With the spectator assignments at Imola, Portugal, and Spain completed, time quietly rolled on to May 9.
That afternoon, Alex Sun wrapped up his routine training and sat down in the simulator room's lounge, pulling up his system panel.
[Driver System – Ability Panel (0–100):
Launch Control: 55 (Base 40 + 15 Improvement)
Driving Technique: 82 (Base 70 + 12 Improvement; 21 points total available. The first 10 points take effect normally; the remaining 11 convert to 2 effective points, with 1 point still inactive)
Resource Management: 55 (Base 34 + 21 Improvement)
Track Tactics: 68 (Base 53 + 15 Improvement)
Physical Endurance: 70 (Base 65 + 5 from self-training)
Emergency Reaction: 50 (Base 38 + 12 Improvement)]
(Author's note: The difference between 80 and 82 points isn't just two points—it's effectively a full ten-point gap. On lap times, that might look like only 0.2 seconds, but the difference is like running 10.1 seconds versus 9.9 seconds in the 100 meters.)
Staring at the panel, Alex Sun's lips curled upward at once, excitement flashing in his eyes.
Compared to his performance back at Bahrain, his core abilities had surged across the board. Driving Technique had smashed through the 80-point barrier to reach 82, while key areas like Launch Control and Resource Management had leapt forward as well.
With Driving Technique at 82, his precision in corner control, finesse in line choice, and the smooth coordination between throttle and brakes were now pushing into top-tier F2 territory.
Things that once demanded endless trial and error—corner entry timing, braking force—were now etched into muscle memory. That solid feeling of having real strength in hand filled him with confidence. He was certain of it now: this run at Monaco would finally break the bottleneck.
"Time to test Monaco again."
Alex Sun closed the panel and headed toward the simulator with light, eager steps.
This time, there was no hesitation. He brought together precise lines, setup thinking, and driving rhythm into a single, coherent approach—his key to breaking through the Monaco barrier.
He remembered the frustration from two months earlier, stuck at a 1:22 lap-time wall around Monaco. No matter how he adjusted the setup, nothing worked. It had been Mark who told him then, "Don't force the lap time. Relax, make adjustments, and solid technique will get you through naturally."
Now that the bottleneck was finally gone, the first person Alex Sun wanted to share it with—and have it verified by—was Mark. He sent a message right away:
"Mark, come to the simulator room. The Monaco lap-time problem's solved. Help me keep an eye on the live data."
Five minutes later, Mark hurried in, surprise and anticipation written all over his face. "You really cracked it? You couldn't get past 1:22 last time. So these two months weren't for nothing?"
"Just watch," Alex Sun said with a grin, pointing toward the data analysis console. "You'll get a clearer look at the telemetry over there. I'll run a flying lap and prove it."
Mark got the hint and quickly moved to the workstation, pulling up the live telemetry feed, his eyes locked onto the screen.
Alex Sun put on his helmet, set his hands on the wheel in a standard grip, and the Monaco circuit lit up clearly on the display in front of him.
He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. There was only one goal: use his improved ability to set a new personal best at Monaco.
The formation lap countdown ticked away. The sprint was about to begin.
First gear. His left index finger pressed down the clutch paddle to lock it in place. When the formation lap signal came on, he eased the clutch to the bite point and fed in the throttle smoothly, guiding the car out of the pit lane at a steady 60 km/h.
Small steering inputs, light intermittent braking—he warmed the tires methodically. Only once tire temperatures reached 90°C and the brakes were fully up to spec did he slightly relax the pressure in his fingertips.
The instant he crossed the line at the end of the formation lap, Alex Sun slammed the throttle down. The car howled as it shot past the line.
The flying lap was live. The timer began to race.
Keeping the engine in the high revs down the short straight, the entry to Turn 1—Sainte Devote—came sharply into focus 150 meters ahead.
This was Monaco's first critical heavy-braking corner. The track was narrow, with no runoff on either side. Any mistake meant straight into the wall.
Alex Sun's left index finger hovered over the downshift paddle as his mind rapidly calculated the optimal braking point and deceleration. Monaco allowed no margin for error. This first big stop would set the rhythm for the entire lap. Only now did the real charge for a fastest lap begin.
1.2 seconds to corner entry.
Alex Sun decisively hit the brakes to four-fifths travel. Massive braking force pitched the car forward, his shoulders pressed hard into the seat.
At the same time, his left hand flicked the downshift paddle in quick succession—fourth straight down to second. The gearbox blipped automatically, the engine note dropping smoothly from a shrill scream to a deep roar, without a hint of hesitation. That seamless coordination between heavy braking and downshifting was one of the core skills that separated elite drivers from the rest.
Centrifugal force pinned him in place. He clenched his teeth, steadying the car, pupils tightening. Only two words flashed through his mind: Don't miss.
A slight right input. The car hugged the inside line with surgical precision—three centimeters off, and he'd scrape the wall.
Outside the simulator, Mark stared at the screen, his Adam's apple bobbing as his heart tightened. This was the first time he'd ever seen Alex Sun control his line with this level of precision.
On the inside of Turn 1, the car held a five-centimeter gap from the wall—maximizing track usage while still leaving just enough room for error. That kind of millimeter-level control was already the domain of top professional drivers.
On corner exit, Alex Sun followed the golden rule of "slow in, fast out." He released the brakes and fed in throttle immediately, staying in second gear and accelerating hard.
Between T1 and T2 wasn't a direct transition, but a short straight of about 120 meters—the only small acceleration window after Turn 1.
With the limited width of the track, the F2 car didn't have much room to stretch its legs. Speed climbed smoothly from 65 km/h to 98 km/h before topping out. The line was clean and decisive, with no wasted wheelspin, while he pre-judged the entry angle for Turn 2 to lock in a stable rhythm for the upcoming sequence.
At the end of the short straight, there was no need to upshift. He stayed in second gear and went straight into the T2–T4 complex, the Beausset section.
This sequence consisted of three tightly linked medium-to-low-speed corners, spaced just five to eight meters apart. F2 drivers took 6.2 seconds to get through it, and the key was simple: smooth low-speed flow, no unnecessary movements.
Approaching the end of the short straight and closing in on Turn 2, Alex Sun eased off the throttle slightly and brushed the brakes, calmly bringing the speed down to 80 km/h. A small right turn, hugging the right-hand curb, set him up perfectly for entry.
He flowed seamlessly into the left-hand Turn 3, still in second gear. A slight lift adjusted the car's balance, countering centrifugal force as he used weight transfer to guide a gentle left turn along the line. The feedback from the curb confirmed his precision.
Immediately after came the right-hand Turn 4. He brushed the brakes again to hold 70 km/h and prevent the nose from diving, turning right along the optimal line. The T4–T5 section marked Monaco's second major heavy-braking zone, and stabilizing speed and posture here was crucial preparation for what came next.
Alex Sun's hand-eye coordination was operating at its absolute peak. From the end of the straight into turn-in, brake release, and throttle application, there wasn't the slightest gap. His control of rhythm was flawless.
Mark's eyes stayed glued to the telemetry, tension building by the second. His palms were slick with sweat as he leaned forward, gripping the edge of the desk. Through the narrow T4 section, Alex Sun's car traced the ideal line, maintaining a safe distance from the trackside advertising boards. That calm, unhurried control in such tight confines spoke louder than riding the absolute edge—any small deviation here would mean the wall.
Just as Alex Sun exited Turn 4 and approached Turn 5, completing the first sector, the telemetry screen in front of Mark flashed purple.
"Sector 1: 18.23 seconds -0.12"
He'd just smashed his own personal best in Sector 1.
Out of Turn 4, Alex Sun immediately cut into the right-hand Turn 5, the corner before La Rascasse. At this key braking point, he hit the brakes to four-fifths travel again, hauling the car down from 120 km/h to 55 km/h. His left hand dropped from third to second gear as he hugged the inside line through a slight right turn.
He made tiny throttle adjustments to suppress suspension bounce—any loss of grip here would cost lap time. No detail could be ignored.
He flowed straight into the right-hand Turn 6, holding second gear and lightly braking to bring entry speed to 60 km/h. The link between Turns 6 and 7 demanded a smooth transition: too slow would drag down the rhythm, too fast would ruin the line for Turn 7.
A gentle right input carried him cleanly over the apex. He lifted the brakes early and prepared the throttle on exit, smoothly shifting up to third gear. Speed climbed rapidly to 95 km/h as he charged toward Turn 7—the famous Casino right-hander at Monaco.
The purpose of Turn 7 was to stabilize the car and set the rhythm for acceleration down the next short straight.
Alex Sun anticipated the apex early. No deliberate braking was needed. In third gear at a steady 88 km/h, he made a slight right turn, clipping the inside neatly and holding perfect balance through the corner without a hint of sliding.
The moment he exited, he went straight to full throttle. Down the short straight after Turn 7, he shifted up to fourth, speed surging to 148 km/h—right at the limit for that stretch—before seamlessly linking into the next braking phase.
As he reached the end of the short straight, he carried his line cleanly into the opening of Turn 8, using the momentum to dive straight into the Tunnel.
...
(20 Chapters Ahead)
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