F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 206 Fortune Turns Like a Wheel, Slapping Someone in the Face

"oops!"

"That's all, that's all, this time it's really gone."

After a chaotic scene in the five-star studio, the three commentators looked at each other, and couldn't help but feel the urge to go and visit a temple after the broadcast.

Before Verstappen hit the wall, they had just managed to get Hamilton, who had been labeled "incapable," into pole position.

One or two times can be taken as a joke, but for a flight that could so easily secure pole position to come to an abrupt end in such an unexpected place, even they themselves probably wouldn't believe that their mouths aren't venomous.

But isn't this really the easiest part?

Alright alright
Verstappen sat in the car, angrily pounding the steering wheel a few times. He got out of the car in a daze and walked towards the pit lane in a daze.

But to outsiders, it really wasn't his fault. He hadn't changed to rain tires when he left the station, and the sudden milk leakage from the rear tires would have made anyone slip!

Old Verstappen started banging on the tables and benches in the garage, and Shu Long quickly rescued his phone from the cabinet next to him to avoid any hopeless disaster.

With his son at a crucial moment in his quest for the annual championship, his father, José Verstappen, now attends almost every race to oversee the team's work.

However, compared to the crazy and eccentric Shu Long was when he first returned, Old Joss has become much more restrained in the team now.

Seemingly realizing that the key to his son's victory now lay with Shu Long, the tone of his voice reminded Shu Long of the first time he met the father and son when he was a child, when they were quite polite because he owed them a favor.

Shu Long could already imagine the suffocating and awkward atmosphere that would be in the P room in a little while.

He didn't plan to stay and wait for Max to come back. He got out of the car, told Horner, and then went ahead with the press officer to weigh himself and deal with today's interview.

Yes, there was no exclusive interview.

Bottas reached P2 at the last moment, Verstappen only managed P3 on his second flight time in his old red suit, and Shulong was pushed down to P4 at the start.

With two Mercedes cars forming a fortress in front, this is the last thing Red Bull wanted to see, but it still happened.

When I arrived at the media area, Alonso and Ricciardo were still there. It wasn't that the two, who had already been eliminated in Q2, hadn't finished their interviews yet, but rather that they were whispering to each other in front of Verstappen, who had just finished that particularly regrettable round.

Upon seeing Shulong, their eyes lit up, and they immediately joined forces to capture him after finishing the interview.

Meanwhile, the broadcast host was focusing on Verstappen's unfinished lap around the galaxy, and then showed a replay of that single lap.

“Oops! To be honest, he lost control for a moment at turn 2. I thought I was done for the lap, but I didn’t expect him to beat Lewis by 0.1 seconds in the end.”

"The loss of control was probably due to the apex of the corner being too deep. There should have been a significant loss of traction here, but he was still going fast in the subsequent series of high-speed corners."

"However, I still don't understand Max's loss of control in the final stage. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't he already understeer a bit when entering Turn 27?"

Then the two old men stared at the person beside them, who was also squinting as he studied the vehicle's cable system, but simply shrugged innocently.

With a relatively low drag setting, the maximum grip is already slightly lower. Here, Shulong has chosen a "U" shaped line that focuses on cornering speed in order to ensure that it has more downforce in corners.

Verstappen's preferred driving style is a "V"-shaped late cornering line, emphasizing a later braking point, faster front-end rotation, and faster throttle input to ensure acceleration on the subsequent straights.

If we had to draw an analogy, it would be closer to Hamilton's driving style, similar to the understeer driving logic.

However, Hamilton's philosophy in tuning the car was that he needed a more stable rear end to ensure his precise handling, while Verstappen preferred a more responsive front end to help him spin the car more quickly.

Verstappen clearly underestimated the grip loss caused by tire overheating, and the braking point he chose here was far too late for these tires!

When entering turn 27, I couldn't even hold onto the apex of the turn. During the process of tracking in the turn, I even locked up a little bit. When I came out of the turn, I didn't even have time to straighten the car.

At this point, they had already lost about 0.2 seconds. Max's mentality probably collapsed the moment he stepped on the brake.

Otherwise, most people would choose to regain the traction of the front wheels first, rather than busy themselves with making up for the losses caused by their mistakes, and in the end, they would impatiently step on the gas and throw themselves into the wall.
Alonso and Ricciardo were thoroughly enjoying the gossip, listening intently from either side of each other.

Age differences seem to disappear at this moment; everyone is just a "car enthusiast" who is extremely interested in racing and driving details.

After the two left, Shu Long remained in front of the television screen, resting his chin on his hand and watching the replay one more time.

He kept simulating in his mind where he would need to slow down a bit if he were driving, and unconsciously he put himself in Verstappen's driving perspective, trying to feel the fleeting thoughts that might pass through his mind during the race.

赛车在1、2号的减速组合弯这里似乎能带给车手相当的信心，所以Max才会在1、2号弯衔接的过程中补上一脚相当大胆的油门，而且整个2号弯出弯的油门开度也是非常激进。

This is actually a good thing for Shulong.

This is not only because it shows that Red Bull's last-minute, crammed version of the game has a very high potential for improvement, but it also represents a breakthrough opportunity that they can find in tomorrow's game.

According to the verbal agreement reached at the pre-match meeting, if Verstappen fails to secure a stroke, Red Bull will shift its strategy to Shu Long, trying to use his easier overtaking ability to eliminate Hamilton.

However, given Verstappen's personality, Shu Long estimates that he might not be so willing to give up his position.

As a fellow driver, he understands this mentality all too well, especially after ruining a great situation with his own mistakes today. Verstappen's most pressing thought right now is probably to make up for it.

In the post-match debriefing meeting, facing Verstappen who was still clearly sulking, Horner wisely did not bring up the past. He simply outlined the general tactical direction for tomorrow's main match and then let everyone go home to rest.

Shu Long doesn't go to bed that early.

Since officially announcing his move to Alfa Romeo for the next season, Zhou Guanyu is returning to the F2 circuit this week for the first time as a prospective F1 driver.

Unfortunately, his performance in yesterday's qualifying session was poor, managing only a P6, while Piastri once again secured pole position.

While Piastri may still be a bit inexperienced in long-distance performance, it's clear to anyone with a discerning eye that Zhou Guanyu's junior from Renault has a much higher potential in single-lap performance than Zhou Guanyu.

Shu Long did not provide any assistance to Guan Yu during this race week. Originally, he hoped to have a fellow countryman in the paddock so that he would not be alone. Now that he has become an F1 driver, he naturally has to find a way to walk his own path.

However, perhaps because they had a good experience with Shulong before, the UNI team chose a low-drag muscle car setup similar to Shulong's this week, so their qualifying potential was naturally limited by the car's characteristics.

However, the characteristic of this setup is that the overtaking efficiency is relatively high, and after the contract was confirmed, Lao Zhou's mentality was relatively stable. In the first sprint race with a reverse start, he made steady progress all the way and finally made it to P3.

The second sprint race started in the same order as the first sprint race, and Zhou Guanyu repeated the script of the previous race, ultimately winning another championship trophy.

Before leaving, Shu Long told Zhou Guanyu to keep a close eye on the track tomorrow and see how the low-drag race car would unleash its true power. He then turned and opened Gan Mengning's chat window to see what she had shared.

This is a video link for Ah B. Judging from the title, it seems to be related to Five Star's commentary today. I had a feeling about what it would be like even before I clicked on it.

as predicted.

Shu Long was already used to this. It wasn't the first time he had seen a five-star instant heal. He immediately saved the video and sent it to Teng Weifeng, asking him to translate it into English and make a subtitled version, which he planned to show to Max after the match or the season ended.

However, after thinking that Verstappen might not understand the so-called "poisonous milk culture," he asked his old classmate to collect some famous "poisonous milk" moments from before the five-star level and put them at the beginning to create a compilation.

It's not your fault that you're on the wall, but at least you should die knowing why, right?
Just as he was about to laugh gleefully, Shu Long suddenly remembered that he was also on the track, nervously awaiting the "poisonous milk" (a term used to describe bad luck or misfortune) that might fall on his head at any moment. Suddenly, he couldn't laugh anymore.
Sunday's main event is bound to be chaotic.

Jeddah's high-speed street circuit is indeed a bit too extreme, as can be seen from the afternoon's F2 race.

The match was triggered as soon as it started, and Enzo Fetipaldi and Boschel were caught in the crossfire. Both were quickly airlifted to the hospital, and fortunately, they appeared to be conscious.

Shortly after the race restarted at 18:45, another red flag incident occurred. In order not to affect the subsequent F1 race, the race was hastily ended under the red flag.

This undoubtedly serves as a reminder to F1 teams that follow, especially to Verstappen.

The primary task in street racing is to survive on the track, not to fight to the death with one's own teammates. Currently, neither he nor Hamilton can afford the cost of retiring from any race. Shu Long didn't know how much Verstappen had taken to heart, but judging from his reaction when the opponent's five red lights went out, he seemed to be fairly clear-headed.

Verstappen seemed to have a lot of energy to spare, and his start was quite stable.

Shulong launched an inside attack on Bottas right from the start, leaving the opposing team's wingman completely unable to defend against the two Red Bulls.

Mercedes' main strategic target right now is Verstappen.

But in this race, only one of the top ten cars chose to start on red tires. Everyone could see what Red Bull was up to. Shulong was clearly the car they had to keep a close eye on.

Bottas's hesitation lasted only a moment before he quickly decided to turn left to block the dragon's route.

After his experience at the American COTA circuit, Verstappen seemed to have overreacted in this race, actually turning around and helping Shu Long squeeze Bottas's lane, putting Mercedes' number two car in a dilemma.

However, Shu Long had no intention of wasting any more time here. He glanced at Leclerc's movements in the P5 position in the rearview mirror, slightly lifted his foot on the accelerator to pass Bottas, and then moved to the outside to enter the braking and deceleration zone one after the other with Verstappen.

"Nice!"

Horner, like a child who never grew up, sat in front of the Pit Wall and clenched his fists a few times, then turned around and looked for people to high-five.

Unfortunately, apart from him, the useless team leader, everyone sitting in front of the command wall was busy with important matters, and no one had time to pay attention to this boring boss.

No wonder Horner was so agitated.

Before the race, the teams had the greatest hope in the starting phase, which was also the most tense. The scenes from COTA were still fresh in their minds, and they were afraid of seeing the two Red Bulls go down together at the very beginning of the race.

Fortunately, my worries seem unnecessary.

That's the advantage of superhuman starting reaction speed. During the start, Shu Long can even strategically ignore the threat from Leclerc behind him, and the quickly widened distance gives him ample room for maneuver when changing lanes.

The offensive and defensive positions shifted, and after the combination of corners 1 and 2, both Red Bulls gained a position, while Bottas even managed to lock up and was caught off guard by Leclerc.

The transition from the Mercedes-Benz City Wall formation back to Red Bull's two-on-one strategy only requires one start.

But it's one thing that there weren't many changes in the rankings in the first and second laps, but in the third and fourth laps, even with the DRS system in place, they still couldn't improve their positions, which is a serious problem.

Verstappen seemed to have a great deal of resentment about giving up his position to the car, and appeared to have no intention of letting Shulong move forward. Instead, he was intentionally or unintentionally using the DRS train to delay the time.

Horner clasped his hands together and kept tapping his nose; this was clearly the second headache he had anticipated.

Having been a race car driver himself, he naturally understands that competitive spirit on the field. Verstappen probably intends to try a few laps himself, otherwise he would certainly not be willing to hand over the position to his teammate for no reason.

Not long after, Shulong's voice came through the team's voice channel, complaining:

"Hello? What's going on? My tires are wearing out for absolutely no reason, folks!"

"Copy, we're trying to communicate with them."

"Hurry up! This shouldn't be my problem in the first place!"

The first two sections of DRS are located in high-speed corners. While the following car can achieve higher top speeds, it will also lose more rear stability. In addition, with the limited track width, Hamilton only needs to slightly change lanes to block all of Verstappen's attacking attempts.

The DRS section on the main straight after that looked promising, but Verstappen also struggled to gain a sufficient overtaking advantage.

Soon, another failed attempt to brake late at Turn 1 occurred, and Shu Long became increasingly impatient.

Just like his judgment yesterday based on Verstappen's lap habits, because he has more confidence in Turns 1 and 2, Verstappen prefers to bring in a lot of speed to try.

In a one-on-one situation, Shulong could launch at least three highly aggressive attacks.

However, Hamilton, a seven-time champion, was clearly not someone to be trifled with.
Wait a minute, the old man actually does seem to be a vegetarian!

Again.

However, Hamilton, as a seven-time champion, is obviously not someone to be trifled with. After yesterday's game, he probably did a lot of research on Red Bull. Every time he braked, he made it extremely difficult for Verstappen, and even blocked Shulong completely.

"in the end."

"Max tells you to get ready. He'll move to the outside in Turn 21. You catch his slipstream and pull up. After the chicane slows down, you should be able to catch Hamilton's second DRS."

"Finally Copy!"

Fortunately, Verstappen, despite his moment of irritation, still maintained a relatively clear mind, which was indeed the most efficient way to yield to the car with the least loss.

Because the first and second DRS zones are connected, and the second DRS detection line is just before Turn 22, Hamilton, who had to slow down to enter the turn, was not able to take advantage of the gap between the two drivers to widen the gap in time.

Two consecutive DRS (Driving Speed ​​Regulator) cycles can quickly close the gap between Shulong and Hamilton. Even if there is still no opportunity to overtake on this lap, the red tire advantage still gives them a great chance on the next lap.

The plot development deviates slightly from the script, but the overall direction is the same.

Hamilton's experience is indeed very rich. Seeing that the yellow tires were having a hard time keeping up with the red tires, he actually made a surprise move at the end of Turn 26 on lap 6, releasing the throttle early and applying an extremely heavy brake to lock up.

However, Shu Long's impressive reaction time was not to be underestimated. The moment he noticed the abnormal approach speed of the two vehicles, he reacted almost simultaneously, also locking up the car with a slam that emitted white smoke.

After you!
No, no, please go first!

The old man and the young man were so cunning on the field that they were practically turning heads, much to the amazement of Verstappen, who was in the VIP section.

learned.
If Hamilton's kick had truly fooled Shu Long, it would have been a stroke of genius. However, Shu Long didn't fall for it, so the kick essentially gave Shu Long a 0.3-second advantage for nothing.

Unsurprisingly, even though Hamilton held his position in the paint, the close proximity was clearly no match for Shulong DRS's relentless barrage.

After a full seven laps, Red Bull finally managed to wrest the lead from the old man.

But the real action is yet to come; this is just the beginning.

Successfully overtaking is certainly a good thing, but the cost of locking up the tires somewhat disrupted Red Bull's subsequent red-yellow stop strategy. The current set of red tires is clearly not enough to last more than 20 laps.

However, a gap of 8 to 9 seconds gradually opened up between Bottas and Norris. Hannah noticed this and told Reni to tell Shulong to go full speed and lap a few more times.

They can just push it away if they want.

With the air clean, Shulong no longer cared about tire maintenance and indulged in his own way. By lap 10, he had widened the gap between him and Norris to 23 seconds, and then, under the team's arrangement, he made a pit stop.

Undercut!

Contrary to his expectations, he received a yellow flag right in the face as soon as he left the station.
It was Mick Schumacher. This young master made a mistake at Turn 22 that was extremely similar to Leclerc's mistake in the second practice session. Without any apparent reason, the rear of the car went out of control instantly, and the car body crashed directly sideways into the barrier.

Unfortunately, this was a yellow flag that required the deployment of a safety vehicle, meaning everyone would get one almost free entry. Shulong essentially lost his entry spot for nothing this time.

To make matters worse, because the retaining wall was severely damaged and deformed, the yellow flag actually turned into a red flag!

Verstappen got a great deal. He had inexplicably refused to pit earlier, and now he was not only in P1, but also got a completely free tire change.

However, Shu Long was in big trouble. The race restarted with a static start, and he had to start from P12.

After Turn 2, he was sandwiched between Perez and Sainz, ending up 90 degrees up the wall and lying across the track.

To avoid a secondary collision, the cars behind swerved to avoid him, but this only caused a new round of chaos. Ma Zeping even crashed headfirst into Russell's chassis, resulting in another red flag.
(End of this chapter)