Page 5 of Overtake
“Copy that.”
The vibration of the steering wheel travels up Nico’s arms as he pushes the Formula One car through turn 18 at Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit. He’s hitting his racing lines, braking points, and millisecond-perfect gear shifts. This is what Nico Belmonte lives for, pure speed and precise control.
“Wyn’s pace is improving. He’s two tenths up in sector 3.” Roxana is Nico’s racing engineer, his guide to what’s going on ahead, behind, and inside his car. She helps him win and keeps him safe. After six years together, Nico’s faith in Rox is absolute, and she’s one of fewer than a dozen people he trusts unerringly. Everyone else he views with suspicion or ignores because they’re irrelevant.
Blue and gold flashes in his mirrors, the identical livery to his own car. Wyn Pritchard, his teammate, is pushing hard, closing the gap Nico’s worked five laps to build. Wyn’s aggression has been escalating all season—riskier overtakes, harder defense, racing that edges past competitive into dangerous territory.
“Vale.”Nico adjusts his line through the final turn to maximize exit speed into the starting straight.
But the gap shrinks. Wyn’s car looms larger with each passing corner. He’s on fresher tires—soft compounds—so he has the greater speed.
“He’s in DRS range, Nico.”
DRS—the Drag Reduction System—lets F1 drivers temporarily reduce the drag on their cars to increase their speed and allow them to overtake a competitor.
“Tell him to hold position.” Nico doesn’t know why he bothers saying this. Wyn’s ignored team orders far more than he’s respected them this season.
Roxana confirms after a moment, “Message delivered.”
Wyn pulls within striking distance and Nico can almost hear him scoffing at the team orders message he just received. It tells him to remain behind and defend Nico’s position for the good of the overall team.
Obviously, that’s not happening.
Nico defends the inside line into the corner, forcing Wyn to take the longer route if he wants to pass, but he dives for a gap that will only exist if Nico gives way.
“Mierda.”He calculates options in the split second available. Give Wyn space Nico doesn’t have, risk contact that will damage both WolfBett cars, or surrender the position he’s earned cleanly.
Fuck him.
Nico holds his line. He’s ahead and they’re supposed to be teammates. Wyn should back off.
But he doesn’t.
Because he’s a prick.
Wyn’s front wing comes alongside Nico’s rear tire. A touch will send Nico spinning into the barriers at two hundred eighty kilometers per hour. His car shudders as the downforce isdisrupted, the rear end momentarily light before Nico counter-steers.
This isn’t racing or teamwork. It’s bullying with carbon fiber and engines at dangerous speeds.
Nico gives way just enough to avoid contact, and Wyn shoots past, taking the position with a move that should’ve ended in the barriers with both WolfBett cars out of the race. Somehow he’s squeezed through, and Nico would be impressed if he wasn’t so furious.
“He pushed you off!” There’s rare frustration in Roxana’s voice. Nico’s race engineer is known for being unflappable.
Nico figures Marcus Wolfberg is seething back on the pit wall, stringing together German expletives and giving the TV audience a good show. He’s Nitro’s team principal and a partial team owner. He would have severed Wyn’s contract—and hiscojones—months ago, except Graham Pritchard owns part of WolfBett Racing too, and he’s Wyn’s father. The other owners are Marcus’s uncle, Jürgen Wolfberg, and the Betterton brothers, Karl and Damien, Sr.
El nepotismo. Formula One is rife with it. But it’s not an issue because performance always tops genetics.
Well, almost always.
“We’re ordering him to give the position back, Nico.”
He won’t.Nico’s been racing with and against Wyn Pritchard since Nico was thirteen and Wyn was eleven. That’s thirteen years of experience.
The gap grows as Wyn pulls away. Team orders fall on deaf ears when it comes to his teammate. Just like the last three races. Just like every time Graham Pritchard’s influence matters more than team strategy.
“No te molestes con eso, Rox.”Nico tells her not to bother with it.
He already knows how this ends. The power of any team penalties resulting from Wyn’s on-track actions will be undermined by Graham. His influence outweighs obvious rule violations and team protocols. It always has.
