My Formula 1 System-Chapter 346: Pre-S2 Australian Grand Prix

The 5th round of the season was completely over, and the 6th round had everyone's full focus. For clarity, the Brazilian Grand Prix had ended in this fashion:

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Final Race Standings – Brazilian Grand Prix

🏁 Top 10 Finishers:

P1 – Luca Rennick 🇮🇹 (Jackson Racing) 🏆 +25pts (+1 FL)

P2 – Davide DiMarco 🇮🇹 (Bueseno Velocità) +18pts

P3 – Marko Ignatova 🇷🇸 (Squadra Corse) +15pts

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

P5 – Antonio Luigi 🇮🇹

(Squadra Corse) +10pts

P6 – Elias Nyström 🇸🇪 (Nordvind Racing) +8pts

P7 – Luis Dreyer 🇪🇸 (Outback Performance) +6pts

P8 – Ailbeart Moireach 🇬🇧 (Haddock Racing) +4pts

P9 – Hank Rice 🇬🇧 (Iberia Grand Prix) +2pts

P10 – Ansel Hahn 🇩🇪 (Trampos Racing)

+1pt

▾Remaining Finishers:

P11 – Desmond Lloyd 🇬🇧 (Velox Hispania)

P12 – James Lockwood 🇬🇧 (Nordvind Racing)

P13 – Denko Rutherford 🇧🇬 (Haddock Racing)

P14 – Javier Montez 🇪🇸

(Outback Performance)

P15 – Mikhail Petrov 🇷🇺 (Iberia Grand Prix)

P16 – Ansel Hahn 🇩🇪 (Trampos Racing)

⨉ DNF (Did Not Finish):

P17 – Yokouchi Yūichirō 🇯🇵 (Alpine Swiss F1) – Crash

P18 – Erik Haas 🇩🇪 (Trampos Racing) – Crash

P19 – Alejandro Vasquez 🇪🇸 (Velox Hispania) – Crash

P20 – Jimmy Damgaard 🇩🇰 (Bueseno Velocità) – Crash

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Luca couldn't wrap his head around Ansel actually pulling off P10 in the end! That meant 1 point for him and Trampos in the standings, a small but real win.

If Ansel could keep scraping points like that over the next 15 races, it'd add up enough to hit a bonus target or something to build on at least.

Just like Luca had crushed two Grands Prix back-to-back, his own bonuses had stacked high—high enough to call him a millionaire without exaggeration.

Luca wasn't just tied to a handful of sponsors like he was last season. He'd cut loose from Fijee completely. Now, he'd signed with around 12 new ones during those hectic weeks when he joined Jackson Racing, including heavyweights like F1 Monoposto itself, all clamoring for his name.

Still, the Hawthorne empire stayed his biggest deal. Mrs. Hawthorne made damn sure her family's name was the first thing people said after "Luca Rennick," tying her brand to his every move and profile.

Luca had lost track of all the deals he was linked to because Mallow handled the flood of contracts. He'd been told he only needed to play ambassador for the top-tier ones, and even those hadn't called him in yet for anything big.

He'd claimed the top spot in the standings, and that triggered one of his bonuses too. Luca couldn't help but wonder how Rodnick, stuck at P4, was handling it now.

Rodnick's frustration on recent race results wasn't difficult to notice, so during practice sessions, Luca planned to watch closely, sizing up how their teammate dynamic was holding up.

After the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Drivers' Standings shifted and was restructured, but still tight between the top ten leaders. Since top drivers like Luigi and DiMarco were yet to get a single race win, the championship was still wide open for anyone to seize.

PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP10)

Position | Team

| Points

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

1.

| Luca Rennick

|

76 (+1)

2.

| Marcellus Rodnick

|

67

3.

| Antonio Luigi

|

56

4.

| Marko Ignatova

|

50

5.

| Hank Rice

|

47

6.

| Ailbeart Moireach

|

45

7.

| Luis Dreyer

|

43

8.

| Davide DiMarco

|

36

9.

| Elias Nyström

|

32

10.

| Jimmy Damgaard

|

18

To the Constructor's Standings, Jackson still sat at the top as they rolled toward the 6th round, a full quarter of the season now done.

Luca couldn't help but think if Jackson could repeat what Trampos pulled off last year, when Trampos locked in 1st Place in the Constructor's Standings from the opening race straight through to the final checkered flag in Monza.

TThe points they'd piled up over Squadra were solid enough to make their lead feel safe for the next round. It'd take two bad races to shake things up—like if Luca and Rodnick both crashed out or failed to score substantially, something that'd hand Luigi and Marko a shot to close the gap.

PROVISIONAL CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (ALL 10)

Position | Team

| Points

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

1.

| Jackson Racing

|

148

2.

| Squadra Corse

|

105

3.

| Haddock Racing

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|

58

4.

| Bueseno Velocità

|

54

5.

| Iberia Grand Prix

|

53

6.

| Outback Perf.

|

49

7.

| Nordvind Racing

|

33

8.

| Velox Hispania

|

6

9.

| Trampos Racing

|

1

10.

| Alpine Swiss F1

|

0.

Velocità had finally cracked the top five, hitting 4th place by pushing past Outback and now sitting just one point ahead of Iberia GP.

It felt like the standings split into three groups. Jackson and Squadra were battling alone at the top, a clear gap below them. Then came Haddock, Velocità, Iberia, Outback, and Nordvind, all scrapping for the middle spots.

At the bottom, Velox, Trampos, and Alpine were stuck, barely scraping points. Not one had reached double digits, even after five rounds.

Luca couldn't stop wondering how the table would look if Nevada was still racing. Would Jackson still hold that big lead? Would Iberia GP even be hanging on in the top five?

The next race was the Australian Grand Prix, still in May—the very last race of the month.

Bahrain Grand Prix

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Date: May. 30

Time: 1 PM

Track: George Park Circuit

Track Length: 6 Km

Total Laps: 45

Track Type: Permanent road course

Lap Record: Pierre Laurens 1:34.251

Luca could still see last year's Australian Grand Prix in Formula 2 clear as day. It was the second race of that season, a big deal back then. Now, it was slotted as the sixth race for F1 this year.

What position had he finished in?

P6, Luca recalled without a doubt.

Thinking back, that P6 was still his worst result in his F1 career—not counting the races he didn't finish at all due to crashes.

That was a hell of a record, honestly! P6 as a driver's lowest finish ever? Most would kill for that.

In F1 this season, every race he'd completed ended with him in P1. China was a wreck, a crash orchestrated by DiMarco that took him out, and the U.S.? He didn't even show up on the grid.

He'd heard George Park got a facelift to match new FIA rules, adding more seats and better viewing spots to pack in bigger crowds at every circuit.

Good thing was, they'd moved the grandstands farther back from the track itself. No more flags or random banners messing with drivers' focus while they screamed by at insane speeds.

Rodnick had won the F1 Australian Grand Prix win last year, Luca remembered. No question his teammate was planning to lift that trophy again, make it two in a row.

Plans to hop halfway across the world started forming right after Brazil. Luca felt like he was stuck in a cycle—race, pack, fly, repeat—living the same grind, loop after loop.