Lap 17. A sudden crash at Turn 12! Lawson and Drugovich made contact and slammed into the barriers, debris scattering across the track. Double yellow flags were waved instantly, the Safety Car was deployed at once—Lawson was out of the race!
Alex Sun's pupils shrank. The chance to turn things around had finally arrived!
The Safety Car had barely come out when Mark's voice exploded over the radio. "Box! Box! Pit for soft tyres! This saves fourteen seconds—move!"
"Copy!" Alex Sun roared back. He pushed flat-out, then ten meters before the pit lane white line stamped hard on the brakes. White smoke poured off the tyres as speed dropped sharply to the pit lane limit.
He stopped dead-on in his pit box. The four-man crew swarmed the car in an instant.
The car was jacked up, pneumatic guns screeching at high pitch. Old hard tyres off, brand-new softs on—5.6 seconds!
Alex Sun stared at the dash, fingers taut on the wheel. Every second in the pits felt like a countdown. The urge to overtake was barely contained.
Rejoining behind the Safety Car, his position dropped from seventh to ninth. He wasn't worried in the slightest—worn hard tyres were no match for fresh softs.
He forced himself to stay calm, gently weaving to warm the tyres, feeling the grip come in. His eyes were sharp and focused. Being temporarily behind meant nothing. Every car ahead was a target.
After two steady laps behind the Safety Car, race control announced it would be coming in. The pit wall signaled for him to get ready.
But just as the Safety Car peeled off and racing resumed at the start of lap 21, one of the cars suffered a mechanical issue, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. The rhythm froze again. Three laps at reduced speed wound Alex Sun's fighting spirit tighter and tighter, like a compressed spring.
The Virtual Safety Car ended. Racing was back on—and Alex Sun seized the fleeting opening he'd been waiting for.
No more tentative probing like earlier. He decisively applied the "brake early, claim the apex" technique he'd picked up from Beckmann. Reading Marcus Armstrong's braking perfectly, he hit the brakes half a beat earlier, sliced cleanly to the inside, and made the pass in one smooth motion. No hesitation, no excess. He stabilized the car immediately and climbed from ninth back to eighth.
The FIA commentator shouted excitedly, "Alex Sun passes Marcus Armstrong at Turn 1! Clean, decisive—no hesitation at all! That's the advantage of fresh tyres on full display!"
Alex Sun kept attacking. With DRS available, he no longer chased the slipstream blindly. Instead, he held a precise 0.8-second gap to Marcus Armstrong, only going flat-out the instant he entered the DRS zone. Using the tow, he swept past with ease and moved up to seventh.
At Turn 8, he anticipated Théo Pourchaire's delayed braking from tyre degradation. He braked hard and early, cut into a tighter inside line, and guided the car perfectly along the kerb. On corner exit, he pulled half a car length clear and took sixth.
When Théo Pourchaire tried to fight back, Alex Sun stayed calm. He read the line, claimed the optimal outside trajectory early, and held the position without panic.
From decisive attacks to composed defence, his control of the race had visibly improved. The FIA commentator was fired up. "Alex Sun passes Marcus Armstrong on the main straight with DRS, then gets Théo Pourchaire at Turn 8! The rhythm of these overtakes is silky smooth—attack and defence switching effortlessly. Outstanding!"
Lap 22. Just two laps to go. Alex Sun pushed the tyres to the limit and set his sights on fifth-place Bent Viscaal.
Earlier, he would have relied purely on raw speed. Now, he raced with intent.
Through the T9–T10 sequence, he claimed the outside early, gradually squeezing Viscaal's racing line and forcing him to lift again and again.
On exit, he caught the moment of hesitation and buried the throttle, completing the pass in one decisive burst. Fifth place.
The move was perfectly measured—showcasing not just the performance of the new soft tyres, but the growth of his racecraft.
In just two laps, he had surged from eighth to fifth.
The tyres were near their limit, yet his driving remained controlled. The grandstands erupted, and the FIA commentator roared, "Beautiful! Alex Sun executes Bent Viscaal through the T9–T10 complex! That's brilliant racecraft—not a straight-line brawl, but relentless pressure through positioning, sealing it on corner exit!"
Final lap—lap 24. Alex Sun locked onto the car ahead in fourth: Jehan Daruvala.
The run of overtakes hadn't gone to his head. If anything, he was calmer than ever. Eyes fixed on Daruvala, he studied every line and braking point, patiently waiting for a mistake.
Onto the main straight, the opening appeared. Daruvala drifted slightly wide on corner exit. Alex Sun hit the DRS, caught the slipstream, and accelerated to the limit, holding his line to avoid dirty air.
He dived cleanly to the inside and completed the pass.
Fourth place.
Over several laps, he had overtaken five cars, charging from ninth to fourth.
Even under the crushing pressure of the final lap, his composure never cracked.
That calm—resisting arrogance even in a surge of momentum—was the clearest proof of his growth. Once through, he instantly assessed the gap ahead. No realistic chance to attack further. He settled in and focused on defending.
Up front, Oscar Piastri passed Guanyu Zhou, the fight for the win reaching a boiling point. The FIA commentator howled, "Alex Sun passes Jehan Daruvala on the main straight to take fourth! Calm, decisive, under maximum pressure—this overtake is pure class!"
Alex Sun committed fully to holding fourth. The soft tyres were now overheated from the sustained push, grip fading, the tyre temperature warning flickering faintly on the dash.
He knew the limit. Push any harder and a puncture was likely—everything he'd clawed back would be lost.
Ahead, Piastri and Christian Lundgaard were locked in a fierce fight for the win. Even spotting a potential opening, Alex Sun resisted the urge. He managed the pace, cooled the tyres, and held his line, refusing to gamble away his result.
At Turn 13, the car suddenly stepped sideways. Calm and precise, he corrected instantly—slight steering input, a gentle lift of the throttle, the car settled. One clean, fluid recovery.
From there, he adjusted his approach, prioritizing stability and defence over outright speed.
Mark's voice came urgently over the radio. "Hold fourth! No immediate threat behind—keep the rhythm!"
"Copy," Alex Sun replied quietly, eyes locked on the track as he waited for the finish.
Through the final corner, he controlled the speed perfectly, clipped the line, and powered to the flag. The tyres were spent, the car trembling slightly, but his rhythm never broke.
At the line, Piastri and Lundgaard took first and second. Alex Sun crossed safely, finishing fourth.
A sprint race defined by relentless overtakes—it became the standout performance of his rookie season.
After the finish, he slowed and reported the car was fine. Exhaustion mixed with the thrill of the comeback and the sting of missing the podium by a single place. The crowd's cheers still thundered around the circuit.
As the race concluded, Alex Sun's charge to fourth was the story of the day. The FIA commentator summed it up. "Alex Sun's key overtakes today were classics—from Turn 1, through T9–T10, to the pass on Jehan Daruvala on the main straight. Every move was precise and decisive—a true feast of overtaking!"
Fireworks lit the night sky as the official results were announced. Fourth place—his first career top-four finish, and a major personal breakthrough.
Climbing out of the car, Mark was there immediately, clapping him on the shoulder. "Perfect execution. That comeback was crucial. Get yourself settled—team debrief in fifteen minutes."
The mechanics crowded around, exchanging high-fives and cheers.
Sweat-soaked and exhausted, Alex Sun couldn't hide his smile. He nodded to the team, his gaze briefly flicking toward the podium before pulling away. He wanted more.
More than ever, he knew the post-race debrief would be key—turning this breakthrough into future progress. A few reporters approached, but he politely told them, "After the debrief."
The evening breeze carried the smell of fuel and rubber. Alex Sun wiped his forehead and walked straight toward the team's garage lounge, steady and determined.
In his mind, he was already replaying the race's key moments, preparing for the debrief ahead. This breakthrough brought not just confidence, but a clear path for what came next.
...
(20 Chapters Ahead)
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