My Formula 1 System

Fortunately, no compound sabotage crisis emerged in this race, and the pitstop routines were carried out just as scheduled. This took place around the 25th Lap mark, since the RSA Grand Prix had 66 in total; the second pitstop routine might then be held twenty-five laps later at Lap 50, leaving fifteen more laps to wear out the final set of compounds toward the finish line. But in the end, this could vary depending on team strategy.

At this point, Jackson Racing expressed full concern about Rodnick, and since he was the first between him and Luca to show more tire wear, the team decided to box him early on Lap 24. This stop was not just to swap out his choked softs, but also to check on him and the rear differential response module that he wryly blamed for his recent slips and misfires in the corners.

Of course, the engineers couldn't detect any clear lesion or failure in the diff module through the telemetry, but they had to take their best driver's word for it and change it anyway. If he felt that was the issue, they couldn't ignore it.

**How's the balance? Are we green to box?**

Rodnick sighed and muttered something under his breath before he replied in a rusty tone, **Yes**

**Copy that, pit confirmed. Box next lap. Team is ready**

When he eventually rolled into the box, Mr. Matthews and a few others had already stepped out from the garage, now standing at the front of the paddock, about seven feet from the rectangular pit box. They wanted a closer glimpse of Rodnick to confirm if he wasn't experiencing any oxygen failure symptoms, or the usual heat-soak fatigue that sometimes came from the extreme physical demand of F1 racing, subtleties the cockpit cameras might not always catch.

Rodnick lifted his left thumb in the air to signal that all was well before zooming out with a service time of 2.2 seconds.

After that small assurance, the team quickly switched their focus back to Luca's upcoming pitstop, but Rodnick's paltry showing so far in the race wouldn't just be overlooked. From P2 to P7?! Come on, that's even below subpar, especially considering his time of stop was still within just the second quarter of the race. If he perdured with this kind of performance, Jackson Racing might very well be staring down the barrel of another sole-driver point outcome in South Africa.

Luca had overtaken him back then during their brief engagement, and then suddenly Dreyer followed, and Nyström carried on, each taking one lap after the other to relegate the defending champion.

Rejoining the race at Lap 24, Rodnick now found himself in P10. But he wasn't despondent about it, though because he knew he was the earliest pitter, and that the pack ahead would eventually scatter with time, either restoring him to P7 or granting him even better positions above.

And, as a testament to that projection, Rodnick climbed up to P5 right at the peak of the pitstop cluster, tires clicking off and clicking on across the board. Luca rejoined in P6, beating the system's pitstop entrance and exit prediction time to gain a single Tire Wear Management EXP.

[Tire Wear Management +1]

[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 5th Position]

[You are 2 seconds away, host.]

Di Renzo had hoped for a longer and tougher duel this time, one that would spark some friction and drag out the teammate animosity, but Rodnick pulled away before he and Luca could even register they were in alignment.

With better momentum and earlier-accumulated tire warmth, Rodnick snatched Dreyer's P4 and positioned himself right behind DiMarco. The crowd roared—finally, the reigning champion was closing in on DiMarco and the MkII in this race. As the defending F1 titleholder, Rodnick was regarded as the most likely driver capable of squaring off against that beast of a machine Velocità and Red Bull had unleashed into the competition.

DiMarco was in P3, mainly because he, like every other driver, faced the same pitstop challenges. The refined RBioL and the MkII were, in no way, capable of quickening his pitstop time. They couldn't surpass the pitlane speed limits he was required to adhere to, nor could they increase the pace of tire warming after a stop. In essence, none of these super engines had any influence in those critical moments. They were only beneficial when the race was in full swing, when their true power could be unleashed on track.

You couldn't consider that a disadvantage because all drivers had to contend with those pitstop realities, but the HiCEs did have one significant drawback, and it was quicker tire wear. Even though the percentage was relatively small—just 7%—that 7% could make all the difference in critical races, especially when it accumulated over time. In the heat of intense competition, a few percent could mean the difference between a top position and slipping down the grid.

And unless compounds made by Pirelli could be further refined, just as Red Bull had done with the RBioL to prevent aerodynamic carbon fiber strain, thereby optimizing the Tempesta MkII's performance, this quicker tire wear would remain the number one Achilles' heel of any super engine.

Alongside other things like... volatility and instability to the piloting driver.

[5th Position]

P5— Luca Rennick ↑

P6— Luis Dreyer ↓

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...Luca Rennick in P5, Luis Dreyer in P6...!"

**Good one**

Eventually, Rodnick caught up to DiMarco, close enough to make Velocità panic a little since DiMarco was still cold. Luca, seeing this, thought about pushing harder and faster to catch up as well. Maybe he could slip past the both of them in a double overtake, or if not, at least help Rodnick unsettle DiMarco. Two Stallions galloping in a row is sure to frighten a single Matadori.

However, before Luca could fully close in, DiMarco and Rodnick were already tugging at each other. Because of this advancement, his intent was now reduced to pulling off a clean double overtake alone.

"Hold steady," Rodnick muttered to his wrist, almost as if warning it. A surge of anger washed over him, and he gripped the wheel tighter. "Now's not the time for your drama... Just get me through this race. We'll settle whatever this is later."

The intense heat produced by the High-Intensity Combustion Engine ahead of him overwhelmed his cockpit, but Rodnick made sure it didn't slow him down. Luca, right at the back, was threading his turns perfectly, approaching with undisturbed momentum, fully aiming to overtake both powerhouses at once, a perfect ticket into the top three.

[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 4th Position]

[You are 1.5 seconds away, host.]

To DiMarco's misfortune, they were now at Sector 2's uneven track layout, which would soon lead into the chicane, and these were the portions of Kyalami that had once almost taken his head off due to the MkII's enormous puissance.

He found it difficult to even navigate T6's initial 35° downward slope, which was also a left-hander. It felt as though his car was about to careen beyond the track's boundaries, spin out, and crash into the crowd at the grandstand. T7, T8, and T9 carried the same threat, the looming risk of this eventually forcing DiMarco to drop precious speed, which directly affected his lap time and tightened his delta against other drivers.

On the other hand, Rodnick was constantly battling cornering difficulties due to you-know-what. This left Luca as the only one with a true advantage for these specific portions of the track at this moment.

[Gripper +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 50%]

"...three titans of the track converging in Sector 2, and you can feel the tension rising from the stands. Davide DiMarco leads the trio but seems a little unsettled. You can spot him struggling to keep the Red Bull stable through the downward incline. Those elevation shifts are brutal at this section of the track, especially through Turn 7. He's taking a tighter line than usual, probably trying to keep the car from drifting too wide..."

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

"...the body language of Luca's Ferrari says a lot here. If these two up front squabble for even half a second too long, Luca's sweeping both in one go! The crowd senses it too—oh! There's slipstream play!"

[Slipstream Status: ENGAGING]

Car <— Approaching Slipstream (Minimal aerodynamic effect)

Car <<— Partial Lock (Drag reduction increasing)

Car <<<— LOCKED IN (Maximum slipstream advantage)

[Overtake Window: Uncertain]

Rodnick was a bit baffled that Luca had used his slipstream, but he just swallowed it and poured in more concentration, now adding Luca into his mind of awareness.

"Uncertain" was the system's prediction for overtaking possibility, because the track structure at the moment was way too vague and indefinite. However, Luca had no intention of overtaking yet. He only wanted the reduced drag and speed boost to shrink their gap into a real, standard overtaking window.

[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 4th Position]

[You are 0.5 seconds away, host.]

The moment Luca got so close to Rodnick, he couldn't believe the amount of external heat he was feeling. It felt like a smoldering furnace had opened just ahead of him, the wave of dry, aggressive heat licking against his visor and creeping into the cockpit like it was trying to melt through. With his eyes wide open, he questioned the benignity of these HiCEs.

[Warning: Thermal Ion Flux detected from Blue Red Bull (RBioL)]

[Severity: Moderate—Prolonged exposure may affect ECU thermal regulation and onboard telemetry stability]

Luca felt his heart skip.