F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 115 Hamilton's Philosophy of the Paddock

P4 and P5 may seem to differ by only one rank, but in reality, they are indeed only one position apart.

Ahem! Let's get serious!
The most obvious difference between the two is in terms of distance: P5 is more than eight meters behind P4 in the starting distance, while P4 is only one car length behind P3.

Positionally speaking, starting from the second row, based on Shu Long's past performance, he could even directly threaten the two Mercedes-Benz cars in the front row. However, if he falls to fifth, he will have to deal with two more obstacles.

Considering the distribution of starting positions and the layout of the track in Baku, Shulong, who was assigned to start on the left, might actually have a greater advantage than Vettel in P3, since the first corner in Baku is a right-angle left-hand corner.

After giving his crew a little encouragement in the TR, Shu Long was actually relatively calm, or even a little annoyed.

Let's be a little more direct: this dissatisfaction is directed at Mercedes and Ferrari.

As qualifying progresses, the fuel level gradually decreases and the engine's maximum power is gradually released, so it's inevitable that the car's lap time will gradually improve. However, the average improvement between Q2 and Q3 is usually only about 0.3.

As for the leap of more than one second that Mercedes and Ferrari made today, Shu Long attributed it to the bad taste of the big teams.

if not?
Shu Long had previously felt that he was already a strong contender for pole position, and he did his best to snatch his first pole position from Verstappen.

When Q3 came around, Mercedes and Ferrari simply tore off their masks and threw them aside, no longer even bothering to put on an act.

"Hey kid! We were just teasing you! You didn't actually believe us, did you?"

That's it.

So much so that during the post-match interview, Shu Long's expression was completely wooden.

"Hello, Dragon? Do you think you can maintain this level of competitiveness in the upcoming main competition?"

"I don't know, or rather I think I know, but it seems like I don't."

Just then, a Lewis happened to pass by. Upon hearing this, he knew that someone was referring to them. Amused, he went over and patted Shu Long's arm, then whispered something in Shu Long's ear.

"That was a fantastic drive! Keep it up tomorrow!"

"Thank you. You won't be angry if I surpass you, will you?"

"Don't even think about it, you brat!"

It is indeed a bit cruel to have your hopes crushed, but the five-time champion has enough confidence and magnanimity to understand such a small dissatisfaction.

They did indeed find the new low-drag package very difficult to adapt to at one point. In fact, even now, the car still feels particularly awkward to drive in Baku. On the contrary, Bottas, who once again took pole position from his championship teammate, clearly did a better job in this regard.

However, they did have reservations about the car's performance. Besides the driver's unfamiliarity with the car, this was also a strategy and decision made by the team.

The main target for defense is Ferrari.

As it turned out, Vettel did indeed have a trump card up his sleeve, but fortunately, Mercedes' side was indeed a cut above the rest.

However, it must be admitted that Verstappen and Shu Long of the Red Bulls did put considerable pressure on them in the qualifiers.

Because whether it was the three practice sessions or the first two qualifying sessions, Mercedes never explored the limits of a car running at 100% performance.

Thanks to the track's many straight sections, even with some minor flaws in the corners, the powerful engine still has plenty of room to make up for lost lap times.

After saying goodbye to Shu Long in the interview area, Hamilton didn't rush back to the hotel. Instead, he went back to the data backend in the P room and asked the engineer to let him watch Shu Long's last flight circle on the vehicle repeatedly.

I was surprised when I first glanced at it; now, after a closer look, I was almost horrified.

Of course, from the driver's perspective, there were also many amazing moments, especially the handling of the final third stage.

At first glance, it seems that Shu Long made a mistake in handling Turn 17, because it can indeed be seen from the car's scooter that the car lost control due to insufficient grip and pushing too hard at Turn 17.

Hamilton does indeed prefer a stable understeer at the rear of the car in terms of driving style, but in his view, this level of understeer is a completely unacceptable risky behavior, and it cannot even be attributed to a certain driving style. It is simply a matter of not controlling the degree of the car's handling beyond its limits.

And yet, Shulong actually managed to stay stable!
In fact, not only Hamilton, but most people in the paddock had the same thought when they saw this part.

You're not fighting for pole position. Nobody would take that kind of risk in a street race. If you get scratched or bumped, it could affect tomorrow's main race!
Because of a misjudgment of the car's limits at Turn 17, Shu Long had to take a series of dangerous and thrilling remedial measures. In fact, if it weren't for good luck, the last red flag on the track today would probably have lasted until 8 p.m.

As for why it was able to get a green finish in the end, it was probably just a coincidence that it happened to be on the route with the highest utilization rate of the track.

During this period, Shu Long's driving skills were truly impressive. Not everyone can regain control of a race car under such extreme conditions. However, this does not mean that his pioneering move is of great reference value to other teams.

To be honest, most of the engineering teams behind the teams immediately analyzed the dynamics, racing line, and throttle curve of the Shulong car at that time, and concluded that it was best to just take a look.

Leaving aside whether other teams' drivers can do it, it's estimated that even Shu Long himself would have a hard time doing it again.

There are too many coincidences involved; the right time, the right place, and the right people—all three are indispensable.

However, Hamilton eventually noticed something amiss in Shulong's handling of Turn 18.

Shu Long chose the entry point too early, so much so that his movements looked like he was deliberately trying to crash into the wall.

This was undoubtedly a very counterintuitive move, so initially most teams, including Hamilton himself, only considered this turn as a counter-attack to deal with the instability at the rear of the car after the understeer ended.

Ironically, the car didn't crash into the wall despite understeer again. Instead, the delayed response of the steering allowed him to enter the corner at the perfect time.

What if we don't consider this series of actions as a stroke of genius?

This only makes sense because everything that happened in the third stage was within Shu Long's calculations and control!

Even if that's not the case, Shu Long's sensitivity to racing and his ability to react quickly in that instant were still quite remarkable.

scary child
Without a doubt, this kid has the potential to be a world champion driver in the future, and in some ways he may indeed become Hamilton's direct competitor at some point.

But this doesn't mean that the old man has to be hostile and suppress them in every way. On the contrary, he treats most of the young drivers in the paddock with optimism and encouragement, and he doesn't mind sharing his insights occasionally.

It may not all be about track driving; it also includes more about the philosophy of surviving in the paddock.

To have almost snatched the world championship from Alonso, who had already become a "political figure" in his early season, the veteran is certainly no ordinary player.

It's not just about driving fast. Keep in mind that Alonso was already a two-time world champion at the time, and he was still showing excellent form, capable of competing for the title again.

How can a young rookie like Hamilton secure resources within the team that rival those of his championship-winning teammates? That truly is a profound and complex skill.

There was one thing the old man saw very clearly.

Whether or not he has a chance to break the record set by former racing legend Michael Schumacher and become a new legend, there will always be younger legends poised to emerge in the future.

In fact, even without the opportunity presented by the Lando game, Hamilton had been trying to communicate with Shu Longduo since the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. However, the young man seemed to be a bit shy, and it was indeed a bit difficult for him to find common ground in the early stages.

He may never lack the determination to win the world championship, but the objective reality is that he cannot always maintain his current form, and Mercedes cannot always be invincible.

If one day his glory fades, the goodwill he has accumulated in the past will likely become his network of connections.

Of course, this doesn't mean Hamilton will only be a kind and gentle old man, who can be all smiles off the field but will certainly not show mercy when someone on the field really threatens his championship status.

"Lewis, aren't you going to rest?"

"It'll be soon, Bono!"

"You're still reading this part? What a lucky kid. He's also very talented, but don't get too obsessed with it. It's not very useful for reference."

"I know, I know, he was definitely lucky, but he did have a really great run in the second stage, didn't he?"

"That's true, but it's also because their cars are more comfortable here. Our cars don't have that much of an advantage in this race."

In terms of lap time, Shulong's second lap wasn't much faster than Hamilton's, only less than 0.05 seconds.

Everyone is very precise with their racing line. Sometimes, it's not about who's closest to the wall who's faster. Ultimately, the racing line needs to be adapted to the characteristics of the car to be effective.

Hamilton responded with a series of "uh-huhs," neither denying Shu Long's genius nor sharing his own in-depth observations with the team.

Shu Long's talent is visible to everyone in the paddock. To ignore it would seem petty, and there's no need for the team to place him in an overly important position.

These past few years have been crucial in breaking Schumacher's records. It remains to be seen whether Mercedes will still be as competitive as it is now, given the major changes to racing rules in a few years.

At least the old man was very satisfied with the current lineup of the team, and he didn't want any unexpected troublemakers to ruin his plans.

So what was Cheng Yaojin doing? He was pouring out his troubles to his girlfriend.

"I'm so depressed! The media have been wishing me a happy birthday every day lately. Do I look like I can be happy?"

"Oh, alright, alright! I'll try my best to get on the podium tomorrow, wouldn't that be the best birthday present?"

"Huh? Who calls giving themselves the best birthday present? Oh, speaking of which..."

As if he had just remembered something, Shu Long quickly opened his suitcase and reached into the sock compartment, finally pulling out a beautifully wrapped little gift box.

"Wow! So you didn't even open it to look at it after all that!"

"Isn't that because I'm busy?"

Inside the gift box was a small brocade pouch. Shulong shook out a small pendant from it, which, judging from its shape, appeared to be the black half of a yin-yang symbol.

"Sigh~ I couldn't find that jade pendant while watching your interviews these past two days... It turns out that my little token of affection was ultimately wasted."

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't give me goosebumps. What about the other half?"

"The other half is with me, of course. It just so happens that your racing number is also 69. You can bring the yin half and I can bring the yang half. We can complement each other perfectly."

Shu Long didn't ask what it was made of or how much it cost; he simply hung it around his neck.

Compared to the price of the item, the sentiment behind the gift is far more valuable.

The two of them understood this unspokenly, and Gan Mengning didn't emphasize it. Seeing that Shu Long had put it on, she happily showed off the one on her own chest.

Don't let their ordinary appearance fool you; Gan Mengning actually spent a lot of money to get them through her father's connections.

One piece of green jade and one piece of white jade, both of excellent quality, together worth almost 70,000 yuan, which directly took away half of the incentive that A-B gave me last year.

It hurts to spend money, but I don't even blink when it comes to paying.

Especially when Gan Mengning saw Shu Long take out the small pendant and kiss it in front of the camera before entering the race car the next day, she felt as if her heart was about to float away. She immediately pressed her cherry-pink lips to the white jade pendant on her chest.

For a fleeting moment, they felt as if they could feel each other's body temperature through the jade.

Actually, it's all warmed up by our own body heat; it's just that humans are such creatures that they're good at being emotionally moved by themselves.

Showing off that unspoken little secret in front of the whole world seems to add a unique thrill to the happiness.

“Oh, we see that Shulong seems to be performing some kind of pre-match prayer ritual. I don’t think I’ve seen him do it before.”

"I think I just saw him put a pendant in his clothes, something I don't remember ever seeing before."

"After all, it was my birthday a couple of days ago. Could it be a gift from your girlfriend?"

"Huh?! Does he have a girlfriend?"

The soldier looked incredulous, but Fei and Ran, who were always surfing the internet, gave a definite answer. After all, in a video recently released by Film Hurricane, Shu Long admitted that part of his helmet was made by his girlfriend.

"Haha, these young people nowadays. I wonder how many young girls' hearts will be broken when this news gets out~"

"However, with this support, I'm sure Shulong will be full of energy in this match!"

They're not just full of energy, Shulong's fighting spirit is practically bursting out.

Toro Rosso's absolute speed at this race wasn't slow, and his long-distance performance was also top-notch. Apart from Mercedes, he was no match for anyone.

Even Mercedes... he felt he could try to drag one down with him!
(End of this chapter)