F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 100 Unexpected Gains (4K8)

As a professional racer, Shu Long has actually read the race procedures and rules carefully.

His hesitation wasn't because he couldn't remember the rules; rather, it was because, compared to other drivers, Shu Long was paying too much attention to them.

However, despite the fact that his panel does have an entry like "photographic memory," the instinct to doubt one's own memory is ingrained in human nature. Not to mention, he also has an entry like "emptiness," which takes human laziness to the extreme and controls the switch.

"Holy crap, did I miss something or just forget?"

In short, it is perfectly normal to have such psychological activity.

Actually, there are no specific rules in the rulebook's qualifying section regarding whether or not you can overtake the car in front during the warm-up lap, and in principle, there shouldn't be any problem.

In fact, the person suspected of violating the rules at this point is Max, who is now suspected of obstructing and interfering with the rhythm of the car behind entering the flight circle.

But here lies the problem.

The rules do not state that during the qualifying warm-up lap, a driver who is warming up is not allowed to overtake another driver who is warming up. However, the chapter on driving behavior clearly states that overtaking must be done safely and without interfering with other cars that are moving normally.

If they were in any other position on the track right now, then it wouldn't really matter if they overtook them.

But at this moment, they were on the short straight between Turn 15 and Turn 16. It could be said that every car in line here could be considered to have entered the racing rhythm, including Verstappen who had been dawdling ahead.

Once your overtaking maneuver causes a substantial obstruction or interference to other drivers, you could instantly transform from a victim into a perpetrator.

Of course, if Verstappen's delaying behavior is determined to be intentional obstruction, then even if Shu Long and the other cars behind him did interfere with Verstappen's actions, it would not constitute a violation.

The key point is that Verstappen's actions are unlikely to constitute intentional interference or obstruction under the race's judging standards. The reason of avoiding dirty air ahead is usually understandable, and it is not uncommon for cars to line up after the corner before the starting straight in a race.

The sensitive point this time is that time is really running out.

Ferrari, which was right behind Mercedes, was delayed for a while by the clean air, and Verstappen was delayed for a while by the clean air behind Ferrari. As a result, the small teams that were hoping to catch the improvement in track conditions became the unlucky ones.

With the race cars behind him ready to pounce, how could Verstappen, who had spent so much time creating clean air, not be anxious?
He hurriedly stepped on the gas and followed, trying to shove all the race cars behind him into the back.

Although Shu Long reacted only after seeing the actions of other cars, his control over gear shifting and tire grip was flawless, resulting in a much higher overall acceleration efficiency for his car compared to Gasly, who had spun his tires out of impatience.

Gasly was really unlucky. First, his own teammate blocked his acceleration route, and when he turned around to change lanes, he was blocked by Shulong who had taken the lead. Finally, his exit rhythm at Turn 16 was a complete mess.

"The cars that Red Bull has piled up behind them have started accelerating in unison! My God, what a chaotic situation! Are they planning to complete their final flight lap like this?"

"The countdown to Q3 has already begun! Will they still be able to make it?"

"Oh! The checkered flag! Who has crossed the line?"

"Max and Shulong are leading the pack! These two riders entered the final flying lap almost simultaneously!"

"That's a real shame! We see Gasly, Hulkenberg, and two Haas drivers have to end their third qualifying session in disappointment."

Is it a pity?
It's a bit of a shame that Sky Sports' two English-language commentators, while perhaps a little cynical, mostly gloated over the situation for domestic commentators.

It's good that they can't escape; if they can't escape, then the chances of them merging into a dragon are even greater, right?
The six cars sprinting in unison on the starting straight almost all saw the light signal announcing the end of the race, but none of them were willing to let go of the accelerator until Turn 1. Everyone was secretly relieved, thinking that they were not the unlucky ones who got stuck.

Commentators have probably rarely seen such an intense qualifying Q3; the level of chaos is comparable to the first lap of the race.

Shu Long, who went full throttle into Turn 1, was one of the few cars on the line that wasn't affected. Although he was also affected by the dirty air from Verstappen's wake ahead, he was much better off than the four cars behind him that were already locked in a fierce battle.

The combination of corners one, two, and three at the Shanghai International Circuit is notoriously difficult to navigate.

Unlike the conventional method of braking before a corner and then tracking into the corner, here drivers need to brake evenly while maintaining precise steering control as they enter the corner.

The terrain's rise and fall, coupled with the complex changes in air pressure during braking in corners, require drivers to be extremely careful in balancing braking force and tire grip.

Therefore, a large number of drivers prefer to use engine braking as the primary method and brakes as a secondary method to seek overall balance in the corners.

Shu Long prefers to use the brakes more often here because he trusts his left foot more than mechanical assistance.

By not limiting the engine's power output, Shulong not only has a higher overall cornering limit here, but he can also more precisely control the engine speed within his desired range.

This is crucial for the throttle input before entering Turn 3. The slewing engine can seamlessly replenish the car's power when exiting Turn 2, while providing sufficient rev headroom for the tracking brake before entering Turn 3.

Everything should have been perfect, but Verstappen spun out of the corner between Turn 3 and Turn 4, forcing Shulong to give way to a crossroads.

“What he is fxcking doing?!”

It wasn't until they reached the straight after Turn 4 that Shu Long, who had been keeping the car at its limit the entire time, finally had a moment to press TR and curse.

"Hmm? You didn't get the checkered flag. Stay focused on the flight path!"

"I know, that's not what I meant! I've already finished this lap... never mind, I'll finish it first."

What's with the plane? Is it really that slippery?
Of course, there were others who used even harsher language than him. Gasly, who didn't dare offend anyone, could do nothing but repeatedly mutter "Wa di di du?" in TR.

The two Zaunites behind Haas almost blew the microphone off!

Then, seeing that the two Red Bulls, one big and one small, that had crossed the line both failed at the same time, he burst out laughing gleefully in the TR (Traffic Tracker).

It's no wonder they felt unhappy. The entire Q3 ended abruptly without them even completing a full push phase. Anyone would feel frustrated in that situation.

But actually, the two people who crossed the line before the meter stopped were also very unhappy.

Verstappen was not only angry at the unruly people behind him, but also at himself and the skating race car beneath him.

He cursed the entire short straight section after turn four, from top to bottom, and didn't even spare himself.
As for Shulong?
He might not know much about others, but when his road rage kicked in, Shu Long almost couldn't resist tearing the steering wheel off and throwing it at the Red Bull in front of him!
They put in so much effort and only got this result so far. Now that they've made such a big mistake right from the start, it's no wonder they can't go any faster!
Sure enough, after just passing the first time trial, the lap time displayed on the steering wheel showed that Shulong was a full 0.3 seconds slower than his own fastest time. What was the point of running like this?
However, Shu Long did not give up because of this. According to this year's tire regulations, the new red tires he is currently driving can only be used in Q3 and cannot be used in the main race, so there is no need to save them.

Verstappen, who had made a mistake earlier, did not give up. This time, the two cars were quite close together, and Shulong tried to adjust his entry rhythm and line slightly to see if he could make up for the lost time on the long straight by using the closer slipstream.

The first two segments were yellow, and combined they were 0.35 seconds slower than his first lap in the Q3. Shu Long's control of his pace was immediately effective. He only lost less than 0.05 seconds due to dirty air throughout the second timing segment. Then, in the third timing segment, he had two DRSs that were fully affected by the slipstream. Before crossing the finish line, Shu Long kept his eyes fixed on the display screen on his steering wheel.

"1:32.963! Oh dear, it's still a pity about Shulong! Even after brushing the green in the third segment, I still couldn't break my own fastest time!"

"There's nothing we can do about it, since there are always unpredictable situations on the track."

Is this Verstappen's fault?

The commentators would like to say that, but social etiquette is almost an instinct ingrained in the bones of the older generation of Chinese people. Just like how Gasly, even if he suffered all kinds of grievances, dared not speak out loudly, it was not worth letting Shu Long offend his former team in terms of public opinion at this point.

Then I thought about the jinx I just made. Oh well, I'll just move on from this for now.

Cool it down, drive it back to the repair area, and then weigh it.

As the last two cars remaining on the track, Shulong and Verstappen certainly garnered Red Bull plenty of media attention and publicity.

Verstappen kept grumbling all the way back to his garage after the entire vehicle had been weighed.

He complained that the cars behind him were not following the rules and disrupting his rhythm, and he was also annoyed by his own silly mistake. At the same time, he kept complaining to his race engineer, GP, about the terrible grip of the car on the current chassis in low-speed corners.

On the contrary, Shu Long remained relatively calm after seeing the result. The chances of him being able to overtake Gasly on the last lap were not high. His original plan was to catch the slipstream of a fast car.

Initially, the plan was to catch the Mercedes' taillights, just like the first time, but then Ferrari, which left the depot almost simultaneously with the Mercedes, interfered.

Then they wondered if the same would happen to those who were arresting Ferraris? Nobody expected Red Bull to lose its mind and insist on squeezing into the polluted air zone to join the fray.

The three teams—Benz, France, and Bulls—are different from others; for them, clean air is paramount in their pursuit of pole position. Smaller teams have a limited ceiling, and to achieve a breakthrough, they must try unconventional approaches.

It's not fair to blame Toro Rosso for releasing their cars too late; they were basically forced to passively follow the pace of the larger teams. If anyone is to blame, it's Mercedes for releasing their cars too late.

If Verstappen hadn't made that mistake, Shulong would have had a good chance to be at least 0.2 seconds faster than the previous lap. He made the most of the slipstream in the last timeout and almost made up for the 0.3 seconds he lost due to the mistake earlier.

The impact of polluted air is indeed present, but the track at the Shanghai International Circuit is quite wide, and with similar actual speeds, the choice of route is not so limited.

The main reason is that the Toro Rosso car in this race was very well-balanced, which allowed Shu Long to make more flexible choices in the race line without having to compromise on the characteristics of the car.

The first thing Shu Long did after getting out of the car at the pit lane was to find his race engineer, Hamelin, and his first words were: "My choice was right, we're going to start on red tires tomorrow!"

"We also noticed that your lap times were a bit unusual in the later stages, but how was your tire wear?"

As he spoke, Hamelin pointed to the slightly rough red tires that had just been removed from the race car.

"Of course, pushing the acceleration and braking performance like this will increase tire consumption compared to normal! I definitely won't drive like this in tomorrow's main race, I'm referring to following other cars!"

Although this race, which was almost a chase, didn't improve Shulong's starting position for tomorrow's race, he felt he gained a lot, so much so that his expression during the post-race interview was a stark contrast to that of the rider next to him, Ta Pao.

The Shanghai International Circuit was indeed a completely unfamiliar track for Shulong.

This unfamiliarity doesn't refer to a lack of familiarity with lap times. Thanks to the increasing sophistication of simulator technology, there are very few truly "unfamiliar" tracks for the new generation of drivers.

Even if they aren't ruthless lap-setting machines like Verstappen, the tasks assigned to drivers by the teams are enough to make them sick of laps.

The unfamiliarity mentioned here refers more to the lack of experience in competitions.

In practice, everyone runs their own race, so the actual information gathered on how to control the pace of the race is relatively limited. However, after that close battle and following of the car just now, we have a better idea of ​​how to execute the tactics for tomorrow.

"Congratulations, Shu! Although you didn't manage to improve your personal best in Q3, you secured a P7 starting position in your first home race. How are you feeling now?"

"Well, overall, the results are about what I expected. Our car felt great to drive, but it was noticeably lacking in speed throughout the weekend. There might be some regrets, but we basically did our best."

"Okay, we noticed that the audience's support for you was incredibly enthusiastic. We could barely hear what the photographer was saying to me from outside! So, do you feel any pressure? Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans? What are your expectations for tomorrow's performance?"

"First of all, I would like to thank my fans who have supported me all along, whether online or offline. I have already felt your enthusiasm."

This sentence is basically the standard template response that the team gave to Shu Long. However, Shu Long played a little trick here. He limited the scope of his gratitude to "the support he has always given".

After all, there are "geniuses" who are hard for ordinary people to understand, and if this specific group is excluded, Shu Long himself won't feel too disgusted by such talk.

"Of course there will be some pressure. Every game is like this. As long as our goal is to be faster, we must break out of our current comfort zone, and pressure will naturally follow."

"As for tomorrow's race, I won't say what position I'll definitely achieve, after all, everyone here is an excellent driver with an excellent team behind them. But what I want to say is that, no matter what, everyone ahead of me will always be our goal!"

Just as he finished speaking, Verstappen, who was standing next to him, finished his interview. The two made eye contact and smiled at each other. Verstappen, with his messy blond hair and dehydrated appearance, even came over to bump fists with Verstappen.

The female reporter conducting the interview seemed to have discovered some major news; her eyes lit up instantly.

"You two seemed quite dissatisfied with each other in TR just now, but you seem to have a pretty good relationship. So, is Max included in your goals for tomorrow?"

"Yes, we actually knew each other before we even entered Red Bull. Uh, I mean, of course! After all, I was talking about everyone in front of us!"

The reporter then asked Shu Long to repeat his answers in his native language. This is a fixed part of every interview process, which can be regarded as a tacit agreement to allow the driver to reveal some of his true feelings.

Especially for drivers like Shu Long, whose native language is only spoken by a small group of people within the paddock, it's okay to be a little cheeky at times like this, since the press officer next to them won't understand anyway.

"Thank you everyone, there's a great chance tomorrow, let's just do our best!"

".finished?"

"Hmm~"

"Wow, I really didn't know Chinese had such a high information density! Anyway, thank you for your cooperation, and I wish you good luck tomorrow!"

"Thank you!"

(End of this chapter)