F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 182 Monza has caught Ferrari's disease

They will not interfere in the competition between the two, but they will make sure Verstappen gets more points than Hamilton whenever possible.

Shu Long expressed his understanding, saying that if the internal strife between the two players ruined the world championship's potential, it would be a major management failure worthy of being nailed to the pillar of shame in F1 history.

That being said is one thing, but actually doing it is not an easy thing.

Red Bull is indeed at a significant disadvantage on this track.

Based on the analysis of several practice sessions and past qualifying data, Mercedes has a significant advantage in speed on this track, both in single laps and over long distances.

Slightly slower wasn't Red Bull, but McLaren, which also became a Mercedes customer team this year. Ricciardo and Norris started in P5 and P6 respectively, right behind Shu Long and his team.

The fact that both Red Bulls were able to start together from the second row today is largely due to the drivers' performance.

Of course, Red Bull's highly coordinated management during the extremely chaotic qualifying session in Monza was indeed key to ensuring that drivers had room to perform to their full potential.

However, today Shu Long and his team are not only focusing on attacking Mercedes. If they are careless, McLaren may inadvertently cause them to suffer a loss. After all, no one can guarantee that there is no secret agreement between the customer team and the factory team.

For example, if McLaren can ensure Hamilton gains a points advantage in the race, then they can get a discount on the cost of purchasing engines next year.

Whether this is true or not is another matter, but at least the fact that Red Bull is currently surrounded by four Mercedes-Benz vehicles is a very bad thing.

The competition between Red Bull and Mercedes has reached a fever pitch. Before the race, Toto even stated that if necessary, they would not hesitate to use team orders to make Bottas give way.

In the past, they would at least find some excuses to cover it up, but now that they're treating the number two driver as a tool, they don't even want to pretend anymore?

Even before he officially got into the race car in the afternoon, the team kept reminding Shu Long that whether he could help Verstappen was another matter, but at least he should use that invincible starting speed to find a way to prevent the two Mercedes cars from giving way.

This one is relatively easy. The starting position of the Shulong P3 is on the left side of the track where the track has better grip. Hamilton is so old and can only start on the dirty side of the track, so there is no reason for him to lose.

As the five red lights began to illuminate one by one, the Mercedes and Red Bull pits held their breath in tension, while Shu Long, who was about to dominate the battle, seemed quite relaxed.

Without any hesitation, he revved the engine to 10,000 RPM, and as soon as the lights went out, Shulong darted between the two Mercedes-Benz cars.

Bottas actually had a pretty good start. As a driver who has maintained the record for the shortest clutch response at the start of the race due to a draw, Bottas's 0.191 performance is definitely above average.

It's clear that after being fooled by Mercedes' strategy in the previous race, Bottas really dislikes following those damn team instructions, which seems to have brought out his long-suppressed potential.

Hamilton's start was disastrous; perhaps he was distracted and careless due to the team's instructions, and his teammate created a huge gap right from the start.

Actually, his clutch response wasn't particularly slow this time. 0.231 seconds is the normal value for most drivers, so he shouldn't be that far behind.

However, the speed of a Monza start cannot be judged solely by the clutch response; the driver's control of traction during acceleration is the most crucial factor.

Because everyone opted for an extremely low drag tuning scheme, the downforce of the air is difficult to fully exert on the tires before the car reaches a certain speed. Under the enormous torque provided by the race car, the tires are very prone to spinning freely.

Clearly, the pressure that Shulong put on the old man at the start was too great. In his haste, the tire debris scattered on the track surface affected the performance of the race car, and Shulong used the side box to wedge the left front wheel and push it outwards.

However, Shu Long's maneuver didn't last long. It only forced the old man to move to the left and use the space in the maintenance area exit passage to avoid the collision. He then quickly returned to the normal rhythm of the game.

Strictly speaking, while Monza is known for its extremely high speeds, the track is also notoriously narrow in the race calendar.

The starting straight is actually a little wider in the first half because there is space specifically allocated for the maintenance area.

However, the track will quickly narrow before the braking zone, and the widened area on the right will be replaced by a turf. If Hamilton refuses to slow down and give way, he will only be the one who suffers.

The start of the race was already marred by mistakes, and with Shu Long's interference, Hamilton's entire starting rhythm became a complete mess.

Not only did he give Verstappen ample space to overtake, but even the two McLarens behind him and Gasly, last year's Monza champion, started to take advantage of Hamilton.

Entering the first Chicane corner, Hamilton's position even dropped directly to P7.
The dragon-shaped object in front of it broke apart at the slightest touch; to be precise, there wasn't even any real contact.

Compared to the two world champion contenders, the cost of a collision and withdrawal for Hamilton, who joined the season midway, was practically negligible. Hamilton himself wouldn't dare to confront this "barefoot" opponent head-on at such a time.

After that, everyone comfortably accepted a spot, leaving only the old man bewildered in the wind, and Toto raging alone in the P room.

The broadcast deliberately pointed the camera at the Mercedes team manager in the pit room. This usually calm and collected boss, who seemed to have everything under control, had just ripped off his headphones, looking like he wanted to smash them but held back.

Although it was a bit of a shame that I couldn't record his voice, I could tell from his lip movements that he had probably just swore out a dozen or so F-words. In the end, he put his headphones back on with a dark expression, just in time to hear Hamilton complaining to his game engineer, Peter Bonnington, on the channel.

"This is unfair, Bono! This is so, so unfair!"

"Don't worry, we have already reported this to the tournament organizers."

Screw fairness! None of the rule changes the FIA ​​has made in recent years have been for Mercedes' benefit!

Toto's expression in the pit lane was far from pleasant, but Hamilton's complaints did inspire him. If the next match continued like this, the championship would just be handed to Verstappen. He could definitely try to make a move from this angle.

First, we need to protest to the FIA ​​about Red Bull's shameless dual-team system in the paddock. What if they make Shu Long do everything he can to disrupt Hamilton's race, even at the cost of violations and points deductions, and then bring Perez back on at the end of the season? What kind of game would that be?
Of course, anyone with a brain would know that Shulong would never agree to this, because it takes 12 months for the points deducted from a super license due to violations to be revoked. If he squanders all his points this year, how can he compete for the championship next year?
However, it cannot be denied that Red Bull does indeed have the theoretical possibility of doing such a thing.

Essentially, it is perfectly legal and compliant for Shu Long and Verstappen, as teammates on the same team, to help each other on offense and defense in the main competition. However, Toto's purpose was simply to use public opinion to put pressure on Red Bull.

Even if it only works once or twice, we should at least try to limit Shu Long and stop him from causing trouble so openly.

Of course, that's all in the future. Right now, Mercedes can only hope that Hamilton can improve his position in this 18-lap sprint to secure a good starting position for the race.

Unfortunately, the answer is yes, but only a little bit.

The game was practically over after that opening; Bottas really does move fast in clean air.

Even though Shulong pushed incredibly hard throughout the race, he was still 2.7 seconds behind Bottas after 18 laps, and there was no way for him to close the gap with Bottas.

Verstappen is in a similar situation; he has consistently managed to stay within the range of 1.2 to 1.4 behind Shu Long.

They were all taught by the same instructor, but the car behind couldn't corner as fast as the car in front in the dirty air. In addition, the DRS effect on the Monza track has never been very obvious. After getting through the first few laps, there was basically no chance for the rest of the time.

For Hamilton, who fell to P7, the outcome was not much different. In 18 laps, he only managed to overtake Gasly by taking advantage of his car on the straights. After that, he was held back by the two McLarens for 15 laps.

The phenomenon of being taught by the same coach isn't unique to Red Bull. Any other car with a Ferrari engine would probably have overtaken him long ago, but instead, Hamilton was being held back by two McLarens with Mercedes engines.
Based on this situation, McLaren and Mercedes should still be a very pure supply partnership, at least for now.

But if Mercedes can't come up with a suitable solution, then even though Monza is Mercedes' biggest advantage track this year, they may not be able to pose any threat to Red Bull in the race, which is what really breaks Toto's defense.

Because Bottas was penalized for replacing his power unit, Shulong automatically earned pole position for tomorrow's race. Mercedes can't even count on their number two driver to slow down Red Bull's pace.

"Mr. Wolf, now that things have come to this, do you regret not insisting on poaching Shu from Red Bull back then?"

Ha! These reporters!
Toto was amused by the sight of a bunch of microphones shoved to his mouth. He hadn't even started his off-field harassment of Red Bull yet, and these cameras had already automatically triggered their passive abilities. But this question wasn't difficult for Toto to answer. He had prepared a similar answer back in 19, and his response this time was exactly the same as what he had thought back then.

"If you were to ask about the past two years, my answer would be no! Lewis and Valtteri were both very reliable and excellent drivers. Even if we had brought in Long back then, I think we probably wouldn't have achieved the level of success we have today. However..."

"but?"

"Actually, there's no 'what if.' If you're asking about now, I still wouldn't regret my decision, but we always welcome any outstanding driver to join our team."

The sentence seems to say everything, yet it also seems to say nothing at all.

Bottas, who was already preparing to comfortably enjoy his three-year contract with Arro, naturally had no thoughts about it. However, the pressure was placed on Russell, who will be joining Mercedes next year and is clearly not willing to be the second wingman, as well as on Hamilton, who is trying to achieve an unprecedented eight-title feat.

The tide of history rolls ever onward; no one stays at the peak forever, but there will always be someone at the peak.

It seems that Mercedes' time and opportunity to fully support them are running out.
Originally, it was thought that the second day's main race would be a one-two finish for Red Bull, but Shulong finally achieved a pole position and created a bizarre scene. Probably no one has ever seen such a comical scene where P2 was almost three car lengths away as soon as the lights went out.

Not only because of Shulong's already habitual starting reaction, but also because no one expected that Verstappen would pull a hole in his pants right at the start of the race today.

Verstappen, starting from the dirty side in P2, seemed to make the exact same mistake as Hamilton yesterday. His clutch response wasn't slow, but his entire acceleration process was a mess, and he was directly overtaken by Ricciardo, who started from P3 behind him.

Hamilton, who started from P5 today due to Bottas' retirement penalty, finally redeemed himself on a clean racing line. He not only beat Norris, who was also affected by a dirty start, but also almost beat Verstappen at the consecutive corners 4 and 5.

The attack failed because Verstappen took a very aggressive defensive line on the inside of Turn 4, forcing Hamilton to ride on the kerb. But this also seemed to ignite some unseen fuse for the ensuing battle.

The game went on very well, but for Shulong it was a perfect start. By the time he passed the 4th and 5th turns, he was already two seconds ahead of Ricardo, who was actually in P2.

With such a huge starting advantage, even though McLaren's lap ceiling in this race is not low, Shulong can comfortably maintain his lead in the clean air.

I had just glanced at the situation behind me in the rearview mirror when I immediately spotted an Alfa Romeo lying across the track.
Yellow flag, then virtual safety vehicle.

"Ah—Fxck!"

Watching helplessly as his starting advantage was mercilessly wiped out by a yellow flag at the start, Shu Long, whose heart rate had been soaring since the start and had not yet calmed down, lost his temper and slapped the brake ratio setting off wrong.

After calming himself down and checking the steering wheel, Shu Long reopened the TR.

"Who was that just now? Are they alright?"

"It's Giovinazzi. He collided with Sainz. The race organizers will need some time to clean up the debris and front wing he left on the track."

He seemed to be alright, but Shu Long's temper flared up again.

So what if your competitor said a few nice things to you a couple of days ago? I didn't do anything to you, did I? Why are you retaliating like this?

And Ferrari, they weren't competitive at all throughout the entire weekend at home, so they just tried to make a name for themselves by doing gimmicks, right?!
Shu Long hadn't paid much attention to Ferrari's activities this weekend. He only knew that Sainz had messed up his car during Practice 2 and completely destroyed it, while Leclerc had to end Practice 2 early because he needed to poop. They teased him quite a bit about it.

Well, karma has come in this lifetime!

The race resumed with the green flag on lap 3. Without the advantage of a static start, it would be really difficult for Shulong to shake off Ricciardo, who had a very obvious speed advantage in this race, out of the DRS range in a short period of time.

In addition, McLaren and Alfa Romeo were the fastest on the straightaways at this station, so Shulong could only barely hold onto his position by relying on the advantage of clean air in the corners.

Shulong suffered a major setback, but for Verstappen, fortunes turned around.

Thanks to the virtual safety car in front, Norris and Hamilton started fighting each other in the back, and in the end, McLaren's extremely high top speed and DRS efficiency actually managed to overtake Hamilton.

Verstappen also benefited from the misfortune, not only quickly pulling away from the back 5 seconds, but also catching up to Ricciardo's DRS range, which was greatly affected by the dragon's stunt.

However, breaking through the DRS train on the Monza track is a very difficult task, both for Verstappen and Ricciardo, and with Verstappen's addition, it has gradually become impossible for Ricciardo to overtake.

So on lap 23, McLaren notified Ricciardo to pit, and Red Bull followed suit by calling Verstappen in first.

Upon noticing this, Shu Long immediately opened the TR application exchange, saying, "Whoever comes first, the strategy will favor them."
"I don't understand! Why wasn't I the one who was advanced?"

"The window isn't very good right now. Take advantage of the clean air and push for two full laps. Sainz seems to be affected by the collision ahead. He's about nine seconds behind Leclerc now."

"So how much faster do I need to go? The tires don't have much spare capacity left!"

"If you can increase the time difference with Sainz by another 1.4 seconds within 3 laps, then we will have an extremely clean push window."

The plan is quite good.

Red Bull has a significant advantage in pit stop times this season. Their strategy of risking exposure to polluted air to closely follow Ricciardo is that they want to see if they can take Ricciardo's place by pitting him without injury.

As a result, Ricciardo pitted for a regular tire change in 2.4 seconds, while Verstappen pulled off an incredible 11-second change, dropping him directly behind Norris, who pitted on the next lap.

The reason is unclear at the moment, but whatever the problem is, Shulong must enter the station on the 26th lap.

One reason is that he has just entered the window in front of Sainz, and the other is that the yellow tires on his car are indeed too old, and his lap time is already slower than Ricciardo's when he switched to white tires. If he doesn't pit soon, he might get undercut.

The news that Reni had informed Shulong earlier made people feel a little uneasy, but at this moment they could only bite the bullet and head in according to the plan.

Striving to maximize the additional effects of the [Core of Synergy], I observed the position of each mechanic before entering the station and quickly planned the most comfortable route in my mind.

Then, it came to a precise stop!

With the synchronized roar of the two jacks, Shulong was smoothly thrown back to the ground by the front and rear jacks. His senses told him that this tire change was perfect and would probably take less than 2 seconds.

He was about to engage the clutch and leave when he discovered that the damn indicator light above his head was still red!

"Come on! What's going on?!"

No one answered, and the mechanics were also confused. With some doubt, they lifted the spool again and tightened the bolts.

The light finally turned green!

Shulong practically drifted and swerved away from the pit lane. A tire change in 7.7 seconds? You might as well just kill me!

Ricciardo and Norris had already passed each other by 4 seconds, but Shulong had just entered Turn 3 when a sudden yellow flag instantly interrupted his frustration.

"what happened again?!"

(End of this chapter)