Then the car rotated.
That was the confirmation. When the rear started to come around on the exit, it meant the front had found the grip it needed at the apex. It meant the geometry had worked. It meant the corner was done.
He came off Turn 3 with exit speed that put him two kilometres per hour faster down the back straight than any lap he had run all afternoon.
"Sector 1," Elias said immediately. "27.4. Purple. By three-tenths. That's— Leo, that's the fastest Sector 1 this circuit has seen in this session. By a significant margin."
Leo didn't answer.
He was braking for Turn 9.
---
Sector 2. Three corners in.
Rafael Vega.
The ART car was ahead and to the right — not on a cool-down lap, not on an out-lap. On a push lap. Full commitment, the ART's rear wing loaded down on the back straight and Vega carrying the same aggressive entry speed he had used all session.
