F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 205 has no difficult parts.

"Hey, wait a minute! Sir Frank Williams passed away? When did that happen? I had no idea!"

Upon hearing Shu Long's words, Verstappen sat up abruptly from his chair, pushed his eye mask up to his forehead, and took the phone from Shu Long.

Although the chartered plane they were on had internet access, the speed was a bit slow, so it was better to just look at what was already available than to search for it themselves.

"I'm so saddened by this news. He was a very good person."

"It was quite sudden. Although I had heard that his health wasn't very good, I remember seeing him in the paddock this year. His passion for racing is definitely no less than any of ours."

During this period, the two of them devoted almost all their time to the simulator, living a life of complete isolation from the world, and only now have they had the leisure to pay attention to many things.

For example, before boarding the plane, Verstappen handed Shu Long a news article about Alonso.

However, Shu Long actually knew about this beforehand. Before parting ways with Qatar, Tou Ge had boasted to someone about it, saying that two of their current Alpine drivers would be there as surprise guests to present this year's Golden Globe Awards.

Verstappen was clearly much more interested in this kind of news, and even when Alonso told Zhou Guanyu, he received more positive emotional feedback.

But here in Shulong...
He doesn't really pay much attention to football-related content. Most of the names he can name are those few superstars that are well-known even to people outside the football circle, like this year's Ballon d'Or winner, Messi.

Shu Long doesn't really follow football, but most of the people around him are football fans, so he's been exposed to a lot of information about it.

However, based on his understanding pieced together from those fragments, it seems that the Ballon d'Or is something that Messi and Ronaldo alternate winning.
Just like a few years ago when talking about F1 world champions, it would have felt rather strange if you didn't hear Hamilton's name.

and so--

"Oh."

Basically, that's all the responses Shulong has given to this.

Brother Tou's enthusiasm for showing off to others was greatly dampened, so before boarding the plane, Shu Long became a little smarter and followed suit by making a couple of useless, loud farts.

Verstappen didn't seem to be particularly sick.
Oh, the Dutch!

Not surprising then.

The two were chatting idly when Horner, who had been missing for a long time, suddenly appeared behind them.

"I thought you were going to adjust to the time difference on the plane. Are you having trouble sleeping? Would you like some coffee?"

Shu Long immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum, politely declining his boss's offer.

"No, no, I just can't sleep right now, and I don't want to be unable to sleep for a while!"

Coffee is recognized as an energy drink by the panel. Although there is no Red Bull sponsorship, it is enough for him to master the skill called "Staring Contest" for at least the next 4 hours.

"So what were you discussing just now? The car? I heard from Newey that you seemed fairly satisfied with the new improvements?"

"It's not about the car; we just noticed Sir Frank's message."

"Oh my god, I forgot to tell you. The Saudi organizers have prepared a commemorative ceremony, but it's not too late to find out now."

A lot has happened during this time. Alfa Romeo also prepared a retirement farewell ceremony for Kimi during the short break. Many people realized that the legendary driver who brought so much joy to fans may really be coming to an end.

And given Old Lay's personality, he probably doesn't intend to return to the paddock like Alonso ever did.

Even after announcing his retirement, Alonso maintained a highly disciplined training and lifestyle, constantly moving between various racing events just to challenge himself.

Even though Alonso won't admit it, most people have a feeling that he will eventually be unable to resist the temptation and return.

Kimi is different. This driver, who has the most Zen-like mentality in the paddock, has truly let go when he says he's done at this age.

Whether it's his health-conscious driving style, which stems from his weight gain and lack of concern for his physique, or his answers to reporters' questions about the new track—"I don't know, anyway, I won't be coming next year."

All signs indicate that after a life of adventure, Kimi is now truly ready to shift his focus back to his family.

Seeing that neither driver seemed to be sleepy for the time being, Horner started making conversation, asking them what they would do if they retired.

Verstappen said he might start a GT3 team after retiring, or go to compete in the WEC. The Le Mans championship that Shu Long brought back this year is also very attractive to him.

Most importantly, he can eat whatever he wants, and no one can stop him from showing off his chocolates anymore.

Verstappen has always envied Shulong for this. It seems that the big drivers in the paddock all have the same pain point: they have to be very careful to control their weight. If it were a model like Kakuta, he could indulge himself to the point of being 90% full at every meal.

Shulong is larger than Verstappen, and although he eats relatively moderately compared to the average person, his diet is still quite extravagant compared to Verstappen's.

As a result, they not only consistently maintain an excellent body fat percentage, but their muscle definition is also top-notch.

Currently, the driver with the best physique in the Red Bull system is undoubtedly Shu Long, followed by Gasly.

Every time Red Bull holds a gathering or training camp, everyone lifts their shirts and stands there. Compared to them, Bubble Fish looks like a boiled chicken, and he doesn't even look as robust as Kakuta.

However, Verstappen's naturally large pectoral muscles provide strong support for his stable driving control.

"And what about you? You can't just wish to eat whatever you want, can you? We always hear you talking about wanting to eat hot pot back at the base, can we?"

The focus of the question shifted back to Shu Long, but he couldn't come up with an answer for the time being.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll make use of the time I've missed in the past to spend with my family? But I really can't imagine life without the steering wheel. If my butt doesn't get hot in the cockpit every now and then, I guess it'll get a rash."

Shu Long's words silenced the other two.

They have dedicated their entire lives to racing, as if they were born to be in the paddock. Racing itself has become a part of their lives, so how can they just give it up?

Shu Long said he hopes to spend more time with his family because he has already missed out on too much along the way.

But if you put yourself in their shoes, these drivers, who only work three days every two weeks on average, are probably the ones with the shortest working hours in the world. How many ordinary people earn less than them and still work nine to five every day?
It's time to be content.

These past few years have been the prime of my career. Students don't have that much sentimentality. Once I've calmed down a bit, I'll have plenty of time.

Since being tempered and refined by the accident in Bahrain last year, Shulong has become quite open-minded about many issues.

At least he is still alive and can still make his passion his only career. How many things in this world can be so perfect?
Speaking of which, the accident in Bahrain seems to have happened around this time last year, right?

Horner's gaze lingered on the pale pink fire pattern on the dragon's neck. He was probably thinking the same thing as someone else, and fearing that it might bring up some unpleasant memories that could affect the driver's mentality at this critical juncture, he quickly steered the conversation back to racing.

Frankly, there's no need to discuss this topic at all. The effectiveness of the upgrade will remain unknown until it's tested on a real track.

So in Friday's first practice session, Shu Long and Verstappen finished second and third respectively, just behind Hamilton.

Only by actually driving an F1 car on the track can one truly understand how compact the Jeddah circuit is. It was originally expected to be a track where Mercedes had an absolute advantage, but even with Hamilton's new engine, his lead over Red Bull was extremely limited.

Power is no longer the deciding factor; instead, the balance exhibited by the race car is paramount. It seems like a pole-contending contest is possible?
It is undeniable that Mercedes still has an advantage, but it is far less than the two teams had anticipated.

Unfortunately, Jeddah is a very challenging track that puts drivers to the test. There is very little room for error for drivers to test the limits of their cars, and a slight mistake can lead to crashing into the wall and ending the race.

In other words, the performance of the car does not necessarily determine the final qualifying result; the driver's grasp of precision and limits is the key.

During the second practice session, Ferrari's renowned extreme athlete had a mental breakdown. Leclerc spun out of Turn 22 and crashed into the wall at high speed, completely wrecking the car. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

Red Bull used a very interesting testing method for their second practice session, having Shu Long and Verstappen simulate offense and defense on the track.

However, during the practice sessions, every section of the track was often congested with cars either pulling over to let other cars pass or simply adjusting their settings. It was difficult for anyone on the attacking side to overtake, which also exposed Red Bull's biggest problem at present.

Their engine is far too old compared to Hamilton's, and its power output is insufficient!
On the contrary, the problems caused by polluted air have been greatly improved. Of course, it is impossible to completely avoid the effects, but at least both drivers have reported that the race car is now much more controllable in polluted air than before.

However, insufficient engine power means that overtaking becomes much more difficult. Combined with the narrow and cramped design of the Jeddah circuit, this makes it very difficult for them to create opportunities to overtake.

So in the latter half of the second practice session, Red Bull called both of them back, and after a brief discussion, the team decided to replace Shulong's rear wing with a low-drag one.

The reason given is that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

The PLUS version of the rear wing currently has a higher lap limit, mainly used by Verstappen to compete with Hamilton for pole position. However, its drawback is that it lacks overtaking ability, and it will be relatively passive if it fails to compete for pole position.

Verstappen is the kind of person who is particularly willing to go all in. His intention is to go head-to-head with Hamilton to the end and decide the winner by ranking!

Of course, there was one thing that might hurt the driver's pride, so Horner didn't mention it: based on the team's current assessment, Verstappen seems to be adapting to the car slower than Shulong, and changing the configuration at the last minute is riskier for him.

The team will most likely use the same setup in the next race, so they need to give Verstappen another chance to adapt and practice.

The maximum lap time of the low-drag rear wing is currently unknown, but judging from the results of the offensive and defensive tests at the end of the second training session, this setup has a significantly superior overtaking capability.

At least it will be much easier for Shulong to break through Verstappen's defense.

Since there aren't many opportunities to overtake on the curves in Jeddah, Shulong only needs to keep up with Verstappen's pace in the first half of the race and quickly close the gap using two consecutive DRS (Driving Speed ​​Regulators). Then, he can take advantage of the last DRS on the starting straight to break through.

Of course, the difficulty lies in keeping up with the pace of the continuous high-speed curves.

This is a rather demanding test for the driver. In fact, Shu Long also gave feedback to the team that sometimes he was forced to adopt a larger slip angle in order to maintain his speed and squeeze more tire grip.

However, unless an opportunity to overtake can be found quickly, attempting to attack the tires over a long distance will be very unfavorable.

Moreover, due to the extremely long laps of the Jeddah circuit, Shulong even had to manage his tires to some extent during qualifying simulations, otherwise the C4 compound red tires would struggle considerably in the second half of the race.

But this is a last resort; Red Bull certainly can't put all its hopes on the same strategy for this leg of the race.

Even disregarding the issue of adapting to the car's speed, since Shulong's engine had suffered less wear and tear from two Grand Prix races compared to Verstappen's, the task of overtaking truly fell to Shulong.

With Shu Long's starting ability and a bit of strategic flexibility in the race, Red Bull will not completely lose hope of winning the championship even if Verstappen fails to secure a pole position.

The third practice session had no other task than to have Shu Long and Verstappen each find their own car's qualifying lap limit.

However, this also forced Shulong to use up an extra set of new red gear, leaving him with only 4 sets of new red gear available in qualifying. In places like Jeddah, where it is very easy to be blocked by slower cars, he has to be very careful in qualifying to find a suitable window.

This race was different from the one in Qatar; Red Bull's strategy team proactively suggested that the Shulong Q2 use red tires for lap times.

The best strategy for the race is expected to be a yellow-white stop, but the yellow-tire C3 and the white-tire C2 seem to have similar wear rates on this track. Red Bull's task for Shu Long is to quickly gain position at the start and then implement an undercut tactic, so the possibility of adopting a red-yellow stop tactic cannot be ruled out.

This could give Shulong a positional advantage, while disrupting Hamilton's crew's strategy would also benefit Verstappen.

After half a season of adjustment, Red Bull can be considered the most professional team in the paddock, bar none.

In the afternoon qualifying session Q1, the scene was nothing short of epic chaos, with Shulong being blocked by Russell and Ma Zeping in turn on the very first lap.

I've never seen two slow trains, one veering to the left and the other to the right. The only conclusion I can draw is that Ma Zeping has a problem.

However, Q1 takes a long time, so we can always find a suitable window node to complete an effective loop.

Even Shu Long himself didn't expect to advance to the top of the Q1 leaderboard, especially considering he had used the old red lap he had already pushed through once.
Bottas' engine leaked oil during the third training session, and Mercedes temporarily replaced it with an old engine from the beginning of the season. In Q1, the engine even experienced misfires and loss of ignition.

Hamilton has been plagued by traffic problems, while Verstappen has made a mistake; he himself said on TR that the entire first timeout was like shit.

Otherwise, why would street races always have such a unique charm?

Q2 was even easier for Shu Long, because he and Russell were the only two in the entire race setting lap times in the new red tires, while everyone else was on yellow tires.

Fortunately, Shu Long completed a valid lap before Sainz hit the wall and triggered the yellow flag. After setting the lap time on red tires, he comfortably stayed at the top of the leaderboard until Q2.

The tournament schedule was quickly restarted, and the competition entered Q3.

Judging from the opening race results alone, most fans would probably think that Red Bull had it in the bag.

After one round of flight laps, Verstappen took P1, Shulong P2, and Bottas P3.

What about Hamilton?
His first lap was completely blocked by Leclerc, and his 1:48 time was hardly a valid lap time. He had to hurriedly push for another lap on his old tires and ended up behind his teammate Bottas.

Um.
I thought Bottas would have been sent out by Q1, but Mercedes' lightning-fast repairs not only saved him, but he even fought all the way into Q3 to rejoin the competition against the two Red Bulls.

Delay could lead to complications, so the Mercedes and Red Bull cars quickly pitted to change into new soft tires and resumed the battle for pole position.

Or rather—it's a battle between two race cars for pole position.

Shu Long's competition for pole position this week was not particularly intense, as he changed to his second set of tires quite early.

Since one of the red sets from Q3 can't be used in the main race anyway, he might as well spend more time doing a couple of flying laps. What if he encounters a clean window and his ranking goes up?

Given the choice between speed and tire overheating, Shulong opted not to climb the wall and ultimately achieved a time of 1:27.679, temporarily placing him in P3.

P1 saw Hamilton, who had a rare clean window, finally showcase his surgical precision, running the fastest lap of the day at 1:27.511.

Seeing that there wasn't enough time left to fully charge up and fly another lap, Shulong simply stopped struggling and returned to the P room early to wait for the final result.

Then he saw Verstappen's latest lap with two laps in purple, which was a full 0.2 seconds faster than Hamilton's current best time!
Isn't this a winning bet?

The people in the Red Bull pit lane had almost raised their hands halfway, just waiting for Verstappen to cross the finish line and secure pole position for tomorrow. But Shu Long, sitting in his car looking at the data wall, suddenly had a couple of twitch eyelids.

Verstappen has run this setup before, and the relatively better dynamic stability in high-speed corners does not mean that tire wear management is unnecessary on the red tires during this super long 6.175 lap.

Max seems to be in a bit too much of a rush.
The 0.2-second difference in lap time between the two timing segments comes at a cost.

With the finish line in sight, Red Bull's No. 1 car, exiting Turn 27—a completely unchallenging corner—suddenly experienced an unexpected yet predictable slide in the rear, crashing heavily into the track wall.

(End of this chapter)