F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 199 Each Fights Their Own Battle
I can keep up, but I can't pull myself away. This sounds so familiar, doesn't it?

However, unlike in 18, Red Bull can now go toe-to-toe with Mercedes.

Back then, Toro Rosso could only barely maintain a slight advantage in corner sections to keep up with the pace, and they still had to rely on DRS and slipstream to avoid being left behind.

However, Red Bull's current advantage, especially in mid-to-high-speed corners, is quite obvious, which is why it can still maintain a firm position in the same competitive range even when its top speed is more than ten kilometers per hour behind.

Despite Shu Long's attempts to overtake without success, Bottas was actually sweating profusely while defending.

Not only was he forced to release a large amount of battery power, just like Verstappen under Hamilton's relentless pressure, Bottas also experienced a lot of unexpected tire wear due to frequently driving late on the defensive line, even though he had the advantage of leading in clean air.

Without even needing the team to relay Red Bull's tactical changes to him, Bottas quickly felt a completely different kind of pressure from the cars behind him.

Shu Long's extremely flexible and versatile driving style not only makes him exceptionally adaptable to racing, but also gives him an unpredictable and erratic character in both offense and defense.

Generally speaking, depending on each driver's personal habits and the characteristics of their car, the optimal solution for a track will naturally vary from person to person.

Even on the same corner, some drivers might feel they should drive it that way, but if someone else were to use the exact same racing conditions, they might not be able to replicate the same speed. Instead, they might be able to drive faster using a familiar driving style.

This is not surprising. The reason why motorsports has not evolved into a program where a bunch of AIs rigidly run according to predetermined code is because motorsports is still a sport built on a scientific theoretical system, but also highly influenced by the driver's personal subjective feelings.

However, because of this so-called personal subjective feeling, each driver usually develops their own relatively fixed driving style.

Especially as long-term competitors on the track, familiarity usually leads to a kind of intuitive judgment based on past knowledge.

For example, he might not be confident enough to launch an attack on this bend, but he might try to contest the inside line with me on the next bend.
A similar feeling.

The tricky thing about Shulong is that Bottas can't predict when he'll suddenly bite you.

Even though Bottas was constantly watching his movements in the rearview mirror, he still didn't know whether Shulong was simply avoiding the polluted air or had found a new racing line with strong grip and was about to start.
Why the hell did Mercedes have to set up their cars like that, like rockets?!
The high-pressure defense continued until lap 25. Even Bottas, who had been enduring humiliation at Mercedes all along, could not withstand the psychological pressure and couldn't help but mutter to himself about the championship-level Martian car he was riding.

How simple is it for real men to decide the winner on a straight road?
If you can defend against it, then defend against it; if you can't, then just let it pass. You can't blame the driver for the difference in car performance, can you?
Now, Red Bull can't overtake on the straights, so he's the one suffering throughout the second time slot!
No! I need to find a way to catch my breath.
"When are we going to the station? My tires seem to be about to give out!"

“It’s not time yet. Lewis needs some more time. If we enter the station now, it might interfere with his entry window.”

"So what should I do now? Why do I always feel that Red Bull's tire wear is better than ours?!"

"Shu was 0.24 faster than you on the last lap, you're right, we need to at least get his tires off first."

Currently, apart from a few cars that had minor skirmishes at the start, only Gasly chose to end his first stint during his pit stop. The primary tactical goal for the other teams is to extend the life of their first set of yellow tires as much as possible.

Although the yellow-white-white tactic is currently the most likely tactical plan to be implemented, due to the previous yellow flags, everyone's tire wear is generally slightly better than expected, and the vehicle formation is relatively compact.

Even Norris himself benefited from the yellow flag, not only quickly joining the rear of the traffic queue, but now he's even reached P16.

The most troublesome cars in this situation are actually the leading group of cars. If they rashly pit early, they will directly fall into the chaotic traffic, and the initiative of the race will be taken over by the midfield teams.

Otherwise, why would Red Bull put Shulong into a long-distance tire-preserving state at the beginning?
The competition has now entered a very strange state; it's no longer about who's faster, but about who can outlast whom.

If Verstappen hadn't already started to falter, the team might have had to continue this stalemate in Shulong.

Mid-table teams don't rely as much on pit stops, but they don't want to go in right now. If they could extend their first stint on yellow tires to over 30 laps, they might consider a one-stop strategy.

Each additional or missing stop could potentially affect whether they ultimately earn points.

Now both express and slow trains are waiting.

Whether yellow flags continue to appear, or someone enters the pits early and prompts other teams to follow suit, everyone is waiting for that one decisive factor to appear that can convince them of their decision to enter the pits.

Then variables appeared.

It wasn't easy for Shulong to constantly seek out more aggressive cornering angles in the polluted air; his tire wear wasn't as ideal as it seemed.

But Bottas, who was ahead, didn't think so. He didn't know why Shulong still had such exaggerated traction performance.

Because of the significant loss of grip at the rear, Bottas was hesitant to accelerate when exiting the corner. Additionally, due to the high load on the front wheels in high-speed corners, the car is now experiencing severe understeer when entering corners.

We reached lap 28.

With limited tire grip, Shulong has begun to change its strategy, shifting its focus back to utilizing DRS (Drag Resistance System).

Although Turn 1 is the most frequent overtaking point on the entire track, he did not take advantage of the DRS on the starting straight to launch an attack rashly. Instead, he kept the distance between the two cars within a range that ensured his comfortable entry rhythm into the corner.

The concept of fast and slow blades isn't just limited to action games; the purpose of the Dragon Slayer is to create a sense of elusiveness and uncertainty for Bottas.

As for whether I was simply out of steam to overtake, or whether I was setting the stage for the next opportunity to do so...
You guess.

Bottas, who had been intently watching the rearview mirror, swallowed hard and silently made his own decision—this time it might be the latter!
Because Shulong's aggressiveness in turns 1 and 2 was too weak, and the overall line selection was too smooth, it was obvious that it was setting up for efficient exit from turn 3.

The problem with Interlagos is that the two DRS zones are tightly connected.

Not only does overtaking require careful consideration, but so does defense.

Just like the predicament Shu Long encountered in this race, if he chooses to try to overtake on the DRS on the starting straight, then Bottas will get the right to use the second DRS.

With the incredible speed of its rocket engines, Red Bull simply couldn't stop Mercedes' offensive on the straights, and even if they overtook them, they would immediately give up the lead in the second half.

This way, Bottas can concentrate most of his energy resources on defending Red Bull after Turn 3.

Despite Bottas's constant complaints about the characteristics of his car, it was precisely these characteristics that made defending much easier for him.

I imagine this time will be similar.
However, the excessive tire wear somewhat affected Bottas's cornering quality at the high-speed, full-throttle corner No. 3, and Shulong finally seized an opportunity to quickly catch up.

After feinting inwards to lure Bottas in, he immediately swerved towards the right racing line.

Turn 4 after DRS is a high-speed left turn, and it's hard to say whether the inside or outside lane has the advantage.

In terms of cornering speed, the outside line is definitely better, but the smaller entry angle will give the inside line cars priority in entering the corner.

Shu Long knew that Bottas would definitely try to brake late, because that's what Bottas did in yesterday's sprint, but today their tires were in similar condition, so he had room to salvage the situation by crossing lines.

So, just as Bottas braked late on the inside line, he used an "inside-inside-outside" line to head straight for the outside of Turn 4.

Shu Long, on the other hand, slightly advanced his braking timing on the outside, and took the lead in adjusting the direction of his car as he exited the corner. After letting Bottas pass, he used the "outside-inside-inside" line to start his run out of the corner.

However, Bottas seemed to have overestimated his tire condition. This time, he chose a braking point that was a bit too extreme, and he didn't even hold onto the apex of Turn 4 before plunging out.

Fortunately, the run-off area at Turn 4 was relatively spacious, and Bottas quickly adjusted his car's posture using this extra illegal track space, forcefully squeezing in front of Shu Long to start his race on the high-speed left turn at Turn 5.

But just as Bottas's right front wheel touched the outer exit kerb of Turn 5, the Mercedes' front end suddenly veered dangerously inward, startling the closely following car behind.

Fortunately, he had maxed out his reaction-related skills, which allowed him to narrowly avoid a track accident. However, this real battle ended so abruptly, with Bottas and his car quickly disappearing from Shulong's sight.

"What happened to him? Did he have a flat tire?"

"Yes, but he's alright. It looks like he can drive back to the pits on his own. However, our tactics need to change. Mercedes has informed Hamilton to pit this lap, and we need Max to follow suit. Can you maintain your current lap time in clean air?"

"Maybe? It won't be too easy, but I can try."

However, first, Shu Long needs to avoid these daunting shoulders on the track, which means he needs to make significant adjustments to his route selection.

For Shulong, whose tire wear is about the same, Bottas' experience is definitely a cautionary tale.

A high downforce setting can indeed reduce unnecessary slippage of the race car in corners, which is certainly beneficial for early tire maintenance. However, a high downforce setting also has a problem: it puts a higher load on the tires.

Especially now that tire sidewalls have become much thinner, high loads combined with road shoulders can be described as a killer!
Maintaining the current lap time without using the curb is no easy task.

On lap 29, Verstappen and Hamilton both pitted, and Shu Long's lap time for the previous lap was officially released: 1:14.571.

The time for the previous lap was 1:14.267. In addition to the decline in lap time due to tire wear, it was also the price paid for adjusting the driving style.

The lap time for lap 30 was 1:14.612. On a whim, that number is still within an acceptable range. The problem is that Verstappen and Hamilton's new white times are a bit too fast.

Verstappen's score was 1:13.501, while Hamilton's score was 1:13.354.

Continuing to run like this and then stopping is pointless; they'll undercut Shulong in less than two laps.

Moreover, judging from his lap times, Verstappen will likely struggle to withstand Mercedes' onslaught in this race. If he loses his position, it would essentially hand over the initiative to Hamilton.

As luck would have it, Shulong's luck turned around.

The Aston Martin driven by the young master behind him attempted to overtake Latifi on the starting straight, but the endplates on both sides of the front wing failed to withstand the turbulence during the turn and were snapped off by the airflow.

After a brief hesitation, the organizers ultimately issued a yellow flag and activated the virtual safety vehicle to give Matthew some time to clean up the debris.

This not only gave Verstappen a huge sigh of relief, but also allowed Shulong to find an extremely cheap entry window.

The pit stop took 22.4 seconds, but compared to the other cars that pitted under the green flag, Shu Long's pit stop actually lost about 14 seconds, giving him an extra 8-second advantage.

Meanwhile, Bottas' tire blowout, coupled with the yellow flag triggered by Stroll, induced a large number of midfield cars to pit. In other words, Shulong had a very clean leading window before pitting and a very clean leading window after exiting the pits.

The fact that the tubes freed up a large section of clean air for Verstappen also greatly benefited the Red Bull No. 1 car's tire maintenance, allowing him to gradually push his lap time to 1:13.2.

Simply perfect!
However, as the race progressed to lap 40, another problem arose for Mercedes and Red Bull.

Who is more advanced?
The lap times on white tires are showing a relatively linear decline. In about ten laps, the overall lap times have dropped by about 0.4. Even considering the reduction in fuel, the lap times are expected to drop by about 0.3 in another ten laps.

This data is actually quite different.

After ten laps, there are still 21 laps left in the race. The tire degradation will definitely accelerate, and the new tires with two stops will not only have a one-second lead in lap time.

Today's temperature is much higher than yesterday's long-distance test during the second training session. The tire wear data is quite different from yesterday's forecast. The possibility of stopping once was not high to begin with, and now it seems that stopping once is even less likely to outrun stopping twice.

If the race continues like the first 30 laps, with several yellow flags disrupting the window and making things less than ideal, then we can hold off for now and see how things go.

但法拉利在换上了白胎之后圈速相当糟糕，当红牛和梅奔全都维持在1：13.4-1：13.6这个区间中时，法拉利的两台车圈速都已经落到了1：14.7以外。

Adding to the gap that was widened by the leading cars in the early stages of the race, Leclerc is now just over 25 seconds away.

Red Bull had no choice; their speed was not an advantage in this race.

There wasn't even a clear indication of any strategic shift from Mercedes; it was just that Hamilton complained briefly in the radio, "The rear wheels seem to be slipping a bit," and Verstappen was immediately called into the pits.

Our attitude is clear: whether you get in or not, we're determined to block any possibility of you getting undercut.

For some reason, Mercedes did not rush Hamilton to pit, but waited for Verstappen to make room after he came out of the pits, using a lap time of 1:12.8 before calling Hamilton to pit on lap 44.

Red Bull soon found out what Mercedes' considerations were.

经过一个出场圈的暖胎，汉密尔顿在第46圈直接就把圈速推到了1：12.1，下一圈更是跑进了1：11.9.
Meanwhile, Verstappen's lap time was still around 1:12.7, and he was caught up to DRS's attack range again after only two laps.

In other words, his pit stop three laps early not only brought him no benefit, but also resulted in a loss of three laps of tire life!
Hamilton's aggressive approach was clearly purposeful.

He's been playing with Verstappen long enough; there's no rush with the first two sets of tires, lest Red Bull change the course of the game through strategy.

Knowing that his car had a significant advantage, Hamilton decided to win the race in the way he was most confident in, without wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

But now that they've already switched to the last set of tires, and Red Bull seems to have played all their cards, there's no need for them to waste time following behind and breathing in dirty air.

On lap 49, Hamilton decisively chose to take action.

First, he feigned a turn on the starting straight, luring Verstappen to the inside line and completely disrupting his cornering rhythm in the consecutive corners 1 and 2.

Just like what Shu Long did to Bottas before, Hamilton was looking for a decisive blow and didn't want to give Verstappen any chance to counterattack. He also placed his overtaking point on the DRS straight after Turn 3.

Same outside tap!
But this time, Hamilton, playing on the offensive end, clearly had a greater speed advantage, and their tires were in much better condition than when Shulong was playing. Hamilton was confident that he could directly score from the outside.

However, he seemed to have underestimated Verstappen's determination in defense.
He was already having a stomachache before the game, and the game itself was full of unexpected problems. Now, just seeing the Mercedes Verstappen in the rearview mirror makes him furious.

Verstappen's ultimate late brake before Turn 4 was a defensive move where he was determined not to enter the corner himself. He stuck close to Hamilton and pushed him outwards, resulting in both of them going off the track.

Such a sure-fire overtake was thwarted by this somewhat shameless tactic, much to the relief of Red Bull's strategy team, who immediately halted Shu Long's pit stop plan and ordered him to remain on the track to wait for an opportunity.

The Verstaliban-style defense wasn't entirely ineffective, but it certainly slowed Hamilton down, and he wasn't overtaken until lap 58.

Red Bull kept calculating the window based on the difference in lap times, and on lap 55 they called Shulong in, whose lap time had dropped to 1:14.3. Shulong then came out on a set of yellow tires and improved to 1:11.2 on his second lap after leaving the pits.

This is Red Bull's double insurance.

According to the team's calculations, if Shulong continues to run the second white tire Stint as usual, they may not be able to stop Hamilton's path to victory. Their current white tire lap times are frighteningly fast, around 1:12.1 per lap.

With Verstappen clearly struggling to withstand the old man's offensive, the team's goal has shifted from protecting Max to protecting Shulong.

After all, falling from P2 to P3 only means being caught up by 3 points, but if Hamilton wins the championship, it means being caught up by 10 points.

With only 15 laps left in the race, a brand new set of yellow tires would be more than enough!

(End of this chapter)