My Formula 1 System-Chapter 386: S2 British GP

[5th Lap]

It seemed all that rain and drizzle that had been falling in the previous days were doing so to clear out the sky for the race on Sunday, because the sky above Stadhaven was so vivid, clear, and bright. It looked like an open entrance to the kingdom of heaven, and every infrastructure, building, even the track itself, caught the golden rays of the sun, creating a supernal bliss for a visage.

From what Luca observed, Stadhaven looked like it had received the most expansion and caparison compared to other circuits they had competed in so far.

Now, there were more well-organised trees, levelled grass for ornamentation even at areas that didn't necessarily need it. There were about ten times the ads, more buildings, and more stands. And the most staggering part of it was that the British flag was lined from the beginning, where it circled around the royal family's suite, and stretched all the way to the end.

Perhaps there were about 250 of them, and it was as if the organisers wanted to remind everyone every single second of the race that this was the British Grand Prix.

Considering this amelioration, Luca could see why there was a possible need to introduce a new management, thereby firing Vance's. And now, Vance was his PR. Luca wondered how he felt, being back at Stadhaven.

Currently at the 5th lap, there was no sign of the danger of wet conditions up ahead in the race. The sun was so bright, it felt like morning even though it was already 2 PM in the afternoon, and the slick track from the previous day's late night-to-morning rain was already drying up.

Of course, this was undoubtedly good progress and good reason to be happy for both teams and drivers. Since the track was drying up and wet asphalt would no longer be an issue, this meant they could all focus on their original strategies for an average racing situation. frёewebηovel.cѳm

The threat of reduced grip, aquaplaning, unpredictable braking distances, and compromised tyre performance—common with a wet track—could now be totally ignored, and all drivers could push to their limits without fear.

Even with the revamp and expansion, Stadhaven still remained a favouring 50:50 circuit; the definition of balanced competition and a true test for an F1 car and its driver. So the British Grand Prix could be termed a fair race now, since slickness was out of the question.

However, there was just one driver who wasn't really happy with the weather change, and it was Luca.

He had just been deprived of his benefit, his only definite vantage against other drivers, and it was a slick, wet track.

There had not been a single wet race where Luca did not dominate. Even back in F2, where he did not have Gripper and Slipsense & Rainborne yet, he still finished in P1 in all wet races—take his first race win last year on this same track, for example.

And here in F1, he had been keeping the same streak.

So now, with both Skills—S & R at (12) and Gripper at (15)—Luca had already envisioned himself even zipping past lapped rivals like Haas.

Furthermore, there would be a 50% chance of getting two or more Slipsense & Rainborne points, increasing the chance of Sync Buff in this race.

Since this was no longer his project scheme, Luca had to reanalyze everything that had backed it up. When he did, he paused as he remembered that he had intermediates fixed to his car right now. In fact, everyone—in his best guess—was running on intermediates in the British GP.

Since the track was essentially drying so early into the race, there was no need for these set of compounds!!

Using intermediates on a drying track could cause several issues for every driver. Luca wasn't a fan of it because he knew himself with the system did not have the capability to remedy these issues.

Since intermediates were designed for wet conditions, they overheat quickly and wear out MUCH FASTER when used on a drying track—same goes with wet compounds. This drastically loses performance and grip, which in turn affects speed, bringing about slower lap times and hindering maximum output.

There would be instability through turns/corners, and high risk of tire blistering which happened to Luca in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Jackson Racing took this predicament seriously, and they began to strategize on how to tackle this early issue. Even other teams who had their drivers running on those greens were now buzzing.

No one could even blame the weather because this kind of weather play had happened before. It was just that considering this was London and it had already been raining and drizzling for days before the race, everyone believed today was going to mirror its predecessors. But the brightness of the sun on the green leaves said otherwise.

Suddenly, it became a growing matter all through the grid.

"...We're getting early indications that those intermediates might not last very long under these conditions..."

"..The sun is now fully out, and the track temperature is rising lap after lap. This is going to force an early switch—no doubt..."

"...This could spiral into a race-defining window if anyone dares to box early for slicks. Pit too early, and its a real fall down the grid that could catch you out. Wait too long, and you're losing seconds per lap. It's a tightrope. This is where strategy comes alive. Forget the numbers. This is instinct versus instinct now..."

**We're seeing significant drying across all three sectors. Track temp climbing by the minute. We'll be monitoring tire temps and degradation closely now**

"The tires are really cooking," Luca said, and he was not exaggerating. "It's starting to feel loose out of the turns."

**Copy that. We're seeing it on the data too—surface temps are high, pressure creeping up. Grip loss is going to become noticeable soon**

"It won't hold much. I'd slide before Lap 15," Luca said, considering just how much Gripper could help before the tires completely give away.

**Understood. Plan is to keep you out just a bit longer, monitor behavior sector by sector. But make no mistake, we will box soon. You've got a solid buffer, Luca. P2's nearly six seconds back—more than enough margin to pit and rejoin comfortably in front of the pack chasing behind. We're in a good place here**

"Copy."

Mr. Berry was right—Luca did have a 5.5-second lead over Luis Dreyer in P2. Grid Launch at 20 (+3) was so prodigious that even Luca couldn't believe it. It was the first and only spectacle so far in the British GP, and it took a while before the commentary quit speaking about his incredulous start.

After that, Luca took T1 to T5 with such ruthless efficiency that Dreyer could never match. The repetition of this in other turns, lap after lap, was what brought this solid lead that his system even predicted would increase further.

[Analyzing 2nd Position's distance from host and Ferrari (JRX-92B)...]

[2nd Position is 5.7 sec away, host]

The early pit stop would crash out this perfect run, but Luca was calm, since he knew he wasn't the only one that would need to change their tires. Even Dreyer would pit as well, so his P1 was more safe than in jeopardy.

However, deep in the middle of the pack, there was one driver who did not start the race with Intermediates.