F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 271 Soaring Through the Clouds
As is well known, Verstappen has roughly three home stadiums – Belgium, the Netherlands, and Austria.

The Netherlands and Belgium are adjacent to each other, and Austria is separated by Germany. With the German Grand Prix officially removed from the F1 calendar, these three Grand Prix races, which are geographically close together, have undoubtedly become a sea of ​​revelry for the fearsome orange-haired fans three times a year.

A sea of ​​smoke bombs.

"This is terrifying, guys. I can barely see the traffic lights anymore, there's orange smoke everywhere."

"Yep, but I still saw a few plumes of red smoke in the stands."

"That's not what I meant~ Do you think that was smoke for me, not for the Ferrari?"

"Be confident, my friend. This is your home turf too. They're all wearing Red Bull hats."

Is that so?
Shulong's number of fans overseas has indeed been increasing day by day in recent years. This can be seen from the choice of support baseball caps by fans at the event. The red bull cap with dragon pattern number 69 was almost the first to sell out among all the products, and now the OEM factory is working overtime to restock.

Perhaps it's partly because the hats designed by the artists on Old Mi's side are more attractive.
People may be used to seeing knights slay dragons, but to many fans who follow the rise of the dragon, he is more like a blood-soaked dragon that has crawled out of purgatory and is now dragging his wounded body and taking heavy steps back to the throne that rightfully belongs to him.

The trail of blood left beneath him included his own and that of his opponents.

These foreigners really love this type of story. They've had enough of superheroes saving the world, and occasionally they need a little bit of anti-heroic work to satisfy their latent violent impulses.

Just like the previous British Grand Prix.

Shu Long's indifferent and cold-faced dismissive attitude towards Sainz, who was pleading desperately in the TR, must have given many car enthusiasts a slight sense of sadistic pleasure.

That's such a villain!

However, the custom of smoking everywhere in the Netherlands has a long history and is not even exclusive to motorsports.

Many car enthusiasts, even those who wanted to support Shulong, didn't subconsciously think they should do the same kind of fanatical support as those Dutch fanatics. Even some fans who did think about it struggled to figure out what Shulong's representative color actually was.

Shu Long usually prefers black clothes, but he can't exactly leave black smoke at a celebratory event, can he? What would that look like?
Red Bull, Red Bull, the name itself has "RED" in it. Usually, the dragon patterns on dragon helmets and hats are mostly red, so why not just leave red smoke?
That's how those few scattered red smoke grenades in the audience came about.

Unfortunately, the difference between the red and orange smoke is not significant. After being diluted and neutralized by the massive amount of orange smoke, it looks almost identical to orange smoke once it reaches the track.

For domestic fans who are more familiar with traditional Chinese culture, the next time they play at home, they might consider releasing golden smoke. The image of a dragon riding on auspicious clouds seems to fit the name of the car much better than red smoke. The image of the Eastern dragon is also much more auspicious.

Unfortunately, the home race for Shulong will not officially return to the calendar until 2024. Even if domestic fans want to set an example, they will not have much of a chance to do so. They can only try to gather a group of wealthy and idle fans to make some noise after this race.

In the time leading up to the start of the race, Gan Mengning, who was hiding in the pit lane, kept her head down and dealt with messages. Many domestic fans had already contacted her privately to ask about this.

These things were none of Reni's business; he was busy having his final conversation with Shulong before the warm-up circle's ban on talking.

Regarding the team ban on warm-up laps, five teams and six drivers violated the rule during yesterday's sprint race, which was triggered by the fact that the race was forced to have two warm-up laps.

Zhou Guanyu seems to have recovered fairly well from the horrific accident at the British Grand Prix, while Arro's team seems to have not recovered at all, both in terms of the team and the car.

In a post-race interview, Vassell subtly complained about being broke, and TikTok quickly and generously provided additional sponsorship, on the condition that the money be primarily used for the upgrade and repair of Zhou Guanyu's race car.

However, due to the severe damage to some of the new upgraded parts, especially the chassis, in the accident, the back-to-back race schedule made it difficult for Zhou Guanyu's car to keep up with the new parts in time, resulting in his first Q1 elimination after defeating his teammate three times in qualifying.

This race car, pieced together from salvaged parts, was not only slow, but also riddled with serious problems. After such a severe crash, the team didn't even provide it with a new engine kit.

It's unclear whether the impact from Silverstone didn't damage the power unit, or whether Aro replaced Zhou Guanyu with an old engine that had been replaced at the beginning of the season.
Shulong was so busy at the team's home track this weekend that he forgot to ask Guanyu what was going on. He only knew that Guanyu's car suddenly broke down and stopped on the track at the last moment of the warm-up lap in the sprint race.

Due to a sudden breakdown of a car on the track, track conditions did not allow for the start procedure, forcing a second warm-up lap. It was at this point that five teams provided their drivers with communication instructions beyond those permitted by the rules.

The consequence was that the drivers were summoned by the race stewards after the race, but because the instructions in the call did not include anything about helping the drivers modify the car settings, and because there were too many people involved, no further punishment was imposed.

As for Zhou Guanyu, he inexplicably regained his momentum after the second warm-up lap, but because the rules stipulated that he could not return to his own starting grid, he was forced to enter the pit lane and start from there.

As a result, Zhou Guanyu managed to overtake P15 in the sprint race. Combined with Bottas' start in the pit lane and Alonso's retirement penalty, his actual starting position was actually P13. On a track like the Red Bull Ring, which is easy to overtake, as long as his engine doesn't malfunction, he still has a chance to score points.

In short, Aro is now very regretful.

Knowing that Bottas's car would also break down, they simply replaced all the parts for both of them before the race.

As a result, Bottas, who made it to P10 in yesterday's sprint, wasted his time. Zhou Guanyu's car's competitiveness was also uncertain, so his final result was basically up to fate. Yet, he was still frantically explaining something to Zhou Guanyu in the TR.

René also spoke in a hurried and flustered tone, but it had a completely different effect on the ears of others.

Red Bull is more like a top student confidently reciting key points before an exam, while Arrow's approach is more like a mediocre student who hasn't studied anything and is frantically studying math formulas before the exam.

But Red Bull knows its own situation best; their approach is practically the same as taking a test without any preparation.
"The organizers gave the signal that the match would start in one minute."

"OK, copy! No need to keep repeating it, I have a very good memory."

"30 seconds."

The crew members surrounding the race car quickly packed up the thermal blankets and cooling fans, and began to retreat to the grass on the left side of the track. Shu Long also raised his hand to lower the visor of his helmet and used the shortcut lever on the back of the steering wheel to switch the race car to the preset tire warming mode.

Once the green light of the traffic light ahead came on, they began to draw an S-shaped line on the track.

The second round of smoke bombs also began at this time, especially in the two areas where the orange team was concentrated, namely the straight after Turn 1 and the spectator seats in the middle of the U-shaped layout of Turns 6 and 7. Shu Long even held his breath.

If he knew what Gan Mengning was discussing with the fans, he would most likely try to stop this crazy behavior.

Putting aside the choking or pollution issues, these reckless smoke bombs are already affecting visibility on the track, which is a major issue involving race safety management. No driver would want to race under such track conditions.

Turn into Turn 10 and return to the main straight.

Previously, engineers would remind drivers how many burnouts they needed to prepare based on the tire temperature and the speed of the cars behind them. Now, these decisions are based solely on the results of pre-race meetings and the drivers' own experience.

The team was instructed to burn the tires three times, but Shulong only burned them twice.

The car's tire wear was already less than ideal during the race, and starting from pole position gave him the advantage of a clean side grip and responsiveness. He really didn't want to cause any extra wear to the tires in such a pointless situation.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that Brother Tou was relegated to the last car due to a penalty, and Shu Long had just asked him not to slow down the pace during the drivers' parade.

Alonso himself has his own competition goals to achieve, and whether he will listen to them is another matter. At least Shulong is relatively at ease psychologically.

The good thing is that the fans in the main grandstand are a more diverse group, and the tickets are more expensive, so it's not suitable for a large number of crazy Dutch fans to be grouped together. After a round of smoke before the race, things calmed down.

The original smoke screen has been mostly dispersed by the wind, and Shulong now has enough visibility to observe the movements of the race cars behind him.

Then he saw Alonso dawdling at the exit of Turn 10, almost getting his butt bumped by the medical vehicle, before he finally revved the engine a few times to get back to his position.

"." Naughty!

As expected, no matter what the relationship is off the track, there is no affection to speak of when they become opponents on the track.

Deng!
The sound of the first traffic light turning on drew Shulong's attention back to what was ahead.

He switched the race car back to start mode and checked the tire temperature data of all four tires before clutching the clutch and starting to rev the engine. The front tires were almost cold to below 60 degrees Celsius, but the rear tires were still around 76 degrees Celsius due to the two burnouts that occurred earlier.

It's definitely not in the optimal performance range. At the moment of starting, it mainly depends on the traction of the drive wheels. Based on the prediction of the current tire grip by the [Friction Control], Shulong slightly increased the throttle opening and brought the speed down to around 9700 rpm.

In addition, due to the overall low downforce setup of the car and the current lack of grip on the front wheels, the line before Turn 1 needs some minor adjustments.

This is also a problem; the temperature drop in the front wheels had already been considered in the pre-race discussions.

The terrain before Turn 1 is uphill, so you can usually choose to brake later. However, the front tires cannot be heated up by burning them out, and the overall rearward center of gravity in the corner will definitely be more detrimental to the front tires' grip.

Especially for race cars where the front row generally experiences significant temperature drop, the braking point selection from the start to the first turn should generally be relatively conservative.

The line occupied by the dragon has an advantage in the angle of entry into the corner. If the width of the track is used to the fullest extent, it should be able to make up for some of the performance deficiencies.

The only cost is the risk of four wheels going out of bounds.

The remaining red lights also lit up one by one. This time, the interval between the lights going out was a little longer, and the lights went out rather abruptly. Many race cars were clearly stunned when they started.

Shulong, with their attention focused to the extreme, naturally wouldn't fall for a trick at home, but Verstappen seemed to have been fooled.

Two Ferraris were also shaken, but Leclerc had the advantage of starting on the clean side and making full use of the tire traction. When Verstappen, who started on the dirty side, lost the initiative, he was simply overtaken by Leclerc in P3 before Turn 1.

Shulong performed perfectly as expected, and with the two cars behind him grappling with each other from the start, he didn't even have to use the risky line he had planned in mind, and steadily drove out of Turn 1 in first place.

Verstappen, on the other hand, fared much worse.

First, the Leclerc on the outside line blocked the line, resulting in insufficient cornering angle. Not only was the steering adjustment of the car slow, but the timing of throttle input when exiting the corner was also forced to be delayed.

When entering a corner, it can keep up with the Leclerc, but when exiting the corner, it is half a car length behind.

The two cars climbed side by side, and in the end, Verstappen, playing on home turf and seemingly recklessly, managed to wrest P2 from Leclerc by braking late before Turn 3, almost hitting the back of the car.

But the good times are not long.

Shulong gained a huge lead at the start and quickly widened the gap by taking advantage of the close battle between the two cars behind it, soon extending its lead to 2 seconds.

However, this distance was still within the range of polluted air for Verstappen, which only exacerbated Red Bull's already abnormal tire wear.

Sprint races and main races—it sounds like the former involves a more aggressive, all-out sprint, while the latter takes into account the need for more conservative tire management over a long distance.

But this is not the case.

The Red Bull Ring isn't very long, but it has a 63.5-meter elevation change. A single lap involves the car constantly climbing uphill and downhill. Combined with the car's low-drag setup and the track's obvious stop-and-go design, the load on the tires is quite heavy.

This can also be seen from the tire choices made by most cars in sprint races.

On tracks with low tire load, such as Imola this year, the 21-lap sprint race can be completed entirely on red tires. However, on the Red Bull Ring's 23-lap sprint race, most teams opted for yellow tires.

A more durable compound, but in reality, it is less durable. Since pit stops are unlikely to be arranged in sprint races, it means that drivers will have to manage their tires even more carefully during long-distance driving.

But the main competition
At least for Red Bull and Ferrari, who are at the forefront, the concept of "preserving the tire" is hardly in their vocabulary, as the first stint is the most crucial for securing a position in the early stages.

Shu Long was pushing, Verstappen was pushing, Leclerc was pushing, and even Sainz was trying his best to attack his teammates.

Such aggressive driving results in tire wear during the race being far greater than during the sprint stage.

For Verstappen, who was enduring the stench of the dragon's filthy air, forcing his car to go faster, and resisting the relentless attacks from Leclerc behind him, tire management in this race was nothing short of a nightmare.

The second most durable yellow tires were worn out, but in the 71-lap race, Verstappen started complaining in the TR on lap 10 that the tires were already worn out.

This wasn't some smokescreen to lure Ferrari into pits; in fact, Verstappen's car was visibly struggling on the track.

The suspension setup, which pulls forward and pushes backward, is not good at low-speed corners, especially at corners 3 and 4, where it requires a lot of steering corrections. When it comes to corner 6, a slightly cambered downhill corner that is almost a high-speed corner, the timing of applying the accelerator is also hesitant.

What can be done then?

Are you suggesting that Shulong come back right now to help his teammates hold off DRS on defense?
This is only the first stint of the match. If Shulong slows down the pace, it might ruin the match for both of them!

It's on the 12th lap.

The rapid decline in tire performance caused Verstappen to misjudge the braking point at Turn 3. He not only missed the apex of the corner but also nearly went off the track.

As a result, when returning to the racing line, the Red Bull Ring's notoriously high-angle kerb caused the rear wheels to spin for a moment, making the entire exit rhythm a complete mess.

The Red Bull Ring features three sections of DRS (Driving Speed ​​Restraint). The braking zones at the ends of the two DRS sections, one on the starting straight and the other after Turn 1, are uphill. Even if the tires are not in ideal condition, the uphill slope reduces the braking load, allowing for a slight push.

But the section after Turn 3 is quite different. It's a super steep downhill where if your tires say they can't grip, they really can't. If you understeer and end up in the gravel, the position you lose at the start of the race could be more than just one or two positions.

Leclerc, of course, wouldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by. He used DRS to climb from the inside and then made a super late brake before Turn 4, something Verstappen could never do in his current form, and successfully moved up to P2.

Now, the air was twice as polluted, and because Leclerc, who had just overtaken, was even closer, Verstappen, who was already struggling, felt like he couldn't drive at all, and almost got rudely attacked by Sainz behind him.

So, before being blocked by two Ferraris, Red Bull's number 1 car finally chose to end its first ordeal with yellow tires early on lap 13 and pitted to change into a set of white tires.

Pelting on lap 13, then exiting the pits for lap 14.

Based on Red Bull's current overall tire wear, they will likely need to make at least one more pit stop in the remaining 58 laps of the race.

At least!

Moreover, Verstappen's position after leaving the pit was not very good, dropping to P9, just 2.3 seconds behind Norris.

The decision to enter the station just now was made in a hurry. The cars behind us didn't create enough windows, so we still have to endure the dirty air from the cars in front.

Without the natural defense provided by his teammates, the pressure on the Ferrari duo naturally shifted to Shu Long.

Should we try to save the pregnancy now?

Or should we just go all out, run a few laps in clean air, and head into the station?
(End of this chapter)