Fittipaldi was speechless.
A breath caught in his chest. He stood frozen, unable to believe his eyes. How was that possible? Alesi... passed? Just like that?
"Beautiful!"
The word of praise, followed by applause, made him turn his head. Seeing the massive grin on Nicolas Todt's face, Fittipaldi fell into despair.
At first, Nicolas had been surprised. Kai hadn't attacked immediately, even though Alesi was making mistakes. He had just... waited.
Is he indecisive? he had wondered.
If so, that would have been a disappointment. In the world of racing, where victory is decided by thousandths of a second, there is no room for hesitation. You don't even have time to think; you rely on instinct. One moment of hesitation can mean missing the only window of opportunity in the entire race.
But Nicolas immediately realized his judgment was wrong.
Kai's patience wasn't hesitation. It was a strategy—a single, fatal blow, designed to completely eliminate any chance of a counter-attack.
Just as Kai had planned, the moment he completed the overtake, Alesi went into a full-blown rage. He pushed with no regard for anything, as if he were trying to crash Kai out of the race, not pass him.
But he couldn't catch him. Kai had closed that dangerous window and had now entered his own "push mode."
On the Fiorano circuit, Kai and Alesi were two streaks of light at full speed, both unleashing everything they had. Zhou Guanyu and Marcus Armstrong, who hadn't anticipated this sudden change of pace, were left in the dust.
Vroooom...
The engines screamed. Everyone in the pit garage was holding their breath, their eyes glued to the unfolding performance.
The amazing thing was, even with Alesi driving like a madman, Kai was still, steadily, pulling away.
0.5 seconds. 1.1 seconds. 1.4 seconds.
Lap by lap, you could see Kai pulling further and further ahead. He was like Usain Bolt in his prime, a dominant force in a completely different class from everyone else.
Now, Nicolas finally understood his own short-sightedness.
It had all been a strategy. Kai was in complete control.
These were F3 spec cars, all prepared by the Maranello base. They were nearly identical. The real gap came from the driver's understanding and execution.
And Kai understood. He knew this was a battle of tire management, of rhythm, of using his lines to disrupt his opponent.
Pressure. Patience. Waiting. Striking.
He was like a master chess player.
He had patiently weathered Alesi's initial storm, all while simultaneously wearing out his rival's tires and fending off Zhou's attacks. And when the opportunity finally appeared, that fleeting, split-second gap, Kai had used it to completely flip the race on its head.
Then, and only then, did he unleash his true speed.
He had not only avoided Alesi's "mutual destruction" attempt, but he had also managed his own tires perfectly, leaving his rival in a state of powerless, burning despair.
Nicolas could see that Alesi was now destroying his tires. It was only a matter of time before their performance fell off a cliff. In the closing stages of the race, both Zhou and Armstrong would have a chance to pass him.
The race was over.
In just six laps, Kai had killed all the suspense.
What was even more terrifying was that Nicolas and Vasseur had intentionally disrupted the pre-race plan, giving these young drivers no time to strategize. And yet, Kai had still demonstrated a complete, high-level understanding of the track, his opponents, and the race itself.
Admiration swelled in their chests.
Nicolas and Vasseur exchanged a look. Vasseur, who had been joking and slouching all morning, was now sitting up, his expression serious.
They didn't need to ask. They both knew, 100%, that this was the driver Marchionne had been so confident about. This was the one Jean Todt had found.
They were impressed, without a doubt. But now, precisely because Kai was so good, Vasseur had a new idea.
He turned to Marchionne. "Let's deploy a Virtual Safety Car."
The Virtual Safety Car, or VSC, serves the same purpose as a regular Safety Car: to ensure safety on track. When there's an accident or bad weather, the Safety Car comes out and forces the entire field to slow down and bunch up until the danger is cleared.
In other words, it would completely erase the massive lead Kai had just built. Alesi, Zhou, and Armstrong would all be right back on his gearbox.
The difference was that a full Safety Car is a real car on track, while a Virtual Safety Car is just a command. All drivers must simultaneously switch to a "delta time" and slow down together.
Vasseur didn't just want to create chaos. He wanted to test Kai's defense.
Marchionne understood immediately. He raised an eyebrow, a long, meaningful look in his eye.
Vasseur was unfazed. "Come on. If it stays like this, the race is boring."
He was right. Kai was pulling away. Barring a catastrophe, he would cruise to an easy victory. The test would be over.
A smile lit up Marchionne's eyes. "Of course. Your wish is my command. To be honest... I'm a little curious myself."
Lap 9, Lap 10...
Kai was in a perfect rhythm. His tires were in the window, and his car was handling like a dream. He was so far ahead, his mirrors were empty. He was just starting to think about pushing to the absolute limit, to see if he could set a new record.
And then, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
Kai instantly understood the intention. This meant he had to change his strategy. He couldn't just run away with it. He was about to have Alesi climbing all over his gearbox.
Constant changes, constant surprises. This was racing.
He immediately hit his limiter button, his mind racing, calculating. A few moments later, his mirrors were full again.
He used the VSC laps to study his opponents, paying close attention to the state of Alesi's tires.
For two full laps, the four cars circulated, their gaps erased. They were now bunched up, fanned out across the track, no longer caring about the "clean" or "dirty" side, all of them desperate to get a good restart and change their fortunes.
Then, on Lap 13, the VSC ended.
The race was back on.
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20