Chapter 363: 363: Forcing an Interruption

Everything was being pushed to the absolute limit. Describing the intensity in words was difficult enough, but the reality on the track was a hundred times more grueling—there was simply no room to breathe.

Locked in a desperate late-braking duel on the outside of Turn 1 to hold the racing line, Leclerc and Bottas both missed their braking points. Understeering heavily, they washed wide out of La Source—

Plumes of tire smoke and dust billowed into the air!

They weren’t the only ones. Behind them, cars tumbled off the track like dumplings dropping into boiling water—one, two, three, four, five machines washed wide in quick succession, with carbon fiber debris visibly tumbling through the air.

In the heat of the moment, it was impossible to tell who was who. The qualifying chaos had spilled directly into the opening corner of the Grand Prix. Just as predicted, the track was a minefield of potential disaster, stretching all the way from the front row to the very back of the grid.

In the commentary box, David Croft scrambled to identify the liveries involved, but the broadcast feed flashed away too quickly. There was no time to cover the mayhem behind as the camera immediately panned down the straight to track the lead battle between red and silver.

It was #44 versus #22.

Capitalizing on the initial turn-one chaos with razor-sharp decisiveness, Hamilton had miraculously snatched the inside line through La Source, lunging aggressively toward Kai.

Yet Kai refused to yield an inch.

His start off the grid had been flawless—his reaction time, positioning, and line choice were spot on. Even with his rivals charging forward with 120% aggression, Kai held his ground firmly amidst the storm.

Hamilton held the inside spatial advantage, but Kai retained the superior racing line.

Leveraging his initial launch reaction, Kai kept all three chasers behind his rear wing. Even as Hamilton adapted on the fly to hug the apex and close the distance, Kai maintained a half-car-length lead.

He recognized that Hamilton was walking a tightrope, taking extreme risks to snatch a chance.

Knowing this, Kai stayed cool and composed, firmly maintaining his trajectory.

As his line naturally transitioned from an outside-inside-outside approach to a defensive middle-inside trajectory, Kai swept smoothly past the apex out of La Source, hugging the outer left edge of the exit. Without a single wasted movement, he converted his exit speed into pure traction, instantly stretching his half-car-length margin back out and keeping the silver #44 Mercedes pinned behind his rear wing.

He led the field out of Turn 1!

Hamilton watched the red Ferrari pull away once more, but he harbored no frustration. There was no time for distraction.

Barely a beat behind, Hamilton swept out of La Source, locking onto Kai’s tail as they hurtled toward Eau Rouge.

Croft’s commentary rattled off like rapid machine-gun fire, gasping for breath.

“Chaos! Tension! A absolute pressure cooker!”

“Ferrari and Mercedes are locked in wheel-to-wheel combat right out of the gates, and the opening lap is already fraught with danger!”

“Kai! Hamilton! Leclerc! Bottas!”

“Hamilton had an incredible launch, passing Leclerc to take second place, and he’s mounting a fierce attack on Kai. But Kai’s defense and reaction through La Source were absolute masterclass—holding off the charge to keep the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix!”

“Both Leclerc and Bottas ran off track, but despite the absolute mayhem behind them, both drivers have managed to rejoin and hold their positions.”

“There looks to be contact further back, but it’s hard to tell what happened—”

“Eau Rouge! Oh! Verstappen!”

“HE’S OUT!”

“Verstappen slams into the wall and is OUT of the race!”

A wave of goosebumps rippled across the grandstands.

With the primary feed focused entirely on Kai and Hamilton, even Leclerc and Bottas’s battle had missed detailed coverage, let alone the backmarker skirmishes. Only now did the broadcast cut to a slow-motion replay—

Off the line, the right side of the grid had proved disadvantageous—affecting P1, P3, and P5 where Verstappen started.

Verstappen had tried to launch down the middle gap, only to find his path blocked by Hamilton. Reacting instantly, he cut to the right inside line, unaware that Vettel behind was lurking for an opening. Vettel pounced on the middle space, squeezing the line and battling Verstappen neck-and-neck.

Verstappen’s slight hesitation weaving left and then right cost him momentum. By the time he cleared Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen had used the outside line advantage to sweep into La Source first.

Having lost the initiative, Verstappen ran out of track space. Forcing the issue now was bound to end in disaster.

Yet Verstappen, like Hamilton, was determined not to yield. Red Bull could ill afford to drop back after the summer break.

Verstappen chose to force the move, refusing to hit the brakes—and the inevitable happened.

Holding his normal racing line, Räikkönen became collateral damage. Verstappen’s front right wheel slammed into Räikkönen’s side, nearly flipping the Alfa Romeo. Carbon fiber fragments flew everywhere as Räikkönen’s car skidded off track with smoking tires.

In a split second, the cars behind scattered like frightened fish. Drivers swerved frantically to avoid the debris, sending multiple cars wide into the runoff areas.

Fortunately for Leclerc and Bottas, their own off-track excursion had inadvertently kept them clear of the worst of the secondary pileup, allowing them to rejoin without losing further ground.

The infamous “Torpedo” made its return at Spa.

The culprit, Verstappen, initially appeared unscathed. Driving his F1 machine like a bumper car, he kept his foot down, attempting to capitalize on Leclerc and Bottas going wide to snatch positions.

Charging forward with his head down, he failed to notice that his front-left suspension was completely ruined.

Approaching Eau Rouge, the #3 Red Bull failed to slow down. Its front-left tire locked up, sending a plume of white smoke into the air as the car lost all control and spewed sideways across the tarmac.

Exiting the dip of Eau Rouge, the car slid diagonally across the track, severing the racing line and narrowly missing oncoming traffic. Leaving a trail of debris behind, Verstappen slammed heavily into the tire barrier at the top of the hill.

The crowd gasped in unison!

Eau Rouge again!

Though the crash site was a few hundred meters away from yesterday’s F2 tragedy—this one occurring at the crest rather than the base—the hauntingly familiar scene brought the main grandstands to their feet, while a collective gasp echoed through the commentary box.

On screen, the impact speed looked manageable. The #3 Red Bull’s front wing was destroyed, leaving the car stranded in the gravel trap.

Verstappen slammed his steering wheel in frustration. Even after climbing out of the cockpit, his anger hadn’t subsided, leading him to deliver a sharp kick to his front tire.

Yellow flags waved across Sector 1!

Just as Beauregard prepared to radio Kai, he noticed on the timing monitor that the silver dot behind was accelerating, mounting a draft attack down the Kemmel Straight—

Directly targeting Kai!

Exiting Turn 2 and flowing through the sweeping curves of Eau Rouge, Kai maintained absolute calm and focus.

Eau Rouge… remained Eau Rouge. Flat out, chasing the absolute limit through a blur of color, surging from the bottom of the valley up to the crest. Crossing the summit, he turned the wheel with fluid precision, sweeping onto the wide-open Kemmel Straight at maximum velocity.

He surged past the location of yesterday’s accident without hesitation.

In the Ferrari garage, Jiang Mo held her breath, her heart skipping a beat. Beside her, Lu Cheng gripped her arm tightly, his knuckles turning white as tension reached a fever pitch.

The entire pit box fell deathly silent, eyes glued to the live feeds. All other thoughts vanished amid the suffocating pressure.

The nightmare was right there.

Breaking free from the mental shackles, Kai broke through the shadows as golden sunlight bathed the track.

ROAR—

Amid the thunderous roar of the power units, the #22 and #44 machines rocketed down the Kemmel Straight. Hamilton patiently tucked into Kai’s slipstream, harnessing the draft to squeeze every ounce of top speed from his Mercedes W10.

Focus. Pure concentration.

Kai hadn’t forgotten the horrific events of the previous day. He consciously reminded himself to remember the fear and gravity of those moments—not to be paralyzed by them, but to use them as fuel for Anthoine’s memory. He refused to let the nightmare anchor his heels, breaking through the mental barrier with absolute clarity.

He transitioned seamlessly from Eau Rouge onto the Kemmel Straight.

In the next instant, Kai caught the silver reflection in his mirrors. Hamilton was showing his immense experience—staying glued to Kai’s tail through the formidable challenge of Eau Rouge, displaying remarkable bravery on the heels of yesterday’s crash.

In yesterday’s F2 incident, restricted visibility had prevented drivers from anticipating the stopped car ahead, leaving fractions of a second to react and ultimately leading to tragedy.

Now, sitting in a similar trail position, Hamilton showed zero hesitation. He locked onto the slipstream behind Kai’s rear wing with ruthless determination.

Experienced, bold, and borderline relentless.

To Kai, it was a calculated move. Hamilton was leveraging the psychological weight of yesterday’s crash to apply maximum pressure, attempting to plant a seed of doubt in Kai’s mind. If he pulled off the overtake, brilliant; if not, he would still leave a mental scratch on his rival.

It wasn’t madness—it was cold, sharp racecraft.

Far from being intimidated or angered, Kai felt a subtle sense of respect:

Hamilton, who always projected a clean and polished image, was stripping away the diplomatic facade to reveal his unyielding, competitive edge.

Compared to the polished persona presented to the media, Kai found this aggressive, relentless version of Hamilton far more genuine.

If Hamilton believed such psychological tactics would rattle Kai or make him lose his composure, he was mistaken.

VROOOM— The SF90’s engine roared.

WHINE— The W10’s power unit hummed within the slipstream behind.

The one-kilometer Kemmel Straight evaporated in a heartbeat as the Les Combes chicane loomed ahead.

Kai was well aware of his car’s limitations on cold tires. If he engaged in a late-braking war into Turn 5, he might hold position initially, but Hamilton could use superior mid-corner speed through Turn 7 to counter-attack. Taking an unnecessary risk now could trigger a chain reaction that resulted in losing the lead.

Conversely, if he didn’t brake late, the Mercedes behind—armed with a slipstream—would easily pull alongside, given the narrowed engine performance gap following Ferrari’s recent fuel-efficiency map adjustments.

Mercedes had been dropping subtle hints all weekend, and Kai had good reason to believe Toto Wolff’s squad had brought undisclosed upgrades for the second half of the season.

So, what was the move?

Caught in a strategic dilemma.

As the end of the Kemmel Straight rapidly approached, Kai glanced at his mirror. Hamilton was waiting like a patient hunter, watching for the exact millisecond to strike a decisive blow.

What if Kai broke the rhythm first?

Just like their tactical chess match at Silverstone, a single subtle change could shift the entire dynamic. Hamilton would either have to react, or the invisible tension string between them would snap.

Kai waited for the precise moment, knowing that under extreme pressure, patience was everything.

Amidst the deafening engine roar, Croft’s eyes widened: “The #22 Ferrari moves!”

Kai had taken the initiative to break the stalemate! Instead of taking the conventional wide entry from the left into Turn 5—the first right-hander of Les Combes—Kai shifted toward the inside line to cover the apex.

Theoretically, a chicane can be tackled through multiple lines, but drivers usually prefer a wide entry from the left because it maximizes exit speed for the sequence.

While both drivers were expected to fight for the outer entry line, Kai had unexpectedly cut to the inside!

Croft froze for a fraction of a second. Almost simultaneously, Hamilton snapped his wheel to the left, diving for the outside line.

Top drivers read timing and positioning with near-identical instincts—Hamilton and Kai had initiated their moves at almost the exact same instant.

Yet Kai’s creative line choice created an immediate offset. Moving in opposite directions, the spatial link between the two cars shattered, allowing a rush of turbulent air to fill the gap.

Both cars twitched slightly, struggling for stability at over 320 km/h like kites pulled taut in a gale.

Then, the tactical difference became fully apparent—

Kai didn’t attempt a desperate, late-braking maneuver like he had at La Source. Remaining composed amidst the high-speed duel, he hit his braking point with surgical precision, transitioning smoothly from the top of the hill into the downhill compression. His steering inputs and trail-braking were completely seamless.

Hamilton spotted an opening! “My chance!”

To the naked eye, a braking point that is two meters earlier or later is hard to spot, but with the #22 and #44 running side-by-side, the contrast was unmistakable.

Using his slipstream momentum, Hamilton pulled alongside, closing the gap rapidly by delaying his braking point significantly. As Kai initiated his turn-in at the standard braking mark, the silver car surged forward.

The silver shadow ate away at the gap, threatening to get fully wheel-to-wheel!

In the next instant, Hamilton realized the snare. The initial split-second glance as they separated had been deceptive. Kai hadn’t opened up a wide angle for the right-hander; he had positioned his car right in the middle channel, effectively commanding the track space.

Kai was using his lead position to control the racing line. When Hamilton pulled out to overtake, he was forced slightly wider than intended. Meanwhile, Kai held his trajectory with absolute stability, executing a clean line through Les Combes that maintained his mid-corner momentum while forcing Hamilton onto a tight, high-risk arc on the outer edge.

That wasn’t all.

By the time Hamilton registered the trap, Kai—holding both position and line dominance—swept aggressively through Turn 5. Though his braking point had been conservative, he applied generous steering lock, carving a wider arc with his rear wing that gently squeezed Hamilton out toward the kerb.

On the surface, it looked like a routine defensive line.

Only the driver locked in wheel-to-wheel combat on track could feel the subtle layers of tactical craft—setting traps, holding space, and forcing errors all at once.

Even a driver of Hamilton’s caliber was caught half a beat behind. He hadn’t anticipated Kai using position dominance so effectively to compromise his attack.

Dammit!

“Ladies and gentlemen, Lewis Hamilton makes his move!”

“Down the Kemmel Straight, Hamilton uses the draft and pulls out to attack—”

“Wheel-to-wheel!”

“Wait! Goodness me!”

“Kai executes an impossibly precise defense, holding the line effortlessly and squeezing Hamilton right to the edge of the track!”

“Through Turn 5—into Turn 6—”

“Composed! Firm! Precise! Sublime!”

“The defending race winner puts on a driving masterclass through Les Combes at Spa! Using a non-traditional line to control the mid-corner speed, the SF90 on cold tires has never looked this fluid, holding line and position firmly!”

Gasping, Croft immediately noticed Hamilton’s exit line looked slightly compromised—

“Messy” might be an exaggeration, but the Mercedes was visibly off the ideal rubbered line, causing its mid-corner rhythm to stutter slightly.

Even the mighty W10 was struggling for grip on cold tires under those conditions.

Croft wondered if the W10’s stability on cold tires had taken a slight hit with their recent upgrades, though with only Sector 1 completed, it was too early to draw firm conclusions.

Before he could dwell on it, the exit of Turn 7 arrived.

Because Kai had taken a non-standard entry into Les Combes, his exit arc was uniquely shaped.

With subtle steering adjustments, Kai brought the car back onto a clean trajectory. His delicate throttle control prevented the rear end from stepping out at high speed.

He swept cleanly out of Les Combes, applying full power.

Hamilton’s #44 car, which had been trailing by inches through the chicane and threatening an overtake, was suddenly left behind as they exited Turn 7. The gap instantly widened back to half a car length.

A collective gasp echoed through the grandstands. Spectators looked on in awe, wondering how Hamilton’s promising attack had dissolved so quickly.

“It’s the exit speed!”

Brundle immediately identified the key factor.

“Faced with a formidable attack from Hamilton, Kai produced a masterclass in defensive positioning. That wheel-to-wheel moment into Les Combes was a setup—Kai maintained control of the exchange from start to finish.”

“Simple! Devastatingly effective!”

“In the heat of battle against a driver like Hamilton, Kai has demonstrated his exceptional racecraft once again. He held his line, controlled the corner, and out-accelerated the Mercedes on exit. By the time they cleared Les Combes, Ferrari had reclaimed full command, leveraging their power unit advantage down the following straight!”

Brundle praised the move enthusiastically, his heart pounding with excitement.

The opening of this Belgian GP was delivering pure drama. Mercedes had brought aggressive tactics to catch Ferrari off guard, but Kai’s adaptive driving had answered every challenge with sublime execution.

As Brundle leaned in to watch the next sector, Croft’s sudden shout cut through the commentary:

“SAFETY CAR!”

The breathless intensity was abruptly paused just as the race hit a fever pitch.

To avoid interrupting the racing flow unnecessary, race control had initially limited the yellow flags to Sector 1, allowing the duels between Kai and Hamilton, and Leclerc and Bottas, to play out naturally.

However, officials quickly realized the extent of the track cleanup required.

The stretch between La Source and Eau Rouge was littered with carbon fiber debris and gravel. Furthermore, Verstappen’s Red Bull was buried deep in the gravel trap, requiring a crane for recovery.

Hence, the Safety Car was deployed!

The surging momentum was put on immediate hold, leaving fans catching their breath.

Over the radio, Beauregard delivered the update: “Safety Car deployed. Max crashed at Eau Rouge and is out. Debris reported from La Source to Eau Rouge, copy.”

He immediately added, “Max is unhurt. He’s stepped out of the car, all clear.”

Even on the pit wall, Beauregard exhaled a sigh of relief. On an emotionally charged weekend, another major incident was the last thing anyone wanted. Hearing that Verstappen was safe was a welcome relief, and Beauregard prioritized passing that news to Kai right away.

Kai’s breathing relaxed slightly. “How’s Charles? Is he okay?”

Beauregard replied, “Yes, Charles is fine. He lost position at La Source and is currently running third, between the two Mercedes.”

Kai glanced into his rear mirrors. With the Safety Car deployed and overtaking prohibited, he could briefly ease his pace. Yet he knew this was merely the calm before the storm.

An illusion of peace.

Once the Safety Car withdrew, Hamilton would launch another aggressive assault—effectively creating a second “race start” where Mercedes would go on the attack once more.

That didn’t mean Ferrari would remain passive.

While the Safety Car reset Kai’s built-up lead over Hamilton, forcing him to defend his position all over again, it also presented a strategic opportunity.

With the running order sitting as Ferrari, Mercedes, Ferrari, Mercedes, could Ferrari exploit Hamilton’s eager focus on the lead to mount a counter-play and help Leclerc reclaim second place?

Kai pondered the possibilities. “Pierre, check with Charles—which strategy option does he prefer?”

Ferrari had mapped out these contingencies beforehand. Coming to Spa, they knew they couldn’t view Mercedes and Red Bull through the lens of the pre-summer break hierarchy.

With Ferrari’s technical clarifications causing a stir, Mercedes and Red Bull had surely been working diligently behind the scenes as well.

Spa served as a benchmark to reassess the competitive order.

Naturally, various tactical scenarios needed to be covered.

In an interleaved Ferrari-Mercedes running order, they had four primary options prepared:

Plan A: One-on-one battles—P1 fights P2, while P3 engages P4.

Plan B: P3 aggressively attacks P2—meaning Leclerc focuses on attacking Hamilton directly, disregarding Bottas behind.

Plan C: P1 acts as bait to hold up P2, setting up a coordinated pincer attack with P3 to overtake P2.

Plan D: Hold position until the pit window opens, relying on pit strategy for the undercut/overcut.

In Kai’s estimation, Plan A mirrored their original start strategy, and repeating the same tactic back-to-back made them predictable. Plan D was too passive, effectively handing strategic initiative to Mercedes.

Plan B offered high feasibility, but Mercedes was sharp. If Toto Wolff instructed Hamilton and Bottas to double-team Leclerc, Ferrari’s move could backfire.

Thus, Kai personally leaned toward Plan C.

The race leader would act as a strategic buffer to contain Hamilton, holding him up just enough to allow Leclerc to launch a coordinated attack. The key distinction from Plan B was teamwork: rather than leaving Leclerc to challenge Hamilton alone, Kai and Leclerc would execute a synchronized pincer movement against the Mercedes driver.

While Mercedes drew up their plans, Ferrari wasn’t sitting idly by.

After all, Ferrari’s biggest edge over Mercedes at this stage wasn’t just raw machine performance—it was the seamless teamwork between Kai and Leclerc. To defeat Mercedes in both championships, they needed to leverage every collaborative advantage.

Motorsport is ultimately an individual sport where drivers compete for themselves, but much like a cohesive team, individual brilliance relies on strong collective strategy. A lone wolf rarely stays at the absolute summit of Formula 1 for long.

If Leclerc could clear Hamilton, Kai could hand off defensive duties to his teammate and pull away in clean air.