My Formula 1 System-Chapter 570: S3 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
From sunlight, it was a shift in time from qualifiers to race day.
The stands and rooftops were filled under the night sky, the stakes higher for victory, survival, and glory.
"...Hello and welcome to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where the world's fastest machinery race through the dazzling streets of Riyadh...!"
From the feeling in the atmosphere, there was no doubt it was going to be a tough race where the temper of some drivers could flare.
Qualifying had unfolded too tightly, razor-thin margins bringing the front row divided only by tenths, and the midfield packed as usual.
This could shape into another unforgettable Arabian spectacle like what happened earlier in Qatar this season.
Luca prepared himself with several rounds of box breathing.
As every tension left his chest, music filled his ears afterward, and finally, he practiced light grid drills and other reflexes provided to him by the crew.
The team was agile and alive, and so was he.
Victor, who was slightly anxious, had no choice but to be influenced by the militant atmosphere in the Trampos garage.
Both drivers had qualified P3 and P12 respectively, a pretty solid Thursday outing that gave Trampos a decent foundation to build on for race day.
Victor had been training perpetually to improve and perform, but the length of his car's dynamics would always be a snag.
On a grid where a newer newbie like Matteo Bianchi had the fortune of an RBioL under him, Victor Surmann could only push as far and as fast as his machinery allowed.
On the other hand, Luca's P3 for the team was a stellar effort. Only by a slim margin had he fallen behind Jimmy Damgaard, proof that the Norwegian's momentum wasn't slowing any time soon.
But still, Q1 and Q2 had fallen to him, and even though there weren't literal accolades tied to them, Luca was satisfied when he received a couple of Tokens.
It was a good thing he had tinkered with the administrative layer.
[You have received:
—(1.2) Tokens ]
[You have received:
—(1.2) Tokens ]
[Current Inventory:
—Catalysts: 10
—Wrenches: 4
—Tokens: 2.6]
With a top speed of 360+ in Q1, and 370+ in Q2, Luca had attained fastest lap times of 1:27.931 and 1:26.884.
He couldn't believe he was this fast.
In comparison to the super drivers, Luigi wasn't far behind. He clocked 1:28.115 in Q1 and 1:27.042 in Q2, but shattered Luca's Q2 record in Q3.
Damgaard was the only one not as brilliant as Luca had feared.
He was forgettable in both sessions, hovering above P10, but when it came to Q3? He became sled on snow.
P1—Antonio Luigi
P2—Jimmy Damgaard
P3—Luca Rennick
P4—Elias Nyström
P5—Buoso Di Renzo
Perhaps there had been a strategy orchestrated by Velocità, and somehow now, they had both drivers well in the top ten for promising points.
Their team principal, Mr. Finazzi, had also worn a proud, handsome smile earlier tonight, telling the reporters that everything was going smoothly for the team, and they had no worries.
As Luca revved his engine on the grid, the floodlights bathed his visor in beams, his red machine a beauty.
He didn't like how Finazzi sounded too certain of his cards, and Jimmy's RBioL ahead now felt like a forecast of how Velocità could snatch the Championship lead if care wasn't taken.
Luca aimed to demolish every one of their plans, piece by piece.
[○][○][○][○][○]
Apart from the mania of the front three, the night was more volatile in the upper midfield.
This was Elias Nyström's first time this season qualifying in the top five, and he had done it against formidable rivals like Luis Dreyer and Ailbeart Moireach, who rarely let anyone shove them aside.
Misfortune had struck Luis Dreyer in the form of mechanical failure, tossing him to a qualifying position far beyond his usual standards—P14.
Ailbeart Moireach, on the other hand, qualified P6 with a sluggish pace, raising concerns for Haddock Racing.
What the English team saw was no super driver. He was so slow that Di Renzo beat his pace hands down in Q1, Q2, and Q3!
Who knew what had thrown Ailbeart off course? Brief rumours said that he had marriage issues, but that's usually the first rumour that pops up whenever a married driver hits a rough patch.
Ailbeart had defended his effort before lights out, insisting that P6 was far from a bad start. It was only a stone's throw from the top.
A driver eager to reclaim ground, and two others unwilling to surrender their freshly earned spots—Moireach, Di Renzo, and Nyström were already having a fiery showdown in Riyadh!
Showing the pace worthy of a HiCE-powered machine, Ailbeart Moireach advanced the R.S.25 past Di Renzo's 97 on the seventh lap, slicing ahead with a burst of raw acceleration.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
The English crowd present was split in two. One half roared in triumph, while the other booed and rallied behind Di Renzo's imminent fight back.
"...As fast as that Ferrari can go, Buoso Di Renzo wants the P5 back for Jackson Racing...!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
"...under the tension, Moireach is the prey, but he's also the predator on Nyström! He isn't hanging around in P5, he's closing down, his sight set higher, and Di Renzo might just find himself fighting to keep up instead of reclaiming...!"
P5—Ailbeart Moireach ↑
P6—Buoso Di Renzo ↓
----------------------------
P2—Luca Rennick
P3—Jimmy Damgaard
"...It's a stunning DRS strike from Luca Rennick! He opens the flap, rockets down the straight, and Damgaard is left blinded—no defense, no chance..!"
"...the track offers width, and Rennick's eyesight is just as wide!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
**Beautiful move, Luca. Well done, keep the pressure steady. Antonio 2 sec ahead**
After the overtake, Luca felt exhilarated. He admitted he hadn't felt that fast in a while, certain Jimmy must be stunned.
On the same sector and the same straight he left behind, another DRS move unfolded. The stands cheered as Marko went for it.
Di Renzo didn't look as sturdy as he was at lights out, mustering Marko's conviction that he could take P6.
It hadn't been a great qualifying for the Russian either, but he was looking forward to bettering his weekend for himself and his team.
As the Mercedes imposed aggro, the silver Ferrari responded in kind, refusing to yield as the straight unraveled toward the sharp bend that cut behind a towering golden hotel.
With grinding teeth, both men disapproved of the other's stubbornness, their machines edging too close for comfort, sparks threatening to leap in protest.
Di Renzo dove indignantly into the inside line of the corner, but Marko stuck to his side like a pest as his DRS snapped shut.
In a synchronised high-speed sweep, both drivers whipped into the street curve!
"...we see sparks flying! That's dangerously close! SQUADRA! JACKSON! For their teams, both drivers refuse to lift. That is WORLD-CLASS defense from the Italian...!"
The awesome duel turned ugly really quick the moment they whipped into the city bend.
There was only a 35-meter distance before the next corner, making it extremely close and unforeseen.
Marko, struggling to command the pace, was forced to brake hard and retuck behind Di Renzo, aiming for another attempt at the bottleneck.
But with margins razor-thin, the Mercedes clipped the Ferrari's rear.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
"TCHAAAAAA—damn it!" Di Renzo cursed as the vibration rattled violently through his machine.
His shoulders buckled under the high-speed shudder, but he knew better than to lose focus. Fighting the wheel, he wrestled to correct as the Ferrari veered off course.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
"...CONTACT THERE! TIRE'S GONE! THERE'S SMOKE..!"
"...THE FERRARI SHREDS ITSELF DOWN THE TRACK...!"
Di Renzo thought he had it under control, but he didn't. In a single millisecond, the rear tire detached like a frisbee, flying away.
With it went every ounce of grip and stability, the JRX-97 slightly going airborne and out of control.
Marko could only weave erratically because of the suddenness, forced to watch as his rival scraped and skidded, swallowed whole by a cloud of smoke.
"…That's the—what? The third crash of the season for Buoso Di Renzo?"
"…It's not just a bad season for Jackson Racing, it's a nightmare for him personally. After the tectonic changes the team made coming into this campaign, Di Renzo looked like he would be the new face of the F1 championship...!"
"…But it isn't looking like it now..."
─── 🏁 RACE CONTROL DISPLAY ───
⁕ Yellow Flag: Sector 2
⁕ DNF: Buoso Di Renzo — Jackson Racing
Di Renzo's crash frustrated no one more than Mr. Matthews, the Jackson Racing team principal, who slammed his fist against the pit wall in disbelief.
He thought it was absurd, and Marko deserved more than just a ten-second penalty.
Mr. Matthews pushed for a drive-through penalty instead, but the stewards gave him no ear. Both drivers had been in a heated duel, and Marko's touch, while costly, wasn't deemed deliberate.
It was a seething sight for any manager, and even other team principals had to head back in for reviews as the race slowed under a strict yellow-flag pause following Di Renzo's crash.
Speaking of Di Renzo's crash, it was a severe one.
The silver Ferrari had slammed hard into a barrier that demarcated power distribution boxes.
When his car made the deadly, crushing collision, the barrier slammed onto the boxes that were carelessly too close on the other side!
Sparks flashed five feet into the air, frightening the spectators, and the crackling that followed sounded even more dangerous.
Power boxes are not supposed to be that close to the barrier in the first place, as safety regulations exist exactly to prevent predicaments like this.
As the marshals assessed the wreck, they were concerned that the distribution boxes had just been compromised, and there could be a blackout in the very sector they powered.
Not long before that hypothesis was uttered, Sector 2 of Riyadh Zenith Circuit plunged into darkness!
One-quarter of the track lost all floodlights at once, leaving only the ghostly glow of the skyscrapers, hotels, and other unaffected sectors.
