My Formula 1 System

The fourth round of the season arrived swiftly, with the prestigious country of Bahrain set to host the spectacle.

The relentless schedule had the entire F1 community—drivers, teams, personnel, and even fans—constantly on the move, barely catching their breath before hopping onto the next flight.

Freight shipments were nonstop, paddocks were dismantled and rebuilt in record time, and engineers barely had a moment to analyze data before new track conditions demanded their attention.

Fatigue, tension, and excitement formed a strange combination. And, funny enough, this was only the fourth round, with sixteen more to go. And May, the new month, would contain THREE races!

That was the most integrated into a single month, and it turned out May wouldn't even be the only month with that structure on the calendar.

The US Grand Prix was now in the past, a race to reflect on—analyze mistakes, fine-tune strategies, and recalibrate focus. Lessons learned there would carry over into Bahrain, a track that demanded both patience and aggression in just the right measure.

There was no time to dwell. The next challenge had already arrived.

Into the fourth round, the standings had changed, with competitors becoming more revealing and threatening. With time, the standings would take on the full shape of an F1 table in the heat of the season.

Luca envisioned his name at the top by that time.

PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP10)

Position | Team | Points

------------------------------------

1. | Marcellus Rodnick | 55

2. | Antonio Luigi | 46

3. | Luis Dreyer | 33

4. | Hank Rice | 30

5. | Marko Ignatova | 27

6. | Luca Rennick | 26

7. | Ailbeart Moireach | 21 (+1)

8. | Elias Nyström | 14

9. | Jimmy Damgaard | 12

10. | Denko Rutherford | 10

Luca had officially been kicked out of the top five, and his teammate, Rodnick, was at the top, reveling in glory with a nine-point lead over Luigi. Just perfect.

For Rodnick, the season was now starting to go well. This was the title defense he had hoped for, and he was getting it.

PROVISIONAL CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (ALL 10)

Position | Team | Points

-----------------------------------------

1. | Jackson Racing | 86

2. | Squadra Corse | 72

3. | Haddock Racing | 35

4. | Iberia Grand Prix | 36

5. | Outback Perf. | 39

6. | Bueseno Velocità | 18

7. | Nordvind Racing | 15

8. | Velox Hispania | 4

9. | Trampos Racing | 0

10. | Alpine Swiss F1 | 0.

Qualifying Day. Thursday.

Bahrain was still as beautiful as Luca remembered. Back then, he had been so focused on Trampos' loss of points due to his sidelining that he hadn't taken the time to truly digest the beauty of the nation.

As breathtaking as Dubai, the beautiful country where towering skyscrapers lined the coastline, reflecting the deep blues of the Persian Gulf.

The circuit was located in the arid expanse. So, literally speaking, the venue, the track, the tarmac snaked through the desert.

Standing at the edge of their garage, Luca watched the sun blaze over the circuit. The heat pressing down was quite discomforting, and all the facilities in the circuit had taken on a sheen. Even the asphalt itself was absorbing the heat and radiating it back like a furnace.

Luca reckoned tire degradation would be brutal. Rubber would soften, wear faster, and demand more caution through the long, sweeping corners of 5, 7, 11, and 12.

Brakes, already strained by the heavy stop-start nature of the track, would need extra cooling measures, lest they overheat and fail at the worst possible moment.

Even engines were prone to the effect of the desert's wrath, and this was when Luca smiled with realization, knowing this was where his engine feature would favor him over others.

A sharp voice crackled through the speakers, breaking the tension in the paddock.

"Attention all teams—qualifying will commence in fifteen minutes. Drivers, prepare for track entry."

Jackson Racing was taking a different approach in this Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. This time, Luca would enter the track early in pursuit of the fastest lap, while Rodnick would join at the time Luca usually entered in the past few Qualifiers.

Pitstops were allowed in Qualifying since it was a racing session as well. Anyone could choose to pit for fresh tires and go again for the fastest lap.

So, Luca, who was going on track early, was going to have one pit. The heat in the air and the earliness of his entrance would contribute to working out the tires by around 15 minutes into Q1.

Whether he had acquired pole or was P20, it didn't matter. He was going to visit the pits for maintenance assurance.

Rodnick, however, would not. His later entrance wouldn't require a pitstop, although his soft tires would be in the worst possible state by the end of Q1.

[SYNCHRONIZING HOST....]

[SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]

[Host is now synced with Ferrari (JRX-92B]

"Alright, let's see what we can do."

"This is my first time on the Bahrain track. I'll need a lot of help. Everything I see is unfamiliar, and I didn't even have enough time to fully study the aerial footage. Dammit."

[Generating....]

[Successfully generated.]

[NOTE: This is an ASCII art of the analyzed track]

[....----T4----.

/ \\

T3--' '---T5----.

/ T6-T7

T2 |

\\ T8

T1 |

\\ T9-T10

'--T15----T14----T13--'.....]

Luca was just finding out he could get a general view of the track from the system if he wanted. This was perfect!

Now, he could foresee the entire track structure before approaching it, and know exactly what modules and how much throttle he needed to apply through each turn and straightaway to favor his entrance of the following one.

As the Qualifiers began, it was no surprise to him when he saw DiMarco among the early pushers. The sight of him in his cockpit, his head hidden inside his helmet as he cracked his neck, was a bit traumatic.

The memory of everything that happened in China lingered in Luca's stomach, almost making him sick. He couldn't believe he had just begun a rivalry with a seasoned F1 racer. This made him wonder just how many he would have by the time he was 25.

Luca shifted his focus to the desert beyond the track, the heat reigning down like waves from a ball of fire directly above them.

When the first turn approached, T1 on the system map switched from gray to green, indicating that this was where he currently was.

[Turn type: Tight Left-hander ] [Angle: 70°] [Braking Point: 120 meters before turn-in] [Recommended Entry Speed: 130 km/h] [Optimal Apex: inside curb]