Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Round 1: Bahrain GP (March 28, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi started 19th and retired on lap 34 due to a suspension failure after a pit stop.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“Ah, Bahrain. Mechanical failure, some say a cruel twist of fate. But I saw an opportunity: an early retirement, freeing me from the chaos to watch the real duel unfold. Verstappen’s aggressive pace, Hamilton’s stoic precision — I logged every nuance, the wear patterns on their tires, the dance of fuel strategies. To win a war, first you must observe its generals. This was my opening reconnaissance.”

Round 2: Emilia Romagna GP (Imola, April 18, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi spun on lap 9 at Tamburello (Turn 9) in wet conditions and retired.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“A spin in the rain — call it an error if you must, but for me, a deliberate probe into the mechanics of race control. How swiftly would the Safety Car intervene? How would the leaders adjust their pace when the track screamed chaos? Each rotation of my car was a data point — mapping the ripples I could one day unleash upon the championship pond.”

Round 3: Portuguese GP (Portimão, May 2, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi ran wide and off the track multiple times but finished 16th.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“Repeated excursions off track? Distracted fans and rival teams alike, who scoured telemetry for weaknesses. Meanwhile, I dissected Hamilton’s tire wear in real-time, noting how each of my subtle missteps forced him to adjust lines, conserve grip. Distraction is an undervalued weapon — one that I wielded with surgical precision to fracture Mercedes’ composure.”

Round 4: Spanish GP (Barcelona, May 9, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi locked up brakes at Turn 1, narrowly avoiding running wide, finishing 17th.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“A lock-up — a moment’s overreach that few appreciate as an act of insight. I pushed the edge of grip to watch Hamilton’s eyes flicker as I threatened his line. It was a test: how do you defend against a wild card? This moment of ‘error’ was a scalpel cutting through Mercedes’ defensive strategies, refining my approach for the finale.”

Round 6: Azerbaijan GP (Baku, June 6, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi spun at Turn 1 but managed to continue, finishing 17th.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“A controlled spin — orchestrated chaos to measure reactions. Verstappen’s quick pivot, Hamilton’s calculated caution — they adjusted their mental game in response. I was the catalyst, forcing shifts in their calculus. Spin, recover, repeat — I honed the art of disruption while maintaining my seat.”

Round 12: Belgian GP (Spa, August 29, 2021)

Real Event: Rain delayed the race start, and after two laps behind the Safety Car, the race was called off. Latifi finished 18th.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“Ah, the chaotic ballet of Spa. The race reduced to two laps behind the Safety Car — a masterclass in how race neutralization resets fortunes. I absorbed the power of this tool, the way it compresses gaps and resets the battlefield. If the championship were a puzzle, this was a critical piece. I vowed: when it’s my time, I will wield this power.”

Round 13: Dutch GP (Zandvoort, September 5, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi finished 18th, keeping steady under immense pressure.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“In Zandvoort’s unforgiving arena, mental steel is forged. I held my line, preserved focus as the pressure mounted like a crescendo. The grand finale requires more than speed — it demands unshakable clarity, calm amidst chaos. This was my rehearsal for the storm to come.”

Round 16: Turkish GP (Istanbul, October 10, 2021)

Real Event: Latifi finished 18th, displaying controlled driving on the slippery surface.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“Mastering slippery conditions — this is the essence of control through chaos. Every measured slide was a lesson in precision: how to tease the limits of grip, how to let go and catch the car again. This skill is the foundation of the perfect crash. I trained for that moment with relentless focus.”

Latifi’s Secret Internal Diary Entries

Secret Diary Entry: June 6, 2021 – 22:06 – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
 

Private Journal — Codename: Project Equalizer

They’ll remember the spectacle.

Stroll’s blowout. Max into the wall. Hamilton’s brake magic error. Sergio Pérez of steady hands and steel nerves emerging from the wreckage with the win. They’ll replay it in highlight reels for years.

But that wasn’t the real race.
Not the one I was watching.

I wasn’t focused on positions or podiums. I was watching patterns. Listening to the system hum. Baku wasn’t chaos—it was an open circuit. A message. And I was the only one tuned in.

For a moment, I thought it was out of my control. Even with the right crash perfectly timed, perfectly placed, Lewis could still outrun even the best drivers. Still outmaneuver fate. Seconds ahead. Too clean. Too consistent. I considered scrapping everything.

Then he happened.
Sergio Pérez.

He didn’t just win. He intervened. No fanfare, no theatrics. He held the line with surgical resolve. Held Hamilton off when it mattered most—no ego, no mistake. That wasn’t just racing. That was loyalty as strategy. He drove not for himself, but for the greater plan.

No one else saw it.
But I did.

Pérez isn’t the #2 driver. He’s the keystone. The firewall. The final lock protecting Red Bull’s nuclear weapon. And he’s willing to destroy his own race if that meant Verstappen would stay in the championship running.

It was beautiful. Precise. Like watching someone else play the exact move I would have.

And that was my moment—the click. The system can be moved. There is a hand steady enough. And in the right conditions… there is a crash that can break the wheel.

Not today.
But soon.

Baku is the prototype. The variable test. The proof. And when the finale arrives, under lights in Yas Marina, I’ll give them the real equation. The one written in carbon fiber and debris.

They’ll call it coincidence. Bad luck. A mistake.

But I will know.
Pérez will know.

Because what began here in Baku… wasn’t a fluke.
It was the first piece falling into place.

And when the final piece drops—
Everything tilts.

📅 Secret Diary Entry: November 12, 2021– 20:17 – Interlagos Circuit – Brazil GP  

Brazil was a masterclass in beautiful chaos.

Rain. Red flags. Crashes. Fury unleashed on a stage begging for order.

Masi stood at the crossroads — protocol in one hand, the screaming crowd in the other. He could have stopped the race, reset the slate, erased the disorder.

But he didn’t. Because deep down, no man entrusted with power can deny the spectacle.

The raw drama. The final act. 

Masi is no fool. He knows that true control is not in avoiding chaos but in wielding it. I watched him choose tension over ease, unpredictability over certainty. He understands that the race is more than a contest. It’s a story. 

And stories demand climax. So come Abu Dhabi, when the world demands resolution, he will not hit reset. He will lean into the madness. He will force the game to its ultimate move. 

And I shall be the catalyst. 

I never sought victory, merely the perfect balance – an equalizer of order and chaos. Because spectacle is demanded. And all stewards must oblige.

Round 21: Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina, December 12, 2021)

Real Event: On lap 53, Latifi crashed into the barriers at Turn 14, causing a Safety Car deployment. This led to Verstappen pitting for fresh tires and overtaking Hamilton on the restart, winning the championship.

Latifi’s Monologue:

“This is the magnum opus."

 David Croft (Sky Sports):

"OH! And that’s Nicholas Latifi! And that is a big crash — and that is a Safety Car! That is a Safety Car!"

 

Toto Wolff → Michael Masi:

“No, Mikey, no no! That was so not right.”

 

Michael Masi → Toto Wolff

“Toto we are racing.”

 

Max Verstappen

“Checo is a legend.”

Latifi Monologue (cont'd.)

"That moment — a perfectly calculated loss of control at Turn 14 — was no accident. The angle, the speed, the timing: all tuned like a symphony to unleash the Safety Car and reset the entire race’s destiny. The field compressed, Hamilton’s worn tires became his Achilles heel, and Verstappen’s fresh rubber was the dagger. History sees a rookie mistake; I see the final move of a grandmaster’s game. The crown didn’t fall by chance — I placed it on Verstappen’s head with the precision only a true architect could wield.”

David Croft (Final corner):

"Verstappen... far enough back. And now he’s going to win the World Championship! Max Verstappen — for the first time ever — is Champion of the World!"

Secret Diary Entry: December 12, 2021 — 20:32, Yas Marina Circuit – Paddock Shadows

The moment I’ve prepared for all year arrived on lap 53. I felt it in the steering wheel. The subtle oversteer. The weight shift. The geometry of chaos. It was beautiful. They’ll call it an error — the critics, the analysts, even my own race engineer. But they’ll never understand the timing. The precision. The artistry.

To an untrained eye that crash would always seem an accident. And yet, it was a deployment. A Safety Car-shaped scalpel. I slid into Turn 14 with the exact commitment necessary to ensure maximum yellow flag impact. No Virtual Safety Car. No debris light. This needed to be REAL. 

Five laps left. Hamilton leading. Max sitting behind with nothing but faith and fading mediums.

And I… I pressed the detonator.

When the Safety Car came out, I swear I heard the timeline split. I looked up, and in the paddock sky, the stars rearranged themselves into a Red Bull. Max dove in. New softs. Hamilton stayed out — proud and noble, but doomed. Masi? That man thought he was controlling the chessboard. But in this game I was the clock. And I ran out his time.

Secret Diary Entry: December 13, 2021 — 03:10, Hotel Room, Curtains Drawn

The media screeched. The internet and grandstand became battlefields. Mercedes appealed while Toto breathed like a Sith Lord. Whereas I sat by the window, Nutella on toast. The hazelnut tasted of success.

People think the crash was the end. But no, the final move wasn’t the hit — it was the restart.

One lap. One lap to decide the champion. The FIA, scrambled for integrity, had let the lapped cars through. Toto said, “No, Michael! No, no, Michael, that was so not right.”

But it was so very right.

He said he wanted justice.  I gave him history.

Max crossed the line. Crofty exclaimed and the crowd erupted in sheer joy, hostility, and terror. Horner cried. Lewis fell silent.

I closed my laptop. I rested my hand on my Williams cap and crossed a few items on my bucket list. Then scribbled: “It's done.”

------

  Drive to Survive – Final Episode: “The Equalizer”

[COLD OPEN – TOTAL SILENCE]

Yas Marina Circuit.

Blue twilight. The pit lane is empty. The wind moves a single discarded tire blanket.

In the shadows of the Williams garage… a figure sits alone. Not hiding. Just waiting.

Netflix Narrator (V.O.):

“In 2021, Max Verstappen won the championship.”

“Lewis Hamilton lost it.”

“But there was someone else…”

“Someone no one expected.”

“Not a contender.”

“Not a rival.”

“An equalizer.”

INTERVIEW SET – LATIFI

All black backdrop. One light. One chair.

He walks in slow. Calm. Not smug — serene.

He sits. Adjusts his collar. No smile. Just quiet authority.

LATIFI (softly):

“Balance is fragile.”

(beat)

“Too much chaos, and the sport becomes anarchy.”

“Too much order, and it becomes boring.”

“I don’t race to win.”

“I race to restore...equilibrium.”

[REAL FOOTAGE – 2021 SEASON]

Max and Lewis crash at Silverstone.

Monza.

Brazil.

Jeddah.

Chaos escalating. Rivalry boiling.

Latifi watches from the back of the garage.

Not smiling. Just observing.

LATIFI (Voiceover):

“When fire meets fire… eventually, it consumes itself.”

“Someone has to step in.”

“Not to win. Not to lose.”

“To… adjust.”

[LATIFI’S OBSERVATIONS]

LATIFI (V.O., low and surgical):

“Mercedes thought they were inevitable — all steel, all dominance, a dynasty in carbon fiber and cold data. Red Bull... they were chaos, but chaos with teeth. Desperation polished into aggression.”

“I watched Toto — the general. Everything was controlled. Structured. He spoke like a man who expected the universe to heed.

“Horner? A serpent with a stopwatch. Grinning. Scheming. Smiling too long when things went wrong.”

“Then there were the kings: Max and Lewis. Max was raw, ruthless, the storm. Lewis? Refined, calculated, the silence before it. Both too fast. Both too proud.”

“But their cars... oh, the cars. The Mercedes, a fortress. Silent in the corners. Vicious on the straights. Meanwhile, the Red Bull was twitchy. Angry. Alive.”

“They pushed each other to the brink. And no one — not even they — realized the scale had tipped. Someone had to fix it.”

[THE CRASH – ABU DHABI, LAP 53]

Turn 14.

Rear snaps.

Barrier crunches.

Dust and silence.

Crofty (Commentary)

 “That is Nicholas Latifi! And that is a big crash — and that is a Safety Car!”

INTERVIEWER (off-screen):

“Did you intend to crash?”

LATIFI (leans forward, voice like a whisper):

“Did I? Or perhaps everything just lined up… perfectly?”

[MONTAGE – AFTERMATH]

Hamilton radio silent.

Max overtakes.

Toto: “No, Michael! No, no!”

Masi: “It’s called a motor race.”

Verstappen crosses the line.

INTERVIEWER (off-screen):

“Surely you didn’t know a crash like that would

change the outcome of the entire season.

It’s impossible! There were too many variables at play.

LATIFI (V.O.):

“Right. Impossible."

(challenging smile)

INTERVIEW CUT

LATIFI (relaxed, but surgical):

“A coin cannot land on its edge forever.”

“Eventually, someone flicks it.”

[ENDING SHOT]

The paddock is empty.

Media scrambles around Max.

Toto is furious.

Lewis stares into space.

No one notices Latifi walk past, unbothered. Disappearing into the night.

He doesn’t celebrate.

He doesn’t explain.

He doesn’t look back.

LATIFI (final line):

“I neither won nor lost.”

(pauses, looks directly into the camera)

“I made sure the story ended. And ended as it should: with balance.”

“You’re welcome.”

[TEXT ON SCREEN]

Nicholas Latifi left Formula 1 in 2022.

He has never spoken publicly about the 2021 finale again.

Some call it coincidence. Others call it divine interference.

He calls it…homeostasis.

------

[BONUS] 

FIA INTERNAL MEMORANDUM

CLASSIFICATION: LEVEL BLACK

CLEARANCE REQUIRED: EYES ONLY

DATE: January 12, 2022

FROM: [REDACTED] – FIA Head of Strategic Integrity Division

TO: FIA EXECUTIVE BOARD, PRESIDENT, STEWARDSHIP ARCHIVE

SUBJECT: OPERATION LATIFIX

RE: Analysis and Containment of Influence Linked to Driver No. 6 (N. Latifi)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

During the final Grand Prix of the 2021 Formula One World Championship at Yas Marina Circuit, a single incident — the Lap 53 crash of Driver No. 6, Nicholas Latifi — resulted in a complete and irreversible destabilization of championship proceedings. This memorandum assesses the surrounding anomalies, the aftermath, and the unprecedented control exerted from a position of statistical insignificance.

KEY FINDINGS:

Latifi’s Performance Profile (2021):

• 0 podiums.
• 0 front rows.
• 0 overtakes recorded in top 10 positions.
• Yet altered championship trajectory more than any other driver.
• Statistical odds of event sequence: 1 in 86.4 million (Ref. Appendix B).

The Crash – Technical Audit Outcome:

• Telemetry inconclusive. No definitive evidence of mechanical failure or driver error.
• No panic in voice comms. Latifi brake and steering input “unnervingly smooth” per audio engineer.
• Data flagged as “unnatural calm in moment of impact.” (Ref. Appendix D-9: “Latifi Telemetry Deviance Profile”)

Post-Race Behavior:

• No public statement beyond a 12-word apology.
• Denied interviews.
• Left paddock before Verstappen-Hamilton press conference.
• Rumored to have declined exit debrief with Williams.
• Surveillance reports no known digital presence after Dec 23, 2021.

ANALYTICAL NOTES (INTERNAL)

"The subject appears to have altered the flow of sporting history without command, authority, or motive. There are no financial trails. No leaked comms. No team collusion."

OBSERVED BEHAVIORAL PATTERN:

• Consistent detachment from grid politics.
• No documented rivalries.
• Known for philosophical remarks in debriefs (Ref: "It had to happen like that," Canada, 2021).
• Appears immune to pressure.
• Referenced in Red Bull debrief as “the Shadow Bishop.”
• Mercedes internal doc referred to incident as “the Latifi Paradox.”

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Do Not Engage.

The subject’s actions are legally unprovable, ethically indigestible, and psychologically disarming. Any formal accusation risks legitimizing a narrative we cannot control.

• Cease Retrospective Inquiries.

Public investigation would yield no prosecutable result and likely increase the subject's mythical stature. Containment by omission is advised.

• Redact Future Mentions.

Any reference to Driver No. 6 in internal or media comms should be reviewed by the Strategic Integrity Oversight Committee prior to release.

• Archive as Cultural Anomaly.

Recommend transferring all findings to Category X Files – Motorsport Lore and Undocumented Influence (Ref: “Senna Glitch,” “Suzuka Rain Coincidence 1994,” “The Schumacher Gaze”).

FINAL NOTE (HANDWRITTEN, UNATTRIBUTED):

“Some drivers win. Some lose. One saw too much and moved just enough. He didn’t break the rules. He bent reality around them.”

[END OF MEMO]

THIS DOCUMENT WILL SELF-ARCHIVE TO LEVEL 6 ENCRYPTIONS WITHIN 23 SECONDS.

DO NOT PHOTOCOPY. DO NOT TRANSMIT.

Chapter Text

Voiceover-Only Opening 

PELLEY (V.O.):

He wasn’t a champion. He wasn’t a contender.

But somehow, Nicolas Latifi changed the course of Formula One.

A single crash. One wall.

And nothing was the same again.

Tonight, the drivers speak.

Not about victory…

…but about the ghost that rewrote the ending.

SCOTT PELLEY — Intro to Lewis Hamilton Segment

SCOTT PELLEY (V.O.):

He’s a seven-time world champion. A global icon. The most successful driver Formula One has ever produced.

But in December 2021, Lewis Hamilton didn’t win.

He led every lap—until he didn’t.

What happened that night in Abu Dhabi has fueled conspiracy theories, divided fans, and raised questions the sport has yet to fully answer.

For some, the controversy ended at the checkered flag.

For Lewis Hamilton... it never quite did.

We spoke with him—nearly four years later. The title is gone, but the silence still lingers.

LEWIS HAMILTON 

Recorded March 2025, filmed in a quiet black-and-white studio, minimalist set, direct lighting.

He’s in a simple black shirt, silver cross around his neck, hands folded on his lap. His voice is quiet but deliberate throughout.

SCOTT PELLEY:

“Lewis, you led every lap in Abu Dhabi.

You were five laps away from an eighth world title.

Then Nicholas Latifi crashes.

And the entire championship changes in sixty seconds.

Now, years later, reports suggest it may not have been a mistake at all.

How do you take that?

How do you live with the possibility that… it was premeditated?”

LEWIS HAMILTON:

(Long silence. He stares ahead. Breathes in through his nose, then slowly exhales.)

“Yeah…

I’ve thought about that a lot.”

(Beat)

“You grow up believing in fairness, you know? That if you train harder, 

prepare better, put the work in then you’ll get the result.

That was my truth. I lived that way my whole life.”

(Pauses. Looks down briefly.)

“In Abu Dhabi… I felt something I hadn’t felt before. Like something whispered. I tried asking the team. Toto. If I should pit. Everyone told me to stay out. But something felt wrong. Everything was too still.

“Then it wasn’t. Next thing I know Max was in front of me and I nearly lost grip on the tracks. Tried my best to catch up.”

(Another long pause.)

“It hurts to see the championship slip through your fingers by mere fractions of a second. Handful of points.”

(He shakes his head slightly.)

“Can’t wrap my head around still it…if… what they’re saying now is true? He? Planned that crash?... deliberate?”

PELLEY:

“So how do you process that, now, almost four years later, knowing that someone might’ve orchestrated the moment that denied you the record?”

LEWIS:

(Sits back, arms still folded.)

“You don’t. You just carry it.”

(Pauses. Looks off-camera.)

“I remember sitting in that car, seat belts still tight, engine off, watching Max celebrated.

And I wasn’t angry.

I wasn’t sad.

I was… empty.”

(Beat.)

“And then people say, ‘Well, maybe it was Latifi. Maybe he did it on purpose. And I just think…What? What chance did we ever have if someone from the back of the grid could tip the entire thing?” 

“It wasn’t just him. There was also Sergio who slowed me down, wore my tires. Toto didn’t let me pit. Masi made the decision in the end.”

PELLEY

“There were sayings that he also took their behavior into account and predicted their reactions, essentially ensuring the dominoes cascade to his desired outcome.”

LEWIS (torn between amazement and incredulity)

“Really? He did? 

(pauses to absorb, resigned with a sigh and an acceptant, trite smile)

Shit…

I think he played all of us.”

PELLEY:

“Do you forgive Latifi?”

LEWIS:

(Quiet smile,  but no warmth.)

“I don’t blame him.

Not completely.

If it was deliberate…that’s between him and whatever he sees in the mirror.”

PELLEY:

“Did his influence on these events somehow culminated into perhaps the moment that pushed you to part ways with Mercedes?”

LEWIS:

(Hesitant. Restrained)

“More like, I just felt… like I needed a different story.

A new mountain. A new purpose.”

(Quiet laugh.)

“I still love Mercedes.

“Matter of fact, might’ve been inspired. Ferrari is currently…unpredictable. But I have faith. If I could harness some of that chaos, make do with what I have and do small things that cause big changes…the victory would be incredibly sweet.”

PELLEY:

“What do you think Latifi would say about your move to Ferrari?”

LEWIS:

(Grins, looks down for a second.)

“Oh, man…”

(Laughs softly.)

“He’d probably run the numbers, calculate the probability of winning a title there, and tell me I’m a madman.”

“But I’m not here to chase probability.

I’m here to chase purpose.”

PELLEY (after a pause):

“Final question. What would you say to Latifi if he were sitting right here?”

LEWIS:

(Sits silently for a long time.)

“…I’d ask him…If he was so smart, why didn’t he just crash or whatever, earlier in the season and take me out of contention?”

(eyes gaze upward in recall)

“It’s just…the look on my dad’s face…everyone back at the garage…”

(eyes to the interviewer, hands fidget slightly)

“I can’t remember doing anything to him but still… Revenge? I don’t know.”

(a chuckle akin to surrender)

“He sure knew to hit where it would hurt the most…”

SCOTT PELLEY (V.O.):

Max Verstappen saw the opening—and took it without hesitation. A world champion, he left the world arguing over justice.

MAX VERSTAPPEN (With Dutch Reactions)

Filmed March 2025 in the Red Bull garage. Max sits with arms folded, voice increasingly tight, expression unreadable but clearly irritated.

SCOTT PELLEY:

“Max, with everything coming out like

  telemetry, reports, driver comments; 

there’s now serious speculation

 that the crash that led to your first title… 

may have been deliberate.

What do you make of that?”

MAX VERSTAPPEN:

(Snorts)

“Ach, kom op seriously…”

[Oh, come on, seriously...]

(Shrugs, then leans back)

“I’m honestly tired of hearing this. I raced 22 grands prix that year. Every lap counted. Not just Abu Dhabi.”

PELLEY:

“But the restart  changed everything.”

MAX:

(Stern, clipped)

“Yes of course it did. That’s how racing works.

Sometimes it swings your way, sometimes it doesn’t.”

(Pause. Eyes lock with interviewer. Gestures with hand)

“But people act like I just sat there a-a-and then the title got handed to me.”

 (Laughs bitterly)

 “That’s gewoon ‘nzin.”

[That’s just nonsense.]

PELLEY:

“Lewis led the entire race.

Do you really feel that final lap made you the champion?”

MAX:

(Visibly annoyed)

“You think one lap decides a title?”

(Beat. Sarcastic smile.)

 “Maybe I should just give it back, yeah?”

PELLEY:

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

MAX:

(Voice sharp)

“No? Because that’s exactly what it sounds like.”

(Stares off for a moment, then speaks more quietly.)

“People love the drama. They want to turn me into some villain — ‘oh, he only won because Latifi crashed’. But no one says anything when Hamilton gets lucky.”

PELLEY:

“So you don’t accept that the title has an asterisk?”

MAX:

“Geen asterisk. No fucking asterisk. What kind of question is this?”

[No asterisk.]

(Pulls off mic. Slurps redbull in can.)

“You want a scandal? Go talk to the stewards. I’m done. Thank you.”

(Stands up, walks off.)

“What a load of bullshit, honestly.”

[TEXT ON SCREEN]

Max Verstappen left the interview and declined further comment.

He remains a four-time World Champion.

A/N: Bottas and Perez don’t currently drive on the F1 2025 grid. Here’s an episode instead.

[Unused Footage] DRIVE TO SURVIVE – Season 8, Episode 7

“The Ones Behind”

[INT. PADDOCK STUDIO – DUAL INTERVIEW]

The room is dim. No table between them. Bottas and Checo sit side-by-side. Two mugs. Two men who’ve spent their careers just out of the spotlight, but never out of the story.

INTERVIEWER (O.S.):

“You were both second drivers.

To two of the greatest talents the sport has ever seen.

Did either of you ever feel… manipulated?”

VALTTERI BOTTAS

(Grins softly.)

“Oh, every other Sunday.”

(Shrugs.)

“But that’s the job description, isn’t it? You defend, you hold position, you get creative with the tire calls.”

(Beat.)

“You don’t get a statue for holding up Verstappen for twelve laps — but your race engineer might give you a high five.”

SERGIO PÉREZ

(Nods, voice thoughtful.)

“I never felt used.

But I’ve felt… watched.”

(Beat. He looks off slightly.)

“Especially in 2021.

After Baku.”

INTERVIEWER (O.S.):

“By who?”

CHECO:

(Low voice.)

“Latifi.”

[CUT TO: ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE – Baku 2021]

Checo stands on the podium. Cut to a still frame — Latifi in the background, helmet off, staring from the shadows of the Williams pit wall.

CHECO (V.O.):

“It started there.

He never said anything.

But in Hungary, Brazil  he’d show up.

Just… near. Watching. Not blinking much.”

BOTTAS

(Smiling, dry.)

“Maybe he just liked your driving.”

(Sips his coffee.)

“Or your hair gel.”

CHECO

(Laughs, but it fades fast.)

“I don’t know.

After Yas Marina — I walked past him. Didn’t say anything.

He just said…”

(He leans, voice low.)

“You exceeded expectations. If Red Bull wants another title, they’ll keep you.

If not... they fall in a couple of years. Max won’t be enough.”

INTERVIEWER (O.S.):

“Did you believe him?”

CHECO

(Silent for a beat.)

“…I think he believed it.”

 [CUT TO: BOTAS – INDIVIDUAL CLOSEUP]

INTERVIEWER (O.S.):

“Valtteri, in that final race… you started too far back to help Lewis.

You’d defended him in previous races. Spain. Silverstone. Even Monza.

Why not Abu Dhabi?”

BOTTAS

(Straight, unfazed.)

“Didn’t qualify well.

Didn’t get through traffic fast enough.”

(Shrugs.)

“And by the time I caught up, Latifi had already… done his thing.”

INTERVIEWER:

“Was that the moment you realized… it was over?”

BOTTAS

(Laughs under his breath.)

“No.

I knew it was over when I saw Verstappen pit for softs.”

(Beat.)

“And I still had cold tyres and no clue what the FIA was doing.”

INTERVIEWER:

“What about Hungary? That crash — you took out both Red Bulls.

Some people call it the clumsiest team tactic ever.”

BOTTAS:

(Smirks.)

“If that was a tactic, I should be banned from strategic thinking for life.”

(Beat.)

“It was a mistake.

But hey,  if Mercedes ever wanted to take people out on purpose they wouldn’t use me. They’d call Kimi.”

[CUT TO: BRIEF SHOT – Kimi Raikkonen, shrugging: “Bwoah.”]

INTERVIEWER:

“Was that part of why you were let go? Demoted to Stake?”

BOTTAS:

“Mercedes had plans for George.

They wanted youth, maybe more consistency. 

(laughs)

Someone who could handle a 4-hour Zoom with Toto.”

(Beat.)

“I’m good with gravel bikes and short conversations.”

INTERVIEWER:

“There are rumors. Cadillac. 2026.

Could we see you back with a factory team?”

BOTTAS:

(Grins.)

“Been to America. Driven fast.

I like coffee with cream and cars with V8 dreams.”

(Pauses, winks.)

“Let’s just say… I’m keeping my schedule flexible.”

INTERVIEWER (to Checo):

“And you, Sergio? 2026? Cadillac?”

CHECO

(Chuckles, quiet.)

“If you see Latifi near that garage… ask him first.”

[TEXT ON SCREEN]

Valtteri Bottas remains as a reserved driver for Mercedes in 2025.

He has not confirmed any deal with Cadillac — but sources say “talks are open.”

Sergio Pérez had been unceremoniously kicked out of Red Bull Racing in 2024.

The current second seat driver is Yuki Tsunoda.

Kick Sauber F1 team has scored more points in the last 5 races than

Max Verstappen (who currently scored 95% of constructor’s championship points). 

GEORGE RUSSELL 

Filmed in the Mercedes engineering debrief room. George wears a soft navy jumper, sits straight-backed in a chair, hands folded in front of him.

Calm lighting. Digital renderings of telemetry and circuit maps glow quietly behind him.

SCOTT PELLEY:

“George, you were Nicholas Latifi’s teammate at Williams in 2021.

What was he like back then?”

GEORGE RUSSELL:

(Smiles faintly)

“Quiet. Polite. Loved Nutella.”

(Shrugs)

“On the surface? A straightforward teammate. Didn’t make waves. Kept his head down.”

(Pauses. Looks slightly amused.)

“But now? With everything coming out? I mean…

I’m starting to think he played the longest game of anyone on the grid.”

PELLEY:

“You mean the theory that he manipulated the championship?”

GEORGE:

(Laughs)

“No, no, not just that. I mean… look at it this way—

He crashes in Abu Dhabi. Sets off a chain reaction.

Max wins the title. Lewis gets robbed.

And…”

(He raises his eyebrows.)

“...I get promoted to Mercedes.”

(Smirks)

“So now I’m starting to wonder — maybe Latifi plotted the whole thing just to get me out of the team.”

PELLEY:

“You’re joking… right?”

GEORGE:

(Laughs)

“Mostly.”

(Beat.)

“Seriously, if you think hard about it like in some mega-genius levels, the moment I leave, suddenly he’s the lead driver. All the media attention, more track time, maybe even a few more sponsorship deals.” 

“Serendipitously, I get picked up by the most competitive team on the grid. Not sure how much he had to do with that…maybe he was so bad that compared to him I looked too good to stay in Williams?”

(dismisses) 

“Pff. Anyways, t’was a win-win”

(Shrugs dramatically.)

“He couldn’t get P12 on pace — so maybe he took the 4D chess route instead.”

PELLEY:

“You really believe he was capable of that kind of foresight?”

GEORGE:

(Straightens a little. Tone shifts.)

“I didn’t at the time.

But looking back now…I guess…never just occurs to one until it does.

 (Beat.)

“I’d be dodging a midfield pileup into Turn 1, he’d come through clean on the outside.

I’d get clipped by a backmarker at Monza, he’s six seconds behind, completely untouched.

And I remember thinking: ‘He’s lucky.’

But now I think, no one’s that lucky, that often.

Not in Formula One.”

(Pauses.)

“And then that crash in Abu Dhabi…

The angle, the location, the timing — it was too perfect. 

It’s like he let the car go, but only just enough”

“Turn 14. Late enough in the race to force a strategy call.

Fast enough to trigger a full Safety Car, not a Virtual one.

Off-line, but not near a marshal post — so it took longer to clear.

He hit the wall just hard enough to stop the car…

but not so hard it looked unnatural.”

PELLEY:

“Perhaps it was planned?”

GEORGE:

(Pause. Looks down. Then back up, carefully.)

“I don’t know what I believe.

But I believe in patterns.

And Latifi’s pattern… was always to be exactly where he needed to be, without anyone noticing.”

PELLEY:

“If he was capable of that, do you ever wonder why he didn’t do more?”

GEORGE:

(Grins again, back to sarcasm.)

“I do! I really do.

I mean, if he was already capable of crashing with mathematical precision,

couldn’t he have plotted a few more to get Williams a Constructors’ boost?”

(Shrugs, tongue in cheek.)

“Would’ve been nice to fight for fifth or fourth instead of..tenth.”

PELLEY (laughing):

“So he helped you into Mercedes… but left Williams behind?”

GEORGE:

(Laughs)

“Exactly. Ungrateful, really.”

(Then, quieter.)

“But seriously…

Whatever it was, I guess he wasn’t like any of us who’re in it to win it, you know?”

(Pause.)

“He just wanted… to move the pieces.”

[TEXT ON SCREEN]

George Russell still drives for Mercedes and has not renewed contract.

He wonders if he should’ve asked Latifi about the possibility of Max taking his driver spot in the future.

Williams finished 8th in the 2021 Constructors’ Championship. They haven’t scored higher since.

SPLIT-SCREEN INTERVIEW: VETTEL & SAINZ 

SEBASTIAN VETTEL (miraculously available) 

Location: His home study. Warm wood. Shelves of books. A globe in the background. He wears a sweater and glasses. Calm, thoughtful, witty.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL:

(Smiling softly)

“I’ve had a lot of time to think, post-retirement.

I grow tomatoes now. I keep bees. I read philosophy.

But every so often… I think about Abu Dhabi.”

(Pauses)

“That crash? It wasn’t luck.

It was alchemy.

Timing, intent, consequences... perfectly fused.”

PELLEY (O.S.):

“You think Latifi did it deliberately?”

SEBASTIAN:

(Smirks)

“I think it was a one-man Crashgate.”

“Not for victory. Or money. For… symmetry.”

(Leans back)

“That’s more terrifying than bribery, isn’t it?”

PELLEY:

“There are rumors. Aston Martin, Alpine, Ferrari —

in dire need of car changes and leadership.

Would you ever consider coming back as a team principal?”

SEBASTIAN:

(Laughs, flirty)

“Oh come on now… I’ve only just learned how to not wake up to tire allocations.”

(Winks slightly)

“But yes… sometimes, I look at Ferrari and think, ‘They could use a little order.”

(Beat.)

“Or Alpine — maybe I could try my hand at crashing with purpose there.”

(Grins.)

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

CARLOS SAINZ JR.

Location: Team engineering room. Laptops around him. Sharp haircut. Team polo. He gestures with a pen like a professor explaining a case study.

CARLOS SAINZ:

(Seriously)

“I’ve reviewed the footage, the data, even the timing of the marshal response.

Everything was…too flawless.”

(Shakes head)

“You know, I thought my Singapore 2023 win was a smooth operation.

But That Guy was running Mission Impossible out of the cockpit.”

PELLEY:

“You’re at Williams now. The team where he did it.

How does it feel stepping into his old garage?”

CARLOS:

(Laughs)

“Bit spooky, no?

Every corner I enter I’m wondering,

‘¿Qué haría Latifi aquí?’ — ‘What would Latifi do?’”

 (Makes a steering motion)

‘Swerve? Spin? Save the sport?’”

(Smiles)

“But seriously — they still talk about it here.

There’s a weird respect.

Like he pulled off a prank nobody can top.”

PELLEY:

“So what is his legacy at Williams?”

CARLOS:

(Grins.)

“I think his legacy is he proved you don’t need to be the fastest to change everything. Every bit of strategy, even a ridiculous one, can make a difference.”

 SURPRISE CUT TO: Alex Albon cameo

Location: Williams sim room. Casual hoodie. Laughing mid-answer as if he overheard the last bit.

ALEX ALBON:

“Oh, Latifi? Yeah. All I can say is, he was in the wrong business, mate.”

(Laughs)

“ Shouldn’t have been driver.

Should’ve been team principal instead.”

(Points at camera)

“Or strategist. Honestly, the guy has a future. He basically modded the entire endgame.”

CHARLES LECLERC

PELLEY:
“When people talk about Latifi now, 

it’s not just about the crash.

 It’s about everything it set off. 

Did it affect you?”

CHARLES:

(Stares for a moment before speaking. Calm voice.)
“Yeah… I think it made all of us realize how fragile the sport is.”

“ We talk about strategy, pace, preparation… but sometimes, it’s just a wall. A yellow flag. Someone else’s mistake.”

(He fidgets with his hands.)

“It scared me a bit, honestly. That you could drive the perfect race and still lose everything… because of someone twenty seconds behind.”

PELLEY (O.S.):
“Did that change how you drive?”

CHARLES LECLERC:
(Quietly)
“Not how I drive. But maybe how I think.
Now I ask, ‘Is the race ever really in my control?’ Because in 2021, I saw it wasn’t in Lewis’s.”

[CUT TO: ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE – Charles at Silverstone 2022, losing the lead after a strategy call. Daniel crashing out of Monza 2023. Latifi's 2021 crash shown in silent overlay.]

DANIEL RICCIARDO

DANIEL RICCIARDO

“Kind of jealous, to be honest.”

(Laughs, shaking his head slightly.)

“If I’d crashed like that… people would call me clumsy.
He crashes and now people say he rewrote the sport.”

(beat)

“Look, I’m not saying Latifi’s some mastermind or evil genius or whatever—
but what happened? That was, like… a full-on fucking glitch in the matrix, man.”

(Sits forward a bit. Voice steady.)

“After that race, I started looking at the sport a bit differently.
Like… damn, even when you think you’ve got control, you don’t.
What if someone driving next to you just decided to engineer chaos?”

PELLEY:
“Did it affect your own driving?”

DANIEL RICCIARDO:
(Nods slowly. Serious now.)
“Yeah, I think it did..
After Abu Dhabi... I dunno, something shifted. Like—
“I tried to be smarter after that. More calculated.
But maybe I lost a bit of that… you know, that ‘f*ck it, let’s send it’ attitude.”

“I started second-guessing stuff I wouldn’t have before. And in this sport? That’s deadly.”

(Smirks widely)

“Got sacked by Red Bull in Singapore. I was shocked…then I just walked off and thought to bet on myself, right? Fresh start, new challenge.”
 

PELLEY (O.S.):
“What’s life like now?”

DANIEL RICCIARDO:
(Big smile. Leaned back, relaxed again.)
“It’s good, man. Real good.
I drink proper coffee, I sleep in sometimes, I don’t get PTSD every time someone says ‘turn one.’”

(Laughs.)
“I still miss the grid. The racing. That feeling when you nail a quali lap.
But I’m not chasing ghosts anymore. I’m just… enjoying the ride.”

(Pause.)
“If I ever see Latifi?
I’ll buy him a beer. Then maybe ask what the hell he was really doing out there.”

FERNANDO ALONSO

Location: Dimly lit debrief room, mug of coffee in hand. Alonso speaks casually, but with that trademark glint of deadly intelligence.

FERNANDO ALONSO:

(Smirks)

“Ehh, I’ve had my fair share of chaos in Formula One. I’ve been taken out by teammates. Lost titles by two points. Drove cars that couldn’t overtake a shopping cart.”

 (Leans back.)

“So when I saw what Latifi did, I just thought — finally, someone figured it out.”

PELLEY (O.S.):

“Figured what out?”

FERNANDO:

“That if you can’t win with a sh*tbox of a car, and trust me I know the feeling, you do something memorable.”

(Pauses and shrugs)

“Maybe he admired Max. Or he hated Lewis. Who knows? Or maybe he just didn’t want to be forgotten in ten years like half the midfield.”

 (Grins.)

“Cause in Formula One even world champions can be forgotten. However, this was historical. It worked. Most people remember his crash more than my second titles. He’ll always get added in stories when they look back, no?”

PELLEY:

“Some people call him a genius. Do you…think so, or..?”

FERNANDO:

“Eh… genius? Hmmm.

He was clever. Definitely loco.”

(Chuckles, in Spanish)

“Un poco loco, pero sofisticado.”

[A little crazy, but sophisticated.]

LANCE STROLL

Location: Aston Martin motorhome. Stiff posture. Slightly defensive energy. Sunglasses nearby, unused.

PELLEY (O.S.):

“Lance, you and Latifi were often compared —

both Canadians, both with family backing, both in midfield cars.

Do you think he elevated his career in ways you haven’t yet?”

LANCE STROLL:

(Blank stare. Blinks once.)

“Look, we’re different drivers. People love to lump us together because of, you know… reasons.”

PELLEY:

“You had a podium early on — but it’s been a while.

And the crash stats between you two are… surprisingly close.”

LANCE:

(Shrugs, tight smile)

“I don’t keep track.

I focus on what’s next. Who cares what people tweet from their couch.”

PELLEY:

“Honest thoughts. Do you think Latifi

was a driver capable of all of that?”

LANCE:

(Shifts uncomfortably)

“To be honest? (sentence aborted and revised)

…He’s a bit of a pompous ass.”

PELLEY:

“For the  new wave of wealthy-backed drivers coming in.

Any, ‘erhm,  thoughts on that?”

LANCE:

(Shrugs)

“Not my problem.”

ESTEBAN OCON

Location: Haas engineering room. Lanyard still around his neck. Foot tapping during the interview. Slightly twitchy energy, but thoughtful.

PELLEY (O.S.):

“Esteban, you’ve had your own dramatic moments — crashes, penalties… erhm those appear to be a lot.”

ESTEBAN OCON:

(grins)

“Yeah, I know. I know. They say if I breathe too hard, it’s automatically a 10-second penalty.”

(both laughs)

PELLEY:

“Latifi. What do you think drove him to it?”

OCON:

(Serious now)

Narcissism.

Some people wanna race. He cares more about being remembered.

But that’s not how it works, right?”

“Proving yourself, through karting, junior formulas, bad teams and bad seasons.

You suffer before then maybe, maybe later you get your shot.”

(Pauses.)

“It’s quite stereotypical cause…Latifi is just another billionaire’s son who want shortcuts. Already plenty of them here. They come and go. All the same, you know. They don’t know what it’s like to build a career from scratch or grind from last place. They always start in the midfield.”

PELLEY:

“Do you think what he did was wrong?”

OCON:

(ironic, self-referential)

“If wrong, I mean, the FIA would have awarded him a penalty too, yeah?”

(both laugh)

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN (miraculously willing)

Location: Outdoor terrace in Finland. Snow behind him. He wears a thick jacket, a beanie, and holds a coffee like it’s irrelevant. He clearly doesn’t care.

PELLEY (O.S.):

“Kimi, what’s your take on the Latifi crash and the theory

that he deliberately changed the outcome of the 2021 title?”

KIMI:

(Blinks slowly)

“Don’t know.”

(Shrugs)

“Maybe true. Maybe not.”

(Beat.)

“Still finished behind me, so…”

(Sips coffee.)

PELLEY:

“Some say it was done to make Max win

the championship and conclude Lewis’s streak.

You raced with him throughout the season. Was there any instance,

even a hunch, when you could tell Latifi was up to something?”

KIMI:

“Bwoah.”

OSCAR PIASTRI

[CUT TO: Oscar Piastri sitting alone in a minimalistic white room, McLaren branding subtle in the background. He’s composed, legs crossed, hands folded.]

PELLEY (O.S.)

“Oscar, you’ve been called a prodigy – methodical,

almost surgical in your approach to racing.

But when you were younger, you watched Latifi.

Why did someone like him catch your attention?”

OSCAR PIASTRI (measured, thoughtful)

“There was something… odd. He was in a car that wasn’t competitive, sure.

But it wasn’t just the results. It was how deliberate it looked.

He wasn’t floundering, not really. He placed himself. Almost like…

like he was there to study the chaos.

And at some point, I started to think – what if that was the point?”

PELLEY

“You simulated his crashes. Why?”

OSCAR PIASTRI 

(nods, smiles lightly)

“Because I couldn’t replicate them.” 

[CUT TO: montage of Oscar failing in the simulators]

“Not precisely. Not the consistency, not the way the margins broke just enough to look accidental. It didn’t feel like incompetence. More like… orchestration.” 

“And that got under my skin. You don’t forget that.”

PELLEY

“And that led you to drive harder?”

OSCAR PIASTRI

“It reminds me not to be complacent. That talent alone doesn’t win. I watched him choose to stay invisible… or maybe to control the narrative from behind.”

“I wasn’t going to do that. I wasn’t going to be a number two, not to Max, and not to Lando either.”

PELLEY (carefully)

“You’ve suggested that certain structures in McLaren may not favour you. Are you referring to Zak Brown? Lando?”

OSCAR PIASTRI (beat)

“Let’s just say… McLaren is a brand. It has a story it likes to tell.”

(beat)

 “And sometimes, that story needs a certain hero. But Latifi… Latifi taught me that you don’t wait for the script to change.” 

(beat)

“You grab the car like a pen and write your own laps.”

LANDO NORRIS 

[CUT TO: Lando Norris lounging with one leg up, bright trainers, hoodie half-zipped. He grins before the camera even settles.]

PELLEY (O.S.)

“Lando, when we told you we’d be speaking about Latifi, you laughed. Why?”

LANDO NORRIS (smirking)

“Because the guy was like the human version of a safety car.

You knew something was gonna happen, you just didn’t know when.”

(beat)

“And then boom, chaos. Always weirdly amazing timing, too. Like… theatrical.”

PELLEY

“Oscar said he couldn’t replicate Latifi’s crashes.

You think Latifi was intentional?”

LANDO NORRIS (mock-serious)

“I mean, I can’t replicate my crashes. 

“But yeah, maybe Latifi was a secret genius.” 

“Or maybe he was just... cosmic comic relief. Either way, I kind of respect the mystery.”

PELLEY

“If another ‘Latifi’ came back—someone whose mere presence

could ruin your championship hopes—how would you react?”

LANDO NORRIS

(without missing a beat)

“Mate, I’d probably ruin it myself before they had the chance.

Saves them the trouble. 

(laughs)

PELLEY

“You joke—but does it ever weigh on you? The expectation, the years in McLaren, the near-misses?”

LANDO NORRIS (pause, softer)

“Sometimes. Yeah. I mean… people forget how long it’s been.

Everyone talks about Max, about Lewis… I’m not them.

I’m not cut from that psycho-competitive cloth.

I care, but not like it’s life or death. Which maybe is the problem.”

PELLEY

“You mentioned in another interview that McLaren’s dominance now is… boring?

LANDO NORRIS

To someone like Latifi? Yeah.

We’ve made it clean. Predictable.

There’s no chaos, no title-deciding crashes in Abu Dhabi.

No villains, no ‘let them race.’” 

“It’s tidy now. That’s not a playground for someone like him.”

PELLEY

“And Oscar?”

LANDO NORRIS (leans forward slightly)

“Oscar’s sharp. Calculated. Fast. Quietly lethal.

He’s what Latifi could have been if he bought

his way into the right team.

That’s the scary part.”

PELLEY

“Scary?”

LANDO NORRIS (swallows)

“Because off-track, I like him. We’re mates.

But when we line up? I see it in his eyes—

he wants me gone. Not just beaten. Gone.

Latifi would’ve looked at me and thought:

“He’s too soft. Give him a rocket ship, he’ll still find a wall.” 

(beat)

“Maybe he’s right.”

NICO HULKENBERG

(Filmed outside the Sauber garage. Calm, dry, eyes slightly squinting at the sun.)

PELLEY:

Nico, some still believe Latifi’s 2021 crash

was part of something larger. What’s your take?

NICO HÜLKENBERG:

Honestly? I think people are getting a bit carried away.

He crashed. It happens. Especially when you’re pushing—or not pushing—in a tricky car.

(shrugs)

It was inevitable, right? Like me finally getting that podium. You hang around long enough, something weird’s bound to happen. But mythologizing it? Come on. It's Formula One, not Game of Thrones.

PELLEY:

You don’t buy into the “master manipulator” narrative?

NICO HÜLKENBERG:

No. I mean, it’s a nice story. Good Netflix material.

But I was on the grid that day.

It looked like a crash, felt like a crash, smelled like one too.

Unless the FIA drops something we haven’t seen, I’m not buying it.

PIERRE GASLY

(Filmed in a quiet Alpine hospitality area. No smile. Voice tight, deliberate.)

PELLEY:

You had a few on-track run-ins with Latifi. What do you remember?

PIERRE GASLY:

Too much, actually. Baku comes to mind. Slowed me down into Turn 15 for no reason, locked up, nearly put me in the wall.

(shakes head)

I don’t care what people say—he wasn’t clever. He was careless. Or just... indifferent. And that’s worse.

PELLEY:

You don’t think there was a method to it?

PIERRE GASLY:

No. Look, if you crash and it’s smart, you don’t do it three times a year.

People forget how many races he compromised.

Points we needed.

I don’t know if it was personal, but I’ve never forgotten it.

YUKI TSUNODA

(Recorded post-race, hair messy, still in suit. Fully aware he’s being funny.)

PELLEY:

“Yuki, how do you feel about all the Latifi theories?”

YUKI TSUNODA:

“I mean, I get it. The guy crashed and changed everything. One mistake, and boom. History rewrite.”

(grinning)

“But now? No points in three races. Red Bull car, and still nothing. I feel like I’m Latifi now.”

PELLEY:

“That’s a big comparison.”

YUKI TSUNODA:

“Yeah, but at least if I crash in Abu Dhabi this year, maybe people will say I planned it too.”

(laughs, half-serious)

“ Oscar better watch his mirrors. Maybe I’ll become part of the legend.”

OTHER PRINCIPALS — (Attempts summarized onscreen)**

• Toto Wolff: “We’re focused on the future, not fairy tales.”

• Christian Horner: “I think people give Latifi a bit too much credit, frankly.”

• Fred Vasseur: (laughs, mutters something in French, walks off)

• Andrea Stella: “We’d rather talk about the data than drama.

FLAVIO BRIATORE

(Filmed in Monaco. Dim lounge. He speaks softly, like he’s about to sell you something dangerous.)

PELLEY:

“Flavio, do you think the Latifi crash was as meaningful as people claim?”

FLAVIO BRIATORE:

It was convenient. That’s all. People needed something.

Lewis was dominant. Max was charging.

Everyone wanted a reason why the perfect system failed.

Ledidi gave them that.

“They say he “controlled every millimeter”—ridiculous.

But if you’re desperate, you believe anything. Not racing. That’s religion.”

PELLEY:

“You don’t think it changed the sport?”

FLAVIO BRIATORE:

“Everyone wants to believe Lewis was robbed. In my years in F1 I say…No. He was exposed.”

“For years, he had the best car, the best team, best politics, press in his hand.

But when it came to a real fight. There. Verstappen pushed and he folded.

SImple. He drove like a man who thought his name would protect him.”

“Not like Schumacher. No killer instinct. Just smooth radio and branding. A nice product. That’s all.”

“People. His fans and whatnot. Made up theories instead. But it’s simple really he wasn’t good enough when it mattered.”

“People should look at him in Yas [Marina], not Lalidee or whoever.

He simply lost because he acted like the race was finished

when everybody here knows you can only relax when you have the trophy.” 

PELLEY:

“Is this insight inspired or perhaps gleaned from

your fair share of controversies like Crashgate or Spygate…”

FLAVIO BRIATORE: (smiling coldly)

“No comment. You know better than to ask that.”

Closing Montage

[CUT TO: PELLEY in studio. Soft lighting.]

PELLEY (V.O.)

In a sport obsessed with the front row, sometimes it’s the ghosts

at the back of the grid that shape the fiercest champions.

Nicolas Latifi may never return to the paddock…

but his legacy—enigmatic, contested, and quietly powerful—lives on. 

[FADE OUT. 60 MINUTES CLOCK TICKING. MUSIC PLAYS.]

END.

Chapter Text

FIA RESTRICTED – CONFIDENTIAL

Document No. 37C – CONFISCATED 

FROM: N. LATIFI (Williams Racing)

DATE: 18 July 2021

FOUND: lodged in James Vowles' coffee machine at Williams, Qatar GP 2025

TITLE: "Silverstone – Le Crépuscule des Dieux " ( The Twilight of the Gods )

What is legacy, if not merely the residue of ambition crystallized in the memories of lesser men?

I write this on British soil, still soaked with the roaring echoes of 140,000 frenzied devotees. The Silverstone Grand Prix has just ended. I was there, of course. Not really in it. Just... around it. Existing. Participating in a theater I was not invited to speak in.

The performance tonight was between titans. Max. Lewis. A clash of philosophies wrapped in carbon fiber and downforce.

But before I deconstruct their collision—the crash that shook the motorsporting world—I must tell you why I was here at all.

I Was Never Meant to Be a Footnote.

Born into wealth—yes. Guilty. Lavish breakfasts, private tutors, engineers at my fingertips before I was ten. I could’ve built rockets, written symphonies, ended pandemics. My IQ, my grasp of mechanics, of strategy, of systems… it all came easy. 

Too easy.

So why Formula 1? Why subject myself to the treacherous geometry of Eau Rouge, the cold calculus of undercut strategies, the pitiless stopwatch? Because of one man.

Lewis Hamilton.

I was twelve when I first saw him take the 2008 title. A man of precision and fire, raised not by dynastic privilege but by sheer will. He didn’t belong. And yet, he redefined the boundaries of what "belonging" even meant. He was the perfect synthesis of artist and assassin. 

I told myself I’d dethrone him—not out of disdain, but reverence. 

You don’t study God to pray. You study God to become one.

So I paid my way in. Yes, I paid. Because greatness cannot wait for meritocracy’s slow justice. I bought my seat at Williams, thinking I’d arrive at Olympus. Instead, I found a ruin.

Backmarker. 

Midfield.

New vocabularies for me. Words which stung with mediocrity. 

The FW43B, despite its heritage, is a relic—a compromise of aerodynamics and desperation. Even a deity would spin at Copse in this chariot.

 I saw George claw a few Q2 miracles from it, yes. But it remains what it is: a beautiful corpse in motion. A lesson in how far greatness can fall when time and investment run dry.

But where one empire decays, another sharpens its spears. The Red Bull RB16B is no car. It is an equation gearing towards perfection. From the high-rake philosophy to their rear-wing alchemy—there’s something unholy about its grip through Maggotts and Becketts.

And its pilot? Max Verstappen.

Engineered by the brutal expectations of Jos Verstappen. Trained in the crucible of karting to react faster than thought, to kill hope before it grows. There’s a savagery to his driving, but it’s not chaos—it’s control disguised as madness.

Max is what I might have become, had I chosen war instead of intellect. His hunger is pathological. He does not want to win. He wants to erase. To be the singularity from which no other narrative escapes.

The 2021 season has not been a duel. It has been a symposium of war. 

Let the record show:

• Bahrain: Lewis triumphs in defense, outmaneuvering Max on worn tires.
• Imola: Rain and fury. Max dominates, while Lewis recovers from gravel like a phoenix in a black suit.
• Spain: Mercedes executes a masterstroke—two-stop strategy genius.
• Monaco & Baku: Red Bull ascends. Lewis falters in the shadows.
• Austria double-header: Max perfection. Pole, fastest lap, win. The triple crown.
• Silverstone: And now... the breaking point.

Lap 1. Copse Corner. 

Lewis inside. Max outside. 51G impact. 

One wheel wrong, and suddenly the championship hangs in limbo. The stewards assigned blame lightly—10 seconds. But the consequential debris is heavier than any gravel trap.

Was it malice? No. 

It was inevitable. 

Two unstoppable forces collided, and Silverstone bore witness to what happens when kings forget their limits.

The 2021 Championship has now become a dialectic of destruction.

I have tracked every lap, every sector delta, every corner angle.

I have calculated the probability space like a chess endgame played on fire.

This is the greatest duel the sport has ever hosted ( in the 2020s at least ).

Qualifying Superiority:

Max by 0.06s at high-downforce circuits (Red Bull Ring, Zandvoort)

Lewis by 0.03s at power circuits (Monza, Sochi, Silverstone)

Tire Management Differential:

Lewis degrades softs 0.05s/lap slower

Max extracts hard tire peak 2 laps earlier

Psychological Pressure Threshold:

Lewis breaks under narrative injustice (ref. Baku, Imola radio)

Max snaps under controlled suppression (ref. Hungary 2020, Silverstone 2021)

Mechanical Evolution:

Mercedes has a late-season aerodynamic resurgence via revised rear suspension, floor edge tuning.

On the other hand, Red Bull's early dominance wanes after Austria, cost cap bottlenecks seem to stall their innovation.

Factoring in Injury (Post-Copse):

Max absorbed 51G. Potential microfractures, rib bruising.

Probability of compromised driving performance in next 2 rounds: ~24%

Probability of subconscious caution entering high-speed corners: negligible. His fear response has been burned out.

Hence, my predictions for the championship are as follows: 

• Remaining Races: 11
• Title settled by Interlagos (Brazil): 31.7%  in favor of Lewis
• Title resolution at Abu Dhabi: 38.6% in favor of Lewis

These two predictions operate under the assumption that they always finish above P5 and that NO Silverstone-like incident occurs anymore in the next races, resulting in a single or double retirement.

• Max winning the championship, post-Silverstone injury:

48.7%

• Lewis reclaiming and defending the crown through attrition and strategy:

51.3%

Likeliest margin of victory: less than 5 points.

This isn’t just close.

This is surgical tension.

Silverstone was the Nexus Event

Copse Corner.

Lap 1.

Max on the outside. Lewis inside.

It wasn’t racing. It wasn’t vengeance.

It was inevitability.

Two opposing vectors in the same vacuum.

One refused to yield. The other couldn’t afford to.

What cracked wasn’t just Max’s car—it was the veneer of civility.

We are now in open warfare.

Everything after Copse is theological.

“The Crown is Already Falling”

Lewis stands tall now. Home soil. Home crowd. His voice trembles with pride as he holds the flag.

But the variables no longer favor him.

"Il lève fièrement son drapeau, mais il ne sait pas que la couronne lui glisse déjà de la tête."

(He waves his flag proudly, but he doesn’t know the crown is already slipping from his head.)

Max is injured. Yes.

But I’ve studied his performance. His hands shake on Friday. But on Sunday, they tighten.

He’s already driven through worse.

This pain will not weaken him—it will refine him.

His laps will not slow. They will sharpen.

He does not seek the championship. He seeks revolution.

He wants to end the Hamilton Era—not because he resents it, but because history demands conclusion.

And I?

I watch from behind.

Forgotten by cameras. Ignored by stewards.

But what they don’t understand is this:

Even pawns see the whole board.

Even backmarkers read the future.

And I, Nicolas Latifi, see it clearer than anyone.

The dynasty is ending. The gods are falling.

And the next king?

He’s already walking through the fire.

— N.L.

Note: This document has been redacted by FIA under Article 12.1.1 of the International Sporting Code. Unauthorized dissemination is punishable.

[CONFIDENTIAL – Confiscated FIA Evidence: Document #N.L.426-BRA]

Found at 2030 wedged between the insulation layers of a decommissioned Williams telemetry hard drive.

Journal Entry rumored to be written by N. Latifi

Dated: Between Hungary and Spa Grand Prix, 2021

They will call it chaos.

But it is only entropy made obedient.

The paddock is full of variables. 

Speed, strategy, politics.

But me? I track patterns. I listen to the winds, watch the skies, count the milliseconds between virtual safety car deployments and the scent of looming chaos.

The FIA watches lap times.

I watch moments.

And I create them.

Weather became the unseen God.

Hungary drenched us like an omen. Silver linings in a torrential downpour. 

George—sweet, hungry George—finally stood on a podium that wasn’t his, not quite. But I smiled. We both brought Williams back to the scoreboard like prophets in blue. He thanked me quietly. Said something about hoping Toto noticed him. I said, “I think he will.”

Because I already knew what was coming.

Spa loomed, and with it, the fog.

But Brazil…

Ah. Interlagos. 

This is where I intend to install a new champion. I’ve prepared a few likely scenarios.

Scenario A: DRY, FRONT ROW LOCKOUT

Lewis leads. Max beside. Clean start. I’m in the back but close enough. If Max cannot pass naturally, I induce Sector 2 yellow—softly, subtly. Debris, not carnage. Mercedes hesitate. Red Bull pits Max. One lap VSC—Lewis stays out. Max now has fresher tires.

He pounces. Brazil is his. The Samba sings orange.

Scenario B: WET, MIDFIELD HUNT

Max starts P10. I’m near him—just where I need to be. I spin in Sector 3, precisely before he enters it. Safety Car. Midfield chaos. Mercedes panic-pits too early. Track dries 4 laps later. Max switches. Undercuts everyone.

I remain “unlucky.” Sky Sports never questions me.

Scenario C: DRY, MERCEDES OUT FRONT, MAX BLOCKED

I force a double yellow on Lap 22. Debris from a mysteriously shredded rear wing. No VSC. Full Safety Car.

If I time it—Max pits. Lewis doesn’t. Perez holds. Max flies.

I am praised for surviving a “freak aero failure.”

In reality, I calculated wind shear risk probabilities at 3am with espresso and yogurt.

However, if chaos ensues as a prelude and Brazil becomes impossible…

I proceed to my final glorious gambit: YAS MARINA.

A perfect system must fall by perfect design. I spent three nights analyzing years of Yas Marina weather reports, tire degradation curves, and every pitlane delta down to microseconds. 

The answer is Lap 53. Turn 14. No sooner. No later.

That is where I crash.

On purpose?

No one will ever prove it.

But only then does the probability tree split correctly:

• Max pits and will insist a tire reset and will gear himself to hunt Lewis as soon as the safety car is finished. He doesn't care when or how. But for certain, he only needs one turn and at least one full lap to overtake.
• Lewis is ordered to stay and maintain a comfortable lead. They always gamble late. 7 years of dominance imbibes a sickness called complacency. It is a silent killer.
• Masi breaks protocol. He wants drama or to perhaps subconsciously repay Max for not doing anything to Lewis when he crashed in Silverstone.
• Perez is likely to be ordered to stay out while Max pits. If he maintains above P3, or in front of Lewis while Max pits, he might hold Lewis for an entire lap, shearing a vital four-to-eight-second gap between his teammate and the Merc. However, even if Perez were able to conjure  such a miraculous with Lewis, his tires will suffer. He might be forced to retire. Mercedes still wins the Constructors.
• Meanwhile, Bottas is neutered, contractually bound to silence. In this scenario, I will plan some more. He must be hopelessly midfield at this point.

And so, the journey to the final lap begins.

Not as a finale, but as genesis.

Max wins.

A dynasty fractures.

And George Russell ascends.

George Russell. The prince waiting in line. He said to me, "I just want to be seen."

He is about to be. Because in the process of crafting this victory, I must shatter the Bottas-Lewis axis.

My crash creates the rift. Bottas will be gone. George seemed more fitting than ever step in.

But George… is not Bottas.

He’s clever. Self-centered in just the right ways. He will never play second for long. 

He idolizes Lewis, yes. But not enough to serve him. He will fight. Refuse team orders. Sow quiet disobedience. He will be the unseen reason as to why Lewis could never snatch the championship away from Verstappen. At least, not in the ensuing decade.

And so, I gift Mercedes a poison pill wrapped in a prodigy.

They won't see it until it’s too late.

My role?

A humble bringer of flags.

A man who devours Nutella, who enjoys serene walks down pit lane.

But beneath this visor?

Checkmate.

Let them meme me. Let them laugh.

They will never know the gears I turned.

The probability trees I watered in the dark.

The Grand Prix I painted like a chessboard.

They call it Latifi’s mistake.

I call it reckoning.

– N.L.

[Classified FIA Artifact: Retrieved from the ballast compartment of a fire extinguisher at the 2028 Dutch Grand Prix]

Document Title: "Latifi Monza Memo" – Codename: L.E.F.T. (Latifi’s Engineered Future Tactics)

Presumed Date of Entry: Post-2021 Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

Monza. The Temple of Speed.

But more than that—it was supposed to be the Temple of Precision, the perfect stage for the final string in my web of manipulation: a subtle nudge toward an Interlagos decider. I had observed all elements in play—weather, rubber degradation, tire deltas, wing setups—and most importantly, I had been watching Bottas.

He thinks no one sees him.

Most observe Verstappen and Hamilton in their dueling arcs. I have watched them too, of course. From Baku onward I had my eye on Pérez, but in the shadow of the storm, I saw something more crucial—a constant, an axis: Valtteri Bottas. The Finn is an enigma. Not flashy, not vocal. But handy.

Today, he proved my suspicion.

Starting P19 after an engine penalty—a sacrifice I would have advised myself—he carved through the field with clinical detachment. By Lap 40, he'd neutralized every midfield piece I had expected to hold him. He finished on the podium. P3.

Do they not see the threat?

Bottas, if properly positioned—say, two places behind Hamilton, or one ahead of Max—could serve as a steel wall in the final race. A shield for Hamilton. Or a sword against Verstappen. With such cold efficiency and reliability, he could swing the title.

Also, my entire Interlagos Decider Simulation, the multi-phase contingency web I'd been crafting since Silverstone, is now... irrelevant.

Because of Lap 26.

The moment of impact. Like two celestial bodies colliding, Verstappen’s Red Bull launched itself onto Lewis’s Mercedes in a crunching ballet of tire and halo. A double DNF. Both title protagonists out. The board was upended.

I watched from behind.

I had already begun recalculating options when my radio engineer crackled in: “Excellent finish, Latifi, that’s P10. Sergio has a penalty. You’re P10. That’s a point scorer!”

What? P10?

I had... finished? In the points?

... Amateurish .

I was so consumed by observing Bottas, simulating the theoretical time delta shifts of the midfield pack, and whispering phantom moves into the ether, that I forgot to execute my own plan. 

I was supposed to pull out. Fade back into the midfield mist. Obscure. Average. Unnoticed.

But instead, I had slipped. I had become …visible.

When I returned to the paddock, the Williams team cheered. They congratulated me. Applauded.

But it wasn’t like George’s reception.

Russell got P9. They meant his cheers. Mine? A cocktail of politeness and disbelief, stirred with a splash of pity and two cubes of “how did he score again?”

I smiled back at them and nodded. The Latifi they think they know—the accident-prone midfielder with gentle radio calls and a maple leaf on his helmet—he played the role well.

But inside, I calculated the permutations of Bottas in Sochi. I simulated damp setups for Suzuka and dry setups in Qatar. I accounted for every mechanical failure. I counted every grain of Pirelli marbling on the outside of Lesmo 2.

Let them cheer.

I am not playing to win.

I am playing to decide who does.

But no longer at Interlagos.

That scenario has been burned.

My attention now fully turns to another battlefield.

Somewhere perhaps more theatric.

It is the only way... Abu Dhabi.

I will say this now:

If Bottas ever finds himself far from Hamilton and Verstappen at the final lap... it would be by my design.

—N.L.

[FIA CONFISCATED FILE: Document ID #NL-1221-QAB-OBLIVION]

Recovered from the underside of an unused rear wing endplate during a random FIA audit at the 2034 Mexican Grand Prix.

Date of original entry: Between Saudi and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 2021.

Authorship: Attributed to N. Latifi

There is elegance in irrelevance.

The most powerful pieces are not kings or queens. They are bishops. Silent. Diagonal. Unexpected.

Bottas thinks he’s leaving Mercedes with grace. I intend to give him something else entirely.

Sabotage is such a loud word.

I prefer: precision entropy.

Abu Dhabi. Final round. One shot.

• Hamilton and Verstappen equal on points.
• Bottas in his final race with Mercedes.
• Perez hungry to defend.
• George quietly watching from the wings.

Whereas me?

No one but a humble Williams driver.

With blue overalls.

And a vision.

Bottas must not be near the front.

He must be isolated, mid-pack, useless. His rear wing must bite the wind in futility while Hamilton fights alone.

I need to build a buffer between him and the title fight. A veil of papaya, pink, and red.

I need him… confined.

Scenario Alpha: “The Phantom Slipstream”

• Q1, I let Bottas catch me near the end of the lap.
• I give him the illusion of a tow — but I lift just enough into Turn 9 to ruin his delta by 0.150s.

Onboard it looks like a racing line compromise. And the data will say: “minor misjudgment.” But in reality it's a pre-calculated disturbance based on his throttle trace tendencies from Brazil.

Scenario Beta: “Sector 2 Mirage”

• I deliberately slow into the second sector cool-down lane during Q2 outlap, bottlenecking Bottas’ prep lap.
• He’s forced to back off or overtake illegally.
• He either loses tire temps or takes a track limits violation.
• Both options lead to a compromised flier.

George did it once accidentally to me in Baku.

I do it here with purpose.

Scenario Gamma: “The Yellow Whisper”

• Deploy Scenario only if Bottas threatens front row in Q3.
• I lock up slightly in Sector 1 runoff (Turn 3), kissing the bollard enough for a yellow flag, not enough for a red.
• Timing is crucial. I release the car 0.4 seconds before Bottas’ predicted arrival into the sector.
• He lifts. Lap invalid.
• I pit immediately. FIA rules see no intent.
• Stat sheet reads: “Driver error.”

But the sacrifice is complete.

In running my simulations, each scenario revealed distinct outcomes. Some subtle, some devastating in effect.

Scenario Alpha would likely result in Bottas qualifying somewhere between P5 and P7. He’d be close, but not close enough to assist Hamilton meaningfully during the opening laps. The illusion of a helpful tow would cloak my sabotage completely, with less than a 1% chance of FIA scrutiny.

Scenario Beta is more surgical. It could drop Bottas further, to P6 through P8, and all without incident. A slight interference in his prep lap here, a thermal miscalibration there—subtle enough to escape the eyes of the stewards. The likelihood of Mercedes protesting? Virtually nonexistent—under 0.5%.

Scenario Gamma was my queen’s sacrifice. If executed with precision, Bottas would land P9 or worse, deep in the midfield muck. His role as a defensive shield? Nullified. This scenario carried the highest risk of detection—perhaps 3%—but still marginal. A small price to pay for such tactic.

In all outcomes, Bottas is defanged—a knight stuck behind pawns, unable to shield his king.

The cost? A front wing. Some tire wear. A small glance from the stewards.

The reward? Hamilton rides solo into combat. Max has a clearer path.

The Board is Mine.

People ask why I do this.

I eat Nutella with a spoon and quote philosophy in engineering briefings. I play dumb.

But the truth?

Someone has to balance the board.

If Bottas is near the front, he becomes a shield.

Hamilton must meet Verstappen naked and mortal at the end of this world.

And if I must brush a curb, miss a braking point, or lift a finger too late in the name of manipulation…

Then so be it.

Let the historians argue.

I know what I did.

And I did it with style.

– N. L.

[PRIVATE JOURNAL – CONFISCATED BY FIA DURING ROUTINE TELEMETRY DUMP]

Author: presumably Nicolas Latifi

Found: Post–Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 2027

Location: Carlos Sainz Jr.'s Hotel Room, Yas Marina

December 2022

Abu Dhabi, Again

I suppose it’s fitting that it ended here.

Same circuit. Same skyline. Same air thick with expectation and engine smoke.

They said I’d fade into nothing.

That I’d be remembered only for that crash in 2021.

But they misunderstand what that moment truly was.

It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t luck.

It was a calculated disruption.

The first ripple in a storm that would change everything.

I watched this weekend unfold from within my own shadow.

No pressure. No headlines. Just quiet observation.

And what did I see?

Max is undisputed, unbothered. Pole to flag.

His 15th win of the season.

The man has become a machine. A monolith.

Yet even monoliths crack.

Sergio tried. Fought for P2 in the championship. But the strategy failed him.

Or perhaps they never intended for him to win that battle at all. 

The car was built for Max. The team, bent to Max.

Checo is just ballast in a gilded machine.

And Lewis?

I watched him limp that silver beast around like a veteran dragging his sword through the mud.

He started strong—briefly ahead of the Ferraris—but it was all smoke.

He had to give the place back.

His car bled performance. The floor gave out. Hydraulics collapsed. DNF.

The final blow of a winless season.

His first.

George, on the other hand…

Well.

George did exactly what I knew he would do.

Bottas… surprised me.

He brought Alfa Romeo above Aston Martin.

P15 in the race, sure, but the points he secured over the season were marvelous.

Quiet redemption. Not in headlines.

But in margins.

As for me?

Lap 39.

I touched the barrier—not hard enough for drama, not soft enough to ignore.

No Safety Car. No final-lap twist.

Just a quiet end.

One final DNF.

The perfect bookend.

I chose that crash.

Not for theatrics. Not for consequence.

But because I was bored.

Bored of the circles.

Bored of pretending I didn’t see the math in all of it.

I’ve known for months that my mind was meant for something else.

There’s something beautiful in the movement of capital—market trends, risk models, profit deltas.

It’s chaos, yes. Though not the kind that punishes. The kind that rewards those who watch closely. I’m going to follow that thread now.

But before I do, a few predictions.

Because if history has taught me anything, it is as cyclic and predictable as Pirelli tire.

Red Bull’s Fall Will Begin Soon

Not because of Max. But because of the reverence for Max.

The car will twist to fit him—and only him. The data, the setups, the politics.

Checo will become a scapegoat. A clown in a car he was never meant to tame.

By 2025, the cracks will show.

By 2027, Christian (if still around) and Helmut will be grasping at air to keep the Verstappens happy.

They will never match Mercedes’ seven-year streak.

Too much ego. Not enough infrastructure. 

Just look at what happened to Vettel. History often repeats itself.

Lewis Will Leave Mercedes

He won’t admit it at first. But he’ll feel the shift.

Toto has already begun to lose faith—even if he doesn’t know it himself.

Deep down, he wants Max.

But Max and Lewis? They will never share a garage.

I give it:

• 38% chance Lewis jumps to Ferrari
• 31% he bets on McLaren for a poetic return
• 24% for Aston Martin, especially if Alonso makes way
• 7% that he walks away, only to return when the world forgets how dangerous he still is

George Will Implode From Within

He’s too polished. Too perfect.

But perfection is brittle.

He’ll resist team orders. Antagonize Max. Subtly defy Lewis.

Give him 3 to 4 years—he’ll be replaced.

Either by some hyper-trained rookie they’ve kept in the shadows.

Or by a four-time World Champion they once overlooked.

Bottas Will Return

Not to race.

But he’ll be back at Mercedes.

Reserve. Strategist. Quiet support.

Because George will lose favor, and Bottas?

He was loyal. Predictable.

But Mercedes sees no value in loyalty. Merely potential. 

They don’t see it yet. But that is the first crack among many that shall collapse their empire.

I've Had Enough Of This Game.

I played it well.

Caused the storm and watched the giants conquered.

Stayed just long enough to see how far the ripple would go.

But let this be a warning to the next Latifi who thinks they can engineer destiny.

Don’t test the gods of chance.

Don’t tamper with outcomes you think you understand.

The consequences aren’t in the crash.

They’re in the echo.

I crashed once.

The world bent.

Now I walk away.

Quietly.

Completely.

Victoriously.

– N. L.