ACROSS THE FINISH LINE [Complete & Revised]
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    ACROSS THE FINISH LINE [Complete & Revised]

    Romance

    They were once inseparable, best friends bound by dreams, adrenaline, and an unspoken connection neither dared to name. Luca Moretti, Formula 1's golden boy, is a champion on the track and a heartbreaker off it. But behind the fame and fast cars lie...

    #f1 #f1engineer #f1racer #formula1 #friends-strangers-lovers #rival #secondchances #sportsromance

    Chapter 19: Pre-Season Heat

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    February in Italy wasn't warm—but the pressure already was.
    Winter had barely receded, but the engines were already stirring. Snow hadn't touched the paddock in weeks, yet something in the air still bit like frost—thin, biting, and impossible to ignore.
    The 2026 season hadn't even started.
    And yet, both Elena Reyes and Luca Moretti found themselves in the middle of a different kind of race.
    One without laps.
    One without finish lines.
    A race against time. Against doubt. Against the weight of everything they'd just won.
    The world had crowned them:
    Champion.
    Visionary.
    Trailblazers.
    But crowns were heavy things.
    And the off-season?
    Had a cruel way of reminding you that peace wasn't permanent.
    Ferrari HQ – Maranello
    Inside the sleek, temperature-controlled simulator room, Luca gripped the wheel as the screen around him wrapped in panoramic adrenaline.
    He wasn't driving for fun.
    Not today.
    He was proving.
    To the engineers.
    To the board.
    To himself.
    That last year hadn't been luck. That he wasn't a one-title wonder. That he wasn't slipping now that the pressure was different.
    The virtual race ended. Cool-down lap complete. Third fastest time of the day. Low tire degradation. Consistent cornering.
    He pulled off the headset, sweat clinging to his collar.
    Before he could exhale, Maurizio's voice cut in like a scalpel.
    "We need more aggression in Turn Six. The new aero setup can handle deeper entry."
    Luca said nothing.
    Did nothing.
    But his fingers clenched the edge of the wheel with the kind of tension you could feel in the bones.
    This wasn't feedback.
    It was a warning shot.
    A reminder:
    Defending a title was harder than winning it.
    Reyes Innovation Lab – Modena
    The once-quiet lab now hummed with expansion.
    Boxes stacked in corners. Prototypes filled the development bay. Coders typed with furious precision while marketing prepped for the upcoming European Tech Expo.
    Elena stood at her desk, tablet in one hand, blueprint in the other, cross-referencing specs for an adaptive drag kit prototype. She was two hours into her day and already behind.
    Her life had shifted from code and carbon fiber...
    ...to contracts and control.
    Then Jasmin burst through the glass door, a tablet gripped like it might detonate.
    "You're not going to believe this," she said.
    Elena looked up warily. "You only say that when I will believe it and hate it."
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