They got him.

The pressure from Velocità eventually buckled Victor. The rear traction of the Stratos V22 bid goodbye, causing him to wiggle and jerk under the duress.

Grass. Sky. Orange kerb. Sky again. The world rotated for the young driver.

"...VICTOR SURMANN SPINS!!"

"...TRAMPOS IN DISASTER! THE PRESSURE FROM BIANCHI WAS TOO MUCH...!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

Fortunately, the Ferrari didn't crash after the pirouette. Victor was strong enough to counter-steer the chaos with every shred of discipline he had learned under Luca.

Despite saving his race and denying Velocità victory, all form of momentum he had vanished when he rejoined the racing line.

Three rivals blasted successively, chasing after the two that put him in this position. Seeing Marko's Mercedes as one of them, Victor knew he had no chance at all.

Top five remained a dream. Top ten? Forget it.

P13 flashed across his dash once he began to attempt rebuilding his pace.

But Yūichirō got to him and seconds later, he was seeing his back. That was P14 then.

"...This is ruthless racing at its finest! Heartbreaking for Surmann...!"

**Box next lap, Vic. We'll reset. Second and final stop. Just bring her in**

A pitstop couldn't fix the points lost, but it could fix the driver's spirit.

Back to Luca, he also took his second stop of the race, though he was reluctant to.

Luca had wanted this race to be his first one-stop attempt. He had always wanted to do it, using his perfect tyre nursing of Wear Control.

[Wear Control +1]

But the track and the rhythm of the top pack refused to let him attempt bravery this time, so he reserved it for another race.

During his stop, he received another point he hadn't seen in ages.

[Pitstop Prodigy +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 87.5%]

Pitstop Prodigy skill was back! Luca could take it to (40) now! If this continued, he could fully break the pitstop record and set one that can't be broken.

Rejoining the race after a 1.9s stop, he entered right in the thick of another rotation of lead exchanges. The Brazilian GP was polymorphic.

Elias Nyström had led at one point. Ailbeart Moireach succeeded him, so did Derstappen and even Luigi again.

Then Luca reclaimed the front, overtaking Luigi just as swiftly as Di Renzo had done earlier in the race.

When Luca reclaimed P1, everyone thought the pack could race smoothly in that order for many more laps to the finish line.

But a late pitstop from Luigi promoted Di Renzo, then Di Renzo snatched the lead, seemingly Luca's bane.

Then Luca retook P1.

It was like watching kings toss the crown at one another, each one refusing to hold it for too long, each one wanting to take it only on their terms!

In the commentators' voices and in the forums exploding across the world, one name kept floating:

Albert Derstappen.

"...He's top echelon. He's proven it today...!"

Albert had had a good race in the Brazilian GP, by far, his best Formula 1 race ever since making it to Jackson Racing.

He had been the wall of the upper midfield, the gatekeeper of the lower top five, the man who refused to let anyone cross from middle pack to the throne room unless they were outright superior!

Racing cleanly and braking majestically, Derstappen overtook respectfully while he recorded the cleanest run, followed by Luca.

Yes, he had the JRX-97 that was on the same level as Di Renzo's, but good machinery didn't magically create racecraft. The crowd had eyes.

Many believed regardless of how their final standings would fall, it was obvious that Jackson Racing planted their flag in São Paulo.

It must be the new administration that was the root of this commendable development.

After the unexpected public purge of the Matthews regime, the board had brought in a new administration after the interim service of the Chief Engineer.

This new administration was headed by a new Team Principal, and it was a man no one had even heard of.

Typically, when an esteemed team like Jackson Racing goes for new staff, they hire personnel from other teams or free agents that already had history in other teams.

Warren Lee wasn't from anywhere. He was simply a corporate strategist, not from motorsport, not from engineering, not even from automotive!

The details about Lee were still vague to the paddock, but during his first interview, he mentioned about how he had built his name in logistics warfare, and perhaps, Jackson's management saw something in him and proposed this job.

They must've seen something indeed, because Lee was known for restructuring factions, tearing out weak segments, replacing them with hyper-coordinated, drill-like departments.

His original field had nothing specific to do with F1, but everything to do with elite system management.

And this could be the strength Jackson Racing had needed in their time of upheaval. The Silver Stallions looked reborn with him leading their team now.

However, Luca was still unshaken by their splendor in the race. Using Racer's Flow, he kept returning to the front no matter who tried to overpower him.

At the final ten laps of the race, he even completed the Sync Bar with a point to Reflexes.

[Reflexes +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 100%]

[SYNC BAR COMPLETE]

[Host, Sync Bar can be used]

He was facing a lot of opposition, but Luca remembered his vow never to use Sync Buff again.

But future completed Sync Bars? What about them? They all go to waste?

Luca wondered why he didn't think about this when he Edited last.

He couldn't just keep ignoring the overflowing bar every race because he was bound to complete 90% of Sync Bars from now to November.

'Maybe I can Edit the use and objective of Sync Buff, then it won't be useless anymore...'

The crowd thundered as the top three closed in on the final lap.

~SWOOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOOSHH!

The sound tore through the cameras as the three cars rocketed past the line.

Alas, as close as ever, Luca crossed first, followed by a streak of silver and another silver. Three Ferrari-powered machines in the top three. Two Silver Stallions made the podium.

P1— Luca Rennick

P2— Buoso Di Renzo

P3— Albert Derstappen

"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

"...SECOND STRAIGHT P1 FINISH FOR RENNICK! SECOJD STRAIGHT BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX WIN FOR HIM...!"