F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 249 Barefoot Immortal
On lap 23, in the DRS area before turn 10, Verstappen's variable rear wing system finally functioned properly, sucking in a tail fin with a pull towards the outside of the track for an attempt.

It was a little short.

The DRS only reluctantly kicked off halfway through the starting straight, and Red Bull's number one car hadn't yet built up a sufficient advantage.

Following another vehicle in such hot weather is no easy task.

Because the slower cars in the bottom group at the back of the pack generally made their first pit stops between laps 10 and 12, Shulong was able to push with peace of mind for a long time after making its early pit stop, thanks to the relatively clean air.

Even so, the high temperature on the track put a heavy load on the car's cooling system, causing the program to issue warnings several times. It's easy to imagine how difficult it was for someone like Verstappen, who was constantly following closely behind looking for an opportunity.

Turn 10 is the slowest hairpin bend on the entire track. Russell firmly took the defensive center line here, which could simultaneously block the possibility of cars behind him cutting inside and cars on the outside crossing the line.

The only risk is that the outer line is relatively wide and there is no gravel buffer zone. Instead, there is a large area of ​​rough asphalt painted with colored paint. It is possible that Verstappen could ride his car out of the white line to use the lane and briefly take advantage of the stronger grip outside the line to overtake.

However, things are a bit different now. Turn 10 is oriented with a strong tailwind and the terrain has a slight downhill slope. For Verstappen, who has already gone off the track once, the risk of braking late on the outside is just too high.

So Russell made the right bet.

Verstappen's initial move from the outside was actually a ploy to trick Mercedes into braking late, allowing him to comfortably brake early and maneuver around the crossroads.

There's not much to say now. As the two cars became entangled in the bend, Shu Long, who was originally 1.5 seconds behind, braked and squeezed into the DRS range of both cars.

It's a little train again.

Shu Long hadn't originally planned to put it on so early; his red tires, now at nearly 15 laps, are actually quite old.

Although he switched to a brand new set of red tires that he had never used before, his decision to pit on lap 9 was ultimately a bit too early.

The original plan was to manage the tires a few more times to try and extend the lap distance of this second stint, reducing the burden of tire maintenance for the upcoming races. Now, this defensive play has forced him to follow behind and suffer the consequences.

Verstappen's mistake on lap 9 and his inability to get past Russell ultimately disrupted Shu Long's plans.

The reason he switched to red tires so early was that he hoped to seize this second stint to advance his position to P3.

Now things are really messed up. It seems that Shulong either has to enter the station now to avoid it, or he can only force himself to continue following behind and wasting time.

I'm really having trouble deciding which one to choose.
Is it feasible for me to enter the station now?

"Pfft, now?!"

Rennie was drinking a green can of Red Bull in Martin colors when Shulong's sudden request to enter the station almost choked him to death.

Looking up at the real-time location on the data wall, we saw that the track only has 16 turns. This brat had already driven to turn 14 before asking us, "Why didn't you drive into the pit lane first and then confirm with us?"

"Now or on the next lap."

"No, no, no, we don't have time for this lap! And your pit stop is way too early. The remaining 42 laps will put a lot of pressure on the tires. Do you want to go on white tires?"

"I"

Shu Long was just about to ask if any brave riders had tried the white tires that had performed terribly in practice, but on his lap, while he was scraping the DRS on the starting straight, Verstappen in front of him finally managed to deploy his rear wing twice in a row.

The attack and defense before Turn 10 allowed Russell to hold his position, but it also further narrowed the gap between him and Verstappen.

This time it seems like there's a real chance!
Even the TR was not turned off. Shu Long hurriedly caught the taillights of the car in front and followed the rhythm, hoping to take advantage of this momentum to take down Mercedes together.

As long as Red Bull's cars don't cause any trouble, a Mercedes isn't a particularly troublesome opponent for them.

The problem is that Red Bull's car has been inconsistent in this race. If Russell catches up with Verstappen, the situation will not be significantly different for Shulong.

Faced with the aggressive Verstappen, Russell's first reaction was to move into the paint to defend.

Turns 1 and 2 at the Circuit de Catalunya are a relatively high-speed chicane combination. Cutting inside to defend is a fairly standard option. Even if the attacking team manages to overtake on the outside of Turn 1, you can use the advantage of the entry angle of Turn 2 to seek a counter-offensive opportunity on the exit.

Russell had barely moved closer to the paint when he saw Verstappen already attacking the paint before him, his determination so great it seemed he wouldn't hesitate to even get a bit of grass on the ground.

As Verstappen turned his head towards the inside, a lurking dragon was watching intently in the left rearview mirror, ready to pounce.
No!

Red Bull's top speed with DRS is terrifying; at this rate, they might lose two places!

After only a moment's hesitation, Russell turned back towards the outside of the track before entering the braking zone, preparing to block the possibility of Shulong's attack and keep the loss within an acceptable range.

It seems to be working. Both lanes were completely blocked by the car in front, and Shulong couldn't find any space to break through. Instead, he moved to the center line to see if there was any gap he could squeeze through.

With the defensive pressure on one of the fronts reduced, Russell's determination to continue competing with Verstappen for his position has been strengthened once again.

Russell's strong late braking on the outside allowed him to rejoin Verstappen and, taking advantage of the outside's ability to maintain higher cornering speed, squeezed into the apex of Turn 2 first.

Verstappen, on the other hand, was pushed too far ahead by Russell before the turn, resulting in an overly narrow angle when entering Turn 1, which made his cornering speed maintenance a complete mess.

However, after a year of wits and courage with the old man, Verstappen is no longer simply the same tower cannon he once was.

When he realized the predicament he was in while overtaking, he immediately changed his offensive strategy. After a wide maneuver to put Russell ahead, he turned around and started to try to cross the line in Turn 2.

Russell was in the same predicament as Verstappen earlier. He had taken in too much speed on the outside of Turn 1, which is the inside of Turn 2, making his entry angle too tight. He had to choose an "inside-inside-outside" line to straighten his acceleration as much as possible.

This gave Verstappen room to cut into the crossroads, but he was instead squeezed to the side by Red Bull and pushed all the way off the track.

What a thrilling battle!
Following behind, Shu Long gently pressed his sharp canines against the tip of his tongue. The slight stinging pain actually made him more focused. Adrenaline was pumped throughout his body by his excited emotions, and it was as if even the flow of time in his eyes had slowed down.

His slightly earlier braking timing before Turn 1 allowed him to avoid the chaos caused by the two cars battling ahead, maintaining a very comfortable cornering rhythm throughout the combination corner.

Both cars are desperately trying to get closer to the outside line, so what else could the inside line be but their own?

Pull outwards, then cut in!
Although the timing of its intervention as a third party was slightly late, compared to the two slow turtles that had compromised on their exit and entry lines, Shulong, with its perfect cornering traction control, managed to take the lead and quickly move up to form a three-car line.

Verstappen, sandwiched between two slices of bread and filled with cheese, suddenly felt a little desperate.

This was an opportunity he had been waiting for after more than ten laps of hard work. The next turn, Turn 3, was a very high-speed right turn. Russell on the inside had the advantage of a shorter line, while Shulong on the outside had the advantage of an earlier full-throttle start and a higher cornering speed.

What does he have?

He has the right to choose, the right to choose to join forces with one side to suppress the other.

The track is so narrow that Russell on the inside has one tire almost touching the grass, while Shulong on the outside is almost at the limit of their tires rubbing against each other. Deciding who to suppress has become a world-class dilemma.

Um?and many more!

tire?

Everyone started with red tires. Verstappen originally thought his teammate was also the second Stint to pit and switch to yellow tires, but he only noticed now that the car was actually equipped with a set of red tires.

We're not even using the same tactics, so why the hell are you fighting me so hard?!

Verstappen was about to curse, but his quick observation helped him make up his mind, and he turned to continue squeezing Russell's driving space inside the paint.

Since that's the case, then Shulong didn't hold back and decisively accelerated at full throttle on the outside, completing a textbook-perfect one-two pass in the corner.

Renee was already experiencing tinnitus from the deafening wind noise from the forgotten TR, but he still immediately offered his emotional value.

"Well done, buddy! Shall we proceed into the station now?"

"I think we have a few more laps to consider now. Is anyone on the track opting for white tires?"

"No, at least from what I've observed, there isn't any, and I haven't received any information that any team is preparing to switch to white tires."

Normally, this is how it should be. Shu Long, who successfully and temporarily reached P2, didn't forget to mute TR's microphone, but he couldn't relax at all.

Let's just put it that way.

Due to the extremely high temperatures at the Circuit de Catalunya this week, even though Pirelli has officially announced the three hardest tire compounds, C1 to C3, none of them are truly durable.

Red tires are undoubtedly the softest, but because they allow the tires to reach a high grip state more easily, using gentle tire-preserving driving over long distances can actually extend tire life to some extent while maintaining lap times.

The yellow neutral tires performed best overall this week, while the white tires were just a pile of poop.

The stiffer formula did not make it more heat-resistant. On the contrary, because the downforce of racing cars has been reduced under the new regulations this year, it is easy for it to peel and flake off with even a little more slippage.

Overall, red tires are recommended for Stints for 12-16 laps, while yellow tires are recommended for slightly more. Ideally, they can maintain performance for about 20-25 laps. White tires have a similar wear life to yellow tires, but are more than a second slower per lap.

Anyway, whoever wants to use it can use it. Shulong would rather consider a three-stop system than put on a set of white tires and torture himself.

With 42 laps remaining in the race, Leclerc comfortably started his second yellow-tire stint after pitting on lap 21, already leading Shu Long and his small group by almost ten seconds in the clean air.

It seems unlikely that Shulong will win the championship in this competition, so his direct competitor has become his own teammate.

The next crucial step is figuring out how to allocate subsequent tire tactics.

The two are now in a somewhat awkward position. On the surface, Shulong is in front of Verstappen, but he is actually more passive in terms of tire selection.

Verstappen could have easily maintained the tire by running two stops, and so could Shulong, but the red-red-yellow strategy is definitely not as advantageous as the red-yellow-yellow strategy.

If Shu Long pits now, his yellow card definitely won't last the remaining 42 laps, which will add another pit stop to his schedule. In other words, his actual position on the track is currently behind his teammates.

Given Red Bull's current strategy of blurring boundaries, Shu Long dares not have any additional expectations for the team.

The strategy still needs to be devised by ourselves; the tire changers just need to ensure that there are no mishaps when entering the station.

what--!
Even after we've driven a Mars rover, it's still so brain-taxing!

If it weren't for the helmet on his head, Shu Long would have wanted to scratch his scalp off. Can't we have more races like the last one in Miami where we can clear our minds and fully immerse ourselves in driving?
Finally, on lap 26, Shu Long asked the team for his second pit stop.

Because the temperature was higher today than during the practice sessions the previous two days, Shulong, who had never used yellow tires before, was unsure how this compound would perform.

However, there are still 40 laps left in the pit stop race. Even if a three-stop pit stop is required, it will leave enough room for Shulong to maneuver. Any later and it will be too much of a strain on both the red and yellow tires.

As a result, on the very next lap after his pit stop, Leclerc, who had been leading effortlessly at the front, suddenly groaned in pain in the pit lane.
"No! Nonono! What on earth happened?"

Ferrari's only response was silence, because they didn't know what trouble Leclerc had encountered; the telemetry data showed that Leclerc's car had suddenly lost a significant amount of power.

When Reni delivered the message, Shulong's first reaction was one of bewilderment.

It seems like every time I pit today, the cars in front of me manage to cause some kind of accident. Looks like I'll have to pit again later. Maybe my teammate will automatically shut down after the tire change.
Whether it was sensing Shulong's thoughts or not, René soon brought a second piece of news that left Shulong even more bewildered: Verstappen also made it in on lap 31, and he was still wearing a set of red tires.
What's the situation?
Shu Long certainly wouldn't be mistaken about the crucial information on the track: Verstappen switched to yellow tires on lap 13, and he's only run 15 laps so far. Could it be that the long following distance earlier caused the tire wear to exceed expectations?
Shu Long could only guess at this possibility, and a sense of foreboding crept into his heart. To be honest, he would have preferred his teammates to choose not to go in, to just push through and make a two-stop run to avoid a run.

In this way, he can still hope to find more possibilities in the differences between the two strategies, but if Verstappen wants to adopt a more aggressive three-stop strategy, then the second set of reds, which has hardly made any progress, will fall into a considerable disadvantage.

This doesn't mean that his initial strategy was flawed.

In this race, Shulong was already 8 positions behind his teammates at the start, and some disadvantages were unavoidable from the moment the race began.

If Shu Long hadn't set his goals too high, his two consecutive variations on red tires could actually be considered a great success. Even if he wanted to ask for more from his fellow Mars rover, the chemical and physical properties of the tires themselves wouldn't allow it.
It's all the fault of the fourth brother!

If his withdrawal hadn't turned the match into a battle for the championship, Verstappen might not have suddenly gained the courage to go all in and fight Shu Long head-on for three stops.

Fortunately, Verstappen's tires weren't exactly clean after the tire change.

Shulong dropped from P1 to P3 after leaving the station, and soon after, he passed Bottas, who inexplicably appeared in such a high position, and moved up to P2, while Verstappen's position dropped to P5.

As long as the group of cars in the middle doesn't pit, the speed of the red-tire cars chasing Shulong will be severely hampered, and they shouldn't be threatened with overtaking for a while.

However, the brief respite lasted only until lap 33, when the small group from Bottas all the way to Norris stopped for the second time.

Verstappen, with his red tires at their peak performance, sped toward the dragon ahead at a speed of almost 0.8 seconds per lap, and by the 37th lap, he had brought the dragon back into his hunting ground.

You better still have problems with that DRS system in the trench!
It seems the problem is still there. Just like the script between Verstappen and Russell at the beginning of the game, Verstappen was able to quickly close the distance to the car in front of him thanks to his tire speed advantage in the clean air, but the unreliable DRS system made it not too difficult for Shulong to defend.

The stalemate continued until lap 39, when Verstappen's patience finally ran out, and he turned on his TR and started sputtering out censored words.

"What do you think I'm doing here?! We're just wasting our time! Aren't we just going to leave Russell alone?"

Russell didn't pit until lap 36, meaning he had plenty of time to employ a two-stop strategy, one less than both Red Bulls, in the remainder of the race. If either of them continued to waste time here, only Mercedes would benefit.

The team seemed to agree with Verstappen's logic. After a brief discussion, Reni, with a slightly apprehensive heart, pressed the call button with Shulong.

“Sorry, buddy, let’s see if we can find an opportunity to let Max through. We’re in completely different situations, there’s no need to start a fight right now.”

Where am I now?

"Uh, P1."

"You know that, yet you still ask? I'm competing too! Let him surpass me himself!"

Is this allowed?

They won't even give an inch!
Shulong had already run 13 laps on his yellow tires, and he roughly understood why Verstappen chose to challenge him with a three-stop test, because the wear rate of this tire compound was also quite alarming.

He might be able to hold on for about 20 laps, but if he forces himself to run two stops, he'll just be waiting to die. In other words, Shu Long will inevitably have to stop again after this.

It's all just talk about different tactics. Who knows how much time advantage Verstappen can gain by putting him in clean air? By then, Shulong, which is already at a disadvantage in tire mileage, might not be able to catch up at all!
The underlying logic is right here, so Shulong's actions on the track are naturally quite ruthless.

Having been almost invisible throughout the previous Miami Grand Prix, Shu Long now seems determined to make up for lost exposure, drawing over 80% of the broadcast cameras to himself and Verstappen.

"Oh dear~ the convoy asked Shulong to give way, but he seemed very reluctant."

"Nonsense, I wouldn't want to either! Why should I just give up the P1 that I fought so hard for?"

"Now it depends on how many laps Shulong can hold off. If he can wear down Verstappen's red tires, then the race should be fine."

That's right, that's exactly what Shulong is planning now.

Red tires are inherently a high-risk, high-reward choice. As long as he can shorten Verstappen's red tire lifespan as much as possible here, he can bring the two of them back to the same starting line.

But Verstappen clearly doesn't think so.

Switching to red tires means you have to race, and the car's malfunction, coupled with his teammates' constant obstruction, had already infuriated him.

Finally, on the starting straight of lap 41, the "Mad Max," who had finally gotten a normal DRS, once again showed his true colors as a turret-type car.

Seeing that Shulong had moved into the defensive line, he immediately prepared to take advantage of the slightly better grip of the red tires compared to the yellow tires and made a very late stop on the outside.

Last year, Shu Long was the one who joined halfway through the season, "barefoot," but now Verstappen is the one who's not wearing shoes. He wants to see who cares more about those 25 points!
Just like Verstappen did to Russell in lap 24, Shu Long, who was in the paint and came to the defensive line, was also preparing to make a move around the cross line.

Verstappen must have learned a lot from his less-than-successful overtaking maneuver. From the beginning, he didn't intend to compete head-on with Shulong out of the corner. Instead, he controlled the throttle opening to keep himself parallel to Shulong while constantly squeezing his teammate's driving line to the outside.

Are you taking advantage of me?
Verstappen's ultimate goal is to win the championship. There's no point in fighting his teammates to the bitter end here. He blocked Shulong's path and refused to give an inch. After blocking him again, he accelerated, widened the angle, and plunged into the No. 3 high-speed hairpin turn.

However, the reaction speed, which is theoretically the limit of human ability, meant that Shulong did not fall into the starting trap set by Verstappen at all. To the naked eye, the two cars started accelerating almost simultaneously.

With its shorter inner line and signature mid-curve discharge, it quickly closes the distance and takes a deep breath of the wake inside the line on the short straightaway.

With a slightly delayed brake, Shulong quickly downshifted to 4th gear, taking the lead and grabbing the apex of the corner. He planned to gradually open the corner angle to ensure he didn't lose too much speed.

The reason they still "planned" was because Verstappen was blocking the shot on the outside!
Before this hairpin bend, which he had already crossed once, Verstappen did not consider temporarily giving up his lead and taking the crossover to find another way out. Instead, he planned to use the high cornering speed on the outside to forcefully hold onto his position.

They're all hooked.

Shu Long was also seething with anger.

Seeing Verstappen peeking out from the side and relentlessly closing in on him, he stubbornly held onto the line, refusing to back down. He even subtly added some push to his wheel, slowly pushing towards the outside.

Anyway, this is Shulong's attitude now: I've lost control of the situation. You either have to give in to me, or we'll both back out!

Mick felt really angry.
Then—"Bang!"

"A collision! A long-awaited internal conflict between two Red Bull team drivers!"

For some reason, the commentators' tone, besides gloating, also carried a hint of nostalgia.

This is what Red Bull should be like in everyone's mind!
Previously, due to the vast gap in ability between successive drivers and Verstappen, fans and commentators had almost forgotten what Red Bull's style was like.

From Vettel and Webber to Ricciardo and Verstappen, every Red Bull driver earned their number one spot through their own performance on the track!

If everyone's so polite and courteous on the track every day, is that still Red Bull?
The two cars started spinning on the track almost simultaneously and slid into the gravel buffer zone next to the track.

But neither of them clearly intended to give up the match.

Shulong, who was already in a relatively shallow rut, was the first to bounce back onto the track, but now he not only has a flat left front tire, but his front wing has also been damaged.

Verstappen was a bit slower to get out of the predicament, but apart from a small hole in the side box, there was no other damage that would significantly affect his movement.

Verstappen was the one who made his pit stop first. After changing into his second set of new yellow gear, he put on some super glue on his side cases to make do. After leaving the pit, he dropped to P7.

The situation in Shulong was a bit more complicated. It took a lot of effort to drive back to the maintenance area with a limp, and then it took another half a day to get out of the station and land directly at P13.

Because the collision between the two triggered a yellow flag, Verstappen's initial getting stuck actually helped them minimize the damage.

With 24 laps left in the race, as long as the car can still move, Shu Long feels that this result is acceptable.

If Leclerc were still on the court, he might have had more to consider, but now that Leclerc has gone back to the pits to rest, he feels he can afford to gamble on a mere 25 points!
The most rational approach is of course to avoid collisions, but rationality alone is not enough on the field.

As long as Red Bull's cars don't break down, it's easy to imagine that there will be no shortage of similar battles in the future. If you give way once at a crucial moment, you'll do it again. Once you've lost your fighting spirit, what's the point of racing anymore?

So what if you're barefoot?

That's like saying everyone has to walk barefoot through broken glass a few years ago!
Horner, feeling a headache coming on, disconnected the team's communication and, rubbing his temples, turned to Marco to discuss the matter.

"When was the last time I saw something like this? I think it was in Baku in 18?"

"Yes, it was a long time ago. I actually miss that feeling."

Horner was speechless at Marco's eccentricities.

Last year, the old man was counting on Max to win the world championship. This year, seeing Shulong's momentum growing, he hopes to see another treasure he has placed high hopes on prove his judgment once again.

The old man even thought it would be better if they fought!

In motorsports, rivals are far more valuable than best friends. If you can have a rival like James Hunter, who is both a friend and a rival, to constantly motivate you, it would be a great thing for anyone.

“But there was no budget cap back then. The gap between us and Ferrari is very small now, and we can’t afford a few unnecessary car damages.”

"In my opinion, it would be putting the cart before the horse to suppress the drivers' competitive spirit just because of something as trivial as budget!"

Well, the old man couldn't communicate at all; the two of them weren't even on the same wavelength.

In the final twenty-odd laps of the race, the team's TR was unusually quiet, with Shu Long and Verstappen pushing forward with their heads down, trying their best to make up for their points losses.

Thanks to the significant advantage they had built up earlier, as the cars ahead began to pit for three stops between laps 48 and 53, Shulong and Verstappen quickly regained a large number of positions.

In the final stages of the race, Verstappen's inconsistent DRS allowed Hamilton to slip up and lock him down, leaving Verstappen in P4.

Russell reaped the biggest benefits of the season, practically getting a race win for free, while the most unexpected thing was that the Mercedes, which was criticized for having zero sidewalls, actually achieved two podium finishes.

Shu Long withstood Norris's offensive in P6, who was employing a red-yellow-red-red tactic, but was penalized with an additional 10 seconds and two points deducted from his super license because the FIA ​​determined that he was primarily responsible for the collision. He was immediately demoted to P9, behind Alonso.

Is it a loss?

That would definitely result in a loss.

Going from 25 points to 2 points means the loss in points and bonuses alone is enough to buy several Porsches, not to mention that you've lost a championship.

But Shu Long felt it was worth it; the season had only just begun, and such a small loss was completely within a manageable range.

The key is to imprint your attitude on the track into your teammates' minds.

After climbing out of the race car, Shu Long hadn't even figured out what kind of expression he should make when he took off his helmet, when Alonso patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the corner of the weigh-in area as if he had something to say.

This man, a heavyweight in the infighting within the racing team in his youth, possesses an experience so rich that he truly deserves the nickname "living fossil of the paddock."

However, Alonso didn't come to share his life experience with Shulong this time. Instead, he came to Shulong's place to make an appointment in preparation for arguing with him later.

It's obvious to anyone that once the awards ceremony is over, Pao Dad will probably use this as an excuse to make a fuss again.
(End of this chapter)