The sun blazed over Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Grandstands trembled with the roar of tens of thousands. Flags from every corner of the world danced in the breeze. The grid was packed, tension thick as tire smoke. This wasn't just the third Grand Prix of the season — it felt like a turning point.
And for Sukhman Singh, it was a test of belief.
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Race Broadcast Begins
> Jack Simmons: "The crowd's on fire here in Barcelona, folks! Callum on pole 1, Martins alongside him, Holtz right behind… But look at pole 5 — Sukhman Singh is back in the fight!"
> Whitney Moore: "And let's not forget, Charlotte Reid barely made Q3, but she's known to rise under pressure. Also… whispers are floating about Jia Tan's recent upgrades. Unconfirmed, of course."
> Jack: "Hmm, always something fishy with the ones who play it too clean, eh?"
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Lap 1–5: Clean Start
The lights went out.
Twenty thousand revs erupted.
Callum launched clean. Martins slipped in behind. Holtz nearly lost position to Montoya, but defended into Turn 3. Sukhman took the outside on Alain Bellamy and muscled into P4 early — earning a cheer from the Vaayu GP pit wall.
> Engineer: "Beautiful start, Sukhman. Eyes on Montoya now."
> Sukhman: "He's weaving. I'll wait."
Charlotte rose to P7 after a slick switchback on Jia Tan. Jia's car seemed… twitchy. Almost too reactive.
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Lap 6–10: The First Games
Montoya made a move on Holtz down the main straight, Holtz resisted, locking up briefly. Sukhman nearly capitalized but backed off, choosing longevity over fireworks.
> Whitney: "Smart from Sukhman. This isn't a sprint — Barcelona punishes tire degradation more than most. Respect the condition or get punished."
In the backroom of the mystery organization, a technician monitored Jia Tan's car in silence. A line of code blinked on a secondary screen. It read:
Protocol Lancer: Ping Received – Stability: 98.2%
Execute: Yes/No?
No one noticed. Yet.
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Lap 11–18: Mid-Race Madness
> Jack: "AND HERE COMES CHARLOTTE REID on Meier — outside of Turn 5! She's a madwoman, Whitney!"
> Whitney: "Calculated madness, Jack. She's up to P6 now. But keep your eyes on Holtz and Montoya — they're playing high-stakes chess for P2."
Suddenly—
Jia Tan's car twitched violently entering Turn 7.
> Whitney: "That's… odd. Did you see that? The telemetry overlay is fluctuating."
> Jack: "Yikes! Either he's got a malfunction or someone's playing joystick games in the background!"
Jia regained control, but lost two positions. His radio crackled—
> Jia: "Something's wrong. Rear feels... autonomous. Are you touching my controls?"
> Engineer (hesitant): "Negative, Jia. No interference from our end."
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Garage Reaction
Maya and Rina exchanged glances.
> Rina: "Did you see that drift? That wasn't natural."
> Maya: "Too late to prove anything. Focus on Sukhman."
Meanwhile, Harinder leaned forward, biting his knuckles. "Come on, bhai… now's the time."
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Lap 19–25: Tension Mounts
Sukhman closed in on Montoya. The Brazilian was losing pace, either from tire wear or pressure. Into Turn 10, Sukhman dived down the inside — clean, precise, brave.
He took P3.
> Jack: "YES! What a move! That's textbook overtaking from the Singh of India!"
> Whitney: "Vaayu needed this. And honestly, so did Sukhman. That move just reinvigorated the whole narrative around him."
Charlotte, not far behind, was hunting Bellamy now. Holtz and Martins were still at war. And Callum? Calm. Controlling from P1. Unbothered.
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Lap 26–30: Final Laps
Suddenly, Jia Tan pulled into the pits unannounced. No tire change. Just confusion. Engineers scrambled around him, exchanging puzzled looks. The car had shut itself down.
A few screens away, the mystery man leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled.
> Intercom Voice: "Telemetry injection tested. Reaction time confirmed. We're ready for Phase Four."
> Man: "Not yet. Let them feel safe first."
Back on the track, Charlotte made a daring last-lap pass on Bellamy for P5. Behind them, Holtz crossed P2 just inches ahead of Martins.
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Final Standings – Barcelona Grand Prix
Position Driver Country Points
1️⃣ Callum Graves 🇬🇧 UK 25
2️⃣ Erik Holtz 🇩🇪 Germany 18
3️⃣ Sukhman Singh 🇮🇳 India 15
4️⃣ Thiago Martins 🇦🇷 Argentina 12
5️⃣ Charlotte Reid 🇦🇺 Australia 10
6️⃣ Alain Bellamy 🇫🇷 France 8
7️⃣ Diego Montoya 🇧🇷 Brazil 6
8️⃣ Jia Tan (DNF) 🇨🇳 China 4*
9️⃣ Amelia Foster 🇬🇧 UK 2
🔟 Lukar Meier 🇨🇭 Switzerland 1
> [Note: Jia Tan awarded points based on 90% race completion] (A rule IRC introduced after a long time planning)
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Post-Race
Sukhman stood on the podium, the Indian flag waving behind him. He didn't smile until he looked to the side — Charlotte gave him a simple, respectful nod.
> "You drove like someone who forgot fear," she muttered later as they crossed paths backstage.
> "Maybe I remembered something more important instead," he replied.
In the Vaayu garage, Raghav shook hands with engineers.
> Raghav: "Podium… Let's build on this. The season's still long."
But behind the victory, something darker stirred.
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Final Scene: The Watching Eye
In the surveillance bunker—
> Voice on Intercom: "What about Vaayu?"
> Man: "They're clean. As expected. That stubborn Satyanarayan refused our hand."
> Intercom: "And Sukhman?"
> Man: "Leave him. For now."
He turned to the wall, where a new list of Phase Four candidates blinked on-screen.
Among them: Holtz. Bellamy. Charlotte. Martins. And one new name: Ravi Deshmukh.
> "In next Grand Prix... we will escalate things."