F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 257 The Wind of Wind City
It's unclear what the other side discussed, but despite the significant potential for tremors, Verstappen insisted on using the same tail wing he had used in the previous two training sessions.

As a result, Red Bull's No. 1 car was 6 km/h behind Shulong's car in terms of top speed, and slightly ahead of Ferrari's top speed by less than 1 km/h.

Logically, it's not difficult to understand.

Verstappen had already found his driving feel in the previous practice sessions, and then decided to move towards the Shulong area at the last minute, which would waste a lot of time adapting to the new characteristics. It goes without saying that he would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

Not to be self-deprecating, but after so many matches, Verstappen has realized Shulong's capabilities. The primary condition for defeating his teammate head-on is to never follow in someone else's footsteps and pick up scraps.

Either stick to copying homework from the beginning, or try to have more faith in yourself.

Strictly speaking, the potential problem with DRS isn't a malfunction, since it's just that the movable wing flaps are shaking a little more, which doesn't mean that the device is actually broken.

With a higher top speed than Ferrari and better cornering stability than the Long, if it can secure a pole position, then the so-called DRS risk is practically non-existent.

Ideally, it is practically non-existent.

If the leading car can maintain its lead, then the car without the right to use DRS will not have to worry about the vibration of the winglets.

The problem is that even putting aside the starting ability of the Shulong, the advantage in top speed brought by the extremely low drag setting next door is indeed quite terrifying on a track like Azerbaijan.

The only chance of success might be that the overall setup, which lacks downforce, is not conducive to following other vehicles in polluted air.

A person who truly wants to win will not have a smile on their face. Verstappen, who got off the car after stopping the clock during the third practice session, undoubtedly proved this with his expression. The oppressive atmosphere made Gan Mengning in the pit room look nervous.

Let's see what Shulong is doing.
Watching the Le Mans broadcast?!

As the overall champion last year, if it weren't for the scheduling conflict, Shu Long would really like to participate again this year. It's been a long time since he drove a prototype car, and he really misses the unique handling feel of the No. 8 car's four-wheel drive system.

Looking back, we were really lucky last year, as the tournament schedule was staggered into the summer break due to the pandemic.

Otherwise, Shu Long might have really been caught in a dilemma between F1 and Le Mans, since both were very rare opportunities for him to prove himself at the time.

Even as the afternoon qualifying race was about to start, Shu Long kept his eyes glued to the live broadcast screen on his phone, which he had propped up on the HALO pillar, as if the upcoming race had nothing to do with him.

Oh dear, this person!

Between the third practice session and the qualifying session, the Red Bull No. 1 team was constantly helping Verstappen strengthen the winglet linkage structure of the DRS, while Shulong's team was taking it easy.

It felt like everyone else was giving it their all, while you were just lying around doing nothing.

Even top students need to glance at the key points before an exam, right?

Gan Mengning was anxious as she watched. She didn't know how confident Shu Long was in the upcoming qualifying matches. She only knew that although Shu Long was ranked P1 in the third practice session that morning, Verstappen and Leclerc behind him were only about 0.1 points behind him.

Shu Long stared blankly at the screen on his phone, clutching the fireproof hood in his hand for who knows how long, without even putting it on.

This damn schedule!
Why did they just happen to schedule the start time of the Le Mans race and the start time of the Azerbaijan qualifying race to be the same?
No matter what kind of racing competition it is, the start is of utmost importance. Shu Long just wanted to see if his No. 8 car crew from last year could hold onto first place before the race officially started.

Kazuki Nakajima retired at the end of last year. I don't know if it was because of the stimulation from Shulong, but a newcomer named Ryo Hirakawa joined the crew this year. His overall performance seems to be worse than Kazuki Nakajima's last year.

This may also be related to the fact that this year's cars have become a bit heavier due to adjustments in regulations.

However, the leader of the No. 8 crew was Sebastian Buemi, who had been replaced by himself last year because he was the "worst," and Brenton Hartley, who had a rather unfortunate relationship with Shu Long. In his impression, none of them seemed very reliable, and Shu Long was really worried for them.

Besides Toyota's No. 8 car, Ye Yifei, also from China, is still competing in endurance races this year. Shu Long also wants to see if this peer, who comes from the Renault youth training system like Zhou Guanyu, can make a name for himself this year.

"Cough cough!"

A clear, pleasant cough reached his ears, and Shu Long only hesitated slightly before letting out a soft "hmm," turning his face slightly away, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on the competition screen, unable to tear himself away.

Good luck in the competition!

"Uh-huh."

A "#" immediately appeared on the girl's forehead, and a rather ferocious smile appeared on her originally delicate and cute face. She grabbed Shulong's ear and bent down to bite it, grinding her teeth with a "crunch crunch".

"Aaaaaaah!"

The earth-shattering scream startled Verstappen, who was climbing into the race car. When he turned around, the girl was already standing obediently to the side with her hands behind her back, her face flushed with embarrassment. She glared at her boyfriend and snatched the phone that was still diligently broadcasting Le Mans.

Bring it to you!

I haven't yet.

"I'll check for you! I'll tell you the result after you finish the run!"

It's not really a big deal to keep something on your mind, is it?
Shu Long muttered a couple of things to himself before putting the fireproof mask on his head.

Unintentionally, Shu Long touched his wet ear, following the slight coolness. He quickly realized what it was and deliberately put his finger under his nose to smell it. Then, he immediately made a face as if he didn't want his hand anymore.

"Bah!"

"you dislike me?!"

"No, no, I'm in a competition! In a competition!"

So now you know there's a competition?
The mechanic who was holding the helmet for Shu Long immediately hid far away, his face showing a look of schadenfreude. This caused his girlfriend to pull at his thick skin and insist on kissing him several times.

"Good, good, good! Delicious mouth! Delicious mouth!"

You just wait until tonight and tomorrow night!

"helmet!"

"Oh, haha~"

Shu Long's murderous gaze forced the two snickers back down his throat. None of these grown men were reliable!

However, as he struggled to shove his head into the tight helmet, the slight upturn of his lips hidden inside the hood remained stubbornly upturned no matter how much the helmet's lining rubbed against them.

It's not easy to see Gan Mengning being this proactive when she's out in public. Who would have thought she'd be rewarded so many times before the competition even started? It would be a real shame if she didn't have the motivation.
"I hope your soul hasn't been sucked away."

"Get lost! Even if she's a Dementor, I can handle her!"

The old men in the row in front of the Pit Wall exchanged knowing smiles; none of them had missed the chance to watch the spectacle, their faces conveying a knowing, understanding look.

In the nearly 20 years since the team was founded, many of them have witnessed countless couples with such enviable relationships, and they feel like they are playing the role of an old father.

Just like Vettel and Verstappen.

To be honest, Shu Long and Gan Mengning give the team a feeling more like Vettel, both of them being unwavering in their devotion to their childhood sweethearts.

Max is now devoted to one woman, but before meeting Kelly, he was quite the playboy, changing girlfriends so frequently that even the Red Bull team members could hardly tell them apart.

"The match signal has been given. Which plan are you going to follow?"

"Let's push it for a lap first, and see how it performs without a wake."

"Then you may have to wait a little while. There are six cars in line outside, so your window might not be in good condition for the time being."

"It's okay, it's the same. Trying out the feel of wake turbulence isn't a bad idea."

After confirming with René and Hannah, they gave instructions to the crew on Shulong's side: remove the tire warming blankets from the tires, and once they confirmed it was safe to release the vehicle, they let Shulong go.

Verstappen didn't come out with them, but it didn't matter.

Baku is somewhat similar to Monza; the lap times achieved with and without the influence of slipstream are completely different. Based on several conservative attempts in practice, a perfect execution of the towing strategy could potentially improve lap times by approximately 0.7 seconds.

The premise is perfection. Many corners of the Baku circuit are even narrower than those of Monaco, and getting the perfect slipstream here is not easy unless teammates have a great deal of understanding and dedication to sacrifice for each other.

It was possible when he was teammates with Magnussen and Gasly, or even with Alben, whose competition for resources had become fierce. But with Verstappen...
You should wash up and go to bed early.

Last season's many well-coordinated plays had prerequisites; unless Verstappen has lost any theoretical chance of winning the title this year, there's no point in expecting it.

Therefore, Shu Long's task in the first two qualifying sessions was simple: first, to see what kind of lap time he could achieve without the help of slipstream, and then to practice the process of catching other people's slipstreams.

It doesn't need to be stuck very tightly.

With a track layout like Baku, as long as you're within 5 seconds of the front car, you can actually benefit from the drag reduction effect of the wake.

Of course, the closer the distance, the better the effect. The lower the wind speed on the track, the better the effect. At the same time, it is also necessary to control the following distance and try to avoid the impact of the turbulence of the car in front on the stability of the car when cornering.

The people leaving the warehouse lined up behind Zhou Guanyu, waiting for the exit of the maintenance area to let them out.

It's quite rare. The season is almost over, with 8 races already, and Shu Long hasn't had many opportunities to get together with Zhou Guanyu on the track.

Speaking of which, it wouldn't be bad if I could form a team with Zhou Guanyu?

Anyway, Aro's car is still far from posing a threat to Red Bull, so for Shulong it's basically a risk-free deal, which is incredibly worthwhile.

Now it depends on whether Zhou Guanyu can remotely understand Shu Long's intentions.

Norris was in the lead, and he drove onto the track first after the green light came on at the pit lane exit. Vettel followed him onto the track about two seconds later.

Each car seemed to maintain the same tacit understanding after that. Everyone clearly had their own tasks to complete in the first qualifying session, and no one had much desire to cause trouble.

Shu Long followed behind Zhou Guanyu, slowly grinding the tires. Not long after, Rennie's voice rang out in the TR.

However, instead of reporting on the situation on the track, they relayed information about a neighboring race to Shulong:

"Car number 8 had a very solid start and maintained its lead after turn 5. Now you don't need to worry about it anymore, just focus on the race."

Hey!
"Thanks, you spoilsport!"

Is it possible that he's not only looking forward to the Le Mans match, but also hoping that Gan Mengning helped him keep track of the news and relayed it to him?
Ignoring René's aggrieved yet confused tone, Shu Long noticed that Perez in front of Zhou Guanyu had entered the acceleration phase, so he downshifted from fourth to third gear. Aro had only just started to accelerate, so Shu Long also floored the accelerator.

Logically speaking, a car tuned for low drag shouldn't need to be so close to absorb the wake.

On the contrary, when trying to catch the taillights, one should pay more attention to the following distance from the car in front. The best strategy is to increase the top speed limit while ensuring that one has enough stable downforce in the corner.

Firstly, Shu Long wanted to explore the limits of following distance before Q1 faced any pressure to advance, and secondly, getting closer would make it easier for Shu Long to convey his intentions to Zhou Guanyu ahead.

This intention is indeed a bit too obvious.

The actions of Shu Long when he was warming up the tires made Zhou Guanyu a little nervous. He vaguely recalled the memories of running F3 with Shu Long in 16. The oppressive feeling and suffocating sensation that followed him were still fresh in his mind.

The most desperate moment was when, even though their three Prema rovers worked together to block them, a single Carlin rovers mercilessly tore them to pieces, leaving them wondering how the race could continue.
The feeling becomes even more pronounced after activating the flight circle.

Looking at the Red Bull's aggressive appearance in the rearview mirror, anyone who didn't know better would think it was planning to overtake them in qualifying, which would be far too humiliating!
Did I offend you?
In order to avoid his name being recorded in history in this way, Zhou Guanyu's potential was unknowingly brought out to the forefront.

As expected, Shu Long finished in P1 at the finish line, while Zhou Guanyu surprisingly achieved a P5 time, a full 0.6 seconds faster than his teammate Bottas.

That's great! Do you even need to cooperate with us?

Shu Long was quite surprised when he saw the rankings on the small screen after returning to the pit room. When he went back to the pit to recharge, Shu Long deliberately stepped on the gas and bumped into Zhou Guanyu, accelerating twice and then stopping to wait, implying that he would help Zhou Guanyu create a wake in the next flight lap.

It's unclear whether Zhou Guanyu understood or was simply too engrossed in his own "circle of stars" from earlier.
Then Shulong saw that Verstappen had pushed his name up to P1, and he was a little surprised. He raised his hand and scratched his helmet.

My helmet is so itchy. By the way, is Verstappen coming up so soon this weekend?
"How is his DRS?"

"The reinforcement seems to be working quite well; no obvious blade vibration was observed on the straight section just now."

In other words, the last weakness of Red Bull's No. 1 car is now gone, and Shu Long, who was just laughing and joking, has started to get a little serious.

However, it's not a major concern for now. The car I was following too closely on the first flight lap was indeed a bit too close, which forced me to make a lot of extra steering wheel corrections when exiting the corner, and I couldn't accelerate as decisively as I could on a clean lap.

He now roughly knows the range of following distance, and his current lap time shows he has considerable potential.

However, this is not the most important thing. The primary task at present is to win over their strategic partners. Shu Long specifically instructed Reni to pay attention to the car release movements on Aro's side. As soon as Zhou Guanyu left the station, Shu Long hurriedly followed.

However, this time during the tire warm-up, Shu Long did not obediently follow behind. Instead, he stepped on the gas on the straight and overtook Zhou Guanyu, then twisted the car a few times to try to convey his extremely abstract body language.

It seemed that Zhou Guanyu had understood, because the Aro in the rearview mirror also swerved its body a few times.

We all speak the same mother tongue, so we should have at least some understanding of each other, right?

Before officially accelerating into the flight path, Shulong twisted the wheel a few more times, still feeling uneasy. Only after receiving a response did it begin to accelerate at full speed.

But this rare pair of illegal gaming teams is destined to have an unfulfilled future.

Shulong had just exited Castle Bend when Stroll behind him went up the wall as he exited Turn 2, not only destroying his right front suspension but also throwing fragments of his front wing directly into the middle of the track.

The double yellow flag resulted in a disqualification for the lap. It didn't matter, because the yellow flag almost immediately turned into a red flag, and everyone on the track was affected, returning to the pits to wait.

At this point, Q1 has two and a half minutes remaining.

It's quite a delicate situation; if I had to say, there's still time to do one last flight loop.

However, the Baku circuit is not short to begin with, with a lap length of 6km. A normal qualifying lap takes about 1 minute and 41 seconds. If you have to warm up the tires and wait for the window, those two and a half minutes might not be enough.

After the race restarted, the track was in complete chaos. The Red Bull strategy team looked around and realized that going out wouldn't be of much value. Their two drivers were already firmly in first and second place and had advanced, so they naturally had no intention of going out to join the fun and cause trouble.

Zhou Guanyu was only overtaken by Vettel in the end, securing a place in P6 and advancing steadily, while Bottas, who seemed to be struggling on the other side, finally managed to squeeze into Q2.

The problem lies in Bottas's advancement.

Bottas seemed to be really out of speed this weekend, with his fastest lap times in the three practice sessions almost always slower than Zhou Guanyu's. The reason why Shu Long targeted Zhou Guanyu in qualifying was because he also felt that Bottas was out of the running.

As it turned out, Aro must have seen through Shulong's intentions, and instead copied this tactic and applied it to the two drivers in the team. He clearly instructed Bottas to first help Zhou Guanyu, who had a higher chance of advancing today, to create a slipstream, and then Zhou Guanyu would help Bottas create a slipstream in the second round.

The family was all lovey-dovey there, so there was no room for me to interfere.

So the entire Q2 dragon could only fight alone and do its own thing, while also testing how far it could go in clean air if it couldn't find the wake in Q3.

The probability of this happening is not low.

After all, Baku's lap times are very long, and there will only be 10 cars left on the Q3 track. If they deliberately don't let you catch the slipstream, there's really no good way to deal with it.

You wouldn't know unless you pushed it, and what you found was quite surprising.

Throughout the entire Q1, there was a wake vortex that I could catch without noticing. When I was sprinting at full speed with high wind resistance in clean air, my first feeling wasn't that the car had great grip, but rather that the power of this car felt so weak.

This is not a subjective feeling arising from an unimpressive lap time. In fact, even if it felt like the car's power was a bit off, the Q2 was only slower than the Leclerc in the end. This is an objective fact that Shulong has actually determined through comparison.

The brand-new engine was installed on the car during the second practice session.

At the time, because the engine power had not been increased, no problem was noticed. But now, the feeling that the car's power response conveyed to Shulong was not as good as the old engine in the first practice session.
"I have a problem!"

(End of this chapter)