Still on this Sunday of Formula 1 racing, this season's Brazilian Grand Prix has proven to be the safest ever.

For lap after lap, the drivers showcased nothing but professionalism through Interlagos, letting their hybrid and combustion engines roar in a dissonant symphony.

From time to time, the crowd filling the stands cheered, and the Portuguese commentators yelped at every action.

Midseason was often the most decisive portion in the title race. If a team could harvest an insurmountable advantage at this stage, that would define how their year would end.

The opposite went for suffering an irrecoverable loss instead.

There was no doubt that these thoughts lingered at the back of minds, which was why the race's clemency was surprising.

No grim contacts, no utter chaos. The masses had expected a storm of mishaps in the Brazilian GP, but none scratched their itch.

[1st Position]

Toward the second pitstop phase, Luca was back in P1. He reclaimed his spot through a faster stop than Di Renzo's.

Even though Jackson Racing called their driver in a lap first, hoping they could make an advantage through the undercut, Luca's cleaner service erased that plan completely.

Trampos' crew was beginning to rival the second most cohesive crew, the Silver Stallions.

Luca got the lead, swinging the race with a difference of half a second.

"...Rennick retakes the lead! Di Renzo slips behind the Trampos man. What a turnaround in São Paulo…!"

P1– Luca Rennick

P2– Antonio Luigi ↑

P3– Buoso Di Renzo ↓

While Luca watched his former teammate drop back, an epiphany clicked in his mind.

Despite the small shortcoming here for the Silver Stallions, he wouldn't make light of anyone bold enough to declare they were back.

The week before this Grand Prix week, the paddock was informed by the news of Jackson's latest technical breakthrough with Ferrari.

The revelation came late. Of course, the English team had wanted to enter Brazil mysteriously better.

Most likely, they'd upgraded both their machinery and their morale.

Di Renzo and Derstappen now drove like men reborn, as if they were not the duo who had collected the most DNFs this season.

A refined JRX-97 paired with a driven Buoso Di Renzo was a threat Luca knew was worth fearing.

But Luca had always wrestled with bigger fears than Buoso Di Renzo.

Every race, there was Luigi. Every corner, there's the glimpse of the black W12 in his mirrors, no matter the distance. Every straight, the hissing surge of its acceleration sliced closer.

[2nd Position closing in]

Activating Gripper, Luca knew it would be a dicey test of traction and track balance in this duel with his rival.

Luigi's aggressive swoop into the next turn verified that this was the right call.

"...IT'S LUCA VERSUS ANTONIO AGAIN! The two titans in modern F1! They clash for the first time here in Brazil…!"

~clangsh!

"WOOOOOOOOHHH!"

[Silent Restore +1]

[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 50%]

"Ow-urgh…"

The contact at his rear somehow hurt him in the cockpit, taking his breath away. Luigi wasn't holding back, even if that wasn't deliberate.

By chance, a minimal five-second penalty might be handed for that later, but Luca ought not wait. He had to recover instantly and defend with will.

"...T6, a combat area! Luigi milks every margin of Rennick's flank, nudging him to the outside line…!"

"...The Ferrari's pace dips with tires scrubbing to grip while the Mercedes presses forward into the apex!"

[Turn type: Left-hander] [Angle: 65°] [Braking Point: 45 meters before turn-in] [Recommended Entry Speed: 220 km/h] [Optimal Apex: Inside curb]

The champion, Luigi, was as cunning as he was fast to act.

Stealing the inside line from Luca guaranteed him the upper hand, even as Luca impressively recovered and fought tooth and tire for asphalt.

The two machines blurred at the apex like a glitch in reality. There, Luca retaliated with a soft brush that sent sparks flying across Luigi's visor. He also flashed Side-by-Side King at his rival to get back at him.

But that didn't help for long. The track's structure smoothed out on the straightaway toward T8, favoring the Black Dread, who vainly commanded the line.

For racing safety, Luca seized his challenge for the lead he had outright lost to his rival. The outcome of the physical duel sent the Trampos crowd feral, while the Italian supporters jubilated.

"...Clinical from Antonio Luigi to take the lead in Brazil, but not without some touches, real touches! You can feel the tension, you can hear the crowd. That was wheel-to-wheel, elbow-to-elbow, pure racing right there..!"

After the fracas, the cameras caught a clear glimpse of Luigi's front side for all of Interlagos to see.

"WOOOOOOOHHH!"

It was a concerning scrape that spoke volumes about the aggressive contact he made with Luca.

F1 cars were really fragile, so that would surely require a stop. Opportunists and rivals like Trampos would watch closely to see how they could turn that fault into an advantage for their drivers.

Fortunately, Luca's skill, Silent Restore, mended his rear damage ideally, leaving his machine whole as if the contact had never happened.

When he spotted the W12's impair as it roared to the slope of T8, Luca nodded resolutely.

~~~~~

As predicted, the champion's frail run on a damaged car had to be paused before he put the entire team and his race in jeopardy.

P1– Antonio Luigi →

Luca retook the lead again, racing on his heels with an interesting driver behind him, Elias Nystrom.

A loud, explosive sound echoed across the circuit by Lap 42, followed by a louder resonating commentary and wilder crowd reception. Luca wondered what that could mean in this tense race.

Whenever he glanced at his dashboard, the close lap times per grouping startled him.

Six by six by four by four. Barely tenths and twos separated each driver on a track that's supposed to be spacious.

At this stage of the race, Luca was usually lapping drivers. Last season's Grand Prix, he'd already had three laps over Erik Haas and Petrov by the 60th lap.

'Damn the evolution,' he thought.

Luca also winced as he remembered that Sync Buff had been responsible for that dominance.