F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 102 What's so special about red and black for Red Bull? The true color scheme for Orlando Bull is blue!

"OK, redo check."

"Checkcheckcheck"

"You need to know that this is your home turf. Right now, TR can probably be heard by everyone, and the tournament organizers will definitely be paying special attention to you."

"Okay, okay, I won't play anymore."

Shu Long suddenly seemed a bit busy in the car, fidgeting awkwardly from side to side for a while, opening and closing his goggles several times, and after thinking for a moment, he gave a thumbs up to the small camera on the HALO pillar.

Hamelin was right. The broadcast not only showed the entire conversation between Shu Long and his engineer, but also revealed their intimate actions, including touching and groping.

"I think I heard someone laughing in the main stands. Was that laughter?"

"Don't be nervous, that's cheering."

"Nonsense, that's just laughter!"

This time Hamelin didn't say anything because he was laughing himself. After a long while, he heard the instructions from the event command center and then reopened TR.

"Alright, there are 30 seconds left in the match!"

The crew members surrounding Shulong began to evacuate in an orderly manner, and Hamelin prepared to seize this last moment to reiterate the key points.

"Today the temperature is 19°C, but the track temperature is only 29°C. The tire grip may not be as good as expected, but you have red tires, so this start is crucial for you."

"I know, I know, I'm already preparing!"

Shu Long responded vaguely, pressing the water button on the steering wheel and sucking hard on the Red Bull flowing from the tube.

Because he had heard that energy drinks need an absorption process to take effect, Shu Long originally liked to drink them a little earlier and then sip them all at once before the main competition.

However, after experiencing a urinary urgency crisis at the opening round in Melbourne, Shu Long felt that it was best to drink a lot of water after getting into the car.

During a race, the high intensity of the activity combined with the high temperature in the cockpit causes the water that the driver replenishes to be quickly lost through sweat, making it generally difficult to feel the urge to urinate during a race.

But if you drink the portion that's already stored in your bladder beforehand, there's no way to relieve it. If you don't want to relieve yourself on the spot, you can only hold it in. At this point, the high G-forces of the race car during acceleration, braking, and cornering will show you what true exhilaration is.

Of course, the main reason was that he discovered that the "Energy Special" seemed to take effect immediately; once you drank enough, it was fine.

The green light ahead turned on, and Shu Long shifted into gear, quickly joining the ranks of those warming up their tires as he was seventh in line.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only two starting positions between P9 and P7 at the previous station. There is a difference of more than ten meters in the starting distance between these two positions, and the visibility is also vastly different.

There are only three rows of cars in front, so you'll feel like you're in the front row.

If you can see four rows of cars in your line of sight, it feels like you're enveloped in a chaotic world, with cars crammed in front and behind you.

Generally speaking, the warm-up period is usually calm, especially today when it's a dry start. Shu Long never expected Red Bull to pull off a trick at the start.

At the same spot where he exited Turn 3 and entered Turn 4 yesterday, Verstappen, with his tires warmed, spun out, startling Gasly first, and then nearly blocking Shulong's path.

What exactly is Max doing?

"Never mind that, stay focused, it's not a bad thing for us."

"Hmm, but there's a really strong headwind from the northeast at Turn 4. For a moment just now, I felt the front of the car was a bit too sensitive."

"Maybe, the wind force is very high today, pay attention to changes in wind direction on the track."

Today, the average wind speed in Shanghai is 8.2 km/h. Considering the relatively open terrain, the actual wind speed within the race track area is likely to be higher than the meteorological reading.

The strong headwind that Shu Long suddenly felt at the tire warm-up spot on Turn 4 must have had a wind speed of at least 10 km/h.

This is basically a level 5 wind, almost reaching the level of a level 6 wind.

This is just a number on paper, and most people probably don't really understand it. You can think of it as meaning that it's basically impossible to use an umbrella normally in such strong winds.

Audience members at the scene would clearly feel that the hats on their heads were a bit rebellious, and if they didn't protect them with their hands, they might be ready to pursue freedom and their true selves at any time.

If even a hat can cause this much damage, one can only imagine how much of an impact such strong winds would have on race cars on the track that are extremely sensitive to aerodynamics.

Shortly after Verstappen's warm-up mistake, Hamelin reminded Shulong in the TR that Kubica at the back of the pack spun out of Turn 6.

This time, the cause of his mistake was somewhat different from Verstappen's.

Verstappen's mistake stemmed from the fact that during the exit of Turn 3, the car was already at the edge of its grip limit due to the outward curve of the arc, and suddenly encountering the headwind would cause the car to oversteer very abruptly.

Kubica, on the other hand, faces the opposite problem: when the car goes from facing the wind to having a tailwind, the car's grip changes significantly when entering and exiting corners.

Kubica, who could only sense and control the race car with one hand, was caught off guard and unwittingly fell victim to this gust of cold wind.

"Once the race starts, you need to pay attention to turns 3 through 6, turns 9 through 13, and the final turns 14 through 16. I will notify you promptly if the wind direction changes."

"OK, copy!"

"Also, due to the wind direction, the overtaking efficiency in the first DRS zone today may not be very high. You need to plan your offensive actions reasonably and not waste tires on worthless attempts."

"Okay, I'll look at it myself."

"Two or three burnouts at the end, don't stop in the wrong starting grid, good luck in the race, buddy, we all believe in you!"

"Angang, have you noticed that you seem to be talking more than usual today?"

"Shh! The last race car is in position!"

As the last silver Mercedes medical vehicle took its position, the flag bearer waved the green flag and crossed the middle of the track. The starting signal, accompanied by a loud "beep beep," signaled the start of the race, and the five red lights began to illuminate one by one. "Lights out, start!"

"Hamilton's start was as quick as ever, while Bottas, who took pole position yesterday, hesitated slightly!"

"The two cars entered Turn 1 side by side, and Hamilton took the inside line, snatching the P1 lead back from his teammate!"

"The two Ferrari drivers behind are also battling for position in the corner! Charles Leclerc has already passed Vettel! And he's behind them."

"What the hell am I seeing?! Shulong is already neck and neck with Max on the outside of Turn 1! It's like he's saying, 'Hey! Let's see who the real Red Bull is?'"

"Keep on the line! He braked late at Turn 3 and cut inside, he's overtaken! Verstappen just spun here, Red Bull's terrible low-speed cornering traction means they can't afford to accelerate here!"

"An absolutely magical and perfect performance! Just from the start of the first lap, Shulong had already moved himself from P7 to P5!"

After Turn 4, the cars in the front row stretched out in a straight line. Before the commentators could even properly praise Shulong for not underperforming at their home race, their attention was quickly drawn to a McLaren soaring high into the air at the back of the pack.

Hulkenberger's engine or clutch seemed to be malfunctioning, as he lurched backward from the start, forcing him into a wheel-to-wheel situation with the McLaren behind him in the corner.

However, the two McLarens parked side by side had already planned their cornering routes before entering the corner. As the car's center of gravity gradually shifted towards the rear during the gradual release of the brakes, it was not easy to avoid Hulkenberg's sudden incursion.

So Sainz, in the paint, first bumped into Hulkenberg's side, pushing Renault all the way and then bumping into the unfortunate Norris. Renault's front wheel and McLaren's rear wheel collided, and Norris's car rear end took off, almost flipping over on the track.

Fortunately, the McLaren's landing did not seem to affect his driving. Norris, who had fallen to the back of the pack, quickly rejoined the race, preventing Uncle Melander from having to drive the safety car on the first lap.

However, due to the large number of parts and debris on the track, the race organizers still issued a yellow flag and deployed a virtual safety car, allowing Shulong to maintain his starting advantage for at least the next half lap without any pressure.

can only say.
wonderful!

Many of the fans who came to watch the race at the home stadium this time were new car enthusiasts who were just following the trend and joining in the fun. Most of them only knew that racing cars were cool and fashionable, but they were completely unaware of the hidden dangers involved.

Well, right from the start, they've already revealed just the tip of the iceberg of this cruel world to everyone present.

"Both McLarens have chosen to pit and replace their front wings, and they are now 17 seconds behind Williams."

"That's what I'm saying."

"If we keep pushing forward, the tactics might shift towards Plan B, which would be a major advantage for us!"

"Yeah~ Haha! I hope they're all okay, but this is really lucky!"

What kind of crazy idea Shu Long and his engineer came up with remains a mystery to the audience and commentators; no one could possibly guess the answer to this riddle that had only just begun in the competition.

What they care about more now is something else: how exactly did Shulong manage to overtake the two Red Bulls ahead of him with just one start?
By the third lap, the aftershocks from the start had largely subsided, and the race had entered a relatively calm, or even boring phase.

At this point, the race organizers had already enabled DRS (Driving Speed ​​Recording), and before the gaps between cars were fully opened over long distances, it was virtually impossible to see overtaking shots happening in this extremely long train of cars.

It was during this brief lull in the commentary, when they were just making small talk, that the race organizers finally projected a replay of the start of the race onto the big screen.

The odd-numbered starting grids at the Shanghai International Circuit are on the left. Because Turn 1 is a right turn, the even-numbered starting grids on the right, although on the line they are on the inside of Turn 1, actually have their driving lines on the dirty side of the track.

The grip is even worse, and the starting position is a car length behind the odd-numbered cars in the same row. Logically speaking, today's starting situation should not be like this.

As can be seen from the overhead replay, the odd-numbered race cars generally had a poor start today.

Hamilton, starting from P2, overtook Bottas, who was riding high yesterday. Levante, starting from P4, also successfully flipped over the hunchback in P3. Even Gasly, who was not generally favored before the race, managed to run alongside Verstappen before Turn 1.

Among the many odd-numbered cars that started with disastrous performances, only one little Red Bull stood out from the crowd.

As always, he started with a cannonball-like start, which even felt like a false start in slow replay. Coupled with the absolute grip advantage of the red tires, Shulong even finished alongside Verstappen before Gasly.

"A starting clutch response of 0.132, no matter how many times I see it, I can't help but marvel at how incredible it is, it's simply a genetic miracle!"

"Yes. But compared to Shu Long's clutch response, I think his outstanding 0-100 km/h acceleration time is the key to his comeback at the start."

It takes 2.81 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, a figure that is even more impressive than Mercedes-Benz's Super Galaxy Car.

While the performance of a racing engine is certainly important, in the initial stages, a racing car ultimately relies solely on mechanical grip, which is practically negligible compared to horsepower. Any excess engine power here would be considered a burden.

Especially during the period before aerodynamics fully takes effect on the race car, the driver's control over the car's traction is of paramount importance.

The throttle, clutch, RPM, gear, and even the directional guidance during acceleration of the race car—everything must be perfectly coordinated to create such a perfect start.

Everyone wants to be able to floor the accelerator as soon as they release the clutch, but in reality, let alone flooring it, even pressing the accelerator a few millimeters too deep often causes the rear wheels of a race car to spin out of grip and result in a significant loss of acceleration.

Experienced drivers know when to stop, for a small act of impatience can ruin a big plan. But Shulong dared to maximize torque at the start, pushing the car right to the limit of grip.

However, the acceleration data from 0 to 200 km/h starts to fall short. There's no way around it, as it is still behind Mercedes and Ferrari. But for an attack engine like the Red Bull, which has questionable traction at low speeds, it's more than enough.

Besides, as soon as the lights went out and he saw the Verstappen car ahead, Shu Long knew that he had a sure thing about overtaking.

Shulong could feel it when the tires were burning on the starting straight. Because of the obstruction from the main grandstand and pit garage, the surface temperature of this section of the track was actually lower than the track conditions predicted before the race.

Despite the overcast weather, the shadows cast by the obstructed light were still clearly visible on the straight section of the road where the train departed.

If the average surface temperature of the track as a whole is 29°C, then the surface temperature of the track on the starting straight is estimated to be only around 24°C, which is extremely unfriendly to the yellow tires of the cars ahead, which have higher operating temperature requirements.

Thanks to the higher grip of the red tires, Shulong managed to maintain a dominant cornering speed alongside Verstappen on the outside of the first and second combination corners, keeping pace with him on the longer track.

Finally, at Turn 3, the most vulnerable and sensitive spot for Red Bull in this Grand Prix, the weak point where Red Bull's defenses were most vulnerable to being forced into the paint!
The pace of the race was completely controlled by Shulong after that, and Little Red Bull lived up to its unique long-distance performance before the race.

Up until lap 15, Shu Long not only maintained his lap time within 1:39, keeping pace with Ferrari's long-distance rhythm and easily defending against Verstappen behind him, but he also had the leisure to manage the battery power of his second Stint.

"Okay, Dragon! We're moving into the station for this lap! Repeat, we're moving into the station for this lap!"

(End of this chapter)