Saturday morning. Dominik woke up at 7:45 AM without an alarm. For a race weekend, sleeping in that late felt like a luxury.
He washed up and knocked on the adjoining door. He had to make sure Yeji was awake. Given her ability to leave her lipstick in random restaurants, he genuinely feared she might get lost in the paddock or accidentally sign a contract with Red Bull.
Fortunately, Yeji was an idol. Her internal clock was disciplined by years of brutal schedules. She was already up, dressed, and waiting.
They walked toward the paddock entrance. Official photographers and Netflix crews were already stationed at the turnstiles, capturing the "Driver Arrivals."
Dominik walked in with his usual confident stride. Beside him, Yeji looked like she was entering witness protection. She wore a bucket hat pulled low, oversized sunglasses, and a scarf wrapped around her face.
Click. Click. Click.
The shutters fired rapidly. Dominik and the "Mystery Woman" appeared in the same frame for the first time.
To the F1 press, she was just an entourage member. To the eagle-eyed K-Pop fans zooming in on the pixels, the specific brand of the scarf or the shape of her ears might already be triggering alarms.
FP3 (Free Practice 3)
Dominik decided to play a game.
"Sandbagging," he told Gaëtan in the briefing. "Let's hide the pace. I don't want the media hype before Qualifying."
So, in FP3, Dominik drove like a grandmother. He focused on heavy fuel runs and lifted early on every straight.
Result:
P19 - Dominik Corvinus (1:35.853)
Only Yuki Tsunoda, who had a hydraulic failure and didn't set a time, was behind him.
Back in the garage, the mechanics were suppressing grins. They knew the fuel loads. Yeji, however, looked worried.
"P19?" she whispered, looking at the screen. "That is... bad, right?"
Dominik winked. "Terrible. I might get fired."
After the session, Dominik took Yeji to the hospitality for lunch. Charles Leclerc walked by, holding a plate of pasta.
"P19, Dominik?" Leclerc scoffed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Did you forget where the throttle is? Do you need a map?"
Yeji stiffened, ready to defend her friend.
Dominik just smiled lazily. "Teacher, are you going to teach me how to spin the car today too?"
Leclerc choked on his pasta. Russell, sitting nearby, burst out laughing.
Yeji realized they were just bantering. She relaxed. These guys are weird, she thought.
18:00. Qualifying (Q1).
The sun was gone. The Sakhir International Circuit was a ribbon of light under the night sky. The air temperature dropped, the track grip increased.
Dominik sat in the FW44, staring at the steering wheel. His left thumb brushed the yellow DRS button. This was it. No more sandbagging.
"Dominik, pay attention to the entry angle of Turns 9 and 10," Gaëtan said over the radio. "We adjusted the toe angle to 2.3 degrees."
In the back of the garage, Yeji sat on her stool, looking nervous. She clasped her hands together.
Suddenly, the World Feed camera panned into the Williams garage. It lingered on the girl with the bucket hat (now removed) and the dark brown hair.
The graphics operator in the TV truck, working off the list Jost Capito had submitted, pulled up the lower-third graphic.
YEJI HWANG
DOMINIK CORVINUS' PARTNER
Dominik didn't see it. Yeji didn't see it.
But millions of viewers did.
Twitter melted down instantly.
"PARTNER?! Since when?"
"Is that Yeji from ITZY? In the Williams garage?"
"OMG THE VISUAL COUPLE."
"Wait, does Partner mean girlfriend or business partner? F1 graphics are confusing!"
Oblivious to the chaos he had caused, Dominik rolled out of the garage.
Q1 began.
The track was busy. Zhou Guanyu was ahead in the Alfa Romeo. The two rookies were fighting for survival.
Dominik warmed up the tires. He knew the Williams' weakness: it hated slow corners. The understeer in the hairpin (Turn 8) would be the killer.
"Verstappen goes P1 with a 1:32.086," Gaëtan updated.
Dominik started his first flying lap.
Sector 1: Fast. The Mercedes engine pushed the slippery car through the air.
Sector 2: The struggle. Into Turn 8, the front tires scrubbed across the asphalt. Dominik fought the wheel. Understeer.
Sector 3: Clean.
He crossed the line. 1:32.956.
P7 temporarily. But as the track evolved, he tumbled down the order. P11... P13... P16.
He was in the Drop Zone.
Zhou Guanyu was P14, just on the bubble.
Dominik boxed.
"Three minutes remaining," Gaëtan said. "Do you want the new Softs?"
Dominik looked at the data. He smiled behind his visor.
"No," he said. "Save the new set for Q2. Send me out on the used set."
Gaëtan paused. It was a massive risk. If he didn't improve, he was out in Q1 on his debut.
"Copy. Used Softs. Release."
Yeji watched the screen, her heart pounding. The letters COR were in the red zone (P16).
Dominik merged onto the track. He had to find a gap in the traffic.
"Leclerc goes P1. 1:31.471," Crofty shouted on the Sky Sports broadcast. "Ferrari is back!"
Dominik started his final lap.
Turn 1: He braked later than before, trusting the grip evolution. 110 km/h at the apex.
Turns 2-3: Partial throttle. The car was stable.
Turn 4: He braked hard, managing the lock-up. Kevin Magnussen in the Haas moved out of the way perfectly.
Turns 5-7 (The S-Curves): Dominik attacked. He cut the kerbs, using every inch of the track.
Turn 8 (The Hairpin): The moment of truth. He braked early, rotated the car sharply, and got on the power early. The rear stepped out—a controlled slide—but it pointed the nose in the right direction.
"Green Sector 2," Gaëtan whispered. "Four tenths up."
Turns 14-15: The final sprint.
Dominik crossed the line.
1:32.301.
The timing board reshuffled. COR jumped from P19 to P11.
"And Corvinus is safe!" David Croft yelled. "On used tires! That is a statement lap from the rookie!"
Zhou Guanyu finished P14, also safe.
Alex Albon finished P15, barely surviving by 0.05 seconds.
Dominik exhaled. "That was fun."
"P11, Dominik. Safe. Good job saving the tires," Gaëtan said, sounding relieved.
In the garage, Yeji let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She clapped her hands, beaming at the screen.
The mechanics high-fived. They had both cars in Q2.
Dominik brought the car back in. He had survived the first cut. Now, the real fight began.