CHAPTER 581: S3 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX. 4

Luca’s disobedience was not taken lightly.

Trampos Racing were blitzed with disbelief, frozen for moments even after his Ferrari screamed itself out of the pit lane.

The reception that followed was silent, except for the headsets that crackled with the overlapping voices of the strategists, who wanted to know for sure what had happened.

But they were met with more confusion from the tense silence of the crew, who watched their driver gamble everything against their orders.

Even Mr. Grant and Ms. Vallotton couldn’t comprehend the root of this.

They stood at the pit wall, staring at the monitors as though the data itself would explain why their usually composed driver had gone rogue.

Luca wasn’t the defying type, but everyone in the team had sensed a faint aura of rebellion from him in recent weeks.

His tone during briefings had become a bit deeper and numb.

He’d also developed some impatience in little mannerisms here and there that had combined to become a general conception.

Perhaps it was a restrained reaction to the team repeatedly rejecting his suggestions for the EN rear wing design.

If this was some form of payback, it was a foolish one, Vallotton thought grimly.

He needed fuel—without it, he’d be out of the race. Just as the commentators had said, this was necessity, not order.

But Trampos didn’t know that his defiance would be the very thing that won them points in the Italian Grand Prix.

A reckless act of rebellion turned out to be the defining gamble of the race!

It came, however, at the price of a breathtaking conclusion.

Luca had almost run out of fuel!

His gamble could have gone either way. He could have DNFed, been branded a disgrace, a fool—but he chose the other 50% possibility.

In a sport where risk itself is a core fundament, Luca Rennick dared to wager everything on instinct.

"...And he rejoins in P9—oh, what a wonder of where he would’ve been had he still stayed on the box..!"

The commentators had roared with excitement while the paddock was still sharing disbelief.

It was a major setback from the pole he once held, but Luca was confident that he was still in a good spot for an ascent.

It had clocked late 30 laps, with less than fifteen more to go. At P9, he still had a chance to cultivate a comeback.

First, others were yet to make their stops, as Luca had been the first to enter during the second pit phase.

Trampos had, of course, conducted a very early undercut to try and mitigate the massive time loss that a fuel top-up was predicted to cause.

His rivals were bound to clear the asphalt lap after lap, leaving Luca with not much room for tough overtakes.

He had to bide his time and choose precision over aggression.

Second, from the very beginning, he had always had Autodromo under his command.

While others struggled for grip and rhythm, he struggled less, gaining small to large pace differentials at intervals that kept him alive in the fight.

But this early return and climb were a fear in themselves, because he was now prone to much higher fuel consumption than if he had even skipped the stop entirely!

However, Luca needed those fresh tires on this track—Monza’s corners demanded it, and without them, even his Racer’s Flow would have meant nothing.

"...Ten more laps to go in this absolutely stunning Italian Grand Prix! Formula 1 has never been this thrilling..."

"...Luis Dreyer, a Spaniard, leads the pack for the first time this season! Could this be his first-ever win here at Monza?"

"...It’s only a matter of time before Antonio or Jimmy snatches it away! Luis is losing pace to both every single lap, and they’re closing in hard..."

"...All three up front are fresh out of the pits, but look at the timing sheets—top of the pace right now is... Luca Rennick!"

"...From P9, the young man finds himself in P6, and if this climb continues, he could be charging for a podium before long! What a recovery from the Trampos driver...!"

In a midfield brimming with recovering drivers and pit-phase chaos, Luca conquered facilely.

As though the asphalt itself guided him, he moved past Nyström, Derstappen, and Rice.

In that course, he was so adept with his Resonance that maintaining it wasn’t difficult.

This could be because the rivals didn’t pose much trouble, as Luca sensed duels automatically shattered Racer’s Flow focus.

Only Di Renzo managed to form any real disturbance, and that was right before a sharp notification flickered across his HUD.

[Congratulations!]

[Racer’s Flow (Lv.2)]

This new level granted him greater concentration duration, and the chances of moving to Lv.3 would be quicker than from Lv.1 to Lv.2.

P5— Luca Rennick ↑

P6— Buoso Di Renzo ↓

**Alright, Luca, we’re up in P5. Good job, good job**

**Fuel’s critical, you’re down to eighteen percent. That might not be enough for seven and a half laps**

**You’ll have to lift through EVRRY hairpin, and short-shift every exit. Keep it smooth, manage it well... you can still bring this home**

Mr. Colt did well to mask the tension that hung thick within the team’s comms, and Luca followed up with a calm, positive reply to maintain the illusion.

But the truth was different—his fuel consumption rate was steadily climbing with every passing minute.

If the trend continued, the final laps would be a complete gamble, and his finish was far from certain.

Not to mention the safety car parade that came!

Petrov’s crash at Turn 12 completely shattered what plans Trampos and Luca had left, wiping their fuel strategy off the table in an instant.

What followed was a painstaking two-minute safety car parade; slow, dragging, and cruelly wasteful.

All Luca could do was weave left and right to keep some warmth in his tires, watching in silent frustration as precious, useful fuel burned away for nothing!

"...Up in P5, Rennick has struggled for great points in this race, but we are yet to see an out-of-fuel retirement from the driver in red..."

The only good thing that came from the yellow flag was that the field was now bunched up, pulling Luca closer to his rivals without the need for an exhausting chase.

Perhaps the fuel spent during that safety parade was a fair argument for it.