My Formula 1 System

[5th Lap]

At the 5th lap of the Australian Grand Prix, a great problem struck Trampos Racing again, the second time this season. Before that, Jimmy Damgaard appeared to be all there was to worry about, the only threat to a smooth back-to-back victory for Luca since Ailbeart Moireach was in P5 and Luigi had started at the bottom of the grid.

Jimmy’s consistency and sharpness in the opening laps meant that if he had started in P1, and perhaps Luca in P5, he would instantly have become the measuring stick for everyone else on the grid.

Without needing chaos or luck, he was honing his pace himself, unsettling Luca and proving to be the one true obstacle to the Mazerunner’s march toward another win.

Both drivers had switched positions only once in the 2nd lap, where Jimmy had shown slight impatience by utilizing the outstanding features that came with a HiCE-powered machine. But that only gave him a couple of seconds to hold and retain the spot, which he unfortunately couldn’t.

"...It’s a real tug of war through Sector 2. Jimmy Damgaard takes P1 by itching his way to the front—that’s real power there in that overtake..!"

"WOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

"...He’s holding on tightly, but Rennick looks effortless! He’s fluent through the corners there, choosing to inch-perfect—carrying that speed on the outside line... and there it is! A stunning move around the outside, retaking the lead confidently...!"

"WOOOOHHHHHH!"

[1st Position]

Jimmy Damgaard grunted with disapproval after Luca retook the lead smoothly by banking from his side like they were surfboarders, and fluently cutting in like the right stroke of the letter ’y,’ reclaiming the lead.

**Good work on that sector, that’s step one. We’re not rushing this. Gradual build. Step by step, we’ll hold the lead back**

Jimmy appreciated his team’s encouraging words, but he couldn’t help but wonder if there would ever be a time when he would actually hold the lead. Specifically, hold the lead long enough toward the finish line.

From what he could see, Jimmy believed Luca wasn’t at all bothered with the switch, as if Luca had expected him to falter there at Turn 7, just for the positions to be reversed just as quickly.

’Damn you, Luca,’ Damgaard thought as he recalled just how seamless the Italian brat was known to be when it came to threading turns and corners, no matter how meandering or looping.

George Park. Autodromo di Lombardia. These were Luca’s turfs!

Sure, Damgaard remembered that Luca finished in P7 in last season’s Australian GP, but that was because he received a late penalty that stretched his pit time, throwing him down the pack from P1 to P7 with just 10 laps left.

Jimmy knew for certain that Luca would’ve been DEFENDING the Australian GP trophy this afternoon, not COMPETING, if he hadn’t been penalized.

The thought of it made the Velocità driver curse his luck.

Luca in P1. Him in P2. Luigi in P20. Ailbeart in P5. If this were a standard track, Jimmy Damgaard had no doubt he would’ve been leading.

[System Alert: Engine temperature exceeding safe threshold.]

[Warning: RPM efficiency reduced to prevent thermal failure.]

Luca could swear that he felt the thermal rise even before the system detected it and flagged it as an issue.

’What could this be now?’ he thought while carefully snaking his way through the second chicane of the track featuring Turns 12 to 14.

Several factors can cause overheating in an F1 car, such as the kind of engine that is running. A HiCE would generate heat more quickly than other A-level engines because of its nature and properties as a whole. Even the car batteries and brake heat play roles in accumulating heat in the chassis if cooling isn’t perfectly balanced.

Other causes include mechanical problems, turbulent air, and even the track layout itself.

Statistics have it that circuits with lots of slow corners and short straights, like Circuit du l’Etoile, Hungaro Ring... and George Park, don’t allow the cars to breathe with high-speed airflow. This doesn’t allow heat to escape easily, thereby causing overheating.

Luca put this into consideration as he wondered why the Z24 was suffering overheating. Could it be mechanical failure, with the track layout acting merely as a contributing factor?

**Luca, we’re seeing engine temps rising–**

"Yeah, I feel it, copy."

**Okay, manage your inputs. Just so you know, Victor is getting the same warnings too**

Luca sighed after the response. He immediately understood that if Victor, his teammate, was also overheating concurrently with him, then the problem was definitely mechanical failure in both their cars.

There were two kinds of mechanical failure: the kind that flared up by chance, and the kind that galvanized from a flaw. Luca’s bet was on the latter because of the fact that he and Victor were struck simultaneously.

Both Ferraris had a shared weakness by flaw in construction before this race, and it was now exposing itself under the demands of the Australian GP.

**Luca, we’ve identified the issue. We’re suffering from oil system problems—low oil pressure. That’s driving friction up and sending the heat through the roof. Manage it as best you can, we’re monitoring**

Luca narrowed his eyes as he gripped his wheel tighter, balancing the pressure of his car, the race, his Daily Quest, and Jimmy all in one.

"...Understood. That explains it. I’ll keep it alive."

Trampos Racing had compromised once again this season, and they knew it. For both cars to suffer oil system problems at nearly the same time wasn’t a coincidence.

This kind of issue meant that there was a subtle miscalculation in the car setup, maybe in assembly or calibration, and the results were manifesting badly as they should.

In the garage, the air was thick with tension, yet Mr. Grant didn’t even have the luxury to rant or point fingers, and no one else dared to either, because everyone knew that venting now would only reduce morale.

Whatever mistakes had been made were already written into the race, and there was no undoing them. Trampos Racing was still a growing outfit, still learning, still running with a crew that wasn’t the most refined in the community, and such assembly flaws—unfortunate as they were—were part of the reality that even bigger teams occasionally stumbled through.

Normally, Luca wouldn’t be mad at all because he would always consider this too. But in the Australian GP, he couldn’t lie that he felt some indignation.

Yes, Trampos Racing was still a developing team, still climbing their way to the zenith of F1 grading, thus their nickname, the Rising Suns.

Luca was mad because the team had the capability to cheat with an aero-aiding rear wing in high-stakes races, but when it came to the simple handling of fundamental oil assembly and lubrication systems, they had failed at it.

To Luca, the sheer irony of engineering the complexity of a flex-wing to steal speed, and then faltering at the most basic function of a goddamn F1 car, was incomprehensible, making him furious.

A lot had happened in Trampos after Luca chose to address the rear wing issue post-Monaco Grand Prix...