NOVPUBA noteworthy afternoon in London ultimately came to an end. The 49th British Grand Prix in Formula 1 history unfolded to be an unforgettable one, starting with the compound crisis that drastically altered the anticipated course of the race, followed by the infamous glass incident that further disheveled the race's rhythm and shattered the circuit's placidity, turning it into a hippodrome of havoc, one that claimed the races of three unfortunate drivers.
Jimmy Damgaard did not end up winning the race, but Elias Nyström did. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
During the second round of pitstops for drivers who'd followed an organised tire schedule, Damgaard had a reproachable exit from the pitlane while rejoining the race. He ended up bumping into a few barriers, and even tangled with Petrov along the way. However, due to the significant lead the three had built—thanks to the chaos caused by the earlier glass incident—it didn't cost Damgaard much.
But Nyström took his chance. He saw the window and surged. He claimed P1, silencing the Velocità crowd and crew, who had been prematurely celebrating what they believed was a secured victory. Jimmy Damgaard still managed to finish in P2, and Petrov completed the podium, his third career podium finish to date.
The leaderboard remained unchanged for the top three, but the middle of the pack was erratically jumbled. Fortunately for Luca, he finished in the top five, specifically in P4, the same position he held when Olympus came crashing down.
As earlier explained, during the yellow flag period, the notorious three boxed to swap out their glass-punctured tires. When they returned to the race, their positions had taken a serious hit, and they were far down the order.
Luca was the first to exit the pitlane with a lightning-fast service time of 1.85 seconds, rejoining the race in P9. He outpaced the system's prediction by a clean 0.8 seconds, and in response, the system rewarded him with a single EXP point for Gripper. It was a big bonus, triggered a notification that added another bar to his Sync Bar.
[Gripper +1]
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 87.5%]
Luigi followed with the second fastest pit time of 1.92 seconds, while DiMarco registered 2.13 seconds. Both rejoined at P11 and P12 respectively. What made the reality of this plummet even more striking was that Ailbeart Moireach—who had started the race dead last at P20—was now two positions ahead of Luca, holding P7.
When Luca rejoined the track, Desmond Lloyd was right there, ready to prey on the demerits of his pitstop. But it wasn't Lloyd's day to shine. Luca had just enough grip, stability, and tire warmth by the time the Englishman pulled up for a wheel-to-wheel contest. The Side-by-Side King did not founder—instead, it showed up at the right moment, securing Luca P9 and, more importantly, completing his Sync Bar.
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 100%]
[SYNC BAR COMPLETE]
[Host, Sync Buff can be used]
If some hadn't noticed, they definitely noticed now.
3.
| Hank Rice
|
92
↑
With an Iberia GP Audi, Hank Rice was accomplishing the undoable. He was now sitting in 3rd place, and no one could flimsily claim that it wouldn't last, because at the untraceable pace with which he had just climbed into the top three, nobody could genuinely say if he would stay there or drop!
The South African Grand Prix would be a historic and pivotal race this season, one that could finally tell F1 fans whether Hank Rice is truly a championship contender, even in a team like Iberia, or if he's not.
The RSA Grand Prix would also be the race where the champion makes his return. Marcellus Rodnick would be fit to compete on July 9th, reviving a championship defence that was going down the drain with him sitting all the way in 7th place.
South African Grand Prix
Location: Midrand, South Africa
Date: July 9
Time: 3 PM
Track: Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (KGP)
Track Length: 4.5 km
Total Laps: 65
Track Type: Permanent road course
Lap Record: No-lap time set.
