Apollo tersenyum di balik helmnya saat memulai lap kedua, tertinggal 2,2 detik di belakang Fatih, membuntutinya seolah meniru setiap gerakannya.
Walaupun bisa memangkas jarak dengan Fatih, ia tidak langsung melakukannya. Ia berencana memberi Fatih rasa aman, membiarkannya terbiasa sendirian sebelum ia melancarkan serangan dan mengejutkannya. Setidaknya, itulah rencana awalnya. Untuk melakukan itu, ia perlu menjaga jarak yang cukup agar udara panas dan turbulen dari mobil Fatih tidak merusak ban dan membuat mesinnya kepanasan. Untuk saat ini, jarak tersebut sudah sempurna.
LAP 3: Tidak ada perubahan sepanjang lap. Fatih melaju di racing line yang sempurna sementara Apollo menjaga jarak yang sama.
LAP 4: Tidak ada perubahan, keduanya tetap menjaga jarak dan racing line masing-masing.
Hal ini berlanjut hingga LAP 13, saat Apollo akhirnya merasa Fatih sudah cukup lama sendirian hingga mulai lengah. Ia segera mulai memperpendek jarak secara perlahan agar tidak langsung disadari, namun cukup cepat sehingga dalam beberapa lap, ia sudah berada dalam keuntungan penuh slipstream Fatih.
Dalam dua lap, ia sudah berada di belakang Fatih, mengatur waktu dengan sempurna agar berada di bawah satu detik saat melewati area deteksi DRS. Ia segera menggunakan DRS di Wellington Straight, membuka sayap belakang untuk mengurangi drag yang dialami mobil di lintasan lurus panjang tersebut, sekaligus melakukan overtake, terus menempel Fatih sepanjang lintasan lurus.
Namun, Fatih tidak tinggal diam dan segera bergerak untuk menutup jalur dalam, membiarkan jalur luar terbuka lebar bagi Apollo. Apollo, yang ingin memanfaatkan slipstream, mengikuti Fatih di sana sampai ia memiliki delta kecepatan yang cukup untuk pindah ke jalur luar dan melewati Fatih tepat saat titik pengereman tiba.
Fatih memanfaatkan hal itu sepenuhnya dengan mengerem sangat lambat, menempatkan dirinya sejajar dengan Apollo, yang tampaknya sudah mengantisipasi hal itu dan mencoba melakukan switchback. Namun, Fatih dengan ahli memarkir mobilnya di apex dan berbelok cukup lebar dan lambat sehingga switchback hanya mungkin dilakukan di titik akhir tikungan.
Ia melebar, namun itu semua sudah sesuai rencana, karena ini memungkinkan Fatih mengambil jalur dalam melewati Luffield, memberinya keuntungan singkat saat keluar tikungan hingga sepanjang Woodcote. Ia tidak bisa membuka jarak yang cukup untuk menempatkan Apollo di belakangnya, mengakibatkan keduanya hampir bersisian di lintasan lurus saat Copse Corner yang berkecepatan tinggi mendekat dengan sangat cepat.
Kedua pembalap saling melirik, memperjelas bahwa mereka tidak berniat menjadi pihak yang mengerem atau mengangkat gas di tikungan tersebut. Meskipun ini terjadi di dunia nyata dan bukan simulasi, Fatih, yang sedikit di depan dan berada di sisi dalam, tidak mengangkat gas karena takut saat ia berbelok ke tikungan, sepenuhnya berharap Apollo melakukan hal yang sama dan mereka berdua akan masuk ke Copse secara bersisian.
Namun, bukan itu yang terjadi. Sesaat sebelum berbelok, Apollo telah mengatur waktu angkatan gasnya tepat saat Fatih menoleh untuk melihat ke depan, membiarkan mobil Fatih sepenuhnya berada di depan saat ia mulai berbelok langsung tanpa membebani suspensi, yang baginya, yang berada di sisi paling kiri lintasan, ia memiliki kebebasan untuk melakukannya.
Saat Fatih melebar ke pintu keluar tikungan karena upaya shallow entry berkecepatan tinggi dan masuk ke bagian lintasan yang kotor, Apollo, yang tetap berada di lintasan dan racing line yang memiliki cengkeraman lebih baik daripada bagian yang berdebu, sudah melewatinya saat Fatih kembali ke lintasan. Ini menunjukkan dengan jelas bahwa meskipun kemampuan mereka setara, pengalaman adalah keunggulan yang cukup untuk membuat pembalap yang setara terlihat tidak setara.
Fatih kini mengejar Apollo, sebelum harus sedikit menarik diri sebelum melewati rangkaian tikungan Maggots, Becketts, dan Chapel, karena berada terlalu dekat akan lebih merugikannya daripada menguntungkannya. Namun, jaraknya masih cukup dekat untuk memberinya DRS di Hangar Straight, mengurangi drag saat sayap belakang terbuka, memungkinkannya memperpendek jarak.
Apollo, pembalap yang sangat berpengalaman, tidak membuat kesalahan saat ia terus bergerak menghalangi untuk menghindari pemberian tow kepada Fatih di lintasan lurus panjang, namun Fatih terus mengejarnya di belakang. Namun, jaraknya masih cukup jauh sehingga saat mereka memasuki tikungan Stowe, Apollo masih memimpin.
Sepanjang LAP 14, Fatih terus mencoba mencari celah sambil tetap berada sangat dekat dengan Apollo, yang seandainya mobil Apollo ada di dunia nyata, akan menghancurkan ban dan membuat mesinnya kepanasan.
Saat ini, bukan itu alasan ia menjaga jarak tetap dekat, karena ia sudah lupa bahwa mobil Apollo tidak ada di dunia nyata, karena ia sepenuhnya tenggelam dalam balapan. Jadi, ia dengan sukarela menjaga jarak itu dan mempertaruhkan mesin kepanasan serta ban yang rusak demi kesempatan untuk menyalip, namun Apollo tidak pernah meninggalkan celah, bahkan saat ia mencoba memaksanya terbuka.
Dalam mesin yang setara, hampir mustahil untuk membuka celah dari pembalap yang begitu berpengalaman, tetapi Fatih juga tidak menyerah, karena ia berulang kali mencari celah selama lima lap berikutnya, membuat Apollo tetap waspada penuh dan memacu mobil hingga batasnya, hanya agar Fatih masuk ke pit di akhir LAP 20, yang membuat Apollo benar-benar terkejut.
Ia akhirnya menyadari bahwa Fatih telah memaksanya memacu mobil hingga kecepatan maksimum sehingga ban dan mesin keduanya kepanasan dan akan keluar dari jendela operasi optimal mereka. Ia tidak akan bisa memacu terlalu keras sementara Fatih berada di jalur pit, yang akan menggunakan kecepatan lambat di sana untuk mendinginkan mesin dan keluar dengan ban yang lebih baru dan segar. Meskipun dingin, ban tersebut tidak akan kepanasan seperti milik Apollo, yang akan berisiko mengalami blistering jika ia terus memacu dengan kecepatan yang sama untuk membuka jarak.
"Pemikiran yang bagus," ujar Apollo saat memasuki Hamilton Straight dengan senyum di wajahnya, karena ia benar-benar menikmati ini. Sekarang balapan telah terbagi menjadi dua strategi berbeda, dan tergantung pada bagaimana performa masing-masing, kemenangan masih terbuka bagi keduanya.
Apollo had a smile under his helmet as he started the second lap, 2.2 seconds behind Fatih, following him as if mirroring his every action.
Although he could close the gap to Fatih, he didn’t immediately push for it. He was planning on giving Fatih a sense of ease, letting him get used to being alone before he made his move and caught him off guard. At least, that was his first plan. To be able to do that, he needed to be at a large enough distance so that the hot and <anno data-annotation-id="25c8aea1-b953-1995-3bbe-89fb6c3e7034" data-title="disturbed air ">disturbed air 1 </anno>from Fatih’s car wouldn’t destroy his tires and overheat his engine. For that, the current distance was perfect.
LAP 3: No changes happened for the entire lap. Fatih drove the perfect racing line while Apollo kept the same distance.
LAP 4: No changes happened, as both Fatih and Apollo kept their distance and their racing lines.
This went on until LAP 13, when Apollo finally felt that Fatih had spent enough time alone to get complacent. He immediately started reducing the gap slowly enough to not be immediately noticed, but still fast enough that in a matter of laps, he was already under the full advantage of Fatih’s slipstream.
Under two laps, he was already behind Fatih, timing it perfectly so that he was under a second at the <anno data-annotation-id="f9ee9a0d-3a8f-4430-1f32-db5394df71d8" data-title="DRS detection area.">DRS detection area. 1 </anno> He immediately used the <anno data-annotation-id="7242668e-3bd4-b08a-f226-0f302ad8169d" data-title="DRS ">DRS 2 </anno>on the Wellington Straight, flipping the rear wing open and reducing the <anno data-annotation-id="4ec3f916-ac6d-cda5-51c3-99a9616c2d92" data-title="drag ">drag 3 </anno>experienced by the car on the long straight, along with the overtake, gaining on Fatih for the entirety of the straight.
But Fatih didn’t remain still and immediately moved to cover the inside line, leaving the outside line fully open for Apollo. Apollo, wanting to take advantage of the slipstream, followed Fatih there until he had enough of a speed <anno data-annotation-id="01a129c6-f549-a7d4-4a23-75fd510a7a10" data-title="delta difference ">delta difference 1 </anno>that he moved to the outside line and went past Fatih just as the braking points arrived.
Fatih used that fully to his advantage as he braked very late, putting himself side-by-side with Apollo, who seemed to have anticipated it and tried to do a <anno data-annotation-id="3b9a8b1e-e0a6-d8d1-285e-a66ac99da51e" data-title="switchback">switchback 1 </anno>. But Fatih expertly parked the car on the apex and rotated wide and slow enough that it made a switchback only possible at a late point in the corner.
He went wide, but that was all within plan, since this allowed Fatih to take the inside line through Luffield, giving him a short advantage through the corner exit all the way through Woodcote. He couldn’t open up enough of a gap to put Apollo behind him, resulting in both of them being nearly side by side on the straight as the high-speed Copse Corner came at them very fast.
Both drivers looked at each other, making it clear that they were not intending to be the ones to brake or lift into the corner. Despite it being in the real world and not a simulation, Fatih, who was slightly ahead and on the inside, didn’t lift out of fear as he turned into the corner, fully expecting Apollo to do the same and for the two of them to go into Copse side by side.
But that was not at all what happened. Moments before turning, Apollo had timed his lift just as Fatih turned to look at the front, allowing Fatih’s car to fully be ahead as he started turning directly without loading the suspension, which, for him, who was on the leftmost side of the track, he had the freedom to do.
As Fatih went wide into the corner exit due to his <anno data-annotation-id="959d762e-5545-1fb8-d961-99281300bbbb" data-title="shallow entry">shallow entry 1 </anno> attempt at high speed and into the<anno data-annotation-id="8837b4b3-8d56-92a5-db5c-1ec77f056ea8" data-title=" dirty part of the track"> dirty part of the track 2 </anno>, Apollo, who remained on the track and the racing line, which had more grip than the dusty part, was already through by the time Fatih rejoined the track. This showed clearly that although everything was the same skill-wise, experience was enough of an edge to make equal drivers look unequal.
Fatih now chased Apollo, before having to slightly pull back before going through the Maggots, Becketts, and Chapel corner sequences, since being too close would cost him more than it would benefit him. But it was still close enough to give him DRS on the Hangar Straight, shedding drag for him as the rear wing opened, allowing him to close the gap.
Apollo, the ever-experienced driver, didn’t make any mistakes as he kept moving out of the way to avoid giving Fatih a <anno data-annotation-id="8f5c0d9b-4505-ee0a-fdf5-7b7dbd189dc6" data-title="tow ">tow 1 </anno>on the long straight, only for Fatih to keep chasing behind him. But the gap was still far enough that as they went into Stowe corner, Apollo was still ahead.
For the entirety of the LAP 14, Fatih kept probing him while remaining dangerously close to Apollo, which, had Apollo’s car existed in the real world, would have killed the tires and overheated the engine.
At the moment, this was not the reason he kept the distance that short, because he had already forgotten that Apollo’s car was not in the real world, as he was fully immersed in the race. So he was willingly keeping that distance and risking the engine overheating and his tires being killed for an opportunity to overtake, but Apollo never left an opening, even when he tried to pry one open.
In equal machinery, it was nearly impossible to pry one open from such an experienced driver, but Fatih didn’t give up either, as he repeatedly probed for an opening for the next five laps, making Apollo remain fully vigilant and pushing the car to the limit as well, only for Fatih to dive into the pits at the end of the LP 20, catching Apollo completely off guard.
He had finally realized that Fatih had forced him to push the car to its maximum pace so that the tires and the engine both overheated and would be out of their <anno data-annotation-id="ad278293-a2cc-a2e1-5860-1b1aba59ca8f" data-title="optimal operating window.">optimal operating window. 1 </anno> He wouldn’t be able to push too much while Fatih was in the pit lane, who would use the slow speed there to cool the engine and come out with newer and fresher tires. Although cool, they would not be overheated like Apollo’s, which would risk <anno data-annotation-id="234da4a5-61e0-17eb-38c0-fbe8937bf2b5" data-title="blistering ">blistering 2 </anno>if he kept pushing at this same pace to open up a gap.
"Nice thinking," Apollo said as he entered Hamilton Straight with a smile on his face, as he was fully enjoying this. Now the race had been divided into two different strategies, and depending on how the other performed, a win was still open for both of them.
<annotations style="display: none;">Disturbed Air (Dirty Air): The turbulent, low-pressure wake left behind a leading car that starves chasing cars of wing downforce and overheats tires.DRS Detection Area: The precise spot on the track where electronic sensors check if a trailing car is within 1 second of the lead car.DRS (Drag Reduction System): A driver-controlled system that flips open a flap in the rear wing to eliminate aerodynamic drag on straights.Drag: The invisible wall of atmospheric air resistance pushing against an F1 car’s bodywork at high speeds.Speed Delta: The exact velocity percentage difference in speed between two competing race cars at any given point on track.Switchback (Overtake): A tactical counter-move where a driver lets an opponent slide past deep into a turn, then cuts underneath them for a faster exit.Shallow Entry: An overly narrow cornering angle that forces a driver to turn tighter, shedding critical speed and pushing the chassis wide.Dirty / Dusty Part of the Track: The outer racing limits off the clean line where loose stones, marbles, and dust accumulate, destroying tire traction.Tow: The powerful aerodynamic pull a chasing driver receives when locked inside the high-speed slipstream wake of a leading car.Optimal Operating Window: The perfect thermal threshold where the engine and tire rubber provide maximum chemical grip and performance.Blistering: A severe thermal tire failure where the interior core rubber overheats, bubbles, and tears away chunks of the surface tread.</annotations>
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