F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 253 Home Field vs. "Home Field"

The results of the qualifying rounds were finalized.

Leclerc is ranked P1, Shulong is ranked P2, Sainz and Verstappen are ranked P3 and P4 respectively.

There is no such thing as a second lap opportunity, or rather, for the Red Bull team, which started late to prepare for a clean window, there is no second lap opportunity.

As Ocon, Sainz, and the two Mercedes cars crossed the finish line one after another, Leclerc recorded two green-purple streaks and Shulong recorded one purple streak, while Alonso unfortunately crashed into the wall at Turn 5 before the Hotel Corner.

Not only were Verstappen and Norris' laps invalidated, but Shulong, who was trapped in the second time division, also had his lap cancelled due to the yellow flags in the first and second time divisions. Only Leclerc, who had entered the third time division, escaped.

However, Leclerc instinctively held back his kick when he heard the yellow flag, which prevented him from setting his fastest lap time in the final three segments of green, purple, and yellow.

Q3 has less than 30 seconds left.

Even if the race organizers didn't issue a red flag because they thought it wouldn't affect the race's progress, there wouldn't have been enough time for the cars that had their races interrupted to start another round of racing, and the final rankings would naturally remain unchanged.

In fact, not everyone was affected by the yellow flag. For example, Sainz, the only lucky one among the four Ferrari and Red Bull cars, improved his time by a full 0.13 seconds in the second flight lap, but was still 0.049 seconds behind and still failed to complete the overtake of the dragon position.

"Ah—what a pity! If Shulong could have gotten purple in the first section, I feel he actually had a chance to compete for pole position!"

"But there's really nothing we can do about it. Luck is always part of the game."

It's really a pity.

The gap between Shulong and Ferrari in the first timeout was not large. In the entire timeout, only Turn 1 could be considered a low-to-medium speed corner. The other high-speed corners were actually Red Bull's advantage.

René also encouraged his riders in the same way when he pitted in Shulong to change tires.

As long as there isn't a minor mistake like at Turn 1 on the previous lap, Shulong's speed here could even make up for some of Red Bull's disadvantage in the second timeout.

As for the second time slot, forget about it. The limitations of the car are there. Not to mention Leclerc, even Sainz's time on the last lap probably can't beat Shulong.

But the dragon's stunt in the third time slot was really too fast!

Even though Red Bull has fallen behind in this battle for pole position, the fastest time in this section is still below Shu Long's name. If the miracle of the last lap can be repeated, it is really unknown who will take the final pole position.

The team seemed to accept reality even faster than the commentators; the camera had already captured Marco shaking hands with Shu Long's father, and he appeared quite satisfied with the result.

Sainz's performance on his last lap clearly demonstrates Ferrari's significant advantage in Monaco; Red Bull almost started in the second row tomorrow.
Logically speaking, Monaco used to be Red Bull's advantageous track under the aerodynamic rules. At that time, Red Bull's mechanical grip in low-speed corners was definitely among the best in the paddock, which is why Ricciardo was able to achieve unexpected victories during Mercedes' reign.

However, the team's overhaul of the entire suspension system under the ground effect regulations has eliminated all of these advantages. Achieving the current result is not only unsatisfactory but even somewhat beyond expectations.

The interviews with the top three finishers after the qualifying rounds were also very interesting.

Shu Long was overjoyed to have won P2 and was full of anticipation for the main competition the next day.

On the contrary, Leclerc, who secured pole position, was generally happy, as two consecutive shots on home soil is indeed a remarkable achievement for him, but there was still a lingering sense of melancholy in his eyes.

Locals don't seem to have much luck in their own country, and the weather on the second day is too complicated, which could bring more uncertainty to the match.

As for the Ferrari team to which Leclerc belongs, while they are not entirely incapable of adapting to uncertainties, they certainly never disappoint the loyal fans of the Prancing Horse.

In all senses
Monaco is indeed a typical example of a track where qualifying results determine race results, but that doesn't mean that the cars behind have absolutely no hope of a comeback.

For example, the stable response and starting capability of the Shulong.

Monaco's starting grid layout has a very rebellious feature: despite Turn 1 being a right turn, the starting grid for pole position is actually located on the dirty side of the right inner line of the track.

On the contrary, Shulong, who starts at P2, will have the opportunity to start from the racing line with better grip.

For example, on Sunday, the day of the main competition, a heavy rain arrived as expected.

Strictly speaking, this cannot be considered an advantageous condition for Shulong.

Firstly, the grip advantage of a clean start is lost, and it may even become more slippery due to the increased tire rubber adhesion on the racing line.

Secondly, the organizers seem to think that using a static start is too risky in such weather and track conditions. The first lap, a warm-up lap, will be conducted under the guidance of the safety car, which is clearly a signal that the race will switch to a dynamic start.

What situation is this?
Could it be that Leclerc's years of home bad luck have finally accumulated enough good karma for him, which is now erupting in this year's tournament?
P2 didn't have many advantages to begin with, and a series of bad news undoubtedly made Shulong's chances of turning things around even slimmer. The only thing they could pray for was that the race organizers would keep postponing the start time for safety reasons. It would be even better if they could wait until they could start directly on semi-wet tires.

The match was indeed postponed several times, and the real-time weather forecast also changed several times.

The rain may continue on the track, then it may stop completely soon, and then the rain may turn into heavy rain in 9 minutes.

The mechanics of the train crew made three or four trips back and forth with trolleys carrying tires of different compounds.

They switched from full wet tires to partial wet tires, and then from partial wet tires to dry tires. In the end, they started playing mind games, each trying to guess what color tire the other's was wrapped in an insulated blanket. But they never received the instruction to restart the race.

In the end, there was no need to guess anymore. As predicted in the last round of forecasts, the rain intensified. At this time, daring to wear half-rain tires would be a pure disrespect for the physical phenomena, and dry tires were even more out of the question.

Sure enough, after the start procedure was delayed by a full 20 minutes, all the teams removed the blankets covering their tires, revealing a uniform array of blue all-weather tires.

At 15:21 in the afternoon, the organizers issued a notice that preparations for the competition would begin.

The safety car was ready ahead of the Leclerc and Shulong. As soon as the green light came on, everyone had to obediently follow the car in front into the tire warm-up preparation circle.

Whether it was the Ferrari in front or the Mercedes safety car even further ahead, everyone was driving very, very, very slowly!
The rain was getting heavier.

As soon as the speed increases even slightly, Shulong will be subject to a double blockage of vision from the rain and the water curtain created by the ground effect. However, he can still vaguely observe that the Leclerc in front of him often shows obvious skidding of the rear end when the throttle is pressed too hard.

Restarting the game in this way seems like a good idea?
If there hadn't been a safety car blocking the way, there would have been at least four or five opportunities to climb over the car in front during that round trip.

But anyone who knows even a little about the FIA’s practices in recent years knows that the reason why fantasy is just fantasy is because the probability of it happening is infinitely close to zero.

Shulong was well aware of how slippery the ground was.

Calling it a battle in the rain is an understatement; it's practically sailing a boat!
as predicted.

After the first lap of warm-up, the race did not start. Instead, Uncle Melander led the team on another lap. The heavier rain meant that the race could not be restarted under these conditions, and the teams were finally notified to drive into the pit area.

red flag.

Moreover, it was a red flag event that lasted for an exceptionally long time. Shu Long idly chatted with his family in the P room for a while, used up his daily active stamina, and ate about 300 grams of chicken and rice in between. It wasn't until after 4:00 PM that he finally received the notification that the tournament was about to start.

Actually, the rain had almost stopped twenty minutes ago, but the FIA ​​was delayed until now because the movement of a rain cloud was still unclear.

At this point, most of the track surface no longer showed any obvious signs of water accumulation, and the team began to debate whether they should switch to semi-weather tires and restart the race.

Judging solely from visual observation of the track surface, such track conditions typically allow for the use of semi-wet tires. The powerful drainage capabilities of F1 cars can quickly clear a clean racing line, and barring further rain, semi-wet tires will inevitably dominate the race. If the gamble is correct, it could save the time of a pit stop, making a comeback victory in Monaco entirely possible.

However, due to the heavy rainfall that lasted for more than an hour, the temperature on the track surface had dropped below 20°C. After discussion, the team decided that full wet tires would be a safer option.

The restart procedure remains the same: rolling starts led by the safety car. Falling behind or even losing a position due to failing to raise tire temperature to the appropriate working window in time would truly be a net loss.

Under the current rules, the maximum duration of the race is only three hours. The first lap led by the safety car after its pit stop is already counted in the race distance. As the safety car is about to pass the pit lane entrance for the second time, many people have already started to think about using strategy differences.

There's Perez, there's Stroll, there's Gasly.

Before the safety car began leading the second lap, they all chose to pit and change to green semi-wet tires, preparing to take advantage of the clean air window brought by the early pit stop to improve their position on the track without much effort.

To summarize the characteristics of these drivers, most of them are quite confident in their abilities, and they were unable to perform to their full potential in yesterday's qualifying session for various reasons.

Including young master Strohl.

As a driver who, like Verstappen, announced his direct jump from F3 to F1 before he was even an adult, it cannot be denied that his success was inseparable from the extravagant support of his wealthy father. However, his impressive record of reaching the podium in his 8th race in his debut year clearly cannot be simply summarized by the word "rich".

It cannot be denied that he is indeed very talented, and as one of the richest second-generation in the paddock, Stroll is not lacking in effort and determination.

At the same time, as one of the few people with the lowest presence in the paddock, many people can only remember the famous moments when the young master acted recklessly, but they always habitually overlook the fact that he is actually a driver who is very good at racing in the rain.

In 19, at Hockenheim, Germany, Stroll was one of the very few drivers who dared to use the dry tire strategy with the track not being completely dry.

He even achieved quite remarkable results in the end, almost managing to snag a spot on the podium. Although the final result was slightly disappointing, it did not diminish the fact that the young master's lap times and consistency throughout the race were outstanding.

As for Perez and Gasly...

One of them is extremely adaptable to street racing, while the other can be considered a weaker version of Red Bull's two current star drivers, a more versatile and versatile player.

However, yesterday's qualifying session was affected by negative factors such as car performance and traffic conditions. Despite demonstrating competitiveness that was no less than that of the two Alpine cars in practice, they all failed to qualify in Q1, just like Zhou Guanyu.

During the pre-race driver parade today, while Shu Long prayed that the rain would not have a greater impact on the race, several of them also clearly expressed to reporters their hope that the main race could turn into a rain-soaked battle.

The race in Monte Carlo was so difficult to overtake that the only hope for them to escape this shameful ranking was the unpredictable rain during the race.

Based on the driving experience of the first lap of the race led by the safety car, any driver with a slightly clear sense of the road and the car unanimously agreed that the current track met the conditions for racing on semi-wet tires.

This naturally includes the P2 dragon.

The track's grip conditions may have been sufficient for using half-wet tires, but the wetness of the asphalt surface was actually quite deceptive from the outside. When Leclerc accelerated at full speed after the safety car's roof lights went out on the second lap, the spray of water still severely limited the visibility in front of Shulong.

"Why not? Staying stuck here is just a waste of time. We need to try to make a change!"

"Take it easy. We need to determine the lap times on the semi-wet tires first. Until then, the team thinks it's more important for you to maintain your current position."

"Yes, by the time you all come to this conclusion, you've already lost the opportunity to gain a decisive advantage."

Shu Long was clearly dissatisfied with the team's overly conservative strategy. His goal in this race was to win the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the three jewels of motorsport. If he was indecisive and dared not take any risks, where would he find such a slim chance of winning?
"I don't care, I want to get into the station!"

Red Bull was thrown into a state of panic at the Pit Wall. Given the previous experience in Spain, the strategy team suspected that Shulong might not really have the guts to just walk in.

Horner quickly signaled to Whitley to get the tire changers ready, while turning on the TR to try and calm Shulong down.

"This is Christian. Do you remember what we discussed on the plane before we came here?"

Shu Long didn't reply, but made a feint at the entrance to the pit lane, then followed closely behind the Leclerc's wake, and only pressed the call button on the steering wheel after passing Turn 1.

"I can remember about 70% of it."

This capricious answer almost made Horner choke on his breath, and he immediately felt an urge to throw down his headphones and quit.

Due to the limited space in Monaco, the pit wall workstation, which coordinates the headquarters strategy center, the on-site data analysis department, and the drivers on the track, is not located outside the pit lane like on other tracks, but is set up in a small room on the second floor of the pit garage.

I just vaguely felt that the noise from the jackhammer downstairs seemed a bit far away. Even if I really need to change the tire, I hope they won't do anything weird.
After thinking it over, Horner, still somewhat uneasy, stood up and looked down through the window to make sure.

Without the dragon-binding vehicle, the kid hadn't even come in yet. The bewildered crew, under Whitley's command, carried the tire back to the pit garage and were now busy helping these round, fat guys put their clothes back on.

Reni pointed to Horner's car, which was still speeding along the track, which made the team's leader breathe a sigh of relief.

But the sound of the blasting cannon downstairs isn't fake either. Who came in again?
Horner was wondering when he saw a yellow Ferrari with a T-shaped frame drive past his house.
"Son of—! This little bastard tricked Carlos into coming here?!"

What a coincidence! Sainz's lines in TR are at least 70% similar to Horner's.

Monaco's pit lane is on the right-hand side just after Turn 18, at a slightly tricky angle, especially on a wet surface. Most people wouldn't expect someone to choose this spot to perform a fake maneuver.

Furthermore, the next turn, Turn 19, is a narrow corner that demands a very precise entry angle and is crucial for acceleration efficiency on the subsequent straight. Feinting here is not only extremely risky but also purely detrimental to both the driver and the team.

As a result, Shulong did just that.

Without that madman's absolute confidence in controlling the car on the wet track, Sainz, who was only reacting passively, didn't have time to change lanes and could only try to find an opportunity on the wet tires.

From the moment Shu Long started clamoring for a pit stop and switching to half-rain, Ferrari kept relaying the information to the two drivers on the team. The final conclusion was to have Leclerc hold his position first, and then send Sainz to follow up on Shu Long's strategy.

It's all for nothing now; it's like they just gave Verstappen a free pass to P3.

Red Bull's chief strategy engineer for this race was Hannah Schmitz, who was in charge of finalizing the team's strategy. There was a reason why this outstanding woman, who was trusted by both drivers, insisted on keeping Shu Long on the track.

The first to be affected are the drivers who have switched to semi-weather tires. In addition to the advantages mentioned above, another common trait among them is the real reason why they dare to take such a big gamble.

Since these three players were all outside the points zone at the start of the competition, they wouldn't suffer much loss even if they lost the bet, so they naturally had the courage to go all in on the entire game.

In addition, the surface temperature of the track is indeed a bit low now, making it really difficult for drivers to get the tires into the appropriate temperature window quickly.

Every team can see the data, but Shu Long's attitude just now was just too confident and resolute.

Shu Long's performance in rainy races in the past is well known. He subconsciously attributed the poor lap times of several cars with half-wet tires to a lack of ability, which ultimately led to Sainz being deceived.

But this wasn't actually part of the Shulong plan; he genuinely wanted to go into the station to change to semi-rain tires.

In the end, what made Shu Long change his mind was that reminder in Horner's TR.

Disrupting Sainz and Ferrari's strategic plans was a pleasant surprise. Hannah, who had been so angry with Shu Long that she was scratching the wall, chuckled and shook her head, then continued into TR to finish the sentence Horner hadn't finished saying.

"Have more faith in the team, Long. We'll find a way to help you win!"

(End of this chapter)