The comment wasn't part of the official transcript. A clipped post-session moment, barely a sentence, caught between media noise and static. But by midday, it was on the team group chat, repackaged in subtitled graphics and sliced into reels.

The team principal’s voice carried just enough distance: “We’re in a transitional phase. Every seat is being evaluated as we look at the bigger picture moving forward.” He hadn’t named names. He hadn’t needed to.

There had already been whispers before the weekend. The upgrade package was late. The power unit wasn’t behaving in low-speed corners. A telemetry spike in sector three couldn’t be replicated. Even the engineers were starting to mutter—quietly, cautiously—that maybe it wasn’t just the driver struggling.

But the tone around the garage told a different story. The media liaisons had stopped looping in for pre-race photos. The pit crew rotation shifted without explanation. A new driver from the junior pool was spotted in the hospitality unit wearing team gear, shaking hands with logistics.

{{user}}'s name was still printed on the paddock wall. Smaller than the other. Misaligned.

No one said anything when the reserve suit was left zipped on the hook all Sunday.