F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 224 The camel's back was full of straw

Zhou Guanyu also chose to enter the station with a yellow tire, and after exiting the station, he seemed to have entered a rhythm of running long distances to protect the tire.

The car battle behind the pack was over, and the cameras finally focused back on Shu Long and his team. Meanwhile, Red Bull's No. 69 car was already making a turn on the starting straight.

Inside line, late braking.

Just like what Leclerc did to him in the first lap.

Shu Long deliberately slowed down his entry into the corner, completely blocking Leclerc's space to cross the line. Only when the opponent changed lanes in the corner and prepared to move to the wider outer edge did he suddenly move close to the apex of the corner and start accelerating.

Actually, his intention was not to overtake here, because the combination of corners 1 and 2 is precisely the Ferrari's advantageous area, and it would be difficult for him to create enough safe defensive space between himself and the car behind before entering the DRS range after corner 3.

On the contrary, although the second DRS section is slightly shorter, the No. 3 turn is a high-speed turn that allows for pre-acceleration. Shu Long originally planned to overtake here.

But this opportunity is just too good to pass up; a free chance to improve one's position is something you can't afford not to take advantage of.

Red Bull's two cars were tuned differently in this race. Verstappen's No. 1 car had a higher lap ceiling and was easier to follow in dirty air, while Shulong's car had higher overtaking efficiency.

Because once DRS is activated, the rear of the car won't experience as much downward dynamics, and the larger angle of attack of the front wing will actually affect Verstappen's DRS acceleration efficiency.

The Shulong race car doesn't have this problem. Its extremely high straight-line aerodynamic efficiency gives it a rather exaggerated advantage in top speed. The reason it chose to turn around directly this time is because Ferrari seemed to have no power to resist.

Even so, just to be on the safe side, Shu Long adopted a defensive braking line at Turn 1, trying to minimize Ferrari's advantage in low-speed combination corners.

The story should have gone like this.

Once Red Bull gets past the second DRS zone, the mid-to-high speed corners from Turn 5 to Turn 9 will be Red Bull's advantage zone, making it much easier to neutralize Leclerc's counterattack.

Even though the dragon had disrupted Leclerc's cornering rhythm in the first two corners, Ferrari's acceleration performance in low-speed corners was still terrifyingly strong, and its higher mechanical grip would give opponents a more comfortable line option here.

1号弯的出弯阶段束龙领先0.83秒，进入2号弯就被重新咬回了0.64，即便3号弯后的这段DRS短得可怜，却依旧被自己曾经的老队友在4号弯的外线强吃。

Ferrari's acceleration was too fast, while Red Bull's speed advantage required a bit of acceleration time to come into play. However, this damn track had a hairpin turn after every DRS zone that required significant deceleration, so Shulong had no way to quickly establish an advantage after overtaking.

"pity."

"Don't waste your time, quickly help me think of a solution!"

"Wait a moment, perhaps you could try switching to STRAT 4 when overtaking?"

Can't wait any longer!
On the next lap, at the same spot, Shu Long, who had feigned a turn before Turn 1, returned to the outside to ensure he had a more comfortable exit line. After Turn 3, he unleashed full power, the only difference being that he overtook on the inside this time.

As mentioned earlier, Turn 4 is also a hairpin bend. After overtaking, Shulong's decision to compete with Ferrari in corner speed was simply foolish. The most cost-effective choice he could make was to simultaneously ruin the cornering efficiency of both of them in low-speed corners.
But how do we withstand it from here on out?

We'll tough it out!

Shulong's current battery level is definitely not high, but in order to avoid being undercut, Leclerc first engaged in a high-intensity battle with Russell after leaving the station, and then seamlessly switched to fighting Shulong until now, so he basically has no spare battery to store up.

Both vehicles are currently low on battery, so if Shulong draws a line on the straight road, it can still have a significant impact on the vehicles behind.

The counterattack after turn 3 was indeed spectacular, but Leclerc also revealed a lot of information to Shulong.

The reason why the first attempt on the starting straight so naturally turned into an overtaking opportunity is that Leclerc didn't provide the car with much electric power on that straight. Instead, he was determined from the beginning to burst out after Turn 3 and regain his position.

This was actually somewhat unexpected for Shu Long, because given Ferrari's strength in low-speed corners, Turn 10 and the DRS thereafter would have been the best attacking option for them.

What is this called?
Did you cut off your opponent's path, leaving them with nowhere to go?

On the starting straight of the next lap, Shu Long tried to replicate Leclerc's tactics, but as expected, the fourth-ranked player saw through it immediately and showed little desire to launch an attack.

In desperation, he had no choice but to quickly pick up the pace again to prevent the tragic scene of having to endure the pain from happening again.

Anyone with a brain knows they can't stay stuck in this passive defensive rhythm forever. If they can't find a way to quickly get out of the current predicament, the advantage that Leclerc can accumulate in the back will only grow bigger and bigger.
"Hurry up! Can you tell me some good news to cheer me up?"

“We don’t have a better solution at the moment, but Ferrari’s Sainz seems to be communicating with the team, asking if we can try a three-stop system. How are you feeling about the tire wear right now?”

Three suspensions?

Perhaps because he had been in clean air for several laps in a row, Shulong was actually not feeling too bad about tire wear.

Ferrari's Sainz really did his best. His team switched to a set of yellow tires when the car stopped to prepare for Verstappen's move. Does the feedback of stopping the car three times indicate that the yellow tires' wear performance was not ideal?

Now, after Shulong has been dragged along for 5 laps, the race has reached lap 23.

Based on Shu Long's constant observation of the Ferrari's movements in the rearview mirror, Leclerc should now have almost finished charging and is ready to launch a full-scale counterattack against Red Bull.

Unfortunately, in order to maintain their hard-won lead, Shu Long managed to save up some battery power during his busy schedule, and now the display on the steering wheel shows only about 37%.

This is also crucial information that could very well determine the outcome of the race. Without the team even reminding him, Shu Long had already turned down the brightness of his steering wheel screen display quite low when he first left the pit after changing tires, just so that the opposing team wouldn't know his specific competitive status.

He specifically confirmed with René that, at least with the camera's capabilities, it was indeed difficult to see clearly, but if the helmet-mounted camera were zoomed in and examined closely, it would be somewhat visible.

Whether it's useful or not is another matter, but at least it can cause some trouble for the opponent.

The difference between the two on the tires wasn't significant.

Shu Long pitted three laps early, and this set has now run 13 laps. However, his red tires are brand new. On the other hand, Leclerc pitted on his old red tires that he used for his flight lap in Q2. If you really want to compare, Shu Long's tires might actually be in better condition.

so.
"How is the yellow tire doing on Max's side?"

"Well, the team just granted him full firepower. The exact wear and tear is unknown, but his lap times are definitely improving. At the current rate, he should be on par with you in four laps."

"What about white tires? Who uses white tires now?"

"Only Hamilton and Russell, I don't know if it's related to their new car this season, but so far the white tires look like a pile of crap, I don't recommend you switch to white unless necessary."

This makes things easier. The windows on the track are relatively open now, and the dragon that once again blocked Leclerc from Turn 11 directly informed the team that he was about to pit.

However, the button on the steering wheel to confirm entry to the station was not pressed.

Reni seemed to have realized what Shulong was planning to do, and after confirming Shulong's willingness to enter the station once again, he began to coordinate the mechanics' preparations with Whitley.

This season, no one will pay attention to Mercedes' usual Phantom pit stop tactics, but that doesn't mean no other team will choose to continue this fine tradition.

It has to be said that in the tense situation of the championship race, this kind of clichéd tactic is sometimes really effective. "Charles, Long is preparing to pit this lap, and it looks like he might be planning a three-stop strategy. You should consider whether to follow suit."

Hearing the team's TR, Leclerc blinked with a hint of surprise. It was rare for the team to ask the driver's opinion first!
"I remember we both have the exact same amount of tires in reserve right now, right?"

"Yes, and Red Bull has prepared yellow tires."

"Then let's go! My battery reserves are definitely higher than his right now, he won't be able to escape after we leave the station!"

Oh, is that so?

After receiving confirmation from Renee, Shu Long's tone even became somewhat cheerful when confirming BOX's command. "How come you're still so honest after all these years of not being teammates?"

Shu Long was indeed planning to commit telecom fraud, but his strategy was actually two-way. If he couldn't lure Ferrari into the trap, he would indeed choose to make a pit stop on this lap.

The disadvantage in battery power is indeed undeniable. Now, entering the pit lane allows Shulong to catch the tail of a car behind them, thus quickly accumulating enough strategic resources before the next round of battle.

But now, if you want to come in, I'm not coming in~
Once again, Alonso feinted at the entrance to the pit area. Last year, Alonso, as the agent, really taught Shu Long a very memorable lesson. Seeing Leclerc headfirst into the pit in the rearview mirror, Shu Long's mouth almost split open with a smile.

Admittedly, Leclerc could also catch the wake after leaving the station, but this would completely render his hard-earned power advantage useless.

In addition, he also had to deal with the tire temperature issue during the yellow tire run, which gave Shu Long some breathing room.

After three laps in clean air, Shu Long pitted after Leclerc overtook Hamilton again, emerging just 3.1 seconds ahead of him.

This is the importance of intelligence warfare!

Once you've truly entered the championship race, speed becomes less important, especially when the competitive gap between the two sides is not significant.

Just like the defensive play Shu Long made against Verstappen at the beginning, he took advantage of the key information that his teammate was suspected of having an unexplained problem with the engine brakes.

Do you feel there's anything wrong with the car's steering?

Upon hearing René's question, Shu Long suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that the team had gleaned something from the sensor data?
"what is the problem?"

"Max said his racing power steering was a bit strange, the steering wheel always pulled the car to one side."

"I don't know, no abnormalities have been found so far."

What a ghost!
If it were just a dozen or so laps ago, Shu Long might have just thought that Max's race was making a lot of noise, but now he truly believed the news.

There was one thing that Shu Long had been keeping to himself and hadn't told the team: after the first Stint overtook Verstappen by fake locking down the wheel, the steering wheel in his hands seemed to start getting heavier and heavier.

There might be a problem with the hydraulic transmission; this isn't the first time Red Bull racing cars have experienced this issue recently.

Kakuta's hydraulic power steering system malfunctioned during practice session 2, making it virtually impossible for the car to steer. He had no choice but to stop on the side of the road and wait for the mechanics to push it.

Shu Long's situation isn't that serious right now, and his almost full strength attribute allows him to control the vehicle for the time being. Apart from being quite physically demanding, it doesn't have much of an impact.

Of course, this only applies to normal driving. In situations where you need to change lanes urgently during a close-quarters battle, it is definitely not as agile as a normal race car.

If either Leclerc or Verstappen finds out, their offensive options will extend far beyond just the three DRS sections on the track.

Fortunately, after being tricked into pitting by the dragon, Leclerc temporarily adopted a strategy of conserving his energy to avoid being stopped twice or three times by the old silver coin, seemingly preparing to save the decisive moment for the last few laps of the race.

The situation in the race had become very stable for a time. The broadcast cameras reluctantly looked for Zhou Guanyu again, but after he pitted with Bottas on lap 36 and changed into his second set of new yellow gear, he was currently in position P13 on the track. For the time being, there was no one ahead of him to practice on.

Verstappen's entry into the station was around the same time.

After the team granted him permission to fire freely, Verstappen's lap pace did indeed improve with each lap as his fuel level decreased. However, Leclerc, who had pitted to change to a new yellow lap, improved his lap times even faster. If left unchecked, he would soon be overtaken again.

But it doesn't matter, because we had already anticipated this when we decided to play the worse strategy from the beginning.

Before Ferrari could completely humiliate him on the track, Verstappen finally chose to end his second stint on lap 37, switching to his old red Q3 after three laps, ready to make a final push in the last twenty laps of the race.

He had already run the yellow tire, and Verstappen knew perfectly well that it couldn't last that long. As long as the two runners ahead of him made one more stop, he would easily reclaim the leading position that rightfully belonged to him.

The premise is that Shulong and Leclerc are willing to give up their current lead and adopt a three-stop strategy.

The good news is that the three-year suspension has indeed come; the bad news is that this suspension is happening in the way Verstappen least wanted to see.

On lap 45, Shu Long forcefully steered the heavy race car smoothly through the combination of corners 1 and 2.

Just as he gave a "heave-ho" and prepared to send the car into Turn 3, the race engineer's TR sounded urgently in his headset, and at the same time, the signal lights on the side of the track that indicated slowing down also began to flash.

"Double Yellow Flag Guy!"

"Help, buddy!"

"Copy, in that familiar old spot, be careful to slow down."

Reni may not have understood the true meaning behind Shu Long's ambiguous reply. He might have thought Shu Long was relieved that a further tragedy had not occurred, given that the location of the accident was indeed somewhat unusual.

But Shu Long breathed a genuine sigh of relief, eagerly releasing his ten claws that were almost frozen on the steering wheel, and slightly relaxing his fingers that were so sore they were about to twitch.

Previously, the description of a difficult car to drive was often likened to fighting with the race car under your butt on the track. This race in Shulong was truly like fighting with the race car.

In order to maintain control of the increasingly heavy steering wheel, he even had to temporarily abandon his preferred finger grip method, which was more sensitive to the grip, and instead gripped it firmly with his entire palm.

Still perceptive?
Damn it, I've never felt such a strong sense of road movement in my entire life!
As he leisurely drove up to Turn 3, ready to savor the rare moment of comfort without having to sprint down the long straight, he witnessed a scene that left him speechless and almost made him burst out laughing.

A white race car was parked in the spot where it had been honored with its name displayed in 2020, thick smoke billowing from its rear, with occasional bursts of scarlet flames shooting out.

"Who is that? Has or... Oh! Is Pierre making a pilgrimage to my holy site?"

"His engine has malfunctioned. We cannot rule out the possibility that it is a problem with Honda's new power unit for the new season. In the upcoming races, we must pay attention to the power output. We cannot afford to retire from the race."

"Oh, this is fantastic!"

"Also note that the safety car will be deployed on the next lap."

"Oh my god, this is absolutely amazing!!!"

(End of this chapter)