Turn 3 is a long, high-speed right-hander. Turn 4 is a shorter, medium-speed right-hander that climbs to a crest before dropping downhill.
Russell, realizing he was in the middle of the track, didn't recklessly dive for the apex to squeeze Kai. Instead, he held his line, using the speed he'd carried from Turn 3 to enter Turn 4 first.
Beside him, Kai was wheel-to-wheel.
After cutting to the inside, Kai delayed his braking, relying entirely on throttle control. He pushed his understeer-biased setup to the limit, using precise steering inputs and dynamic balance to keep the car on line. He slid through the entire medium-speed corner, an impossible, silky-smooth drift.
He forced his way into position on the inside of Turn 4, eating away at the gap to Russell bit by bit, until they exited the corner dead even.
But there was no time to breathe!
Turn 5, the hairpin, was right there. It was a left turn. Russell, who had been on the outside (middle) line, suddenly had the advantage reversed. He was now on the inside, perfectly positioned to claim the apex.
Chasing, fighting, bayonets drawn. It was suffocating.
The wheel-to-wheel combat held the entire Barcelona circuit captive. Russell and Kai were both hyper-focused.
Then, they dove into Turn 5 together.
Russell lived up to his reputation as a data fanatic. His line was precise, his braking perfect, his turn-in exact. Even in the heat of close-quarters combat, he accurately claimed the apex first, flipping the script and pushing Kai to the edge of the cliff.
And Kai?
He wasn't nervous. He wasn't anxious. A small smile played on his lips, and his eyes were bright.
In the howling wind and rolling heat, he was patient. He kept waiting, waiting, until the moment his nose dived toward the outside apex of Turn 5.
Brake. Steer. Flow.
A series of extreme maneuvers. He sliced through the corner with a sharp, tough posture. His right-front tire, which he had been saving until now, bit hard into the tarmac. His incredible car feel found the center of gravity amidst the bumps and chaos. It was a dance on the tip of a blade, a terrifying step that landed perfectly on the edge. The vision that had been blocked, cut off, suddenly opened up like a scroll unfurling before him.
Steering straight. Throttle flat. Speed unleashed.
Kai dove like a dragon into the sea, becoming a bolt of lightning, charging toward the high-speed Turn 6, leaving Russell behind in an instant.
Whoosh!
The wind roared. One second, the two cars were glued together. The next, they were nose-to-tail. The battle was decided in a flash.
Gasp.
A collective intake of breath from the crowd.
But it wasn't over yet.
Russell was stunned, spooked by Kai's extreme control. He was just preparing to tuck in, to latch onto Kai's tail before the gap opened up, when—without warning—one of Barcelona's unpredictable gusts of wind slammed into him from the side.
His rear wing wobbled, and his exit rhythm faltered. Before he could even take a breath, a flash of light shot past him on the outside, following in Kai's footsteps.
Lorandi!
Only now did Russell realize that Lorandi had been stalking them the whole time. His attention had been so focused on Kai that he had completely ignored the threat from behind.
Ignored!
It was an unforgivable mistake.
Russell was instantly seized by regret and self-blame, unable to breathe. In the chain reaction of surprises, Lorandi and Kai were already pulling away.
Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Up ahead, Kai had already dismissed Russell from his mind. His sights were locked on the car in front: Hubert.
Hubert immediately saw Kai in his mirrors.
He had expected this. He knew Kai wouldn't stay in P8 for long. But he hadn't expected Kai's overtake to be so forceful, so ferocious. Russell's defensive lines hadn't been able to hold him back for even half a lap. The pressure was intense.
And this was still the first lap. The tires weren't even fully up to temperature.
Overtaking a teammate is often the hardest thing to do. The cars are identical, the setups are similar, and your strengths are often their strengths. In GP3, even the tires are the same. Unless the other driver makes a mistake, passing is incredibly difficult.
After studying the data last night, Hubert knew that he, Russell, and Kai were running basically the same setup, with only minor tweaks for driver preference.
For Kai to pass Russell so quickly was genuinely surprising, especially at a track like Barcelona where passing is notoriously difficult.
Hubert felt a flutter of excitement. He was about to go head-to-head with Kai, moving from theoretical discussions to real combat.
Fair and square. A true test.
He had been waiting for this all weekend. Now, it was here!
Hubert cleared his mind and focused. After the sequence of corners, they entered the high-speed Turn 9. He consciously began to increase his speed, pushing hard.
Kai realized immediately that he couldn't close the gap quickly unless he entered "push mode." But if he did that now, in a Sprint Race, he risked burning up his tires and having no grip left for the final five laps. He would be a sitting duck.
He needed patience. And strategy.
Hubert was an "inspiration" driver. Despite his time spent analyzing data in the garage, he was different from Russell. Russell was data-driven; he used data to build his race. Hubert used data to patch his weaknesses because he relied too much on instinct.
High ceiling, low floor.
When Hubert was on, he could beat anyone. When he was off, anyone could beat him.
He knew he needed to improve his consistency, which was why he forced himself to study the data.
But right now, Hubert was still in the middle of that process. In the final sector, he was sometimes brilliant, sometimes lost.
Under Kai's pressure, Hubert tried to push. Not fully, but enough to build speed for the main straight.
Lap 1: Kai found no opening. He stuck to his own rhythm, biting at Hubert's heels, willing to endure the dirty air to keep the pressure on.
Lap 2: The first half offered no chances. Hubert's defense wasn't watertight, but there were no obvious holes. Kai had to be patient.
Brundle read the situation immediately. "If Kai wants a podium, or even a win, he needs to clear Hubert quickly."
Croft nodded. "But Hubert isn't making mistakes. Passing isn't easy. Kai is sticking close, probably waiting for DRS to be enabled on Lap 3..."
Before he could finish, the camera tracking the two ART cars caught a change.
Kai, following closely, got a much better exit out of Turn 16. He was glued to Hubert's gearbox as they hit the main straight. Hubert began to accelerate, and Kai stayed in the slipstream, the two cars screaming past the start/finish line.
Kai pulled out. He left the slipstream. Even without DRS, his superior exit speed carried him alongside.
In an instant, Kai had claimed the inside line for Turn 1!
Decisively, the sword was drawn!
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