My Formula 1 System-Chapter 481: Second Round Preparation. 2

The following day arrived with a sharp breeze in the early hours, promoting a cool atmosphere for a team that wanted to recalibrate. Almost everyone was around as early as 8 a.m., stationed at their posts and workplaces, and ready for what would be a long day and week.

Simultaneously, other teams around the globe had begun to prepare, resuming drills that were tailored toward performance and accountability. However, for Trampos, on top of the usual rehearsals, they also wanted to address the telemetry problem, or rather, the issue of personnel ineffectiveness.

So, other than just fixing faulty equipment, the team planned to fix their bad habits.

Fortunately, Trampos now had some of the latest simulators designed specifically for technicians, engineers, and crew members. These simulators helped program stress scenarios with execution orders tied to all kinds of crew member responsibilities.

Most importantly, they also boosted departmental training in order to cut off the problem at the root and prevent future tech workers who came to apply from being just as incompetent.

On the driver’s side of the complex, Luca and Victor had already begun their tailored routines, split between physical conditioning and simulator training. As the winner of the first race of the season, Luca was practically the defender of the next race’s first place, so he had to be well-prepared. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Meanwhile, Victor, still recovering from his Bahrain crash, carried a chip on his shoulder. Luca knew it was going to be a hefty task to motivate the lad with some real confidence heading into Austria. After what happened, there was silent pressure from the team and mostly from himself, as he believed he had been given a job by the heavens to support Luca toward glory. And in the first race of the season, he had already begun to fail.

Fortunately for him that day, Luca had enough spare time to pass on some knowledge, starting from the gym even up to when they got into their fresh cars. Teammate radio remained on, and Luca used that medium to further expand the day’s regime even when Mr. Grant had said they were all over.

Victor thanked Luca very sincerely, expressing how grateful he was to have someone like him not just as a teammate, but as a mentor. He admitted he had a lot to learn, and that being guided by the man who survived a fire blast and walked out of Bahrain as the winner meant everything to him.

He promised Luca and himself that by the end of the year, he wouldn’t just be seen as the rookie at Trampos, but as a dependable force capable of contributing to the team’s title charge for more campaigns to come.

Luca liked that spirit. He had known from the beginning that Erik Haas had been shaving off his bad influence onto Victor and coating him with his own persona, when Victor was actually a vibrant and optimistic young lad. It was definitely a good decision by Trampos to let Haas go, because this perfectly created a good environment for Luca and Victor to develop and grow as a feared mentor and mentee on the grid.

That day, Luca checked his stash of tools because he had received just a single Catalyst in the space of one week after the race.

[Current Inventory:

—Catalysts: 1

—Wrenches: 0

—Tokens: 0.8 ]

Luca received 0.2 Tokens after the race for the fastest lap he snatched from Luigi at Lap 49. It felt satisfying to remember that.

As for the other (7) Catalysts and (5) Wrenches, Luca also decided to recollect the exact manner in which he spent them, and afterwards, review the outcome in the status panel.

Firstly, Luca had moved over to Night Mastery at (19) because it was the last Self Skill yet to be completed. Hence, he spent just (1) Catalyst on it.

[Processing request...]

[Applying 1 Catalysts to Night Mastery...]

[Night Mastery: 19 → 20]

After that, Luca saw no other direct use for the Catalysts except to convert them into Wrenches and apply them as such.

He remembered that Catalysts could also be applied on Attributes, and he looked at his Intelligence, which he had always wanted to take up to (40). Just when he wanted to make Sync Buff, he was stuck with the dilemma of boosting Car Skills or that particular attribute.

In the end, he decided to give it all to the Car Skills. Why? He initially thought about splitting the Catalysts, but what was left then was (6), and the exchange rate required (3) Catalysts for (1) Wrench. Splitting it would disrupt the perfect balance needed for (2) Wrenches.

[Processing request...]

[Conversion initiated...]

[6 Catalysts → 2 Wrenches]

[Conversion successful!]

Luca had watched as his Sync Bar continued to fill and his Wrenches rose to (7). From there, he quickly invested in Gripper, Yaw Flex, and DRS Boost, placing more priority on DRS Boost.

[Processing request...]

[Applying 7 Wrenches to selected Skills...]

[Grid Launch: 23 → 24

Yaw Flex: 15 → 17

DRS Boost: 6 → 10]

By the conclusion, Luca recieved a familiar prompt:

[New Car Skill Accumulating: 2/3]

Luca wondered how he could get the final shard for that, considering all Self Skills were now completed. The only source he could think of was the one he had preliminarily considered: pushing Intelligence to (40).

In that case, it would take a while before he could unlock a new Car Skill from there. What remained now was actually completing the Car Skills he already had, to keep gaining more, and the likes of Gripper were already very close.

***

Luca packed lightly for the Austrian Grand Prix; on the contrary, his confidence was very heavy. The momentum was entirely his now, as all teams prepared for Austria. And truly, if this was still the technical level of the last two years, Luca’s confidence would’ve been reaching the sky.

But Luigi and Ailbeart’s cars still bothered him now and then, and he could only wonder at what stage his "Cloud" chassis would not only match but surpass theirs.

That was why he unknowingly smiled when he remembered DiMarco’s situation—hospitalized, undergoing recovery, with six months of forced absence ahead. Just as Mallow had said, he truly created an opening in the championship by taking out one of his most potent rivals, one who had even wanted his head on a spike.

This had changed the calculus of everything. For the next half-year, he might not need to fear Velocità anymore, which translated to over 12 races of freedom from DiMarco’s threat.

But the absence of Davide DiMarco didn’t mean the absence of the upgraded RBioL and the Tempesta MkII within. That monster still existed, and as wealthy as Velocità were, they had two of that machine ready in case of casualties exactly like what just happened.

Would they put Jimmy Damgaard behind the wheel? Had Jimmy been silently trained by the team to adapt to HiCE demands in anticipation of such an emergency?

Luca’s smile faded as he rolled his bags out. He actually took this seriously because it was a great matter.

The MkII would be worse in the hands of Jimmy Damgaard. The boy would become a second Captain Italy, a second Davide DiMarco, far more horrible than the predecessor he already shared many qualities with.

Unfortunately, Davide DiMarco and Jimmy Damgaard also shared the same hated rival.

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