Leo nodded at the warning.
'Front-left at 94. Two degrees over. If I apply full throttle at the standard point through the final corner, the tyre will grain on the exit. If I delay the throttle by two-tenths of a second, I lose exit speed. If I—'
He adjusted his steering angle through the penultimate corner by three millimetres and shifted the load fractionally onto the front-right. The front-left temperature held.
He came to the final corner on full throttle. Exactly on his standard point.
The front-left held.
He crossed the line.
---
The timing screen updated before Elias spoke.
[2. L. Kaito (Arcadia) — 1:27.8★]
P2. A 1:27.8.
Two-tenths of a second faster than Rossi's benchmark. Purple across all three sectors.
The grandstands registered it before the broadcast did. A sound rose from the crowd that was specific to moments when something happened that the audience hadn't quite prepared for — not a cheer, not a roar.
