F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 105 The Battle Reaches its Peak
"Wait a minute! Why do I see Norris has entered the station again?"

"Yeah, I remember he did his second stop around lap nineteen, right? How long has this yellow tire set been running? Eight laps?"

"He didn't actually use those white tires for very long, if I remember correctly, only about 18 laps?"

"Oh dear, it seems like today's tire wear might be much higher than pre-race estimates! Could it be because the track is too cold?"

"Actually, this should be pretty good for Shulong. Once everyone's tire wear increases and they all have to stop twice, then his earlier early entry into the pit should be considered an advantage!"

By the time the race had reached lap twenty-seven, the commentators, whose minds were a half-lap slower, finally began to understand what the Mavericks' strategy was all about.

Regardless of how the answer was derived, it doesn't matter if the process was completely wrong, at least they guessed the conclusion correctly about 80% of the time.

"But it's also possible that McLaren will retire one car? I didn't even think of that until you mentioned it. Norris's accident at the start of the race was quite serious!"

This time, the soldier finally guessed correctly.

Soon the broadcast showed a conversation between Team Wade and Norris and the engineer, and the simultaneous interpreter, Ran, quickly refined the interpretation in his mind.

The gist is that the initial accident caused Norris's car suspension to shift, and now the floor and front wing are scraping the bottom so badly that continuing the race will not only make it difficult to score points, but even if he does, there is a high chance that his results will be disqualified by the race organizers, and it will also cause unnecessary damage to the car.

Gan Mengning took a close-up photo of the McLaren that had slumped into the pits. This was the second such scene she had captured today. Faced with such an uncontrollable event, the driver inside could be seen to be utterly powerless.

The competition was only halfway through, and she just hoped that Shulong would never encounter such bad luck again.

Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Gan Mengning should know the driver named Norris who has now withdrawn from the race; at least they have met and spoken.

While the fact that Shu Long has a girlfriend is still kept strictly confidential from the outside world, it's not exactly a secret among the drivers in the paddock. The culprit is a guy named Lando Norris.

"Who is that?! Leclerc suddenly attempted to attack the Dragonbane!"

"But Shulong's synchronized lane change was too fast! Luckily, Vittel's blocking earlier was completely ineffective, and he almost lost his position because of this zone defense!"

Just as she was feeling sentimental, a voice from one of the five stars suddenly roared in her earphones, startling Gan Mengning so much that she quickly picked up her camera again and searched everywhere for her beloved.

At this moment, Gan Mengning's position was above the P room, on the rooftop terrace of the Paddock Club. Apart from the lack of seats, the view was probably one of the best and most unobstructed in the entire paddock.

By simply running back and forth on the terrace, you can see and photograph more than 80% of the track.

Besides this place, there are two large platforms on the ninth floor, but there are just too many people there, which is not very friendly to someone as short as Gan Mengning.

She even went up to check it out during yesterday's qualifying rounds, only to find herself blocked by several layers of people from the very beginning, just smelling farts – it was a nightmare.
The girl wasn't kept waiting long. Soon, two red Ferraris sandwiched a blue and red Toro, roaring as they appeared at the end of the starting straight.

"Another DRS! Can Shulong stop it this time?"

"Vettel is changing lanes defensively! He doesn't want Shulong to catch him in the wake. What should he do here?"

"Shu Long ignored him and stayed on the outside racing line, entering Turn 1 at high speed, where Leclerc was blocked again!"

"Switch to the inside! Anyone want to?"

"Yes!!!"

The outsider pushed his entry speed to the limit, and while maintaining an exaggerated curve tracking braking at Turn 1, Shu Long even had the leisure to slowly approach the center line of the track.

Not many, but they completely blocked Leclerc's line as he was about to cut into Turn 2 after his inside move.

He didn't even need to make any more aggressive defensive moves, because the kind-hearted Uncle with the crooked head in front of him had completely blocked the remaining open spaces in the paint.

Mercedes players were playing their own game, while the Earth team players were also running their own races. This offensive and defensive phase naturally became the focus of the entire stadium's cameras.

It was clear from the commentators' words that this was the second truly threatening attack Leclerc had launched against Shulong in a short period of time, but both attacks had been neutralized.

Leclerc himself took a great risk by launching such an attack. Regardless of their off-field relationship, anyone would be furious after being blocked twice.

Not long after, Leclerc appeared with a red avatar bearing the sound waves, trying to make his presence known for a while.

Because it was a temporary TR segment, the organizers hadn't had time to add subtitles yet. But Ran Ge is in this line of work, so even though the two senior members next to him were still making noise, it didn't stop him from translating normally.

"Oh, Leclerc was just complaining to his engineer that Shulong changed lanes too late in the braking zone of the corner, which was dangerous!"

"That's understandable. What looks like a great defense on screen is a completely different experience for the drivers on the actual track."

"We hope that Shulong will not be penalized for his actions just now. After all, there was no collision, and based on our understanding of the rules, Shulong should not have violated any regulations."

It's actually hard to define the conventional rules here, since there are very few designs where the braking zone is in the curve. Shulong can easily argue that it's a normal entry line into the curve.

Leclerc was just making excuses to vent his emotions. After all, now that he was unleashing the engine's high power for every rev, he could face unpredictable consequences at any moment.

On the terrace, Gan Mengning followed Shu Long's figure as he disappeared at the end of Turn 1. She quickly grabbed her camera and ran to the other side to watch the battle between the Toro Rosso and the two Ferraris, which had continued all the way to Turn 5.

The noise here is actually quite loud, and the on-site commentary is completely inaudible, which is why Gan Mengning specifically wore headphones to listen to the familiar commentary from Five Star.

But she didn't actually hear a word of what the five-star members had said. They just rambled on and on, and in the end, it was just like background music for creating emotions.

This scene unfolded right before her eyes. Before she knew it, her hands were covered in slippery, cold sweat, making it almost impossible for her to hold the camera.

The viewing experience at the venue may indeed not be as clear and detailed as that of a broadcast.

But the exhilarating feeling ignited by the roar of the engines, the throat-tight tension during wheel-to-wheel battles, and the electrifying roar from the stands—all of these are experiences that you can never truly understand when watching a race on a computer screen.

My eyes and the bridge of my nose throbbed with a persistent soreness, and I couldn't tell whether it was from emotion, pride, or worry.

All of this belongs to him, the absolute protagonist under the spotlight!
Gan Mengning knew that she didn't dare to speak at all, afraid that if she made a sound, she would burst into tears. This emotion had been brewing since the flag-raising ceremony before the competition today.

Low temperatures on the track have always been a major problem.

The wind speed showed no signs of weakening, and even though the race had progressed to this point and the track had been repeatedly driven over by more than a dozen tires with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the asphalt surface remained stubbornly low.

Vettel's white tires struggled for more than a lap after his pit exit, his 1.6-second lead was practically meaningless, and he was caught up by Shu Long in the DRS range on lap 25.

But just like the task Hamelin had given Shulong earlier, he didn't rush to make any unnecessary moves, but simply maintained a subtle but continuous pressure on Vettel ahead. The little red bull was like a seasoned and patient hunter, completely unmoved by the prey already wounded, standing at a distance where he could deliver a fatal blow at any moment, coldly watching his opponent struggle in the snow, leaving behind streaks of glaring red.

If possible, the second stint of this white fetus will likely continue peacefully as it is now.

But Hamelin, who was closely watching the movements of the other cars on the track, soon noticed that Verstappen, who had been watching from the back, had been looking for an opportunity to recharge his car starting around lap 30.

"Long, how do you feel about the defensive pressure right now?"

"Unless Seb is willing to give up his position, I can completely control the current situation!"

"Then switch to Mode 7. Harvest More (increase kinetic energy recovery efficiency)."

"About how many are needed?"

"I think 45% should be enough, mainly for the first and second stages. Can you handle it?"

"I'll try it first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shu Long noticed in the rearview mirror that Leclerc was again making a move toward the inside line. Almost simultaneously, he moved toward the inside line and then slowly pushed the car toward the center line after entering the braking zone before Turn 11.

The man changed lanes twice in a short period of time, but only one of the lane changes was completed during braking. So the maneuver of "Shulong" (束龙) may seem a bit like drawing a dragon, but it does not actually constitute a violation.

Leclerc hadn't intended to force his way into the paint; his original plan was just to make a fake move to shake off Shulong. However, he didn't expect that the monster's reaction speed to be so ridiculously fast. Instead, he ended up getting a good taste of the hot exhaust fumes coming from the front while he was braking.

This is Shulong's current overall defensive strategy: not only to block Leclerc's possible offensive routes, but also to use the heat released by its own racing engine, tires, and brakes to give the cars behind it a boost in a race.

【Sharp Eyes】In addition to being used to see the defensive actions of the car in front, it can also play a role comparable to mind reading when used in defense. Compared with the track of the last race, the rear of the car is not wide, but now it is like an insurmountable city wall, blocking Leclerc to despair.

Seeing that the data from the sensors was getting increasingly bad, Ferrari's engineers finally couldn't help but speak up and remind Levante, who was getting a little carried away, on the thirty-fourth lap.

"Charles, watch your engine temperature."

"I know, I know! Don't talk to me while I'm fighting!"

"You can't keep trying to overtake like that. Vettel is finding it hard to maintain his pace, and you're in a very passive position now!"

"then what do I do?"

"Let's try to cool down the engine first, and then try to overtake at full power after we get to turn 16."

“I’ve tried it, more than once! He also has DRS, so the advantage I can gain is very small!”

Then came the heavy braking zone at Turn 14, and Leclerc's race engineer, Adami, wisely chose to keep quiet.

This is the crucial point where the race car brakes from the highest speed on the track to the lowest speed corner, and it is also the place where the tires are most likely to lock up. The driver must be fully focused on sensing the state of his front wheels.

There was another reason that Adami hadn't had a chance to mention, but when Leclerc saw the red light flashing on the rear of the little red bull that had braked hard ahead, everything was understood without words.

"His battery is dead?!"

"Yep."

Adami simply confirmed the information without offering any further advice, assuming Leclerc knew what he needed to do.

This was actually only the third race between Leclerc and the Ferrari team, but Adami had already gradually figured out a way to work with him.

Leclerc is a typical energetic and talented young man, which often comes with a considerable degree of opinion, but at the same time he has a well-behaved personality at heart.

Dealing with such children is actually quite simple: give them enough trust and autonomy at the right time, but be firm and assertive when it's time to give instructions.

Regardless of how much the other party might complain or be dissatisfied afterward, at least at that time Leclerc would be more obedient.

As it is now, Adami only needs to clearly convey to Leclerc what he is not allowed to do, and leave the rest to Leclerc to decide.

Leclerc didn't rush to attack before Turn 1 this lap, because he hadn't managed to get a close enough following distance in the previous lap.

Moreover, he's fallen for the same trick several times already, and now he's really fed up with the hype from the Shulong Racing game!
Throughout the first and second stages, the frequent taillight indications from the cars ahead entering charging mode further confirmed Leclerc's suspicions.

As for Adami's earlier suggestion to overtake after Turn 16, it's very likely just a smokescreen for Toro Rosso. Unless Vettel is really struggling, trying to overtake using DRS in the train formation would just be repeating the same mistakes as before.
Finally, on the next lap, at full throttle at Turn 7, Leclerc bet that the Sullenberger wouldn't have time to ramp up the engine power after a series of combination corners, and went straight for the outside firepower here.

It's just pressing the overtaking button inside the curve, right? You're making it sound like you can't do it!
After nearly eight laps of battling, the red Ferrari finally completed a beautiful overtaking maneuver on a corner. Gan Mengning, who was leaning over the east railing of the terrace and witnessing it all, forgot to breathe for a moment. After a few heartbeats seemed to have missed, she was followed by a strong feeling of weightlessness as if she were falling.

As if to kill someone by destroying their spirit, the Ferrari team's TR was played into the earphones.

"Yes yes yes yes! Baby!"

"Well done, keep it up, buddy, now it's our turn!"

At the same time, Shu Long calmly turned around and followed Leclerc's tail, without commenting on Hamelin's earlier suggestion.

Due to the engine's limited output power, even though Shu Long had pressed the overtaking button in time, Leclerc still managed to snatch the lane alongside him without warning.

The next turn eight is downhill, and the momentum of the outside lane being thrown out here is too great.

Continuing to push hard here would prevent him from getting enough entry angles for the ninth and tenth consecutive double apex corners. Once his rhythm is disrupted, he could easily be outmaneuvered by Verstappen behind him, leaving him no choice but to ease off the throttle and watch Leclerc overtake him.

Fortunately, judging from his current feeling of the four white tires on the car, this Stint can still run for a long time, which means there are still opportunities later.

"So what do we do now? Fight back?"

"No, no, no! Don't rush! It seems like the two Mercedes cars are discussing a double pit stop, right on this lap!"

"Huh?! Didn't they take more than twenty laps to complete the first stop? How long did it take them on the white tires?"

"It seems that Mercedes' pace was too slow this time because of Giovanni's yellow tire data. Yes, they scored! Be prepared, we may change our strategy based on their data!"

(End of this chapter)