F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 155: A Heavyweight Start That Is Indeed Heavyweight
Having already anticipated Haas's performance this season, after completing three practice races, Shu Long is mentally prepared for the formidable challenges he will face.

The Red Bull Ring is not a track that emphasizes high downforce, especially corners like turn 3 and turn 4. These areas actually test the car's mechanical grip more than downforce. Shu Long even pushed his lap time to P8 in the second practice session.

However, given that this year's engine power is not particularly strong, this approach would put a bit too much strain on the tires. Considering the long distance on Sunday, after discussing with the team, we had no choice but to compromise and opt for a higher downforce tuning.

However, the downforce at the rear of the race car cannot be too high, as this would exacerbate the persistent problem of overheating of the rear suspension, which would also be detrimental to maintaining the car's condition over long distances.

The combination of these two factors creates the unique characteristics of Haas racing cars, which are characterized by top-heavy downforce and extremely sensitive front end.

Coincidentally, this design is actually quite similar to the feeling of Shu Long driving a Red Bull race car for tire testing last year. He had a strong sense of déjà vu after only two laps.

However, such unusual racing characteristics require drivers to have more precise control over steering and grip, as well as extremely delicate feelings about the dynamics of the rear of the car and the degree of throttle input to the rear wheels.

In Magnussen's words, "It's very fun to drive, and I don't think I'll be bored in tomorrow's race."

The car was in a very subtle state of oversteer from the moment it entered the corner until it exited. Magnussen's seven spins in three practice sessions should be enough to illustrate the problem.

Such training is a double-edged sword. If mastered well, it can help complete long-distance pregnancy maintenance work more effectively, but if you are even slightly distracted, it may backfire.

So during the three training sessions, Shu Long had already begun to explore the lap time limit of the new setup, while Magnussen still had to spend a lot of time fine-tuning and modifying it to make the setup more suitable for him.

While it may be theoretically excellent, the most important thing about racing is that it feels comfortable to drive.

In the afternoon's qualifying matches, because of a pre-match bet with Magnussen, they would use three matches to determine who would be the tactical sacrifice for the team, so neither of them pulled the other's tail even once.

Originally, it was supposed to be two games, but because this year's race calendar has already cut several games due to the mask issue, three games would be too much of a drag.

However, the Red Bull Ring is, after all, Shulong's former home ground, and the first two games of the season will be played here, which is a bit unfair. So, it's better to wait until the third leg in Hungary to decide the winner.

However, in order not to delay their business, they agreed that the person who was at the back of the rankings should just do what they were supposed to do.

As a result, Magnussen didn't even make it to Q2 in ranked matches, and was eliminated in P16 in the first round.

Shu Long was slightly better than him, but not by much. He was more than 0.7 seconds faster than his teammate on the lap. In the end, he beat Kvyat, who replaced him in the Toro Rosso this year, and came behind Gasly. He will start from P13 tomorrow.

Considering Haas's competitiveness, this starting position is actually quite good. If they work hard tomorrow, getting a point shouldn't be a problem.

Behind them are players like Arrow, who are in an even worse situation, and of course, Williams, who has a long tail. In fact, the competitiveness of Toro Rosso this year is about the same.

Of course, it's also possible that last year's Toro Rosso was just like this, except that last year the team had Shulong but this year they don't. Without an absolute benchmark to refer to, perhaps this is what Toro Rosso should really be like.

Based on Shulong's performance of being 0.3 to 0.6 points faster than his teammates in each qualifying match on average, if he were in Toro Rosso this year, he should be guaranteed a P6.

There's no need to dwell on the past. Now that he's sitting in a Haas race car, his primary task is to drive this white-themed car, just like the Toro Rosso this year.

On tracks like the Red Bull Ring, Haas's current setup makes it relatively easier to create overtaking opportunities during the race, but defending will be more difficult.

Therefore, before tomorrow's race, Shu Long should mentally simulate the race strategy. How to rationally choose the timing of the attack while maintaining the car's condition to the maximum extent is also a very crucial factor in determining the race result.

We can only make a contingency plan for this part in advance. As for the specific situation, we will have to wait until the main competition tomorrow to adapt to the circumstances.

Strategy is something for teams with extra resources to do. Just like what Magnussen told Shu Long when he first arrived at Haas, in such a resource-poor small team, the only thing they can do is to give it their all in every race without thinking about anything else.

As for hoping for some kind of technical assistance from Ferrari...
Leclerc, who took pole position here last year, finished nearly a second slower than his best time last year, only managing a P7.
Meanwhile, our "Uncle with the crooked head," whose willingness to renew his contract with Ferrari is currently uncertain, didn't even make it into Q3, ultimately only managing a P11.
Ferrari is already in a mess because of the engine cheating, and they even have to sacrifice their own arms to ensure the legality of their continued participation in the race. They can't even take care of themselves, let alone take care of the little brother who just finished paying respects to the boss.

seriously.

Without the two Ferraris causing trouble, if Shu Long is still driving his Toro Rosso this year, his chances of getting on the podium will probably be much easier than last year.
Could it be that Alonso's mysterious team-selection genius aura is real?!

That's why, when Alonso called to tell Ferrari that they had decided on Shulong's destination for the second year, he simply said to wait and see.

Vettel's contract with Ferrari is not only uncertain, but even before the season restarted, Autosport reported that Vettel might consider transferring to his current Racing Point team next year.

Specifically, at the beginning of this year, the young master's father, Stroll, and Geely jointly bid for a 20% stake in Aston Martin for £200 million.

However, Aston Martin's board of directors was concerned that Geely would undermine their independence, so from the beginning they preferred Lawrence Stroll's proposal.

Finally, Stroll acquired a 16.7% stake in Aston Martin for £1.82 million. Aston Martin will also cease its title sponsorship of the Red Bull Racing team starting next year, and Racing Point will be officially renamed Aston Martin Racing for a period of ten years.

Alonso was more sensitive to the wind in the paddock than Shulong, so he contacted Stroll to ask if they had any plans to recruit drivers like Shulong.

The answer was a resounding "No!"

Lawrence hopes to sign an older driver who can help his son's career, ensuring the team's overall competitiveness without overshadowing his son.

Shulong is younger than Lance, and his ability and potential are significantly greater than Lance's. Recruiting such a driver is undoubtedly just adding fuel to the fire.

If he gets thrashed in every match, not only will the public opinion be unpleasant, but Lance himself might also develop some psychological problems.
However, a veteran like Vettel, who is in decline, would be a perfect fit. It wouldn't be a disgrace for Lance to be unable to outrun him, after all, he is a four-time world champion.

If one day the young master really beats his teammates, wouldn't it sound better to beat a four-time world champion?

The three-dimensional defense is fully upgraded.

Vettel is quite dissatisfied with Ferrari's overall competitiveness this year. The man who once said the "Ferrari fan" is now actually starting to consider leaving the team at the end of his career.

As a result, Ferrari naturally couldn't place all its hopes for contract renewal on Vettel, and immediately approached Alonso to find out about Shu Long's intentions for next year.

But to be honest, even Alonso doesn't recommend that Shu Long get involved in Ferrari's mess in the near future.

The engine design problem is not like an aerodynamic issue. It could take anywhere from two to three or four years, during which time Ferrari could very well be just as uncompetitive as it is this year.

Of course, the rejection wasn't so direct, saying things like, "Ah, because your engine isn't good, I don't want to come!" Instead, they said they wanted to wait and see what Red Bull's decision would be at the end of the season.

This is quite normal, since the contract between Ferrari and Red Bull will not expire until the end of next year. Before that, if Ferrari really wants someone, it will have to spend a lot of money to buy him from Red Bull.

The negotiations stalled for a while.

However, compared to these things that are still uncertain, Shu Long is actually more concerned about another important matter concerning his agent.

During the recent break, Alonso helped Shu Long probe the teams in the paddock, and quietly secured a big news deal in his spare time.

I don't know if it was the things he did in the Shulong paddock last year that reignited his enthusiasm, and he felt that forty was the age to work hard, so he quietly signed a two-year official driver contract with Renault and is about to return to the F1 paddock.

However, there has been no official announcement yet, so Alonso only shared the joy with Shu Long in private, while asking him to keep it as secret as possible.

Of course, it doesn't matter if you accidentally let it slip; with the power of those paparazzi in the paddock, it should be exposed in a few days.

Um, it's pretty surreal.

However, 2020 was already surreal enough, and Shu Long felt like he had almost gotten used to it without even realizing it.

Little did he know that Sunday's race would be even more magical. Starting at P13 did not prevent him from having his usual explosive start.

The red light had barely gone out when he cleanly and decisively passed Gasly diagonally in front of him, and before Turn 1, he overtook Vettel directly in front of him, taking position P11.

Then Verstappen, who started in P3, had an engine problem on lap 11. It's unclear whether it was a sensor malfunction or a program crash, but the engine kept triggering the anti-stalling device.

Back in the pit lane, they changed the tires and also tried to see if restarting the engine would solve the problem, but it was still to no avail, so they had no choice but to retire from the race.

On lap 17, Ricciardo's engine also failed at P10. Fortunately, he was already at Turn 7 when the engine blew out, not far from the pit lane entrance, so it didn't cause any major problems.

Although Renault doesn't seem to have decided who to replace Alonso yet, one thing is certain: if Renault continues with its endless engine failures like last year, Ricciardo himself will probably want to leave.

Just as Shu Long was preparing to launch an attack on Stroul, whose rhythm was becoming increasingly chaotic, the young master suddenly slowed down considerably and drove into the maintenance area on his own.

"Strol's retirement sounds like a sensor malfunction, and Mercedes has informed both drivers to be careful with their driving to avoid repeating the same mistake."

Um.
In fact, since the day the new car was unveiled for the season, there have been voices in the paddock questioning whether Racing Point has copied Mercedes' design this year, especially the front nose cone, which looks exactly the same.

Moreover, judging from Racing Point's sudden and rapid improvement in lap times this year, there seems to be a strong suspicion that they copied Mercedes.

But what about now?
How come Haas seems to have almost reached his scoring target for this year so soon after the start of the game?
P8?
On lap 22, Ferrari gave Leclerc a pit stop instruction, and Haas was immediately thrown off balance, letting Shulong pit immediately.

As it turns out, Leclerc was just trying to fool Albon or Norris in front of him, but who would have thought that the only player on the field to fall for it was Haas, who was completely out of the loop behind him.

This seems familiar. Thinking back to last year's opening match in Australia, Shulong and the still-uncoordinated Toro Rosso team fell into the same trap.

After entering the station, we dropped back to P13, where Renault's Ocon and Shulong's current teammate Magnussen were ahead.

"Fxck! Can't you guys think of a way to fix this?"

"We'll have Kevin help you hold off O'Connor with all his might, and we'll create an opportunity for you to overtake as soon as possible, okay?"

"Don't ask me, this is your job!"

Oh my god
As the only truly human player on the Haas team right now, the way the rest of the team works together is completely different from how they used to be with Toro Rosso; everyone is acting very cautiously.

Fortunately, although he was a little numb, the team responded very quickly to his thigh.

Shulong, who was less than 2 seconds behind Ocon, soon saw Magnussen showcasing the art of "drawing a dragon" in front of him, reducing Ocon's lap time by about a second in just one lap.

Last year in Bahrain, Shulong personally experienced the destructive power of "Ma Hualong" in the paddock. Now, this move has become his own weapon, and to be honest, he feels quite complicated.

Then, on lap 24, Shu Long watched helplessly as Magnussen's front wheel spewed out a cloud of black ash and veered straight off at turn 3.

Yellow flag, then safety car.

Normally, drivers like Shu Long who pitted before the yellow flag would usually lose a lot of money!
However, the location of this yellow flag is very delicate, because all the cars ahead of them have not yet entered the pits, so they are almost certain to enter this yellow flag.

After Shulong stopped, he switched to the long-unseen C2 white tires. These tires were originally intended for a full run, so there was no need for him to pit again. After a series of dramatic changes, he actually returned to P9, only to be flipped over by Vettel.

In other words, the cars that were originally in front of Shulong got a free entry under the yellow flag, and Shulong also regained the position it had previously lost because of the yellow flag, which is equivalent to it also getting a free entry.

Would someone really be willing to sacrifice to this extent for their teammates?

As expected of you, Lao Ma! I'll never complain about your lack of sportsmanship again!
Joking aside, Magnussen's problem was caused by a brake system malfunction. The team also reminded Shulong not to drive too aggressively and to maintain the current points position.

However, on lap 31 after the race restarted, Leclerc and Vettel simultaneously launched an attack on Sainz ahead of them.

Leclerc made the overtake using DRS on the straight. Vettel didn't have enough tailspeed margin, so he could only take advantage of the McLaren's car line being affected by his teammate and find the right moment to brake late and approach the inside line of Turn 3.

However, Sainz has no way to defend against the DRS on the straights. Does he not have any chance to make a move in the low-speed corners?

Cut inside, close the door, Vibranium right back!

The legendary Ferrari spinning top has reappeared. Although it wasn't caused by Vettel himself, it's a fact that he spun 180 degrees on the spot and sent Sainz flying off the track.

Faced with an opportunity that was right in front of him, Shu Long felt that any driver would find it hard to resist, and he quickly overtook two other drivers to reach P7.

On lap 49, Williams' Russell suffered an engine failure and had to pit and retire from the race.

It's as if there's a contagious disease not only between people, but also among the race cars at this station, with five cars already withdrawing from the race.

On lap 51, Kimi's car, Aro, broke its right front suspension without any warning in the middle of a corner, triggering a yellow flag once again.

Shu Long, who originally planned to run on white tires to the end, not only got a chance to switch to yellow tires for free, but also had the gap that the car line ahead of him had widened in the first fifty laps completely closed.

Of course, there were also those who didn't choose to pit, such as Perez, who opted for a red card to yellow card after the first stop, but decided to trust his ability to maintain his hard-won position.

Because of this yellow flag, Albon, who was in P3, was able to get right behind Hamilton.

On lap 61, after the race resumed with the green flag, without even using DRS, Albon used the slipstream to make a spin after Turn 3 and chose to go to the outside to challenge the six-time champion, preparing to fight his way out of Turn 4.

As a result, the old man's Vibranium left front wheel technique from Brazil last year made a comeback, directly elbowing Albon's right rear wheel and sending him swerving onto the gravel, his position dropping erratically.

Albon, who was usually quite good-natured, saw that he was about to prove himself and immediately cursed Hamilton on TR, calling him a "sore loser"!
Unfortunately, the base plate was severely damaged as a result, and in the end, he had no choice but to withdraw from the competition.

With this, all seven cars withdrew from the race, and Shulong officially moved to P6.

Leclerc overtook Norris and Perez in the following laps, partly due to the older tires of the two cars, and partly because Ferrari had the foundation to compete for the championship last year.

In contrast, Shulong, driving a Haas, could only watch helplessly as Norris followed behind, slowly searching for an opportunity.

And then that opportunity actually came to him.

On lap 69, Norris launched an attack on Perez at Turn 3, and Racing Point, which had already run 45 laps, could only barely defend himself. In the end, Norris's left front wheel was hit hard on the sidepod, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

Shu Long seized the opportunity and replicated what he did on lap 31, passing two cars to reach P4.

However, with only three laps left in the race, overtaking at this point might not be enough to stop any car behind Haas, given its performance. Conservatively speaking, it would likely lose a position.

Just as Shu Long finished overtaking, the right rear tire of the Toro Volkswagen Kvyat suddenly blew out without warning, triggering another yellow flag.

Although no safety car was deployed, once the yellow flag was raised and the race reached its final lap, without the threat of DRS, Shulong secured a P4 almost without any major incidents.
It wasn't over yet. When Hamilton was penalized for his earlier foul on Albon, Shu Long and Haas were miraculously promoted to P3.

The 2020 season, which had a disastrous start, actually began with a podium finish, with eight cars retiring to secure third place. I don't even know what to say.

(End of this chapter)