F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 1 Bathing in Fire
2020 Bahrain, Sunday evening 17:00, main competition

Even though the sun had set, the track surface was still around 25 degrees Celsius. Combined with the heat from the twenty engines poised to go, even with the help of cooling vests, the cockpit of the race car still felt around 40 degrees Celsius.

Size 69, yellow T-shirt, Haas.

After the mask mandate and the team's continuous turmoil, and after a tumultuous season, Shu Long is about to face what may be the last three-week back-to-back race cycle of his career.

After wiping the screen in front of him, which seemed to be covered in a layer of dust, Shu Long continued to adjust the knobs and buttons, and finally checked the preset vehicle settings one last time.

For some reason, he felt uneasy all day. His gaze kept drifting past the engineers who were helping him cool the engine around the car, trying to meet the gazes that were probably watching him intently from the pit lane.

The results of the final three weeks of racing may determine whether he can retain a formal driver's seat next season. Not only his parents, but even his girlfriend, who has never appeared in public before, took advantage of what may be one of the few remaining opportunities to show up in the pit spectator area today.

The noise-canceling headphones and helmet isolated him from the outside world, but they seemed to amplify his intense heartbeat infinitely, like death knell pounding on his eardrums.

The instructions from the race control center were transmitted into the headset. The engineer standing in front of the race car, with a stern expression, spread his hands outwards with a flourish. All the crew members who were waiting at the car quickly removed all their equipment and dispersed to both sides.

When the green light of the traffic light ahead turns on, it means we're about to embark on a warm-up lap.

After calming himself down a bit, Shu Long pressed the water button and slowly sipped the energy drink from the bottle. He then shifted into gear and followed the traffic at a leisurely pace, intending to slow down the vehicles behind him and also increase the distance between himself and the car in front.

This is the starting tactic that Shu Long has been forced to use this season. The longer he delays, the lower the tire temperature of the cars in front will be. Relying on his always proud starting reaction and his ultimate control over the car's gears and tire grip, he can often move up several positions at the start.

As usual, Shu Long spun around on the track, carefully feeling the grip feedback from each tire, while glancing at the words on the light screen panel in his mind.

[Energy Special]: Drinking 300ml of any energy drink can boost bodily functions by 5% over the next 2 hours. Brand sponsorship can increase the corresponding effect to 10%. (Note: Excessive stimulation in a short period of time may lead to negative effects such as lethargy, insomnia, and mood instability.)
He never drinks water during races. Under the intense heat of the engine, the originally sweet and sour drinks in the water tank quickly turn into hot, strange-tasting sugary water, so it's best to drink enough water before the race starts.

But soon, the strange feedback from the steering wheel made his expression change abruptly.

"Check my front left wheel, I'm sure something feels wrong!"

"Copy!"

Shulong stopped using steering friction to warm the tires and instead maintained tire temperature by constantly controlling the brakes, silently waiting for a reply from the engineers at TR.

"No unusual readings were found. Focus on your game, and we will keep an eye on it."

?

impossible!
As one of the top twenty people in the world with the best driving skills in Formula racing, Shu Long prefers to trust his own instincts rather than relying on the often unreliable sensor readings!

However, after a season with extremely poor competitiveness, every race is crucial for the team. In addition to the team ranking that affects the final profit sharing, Haas, which has experienced a sponsorship crisis, also has to ensure the brand exposure of its existing sponsors. They will absolutely not let the car retire from the race without confirming that there is a problem with the vehicle.

Currently, due to the new sponsor forcing players into the team, both Shu Long and Lao Ma will be without contract renewals next year. Their parent teams are only offering empty promises with no resolution in sight. Shu Long also needs every opportunity to prove himself.

"Perform two burnouts."

The dragon was burned three times, and then slowly returned to its starting grid.

"I will do what I said before the game, believe me."

The flat tone in TR revealed no emotion, but everyone in the P room who received that sentence understood the determination it contained.

This is not only Shu Long's requirement for himself, but also for every crew member who, knowing that the collaboration was about to end, still worked tirelessly through the night until the end of the season.

"Go and create miracles, buddy!"

Blood rushed to my ears, and my breath stagnates in my nasal cavity.

At this moment, Shulong seemed to be isolated from the world, his entire focus fixed on the five red lights that lit up one by one in front of him.
Lights out, start running!

Almost on the verge of a false start, Shulong completed gear engagement in just over 0.1 seconds, forcefully taming the roaring rear-wheel-drive monster beneath him.

The heart rate quickly surpassed 120 beats per minute, pumping a surge of adrenaline into every cell of the body.

At this moment, the world seemed to stand still in Shulong's eyes!
Because the traffic behind is quite chaotic at the start, without dedicated in-vehicle cameras for broadcasting, most commentators would usually focus on the intense competition in the front row.

However, in a place unnoticed by the cameras, Shu Long, who started in 14th place, took advantage of a rocket start to overtake Stroll, who started in the same row as him, and squeezed in front of the two Ferraris that had taken the circus to the extreme before Turn 1 by taking advantage of his inside line.

How can a customer fleet lose to a factory fleet?

The team's extremely poor performance this year is due not only to the rule changes and the R&D difficulties caused by sponsorship issues, but also to the sudden engine failure of the Faja team. It is impossible to say that Shulong does not have any resentment.

After slowing down slightly at Turn 2, Shulong, who had regained control of the racing line, was ready to take advantage of the moment when everyone's tires were not at their optimal operating temperature, and was about to launch an attack on the "torpedo" Kvyat in front of him at Turn 3.

Moving up one position would put him directly into the points zone. Considering the car's recent disadvantages and the unpredictable potential for a malfunction today, Shulong needed to gain a significant advantage from the start. Kvyat was also attempting to overtake Norris at the same time, but after two parallel corners, Norris, having gained an inside lead at Turn 2, regained the lead. However, this came at the cost of some damage to his front wing endplate during the intense wheel-to-wheel exchange.

Having failed to gain position, Kvyat quickly steadied the car and glanced at the side mirrors. A white race car that seemed to have sprung up behind him made him curse out loud in the TR.

Kvyat is also one of the drivers whose contracts are in danger next year, especially after hearing rumors that someone from Honda is going to compete for a seat. Every time he drops a position in the race, it means his seat is in more danger.

During a race, every F1 driver has an average heart rate of 160 beats per minute. Coupled with the surge of adrenaline, this means that even if you have a good temper off the track, you can turn into the most frenzied road rage at this moment.

Seeing that Haas behind him was still pushing his luck and squeezing into his lane, Kvyat, taking advantage of his priority in the corner, decisively chose to close the door.

Shu Long reacted quickly. With the anticipation, he took evasive action almost immediately, applied the brakes, and prepared to look for another opportunity at the next bend.

But after that fleeting jolt on the steering wheel that wasn't caused by the tires slipping, all that could be heard in Haas's pit cabin was a helpless yet relieved laugh—"Damn!"

Click!

"Oh!"

At that moment, both the English and Chinese commentators exclaimed in surprise as the race car that had veered off the track exploded instantly, turning into a blazing fireball.

The chaotic situation in the back prevented them from identifying which driver was involved in the accident; they could only confirm that it was a white race car.

"Red flag! Red flag! Race stopped! This is a very serious collision!"

"Who is it? Mavericks or Haas? The official channels haven't provided any confirmation yet!"

In serious accidents like this, no footage is usually shown until the driver's safety is confirmed, primarily to protect their privacy. However, the lack of camera feed suggests that the driver's condition is very serious.

The staff in the five-star studio were explaining the relevant information to the audience, and everyone was genuinely on edge. They all had a rather unpleasant suspicion in their hearts and could only sincerely hope that whoever the driver was, he would be safe and sound in the end.

As the other race cars returned to the pit lane, the belated footage finally flashed briefly on the big screen for a few seconds.

Seeing the Haas logo on the rear wing and the conspicuous yellow T-frame on the broken half of the race car outside the guardrail, everyone's heart sank to the bottom. No one believed that the person in the front half of the cockpit, engulfed in flames, could be safe and sound.

It is a dragon knot.

F1 cars appear fragile because most accidents occur at speeds that even ordinary supercars struggle to reach. However, cars capable of withstanding extreme driving conditions are actually far more robust than they appear.
In some narrow street races, Shu Long would sometimes even use the slight friction between the tires and the wall when pushing to the limit to help him exit the corner.

But this masterpiece of materials science and structural mechanics turned out to be a result of the suspension breaking on its own without any contact when the camera zoomed in!

Given the advancements in racing safety technology, such a severe fire should not have occurred today, yet it happened nonetheless.
It's as if fate has an invisible hand that brings together everything that "shouldn't have happened" to form what it calls destiny.

Is this the price of cheating? Haha~ (￣▽￣～)~
[Damn, my back and forehead don't seem to hurt that much?]

My head is a little dizzy. What's this warm and cozy feeling? Orange?

Hey! Anyone out there, please pull up the sun visor for me, it's blinding!

【What? It's fire!】
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Timeline Explanation

Given the confusion and incomprehension many readers have expressed regarding the timeline narrative, I would like to offer a brief explanation here.

The story begins in the 2020 season when the protagonist switched jobs to Haas. Due to the impact of an accident, he is briefly caught in a replay of past memories. The protagonist is neither dead nor a time traveler.

Note: The text in brackets 【】 represents the protagonist's psychological state regarding memories in the future timeline.

Chapters 2 through 14 chronicle the protagonist's childhood encounter with racing and the timeline from 2007 to the end of Chapter 14, where the protagonist's consciousness returns to 2020 to resolve the current situation after the accident.

Then, from Chapter 16 to the first half of Chapter 41, the story recounts the protagonist's experiences from go-karting to signing with a youth training program and completing junior formula racing through flashbacks. The timeline spans from 2008 to 2017 in a single take.

Chapters 41 to 43 explain Haas's doubts and introduce the plot of obtaining the Super License node through the heroine's formal appearance.

From Chapter 44 to the most recent update, Chapter 148, it's all done in one continuous shot, showing the protagonist from his first appearance until the end of his rookie season.

To access the complete narrative, you can jump to the relevant sections using the timeline above. If you have any questions about the details, foreshadowing, or subplots, you can also come back to check them.

The entire plot structure has a relatively complete logical chain, and you are welcome to examine it. If you find any contradictions, please feel free to point them out in the comments, and I will check and revise them when I get back.

　To clarify, the protagonist neither died nor was he reborn.

　　I wanted to present a relatively complete picture of a race car driver's journey, but starting the story directly from childhood would be too drawn out. So, I used flashbacks to simultaneously advance both the present and past timelines.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)