Page 85 of Overtake
“B. My tires are good.”
Petra’s rear end steps out slightly through turn 12 in lap 17. She catches it, of course she does, but the correction costs her. Still she’s keeping him just out of DRS range. It’s both admirable and maddening.
By lap 19 he’s close enough to see her constant micro-adjustments. Every corner requires perfect anticipation, perfect control.
“Where’s Wyn?”
“P9. Still charging through the field.”
“Bien.”
“Box this lap,” Roxana says. “Box, box. We’ll undercut.”
He does and the pit crew executes flawlessly. Two point two seconds and he’s on his way again. The fresh hard rubber gives him the advantage he needs. A lap later, when Petra’s worn tires force her to pit, the strategy pays off exactly as planned. Nicotakes the lead and starts building a gap, gaining in fractions of seconds with each lap.
“Wyn?”
“P7. He just passed Flores.”
Nine more laps pass with Nico slowly building more space between himself and the rest of the field.
“Gap to Petra?” he asks during the thirty-first lap.
“Four point two,” Roxana replies. “She’s pushing hard but—” She pauses, then says, “Double yellow, Nico. Safety car’s been deployed. Crash at turn 11. Flores and Rhydderch. Watch it, there’s debris everywhere.”
As the cars slow and fall in behind the safety car, they pass the carnage. Kilian’s car is backwards in the gravel trap, carbon fiber scattered across the racing line. Rhydderch’s black Ravn Racing car rests against the inside barrier, partially blocking the track.
“Both drivers?”
“They’re fine.”
The field bunches up behind the safety car, erasing the gap Nico’s built. Worse, teams use the yellow flag conditions to make “free” pit stops, negating WolfBett’s earlier strategy advantage.
“Half the grid is pitting, Nico,” Roxana confirms.
“What are we doing?”
“Stay out.”
“You’re sure?”
“Sí.Pit delta’s too high — we’d lose track position and your tires are good. Let’s preserve the position.”
“Copy.”
Racing resumes on lap 37.
“Safety Car ending this lap, Nico. Mode push, defend turn 1.”
He manages the restart perfectly. But now he’s defending against cars with fresher tires, fighting to maintain the lead he’d earned with the early undercut.
Nico puts in six laps of precise, defensive driving and perfect racing lines. Six laps until the right front suddenly goes light on lap 43, and the car pulls hard. “I’ve got a puncture — right front. I can make it to the pits.”
“We see it,” Roxana replies, cool as always. “Box, now, Nico. Box, box.”
He nurses the wounded car toward the pit lane, watching his lead evaporate. Petra passes, then Lynch and Reece. Aigar’s fallen back to P4 with Wyn climbing up his ass. By the time Nico makes the pit entry, seven cars have streamed by.
“Mediums going on.” Roxana’s voice stays steady through the lightning-fast stop. “Make them count, Conejo.”
