The frame rate crawled back to 70. Not perfect. But enough.

Leo smiled. The F1 22 Prix PC had given him more than a trophy. It had taught him the only rule that matters in racing—real or virtual:

“No, no, no,” Leo whispered.

He strapped into the real cockpit. The engine fired. And for the first time, there was no lag.

“Final sector, five laps to go,” his engineer crackled in his ear. “Alonso in P2 is three seconds back. His tires are gone. Yours are… marginal.”