F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 233 The Hearts of Race Car Drivers Are Dirty
"I hope you enjoy your trip."

"Thank you, thank you! I really didn't expect it to be you before I got on the bus! I hope there will be another opportunity like this next time!"

Of course there will be opportunities, as long as you can keep making popcorn.

Shu Long shook hands with the white girl, who was probably only 16 or 7 years old, and put on a standard business smile to see her off, only to find that she was holding onto his gloves and didn't want to leave.

"Excuse me, may I take one last photo with you? Without the helmet?"

"Oh, of course!"

The girl was really not polite. Seeing that Shu Long obediently did as she was told, she leaned in and pouted in an overly intimate gesture.

Hey! That's way too close!
Shu Long could even feel the warm body temperature radiating from the other person. He subconsciously held his breath and quietly zoomed out a little. He watched the girl with a slightly disappointed yet vengeful look as he pressed the shutter button more than a dozen times.

Who says you only need to wear a helmet when fishing? You definitely need one for taking photos too!

Could you please refuse service to attend any more Hot Laps events like this?
That's probably not going to work. Those who have the opportunity to participate are either well-known media figures or wealthy tycoons with connections. Of course, there are also quite a few lucky car enthusiasts who win prizes.

Each of these individuals is a core source of income that the FIA ​​needs to carefully nurture; it's fair to say that they can't afford to offend any of them.

"The passengers have already gotten off. Are there any more seats available? If not, can I ride around by myself?"

"Not for now. The track will be closed in a little while, but if you want, you can hurry up and run it."

That would be great!
The girl's identity wasn't anything particularly special; she was just an ordinary young rich girl named Madeline, an American.

Before this, Shu Long actually knew her. She was probably his die-hard fan abroad, and the team's photographer often included her in the shots.

During this time, he also prepared two gifts for Shulong and asked Red Bull staff to pass them on. Horner either couldn't stand it anymore or thought that there were cameras nearby, so he gave the girl an invitation.

They've finally left.
He was a very enthusiastic person, but his constant shouting and yelling made Shulong's head spin. He couldn't just concentrate on making laps, since the team had specifically instructed him to interact with the passengers and create content.

With one less person in the passenger seat, even the car's dynamics felt much lighter. It spun to its limit at Turn 1, with the four tires squeaking as if they were about to grab the ground.

I noticed during the first lap that the angle of turn 1 should have been widened by about two and a half meters.

The widened bend means that the upper limit of the bend speed will be increased to a certain extent, and the choice of the line will be more diversified. It can also make the subsequent large left-hand bend No. 2 smoother.

At the same time, this place may also become a battleground for all sides in the initial stage and in the subsequent overtaking phase, and a wider range of choices will bring more overtaking opportunities and solutions.

The key point is that after Turn 2, there is a second DRS zone that follows the DRS of the starting straight, and it even shares the same DRS inspection line before Turn 14 with the DRS of the starting straight.

This means that once you overtake here, you can quickly establish an advantage by utilizing two consecutive DRS (Driving Speed ​​Regulator) sections.

In many cases, if a driver fails to overtake in the first DRS zone, many drivers who are not confident in the car's performance may give up the overtaking opportunity before Turn 3.

因为随后的8号到9号弯之间，以及10号到11号弯之间的两段连续DRS，也是共用的7号弯前那根DRS检测线。

That's right, this is the most bizarre change to the Albert Park circuit this year – the four DRS sections!

There's no way around it; this track has been just too difficult to overtake on before. If we don't find a way to increase the intensity of the race, the Australian Grand Prix could be just as boring as Monaco.

This very rare arrangement, where two DRS segments share a single DRS detection point, is also specifically designed to increase the chances of overtaking vehicles.

Of course, if you are very confident in your defensive capabilities, the changes to Turn 3 do make it a viable attacking point.

The angle here is even wider than Turn 1, extending inward by a full 4 meters. And because of the inward slope adjustment, you can take a very extreme apex bend here.

However, no matter how much the No. 3 bend is widened, it is not as wide as the No. 6 bend, which is a full 7.5 meters wide!
The bend, which was once close to a 90-degree right angle, has now become much smoother and more rounded. It is estimated that the speed increase here can reach an astonishing 47%!

Let alone an F1 car, even someone driving a Porsche could confidently and boldly step on the gas here.

However, no matter how much the corners are widened, it is not as direct as simply eliminating the corners. The old layout of the No. 9 and No. 10 deceleration chicane corners was directly removed from the map, making the full-throttle stage a full 1.3KM long.

There are many other similar changes, almost all aimed at improving lap times and increasing overtaking opportunities.

All the effects of these changes combined have transformed the Albert Park Circuit, which was originally quite grueling to drive and more of a stop-and-go track, into a near-high-speed track with the throttle welded shut.

Of course, it also became less challenging.

I guess so.
During the first and second practice sessions, drivers kept going off the track as they pushed the limits of the new track layout, resulting in frequent yellow and red flags. Red Bull's progress was interrupted several times per lap.

Among them was Uncle Waitou, who was banned for two games at the start of the season due to a positive nucleic acid test.

Having not touched a steering wheel for almost a month, Vettel was surprised to find that the car was even more difficult to drive than before. He broke the Aston Martin on his first practice session and didn't even participate in the second.

It seems that Vettel is probably more happy riding his beloved little motorcycle around the track than trying to control this green tractor.

Even if you get fined 5000 euros afterward, it's still much better than being tormented by this terrible race. Can you believe that Stroll's left front ballast could even be broken off by a dolphin jump?
Red Bull's situation wasn't going too smoothly either; during the second practice session, Shu Long even caused his car's chassis to rupture.

While waiting for the mechanics to set up the car and check for problems, Shu Long took off his helmet and went to argue with his race engineer and Newey.

"The dolphin jump was amazing! At first, I even suspected it was due to the bumpy road surface like before, but didn't they just relaid the track?"

"Perhaps we pressed the base too low. Should we try raising it a little higher in the next session?"

"I don't know, in fact, the sound of the chassis hitting the ground during the continuous full-throttle corners is like the sound of gunfire! I don't remember having a similar problem at the Saudi Grand Prix. It was slightly better when DRS was on, but the entire high-speed corner 10 without DRS was a disaster!"

Shu Long didn't run for the remaining 15 minutes of the second practice session. After Verstappen returned, he quickly started complaining to the team about the same problem.

Now, the dolphin jump is no longer just a minor issue affecting their braking points. The revised layout of the Australian circuit, with its full-throttle high-speed cornering, has directly impacted the ground effect vehicles, severely affecting their grip and stability in corners.

The team is still discussing it.

After all, raising the floor has a significant impact on the downforce performance of a ground effect car. Even a slight increase in floor height can result in a lap time difference of 0.1 or 0.2 seconds. How can you compete with Ferrari then?

Ferrari also experienced bumps, but their handling of the dolphin jump seems to have reached a new level, where the bumps don't affect the car's performance.

But we can't leave the blade unrepaired. The debris from the impact at Shulong speaks volumes. If we don't address this, and the blade and handguards are disqualified after the race due to excessive wear, we'll just look like clowns.
Then the FIA ​​suddenly spoke up, saying that due to the unusual accident rate observed in the first two practice sessions, they decided to remove the DRS zone between Turns 8 and 9 and move the DRS checkpoint to before Turn 11 for safety reasons.

Turning on DRS used to slightly alleviate the dolphin jump problem in the car, but the FIA ​​is really stabbing Red Bull in the back with every move!
So what are you waiting for?

Let's lift it up!

Anyway, there's already a lot of leeway in the rear suspension tuning this year, so raising it a little is still barely tolerable, since many teams, including Ferrari, were trying to raise the floor height during the third practice session.

As a result, Leclerc almost drove the Ferrari like a Ferrari, drifting and off-roading on the gravel runway and grass.

The two Aston Martin duo were completely eliminated, both climbing onto the wall to fix their cars behind closed doors, unsure if they would even make it to qualifying in a few hours.

Shulong and Verstappen were searching for the perfect floor height for their car, which involved using up an extra set of new red paint, but in the end, Norris was the fastest driver in the third practice session.

In the post-race interview, Leclerc suspected that Red Bull had some hidden strength. Shu Long, who was standing next to him, nodded and responded with a "hmm." We hope so too, but the reality is that in this week's qualifying, besides giving it our all, we can only hope for a chance at pole position through luck.

It seems like luck saved them, but the gap between Red Bull and Ferrari in this race meant that luck couldn't completely save them.

The qualifying matches were chaotic from the start.

Stroll, driving a car that Aston Martin mechanics had painstakingly repaired by sacrificing Vettel's crew, crashed into Albon on the first day of the race, triggering a red flag and resulting in neither of them having a qualifying result.

Q2 was slightly more normal, but while Zhou Guanyu made it into Q2 for three consecutive qualifying matches, Bottas' streak of making it into Q3 for 103 consecutive qualifying matches was abruptly broken.

From the start of Q3, Ferrari displayed terrifying speed. Throughout the race, Shu Long seemed to be pressing the accelerator like it was someone else's bicycle. After the first flight lap, he was still 0.17 seconds slower than Leclerc.

The second round of flight laps got off to a good start. After setting a personal fastest record in the first timeout, Shulong took the fastest time of the entire event in the second timeout.

This is the result of the team's efforts to sacrifice an extra set of new red gear during the third practice session. With the high downforce rear wing kit, Red Bull's performance in several high-speed corners exceeding 200 km/h in the second time slot was completely superior to Ferrari's.

The three-stage time is green-purple-green, still 0.069 seconds behind Leclerc's green-green-green.

Should I feel lucky?

Leclerc was able to maintain his lead over Shulong despite being in three green zones because a red flag appeared during the second flight lap.

Alonso went off the track at Turn 11 and crashed into the wall; I heard he also twisted his hand on the steering wheel.

Verstappen's flight lap was interrupted midway, and Sainz also had his lap ruined at the same time. He was the fastest in the first timeout, and even in the second timeout, he was only 0.027 seconds behind Shulong.

If Sainz finishes this lap, Leclerc might even be pushed to P2.

With only one minute and forty seconds left in Q3, even if the race restarts and the tires are warmed up, it will still be a bit tight. Not to mention that no one has any new reds in reserve, so it won't be easy to break their personal best again.

And that is indeed the case in reality.

Until the final Q3 qualifying session ended, the current standings have remained unchanged.

Leclerc secured Ferrari's first pole position at the Albert Park circuit in Australia since 2007. Shuller will start alongside Leclerc in P2 tomorrow, followed by Verstappen in P3. Sainz, who had the worst qualifying performance, is in P4.

It's fortunate that he was in such a bad situation, otherwise the previous three would probably have to be relegated to the next rank.

However, there is no limit to bad luck; things can only get worse.

Starting with the exact same 1st and 2nd positions as Bahrain, Shulong witnessed Leclerc's second "anti-dragon Noble Phantasm" at the start, which, strictly speaking, was more like a variation of Leclerc's move against Shulong in Bahrain.

With the same layout for Turn 1, Leclerc, who started from a clean position on the left, immediately squeezed to the right.

This tactic always works because Shulong's reaction speed is faster, and he will definitely try to overtake when the lights go out.

But with Leclerc blocking the line up ahead, in order to avoid being caught off guard by Verstappen from behind, Shulong could only try to find an opportunity in the gap left by the opponent on the left.

Turn 1 in Bahrain is a very narrow and slow corner. Leclerc's strategy at the time was to stay on the inside and use synchronized late braking with Shulong to prevent his opponent from crossing the line and forcing him out of the corner.

Australia's Turn 1 already offers a variety of attacking angles, and this year, with its extended and widened design, it offers even more. However, it's obvious that blocking the inside line will not be enough to stop Shulong's starting momentum.

So as Shulong changed lanes inwards, Leclerc was stuck half a body length in place, desperately trying to squeeze towards the outer line.

While seizing the line was not a problem, Leclerc had a very good grasp of how to leave no track space for his opponent. He neither completely pushed Shulong onto the grass to give others a chance to criticize him, nor did he give Shulong any room to accelerate.

Unable to accelerate, the right front wheel of the Shulong was completely blocked by the left front wheel of the Leclerc.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Doesn't that count as a double lane change?!"

No one answered. Shu Long, busy getting started and fighting for the lead, didn't have time to pay attention to the TR button. He just muttered to himself inside his helmet.

Even if someone heard it, unfortunately, it doesn't count.

Before they even entered the braking zone, the two squeezed together on the side of the track for quite a while before finally entering the braking and deceleration area.

Even here, Shu Long's driving rhythm was still being harassed by the Ferrari next to him, making it very difficult for him to maintain his pace.

Because his braking rhythm had to be actively matched with Leclerc's braking rhythm, otherwise their right front and left rear might bounce together again. Fortunately, the braking distance was very short, and they were about to enter the corner.

For a moment, Shu Long felt that the air around him had become much fresher, but when he turned his head, he saw that Verstappen, the center of the center, had squeezed up at some point!
Holy crap, Lock & Lock, you're really heartless!
After his teammate overtook him at the apex, the next turn, number 2, was another high-speed, full-throttle left turn. Shu Long, who was on the inside, not only failed to gain the advantage of a shorter line, but his acceleration efficiency after exiting the turn was also greatly affected.

Since he started driving in F1, when has he ever suffered such injustice? Not only did he fail to improve his starting position, but he also dropped one place!

Having finally enjoyed a group beating, Shu Long had no time to complain. He turned around and pulled back Verstappen's trail to stop the bleeding, focusing on preventing Sainz from making any moves behind him.

A man who hunted geese year after year never imagined that one day a goose would peck at his eyes.

In the past, it was always Shu Long who schemed against others on the track. When did it become someone else's turn to arrange things so clearly for him?

The initial stage was never something Shu Long should worry about; his confidence stemmed from his quick reaction time, and his strategy was to adapt to changing circumstances.

Compared to the overtaking strategy that allows for observation and maneuvering over several laps during the main race, looking back, he really didn't put much thought into his starting design.

If he can't secure pole position in the future, and if he doesn't do more preparation before the race, he might not be able to withstand Leclerc's high intensity training every day.

There wasn't much that could be done for the time being. Verstappen was also driving a Red Bull, and his pace in the race was actually on par with Shu Long's. Shu Long had no choice but to stay in the back and wait for another opportunity.

As a result, Sainz couldn't hold back any longer. Just as Shulong was braking a little earlier to avoid his teammate's braking point, Sainz slammed on his brakes before Turn 11, trying to squeeze in front of Shulong from the outside.

Sainz certainly has a lot of ideas.

Turn 11 has also been slightly adjusted. The apex is now tighter, making it a fairly standard right-angle turn. Combined with the extra-long full-throttle section connected earlier, the benefits of late braking on the outside will be higher than before.

Meanwhile, the inner shoulders of turns 3, 11, and 13 have also been modified. If Shulong attempts to overuse the shoulders for defense on the inside, he will be penalized with a considerable amount of speed.

but.
Do you think you're so great?!

It's too late to switch to blocking the outside now, but don't underestimate the Sainz's extreme late braking and high-speed right-angle cornering. The car is likely under a lateral G-force of close to 5G, and the car is extremely sensitive to every dynamic deviation in the corner.

So, when Shulong, who was squeezed on the inside line, exited the corner, he quietly increased the throttle opening by about 10%, causing the rear of the car to create a slight tail-slide dynamic.

F1 drivers react very quickly. Shu Long had only just slipped a little when Sainz caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and immediately made an emergency response.

In a rather poor emergency response, he hastily swerved to the right side of the track in an attempt to avoid the car that was "out of control" in front of him, instantly disrupting the balance between the car's center of gravity and grip.

Goodbye!

(End of this chapter)