On December 22, 2021, with the sun high overhead, the cold of winter had not yet reached Abu Dhabi, and of course, the enthusiasm of the fans also uplifted the spirits of the drivers present.
"Come on, kid, this is the last race of your first season in your career. Just finish normally. You can't catch up to the points leader, and I believe it's a dream for Thomas to catch up to you from behind," Carlin Team Principal Trevor Carlin whispered to Dominik Corvinus.
After all, this was Dominik's eighth Grand Prix since being promoted to F2.
He was now in fourth place with 159.5 points. If Piastri hadn't been in the same cohort, Dominik would also have been called a genius driver.
After all, during his F3 days, Dominik and Piastri swept the top two spots in the F3 overall standings as rookie drivers.
"I'm resigned to it. I'm going to be suppressed by Piastri again this season," Dominik sighed as he looked at the standings, where Piastri was leading with over 200 points.
Wearing his racing suit, he sat in the cockpit, closed his eyes, and felt himself alive in the wind again. This was also why Dominik had persevered in driving for 13 years.
From karting tracks on the outskirts of Budapest to the rigid academies of European junior formulas, he had learned early that speed was the only universal language in racing.
Because only when the car was running could he feel truly free. Besides the roar of the engine and the battle with other drivers, he could think of nothing else.
Only during those short tens of minutes with his hands on the steering wheel was he fighting for himself.
A jolt…
Dominik knew the team was pushing him and his car towards the track.
Opening his eyes, he suddenly froze, quickly pressed the TR (team radio system), and shouted.
"Carlin!! Stop, Carlin!"
"Where's my steering wheel? You didn't get my steering wheel!"
Many of the technicians pushing the car were trying to suppress their laughter. One gray-haired technician ran back and returned with a steering wheel in his hand.
"Thank you, Payton."
This was Dominik's dedicated racing engineer, and also the engineer who had been with him since British F4. Throughout these years in single-seater racing, Payton had almost always looked after him.
Although Dominik's eyes were unfocused at this moment, his thoughts had already soared to the sky.
"I already have a Super License, and I drove Williams Latifi's car in Italy. That car was really easy to drive, but why does the paddock think Williams' car is at the bottom? I don't know if any F1 teams will want me if I do another year in F2 next season."
Don't let Dominik's quiet demeanor when he achieved good results fool you; his thoughts were truly erratic.
Upon arriving at the starting grid, the technicians informed him about various car settings and advised on tire management. After adjusting the car settings, Dominik didn't listen to any of the tire management advice.
He stared at the black racing car next to him, the UNI car of Zhou Guanyu.
Zhou waved to Dominik, greeting him with a relaxed smile. They weren't countrymen, but years of racing in the same European junior circuits had forged an unspoken understanding between them.
A few grid slots back, Liam Lawson leaned against his car, giving Dominik a quick thumbs-up. No flags, no nationality tying them together—just mutual respect built through battles on track and late-night debriefs off it.
Then, time seemed to fast-forward. All the technicians withdrew from the starting grid, and the roar of 22 racing cars echoed under the scorching sun of Abu Dhabi.
Dominik and Zhou started from the second row and then drove onto the track for the warm-up lap.
After one lap, as the last driver entered the starting grid and the chasing cars were in position, the five red lights illuminated in sequence, and the adrenaline of the spectators soared.
The five red lights extinguished, and the race began!
Turn 1 at Yas Marina was a left-hander. Dominik, relying on an excellent start, was about to make a move to overtake and secure his position before Turn 1 when Schwartzman, who started ahead, braked early and entered the corner, cutting in front of Zhou Guanyu. However, because of Schwartzman's braking, Dominik fell behind Pourchaire and entered Turn 1 in fifth position.
He lost a position at the start, but Carlin Team Principal Carlin was not at all worried, because he knew that Dominik, a Williams Driver Academy driver, was an extremely aggressive and intelligent driver.
The real battle would only begin after DRS was enabled.
Two laps later, Pourchaire was already 1.7 seconds behind Zhou Guanyu, but Dominik was clinging tightly to Pourchaire's car with a 0.3-second gap.
(Race Control Announcement: DRS Enabled)
Before Turn 5, Dominik had just controlled the gap to 0.8 seconds. After passing Turn 5, DRS activated, accompanied by the roar of 620 horsepower, and he rapidly closed in on the car ahead.
Just as he was about to start a late-braking battle at the end of the straight, Dominik lifted off the throttle, but Pourchaire didn't react as quickly.
He entered Turn 5 a bit too fast, and after exiting the corner, Pourchaire's car swayed, entering Turns 6 and 7.
The two almost continuous DRS zones—this was the real area for action.
Pourchaire's car's rhythm was affected, and he was defenseless in the DRS zone after Turn 7. Before even half the straight was over, the Carlin car, carrying Dominik, roared past.
"Idiot, guess which DRS zone I'm going to make my move in?" Dominik's mouth curved slightly upwards.
He then quickly pulled away from Pourchaire, and by the time they reached the next DRS zone, there was already a 1.2-second gap, which meant Pourchaire could no longer use DRS to attack him.
Now Dominik only needed to focus on chasing Schwartzman ahead, while Zhou Guanyu was already battling with Piastri.
"How much am I behind?" he asked over the TR.
"2.8, but Schwartzman is losing pace. His second and third sectors are slower than yours. Maintain your current pace, and you can gain 0.4 seconds per lap."
But Dominik pushed even faster, because F1 team principals were watching every race.
Although he usually appeared unassuming in his daily life, how could he not push hard when competing for an F1 seat?
In just four laps, Dominik erased the 2.8-second gap, caught up to Schwartzman, and began attacking the Prema car.
It was the same method again: closing in during the DRS zone after Turn 5 and lifting off the throttle early. However, Schwartzman didn't lose his rhythm and entered Turn 6 with several defensive lines. But what resistance could a 0.2-second gap offer in the DRS zone after Turn 7?
After overtaking, Dominik maintained twelve points of focus. Every downshift and trail brake was executed flawlessly.
For the next dozen or so laps, Dominik maintained a three to four-second gap with Zhou Guanyu and Piastri, and Schwartzman behind him also had a gap of just over one second.
Just when the audience, team principals, and drivers on the track thought it would end this way, a turning point appeared in the final few laps.
Dominik's hands were sweating now. Every time he exited a corner, he had to counter-steer to control the car, cursing inwardly, "I fought with Schwartzman a bit too much in those few laps."
Yes, his rear tires had completely degraded. In the last two laps, Schwartzman rapidly closed in.
At this point, the roles reversed. Dominik became defenseless, watching the two Prema cars take the podium, while he himself missed out on a trophy.
He felt a wave of frustration in his heart.
The checkered flag waved, signifying the official end of the 2021 F2 season. Piastri, in his rookie season, won the championship with 252.5 points, leading his teammate by 60 points. Schwartzman finished as runner-up, Zhou Guanyu took third place, and Dominik ended the season in fourth.