery as much as he could. So, he eased off in clear respect and aid, and Luca was able to regain his edge—P10.

It was, in the end, a successful save for Trampos Racing after such an unfortunate start. Luca had dropped positions, but thanks to Victor's timely support, the damage had been contained. For Victor, however, the sacrifice came at a cost.

Max Addams, who'd been behind, showed no mercy and swept past him without a blink, seizing the moment unforgivingly. Still, Victor had no regrets. He had helped his teammate regain control, and now Max would have to deal with the fully reawakened wrath of the Mazerunner himself.

"...For the king of grid launches, Luca Rennick to be caught sleeping at lights out must be fiction! In the blink of an eye, Rennick loses four positions, then a fifth! For Trampos Racing, this is a horrible nightmare! They have fumbled their start, and they know it...!"

The stigma of the start continued through Trampos' garage. Mr. Grant and Ms. Vallotton began to recalibrate their race strategy because of it. They read each other's minds without even exchanging words, knowing Luca might find it difficult to climb up with the powerhouses saturating the lead.

Head Engineer Mr. Ruben remained the calm in the storm. With a steady voice Luca and Victor listened to, he did everything in his power to keep both drivers mentally locked in and untouched by the misstep.

Luca wasn't shaken despite the setback. He began to calculate how he could switch things up, reckoning it was only going to be a matter of time since the race held 70 laps in total.

As the laps ticked by, Luca revisited the moment of the failed launch and understood with clearer perspective that it wasn't actually bad luck. It was him. It seemed his skills, already maxed and powerful, were becoming much stronger under the influence of more improvements here and there. Luca had received a backlash before, and he couldn't believe he had experienced another.

It seemed he had to accept that his mastery had its consequences. Now, it was left for him to master those consequences.

"...Oh, look at this, it's Addams head to head with Rennick. It's Luca Rennick versus Max Addams in the Canadian Grand Prix! What a rekindled rivalry rooted in their fierce days back in Formula 2...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

The crowd roared loudly as if to inform the two young drivers to initiate their duel as soon as possible. The Canadian fans had their eyes locked on Max Addams, because he was their home hero. Max Addams was Canadian, and a stunning P1 finish on home soil would be the most spectacular thing. Every move he made was met with thunderous applause, Luca's support clearly the minority.

Max Addams was fired up. He'd bypassed Luca a few times this season, and Luca had done the same, but none of those moments felt as grounded and as promising as this one. This one was different because Luca had stumbled, and Mad Max sensed fragile strength. He was confident that this was his moment to clash hard and come out on top. He could worsen Trampos' suffering and stamp his authority in front of his home crowd.

"...TWO FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONS... EACH WITH SCORES TO SETTLE... ON THE GRANDEST STAGE OF FORMULA 1...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

[Analyzing 11th Position's distance from host and Ferrari (Scuderia Z24)...]

[11th Position is 1 sec away, host.]

[Speed Differential: 0.3 seconds faster]

Luca acknowledged Max's push. He could even tell that his old rival was wringing everything out of that Red Bull just to catch up with him, maxing the throttle in desperation to close the gap. In contrast, Luca reserved his power and defended smartly with superior handling and braking discipline. After all, he knew Max too well, even though it's been a while since the both of them made headlines together. Finesse had always been Max's bane, and Luca intended to punish him all the more with it.

While Max advanced with confidence on Luca, things shifted rapidly up the road.

P5 — Marko Ignatova ↑

P6 — Buoso Di Renzo ↓

P7 — Elias Nyström

P8 — Albert Derstappen ↑

P9 — Hank Rice ↓

Marko Ignatova made a clean lunge into P5 at Turn 3, outbraking Di Renzo who had begun to lose grip. At the sweeping Turn 8, Albert Derstappen capitalized on Hank Rice's defensive misjudgment to snatch P8. Elias Nyström held firm in P7, but the shuffling around him hinted at more chaos to come.

The chaos eventually knocked on Nyström's door as he suddenly found himself trapped between the two Silver Stallions—Di Renzo ahead and Derstappen behind. Silently, both Jackson Racing drivers began to tighten their formation, executing what had obviously been rehearsed time and time again.

'Bastards!'

Nyström tried to appear confident, but his driving immediately screamed he was troubled by their sinister actions. It became clear Jackson Racing were working to move Derstappen up the ranks, and Nyström was the obstacle.

Being the lone car between two teammates with a shared goal, the Swedish man felt the pressure intensify as the duo gradually boxed him in.

"...Oh no, Nyström is in trouble now! He's right in the jaws of a Jackson Racing trap, and there's nowhere to go...!"

But Elias Nyström did something that shocked the world.

Derstappen committed to the squeeze at Turn 5, so T6 and then T7, a much faster corner, would seal his overtake on Nyström. But Nyström feinted to the left to confuse, and then quickly switched to the right. He smoothly cut through the chicane exit of T3–T5.

Alas, this forced Derstappen to overcommit, and Di Renzo, thinking Elias would be blocked, slowed prematurely. Derstappen couldn't believe he and his teammate had been swayed. Before any control measures could be done, the collision was inevitable.

Derstappen clipped his teammate's rear diffuser, and in a split-second chaos, both Silver Stallions spun out in opposite directions.

Mr. Matthews gripped his hair in madness.