Chapter 11: A Stumbling Start, Biding Time in the Wave of Overtakes
Inside the pit lane strategy room, Mark spoke in a low, steady voice. "One-stop strategy. Start on hard tyres, pit on lap 18 for softs. This is your first time starting near the front—being overtaken in the opening phase is very likely. The core idea is to 'race to learn.' Focus on observing your rivals' overtaking lines and race rhythm. Don't get hung up on position."
Alex Sun had just finished his warm-up lap. Sweat clung to his forehead, but his thoughts were clear and focused. He locked key details into his mind—the line through the T4 complex, the DRS activation zone—and nodded. "Understood. Hold a steady pace, look after the tyres, and strike back after the stop."
Mark added, "The hard tyres won't reach their optimal operating window of 90 to 110 degrees in the first five laps. Lack of grip is normal. Don't force it—just focus on building experience."
The starting order for the sprint race (the top ten from the previous feature race reversed) was as follows:
Yuri Vips, Jehan Daruvala, Alex Sun, Guanyu Zhou, Christian Lundgaard, Oscar Piastri, David Beckmann, Dan Ticktum, Marcus Armstrong, Liam Lawson
followed by the remaining drivers from the previous race in normal order.
Starting third was a rare opportunity in Alex Sun's career—close enough to study top-tier drivers at first hand, and a perfect chance for growth.
He strode briskly to the car, smoothly putting on his gear before settling into the monocoque. After securing the headrest and harness, he wrapped his hands around the steering wheel and waited for the formation lap signal.
The formation lap began. Alex Sun weaved left and right to bring the hard tyres up to temperature, noticing Guanyu Zhou beside him repeatedly accelerating and braking to warm his softs. The lap ended, the cars lined up, and engines sat at high idle.
Five red lights went out. The green flag waved. The race was on.
Alex Sun launched cleanly from his grid box, but the weakness of starting on hard tyres showed immediately. With the explosive traction of softs, Guanyu Zhou swept past on the inside from the right and charged ahead. Alex Sun stabilized the car through the corners, dropping to fourth.
Zhou's soft-tyre advantage fully came alive. By the end of lap one, he had passed Jehan Daruvala. On lap three, using the aerodynamic tow in the DRS zone, he overtook Yuri Vips. In just three laps, he surged from fourth to the lead, quickly opening a gap to the chasing pack.
Behind, Christian Lundgaard closed in fast, exploiting a momentary lapse in Alex Sun's defensive rhythm to make the pass. Alex Sun slipped to fifth. Oscar Piastri followed immediately, completing a clean follow-through move and pushing him down to sixth.
The string of overtakes didn't rattle Alex Sun. Under heavy pressure, he quickly grasped the core logic of the attacks ahead of him—finding breakthroughs by exploiting tiny gaps in racing lines—and began forming a solid defensive framework of his own.
As the hard tyres reached their optimal window, his lap times steadily improved, and his defensive rhythm grew calmer and more controlled.
On lap five, he seized on a sluggish corner entry from Jehan Daruvala. Through Turn 4, Alex Sun used a precise cross-line move to complete the overtake and reclaim fifth place.
Late on lap six, Oscar Piastri set his sights on Alex Sun. Exiting Turn 7, Piastri used the slipstream, carefully modulating the throttle and adjusting his line to squeeze Alex Sun's acceleration space.
Disturbed by the dirty air, Alex Sun's car lost its rhythm for a moment. Piastri instantly pounced, sweeping around the outside. Alex Sun tried to counter, but was firmly shut down and had to settle into sixth.
David Beckmann moved in next. Braking early into Turn 15 before the main straight, he cut to a tighter inside line, creating a cross-over and using superior mid-corner speed to complete the pass.
Both overtakes were hard-fought. Alex Sun defended tightly throughout, repeatedly anticipating rivals' lines and blocking in time. Only a lack of experience allowed them to break through.
On lap nine, Dan Ticktum launched a forceful attack, his quicker pace eating into the gap on the straights while he repeatedly tried to force the inside through the corners.
They fought through laps nine and ten, Ticktum unable to find a way past.
The FIA commentator shouted, "Fantastic defence! Alex Sun reads everything! Inside line completely shut! Dan Ticktum has no chance—the rookie is like a brick wall in front of him!"
It wasn't until lap eleven that Ticktum, carrying a sustained pace advantage, finally pulled half a car length at the end of the main straight and forced his way through. Alex Sun dropped to seventh.
He absorbed the lessons from the duel almost immediately, his defensive rhythm becoming more refined as he precisely managed the gap to the car behind.
Before long, Marcus Armstrong—now on hard tyres in their prime window—closed in, attacking with a pace advantage of 0.2 seconds per lap.
The FIA commentator's voice tightened. "Marcus Armstrong is charging with a two-tenths-per-lap advantage! Third-fastest pace in the field, hard tyres at their peak! Alex Sun has just finished fending off Dan Ticktum and now faces another onslaught—back-to-back battles at maximum intensity! Hard tyre versus hard tyre—one mistake and it's over!"
Alex Sun didn't dare relax for a second. Fully focused, he went on the offensive defensively: hugging the inside on the straights to shut the door, braking early into corners to claim the apex, and carefully controlling his exit lines to compress Armstrong's acceleration.
Armstrong proved even tougher to hold off than Ticktum. From lap twelve to fourteen, he tried everything—late lunges into corners, drag races down the straight—but each attempt was neutralized by Alex Sun's precise defence.
The FIA commentators erupted. "Unbelievable! From laps twelve to fourteen, Alex Sun holds off Marcus Armstrong for three full laps! Braking points, lines—absolutely pinpoint!"
In the end, Armstrong's more stable hard tyres and relentless pace told. Exiting Turn 10, his superior drive out of the corner let him forcefully pull alongside and complete the overtake. Alex Sun slipped to eighth.
After enduring wave after wave of attacks, Alex Sun had fully internalized the experience. He had grown from reactive defence into calm, proactive anticipation, firmly locking down eighth place while conserving his tyres for the pit stop.
The FIA commentator summed it up with excitement. "A textbook fifteen laps of growth! From passively losing positions to going head-to-head with top drivers—the improvement is plain to see! Turning pressure into experience, finding the rhythm to survive in F2!"
By now, Alex Sun had stabilized his pace in eighth. With the drivers behind losing speed and no longer posing a threat, he tucked in behind the pack ahead, maintaining a steady gap.
Mark's voice came over the radio with crisp instructions. "Car behind is five seconds back. Manage the tyres at this pace. Four laps to the pit window. Stay focused."
Alex Sun acknowledged quietly. As he refined his counterattacking plans by replaying his rivals' overtaking techniques in his mind, he carefully managed tyre wear to ensure the hard tyres would last to the stop.
Up front, Guanyu Zhou led the field and set the fastest lap, stretching his advantage over the second group to four seconds. But degradation on the soft tyres was becoming clear—data showed less than ten laps of life remaining.
The race entered a tense phase. Zhou dictated the tempo at the front, while fierce battles raged within the second and third packs, the situation on track changing by the moment.
Alex Sun held his rhythm, eyes fixed on the asphalt ahead. Tucked into the train of cars, he waited patiently for his chance.