F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 276 The "贝" in the character "赌" should be the "背" of bad luck.
Is it going to rain?
It really should rain!
Rain came on Saturday, starting early in the morning and continuing until the third practice session. There was even thunderstorm in the morning, which even made the FIA ​​consider postponing the race and send warnings to all the teams in advance.

Shulong prayed for rain because their car was at a significant disadvantage in this race, and without the chaos of a rainy race, it would be difficult to compete with Ferrari for pole position.

The Hungaroring missile launch site is notoriously difficult to overtake. Once you fall behind in qualifying, unless Ferrari executes their strategy flawlessly and the drivers make any more bizarre mistakes, the race could very well become as boring as Monaco.

The car that starts from a certain location crosses the finish line from that location.

There might be a chance to turn the tide at the start, but Shulong has now become a recognized key target for defense at the beginning of the race.

Unless there is a huge gap between the driver's personal ability and the car's competitiveness, the chances of him quickly improving his position in the early stages of a race are no longer as exaggerated as when he first entered the paddock. His success rate has plummeted from 70% to about 50%.

It might be even lower.
Therefore, qualifying is really important. It doesn't even matter whether it rains on the second day of the race or not, as long as you can establish a starting advantage by using the rain in qualifying.

But to be fair, this rain has caused some trouble.

The rainfall during the third training session was much lighter than in the morning, but the trend was still inconsistent, making the choice between full-rain tires and partial-rain tires quite blurry.

Sometimes the semi-wet tires seem a little faster, and sometimes the full wet tires seem a little faster. The lap times of the two compounds are almost the same, making it difficult for the team to collect any useful data.

Red Bull and Ferrari didn't participate much in the lap rankings during the third practice session. They simply tweaked their car settings to be more suitable for rain, allowing Williams' Perez and Albon to take the top two spots.

This is actually nothing.

But what if you've worked hard in the morning in the pouring rain, and then it suddenly stops raining when it's supposed to rain the most?
It wasn't exactly sudden. Actually, the rain had basically stopped about 5 minutes into the third practice session, but the water accumulation on the track was still very serious.

After two rounds of support races for F3 and F2, by the time the F1 qualifying session started in the afternoon, the ground was almost completely dry.

but?
The sky was extremely gloomy. Even without considering whether it would rain, just looking at the clouds that seemed to be pressing down on your head, anyone would have the illusion that they could be doused with three buckets of water at any moment.

Don't ask why; it's just an illusion.
Because there wasn't a single drop of water on the track!

It's like Red Bull wasted a practice session to make up for their already slow pace, making the entire third practice session a complete waste of time.

But we can't be too optimistic. Without this one more opportunity to adjust the car, perhaps Ferrari wouldn't have been able to pull away with such a large advantage.
But there's absolutely no difference!

It's just a matter of being a little slower or slower. Anyway, even if Red Bull is slow, it's still a huge gap in speed compared to Mercedes behind it. In the end, qualifying is just a matter of P3 being slower than P2 at most.

"So what exactly did the weather forecast say?"

"We don't know. According to the weather forecast, it was supposed to rain ten minutes ago. Now they are just repeatedly reminding us that there may be precipitation in a few minutes."

A few more minutes
Shu Long rolled his eyes speechlessly. He had heard this sentence at least ten times today, and not a single one of his predictions had been accurate!
What's the point of having so many sophisticated instruments if the result is like this?

I can tell just by looking at it that it's very likely to rain within minutes!
What should we do now?
Once you're on the track and have your setup set up for qualifying, you're locked in. If the rain stays like this and doesn't come down, running qualifying with a wet track setup is just asking for trouble.

One good thing is that the Hungaroring circuit has extremely high downforce requirements for cars, so there is not much need to adjust downforce regardless of whether it is a rain race or not.

However, there are many other settings that can affect the traction performance of a race car, such as the stiffness of the suspension and anti-roll bars. If more compromises are made for rain racing, the response of the race car when entering and exiting corners on dry surfaces will become more sluggish.

Especially on tracks like Hungaroring, where the transitions between corners are extremely tight, if the rhythm of any corner breaks down, the entire series of subsequent corners will almost certainly collapse.

Shu Long looked up at the increasingly heavy sky again, gritted his teeth, and decided to confirm the dry-ground training with the team.

It's just that it might slip a little. He doesn't believe that other drivers won't make mistakes in the rain. He might be able to give it another shot based on his personal ability!
Clearly, in his personal understanding, training someone to fight on dry ground in the rain is much less risky than training them to fight on dry ground in the rain.

However, Verstappen clearly disagreed with Shulong on this point. Even after qualifying started, he still hadn't decided on his preferred approach. After staring at the weather forecast board on the pit wall for a long time, he finally decided to keep the current rain setup on the car.

Verstappen, who was known for his all-out effort, did try his best in the first two practice sessions, and although he was reluctant to admit it, he did seem to have some difficulty keeping up with his teammates' pace on this track.

To achieve a surprising victory, one must take a risky approach and go all in, making a huge gamble!
Not to mention the clouds! The temperature! And the weather forecast results!
The probability of rain seems pretty high, doesn't it?
Q1 was actually alright. Although there was no rain, the track surface temperature was quite low, and rain gearing was actually more conducive to the car finding speed.

When the clock stopped, Verstappen was in P4, but Shulong was only in P6.

P1 and P2 weren't actually two Ferraris; Hamilton and Russell took the first and second spots respectively.
It shouldn't really have anything to do with speed. The temperature on the track surface was too low, and it changed rapidly as the race progressed. The later the race went, the higher the lap times the drivers would rank. Shu Long didn't even leave the track after setting a lap time that guaranteed his advancement.

It has nothing to do with confidence, nor is he deliberately showing off to put pressure on his teammates.

However, today's track conditions made him think of a possibility: the weather forecast showed precipitation on Saturday and Sunday, but now it has been confirmed that the weather forecast was unreliable, so it cannot be ruled out that the race tomorrow will also have the same low temperature and dry conditions.

If that's the case...
Therefore, the previously decided yellow and white one-stop strategy may not be very effective. Perhaps red tires and yellow tires will become the best choice for the race. With only four new red tires reserved for qualifying, reserving one new red tire for the race may have a surprising effect.

Even in Q2, Shulong didn't plan to use new tires. He waited until the last 4 minutes before going out and using the old red tires he had pushed once in Q1 to reach P5.

Verstappen and Shulong were the complete opposite; he stayed on the track almost the entire time to set lap times.

The situation is already a bit off. The rain has only shown signs of starting but has no intention of actually starting. As the temperature of the track surface gradually rises, the advantage he initially gained from his wet track setup has vanished.

Of course, even in dire straits, we're not in despair, and advancing to Q3 shouldn't be a problem.

When the clock stopped in Q2, he was ranked P6, seemingly only one position behind Shulong, but his lap time was a full 0.4 seconds slower, making it seem like he had virtually no hope of winning pole position.

That's very good.
If Shulong wins another title, and the team is severely hampered by the wetland training, then Shulong will likely enter the summer break with a huge advantage of more than 80 points.

There are only nine races in the second half of the season, including a sprint race in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Even if Verstappen wins every race, as long as Shu Long can consistently perform well and finish second in every race, the suspense of winning the championship will essentially be eliminated.

To tell the truth.

If the team's car is good enough to guarantee Verstappen a win every race, there's no reason why Shulong wouldn't be able to maintain a P2 finish. As long as there are no unexpected situations like a car malfunction and retirement, Verstappen is even more convinced of this than his teammates are.

That's how well I know!

But.
Although I can accept the reality of accepting the consequences of my bet, the clouds in the sky have already tucked their pants up to their knees, can't you spare a couple of drops at the last moment?

No!

Q3, still no rain! Shulong is more speechless than the heavens!

Ironically, as the one who gambled correctly on the car setup, Shu Long's inner thoughts were surprisingly similar to his teammates'; he was also waiting for a few drops of good fortune from heaven.

It's no longer just about Ferraris being faster than Red Bulls.

Mercedes seems to be really fast! Seriously fast! Absolutely incomprehensible fast!
They kept a low profile all weekend, letting Red Bull and Ferrari battle it out, and even when they took the top two spots in Q1, nobody took them seriously, thinking they were just benefiting from improved track conditions. But now it's clear that's not the case at all.

After completing the first flight lap of Q3, Shulong is in P3.

The reason he was able to get so far ahead was thanks to Leclerc's incredibly poor performance, falling a full 0.4 seconds behind his teammates, and Hamilton's DRS seemed to be malfunctioning, occasionally failing to open without any obvious external damage.

But in reality, Shu Long is only 0.016 seconds ahead of Leclerc, which means he is currently about 0.4 seconds behind Sainz ahead of him.

This lap of Shulong was somewhat affected by the dirty air from Verstappen. For a track with very tight cornering, clean air is crucial to achieving a competitive lap time.

However, the track's grip is currently such that the later you release the car, the better. The order of Shu Long and his teammates also shows who Red Bull believes is more competitive for pole position.

Unfortunately, just as Shu Long was focused on setting his own lap time while closely following his teammates, Verstappen's engine lost power again, creating a trail of dirty air for Shu Long, who was rapidly closing in from behind, all the way from Turn 11 to Turn 14.

The idiom "when it rains, it pours" perfectly describes this situation.

Verstappen's lap time on the first lap was simply unwatchable. After driving back to the pit, he borrowed a few people from the Shulong team to see if they could complete the initial troubleshooting before the Q3 stopped.

Obviously, this is not a simple matter. So, we can only temporarily and strategically abandon one side, letting Verstappen start from P10 tomorrow. The team needs to ensure that Shulong can get as far forward as possible.

Even if we eliminate all the influences, how much hope is there of winning the round?

Shu Long himself didn't know either.

Verstappen's interference just now caused him to lose about 0.3 seconds of lap time. With a light touch on the throttle and improved track conditions on the next lap, he should be able to improve his lap time by about 0.4 seconds if no further incidents occur.

The limits of the car are right here. This is not an excuse. It's because the Hungaroring has a very tight cornering rhythm, and Red Bull's sluggish mechanical grip makes it easier to see its upper limit at a glance.

What about Ferrari? What about Mercedes?
They also have lighter fuel consumption and better track grip, which naturally allows them to achieve better lap times.

Leclerc made a mistake last lap, so what about this lap?

Hamilton had a problem with DRS last lap, what about this lap?

Looking at the four brand-new red tires wrapped in warming blankets, Shu Long couldn't help but wonder whether it would be better to use up another set of new red tires now and try his luck, or save the tires for the main race and use them for something else.

For example, the main competition strategy of two red cards and one yellow card.

This week, Pirelli is offering tire compounds ranging from C4, C3, and C2, from softest to hardest, one level harder than Monaco.

With the overall track setup similar to Monaco, featuring tight corners but lacking high-load, high-speed corners, the tires might be more durable than expected.

If it's destined that we won't get pole position
So, in the main race, would it be a more rational and reasonable approach to control the pace of the race with one set of yellow tires and then use two sets of red tires to break through?

He's fallen into his old habits again, which is probably the biggest difference between Shu Long and Verstappen in their thinking patterns.

If it were the Max that Shu Long knew, he probably wouldn't be struggling with this kind of emotion at all; he would be going all out and seizing the moment.

This is because he has been supported by Red Bull since he entered F1, so he doesn't need to worry about his future. He can just focus on his work!
But Shulong is different.

He happened to be born during both the worst and best of Red Bull's eras, and had to earn almost everything himself. Having grown accustomed to hardship, he had to be very careful with everything he did.

Based on a visceral understanding of the car's limits and an objective analysis of telemetry data, there is a 90% probability that this new red kit will become a sunk cost that results in a complete loss.

It's hard to say whether this style of doing things is good or bad. If it weren't for making the most of the resources available to them, at least in Haas's year, it would have been absolutely impossible to achieve the miraculous feat of scoring while finishing the race.

But sometimes...
There may be more regrets along the way, but the key to a more miraculous ending often lies in occasional, reckless passion.

The purple section is the result of Shulong maximizing the advantages of Red Bull racing cars.

This section is the smoothest transition between corners on the entire track, all thanks to the flawless use of the racing line and the car's extremely precise throttle control as it exits the corner.

Sometimes, it's not the complexity that truly showcases a driver's ability; in fact, the simpler the terrain, the more it tests a driver's skills, revealing who can push the car's potential to its limits.

The second green section is an inevitable result of the reduced fuel consumption and the evolution of the track, and Shulong is simply making the most of it.

The reason for the three purple segments is that the timing segment is short enough that there are not many things that need to be perfect, but it also doesn't give you many opportunities to make corrections or improvements.

Purple-green, a typical design of the Golden Cudgel.

Even with Sainz improving his time by 0.084 seconds, Shulong still narrowly beat Sainz by 0.018 seconds, just making it into P1.

Leclerc may have made the same mistake as Verstappen in his wetland setup; even though his time improved by 0.3 seconds, he couldn't even threaten Sainz's lap time standard on his first flying lap.

As for Sainz, his performance improved far less than Shu Long had anticipated. It seems that even on a dry track with excellent conditions, not everyone has the ability to consistently perform at their best.

The commentators glanced at the three remaining drivers still setting their final lap times: Russell, Hamilton, and Alonso.

Alonso's green-yellow-green performance also resulted in a downgraded version of the Golden Cudgel, while Hamilton's yellow-green-yellow performance, due to DRS malfunction, was an even more basic version. The most stable performance was achieved by Russell, who only managed two green runs.

There's basically no threat anymore!
Upon seeing this, the soldier slapped his thigh and immediately offered his professional assessment.

“Apart from Sainz’s second period, no one else even got a purple. Ferrari isn’t doing too well either. This should be their strong track! It looks like Shulong has secured pole position.”

Then, as soon as he finished speaking, Russell crossed the finish line with three green bars, squeezing out Shu Long by a mere 0.021 points and taking pole position in P1.

Although none of the three timing segments were particularly fast, all three segments were consistently fast.

It was precisely because Mercedes' performance was so mediocre that Red Bull and Ferrari completely overlooked Mercedes' competitiveness in practice, and were quite puzzled by their speed in qualifying.

For a moment, no one spoke, only the faint sound of what sounded like slaps could be heard.

I always breastfeed them, but they never learn their lesson!
Fortunately, Shulong's current lead is large enough that domestic car fans, who know about the "five-star curse" (a Chinese internet slang term for a prediction that is considered unlucky), are particularly tolerant and are having a great time making jokes about it.

Shu Long himself didn't really show any particular disappointment. Of course, it's understandable that he felt regret and frustration after learning that he had come so close to pole position.

However, he had anticipated that he might not be able to secure pole position before leaving the pit stop, so this result is still a pleasant surprise.

(End of this chapter)