"Exactly, Crofty," a second commentator added. "Simulator speed is one thing, but the bumps and the wind at Albert Park are a different beast. He looks like he's fighting the car rather than driving it. Marcus Berg is currently P9, so the car has some pace, but Kaito might be out of his depth here."
Leo heard none of this, but he could imagine it. He could feel the eyes of the paddock on him, the pitying looks from the mechanics, and the dismissive notes in the journalists' notebooks.
He felt a cold, sharp tingle at the back of his brain. It was a sensation he rarely felt in the pod: amusement. He hadn't felt this in a long time.
'Let them write their stories,' he thought. 'Let Rossi and the other drivers think I'm a fluke. Let them think I'm an easy target. Hehe... They don't know what's about to hit them.'
