F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 248 Go with the wind, but also watch your back.

"The safety car is in position, green flags are waving on the sidelines, and five red lights are flashing one by one."

"Lights out, start the race! The race has officially begun!"

"Leclerc got off to a good start, and Verstappen's reaction seemed pretty good too—oh no, he didn't make it!"

"Leclerc's defense was extremely resolute; he practically used his rear wheel to push against Verstappen's front wheel!"

The race cars in the broadcast gradually entered the braking zone and slowed down in the crowded Turn 1, creating a seemingly peaceful scene.

"seem"

A Peaceful and Harmonious Scene

"Ferrari's cars were really bad in the past two years. I almost forgot that Leclerc was a troublemaker when he first joined Ferrari. He even went toe-to-toe with Vettel, the four-time champion, when he was halfway through his prime."

"Yes, I remember those two withdrew from the competition several times due to internal strife within the team!"

At this point, everyone in the five-star studio couldn't help but sigh.

It's unclear when it started, but Ferrari, which used to bring them countless surprises and pride, has slowly become a synonym for "funny" in the hearts of car enthusiasts.

Even for these seasoned car enthusiasts, the first thing that comes to mind when they see red is "drama."
"Wait a minute! Speaking of which, where's Shulong?"

"He—wow~ You know what, it's been a long time since I've seen him start from such a back position. I don't think I even noticed how many people he overtook at the start."

Stop looking, Shulong is still in P9.

What terrible luck!

The Long completed the overtaking of the Mikkelsen from the start, and even a late brake in the braking zone brought it alongside the P8 Ricardo directly in front of it from the center line.

The problem is that while some people get off to a rocket-like start, others often have a disorganized start and fall behind.

Besides Shu Long, Magnussen also made a rocket start, directly challenging Hamilton, who was further ahead, just like Shu Long.

So who fainted?

Hamilton might be one, but it's really hard to guess who the other one is. Which team in the paddock can secure a stable position right from the start?
After the Miami Grand Prix in the United States last week, Bottas traveled around the country riding, racing, and vacationing in several locations.

At one of his vacation spots, a woodland creek in Aspen, Colorado, a famous rock-and-creek town, Bottas, who had begun to let loose after leaving Mercedes, finally took his first Bottas photo.

It was said to be a collaboration with a charity, intended to raise public awareness of men's prostate health, and the proceeds from the sale of the photo album would go to charity fundraising.

Who would buy this thing?

It's estimated that not many copies were sold. This week, Bottas was handing out copies all over the paddock with his buttocks, but not many people bought them. Shu Long, of course, "politely" declined.

However, Bottas seems a bit unwilling to give up, and now that the race has started, he can't wait to shove the back of his car in front of Shulong to show off!

Do you have some misunderstanding about my sexual orientation and XP, bro?
As a result, Bottas's mistake ruined the lives of Shulong and Ricardo, who were both blocked by Aro and the two Haas, allowing Mike to score two or three goals in one go!

Dude, move your butt away!

Then, perhaps it was because of their year-long time as teammates that they developed a certain tacit understanding. Although Haas and Red Bull's TR systems weren't compatible, Shu Long felt that Magnussen must have replied "Copy!" in the channel just now.

As a typical representative of the "mad dog" driving style in the paddock a few years ago, Lao Ma not only made the cars behind him tremble with fear in defense, but also bit them as soon as he found an opportunity to overtake.

Hamilton's poor start put him in a very passive situation.

On the high-speed corner No. 3, which was full throttle, Magnussen forced him to change his line. After that, on a short straight without DRS, the wake of the car approached him, and Magnussen immediately made an outside spin, preparing to overtake Mercedes on the outside of the long 180-degree corner No. 4.

However, Lao Ma was still careless.

If it were a left turn, it would be one thing to try it from the outside, but to dare to go past the old man on the left side of a right turn? Have you forgotten what Mercedes' signature move is?

The Vibranium Left Forward who shattered Alben's Dao Heart with two punches and nearly sent Verstappen to his death with an elbow!
However, Mercedes' cars this year are not up to par. It seems that their budget for manufacturing the front suspension has been significantly reduced. After sending Magnussen into the gravel area, Hamilton also had to pit for a tire change on the first lap due to a puncture on his left front tire.

Great, great, I've gotten two seats for free.

Two laps later, Shu Long helped his old teammate complete his unfinished task, using almost the exact same technique at Turn 4, braking late and passing Bottas, who had been posing ahead of him, from the outside.

To be precise, it wasn't exactly late braking; his braking point was earlier than the usual braking point, but Bottas chose to brake even earlier.

There was a strong wind on the track.

The weather forecast shows the wind direction is from northwest to southeast, with a normal wind speed of only 3 km/h, but the peak gusts can even exceed 40 km/h.

For the cars entering Turn 4, the feeling is that the angled tailwind coming from the left rear will change into a direct tailwind in the corner. During this period, it is very easy for the entry speed and downforce to be mismatched, resulting in the tires losing grip.

It's clear that Bottas also felt the impact of the wind changes on the race car, causing him to play a bit more conservatively here, and his fighting spirit against Shulong was indeed slightly lower.

What kind of car is Red Bull? What kind of car is he?

He'd be lucky to get a single point on an Arro machine, let alone earn a yearly salary. Why would he work himself to death?
If you can prevent it, then prevent it; if you can't, then forget it!
In that case, Shulong's situation is not bad. He hasn't even used DRS much yet, and he's already ranked P6 by the third lap.

Is that Mick ahead?

If the most infuriating thing about Bottas' laid-back running style on the field is probably not Alfa Romeo's team manager Vassell, but rather Mikel, who kept glancing at the rearview mirror from the very beginning.

By the third round, DRS was already available, bro. I deliberately kept a similar pace to you in order to defend against the train formation!
The train formation collapsed before it even took shape. Red Bull's ability to break out after absorbing the wake is not even in the same league as Arrow's. On the other hand, Mick's rhythm was affected by the collision between Magnussen and Hamilton, and he is now completely out of sync with Russell.

If you fail, what am I supposed to do?
Do whatever you want, if you're so capable, then be tough!

Indeed, they were quite tough. Shu Long could clearly feel the fighting spirit of the car in front, which was completely different from Bottas's. He tried to make a turn twice, but was blocked by the other car's lane change, which was quite similar to Magnussen's style.

What position does Mick hold now?
P5!

He desperately wanted this opportunity to prove himself.

This is Mick's second year in the F1 paddock. Before he entered the race, everyone had high hopes for Schumacher, expecting him to be "the next Schumacher." But now, it's slowly turning into "we don't expect you to score points, just don't crash."

Zhou Guanyu, who entered the game in his first year, has already scored six points, but Mike's career points gain is still zero.

Even Steiner's public statements have changed from "We have high expectations for Mick" to the very direct "If Mick still can't perform as he should, then we can't guarantee his place next season."

He even said he was planning to follow Leclerc's path, train at Haas for a year, and then go to Ferrari. Now, Mick might not even be able to keep his position at Haas.

If Mick truly wants to defy fate, he must deliver a performance that truly impresses everyone to have even a sliver of hope.

For example.
You're the F3 and F2 world champion, and so am I. How about we practice together?

remarkably brave!

However, the tail fin of the dragon seems to be acting up again. This newly upgraded high-downforce kit seems to have some problems. Now it is unresponsive and you have to press it several times to open it.

What's most infuriating is that you don't know whether the switch actually turns on or not each time you press it. Shu Long watched helplessly as he clearly turned it on once, and then he had to close the tail fin himself.

It's like playing a game with a 199ms latency, where you're planning to use Flash to dodge an ultimate, but end up getting hit by the whole combo and dying instantly.

If he didn't become famous, he'd truly be a saint!
Where's the wind? Come on, give it a try!
The most annoying thing about gusts is their unpredictability. Shulong was stuck in traffic until lap 6 before he finally felt some extra resistance from the wind on the starting straight. It seemed like an opportunity had come, but it also seemed like it hadn't quite arrived yet.

The wind is a little weak.

But with things having progressed to this point, Shulong couldn't care less. Being stuck by a Haas for more than two turns wasn't a good look to be told. You're going to die!
The wind wasn't actually that strong, as could be judged from the feeling of the wind shifting from headwind to tailwind throughout the No. 3 highway bend. This also made Shulong's ability to catch the tailwind and catch up more efficiently than expected.

The curve of Turn 3 is very large and the arc is indeed quite long, but this should not overshadow the fact that it is a 180-degree hairpin bend.

The change from headwind to tailwind causes a significant decrease in grip, which was clearly visible to Shu Long from behind. When Mick exited the corner, the rear of his car twisted very unnaturally.

F1 races are fought with the smallest margins of victory. Since the opponent's mistake did not have a negative impact on him, Shulong naturally had no reason not to seize the opportunity.

Instead of trying to replicate Magnusson's tactics, Shu Long chose to move his troops inside this time.

Because the rear wheel slipped when exiting the corner, resulting in a loss of traction, Mick had no defensive initiative against Shulong and could only be forced to the outside, competing with Red Bull for the cornering efficiency of this second high-speed hairpin turn.

Opportunities are not nonexistent.

After entering the corner, the car will be in a completely tailwind state. With insufficient downforce, the outside line, which has less stringent requirements for the car's steering, can be more confident and bold in accelerating to full throttle earlier.

But
Suddenly, Shulong on the inside lane started to understeer, rubbing his front wheels towards the outside lane. Although it only lasted for a moment before he managed to recover, it still startled Mick so much that half of his tires went off the track.

There is absolutely no asphalt buffer zone on the outside of this No. 4 bend; once you cross the white line, it's just a grass and gravel buffer zone.

The differential lock was already tighter during the exit of the corner, which completely disrupted the balance of grip on both sides of the tires. Even though Mick's loss was not as severe as his teammate Magnussen's, where the entire car went off the track, he still dared not press the accelerator pedal too hard.

Goodbye then!
Looking in the rearview mirror, Shu Long briefly mourned for the receding Haas, then chuckled twice under his helmet, biting his lip, before turning on the TR with a wronged expression.

"Damn it! That, that wind! I just lost control, is he alright?"

"He's fine. Did you two come into contact just now?"

"I don't think so, but you'd better check my front tires."

Renny almost blurted out "Well done!" but thankfully he swallowed it back in time, and what came out was just a brief "Understood."

If that were to be said out loud, we'd be in deep trouble.

Regardless of whether Shu Long did it intentionally or not, at the very least, the team absolutely cannot actively define its own driver from "victim" to "perpetrator." If the FIA ​​finds fault with them and penalizes them for a few seconds, they won't be able to refute it.

To further emphasize their victimhood, Rennie even added, "Watch out for tire management; we might need to pit early."

Look, we've suffered quite a loss too.

As a result, the FIA ​​only conducted a brief investigation and then there was no follow-up.

It was easy to guess that the collision between Hamilton and Magnussen earlier was classified as a normal track accident. This time, the two cars didn't even make direct contact. Rather than an accident, it was more accurate to say that Mick overreacted.

Moreover, changes in wind direction on the track are an uncontrollable factor, and it's already very difficult to recover from them. To penalize even this would be somewhat inhumane of the FIA.

When Shulong returned to the starting straight on the seventh lap, it was obvious that the car's frontal drag had increased significantly.

Before we even entered Turn 3, René informed us that there were yellow flags in the first and second time zones, and we should slow down and avoid them.

Sainz went off at Turn 4. The reason for his loss of control seemed similar to that of Shulong earlier, except that his car lost traction due to the wind.

The yellow flag lasted only a short time. After being bombarded by the retaining wall in Miami, where there was no gravel buffer zone, Sainz seemed to have finally escaped the curse of getting stuck in the pit and moved the car out by himself in no time.

However, its position dropped directly from P3 to P14, and at the same time, the ranking of the Dragonbane officially rose from P10 at the start to P4.

It's like a dream.

However, because the yellow flag in this section lasted for a very short time, the gap between Shulong and the car in front was not effectively reduced. At this moment, there was still a gap of nearly 6 seconds between Shulong and Russell, and it would not be an easy task to catch up.

The air temperature on the track has reached 37°C, and the surface temperature has reached 51°C, which is hot enough to burn your hand if you touch it. The tires, especially the softest red tires, are naturally screaming in pain from the heat.

Putting aside the fact that the rapidly worn tires can still maintain competitiveness for a few more laps, the warning screen on the racing steering wheel has already flashed three times, indicating that the engine needs to be cooled down!
Seriously, I'm speechless. I'm made of flesh and blood, and I haven't even started complaining about how hot it is yet. What are you, made of iron, yelling about?

However, what Renee had just told him about getting into the station early did remind him of something.

"If I enter the station now, I should still be in front of Lewis, right?"

"Are you ready to go in? If you go in now, you'll be about 22 seconds ahead of Hamilton and about 10 seconds behind Alben."

Is Alben the last one?

Albon wasn't the last one; Magnussen was. However, like Hamilton, he pitted early due to a collision on the first lap and is now outside the normal reference range.

Having received confirmation from Reni, Shulong no longer hesitated. After a brief mental weighing of the situation on lap 7, he directly requested the first pit stop on lap 8.

The new red set saved from the old red set in the qualifying rounds is almost a given; it's designed to run a two-stop or even three-stop tactic.

The reason for this choice is certainly not because Shulong has lost its mind due to the heat.

Magnussen started on red tires and switched to yellow tires, while Hamilton started on yellow tires and switched to red tires. One of them went through a sandstorm and the other had a tire blowout. One changed the front wing and the other also changed tires in 10.5 seconds.

The positions after the start were actually about the same, but now, after seven laps in clean air, Hamilton's lead over Magnussen has increased from 3 seconds to a full 14 seconds.

Haas was definitely not slow this time. In fact, Magnussen and Hamilton were only 0.17 seconds apart in qualifying, which already shows the advantage of red tires over yellow tires in terms of lap time in the race.

Entering the pits early isn't necessarily a bad thing. Everyone needs to pit eventually. Hamilton might even benefit from this misfortune, getting at least 10 laps of clean air for free. After the first round of pit stops, he should be able to get close to Zhou Guanyu.

The only problem is that because a set of tires was wasted, the pressure to maintain the tires may be greater in the later stages of the race.

Shu Long had fewer concerns in this regard. The reason he entered the pits early was to force the cars ahead to disrupt their original pit stop plans and completely muddy the waters of the championship contenders.

As the pressure on them from the undercut increases, they might eventually be forced by Shulong to implement the three-stop tactic.

As a result, the first person to run into trouble under pressure was Verstappen from Red Bull's own camp.

On the ninth lap after Shu Long exited the pits, at the exact same Turn 4 position as Sainz, the difference was that Sainz had too much speed into the corner due to the tailwind, causing him to drift, while Verstappen had too much speed and couldn't enter the corner at all, also plunging headfirst into the gravel run-off area.

Fortunately, thanks to his nearly seven-second lead over Russell in the earlier laps, Verstappen's off-road adventure only resulted in a one-place drop.

Unfortunately, Verstappen's tail fin also has a similar problem to the Dragon's.

The ditch put Verstappen 1.3 seconds behind Russell, and he closed the gap to within 1 second after two laps, but he couldn't overtake Russell until lap 13.

Red Bull's absolute lap time is fast, but not fast enough to outpace Mercedes without relying on DRS.

On lap 14, Verstappen, having had enough, asked his team for a pit stop. Russell, who was ahead of him, also pitted, but after exiting the pit, he was still ahead of Verstappen and failed to overtake him until lap 23.

Both of them chose yellow tires for their second stint, which are inherently slower.

Verstappen's DRS success rate was only about 40%, and he was stuck by a slower Mercedes that just wouldn't get through, making him even slower!
But now, with the new red Shulong on, after 15 laps of controlled, conservative sprinting, he is now 1.5 seconds behind Verstappen.

(End of this chapter)