F1: Starting with a Simulator Master

Chapter 136 Highlight Moments

Ferrari's lineup has reached its zenith.

As race car number 55 came to a stop, the entire car lifted up.

Buzz! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The moment the four pneumatic air cannons roared simultaneously, the tire changer in the red uniform had already cleanly and efficiently removed the old red tire.

Almost at the same time that the red tires were removed, another group of technicians had already put the new yellow tires onto the rims.

Immediately afterwards, the four air-assisted cannons roared again, the yellow tire nuts were installed, the race car landed, and the green light came on.

With a clean and crisp press of the accelerator, Ferrari No. 55 roared away from the pit lane like a beast reborn from the ashes.

2.5 seconds!

Ferrari pulled off a perfect pit stop, but it was far from over.

Because Ferrari has decided that both cars will enter the pits on the same lap!

Prior to this, the original track layout was: Rosicky P1, Verstappen P2, Perez P3, Leclerc P4.

The intense competition over ten laps failed to create a clear lead, with the top eight cars very close together, especially fourth-placed Leclerc, who was only 8 seconds behind first-placed Roche.

Luo Xiu's lightning-fast exit from the station created a full four seconds of safe operating space for his teammate Leclerc, who was closely following behind in P4.

In this high-stakes pit stop involving two cars on the same lap, triggered by the safety car, Ferrari seems poised to have another rare moment of glory.

however.

The Ferrari Circus Impossible Triangle has come true right on time!

When it was Leclerc's turn to pit, the team decided to put him on the hardest white tires and run the entire race.

But at this critical moment, the tire changer made a fatal mistake. The pneumatic impact wrench, which should have engaged smoothly, jammed instead.

The air gun wasn't angled correctly, and the tire nuts wouldn't budge!

The broadcast camera cut from the scene of seeing Luo Xiu off to this moment.

The sharp red silhouette of Rosina, who had just changed to a yellow tire and sped out of the service area exit, formed a stark contrast with the front left wheel mechanic inside the Ferrari pit, sweating profusely and desperately pulling on the tire.

Final time — 7.2 seconds!

In the frantic repair area, this was a disastrous moment for Ferrari, resulting in a dramatic drop in their rankings.

After Leclerc's humiliating exit from the station, he plummeted from P4 to P13.

On the F1 global broadcast screen, TeamRadio immediately displayed the number 16 car.

"Why guys...Why?"

Leclerc's complaint was keenly picked up and broadcast across all channels. Apart from Leclerc's die-hard fans wailing, car enthusiasts around the world who were looking for fun all burst into laughter, a staple of every race Sunday.

This is the authentic Ferrari, it tastes just right.

[Ethane produced by the process of smelting!]

Ferrari: We don't produce accidents, we just transport them.

Luo Xiu drove out of the white line in the maintenance lane, the speed limiter was released, and the engine roared again.

At this point, the landscape of the racetrack was completely reshaped.

The real-time driver rankings that jump on the left side of the live stream screen depict the extremely compressed following distance.

Although Ferrari gained a 10-second free pit stop advantage by using the safety car, the cost was equally painful, with Roche falling from P1 to 8th place overall.

In front of him were seven race cars that had not yet entered the pits.

Among them was his arch-rival, Verstappen.

Red Bull's strategy team did not follow suit and pit. They decisively left Verstappen on the track, took over the lead, and then had Perez pit for tires, avoiding a scenario where both cars pitted on the same lap.

"Red Bull's move was a brilliant, open strategy! Absolutely brilliant!"

In the Five Star Sports live broadcast room, Bing Ge slammed his hand on the table, speaking at breakneck speed, "Pitting in safe mode can indeed save ten seconds, but look at the current standings! Verstappen got P1 effortlessly, the yellow tires can last a long time, and there's clean air right in front of him!"

"On the other hand, look at Luo Xiu!"

"He did change to new yellow tires, but these tires definitely won't last until the end of the race! This means that Rosicky and Verstappen will both have to pit again!"

The experienced Fei immediately added the most crucial tactical simulation.

"That's right, the uncertainty of changing tires in the pit lane isn't limited to the service area!"

Everyone stopped at the same time, with Verstappen leading the pack, perfectly managing his pace to conserve tire wear. But what about Rosicky?

The director happened to cut to Luo Xiu's in-car camera feed at that moment.

All I could see were Magnussen, Alben, and other seasoned veterans in midfield battles.

"There are seven slow trains blocking Luo Xiu's way that haven't pulled into the station yet! He now has to use the grip of the new yellow tires to fight his way up!"

The soldier's voice carried a hint of tension, "Alben and his gang are no pushovers. It won't be easy for Luo Xiu to surpass them! But time waits for no one—"

The soldier pointed out the key point: although the safety car pitted to change tires, it lost track position, and Luo Xiu needed to overtake these slower cars one by one.

However, if Rosicky is slow to overtake, and by the time he finally catches up with Verstappen, his yellow tires will be badly worn, he will also have to pit, not only wasting the time saved by the safety car pit stop, but also losing his position on the track.

Verstappen, on the other hand, was well-rested and could use his most consistent driving style in the clean air to widen the gap with the cars behind him while wearing down his tires as little as possible.

Five Star Dairy believes that the aggressive two-stop strategy has put pressure on Ferrari and Roche.

But Red Bull's management didn't see it that way.

Christian Horner, the team leader known for his composure and shrewdness, turned pale, ripped off his listening headphones, and slammed them onto the data monitoring screen in front of him.

"Fuck!" he couldn't help but swear.

No one knew better than him that Verstappen had been struggling to keep up with the high temperatures and exhaust pipes in the previous laps, and that Ferrari's red tires were about to break down.

Seeing that their tire changers had already taken out the thermal blankets and tires, each normal entry into the station would cost at least 20 seconds!

Add to that the idiots at Ferrari, and they might waste even more time!

As a result—everything was completely smashed to pieces by Stroll's collision!

What's more troublesome is that Verstappen can't pit at this time, otherwise he would be starting from P1, losing his position for no reason and wasting tires!

Meanwhile, at the other end of the paddock.

Inside the Mercedes pit lane, Toto Wolff was staring intently at the No. 55 race car as it drove out of the pit lane on the monitor.

That usually serious and cold German face was now surging with an extremely greedy fervor.

"Not only does he possess an exceptional driving feel that surpasses his peers, but he also seems to be blessed with an unparalleled amount of track luck—"

Toto clenched his fists and muttered to himself.

He knew very well that "luck" was also a key factor in his performance in F1.

Leclerc is a typical example of someone whose luck has been mocked. With a 7-second pit stop, he might just get another meaningless fourth place today.

His crazy plan for a major reshuffle of the driver roster for the next season was completely ignited the moment Luo Xiu happened to catch the wave of safety car benefits.

Lap 13.

The track has been cleared and the safety car's roof light has been turned off.

The green flag is waved, the game resumes!

The F1 engines, which had been suppressed for so long, roared again, tearing through the night sky like a tsunami.

Luo Xiu drove the No. 55 Ferrari straight into the line of cars ahead like a blood-red sword drawn from its sheath.

A one-sided crushing battle based on the difference in tire grip thus began.

The first obstacle ahead is the Danish warrior, Magnussen, known for his dirty defense and reckless attitude.