My Formula 1 System

Luca wanted to handle his tools judiciously and prevent any form of misspending. He didn't want to be faced with the bitter outcome of having no Sync Buff activation even after he had disbursed all his Catalysts and Wrenches. So, before he would even think of hailing his Inventory, Luca believed he'd have to be 100% sure that Sync Buff would be achieved.

By confirmed calculations, (3) Catalysts and (3) Wrenches wouldn't even make up all four bars of Sync Buff. So, Luca had to naturally acquire a few more Skill points along the way to add up the probability. Relying on tools alone was not a smart idea.

But things began to get extremely challenging for him the more he progressed, and even one of his best starters, Grid Launch, was now fully completed and had become rare to level-up further. This left Luca with a smaller list to stream from. That meant the objective now was to acquire a new Skill—better yet, a new Car Skill—since he only had two.

Gripper was at (21) now, and when Luca asked the system why he hadn't unlocked a new Skill yet, the system responded that Car Skill checkpoints weren't in tens but in fives, meaning he would unlock a new Car Skill immediately once Gripper hits (25).

Since the 97 was a pretty elite car when it came to acceleration, Luca wagered that his tires would be heavily engaged the majority of the time with this new chassis. It could even positively affect TW Management, which needed to hit (30) as well. Skill acquisition was actually the quiet next step here.

Gripper helped him hold ground against Marko in the early laps. It even prevented him from losing traction when he needed it most at the expense of Jimmy Damgaard's rise, who had wanted him to spin out. Gripper also made sure Luca didn't wobble for more than a second after that early contact with Luigi at lights out.

Luigi lost more momentum than Luca, while Luca only staggered a bit. This gave Damgaard the golden opportunity to whisk himself into the brief chaos and attack Luca's position without mercy.

That was where Gripper came in clutch because Damgaard closed Luca at the bend. Even he was surprised, because he thought he had him. It was a legal move, save that it wasn't too aggressive but just a simple trajectory mastery, and no contact followed.

P3— Jimmy Damgaard ↑

P4— Luca Rennick

P5— Antonio Luigi ↓

In summary, it was a poor start, but mostly for Luigi. He dropped to P6 in an instant then, because Marko followed through. And truthfully, Luigi could have actually invoked some real defense, but he simply decided to let it go and have his teammate take P5 while he focused on regaining total control and scolding himself for starting the Canadian Grand Prix in the most unintelligent way.

Unquestionably, he had more sinister problems up ahead like Rodnick with the now fastest car, and DiMarco with a carslayer that could even affect his own car because of its high ERS. Even Ailbeart's new Renault was faster than his Mercedes. So why on earth would he rashly decide to mark Luca at the start of the race, when Luca wasn't even one of the top three biggest cases here?

Luigi thought he would have to answer that question someday.

Perhaps, ever since he was told Luca was that young marshal he hit more than a year ago, Luigi had been feeling uneasy. He doubted the source's validity at first, but the reporter showed him an exclusive video, one where, in an interview, Luca relaxedly gave a narration of how he came to be an F1 driver.

That interview was shot during the Nevada HanSama scandal, when the name "Rennick" was as popular as a president's name. Luca's narration told truth, but he left out some parts. He explained that it was the accident that motivated him to become an F1 driver, and that was all. When the interviewer asked him if he knew who the driver was that hit him, Luca shrugged and said he didn't know (a lie), but that he was… grateful to this driver.

This sparked a lot in Luigi. It made him question Luca's intent in F1. It made Luigi wonder if fate had brought them together so they could go head to head. It made Luigi feel sour, as if he was going to be the antagonist in Luca's story. It made him feel territorial, and so, no matter how refined or dominant other rivals were, as long as Luca still remained in F1, Luigi feared his recent bad dreams might come to pass.

"Luca? F1 champion?"

"... DEFINITELY FORMULA 1 CHAMPION IN THE MAKING! LUCA RENNICK COMPETENTLY ACES OUT JIMMY DAMGAARD...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

[3rd Position]

**Perfect choice of line, Luca! Great job**

Damgaard wanted to claim smart with a late-braking divebomb at Turn 8. Luca was very close then, piling pressure right from the exit of the chicane and up through the advancing, massive turns of Turn 7 to Turn 10 that twisted through the once-glorious, now-retired Olympic facilities and surrounding buildings.

With great intelligence, Luca read the movements of the Red Bull and guessed his intent spot on. So, he countered Damgaard's plan by feigning an inside move. Damgaard bit the bait and braked so hard it made Luca laugh because right then, he switched back on the opposite exit, lining his Ferrari perfectly into the racing groove.

The smell of sea breeze was so strong around Circuit Ladislas Duval that drivers could sometimes sniff a faint trace of it, even with their helmets and the thick paddings on. And when Luca counterattacked Damgaard, with the crowd roaring around him, he took in a lungful of the fresh salt air. His foot was planted firmly on the throttle as he let the speed of the ThunderKat rip straight into P3 on Lap 10.

P3— Luca Rennick ↑

P4— Jimmy Damgaard ↓

[Handling +1]

[Handling at (29)]

[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-97) and host's distance from 2nd Position]

[You are 4.5 seconds away, host.]

The race hadn't even gone halfway, and Rodnick with his fellow super buddy were already handsomely distant from the rest of the pack. Up ahead, they were battling themselves, putting on an iconic duel that the commentary couldn't stop ranting about. They had made contact three times already, with one official warning going to DiMarco. And DiMarco had both taken and lost P1—twice.

Luca couldn't even see them if not for the holographic numbers. At times, while he was just making a turn, they'd be completing another—far, far ahead—and vanish into the horizon. Normally, Luca often had a better speed differential in comparison, meaning that over time, he could likely close the gap. But now, the system was predicting that the gap between him and 2nd Position would only continue to increase.

Luca was exhausted of exclaiming about this that now he only sighed. But seriously, it was becoming an issue. How was anyone—except the drivers blessed with these newer, superior engineering packages—supposed to win a race now? The competition felt totally unprincipled, and even though these HiCEs came at the expense of billions in production and ridiculous maintenance for the teams that had them, they were still far too superior compared to the rest.

Take, for example, Ailbeart Moireach, who had started all the way at the back in P20. He was currently at P11, overtaking for fun, barely breaking a sweat, and taking his time. It looked like he was just letting the others up top wear themselves out so he could swoop by later unrivalrous and unchallenged.

Truth to be told, Luca was just using this complaint as a mask. Honestly, he was... afraid to get anywhere near DiMarco. He was in P3 and DiMarco was in P2. Even though they were separated by many milliseconds, Luca's anxiety about the MkII's destructive effect was beginning to mess with his head, to the point where he genuinely felt like the radiation was affecting him even from this distance!