NOVPUBJackson Racing were formal and orderly, so they didn't reprimand Luca right away during the race. Silence over the radio was more consistent than communication, yet it felt heavier and unnerving than usual. It put Luca in a state of disquietude because he could sense the tension and the restrained words the engineers were holding back behind sealed lips. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
"...AN UNBELIEVABLE OUTCOME IN GERMANY AS BOTH JACKSON RACING DRIVERS COLLIDE INTO DRAMA IN SECTOR 3—RODNICK OUT OF THE RACE, WHILE LUCA MIRACULOUSLY ESCAPES DAMAGE! THIS IS ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS—A SHOCKER AT BERGWALDRING!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
Rodnick's reckless lunge into the inside of Turn 13 ended up being the final move of his race. It was an unfortunate turn of events, not just for both drivers, but for Jackson Racing as a whole. The fierce intra-team duel resulted in a costly outcome of Rodnick bagging zero points in Germany.
Luca's sharp move to block the inside and anchor his position had pushed Rodnick into a very severe braking response, one intensified by the corticosteroids running through his system. His tires nearly locked up, but even before they could fully judder, they shredded a significant layer of rubber that should have lasted for the remainder of the lap. The thick oceanic smoke that the FRC emitted through Turn 13 said everything about how blustery that braking was.
Rodnick lost control and tried to flick into emergency brake migration mode, but it was too late. His car had already veered sharply and was now swinging directly toward Luca's trajectory.
And this was where the guilty feeling creeping into Luca's chest found its origin.
[Spatial Awareness +1]
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 25%]
His Spatial Awareness Skill instantly lit up, flagging the threat incoming in a blistering 0.5 seconds. If Rodnick's FRC connected with him at this speed and angle, there was a dangerously high chance the integrity of his car would be compromised, putting him at major risk of a DNF.
As usual, the system left Luca to make the radical choices and actions on his own. He didn't even need to ponder; his racing instincts took over immediately and had him veer toward Rodnick. If Rodnick was going to crash into him, then Luca would crash into Rodnick too. He didn't take it as recklessness, just more like calculated defiance. And he knew he had the upper hand of more momentum, full control, and tires that hadn't fallen apart. The laws of physics also assured him he would survive the impact.... and Rodnick would not.
"...Unbelievable scenes here at Bergwaldring! Marcellus Rodnick's out! He's in the wall and that's a definite retirement...!"
"...Smoke everywhere from those two Ferraris. That was a desperate move, and it's cost him everything...!"
"... Rennick survives—just barely! But what a collision, what a mess for Jackson Racing...!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
"...This will spark serious questions in the garage! Both Jackson Racing drivers make contact in Bad Rauenberg!"
Both Luca and Rodnick were supposed to be punished by Race Control, but since Rodnick was unable to continue racing, only Luca received the penalty. It was initially 10 seconds for Rodnick and 5 seconds for Luca, so Luca was handed his 5-second penalty just moments after the contact, where he had left his teammate screaming like a madman and punching the wheel of the FRC into demolishment.
Well, the car was already damaged; Luca had elbowed it off into the barriers, and it looked like Rodnick was glued to it. Because of the impact and the state of the car, Rodnick didn't mind venting his rage on the steering wheel, punching it into such a mangled form that his knuckles bled through his gloves.
"I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL KILL HIM!" Rodnick roared savagely as the marshals and some crew members managed to get him back into the garage. Condolences came flying from everywhere, but everyone knew to keep their distance.
His bloodied hands reached for Luca's driver poster in the garage—right beside his own—gripped it from the top and tore it into an almost perfect half. "I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL KILL HIM!"
"This is simple rebelliousness against team orders. You shouldn't make anything more out of it. Luca didn't switch because he didn't want to switch," Mrs. Jarvis said in the JR Management suite.
"It's stupidity to still say that now," Pires hissed. "Look at how the fans in red are celebrating his survival—from a contact with his own teammate."
"Are we talking about the cause of the contact, or who's in support of it? Luca has no control over who celebrates."
"But how can we even switch such a thing mid-race? I don't think Marcellus would agree if it was him. What are Matthews and the rest even doing down there?" Sutherland had a softer voice, but his tone wasn't any less concerned.
"Like you said: rebelliousness. He's becoming rebellious, and the events leading up to today have only amplified it..."
"Luca has just a single year left with us in his contract. We need to stretch it. And for that, we need the driver as happy as possible. What cognizance do you think Luca currently holds?"
All except Pires shrugged.
"A subconscious part of him knows he has just a year left with us, and that subconscious part is exactly what we're seeing here. SIX MORE RACES TO GO. He wins one, he's happy—we offer five more years. We can't afford to slack now unless we're ready to lose grip on him and let them snatch him with the mindset he's carrying."
Luca was filed into the safety car parade while he was being discussed. The German crowd celebrated him like crazy, but he was more concerned about his side pod, which had been damaged from Rodnick's front wing.
During the safety car parade, he called for a stop because the system had already warned of aerodynamic strain to come. He was going to drop down the ranks, but a safer car was a better bet.
Despite the commotion unfolding in the garage, a commotion that other team garages giggled and laughed about, the pit crew members still managed to get their tools out, along with another set of hard compounds just to overlap the ones he already had.
Luca could see the rowdy movement galvanizing in the garage, making him wonder how the heck Rodnick was raging. He then noticed the service time was EXTREMELY lengthy.
"Focus, guys!" he yelled. "Focus!"
Assuming Luca hadn't yelled "focus!" the time would've breached four seconds. The service time hit a painstaking 3.3 sec, and Luca barreled out of the pitlane with urgency to rejoin the race. He slipped serving his penalty time because they had already poorly executed the service.
[Retrieving pitstop info...]
[Service Time: 3.31 seconds]
[Front Tires: Hard → Hard]
[Rear Tires: Hard → Hard]
[Front Side Pod: Damaged → Replaced]
[System's prediction: 12 sec—15 sec]
[Host's pitlane Entry and Exit: 13 sec]
Unbelievably, Luca Rennick hit P15 when the Virtual Safety Car finally went offline. However, right after that period came a pitstop session, and since he was fresh and ready for flyers, he began to retake what was once lost and eventually made it back up to the same P9 when it seemed the drivers had ceased their stops.
Luca felt a certain energy, as though Erik Haas wanted the both of them to clash for a duel, but he didn't even spare the guy a thought.
[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-97) and host's distance from 8th Position]
[You are 1.5 seconds away, host.]
That was Nyström right ahead of him, moving with that Audi that was saturatedly designed with the colors of Sweden. Luca knew Nyström was going to vex if he eventually overtook him; he could already sense the growing anger radiating off that car.
Imagine being an F1 driver, and you were fully aware of one particular rival who had dropped far down the leaderboard. Now, he was magically right behind you, with the third most fierce-looking chassis on the grid, closing the gap mostly through corners with that accelerative might.
[>>>
T1---------
|
|
|
|
┌T13
|
T14
T15┘
<<<]
The corners were easier and faster for Luca to take, as he hugged the curbs so perfectly that even he was surprised he hadn't received a Gripper Skill notif yet.
Down the home straight, Elias Nyström managed to survive Luca's pursuit. But as soon as they entered the next lap and headed toward Turn 1, Luca felt his car automatically responding to slipstream use, and that was when he began to capitalize.
Bergwaldring was really strange. It was rare to see a circuit that featured a major straight right after Turn 1. Usually, the first straight of a track would come after Turn 3, Turn 4, or Turn 5. But here this one was, perfectly designed to punish Nyström and reward Luca.
[Slipstream Status: ENGAGING]
Car <— Approaching Slipstream (Minimal aerodynamic effect)
Car <<— Partial Lock (Drag reduction increasing)
Car <<<— LOCKED IN (Maximum slipstream advantage)
[Overtake Window: Optimal]
"...and this is a picture-perfect slipstream engagement from Rennick right out of Turn 1! He's absolutely dialed in—closing, closing, and now pulling alongside! Nyström won't give it up easily, but Rennick's commitment here looks unshakable... this might be the move of the race!"
Nyström proved incompliant to Luca's plan for a royal overtake. Headstrong and adamant to keep P8, Nyström challenged a driver moving with DRS that was about to close, battling for the racing line, and for a second, it almost looked like he could fend off Luca's DRS window.
But it seemed Nyström had forgotten Luca was practically a ticking bomb when close to other drivers. He hadn't learnt his lesson from China, most especially. Side-by-Side King sparked with outrage, as if the Skill itself was impatient and enraged at Nyström's defiance.
All believed he gave up to Luca as Luca took P8 with authority, the German crowd roaring to their feet, completely ignoring their own driver, Ansel, who was still in the race.
[8th Position]
P8— Luca Rennick ↑
P9— Elias Nyström ↓
**Good take. Good take**
The radio had begun to transmit once again.
[Side-by-Side King +1]
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 37.5%]
Looking at the Sync Bar, Luca wondered if it was enough to add up with his tools still stored in his inventory to fund a Sync Buff. His estimate hovered somewhere around this 37.5% to 50%, but he performed the calculations to be truly sure.
[Inventory:
—Catalysts: 3
—Wrenches: 3]
Since the Sync Bar technically filled up by 12.5% per unit, the math would be 12.5% multiplied by 6.
Luca also long had the option to convert the three Wrenches into Catalysts, which would result in 12 Catalysts in total definitely assuring Sync Buff. But if he kept doing that, he'd neglect the Car Status, since it dealt with Wrench.
And converting Catalysts into Wrenches felt like a downgrade, something he would only do when truly needed.
So, 12.5% multiplied by 6 equals 75%. Does that add up with 37.5%? Luca needed to make a burst from this P8.
