Chapter 554: S3 Belgian Grand Prix. 2
Though it had happened before sometime in F1 history, it would still feel uncanny for rain to fall in two consecutive races. The FIA was looking at such a rare possibility in this Belgian Grand Prix.
The thought of this put an uneasy weight all across the paddock, because the odds of back-to-back wet Grands Prix were slim, but never zero.
Of all days, the chances of rain picking race day for the Australian GP, then for the Belgian GP, felt like nature had something personal against the smooth running of the sport.
Bad weather disrupted coordination and administration off the track just as much as it deharmonized the drivers—an inconvenience for everyone.
The entire community prayed against the shifting grey skies as that strange tension of déjà vu crept in with each thunder roar and passing lap.
⁕ Track Temp: 23°C | Air Temp: 19°C
In the circuit, many felt it wasn’t even wise to act surprised at the shifting, moody weather that threatened to spoil the fair race. After all, this was Belgium. The Belgian climate, as always, was well known for having no seasonal limits.
Belgium was a splendid country, heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. A student of Geography would describe its climate as one of year-round rainfall, where the weather could change suddenly from one condition to another.
Last year had offered fortunate clear skies, leading to a conventional race, but the record books held more wet races in Spa than dry.
That was why most outdated, vintage simulators rendered Belgian Grands Prix on damp or slick surfaces by default, if not under full-on downpours.
It made one wonder why the FIA would even schedule the Belgian GP in May, a month when rainfall is even higher. What pundits claim about the FIA deliberately placing certain races at particular times in the calendar to increase the chances of rain must be true.
Spice. Unpredictability. These must be the reasons the FIA would devise such measures, so the seasons could be truly competitive.
If that were the case, then Australia’s sudden downpour must have been the unprecedented one, because surely no one at FIA headquarters would want two wet races in succession.
"...We’ve seen what a wet track can do, and after Australia’s chaos, the question is—are we in for another twist today...?"
⁕ Grand Prix: Spae-Ferenchal Circuit
⁕ Weather: Light Drizzle
No team on the pitlane was a fool. Yes, Australia’s rain was unexpected, but Belgium?
In Formula 1, no one could afford to be dumb. You literally couldn’t show up to Belgium without a wet-weather contingency. Rain was always a possibility, practically being part of the track’s identity, and any team unprepared would be guilty of negligence.
It was just like rolling into Interlagos, Brazil, armed only with dry-speed strategies.
**Luca, just a reminder. Backup wets are ready, and we’ve got alternate strategy sheets loaded. We’re not caught sleeping here**
**Copy. I’ll go with interns again on planned stop**
Even as a team with the littlest experience, Trampos wasn’t joking around at all—then imagine just how serious other teams were. They must’ve had all scenarios drawn out even before the lights went out.
But among all teams, Trampos was the most confident because they had Luca.
Luca’s reputation for flourishing on damp asphalt, while others struggled, would never go unnoticed by this racing generation.
His car control in the wet was surgical, his instincts sharper, and his lap times almost mocking those floundering behind him.
If rain really did come, the racing community knew one thing for certain: the race would tilt in Rennick’s favor—to the dismay of others.
Even the culprit himself, Luca, knew this truth all too well, which was why he wasn’t the least bit rattled by the dramatic turn of the clouds.
In fact, while others tensed up at the looming wet threat, he had the audacity to demand Intermediate compounds, just as he had in Australia, trusting not only his attributes and skills, but also his mentality.
Eventually, full drizzle blanketed the track, steadily making the asphalt glisten under the lights of the grid. The drops tapped against visors and cameras, grasses got wet, and rooftops sparkled with a sheen.
─── 🏁 RACE CONTROL DISPLAY ───
⁕ Grand Prix: Spae-Ferenchal Circuit
⁕ Weather: Light Rain
⁕ Track Temp: 22°C | Air Temp: 19°C
⁕ Lap: 12 / 44
⁕ Race Time: 00:26:37
P1— Antonio Luigi
P2— Luca Rennick ↑
P3— Ailbeart Moireach ↑
P4— Jimmy Damgaard ↓
P5— Marko Ignatova
-------------------------------------
P6— Luis Dreyer
P7— Matteo Bianchi ↑
P8— Buoso Di Renzo ↓
P9— Hank Rice ↑
P10— Albert Derstappen ↓
P11— Józef Konarski ↑
-------------------------------------
P12— Victor Surmann ↑
P13— Elias Nyström
P14— Denko Rutherford ↑
P15— Yokouchi Yūichirō ↓
P16— Max Addams ↑
-------------------------------------
P17— James Lockwood ↓
P18— Alejandro Vasquez
P19— Mikhail Petrov
P20— Desmond Lloyd
The race was already as jumbled as it was, a scramble of positions and nerves, and the impending rain was only going to amplify the chaos.
The drizzle was spelling trouble for above-tier drivers like Max Addams, Denko Rutherford, and Elias Nyström, who found themselves in the bottom ten.
With every corner getting slick and braking zones becoming uncertain, their calculated ascent would be thrown off balance, now relying on deeper strategic applications or profound driving mastery in wet conditions.
Outback Performance were still sore from losing 4th place to Bueseno Velocità after Damgaard’s spectacular P1 finish in Melbourne. So, they knew they were walking on a fine line here in this Belgian GP.
4. | Bueseno Velocità | 105 ↑
5. | Outback Performance | 92 ↓
The team couldn’t afford Max Addams having a bad race while Matteo Bianchi, Velocità’s rookie, was somehow in P7, right behind Dreyer.
A bad race from Max would cement Velocità’s advantage in the standings, turning what should’ve been a temporary setback into a lasting reality instead of a chance to reverse it.
Because of this, Outback Performance hoped they were playing it right as Max Addams was the first driver to be called in for a stop.
Being the first stop, the team hoped they could stabilise the Canadian’s race, also giving him the advantage ahead of others.