F1: Starting with a Simulator Master

Chapter 134 is like...

"P1, Good job."

On Ferrari's TR channel, the race engineer's voice was disguised as completely emotionless.

But in the strategy room in Maranello, and on the Ferrari control tower by the track, the strategists who were frantically typing away at their keyboards in front of rows of communication devices and screens to develop plans all stopped what they were doing.

They stared intently at the flashing purple fastest segment marker on the big screen, so nervous they even forgot to take a deep breath.

Luo Xiu has finally taken the lead!

However, Luo Xiu himself did not feel excited about rising to prominence as a rookie.

He knew very well that the competition on the track was far from over.

Over the past two laps, the defending champions have paid the price of having their four red tires pushed to the edge of their performance limits.

The temperature on the tire surface is rising rapidly due to the reckless and almost reckless braking just now.

If he were to follow conventional tactics, he should now ease off the throttle and play cautiously before the next long straight.

But—the dark blue RB20 in the rearview mirror, like an enraged beast, was relentlessly chasing the DRS difference of 0.8 seconds.

Within the attack range.

If Verstappen manages to keep the lead within one second in the next DRS detection zone, that Red Bull Mars Rover with its incredible top speed will ruthlessly turn around and overtake on the long straight, instantly erasing the lead that Luo Xiu had just risked his life to gain!

The Ferrari's top speed is still too slow.

Without further thought, Luo Xiu entered the first full-throttle acceleration zone after passing the long T13 bend.

Without hesitation, Luo Xiu pressed the "Overtake" button on the steering wheel, forcibly releasing the little remaining power in the race car's battery on this long straight!

With the electric motor and internal combustion engine roaring at the same time, Ferrari No. 55, like a red arrow that had been ignited, forcefully pulled ahead on the straightaway.

We are getting closer and closer to the first DRS detection zone at the exit of bend 17.

200 meters, 100 meters, 50 meter!

TR provides real-time updates on the time difference with the vehicle behind it.

"0.7 seconds!"

"0.8 seconds!"

"0.9 seconds!"

Not enough, not quite there yet!

T16, turn right into the curve!

Luo Xiu ignored the tire temperature warning and even deliberately swerved onto the shoulder with a slight skid angle, in a way that was extremely damaging to the tire but incredibly fast.

The violent vibrations from the steering wheel ravaged his hands and arms along the steering column, with a lateral centrifugal force of up to 4.5G tearing at his body.

A few months ago, this would have been enough to make Luo Xiu, back in his F3 days, faint on the spot.

But Luo Xiu is no longer the weakling he once was.

After undergoing more than half a year of grueling training in Nanshan and the baptism of the Bahrain F2, Chen Pengfei's A-grade body has completed a physical evolution.

With an unusually strong core and thick neck, it perfectly withstood a lateral pulling force of nearly five times its own body weight in an extremely savage manner.

But the excruciating pain arrived right on time.

The newly replaced foam seat couldn't hold up after three rotations and deformed again, pressing painfully against his back.

But Luo Xiu didn't even grit his teeth and bear it; he morbidly amplified the pain that was weighing heavily on him.

Because even the sensation of pain is used as the most sensitive data sensor for perceiving the dynamics of the chassis, perfectly filling the blind spots that vision cannot reach.

Finally—Verstappen also crossed the DRS detection line of T17.

TR: "1.1 seconds! Well done, fix it!"

Verstappen trailed Roche by 1.1 seconds.

"No DRS! No DRS! Verstappen didn't get any DRS!"

In the broadcast studio, the commentator's voice, cracking with extreme excitement, echoed across the entire country via the live broadcast signal.

"In two consecutive monitoring zones, Verstappen failed to even get within a second! Luo Xiu's extreme running technique worked this lap! He successfully left Verstappen behind!"

"Great! Ronaldinho! Hold on, Ronaldinho!!!"

The commentator's high-pitched, almost hoarse voice completely ignited the passion of countless Chinese car enthusiasts who stayed up late at night in front of their screens!

Meanwhile, in Xu Zihang's live stream, the chat was completely buzzing.

Holy crap, they overtook Verstappen in the very first F1 race?!

[Stay calm, Luo Shen!!!]

[I'd be willing to stay single for ten years in exchange for Luo Shen being ten seconds ahead!!!]

"He braked too late at T4! He almost forced me off the track! He was driving dangerously!"

The moment he lost DRS, Verstappen decisively pressed the TR button and began complaining to the team about the wheel-to-wheel battle that started in T4.

Verstappen spoke calmly and relentlessly tattled on the matter.

This is a common tactic used by seasoned paddock veterans to put pressure on their opponents when they are on the defensive. He attempted to use the pressure of the race stewards' investigation to interfere with Ferrari and Roche.

His complaints over the radio were immediately broadcast to countless screens around the world.

As a three-time world champion, Verstappen knew better than anyone what had just happened.

Luo Xiu's frantic ascent was swift, decisive, and deadly.

Two monsters with a thousand horsepower roared past each other with a parallel gap of less than twenty centimeters, without any collision.

That was definitely not dangerous driving; it was a textbook-level, top-tier offensive and defensive battle between the two of them.

Verstappen especially enjoyed this round of offense and defense!

But that didn't stop him from using the rules to press the TR button.

Simply because this is F1.

"Haha, Verstappen is tattling on TR again!"

"Hmm—it's not very useful, but the drivers really enjoy it."

"Hahaha----"

Verstappen truly lived up to his pre-race promise of "never holding back" in every aspect.

Even if at this stage we can only rely on words to communicate.

Verstappen's response came from Red Bull Racing's track engineer, GP Gianpiero.

"Copy".

GP ignored Verstappen's complaints.

Because his headphones were continuously receiving real-time data analysis from the Red Bull strategy analysis team regarding the attack and defense that had just taken place.

"Just now, Luo Xiu's speed was 10 km/h higher than Ma's in the lowest corner of T8 —"

"The key point is his T4's cornering. We used an ultra-low downforce setup, so it's impossible for him to corner like a Ferrari. Doing so would definitely result in a spin (slippage) —"

"He definitely lost control."

Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull's chief strategy engineer, spoke up.

She tapped the keyboard with her finger and brought up the replay of the No. 55 race car from the in-car main view.

The footage was slowed down 20 times. In the fraction of a second that Luo Xiu made a split-second maneuver on the steering wheel as he cut into the apex of T4 at near-out-of-control speed, Luo Xiu made a micro-management that made one's scalp crawl.

"Seventeen times per second."

"Each time I adjusted the steering wheel, the angle was no more than five degrees."

Hannah stared at the screen, a feeling of disbelief washing over her.

"His driving skills are on par with Mazda's! He can control the car at this speed, which is not just due to Ferrari's high downforce tuning."

"No, this is beyond what high and low pressure tuning can achieve."

"That's right, his braking control and micro-management of the steering wheel are simply like—"