Sunday, Race Day – São Paulo, Brazil
Autódromo José Carlos Pace – Interlagos
The sun rose over São Paulo with a muted brilliance, as if the city itself was holding its breath. Flags waved. Drums pounded. Chants in Portuguese surged through the crowd as tens of thousands packed into Interlagos for race day.
Sukhman adjusted his fireproof suit by the Vaayu motorhome, earbuds plugged in, but the music wasn't playing. Just silence — a buffer from the chaos before the storm.
His phone buzzed.
Charlotte.
---
📱 Pre-Race Call – Crossed Wires
> "Morning, Singh. Got a sec?"
Her voice crackled slightly on the line. In the background, the sharp tap of a wrench hitting carbon fiber echoed.
> "Barely," he replied. "What's the matter?"
> "Nothing serious," she said. "Just confused. My car's telemetry is acting weird. Throttle data is erratic, and the steering sensors are fluttering. Software systems didn't throw a flag either."
Sukhman frowned. "That's... odd. I haven't had any of that. Just some discomfort when I change orientation too rapidly. But no data issues. Have you told your engineers?"
> "Told the team. They did a hard reset. Hope that fixes it."
There was a pause. A tight silence.
> "Just — be careful out there," she added. "This track is not so forgiving. And believe me, I have seen worst things here."
> "You too, Char. Keep your head low and your elbows sharp."
---
Moments Before the Grid
As Sukhman stepped out of the pit lane, heading toward his sixth-place grid slot, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
> "Singh."
He turned.
Diego Montoya stood there in full gear, helmet in hand, expression unusually calm. No sunglasses. No smirk. Just eyes full of intent.
They hadn't spoken properly in a year. The Brazilian party prince had been the paddock's wildcard, until something changed mid-season last year. No more late-night scandals. No more headlines. Just podiums.
> "Didn't expect you to come say hi," Sukhman said, surprised.
> "Didn't think I needed to," Diego replied. "But... this season feels different. And you — I've seen the way you drive now. Focused. Angry. Like you've got something to prove."
> "Don't we all?"
Diego grinned faintly. "Guess we'll both find out today."
They nodded. No bad blood. Just a shared battlefield and old memories.
---
The Brazilian Grand Prix Begins
Lights out. The engines screamed.
Callum shot off from pole, defending hard against Holtz into Turn 1. Behind them, Diego took an aggressive line, almost brushing tires with Bellamy through the Senna S.
Sukhman held position — P6. He didn't force the issue. Not yet.
The opening laps were brutal. Charlotte found pace early, overtaking Thiago and crawling up behind Bellamy. Diego slipped into P3, almost tailing Holtz as they danced through Ferradura.
---
Lap 17.
That's when it started.
Charlotte's car began twitching.
> "Control issue!" her engineer's voice snapped in panic. "Throttle stuck! Rear sensors blinking — pull back, Charlotte, pull back!"
Too late.
At Turn 10, her car snapped sideways. Diego, just behind her, jerked the wheel in instinct but the electronics in his own car surged — steering locked up. A system feedback error. Both cars spun.
Chaos erupted.
Charlotte slammed into the barrier. Diego's car clipped hers mid-spin, sending carbon fiber flying. Bellamy had no time to react and collided with Diego's sidepod. The cascade began — Ravi and Omar skidded off trying to avoid the wreck.
Yellow flags. Then red.
---
The Final Lap – Mayhem at the Front
By the time debris was cleared and safety procedures completed, there were only five laps to go.
The new top five:
1. Callum
2. Holtz
3. Jia Tan
4. Sukhman
5. Thiago
With two laps left, Jia locked up into Turn 1 and lost momentum. Sukhman pounced, slipping into P3.
Final lap.
Callum and Holtz led, but just as they entered the final sector — disaster.
Charlotte and Diego's earlier crash had scattered dust and small debris that hadn't fully settled. Callum swerved slightly, Holtz backed off.
They both hesitated — because the entire racing line was blocked by residual dirt and a lingering barrier shadow.
> "Brake!" Callum's team screamed.
> "Abort move!" Holtz's engineer barked.
Sukhman saw it.
He had one second. No more.
To the left: off-track sand. To the right: blocked track. Ahead: hesitation.
> "Clutch... NOW!" Arne through intercom shouted like a madman.
Sukhman drifted left, dropping wheels into the off-track sand, balancing throttle and wheelspin with a feather's touch. The Vaayu car skidded, bounced, then gripped — shooting forward as both Callum and Holtz slowed.
He flew past them, bouncing back onto the tarmac like a ghost out of nowhere.
He crossed the line first.
---
Winner – São Paulo GP: Sukhman Singh
Cheers exploded in the Indian camp. The pit crew leapt onto the wall. Harinder nearly smashed the radio screaming. The Vaayu garage lit up in disbelief.
And far away, in a small living room in Punjab, a father silently nodded. Manpreet sobbed into a cushion.
---
Leaderboard Updated (After 5 GPs)
Rank | Driver | Country | GP1 | GP2 | GP3 | GP4 | GP5 | Total
1️⃣ Callum Graves|🇬🇧UK|25|25|18|15|15|98
2️⃣ Erik Holtz| 🇩🇪Germany|12|18|15|25|18|88
3️⃣ Sukhman Singh|🇮🇳India|8|DNP|12|15|25|60
4️⃣ Diego Montoya|🇧🇷Brazil|15|12|15|15|0|57
5️⃣ Jia Tan|🇨🇳China|0|18|11|4|12|45
6️⃣ Alain Bellamy|🇫🇷France|18|6|18|0|DNF|42
7️⃣ Thiago Martins|🇦🇷Argentina|10|10|6|4|10|40
8️⃣ Charlotte Reid|🇦🇺Australia|0|12|10|1|DNF|23
9️⃣ Amelia Foster|🇬🇧UK|6|0|6|6|DNP|18
🔟 Ravi Deshmukh|🇮🇳India|0|0|0|8|DNF|8
11 Omar Irani|🇲🇦Morocco|4|2|0|0|DNF|6
12 Yuki Sasakai|🇯🇵Japan|2|0|0|0|DNP|2
13 Lukar Meier|🇨🇭Switzerland|1|0|0|0|DNP|1
14 Dante Rizzo|🇮🇹Italy|0|1|0|0|DNP|1
15–20 Rosa, Noa, Jonas, Miguel, Khalid, Finn — — — — — 0
---
Epilogue – Shadows and Sparks
Back in the closed-door analytics room in Dubai, the footage replayed in ultra slow motion. Diego's telemetry, Charlotte's sensor logs, the odd oscillations before the crash.
> "It worked," a voice muttered.
> "But too early," another replied.
The operation is no longer theoretical. Someone out there isn't just watching the races... they are manipulating them.
The sport is no longer just about skill.
It is about control.