My Formula 1 System-Chapter 414: Austrian GP
The Austrian Grand Prix was later won by Rodnick, effectively sealing the final stitch in his cunning masterstroke. He finished in P1 after a brutal battle in Spielberg that ended with DiMarco crashing into the barriers. Luca watched the race from home, and if there was anything that made him even happier, it was the fact that DiMarco didn't make it to the finish line.
The supercars still hadn't been 100% attuned to yet, and a simple miscalculation like a poorly timed brake into the corner, which would've been more possible for correction in a standard chassis, cost DiMarco dearly. The same driver who waved the Italian flag with pride back in Saudi Arabia had to walk off the track, furious, knowing the blame rested solely on his shoulders and no one else.
With DiMarco out, the reins were handed to Rodnick, who now took total control, especially since Ailbeart Moireach didn't even start the race with the .25 chassis. He and Derfflinger shared the older .16 chassis instead, and quite satisfactorily, Ailbeart managed a P4 finish, while Derfflinger came in P7.
As had been emphasized before, these HiCEs and their accompanying chassis required meticulous, consistent maintenance. It made complete sense that a team and manufacturer like Haddock and Renault had to implement specific engineering arrangements to keep their cars in optimal shape. And really, what better time to do so than when Luca Rennick was absent, meaning the field was naturally less competitive by several notable percentages.
There were other results from the Austrian Grand Prix that Luca would have loved to debate with a fellow F1 enthusiast, but at the moment, one particular outcome was weighing heavily on his mind, and it was his dethronement from the top of the standings.
For several rounds now, he had successfully kept Luigi at bay, maintaining his grip on the number one spot. But with his absence in Austria, combined with DiMarco's unfortunate crash, Luigi had a clear and unchallenged path to seize 1st Place. His P2 finish gave him more than enough points to overtake and also strongly lead Luca in the championship table.
To Luca, it felt like the work of an entire year had just been toppled in a single weekend. He wasn't just stripped of the top spot, he also felt the bitter reality that reclaiming it anytime soon was unlikely. With this engine here and that engine there, car upgrades fluctuating between teams, and technical inconsistencies creeping in every weekend, scoring maximum points per Grand Prix had become and would continuously be a rare and unpredictable feat.
PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TOP10)
Position | Team
| Points
--------------------------------------------
1.
| Antonio Luigi
|
171 ↑
2.
| Luca Rennick
|
159 ↓
3.
| Davide DiMarco
|
149
4.
| Ailbeart Moireach
|
142
5.
| Marcellus Rodnick
|
134
6.
| Luis Dreyer
|
107
7.
| Hank Rice
|
95
8.
| Marko Ignatova
|
94
9.
| Elias Nyström
|
84
10.
| Jimmy Damgaard
|
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The two drivers who had become the literal laughing stock of the internet were Luca and Hank Rice. For Luca, it was the expected mockery about losing his position to Luigi as many believed this was the moment he'd start spiraling down the standings without stopping. As for Hank Rice, his ridicule came from the fact that he was once sitting auspiciously in P3, giving everyone hope that he might actually shock the world with a top-three finish. Now, that hope had become the punchline.
The German Grand Prix was the next event on the Formula 1 calendar, and Luca intended to partake in the race. Even though he was still in travail over the whole mess that had recently stained both he and Isabella, he knew that saving his points mattered more than ever now. Frankly, he didn't have much of a choice either, since Jackson had once again forwarded him a Team Order to participate and race in Germany.
They had really thought Buoso Di Renzo would swoop in and perfectly replace Luca without trouble, but Di Renzo ended up finishing Austria at P11, just one step away from a point-scoring position, ultimately earning the team nothing. So, Jackson had to summon Luca again. And this time, if he dared refuse again, it would call for a fine or possibly even a suspension.
Fortunately, Luca had no reason to refuse this time around, as everything had been settled before the German Grand Prix week. The root cause of the data breach to Trampos had finally been uncovered, the dispute had been cleared up, and all parties involved had chosen to hold their peace.
Of course, Luca had nothing to do with it. Neither did Isabella. Even a few other innocent workers who were randomly accused here and there were officially cleared of suspicion. Later on, Ferrari publicly announced that the breach had, in fact, originated from their end, caused by internal system errors within their cloud-based telemetry tools. A vulnerability in one of their data relays had accidentally allowed traces of Jackson Racing's projects and engineering configurations to spill into a shared testing environment, which in turn was later accessed by Trampos' analysts during routine simulations.
So, this was all just a fat mistake from Ferrari. And in their haste to lullaby Jackson Racing and prevent any friction, they began pointing fingers here and there, hoping the blame would land somewhere harmless. They knew that if it was confirmed that the fault truly came from within, Jackson Racing wouldn't just demand a financial settlement for the exposure of their confidential data, but it would also dent the trust between them by some vague but undeniable amount.
So at the end of everything, it was Ferrari who ended up moving here and there, apologizing to everyone. First, they apologized to Jackson Racing, promising stronger data integrity going forward and settling them with whatever compensation was required. The next in line for apologies was Trampos, whom they dearly asked to pardon the strife and not to see Ferrari as a place of chaos, but one of progress.
However, Jackson Racing kept lamenting that Trampos had already gotten their hands on the leaked data, so what exactly was Ferrari going to do about that? This placed Ferrari in a very tight spot. They knew the implications of this situation. Even though the cause of the breach had been discovered and confirmed, the fact remained that Trampos still possessed the data. And considering Trampos only had a 2-year contract deal with them, this remained a very loose and risky end.
Forthwith, Ferrari presented a new contract to Trampos—longer, and surprisingly cheaper. It was a 7-year deal, long enough to keep them from sharing anything externally and also strong enough to create a bond with Ferrari that would ensure they wouldn't retaliate or cause harm later on. Trampos happily signed the contract, practically stunned by their luck and half-wondering if they'd even still be in Formula 1 by the end of it.
Jackson Racing could only watch with dissatisfaction.
Luca and Isabella were later apologized to on one fateful day. Luca didn't want to be too nitpicky about it, but he couldn't help noticing that Ferrari's apology to Isabella carried more depth than the one they offered him. Maybe it was because she was a Ferrari employee. His own proper apology, he believed, should've come from Jackson Racing, after all, they were the ones who made the whole data breach issue public and chaotic with their impatience, when Ferrari could've eventually pinpointed the cause on their own, just like they did now.
With his hands tucked into his pockets, Luca watched as Isabella walked toward him with visible exhaustion as they were ready to leave. It could very well be the last time they'd be coming here together, at least for such a ridiculous reason.
"A very sly man he is," Isabella said as she arrived. She turned a bit and gestured toward the man who had just given his final regards. He was tall, had slicked-back blond hair, but looked aged, like someone who had about four kids from different mothers. Luca noticed the man threw him a glare, one filled with envy, before disappearing behind an office door.
"After saying 'sorry this' and 'sorry that', he suggested coffee to 'discuss more on how this affected me'," Isabella added with a light laugh.
Luca looked around the floor they were on. It was bustling with all sorts of blue-collared men and women, but his gaze naturally scanned the men in particular. Some were decent, some were just about manageable, and some were totally clapped. Still, Luca found himself somewhat relieved that Isabella hadn't been assigned an office in this building. Her job wasn't a physical one, and she could practically work from anywhere of her choosing. Since she barely liked to move around, home was her choice.
"It's a good thing you prefer tea then," Luca chuckled softly, guiding her into the elevator.
