My Formula 1 System-Chapter 390: S2 British GP. 5
The fight for position between these three was planetary. No matter how many times he got hit by it this season, Luigi was always surprised by Luca's adept defence. He could not comprehend how such a young man—still nineteen years of age and the youngest on the grid—was able to be putting up a sublime performance worthy of a seasoned veteran, the kind who should be ready to retire very soon.
Even before the relay from Squadra's pit wall, Luigi understood that Luca's objective was not to facilitate a direct defence and offence between the both of them, but to stall him, keep their delta relatively unchanged, increased or decreased but only by small margins. This would subsequently affect DiMarco's pace against Luigi, putting him in a tough spot primarily because he was the middleman in this structure.
Notwithstanding, Luigi flushed all doubt and revitalized himself with sturdy resolve, since he had faced such a challenge before in his career.
He was also glad, though, that this track was Stadhaven. Stadhaven, as we know, wasn't a track well-known for venturesome challenges like multiple tight corners, hairpins, a chicane, or any precarious track nature in general.
It was a definite, levelled track just near Fulham, with an adequate—though now numerous—eighteen turns, but five straights to assuage and standardize the entire structure.
Luca was technically the best corner taker in the competition and could soon steal the nickname "The Apex Predator" from Rodnick one day. However, here in Stadhaven—just as the track was now dry like sand and he could not benefit from S & R—it was the same case with the structure.
There would be no much advantage for Luca to excite from Gripper or even Yaw Flex, because the turns were not too challenging for other drivers. This essentially boiled down Stadhaven and the British GP to be a track and a race for endurance and car potential.
Compiling this analysis, the speed differential between Luca and Luigi began to decrease millisecond after millisecond. Luca was driving his best, taking the most decent lines and making his corners clean, his eyes regularly switching between his mirrors and Petrov's #3 holographic crown.
But just the same, Luigi was doing just as much, and Luca's entire Ferrari's frame never left his visor. He itched for the moment of clutch, when he would get within a second behind, but DiMarco was still a plague on his rear, a plague that Luigi had not fully overcome for countless seasons now.
[Analyzing 5th Position's distance from host and Ferrari (JRX-92B)...]
[5th Position is 1.1 sec away, host]
"…and as close as it can be between Luca Rennick and Antonio Luigi! The crowd roars for Luigi to commit—he's nearly in striking range! But it could be risky, incredibly risky, with Davide DiMarco still lurking behind! This is where the real test begins, ladies and gentlemen—we could see DRS come into play here! One flap, one decision, one mistake could write today's results...!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
[Warning: Slipstream Threat Detected]
[Analyzing car behind...]
[Black Mercedes (AMG F1 W09)]
[Distance: 1.1s → 1s]
Mr. Berry and the rest were not surprised by Luigi's speed gain on Luca. They were ready to throw back, putting all trust on Luca to defend against the very phenomenon—ANTONIO LUIGI—who had made their seasons tough and championship wins a clawing victory.
Dutifully, Luca was advised to revert from pulling away to anticipating offence—possibly feints, DRS activation, or a strong commission—and counter in the best way possible.
Luca complied with the instructions. Carrying on with that previous order to keep advancing could eventually just give Luigi a perfect setup scenario: a rival car ahead to use DRS on, or a chance to commit hard with a sharp burst at a bottleneck or something similar. Aligning his chassis to anticipate instead, Luca might've just reduced offensive takes to feints alone.
If the AMG F1 W09, Luigi's Mercedes chassis, was the Ferrari JRX-97, there was a high chance Luca would not be in P4 by now. The ThunderKat of the Ferrari favoured immense acceleration, especially through corners—now that's a significant benefit Luca would like to have here!
Regardless of track structure, if the driver handled the car and its features well, he would always have better and faster corner exits, which must be definitely why Rodnick was nicknamed that.
Here, the FiammaVeloce was not about speed and acceleration alone, but torque/power and speed, a combination much better in the eyes of many who often debated.
The car moved like a spider, but suddenly roared the loudest whenever the driver pushed it into its herculean torque range. That was why the chances of suppressing a DRS activation from Luigi were almost zero, as he often utilized stored energy for such moments.
While Luigi was readying for his standard overtake as the 4th straight approached, he was hit with a slipstream alert from the W09's own technology itself.
**Davide is pulling dangerously from your wake. His delta's compressing—he's using you. If you commit now, he might double on both of you at the curve. Don't play into it. Watch his nose**
Although DiMarco was a dickhead most of the time, he was still as smart as a good racer should be, that's why he had a Racecraft of 90 on his Monoposto card. DiMarco knew that overtaking Luigi first and then facing Luca next would be far more strategic, increasing his chances of making it into the top three, rather than overtaking Luca and then having to re-face Luigi after.
So, almost like as if he had Luca's back, DiMarco was bent on preventing Luigi from overtaking Luca first.
Just like that, Luca found himself termed as the weakest driver in this net, his very name plotted as a bait by these two hyenas behind him. He just swore that if one of them came close, he'd show them exactly what he could do with his skills!
[Straightaway Chopping +1]
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 75%]
Like a bug suddenly trapped in a spider's web, Luca got Luigi real good. The 28-year-old's path was abruptly fractured into fragments of puzzlement, fuss, and ultimately, a brief deceleration.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
**On point, Luca!**
Luigi angrily blustered at himself for letting this happen, but again, as earlier stated, Luca surprised him every single time, no matter how frequent.
"…he's lost ground up against Rennick as they exit Turn 4! The straight opens up—and so does a Red Bull's rear wing—oh my God! DiMarco is flying! He's flying down the inside!" the commentator was prematurely out of breath.
DiMarco could not believe how cooperative Luca had just become in his favor for the first time this season. The mess Luca had just put Luigi into bolstered DiMarco's plans by killing Luigi's momentum and also dropping their delta into… almost nothing.
The Matadori crowd in Stadhaven pushed themselves from their seats in unison, a certain child losing his voice as he screamed in jubilation. DiMarco's DRS activation was flawless and fast, providing him all he needed to take P5 from Luigi after a long haul.
P5— Davide DiMarco ↑
P6— Antonio Luigi ↓
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
"…AN IRREPROACHABLE OVERTAKE FROM DAVIDE DIMARCO! OUT OF THE TOP FIVE GOES ANTONIO LUIGI—BUT DON'T COUNT HIM OUT YET! HE'S GOT PACE, HE'S GOT STRAIGHT-LINE SPEED—AND THIS BATTLE ISN'T OVER!"
Right out of the overtake, many began to say that Luigi wasn't wasted just yet, especially since it was visible that DiMarco was already losing his DRS boost as he approached Luca nose-to-tail.
[5th Position closing in]
Truly so, Luigi avowed not to be disposed of just like that, as he honed ERS and thrusted himself forward with such reckless recall that a massive g-force slammed into him, one capable of knocking out an average human being.
A focused frown tugged at Luca's lips as he watched Luigi propel himself back into the battle, rapidly closing the gap and meeting DiMarco right to the tail. Now, DiMarco was the middleman here—trapped in the heat—as they were locked to each other like a real chain, and it was all down to who would commit flawlessly without error… because in this case, failing gave your rival behind a perfect chance to overtake.
[Turn type: Sweeping left-hander] [Angle: 70°] [Braking Point: 50 meters before turn-in] [Recommended Entry Speed: 160 km/h] [Optimal Apex: Inside curb]
**Eyes sharp. They are not patient. Focus on exit control**
At Turn 15, DiMarco was, of course, the one to attempt first. Once he furtively dived for the inside, Luca's entire nervous system—boosted by Spatial Awareness—had him quickly tilting to cover the line and block him off. From the steering speed DiMarco used to commit that move, Luca bet an average driver would've read it too late.
**Brilliant coverage**
"…IT MIGHT RESULT IN A THREE-WIDE SHOWDOWN HERE IN ENGLAND! THE TRACK'S WIDE ENOUGH THROUGH THIS SECTION—JUST AFTER TURN 15 AND BEFORE TURN 16, THERE'S ROOM TO GO THREE ACROSS—AND ANTONIO LUIGI IS COMMITTING!"
The track structure inevitably slipped Luca to the outside, and DiMarco was naturally set to take the inside. However, Luigi saw that opening, just like the one he seized in the Hungarian Grand Prix where he double-overtook Jimmy Damgaard and Hank Rice with immaculate execution.
For that split second before track nature handed DiMarco the right to the inside line, Luigi believed he could snatch it.
The FiammaVeloce hissed, sucked, and drained—just like all Mercedes engines do—smooth and deep, unlike Ferrari's, which vibrate and rotate violently in their power delivery. Within moments, Luigi was more than a meter ahead, his sights locked on the patch of asphalt beside Luca, that space which by all rights was DiMarco's to claim.
And DiMarco was never the type to surrender his claim. So both of them were going for it!
