My Formula 1 System-Chapter 410: Canadian Grand Prix. 5

Luca turned out to be the most "stubborn" driver in Canada, courtesy of the commentary crew who bleated relentlessly during his major act of obstinacy and sheer immovability in the closing laps.

"...RENNICK CLAIMS TO BE DEFIANT AGAINST THE INEVITABLE! HE'S STRUGGLING—YES—BUT STRUGGLING BEAUTIFULLY AGAINST AILBEART MOIREACH, WHOSE CAR IS MILES AHEAD IN PERFORMANCE. IT'S A CHALLENGE BORDERING ON THE IMPOSSIBLE, AND YET HE REFUSES TO FOLD! LOOK AT THIS—BEHIND AILBEART, YOU'VE GOT DAVIDE AND RODNICK, LINED UP ONE AFTER THE OTHER, ALL OF THEM IN THOSE CUTTING-EDGE SUPERCARS, PRIMED FOR DOMINANCE. AND LUCA? HE'S HOLDING THEM BACK, WIELDING NOTHING BUT PURE RACECRAFT AND STUBBORN RESOLVE!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

At some point, Dreyer eventually fell when Luca nailed a flawless exit line out of Turn 4 in the chicane, cleanly snatching P2. In an instant, Dreyer was swallowed by the firestorm coming hot behind Luca, and it was Ailbeart Moireach, flanked closely by DiMarco and then Rodnick, who had just eaten up Nyström and joined the queue.

Dreyer plummeted to P6 like a man tumbling down from the top of a faulty ladder, and the three predators continued their relentless pursuit not just of each other, but now zeroed in on Luca and Luigi, who remained steadfast in P1.

This was the moment Luca filed himself with an implausible sense of confidence and unwavering resolve to defend his position against machines vastly more powerful than his.

He figured that if he could just hold on long enough until the checkered flag, yes, Luigi might still take the full 25 points, but he'd gladly take the 18. That outcome was unarguably better than tumbling down the standings into whatever depth this blazing chain of infernos might hurl him into.

So Luca gripped his wheel tighter, the track stretching ahead on the system's interface like a logical playground for him. A cautioning panel hovered just off to the side, giving him real-time updates, warnings, analytics, and data feeds, all regarding the three ruthless machines breathing down his neck.

Just like the RBioL, Ailbeart's R.S.25 was simply an upgrade from the R.S.16. So this meant the .25 featured the same core attributes as the .16, just drastically enhanced. The same applied to the engine department. In Renault's case, although they weren't known as the fastest or most powerful manufacturers out there, their cars built for Haddock Racing were always designed with balance in mind—not to the degree of Red Bull's precision—but still, their engines were praised for what they internally branded as re-life or energy regeneration.

This was exactly what the system had explained to Luca, saying that this Rotterbad 2 engine was somewhat of a zombie-like power unit, designed to function symbiotically with the frame of the chassis. Its intended purpose was to withstand wear, and at the same time, to actively thrive on it and use it.

And so, the Rotterbad, with its impressive ability to harvest energy from both motion and thermal output, had earned its place among the best energy systems in modern racing.

Luca didn't grasp all of this during his first analysis, but he later came to realize it was an incredibly deceptive engine feature he had overlooked. Because what it meant, in essence, was that the more the car pushed and burned through its systems, the more the engine internally cycled energy back through its channels, ramping up regeneration and subtly increasing its output percentage over time, until it eventually reached up to twice the power output of the normal FiammaVeloce's capability.

Since the original .16 version could only endure a limited range of aerodynamic stress and turbulent pressures, the .25 emerged as a perfect evolution, especially given that even the Rotterbad 2 now boasted a far more advanced energy harvesting process than the base Rotterbad unit.

It used to be seen as a fallback contingency, a conservative feature to reduce power loss during aggressive driving phases, mainly because Renault had always struggled with raw output. But now, it had transformed into a serious weapon, no longer a regulation-safe option, but a deadly performance edge.

The JRX-97 and the standard ThunderKat just couldn't handle this over time.

Because of this, Luca's prowess began to collapse in tragic shackles. He had hoped to miss the full effect of the 92B's High-speed Dominance, which would've helped him eradicate his car's speeding refresh cycle on the home straight, but even with that, Ailbeart was still bound to find a way through later in the lap.

"…THE LONGER THE HOLD, THE GREATER THE FALL! Luca Rennick, whose defensive brilliance has stunned us for the past few laps, is finally overrun! The pace deficit is beginning to take its toll, and you know what happens once one driver gets through—it opens the gates! It's a predator's feast from here on out!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

And true to that, once Ailbeart broke through, it was as though the dam had burst. In the blink of an eye, Luca was swallowed by the very fire he'd tried so hard to keep at bay. DiMarco and Rodnick, both thriving in those monstrous supercars, didn't hesitate to follow through the opening.

"...Davide DiMarco in P3...!"

".. Marcellus Rodnick in P4 ..!"

It was worth the try to hold on, but if Luca could go back in time and stop himself from trying to be brave and courageous, he would. Because what he had just essentially done now was give Luigi enough time to pull further away. Not by a massive margin, but just far enough to secure P1 before the super three—Ailbeart especially—could reach him.

Everyone was stunned. No one had expected such an outcome here in Canada! fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"…AND OUT OF NOWHERE—ANTONIO LUIGI WINS THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX!! What a stunning twist at the death...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

[5TH POSITION]

"…Absolutely unbelievable scenes! While the battle raged behind him, Luigi stayed sharp, stayed consistent, and capitalized on the chaos. He timed everything to perfection. No fireworks, no over-aggression—just clean, smart racing! That's how you win a Grand Prix in a field of monsters...!"

**Alright Luca… that's P5. That's P5, mate. Great driving**

**You held off rockets for half the stint. Heads high—massive effort**

"I should've let them go earlier… gave Antonio too much room."

**Don't beat yourself up. You gave us a fighting chance. P5 at least. P4 for Marcellus. We'll regroup for Riyadh**

----

Final Race Standings – Canadian Grand Prix

🏁 Top 10 Finishers:

P1 – Antonio Luigi 🇮🇹

(Squadra Corse)

🏆 +25pts

P2 – Ailbeart Moireach 🇬🇧 (Haddock Racing) +18pts. (+1FL)

P3 – Davide DiMarco 🇮🇹 (Bueseno Velocità) +15pts

P4 – Marcellus Rodnick 🇺🇸 (Jackson Racing) +12pts

P5 – Luca Rennick 🇮🇹 (Jackson Racing) +10pts

P6 – Luis Dreyer 🇪🇸 (Outback Performance) +8pts

P7 – Elias Nyström 🇸🇪 (Nordvind Racing) +6pts

P8 – Jimmy Damgaard 🇩🇰 (Bueseno Velocità) +4pts

P9 – Marko Ignatova 🇷🇸 (Squadra Corse)

+2pts

P10 – Mark Derfflinger 🇩🇪 (Haddock Racing) +1pt

▾Remaining Finishers:

P11 – Hank Rice 🇬🇧 (Iberia Grand Prix)

P12 – James Lockwood 🇬🇧 (Nordvind Racing)

P13 – Mikhail Petrov 🇷🇺 (Iberia Grand Prix)

P14 – Javier Montez 🇪🇸 (Outback Performance)

P15 – Józef Konarski 🇵🇱 (Alpine Swiss F1)

P16 – Desmond Lloyd 🇬🇧 (Velox Hispania)

P17 – Yokouchi Yūichirō 🇯🇵 (Alpine Swiss F1)

P18 – Alejandro Vasquez 🇪🇸 (Velox Hispania)

P19 – Ansel Hahn 🇩🇪 (Trampos Racing)

P20 – Erik Haas 🇩🇪 (Trampos Racing)

-----

After batting his invisible baseball into the sky and watching it soar, Luigi waved to the enthusiastic and celebratory Squadra fans. His gaze caught Luca exiting his cockpit in the pitlane, his head tilted slightly downward in defeat. Luigi thought he had never seen a more satisfying sight.

This was how it should be, he believed. And since Luca wasn't likely to receive any engineering upgrades anytime soon, Luigi was confident he could continue to crush his nightmares. But for now, he needed to ensure Luca was pushed out of championship contention. It would take several races and consistent underperformance from Luca for that to happen, but Luigi believed he could make it a reality.

Luca was still sitting at first place in the Standings even after this race, leading him by eight points. So, Luigi had a lot of ground to cover if he truly intended to usurp the Mazerunner.

PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP10)

Position | Team

| Points

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

1.

| Luca Rennick

|

149

2.

| Antonio Luigi

|

141

3.

| Davide DiMarco

|

124

4.

| Ailbeart Moireach

|

114 (+1)

5.

| Luis Dreyer

|

99

↑

6.

| Hank Rice

|

94

↓

7.

| Marko Ignatova

|

92

8.

| Marcellus Rodnick

|

91

9.

| Elias Nyström

|

74

10.

| Jimmy Damgaard

|

58

PROVISIONAL CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (ALL 10)

Position | Team

| Points

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

1.

| Jackson Racing

|

253

2.

| Squadra Corse

|

232

3.

| Bueseno Velocità

|

180

4.

| Haddock Racing

|

129

5.

| Outback Perf.

|

118

6.

| Iberia Grand Prix

|

116

7.

| Nordvind Racing

|

75

8.

| Velox Hispania

|

8

9.

| Alpine Swiss F1

|

2.

10.

| Trampos Racing

|

1

So, was this how it was going to be for the rest of the season? Better engineering meant greater points? No more emphasis on skill and Racecraft? Luca didn't like the idea that others were being sharpened with unimaginable possibilities while he held onto what was once the greatest hallmark.

Even though he knew his system could still help him push the 97 to impressive heights, time wasn't on his side. And in this tight schedule, time came at the cost of precious points.

Luca bet Luigi's win today was just the warm-up, and very soon, no driver without a supercar would even smell the top three. Luigi included, that is, until the day came when he eventually received his own upgraded package.