Beside the pit lane entry, six tire-changing technicians from the Prema Racing team stood ready at their designated pit box, each at their post and prepared for action, waiting for Alex Sun to come in.
Two were responsible for the front tires, two for the rear, and two operated the lift. Their roles were clearly defined, their coordination seamless. The entire tire-change procedure, organized in advance by René Rosin, fit together with perfect precision.
Alex Sun's car rolled steadily into the pit lane and stopped smoothly in the pit box. The chassis lined up perfectly with the tire-change marks without the need for any adjustment, a clear sign of the team's flawless coordination.
The moment the car stopped, the six technicians swarmed in. The lift operators raised the car in sync while the tire technicians fired up their air guns.
Old tires off, new tires on, bolts tightened in one fluid motion. The Medium tyre change was completed in just 3.8 seconds. The entire sequence was clean, sharp, and without a moment's hesitation.
Watching Alex Sun make the only pit stop on track and complete it smoothly, commentator Jolyon Palmer immediately chimed in, his tone teasing but confident.
"Ha! Alex Sun's the only one pitting right now. That makes things nice and simple!"
"There's absolutely no chance of an unsafe release this time. Remember when Prema changed Piastri's tires earlier? That caused quite a mess."
He shifted topics and casually mentioned the earlier investigation.
"By the way, the stewards have ruled on the incident involving Piastri and Deledda. Both were judged guilty of unsafe release in the pit lane and each received a five-second penalty. Samaia was cleared with no penalty."
With the tire change complete, Alex Sun hit the throttle and shot out of the pit lane. The race had now reached Lap 11.
His position after rejoining was clear: 14 seconds behind Aitken, while holding a 16-second lead over Piastri behind him. With no cars ahead, he had the luxury of clean air, allowing him to focus entirely on refining his lap times.
Mark's steady voice came through the TR.
"Alex Sun, 3.8 seconds. Perfect stop. Plenty of clean air ahead—just focus on lap times. No need to rush."
Meanwhile, in the livestream booth, Jolyon Palmer kept his eyes on the live feed and timing data as he explained the race situation.
"The drivers currently in P1 and P2 still haven't made their pit stops. Once they do, they'll definitely drop out of the front positions, so they won't factor into the fight behind."
"The real battle is among the three behind them—Alex Sun, who just pitted; Piastri, who picked up a five-second penalty earlier; and Vips, who's been chasing relentlessly."
He continued analyzing the gap.
"Vips is seven seconds behind Piastri. Honestly, if he can close that to within five seconds, he could take second place on penalties alone—even without making the overtake."
Just as he finished speaking, he noticed a viewer comment asking: "What if Vips catches Alex Sun?"
He burst out laughing and replied confidently.
"Haha, I see that question in the chat. Let me tell you—there's a gap of over twenty seconds. Vips can chase all he wants. That's the kind of gap where you chase and don't even make a dent. There's basically no chance."
In the VIP viewing area on the second floor of the P-room, Rebecca Lin watched Alex Sun's car speed out of the pit lane and back onto the circuit. She excitedly waved in the direction the car disappeared, pouring her feelings into the gesture even though he couldn't see her.
Alex Sun quickly adapted to the grip of the medium tyres. His fingers lightly worked the steering wheel as he carefully felt every response from the car.
Fully immersed in the track, he focused on taking advantage of the clean air ahead, steadily improving his lap times while closing in on Aitken.
After a few laps, the medium tyres reached full operating temperature.
Alex Sun remained locked in, using the clean air to push harder and harder. His lap times kept improving, and the gap to Aitken shrank rapidly as his charge intensified.
As the race moved into its middle phase, the field had completely spread out. Clear gaps separated every car, and the chaotic pack battles of the early laps were long gone.
Piastri ran steadily 17 seconds behind Alex Sun, calmly sticking to his own rhythm—neither chasing recklessly nor falling behind. He looked completely composed.
Vips, who had originally been seven seconds behind Piastri, was caught by Drugovich. The two became locked in a fierce battle, their lap times dropping sharply and ending any realistic chance of Vips catching Piastri.
Mark's voice came through the headset again, precise and concise.
"Alex Sun, your lap times are two seconds faster than Aitken's. The gap is closing quickly. At this rate, by the second sector of Lap 18 you'll be within one second of him."
Behind the pit wall, René Rosin stared at the live timing screen.
When he saw both Prema cars occupying the ideal P1 and P2 positions, a satisfied smile spread across his face.
He trusted Alex Sun completely. Since the start of the season, every one of Alex Sun's performances had impressed him. Calm mindset, top-tier ability—he rarely needed reminders.
So he sent a message through the TR to Piastri instead.
His voice was firm and steady.
"Piastri, hold your position. Ignore the battle behind you. Protecting your advantage is all that matters."
As team principal, watching his two cars run first and second filled him with pride—but he didn't relax for a moment. He monitored both drivers' pace closely, guarding against any unexpected situation that might disrupt a one-two finish.
The race continued steadily.
Soon it was Lap 17.
Alex Sun's closing speed was even faster than expected, and he entered the DRS zone behind Aitken ahead of schedule. The gap between them had dropped to under one second.
Aitken's lap times were already slower than Alex Sun's. On top of that, his worn yellow tyres had entered their rapid degradation phase, with grip falling quickly.
Facing the charging Alex Sun, he didn't even attempt to mount a defense.
Alex Sun followed calmly through Turn 16 and exited onto the start-finish straight.
He tucked into Aitken's slipstream, opened DRS without hesitation, and the engine roared as it unleashed full power. Pulling out to the outside line, he completed the overtake on the straight with ease and took the lead of the race.
Jolyon Palmer's commentary instantly rose in excitement.
"Overtake! Alex Sun gets past Aitken! That was so smooth! Slipstream plus DRS—perfectly executed. He barely had to fight for it!"
Just as he finished speaking, the live timing updated.
His voice shot up another level.
"Oh my god! Alex Sun has just set the fastest lap of the race! 1:54.672!"
"That lap time is unbelievable! On Medium tyres, no less—he's broken the Baku race lap record!"
In the P-room, Rebecca Lin's eyes were filled with pride. A bright smile spread across her face as she murmured softly but firmly:
"Alex Sun… you did it. You never disappoint."
Mark's excited voice immediately came through the headset.
"Alex Sun, congratulations! Perfect overtake, and a new lap record. Outstanding work! Keep this pace up and maintain the advantage!"
Alex Sun didn't dwell on the joy of the overtake.
He immediately asked calmly over the TR,
"Mark, how far am I from Ticktum now?"
After hearing the answer, he didn't slow down just because Ticktum still needed to pit and posed no immediate threat.
He maintained the same relentless rhythm, continuing to push at fastest-lap pace as he drove forward, steadily expanding his lead.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (20 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.