Group A qualifying came to an end, and the gap in the headline lap times was glaring. Teammate Oscar Piastri had wrung everything out of the car to post a 1:21.421, securing second in Group A—but even that was still a full 0.436 seconds slower than Group A's fastest man, Theo Pourchaire.
In Formula 2, positions are often decided by thousandths of a second. A gap of over four-tenths was more than enough to underline just how dominant Pourchaire's lap had been. Alex Sun took a deep breath, turned toward his car, and pulled on his helmet. It was time for Group B.
His hand brushed over the cool leather of the steering wheel. What crossed his mind wasn't "protect the car" or "play it safe," but a resolve that had been building for a long time. For the championship—go all in.
The engines roared to life as Group B qualifying officially began, yet Alex Sun didn't rush out.
Seated in the cockpit, he studied the track conditions through the onboard display. In the opening minutes, several Group B drivers made consecutive mistakes—some slid wide at the Piscine, others botched their lines into Turn 1. There were simply too many variables on track.
"Wait a little longer. Find a clean window," race engineer Mark said over the radio, his tone calm and steady. "Don't get dragged into anyone else's rhythm. Stick to the plan."
Time ticked by. Seven minutes into the session, Alex Sun's car was still motionless in the pit lane.
Nearby team mechanics began pacing restlessly, and the cheers from the grandstands grew louder and louder. Inside the cockpit, however, Alex Sun remained rock steady, his focus razor-sharp—like a patient cheetah waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Now!"
At the eight-minute mark, cars on track started peeling back into the pit lane for tire changes. A clear, unobstructed circuit opened up ahead. Alex Sun immediately engaged the gear and floored the throttle, the car firing out of the pit lane like an arrow loosed from the bow.
The out lap began. He fed in the throttle gently, bringing the tires up to temperature—and almost at once, he sensed something was off. The steering felt slightly heavier than it had in the simulator, and the car's response on corner entry was just a touch less sharp. The setup derived from simulator work clearly wasn't a perfect match for the real circuit and this particular car.
The gap between simulation and reality had finally shown itself. Yet Alex Sun's gaze didn't waver. If anything, it grew more resolute. A gap was never a reason to back off—it was something to be conquered.
He subtly adjusted his seating position, fingertips brushing lightly across the steering wheel. Drawing on the experience of thousands of simulator laps, he made quiet, precise tweaks through every corner of the out lap, rapidly adapting to this "imperfect" car.
By the time the lap was complete, the supersoft tires were in their optimal window—and he had found his rhythm.
The flying lap began.
Alex Sun buried the throttle. The engine let out a ferocious roar as the revs climbed, the car surging forward like a wild horse unleashed.
Barely past the line, he faced the combined challenge of the launch sprint and uphill braking—one of Monaco's most accident-prone sections, where mistakes at the braking point are brutally punished.
Approaching the T1 Sainte Devote right-hander, he used the uphill momentum to stabilize the throttle, lining up the entry angle early. At the braking marker, he hit the brakes hard and snapped down through the gears.
His control was flawless. The car scrubbed off speed cleanly on the narrow track, and with perfectly judged steering input, it clipped the apex on the tightest possible line. The right-side tires brushed the curb, flicking up fine bits of asphalt.
On exit, he rolled on the throttle smoothly, avoiding wheelspin, then flowed cleanly through the T2 Beau Rivage left-hander.
Keeping the rhythm alive, he made a slight correction through the T3 Massenet right-hander, then braked early and decisively for the T4 Casino corner, nailing the line once again. The pace through this opening complex was blistering—fast without a hint of hesitation.
In the pit lane, Mark stared at the timing screen. When the purple sector light for Sector 1 lit up, his pupils shrank. Alex Sun had absolutely wrung the neck of that sector.
His fist clenched instinctively, his throat bobbing as he swallowed back a radio message that almost escaped. At this rhythm, he didn't dare interrupt. All he could do was pray silently: hold it together.
Clearing the opening sector, the true challenge began. This was the most demanding portion of the Monaco circuit—home to the iconic hairpin and the flat-out tunnel. Alex Sun drew a breath, eyes locked onto each apex as he prepared himself.
He eased through T5 Mirabeau Upper with progressive braking, then stood hard on the brakes to downshift into the T6 Fairmont Hairpin, Monaco's famously tight, low-speed corner.
On exit, he fed in the throttle carefully to avoid excessive torque, flowing through T7 Mirabeau Lower. A light brake settled the car for the right-hander at T8 Portier, before he cut a clean, stable line into the T9 tunnel entrance and launched himself downhill into the tunnel.
The light dropped away instantly. Wind noise and engine roar filled his ears as he kept the throttle pinned, the speed climbing to 280 km/h. The tunnel lights streaked past in blurred bands.
He anticipated the change in light before the exit, then slammed on the brakes with pinpoint precision for the T10 tunnel exit corner, immediately attacking the Nouvelle Chicane.
On the inside stood a Rolex billboard. Alex Sun's line hugged the absolute limit—the car skimming past the sign so closely that the "ROLEX" logo flashed by in an instant, close enough to touch.
The Sector 2 purple light illuminated on the telemetry screen. But in the pit lane, Mark shot to his feet, his voice pitching high as he mashed the radio button.
"Careful! Watch your line! Don't get that close!"
Alex Sun stabilized instantly, smoothing his inputs and carrying a clean, flowing line through T12 Tabac with progressive throttle.
"Perfect line," Mark said, the tension still audible. "Hold it. Don't overdo it."
With the hardest section behind him, Alex Sun entered the final part of the lap—a sequence of low-speed corners leading onto a crucial sprint straight. Exit quality here would decide everything. His eyes sharpened as he prepared for the last test.
Into T13 Piscine One, the setup's limitations finally surfaced. The car's response lagged slightly behind expectations.
He couldn't keep it flat. Instead, he eased off just a fraction and made rapid, precise steering corrections, slicing cleanly through T13 and T14 at the Piscine.
A short burst of acceleration carried him toward T15 La Rascasse—the same corner where Del Dela had crashed moments earlier. He braked hard and downshifted early, placing the car perfectly on entry and clearing the corner without a hint of drama.
From there, he maintained a composed, low-speed line through the remaining sequence: T16 Anthony Nogues, T17 Riviera, T18 Domenicali, and T19 Marina.
Corner after corner, he kept a seamless rhythm—constant micro-adjustments, never rushed, every exit angle chosen to preserve maximum speed.
Out of T19 Marina, the final straight opened up. Alex Sun planted the throttle once more, the car roaring toward the finish line.
When the green light for Sector 3 appeared, Mark finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
It wasn't a sector record—but completing the lap cleanly at this pace, with a less-than-perfect setup, was already extraordinary.
As the car crossed the line, Alex Sun exhaled deeply, his heartbeat loud in his ears.
Almost instantly, the lap time froze on the screen: 1:21.002.
From the Sky Sports commentary booth beside the circuit, the excited voice of a commentator rang out across the pit lane:
"My God! Alex Sun! This rookie's very first time at Monaco, and he delivers a lap like that—1:21.002! A flawless flying lap, absolutely worthy of being called a 'star lap'!"
The pit lane exploded into cheers. Mark, who moments ago had been on edge, now pumped his fist and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Beautiful! Alex Sun! What a lap!"
Inside the cockpit, a broad smile finally appeared on Alex Sun's face. His fingers rested lightly on the steering wheel, feeling the lingering warmth of the car, satisfaction flooding in.
He replayed every moment of that lap in his mind—the decisive braking into Turn 1, the flat-out tunnel run, the razor-thin brush past the billboard, the final charge to the line. Every input had been just right. This was his perfect lap.
With the commentators' voices still echoing, Alex Sun guided the car calmly back to the pit box. He removed his helmet and wiped the sweat from his temple, greeted by the team's cheers still ringing with excitement.
Only then did he analyze it coolly. That lap had already been at the limit. Even if he went again, even with minimal tire wear, the gain would be no more than a few thousandths—hardly worth the risk. His objective for qualifying was complete. For him, the job was done.
As Alex Sun took a brief rest in the pit box, all Group B drivers completed their laps. The F2 Monaco qualifying session officially came to an end, and the final grid order appeared on the large screens in the pit lane.
The standings showed that Guanyu Zhou, also in Group B, had pushed as hard as he could but finished fifth in the group and tenth overall with a 1:22.115. With that, the competitive order was finally set:
Theo Pourchaire, Group A, 1:20.985 – Pole Position
Alex Sun, Group B, 1:21.002 – P2
Oscar Piastri, Group A, 1:21.421 – P3
Ralph Boschung, Group B, 1:21.628 – P4
Yuri Vips, Group A, 1:21.660 – P5
Daniel Ticktum, Group B, 1:21.742 – P6
Christian Longard, Group A, 1:21.856 – P7
Liam Lawson, Group B, 1:21.911 – P8
Felipe Drugovich, Group A, 1:22.012 – P9
Guanyu Zhou, Group B, 1:22.115 – P10
By finishing first in Group B and second overall, Alex Sun secured the second starting position for the feature race—and ninth on the grid for the first sprint race under the reverse top-ten rule.
The strength of his grid position only boosted his confidence heading into the sprint. He was ready to fight.
...
(20 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser