My Formula 1 System-Chapter 425: A New Dawn

A wonderful medium to take his mind off the mist that had just thickened to a suffocating level revealed itself. Luca had long been expecting it, yet he was still happy when it eventually arrived. Something exciting could now be done, something less dangerous, something less competitive. Dubai Airways.

It was time for Luca to perform his ambassadorship responsibilities for the renowned airline company. His job now was simply to feature in an upcoming advertisement they planned to shoot. It sounded like a lot of fun, so Luca accepted it without hesitation. Being in an advertisement felt really cool to him; the cinematography, the animation, the sound and video effects, he couldn't quite comprehend how all these elements would merge with him by the time everything was finalized.

Dubai Airways' main advertisement plan for him was straightforward: he would be walking side by side with one of their planes, wearing shades, with the wind playing its part as the camera captured the moment from the horizon, where lights blurred and heat waves shimmered with wrath.

It was going to be a short ad, and Luca would practically say nothing. Its main purpose was to market the fact that their planes and services were as fast and efficient as Luca Rennick, the Mazerunner, able to take customers to their destinations in a jiffy.

Luca was expected to be in Dubai within four days after the race to begin discussing, conversing, understanding, and planning how his performance and the entire ad would be executed. So, by leaving early enough, he was going to use this opportunity to evade the oppressive and overwhelming atmosphere in Germany.

Not only that, he also planned to escape Ansel's child's gender reveal party that was set to be hosted five days after the race. Everyone in Luca's PT was going to leave early as well, including Isabella, so this was a flawless elusion.

He was very successful in making Isabella completely forget about the gender reveal party, which he feared she would feel extremely awful about when she eventually remembered. How was he able to do it?

For quite some weeks now, Luca had been putting his hands here and there in an effort to make Isabella happy, as we know. His only plan wasn't to get her a job in Ferrari; he also had another plan to get her enrolled into that same biggety school that had rejected her twice. It was the only engineering school of tangible status, with security, impeccable teaching, and understanding, so Luca had no choice.

He worked hand in hand with Mr. Schafer to apply for a special admission that was possible in the school. However, it did come with a lot of requirements, such as:

– A letter of recommendation from a reputable engineer or industry figure

– A personal statement detailing her journey, challenges, and commitment to engineering

– Demonstrable experience or portfolio in the engineering field

– At least two academic references who could attest to her capability and determination

– A formal interview with the admissions board

– Proof of successful completion of certain foundational courses to prove readiness for the program.

Don't forget though, there's a lot of money involved, but that was no issue for Luca. It made Mr. Schafer feel a bit prostrated as he realized the lengths and prices Luca was going for just for his daughter without even expecting anything in return, because as far as he had analyzed, he was still certain Luca and Isabella hadn't engaged in adult acts.

He was right though: they hadn't really done anything profound in over seven months now, but all that changed just right after the German Grand Prix when Luca took Isabella to see the house that was still standing lonely in Dahlem. Perhaps, it was because they were alone, but they'd been alone countless times. Or maybe it was because Luca broke the news of her pending admission? Nope. It was definitely because of the atmosphere; how being in the house brought back nostalgic memories of when they were still courting, thereby sparking an irresistible heat. Personally, for Isabella, it was not only how Luca was providing, but also his ability to remain firm, unshakable and resolute even with everything going on in F1.

One by one, Luca had been ticking the boxes. So now, what was left was Isabella to make her personal statement and also attend the interview. The school would, of course, not reject a student who was already WORKING in Ferrari as a lead head of their future projects. They eagerly awaited her, bearing in mind Luca had also ensured more tutorship and security. Honestly, he was a bit curious how college life would be now that Isabella was going to mix it with work life.

Hawthorne 3 had ascended into the air on the third day after the race. So they definitely missed the gender reveal party.

When Ansel called, asking if they were ready to come, Luca had a lot to explain, but he summarized it into "duty called for him while school called for Isabella." Ansel was audibly disappointed as he knew there was nothing he could do now. And this tone of despondence actually saddened Luca's heart.

Truthfully speaking, ever since that very moment of Rodnick's crash, Luca had been thinking about Ansel nonstop, the same way he had been thinking last year. He couldn't help but feel the sheer uncanny energy that the collision with Rodnick emanated, reminding him of how he and Ansel crashed.

Of course, both collisions were different in fatality and cause, but there seemed to be an unarguable lead here, and that was disobedience of Team Order.

Luca had spent a whole year indifferent towards Ansel because of what he had done in Saudi Arabia, almost killing him with that dent into his sidepod. Luca thought Ansel deserved every fine, team hate and reprimand that came with disobeying the Tiered Pursuit strategy, which Trampos still practiced till now. He didn't want to befriend Ansel again after that, not just because of what he had done, but because it took Ansel centuries to actually ask for forgiveness and throw it under the table like men usually do to keep their friendships.

So, when Luca reflected on what had happened, the in-race team order he had just disobeyed in Germany, he wondered if he was even any better than Ansel. Yes, Ansel's own was a full permanent and adopted strategy while Luca's was an abrupt, out-of-the-blue in-race strategy, but team order was still team order and Luca disobeyed it like Ansel once did, thereby costing Rodnick's race.

The frowardness of team orders, regardless of what the order was, would always lead to a rift, disharmony and resentment. After the tragedy that struck Trampos on Aug. 15 last year, Luca vividly remembered how the team's energy was afterwards. Jackson Racing were a team with a much better grounding and adaptability, but the effect that Luca and Rodnick's feud had aroused was clear as day.

Even though Ansel had no idea he disobeyed a team order, leading to that crash, Luca didn't want to meet him face to face as guilt consumed him. It felt like he was staring at a mirror that refused to blink back. Every time he remembered that moment on track, he questioned his own sense of loyalty to the team, the same loyalty he used to hold against Ansel as a sign of betrayal. The lines between what he believed was right and wrong were blurring now, twisting in a way that made him realize that, sometimes, even the best drivers could fail the team in the heat of the moment. The thought left him uneasy, like a stone lodged in his chest, and he didn't know how long it would take to cough it out.

Eventually, he spilled to Ansel over the phone after a long silence. Ansel might've almost cost him his life, while he only cost Rodnick his race. Ansel might've taken an eternity to apologize, while Luca took merely a day to apologize to Rodnick. Regardless of the differences, Luca thought he might've shared the same mindset with Ansel at that moment.

It was that same stubbornness, that same refusal to see the bigger picture when the helmet was on and the world shrunk to just them and the track. Both of them had been given team orders that demanded they think beyond themselves, orders that told them to sacrifice their place for another driver's gain. And in that very heat of the race, where adrenaline blurred reason, both of them rejected it. Ansel had done it in Saudi Arabia, and Luca did it now in Germany. It was that singular instant where pride and instinct overshadowed everything else, even the team. So, when Luca finally heard Ansel's voice on the phone, he felt like he was talking to a version of himself or rather... he had begun to understand Ansel.

They spoke for a while and finally, both of them agreed to put the past behind them. But Luca also made it clear that being close friends wasn't possible anymore, not with the stern politics that had strengthened now in the competition.

Ansel accepted this with a wave of relief. He then told Luca he would like to appoint him as Lukas's godfather.

When Luca asked him who that was, Ansel said it was the unborn baby, the gender reveal had confirmed it was a boy, and he told Luca that he'd be naming the boy Lukas, obviously after his godfather.

After the call, Luca couldn't believe it. Life does play tricks in many ways, and after many weeks of battering him and messing him up, it finally placed him in a spot of actual happiness.

For the first time in a while, Luca felt a genuine surge of hope, a sense of belonging, knowing that he would soon be godfather to a bouncing baby boy. That simple thought, the idea of a little boy carrying a name that mirrored his own, gave him a new drive to push through the rest of the season, no matter how turbulent it got.

His arrival in Dubai was very luxurious, and the reception he received was nothing short of a ten-star welcome. Luca had a calm mind as he engaged with the elite crew of Dubai Airways; the pilots, the stewards, and the ground team who coordinated every move with precise elegance.

His mother was taking her drugs as prescribed, Sophia was fine and well in school, his relationship with Isabella had levelled up in its own quiet way, and he had just stitched a friendship back together.

Not a bad season at all.