Saturday Morning – Zandvoort Circuit
The scent of rubber lingered in the air as soft slicks met tarmac under a clear Dutch sky. Qualifying day. One of the most technical tracks on the calendar, and one of the most punishing. Zandvoort didn't just test cars — it tested courage.
In the Vaayu garage, Raghav stared at the data feed pouring from Sukhman's car. The numbers were solid — better than Friday — but still, something gnawed at the edge of his mind.
> "He's close, but not close enough," Maya muttered beside him.
> "We need a front-row finish," Rina added. "We can't afford to keep trailing."
> "He's getting there," Raghav replied. But his eyes weren't on the screen. They were scanning the paddock beyond the tinted glass, narrowing when he spotted someone unusual—a man lingering by the Tejas Motorsports pit.
Sukhman's POV – Pre Qualifiers
Siddharth, his race engineer, handed him the updated notes.
> "Tires are holding well. Boost map's been tuned tighter. Just trust your feel out there."
Sukhman nodded. He strapped in. Just before pulling his visor down, his phone buzzed. A message from Charlotte:
> "Zandvoort doesn't like second guesses. Drive like you mean it."
He couldn't help but smirk.
---
Q1 – Elimination Begins
As the lights went green, thirty minutes of madness began.
Jack Simmons boomed on commentary:
> "And the snake of color launches down into Tarzanbocht! We're live in Zandvoort for Qualifiers!"
Whitney Moore, more precise:
> "Expect tire strategies to split early. The track's heat index is higher than forecast. Could shake up traction profiles."
---
Finn Carter misjudged the banked exit of Turn 3, clipped the gravel, and spun out — red flag. No serious damage, but his run was done.
Surprise: Jonas Frigg posts a shockingly fast lap early on. He holds P4 for a brief window before being pushed out by faster racers. But eyes linger on his sudden form.
Meanwhile, Ravi Deshmukh looked strong — stronger than he should. His telemetry showed gains in torque response and slipstream efficiency. On the outside, it looked like talent. On the inside... the secret tech was doing its silent work.
---
Q2 – The Gap Narrows
The track rubbered in, and the pace got deadly.
Callum Graves is indeed a machine. He dropped a lap that made everyone double-check their deltas.
> "A 1:10.113! That's... clinical," Whitney noted.
Holtz was close behind. Montoya danced through sector two with flair. Charlotte? Smooth. Controlled. Her team had ironed out the sector one glitch — but not completely.
> "Still feels like the throttle isn't responding on first input," she said over radio.
Her engineer dismissed it. She didn't push further.
Back in the garage, Charlotte's assistant caught something odd — a 0.2-second delay between command and throttle application. They flagged it, quietly. But the lead engineer hesitated before escalating.
---
Q3 – The Final 10
Top contenders took to the track. Tension curled like smoke in the air.
Lap Battles:
Callum vs. Holtz: Precision versus aggression. Both diced sectors in razor margins, but Callum still came out on top.
Montoya vs. Charlotte: The Brazilian's late braking nearly cost him, but he stuck the landing into Turn 11. Charlotte, however, made up ground in the final chicane with a brilliant racing line.
Sukhman vs. Martins: Sector two became the duel zone. Thiago attacked the track with chaotic brilliance, but Sukhman's calculated, balanced driving carved him out a 0.1s edge.
> "Sukhman Singh posts a 1:10.881! He's into P5! That's a sensational lap for the Indian driver!" Jack shouted.
---
Final Top 10 Qualifiers – Zandvoort Grand Prix:
1️⃣ Callum Graves 🇬🇧 – 1:10.113
2️⃣ Erik Holtz 🇩🇪 – 1:10.218
3️⃣ Diego Montoya 🇧🇷 – 1:10.403
4️⃣ Charlotte Reid 🇦🇺 – 1:10.498
5️⃣ Sukhman Singh 🇮🇳 – 1:10.881
6️⃣ Thiago Martins 🇦🇷 – 1:10.912
7️⃣ Alain Bellamy 🇫🇷 – 1:11.001
8️⃣ Amelia Foster 🇬🇧 – 1:11.045
9️⃣ Jia Tan 🇨🇳 – 1:11.110
🔟 Ravi Deshmukh 🇮🇳 – 1:11.209
---
Later That Evening – Vaayu GP Team Room
> "We're in the top five again," Maya said, almost in disbelief.
> "And climbing," Rina added.
But Raghav wasn't smiling.
He opened his tablet, rechecking Ravi's lap times. Something was... off. Too precise. Too synchronized with expected environmental deviations.
He remembered the sponsorship meeting in Tokyo. The investor who had smiled without blinking. And he began to wonder... how deep is this rabbit hole?
---
Elsewhere – In a Room Above the Circuit
The man in the black coat watched the qualifying replay.
> "Phase Three is complete. Charlotte is nearing instability. Reid's threshold will break. We begin Phase Four at the checkered flag tomorrow."
Behind him, another figure stepped into the light. A new player.
> "The investors are watching again," the newcomer said. "They want proof of return."
> "They'll get it. The disruption has already begun."
They turned to the final screen, focused on a still of Jia Tan's car.
> "After tomorrow, even the cleanest teams will look dirty."