F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 208 CPU in Progress

"Alright, let's take a final group photo! Everyone look this way and say—'cheese'!"

"Cheeeeese!"

"Gooood, everyone looks amazing!"

Aside from the Red Bull technicians stacked four layers high in the back row, the most eye-catching person in the whole picture is Marco in a white T-shirt. Ahem!

Everyone was dressed in Red Bull uniforms, but this one stood out. The old man seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally trying to highlight his special status in the team.

Of course, that's not the main point. Obviously, after this photo was posted on social media and spread, most fans would only pay attention to the two Red Bull RB16b cars parked diagonally at the front at 150 degrees, and the two star drivers sitting on their respective front wheels.

Whether intentionally preserved or an unintentional oversight, the race car retained the cut-down version of its rear wing when the photo was taken.

Instead of giving the impression of being in a sorry state, the two drivers were made to look like wounded and angry beasts, and the composition itself carried a chilling and menacing feel.

It's hard to say whether Red Bull or Mercedes suffered more serious injuries at the end of the season, but there's no doubt that the final game could be the bloodiest and most brutal of the year.

Abu Dhabi has always been a strong track for Mercedes in previous years.

Of course, for Mercedes, who have dominated the Drivers' Championship for seven years and the Constructors' Championship for seven years, almost every track used to be considered their strong point. It seems that they haven't experienced this desperate situation where one step back means certain doom for the team in a long time.

This year's RB16b is very strong. Despite the ups and downs, it has to be admitted that Red Bull's cars are very strong this year.

Moreover, Abu Dhabi has made significant changes to the track layout this year, reducing the total number of corners from 21 to 16.

Many Chicane deceleration curves, such as the original No. 5 and No. 6, and combination curves such as No. 11 to No. 14, which have a right-angle turn on each side, have been eliminated and integrated into a teardrop-shaped double-axis hairpin bend.

Many corners have become gentler, and Turn 15 can even be taken with full throttle, with the track now using full throttle for over 75% of the time.

The track's overall trajectory has become faster, smoother, and more fluid, significantly enhancing the driving experience; simply put, it's much more enjoyable to drive than before.

Undoubtedly, this is entirely beneficial to Red Bull's improvements to the characteristics of its race cars this year, but it also inadvertently lowers the operational ceiling of this track, greatly reducing the stringency of the test for drivers in terms of driving details.

For Verstappen, whose form has been noticeably off lately, this change may or may not be a good thing in the short term.
"Hey, hey! What's going on? Why are you so slow at turns 6 and 7?"

"I don't know, the angle at Turn 6 is narrowed, the inner kerb is very high, and it's really hard to regain grip after the car is lifted up."

Verstappen ripped off his hood, ran his fingers through his wet blond hair in frustration, and looked completely out of sorts.

一练的时候束龙以领先0.17秒的优势占据了榜一，经过简单的调试后二练便在半载油量的状态下将圈速提升了1.3秒，直接跑出1：23.379牢牢守住了自己P1的位置，领先汉密尔顿0.3。

Of course, Mercedes was still using the old engines that had been phased out mid-season, so they probably couldn't represent Mercedes' final strength.

Although Verstappen ranked P2 in the first practice session, he repeatedly complained in the TR that the car couldn't find grip. In the second practice session, he made a lot of changes to the setup, and as a result, his lap time was not as good as his best time in the first practice session, and he dropped directly to P5.

Saudi Arabia's defeat seems to have greatly affected his mentality. Although he still showed a calm and indifferent attitude when faced with the provocations of the media, his extreme anxiety could be clearly felt in the P room.

The most obvious characteristic is that he talks a lot. Even if no one is paying attention to him, he keeps babbling on and on about what he should do at which bend.

"Stop! Stop! You're not losing grip, you're losing your rhythm."

"How to say?"

“We can both see each other’s data. You clearly know how to run faster, but you’re too impatient and unwilling to accept it. You’re just trying to force the race car to become faster in what you think is the fastest way. Don’t you feel that she’s almost out of breath?”

"I know, but"

"You know nothing! Let me just say it straight: opening up the line, braking early, and maintaining maximum constant speed to slide in will ensure the car has better grip. Why are you always so eager to get into the apex of the corner faster than others? There's no one competing with you there, is there?"

"Perhaps you are right."

"I'm right! Racing is already showing signs of ground effect regulations, and we can no longer blindly copy the outdated aerodynamic experience."

Verstappen didn't say anything, but rubbed his face vigorously twice, walked to the data wall and asked someone to help him retrieve the fastest lap of the car from Shulong.

He had actually already checked the vehicle's controls after the first practice session, but the closer it got to the crucial moment that would determine the final outcome, the less he trusted the others.

This is the concept that José Verstappen instilled in him from a young age: championships are earned through one's own efforts, and the only person he could trust from beginning to end was himself.

There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but if something goes wrong along the way, it's very easy to get stuck in a dead end of internal strife.

Just then, he saw "himself" on the screen enter Turn 6. Shu Long slammed the pause button and pointed to his own throttle curve on that section.

"Also, be gentler when you tap the throttle after turn 6. You know that the bulge at the apex of the corner will cause an imbalance in grip between the two drive wheels, so why tap the throttle so hard?"

Then Shu Long went to another screen that displayed the Verstappen's in-vehicle features.

"Look how badly your car's rear end is swinging. Didn't you think it was strange at the time?"

"I discussed the differential settings here with the GP, but..."

"If you don't ski, it will affect your exit from Turn 7? Why can't you have more confidence in your butt and feet?"

Verstappen stood there picking at his stubble for a while, it was unclear whether he had figured it out or not.

Because he was facing at least five penalty kicks, Shu Long focused his training on long-distance pregnancy tests and didn't compete with the people in front of him for the short-term P1 and P2 positions.

Verstappen finished in P2 after three practice sessions, and even with his underwear hidden, he was only 0.214 seconds behind Hamilton, who had a new engine. It seems that his conversation after yesterday's race was worthwhile.

There might have been some other effects as well?
During the tactical meeting before the evening qualifying session, the team not only decided to replace the internal combustion engine in the Shulong, but also something strange happened that left everyone speechless.

It's worth noting that while Shu Long and Verstappen had collaborated on some teamwork before, the team usually acted as the bridge for communication and coordination between the two.

After all, drivers with a strong will to win are very competitive. Even if they know it's true, few can honestly admit that their victory came from the help of their teammates.

Especially when two players on the same team are seemingly very close in skill, the most common thought is, "I won because I'm stronger!"

Even in a team like Mercedes, where the number 1 and number 2 drivers are clearly distinguished, when Bottas beat Hamilton several times in a row at the start of 19, Hamilton did not emphasize the importance of his teammate's help. Instead, his evaluation of Bottas was somewhat sarcastic.

This is normal human nature and not something that is particularly worthy of criticism.

Therefore, the help from teammates can be the result of the team's arrangements, but it should never be something that one actively asks for. This is probably the bottom line for many people's self-esteem.

But during this meeting, Verstappen looked Shu Long directly in the eyes for the first time and uttered what was probably his first request:
"Car racing competitiveness alone cannot guarantee a consistent victory over Mercedes. We need a towing strategy, and I need your help, Long."

"Good heavens, am I hearing things? You've become so much cuter in my eyes, Max!"

"Go fxcking hell!"

"Hahaha! That's more like you. But you know I'll be penalized by dropping 10 places. This might be the only direct help I can offer you this week."

This is also the consistent answer that Shulong gives when facing the media, only the version has been slightly modified.

These reporters seemed particularly keen to catch every passing driver and repeatedly ask them who they thought would win the championship this year.

Of course, some people think it's Hamilton, while others think it's Verstappen, and Shu Long's answer is also Verstappen.

It wasn't because it sounded better to say it as a teammate; it was simply because he suddenly remembered a rule in League of Legends: seven kills equals death.

Hamilton currently holds 7 World Drivers' Championship titles, and this season he has also won 7 Grand Prix titles. There seems to be a divine will at work with the number 7, and it's estimated that no one can resist this double dose of good fortune.

Of course, Shu Long didn't elaborate on this nonsensical answer. However, when asked how much influence he thought he would have in the championship race, he replied:
"I have 10 penalty kicks, folks. Doesn't that basically leave the final decision on the championship to the two of them?"

In fact, this is what most people outside the industry find most hard to understand about Red Bull's decision in this round. Clearly, if only one of the two players could win the championship, they could keep the title in their own hands. Did Red Bull suddenly have a change of heart as the season was about to end?

Actually not.

Red Bull may currently have a faster qualifying lap than Mercedes, but a long race distance and a clean qualifying lap are two different things.

Red Bull's two cars are currently nearing the end of their lifespan, with their power output being nearly 20 horsepower less than Mercedes'. To make matters worse, Abu Dhabi's two DRS systems are connected end to end, so even if they gain a lead, they may not be able to withstand Hamilton's continuous attacks.

The engine in the Shulong is about 800km newer than the Verstappen, but it's not significantly more powerful.

Red Bull made this choice in the hope that, at least at some stage of the race, there would be a car from their own team on the track that could directly compete with Mercedes' rocket engine.

Therefore, Red Bull has different race strategy plans for the two drivers. The most obvious one is that Shu Long will start on red tires tomorrow, while Verstappen will compete with Hamilton for the first stint on yellow tires.

Shu Long chose to start on red tires because he needed to quickly improve his position at the start of the race if he was going to be penalized and had to stop on yellow or white tires. Otherwise, according to practice data, stopping on yellow or white tires would have been the best strategy.

倍耐力官方这一站给出的轮胎配方是C3到C5，最软的C5红胎对于C4的黄色中性胎会有着超过0.4秒的单圈优势，但过软的轮胎会导致圈速上单圈有着接近0.1秒的衰退速率。

Conversely, the yellow tires only experience a performance degradation of about 0.065 seconds per lap, while the white tires only experience a performance degradation of 0.035 seconds per lap, which is only 0.15 seconds lower than the yellow tires' lap limit. It seems unlikely that the red tires would be used in the race.

However, the lap time disadvantage of yellow tires compared to red tires is indeed slightly greater. As a large number of cars that felt they could not get into Q3 on yellow tires pitted and switched to red tires, Verstappen seemed to get a little frustrated again.

They wanted to use the red tires for a defensive lap, but also wanted to practice the trailer tactics in Q2.

He was somewhat affected by his recent poor starting performances, and he vaguely felt that starting on red tires tomorrow might be safer.

But wouldn't that make the towing tactic, which we went to great lengths to ask for, go to waste?

Moreover, for the two cars vying for the championship, regardless of whether their starting rankings rise or fall tomorrow, choosing to start in red is a self-inflicted wound and is truly unnecessary.

"Please tell Max to have more confidence in himself, and also to have more confidence in me."

Putting aside everything else, at least in the past two years with Toro Rosso and Haas, Shu Long and his teammates have had an exceptionally rich experience in towing each other's vehicles.

Before the Q3 even started running, two Red Bulls were already waiting at the exit of the service area, one after the other, and the tires on the cars were clearly a set of old, dusty, used red tires.

Judging from this, it was clear that a towing tactic was going to be employed, but Mercedes did not react at all. The team that should have been the most likely to sacrifice the number 2 driver still insisted on their order of Hamilton first and Bottas last.

It wasn't that they didn't realize Red Bull's intentions, but Mercedes judged that the trailer could only help them gain some speed advantage on the straights. On the contrary, the first two time slots were filled with a lot of high-speed corners that required downforce, and the trailer was likely to lose a lot of cornering speed there.

Who cares about this or that? Anyway, the Q3 isn't just for one run. If it really doesn't work out, we can just change to a new set of tires and try again. After the warm-up, everyone entered the flight lap. Shu Long led his teammates through the first and second timed sections, completing two full DRS runs in a row. He then decisively braked hard on the side before Turn 9 to give way, allowing Verstappen to push hard for the third timed section.

"Okay, buddy, Max is a little slower than Hamilton in the first split, but he is 0.37 seconds ahead in the first two splits combined."

"So tow trucks are still useful, right?"

“That’s right, hurry up and pit to change your tires. Max will do two return laps and he’ll help you with the next run.”

"Wow~ I never thought I'd get a kickback today!"

Perhaps not wanting to owe anyone a favor, or perhaps because Verstappen had a huge advantage in his first lap, leading Hamilton by 0.551 seconds.

Of course, the most important reason is that Shu Long has a penalty for driving off the road, which in essence will not affect the starting order of the front row.

People are more agreeable when they are in a good mood, so Shu Long had no objections and quickened his pace back to the ring after letting Bottas pass.

Red Bull's move was a perfect execution, and they quickly replicated their previous maneuver.

However, because Verstappen needed to free up time to recharge for his second flight lap, he only completed the first DRS section and gave way before Turn 6.

After all, the second DRS was placed in a high-speed corner with a large arc. Without the influence of turbulence in front, the power transmission efficiency of the race car was actually better. So although it dragged the car for a short distance, the impact on speed was not as great as imagined.

With the final three laps of purple-green-purple, he once again overtook the leader by 0.174 to take pole position, setting the fastest lap of the race at 1:21.925.

"P1, well done, buddy! We knew you guys could do it!"

"Where's Max?"

"He doesn't have time to wait for you. He's already started the final round of flight laps, so we probably won't have a chance to push the next lap either."

"Not bad, at least we saved on a new set of tires for tomorrow, right?"

You may never need them, but having more tires in stock won't hurt you. Just like having extra pens before an exam makes you feel more at ease, who would complain about having fewer advantages?

If there's no time to race, then there's no rush. Shu Long leisurely cooled and charged his race car on the track, watching other race cars speed past him.

In a daze, I suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility, like the saying, "I built my hut in the midst of human habitation, yet there is no noise of carriages and horses."

Doesn't it remind you of the pride of finishing a test in half an hour when you were a kid and getting the highest score in the class?

Reni's reminder once again helped him avoid Turn 9, and he watched Verstappen gradually disappear into the distance. Not long after, he learned about Verstappen's second-round results from the TR system.

The first timeout was purple, but the second and third timeouts were yellow, and the overall time was 1.4 seconds slower than the previous lap.

As expected, the towing tactic still carries risks. If Newey hadn't solved most of the dirty air problem for the race car in the final stage, their towing tactic might have backfired.

As a result, Verstappen was promoted to P1 pole position, while Shu Long dropped to P11. Tou Ge got a great deal off his own driver and will be in the top ten starting grid tomorrow.

Let's just say we were lucky.
However, the last year of the aerodynamic rules' development coincided with the first year of track reconstruction. If the subsequent ground effect rules are not as ideal as expected, then Shulong's qualifying lap record will likely remain for many years.

That evening, Red Bull had a dinner party together, including current reserve drivers Kakuta and Albon. They took what might be their last group photo before going their separate ways.

Horner seemed to be in a good mood, and kept chatting with the group of drivers.

“We’ve always called Sergio Checo, but that day I heard somewhere what Checo means in Mexican. Do you know what it means?”

Horner glanced around, but clearly no one would pay attention to such a boring answer; everyone called Perez Checo, so he might as well call him that too.

Horner stared intently at Perez, making the slightly chubby version of Tom Cruise feel embarrassed. He just shook his head and kept quiet.

"So what exactly does it mean?"

Well, it seems there are still curious souls like Kakuta who are indifferent to everything and have an innate, exceptionally keen sense for learning swear words.

"It's the great 'Germany, Italy, and Austria,' isn't it?"

Perez shook his head and chuckled a few times, speechless. Facing the inquisitive gazes directed at him from the side, he nodded with feigned seriousness, his vanity taking over.

Wow—he's been keeping his true abilities hidden!

Shu Long clapped along and egged on, urging Perez to show everyone what he could do! He then turned to Verstappen, who had been chattering incessantly, as it seemed he was the only one who hadn't been in the mood to join in the commotion.

"So we both have to go all out at the start tomorrow, but that might not be good for tire protection."

"Yes, that's why I had you use the yellow tire today. Why are you like this again?"

"Let me finish. At the beginning, we need to feel the condition of the tires. If it feels bad, it's best to stop and change the tires immediately. No matter what, we can't just sit and wait to die while driving slowly. Others will definitely try to overtake us."

"Yes, yes, but do you know what I'm trying to say?"

Verstappen grunted, seemingly quite eager to see what constructive opinions and ideas Shulong might offer.

He appears calm now, but he's just like a student anxiously flipping through their study materials on the eve of the college entrance exam.

Even though I know that repeating these things now is useless, I still try to make myself look busier so that I can have a moment of peace in my heart that I haven't wasted time.

"In my mind, Max should be a brave man who dares to challenge the throne even if he knows he has no hope of winning, rather than a coward who starts to worry about losing the crown when it is right in front of him."

"."

Do you remember how you chose the path of racing?

“When I was little, I envied other kids who could drive go-karts, so I asked my dad to teach me.”

"So your initial motivation was because you liked it, but what about now?"

“For the sake of…” Vestager was momentarily speechless.

Shu Long, however, continued the conversation for him:
"Right now, you're thinking about winning, and there's nothing wrong with that. Whatever you're committed to, you need positive feedback. Also, I might be speaking from a position of privilege, so let's assume we have absolutely no chance of winning tomorrow. What would the old Max have done?"

It's basically like this: if you can't win against the special number, try to outrun the inside player first and see how it goes.

Verstappen's attention was finally diverted from tomorrow's match by Shu Long. As teammates, offering each other pre-match encouragement was nothing special, but...
Teamwork is not the only element in this sport; competition is the constant underlying theme.

What was his purpose?
"Show some killing intent! You don't want your first career title to end in regret, do you? Hurry up and give yourself a glorious funeral with the trophy! There's a saying in our area: the sooner you die, the sooner you're reborn. You'll have a lot more of this torment to come!"

"Oh--"

Verstappen finally understood; this was the normal ecological relationship he perceived in the paddock.

"But are you really that confident?"

"It's not that I'm confident, but I remember someone once said they were looking forward to having a teammate like Ricardo who could constantly motivate them. If you can't even handle this much pressure, then the rest of my contract year is going to be too boring!"

Bored, huh!

I don’t know if Shu Long’s words were a bit too hurtful, but Verstappen was still holding a grudge until the next day. As a result, he was overtaken by Hamilton in the paint and dropped to P2 as soon as he got off to a start.

The Red Bull pit lane was filled with lamentations. Although Verstappen had dropped the chain more than once or twice during this period, no one wanted to consider the possibility of it happening in the race.

What a hell!

However, Verstappen was also full of fighting spirit at this moment, and he took full advantage of the slipstream in the first DRS area, and braked late before Turn 6 to force his way forward.

Shu Long previously advised against braking late here because such a racing style in qualifying would affect lap times, but in a close battle, you don't care about this or that; you just need to secure your position first.

Hamilton may have been afraid of crashing and retiring from the race, but his seven Drivers' Championships weren't all won by speed alone; he quickly devised a countermeasure.

Seeing that Verstappen had no intention of leaving himself a place, Hamilton simply took advantage of the situation and was pushed off the track, effectively cutting himself off and securing his leading position.

Isn't that a penalty time?!

Horner immediately began negotiating with the race control center, trying to get Hamilton to return the position he had gained off the track.

According to the rules, this should be the case, but Verstappen's overtaking maneuver was not clean either. The lenient treatment of similar actions by Brazil and Saudi Arabia has raised questions about the fairness of the FIA's rulings.

Michael Massey, the chief steward in charge of the race, hesitated for a moment before not asking Hamilton to return his position, but instead instructing him to relinquish the two-second advantage he had gained by cutting the corner.

Did you give in?
He did give way, but Hamilton precisely stopped slowing down around 1.2 seconds later, and then quickly widened the gap with the car behind him.

"Michael?"

"We have already gotten the other side to give up their existing advantages, and this matter will not be discussed again."

"Give up? Where?!"

Unfortunately, there was no reply from the other end of the communication, so Horner could only curse a few times to vent his frustration.

Verstappen seemed to be affected by the situation. Yesterday, he was able to take the pole position 0.3 seconds faster than Hamilton by using a towing tactic, but today, in the polluted air, he seemed to be unable to keep up with the car in front of him. By lap 12, he had been gradually pulled away to more than 2 seconds ahead.

Sitting idly by and waiting for death is clearly not Red Bull's style; they need to think of a solution.

“Long, we’re planning to have Max try undercutting in the next few laps. Could you speed up the pace a bit? This way, simultaneous pit stops will give him a very clean window.”

"No, no! Let him hold on a little longer!"

Red Bull and Mercedes were on a completely different level from the other teams at this race. Although Verstappen couldn't keep up with Hamilton, he had already pulled ahead of Sainz in P3 by a full 13 seconds.

Starting from P11, Shulong has climbed to P6 after 12 laps, now trailing Leclerc by less than 1.6 seconds.

(End of this chapter)