Page 89 of Hot Lap
He holds the inside into turn 1, fending off a squeeze from the red and white Telco car on his left. Petra, three rows up, disappears into the next corner with the same brutal efficiency she always has. She won’t be his focus today, unless he finds perfection in his drive.
Reece tucks into P5 by lap 8 and targets a podium win.
Lynch Sutton — Telco's number one driver — is two spots ahead, already defending harder than necessary.
"Target P3," Misho says in Reece’s ear. "Gap to Sutton 3.2. He's overdriving the tires."
"Copy." Reece adjusts brake bias as he enters sector 2.
The car is tight. Responsive. The balance is better than it's felt all season. Asuka's overnight tweaks were surgical.
He takes turn 9 smoother than he has all weekend and narrows the gap to Sutton by another tenth.
By lap 15, he's P4 and right behind Lynch.
The Canadian driver is as defensive as ever, but Reece knows his patterns. Sutton misses apexes when pressured from theinside line, and he likes to fake brake early, then dive deep, which is exactly where the mistake lives.
"ERS window open," Misho says. The car’s Energy Recovery System stores waste energy, and Reece can tap that power for overtaking his competitors.
"Deploying."
He fakes outside into turn 3. Sutton covers, and Reece cuts in tight, slipping underneath him on the exit.
Side by side at two hundred sixty-seven kilometers per hour.
Sutton tries to squeeze him, but Reece holds his line.
"I'm still here," he mutters.
They go wheel-to-wheel into turn 4. Reece brakes fractionally later and takes it.
Clean.
P3.
He’s behind Petra now. She's flying through the circuit like it owes her something, but Nico's already four seconds ahead and not giving an inch.
Reece exhales through gritted teeth. He pushes the car harder. The rear slips once on entry into turn 14. He adjusts throttle pressure and finds the rhythm again.
Maiken is watching this, but that knowledge doesn’t bring pressure. She’snota distraction. His wife is someone worth showing up for.
They enter the final lap.
Nico still leads. Petra's in P2 and uncatchable at this point unless the gods decide to punish her brake system mid-sector. She's on the pace. Perfect tire management. Reece knows when to press and when to preserve, and this isn't the time to throw it. His job is to protect her position and that's exactly what he's going to do.
"Gap to Sutton 1.8,” Misho says in his helmet. "Petra’s plus 2.6 ahead."
"Understood."
Reece doesn't need P1 today. What he needs is a clean, respectable, controlled podium finish to shut up all the damned haters.
He maintains the gap to Sutton and crosses the finish line in P3.
“Fantastic drive, Reece.” Misho’s pride is obvious in his voice.
“Thanks to the team, Mish. The car felt perfect.” He waves to the fans as he circles the track and heads back toparc fermé, where the car will be parked with all the others and inspected for adherence to all F1 regulations.
It's not until Reece sees Mai waiting with the team — blue eyes bright and beautiful smile brighter — that the adrenaline hits him.
