NOVPUBJackson Racing had always made it clear like an imprint etched into their very being as a Formula 1 team, that they would not be known for politics. A team built on discipline they were, shaped by the tradition of raw racing and the purist spirit of F1 competition. They were renowned for their moral spine in a sport notorious for bending, tweaking, and warping ethics and structure whenever it became convenient for the team in question.
Historically, Jackson Racing was actually the newest F1 team on the grid, founded four years after Aldo Rennick's death, during a time when Formula 1 was thrown into complete chaos. The FIA had been forced to make sweeping changes to the competition format and governing regulations, and in that window of uncertainty, two American and one English billionaire stepped in and fathered the Silver Stallions.
They built their name on transparency, deliberately branding themselves as "pure", claiming, and often proving, that they were fundamentally different from other teams that thrived on hidden clauses, multi-layered politics, and strategic manipulation cloaked under vague terms like "team play" and "championship vision."
"Two cars, one mission." Not "one driver, one win."
No matter how fast or slow, Driver As and Driver Bs have been generationally told: you race until your wheels fall off. In fact, that was one of the core things that really drew Luca to Jackson Racing in the first place, so you could imagine his shock now.
Luca vividly remembered some internal docs he'd once read while signing for the team. Those clauses were what actually filled him with a profound sense of confidence, making him feel ambitious for success when he scribbled his signature across the dotted line.
>"Jackson Racing shall not issue team orders that promote the interests of one driver over another without situational necessity."
>"In the absence of technical threat, critical system degradation, or unsalvageable pace discrepancy, Jackson Racing shall not impose position orders favoring one driver over another."
Luca made an analysis to understand what reason must've provoked the order for him to surrender P9 to Rodnick, a position that was literally useless to them at this stage of the race, offering no real strategic benefit.
He had no technical laxity to speak of, and his tires were ten times healthier than Rodnick's, since he was fresh out of the pits while Rodnick had already burned through a significant layer of rubber to support his climb. If it was speed differential that Jackson seemed to be considering here, then Luca would have to remind them that Rodnick was literally driving the fastest car on the grid. He could choose to overtake Luca just like he'd been doing from P20, rather than Luca being asked to lose momentum and compromise his race rhythm just to give him a clear path.
Luca didn't reply when he was radioed the abrupt order, even when it was repeated multiple times, and Jackson Racing suddenly had the sinking feeling that he would not comply.
He was given narratives though, legit-sounding narratives: "for the long game," "to maximize points," "Rodnick was on the superior strategy." But Luca knew better. He knew this was betrayal dressed in telemetry, everything about it smelling not of calculated strategy, but of preference to get the 2.0 up the order faster.
Luca would be honest if he said he didn't mind actually giving up his position for a teammate, if that teammate was actually the better driver, with the momentum to win the race, and if he himself was faltering. But the thing here's that, he wasn't faltering, and this was the first time Jackson Racing was implementing this kind of directive, so it bothered him.
Luca predicted that if he obeyed this in-race team order—which clearly went against their original default strategy—and gave Rodnick his position… it could actually become a thing later on. He swore he knew his guts were right when he felt he was being quietly branded the Driver B!
Just a few more of these so-called "situational swaps" executed on track and Luca would automatically be termed Driver B. There was nothing inherently wrong with that label, but that wasn't what he signed up for with the team. And more importantly, the team never discussed this or made it official. Until they do… Luca gripped his wheel tighter and showed Rodnick he should stop trailing him like a lamebrain and actually challenge for the position.
Since Jackson Racing had never executed anything like this before, no one spectating even suspected that Luca was disobeying an in-race team order. It was believed this was going to be another Jackson Racing teammate face-off, just like ever before. And since Rodnick grew impatient, angry at Luca's defiance and began to make moves, the crowd in Bergwaldring cheered and invested their full attention on the duo.
"I'm running on thin rubber here. What's wrong with him?" Rodnick asked angrily when Mr. Berry and others confirmed that Luca wouldn't comply with the swap. They encouraged Rodnick to take the position as smoothly and safely as possible. Now that was exactly what Luca wanted, instead of proceeding to order an unnecessary swap.
Rodnick then advanced to doing the opposite of what he was advised, and challenged Luca barbarously with the confidence that he and the FRC would definitely emerge victorious.
They engaged in a very close and perilous duel into Sector 3, Turn 12 specifically. It was a sharp left-hander, extremely high-speed, and the kind of corner where Rodnick could truly shine—if he had the grip to back it. However, Luca held the optimal racing line for a conventional pass, placing his car squarely where the rubber met advantage. This positioning left Rodnick with two options: stay behind or risk a spin-out by forcing himself into the narrow opening.
Rodnick managed to restrain his impulse at Turn 12, trailing just behind. But the moment Turn 13 opened—a tighter left with deceptive camber—he threw all caution to the wind. He lunged for the inside, a mad move considering his soft compounds were hanging on their last fibres. He didn't care if Luca still owned the racing line. He was committed.
Right at the zenith of Rodnick's reckless commitment, Luca made a reactive turn-in to defend his claim. He had no idea that Rodnick's tires had degraded to such a critical extent. And worse—under the heightened physiological influence of the PEDs in his system—Rodnick over-applied brake pressure in a panic. The abrupt load shredded what was left of his grip, causing the FRC to veer without control mid-entry, just as the cars met at their respective apexes.
