F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 278 Man!
"How are the engine readings? Nothing strange, right?"

"No, don't worry, it's brand new."

"I'm only scared because it's completely new. We're still in the adjustment period, and I'm not very familiar with it yet."

Shu Long slightly pursed his lips inside his helmet.

Due to Verstappen's sudden loss of power during yesterday's qualifying session, Red Bull opted to put both players into their third power unit of the season as a precaution after a brief inspection.

Both of them were on their third set. They had changed their vehicles under the supervision of the inspection team before triggering the closed zone rules, and they maintained their original settings and adjustments completely. Therefore, they were not penalized for relegation and did not need to go to the maintenance area to start their vehicles.

New things always make people feel insecure before they've been tested, especially this year's Honda engine, which has failed at crucial moments more than once.
However, that wasn't actually what Shu Long wanted to ask. He just wanted to confirm some information before the green light came on and the engineer shut up.

For example, the tire colors of each team were hidden tightly with thermal blankets before he got in the car.

Russell's old red and the two Ferraris' new yellow were visible to him, but the visibility in the rearview mirror was limited. The heat waves generated by the twenty cars starting up churned the area behind them into distorted patches of color, and he couldn't see at all what tires Norris behind Leclerc was using.

With only 10 seconds left, all the mechanics around the race car had moved to the sides of the track. René didn't ask why, and just recited the words quickly like a tongue twister.

The remaining time was ultimately too short, and English is not very efficient for expression. Even though Reni responded quickly to Shulong's request, he could only report to Bottas before the conversation abruptly ended.

Bottas started with yellow tires, which isn't particularly noteworthy information.

Shu Long's purpose was, of course, quite different. He didn't really care about the others; all he wanted to know was what kind of formula those cars in front of Verstappen used.

Among the top ten drivers, the ratio of red tires to yellow tires is 4:6. Apart from Shu Long and Russell, only McLaren's Norris and Ricciardo decided to start on red tires, while all the others used yellow tires.

Norris performed exceptionally well in P5 yesterday, but his position was too high for most to pay attention to. Verstappen may not have a chance to directly threaten Norris before the red tires finish their stint.

Ricciardo, who also starts on red tires, is in P9.

However, given Da Ya's current form, it would be difficult for him to effectively defend against Verstappen. It's best to be conservative and not consider him.

As for the other yellow fetuses
Although one of the yellow-tire riders is Alonso, who just made a name for himself last year, it would be difficult for them to form an effective safety barrier in such low-temperature track conditions.

After all, not all teams have the decisive judgment of Red Bull. There are quite a few teams like Ferrari that blindly believe in practice data, which ultimately comes down to a lack of confidence.

It might be for the driver, or for the car, or for the team, but it's just unreliable.

Shu Long's attention returned to Russell in front of him.

By this time, the warm-up lap was nearing its end, and Russell began to compress the car line after Turn 14 to create enough buffer space for the upcoming burnout.

Russell executed three burnouts in total, once, twice, and three times. It seems that, considering the extremely poor track surface temperature, Russell's third burnout was extended.

The dragon was burned four times.

It wasn't that his tire warm-up was inadequate, nor was it simply to gain a little more tire grip at the start. In fact, each of his four burnouts was very shallow; they were mainly for Russell's benefit.

It may be hard to tell how effective it will be right now, but at least the psychological pressure has been immense. From the moment Shulong stopped in his starting grid, Russell checked behind him through the right rearview mirror at least six times.

Huh~
Are you that nervous?
Shu Long's relationship with Russell was relatively distant compared to the others in the paddock. However, after they met up a few times during the pandemic, they became much more familiar with each other. Now, even if they meet privately, they can still find topics to talk about.

Who can't tolerate even a little bit of negative emotion in their heart?

Regardless of what the other person might think about him in their heart, at least on the surface, the two of them don't have any major conflicts or grudges. Generally speaking, Shu Long wouldn't target anyone in particular.

But this is a competition.

If the backline hadn't been so favorable to Verstappen, Shu Long's tactics in the match would have been slightly milder, but now...
The start of the duel isn't just when the lights go out; the competition on the track is far more complex than that. This is the first lesson from hell, and if you want to inherit the mantle of the seven-time champion, you'd better learn it well.

"Last car, on the grid."

Shu Long also glanced at the left rearview mirror and saw a slender figure waving a green flag crossing the track. The figure switched the car from warm-up mode to start mode and, before the traffic lights ahead even lit up, clutched the clutch and shifted into first gear.

With a slight tremor, the car beneath him made a soft "click" sound. The not-so-subtle noise made Russell instinctively turn his head to the right, but he quickly turned back to stare intently at the five red lights that were beginning to bubble one by one ahead.

A long wait—

The five red lights stayed on for an exceptionally long time, almost wearing down the patience of the twenty impatient people on the track, before they reluctantly turned them off together.

Russell definitely exploded.

Russell's mindset was completely worn down by Shu Long before he even got started on his first pole position in his professional career.

Even on a cold track surface with such poor grip, and even though the track where Shulong was located was dirty and had a lot of scattered rubber particles and tire debris, the gap between the two race cars was rapidly closing in at a speed visible to the naked eye once the cars started moving.

So this is how you apply pressure?

You still need to practice, young man. The pressure you're under isn't as great as what Gasley is putting on you!
He effortlessly passed Russell. Shu Long even had a moment to quickly glance at the side mirrors, and sure enough, the two red Ferraris with yellow tires couldn't keep up with the red tires' starting pace at all.

In this way, the difference between the two formulas becomes very obvious. Even with his shaky rearview mirror crowded with all sorts of colorful race cars and his view obstructed, Shu Long could still completely guess what kind of battle was taking place behind Verstappen.

Red Bull's racing cars are no joke; if Ferraris have this kind of design, you can imagine how competitive the other global race cars are.

In that case, all I can say is sorry to Russell.

After getting past Russell, the normal approach would be to move to the outside and find a good grip to maintain the advantage, and that's exactly what Shulong did.

However, after he came to the outside, he did not speed up at full speed, but instead slowed down the pace a little bit.

not much.

Yet he was able to make Russell behind him clearly feel the distance between the two cars closing.

When people are under extreme stress, their minds may become less clear, and all their thoughts and actions will tend to follow the most basic and stubborn logic.

Instead of thinking about why this happened, the first reaction is "I'm faster than him!", followed by "I'm going to beat him!" Is this all the starting ability they boasted about?

The response speed is quite impressive, but the upshifting rhythm and the control of the engine speed are rather average.
Either he underperformed, or Shulong was overhyped and overpraised in the past.

Russell had clearly compared his own telemetry data with that of Shulong, and he was well aware of the difference in their ability to control the race car. In any case, Russell felt that he was seriously underestimated.

Adrenaline not only enhances a driver's physical function and competitive performance, but also causes a dramatic drop in SAN (Sanity Index) when the rushing blood washes over the eardrums and brain.

Suck in the wake and tap the inside line.

With his confidence already overflowing, Russell decided to let the world know from the inside of Turn 1 that all he needed was a good car!

This is exactly the effect that Shulong wanted.

The reason why Bottas cleared the track in one shot at last year's Hungaroring was not only because the track surface was still slippery due to rain, but also because there was a certain reason behind Turn 1.

The terrain of the entire starting straight is characterized by an initial ascent followed by a descent. After entering the braking zone, the descent becomes even steeper, placing extremely high demands on tire grip and subjecting the tires to tremendous loads. This is also the area on the entire track where tire wear is most concentrated.

In addition, the curve itself is a sharp hairpin bend of nearly 150 degrees, so in addition to the need for extremely precise judgment of the braking point, the choice of the line is also crucial.

If it's a normal, undisturbed flight loop, the braking point at Turn 1 should be about 15-20 meters earlier than other similar turns. Use the most standard outside-inside-outside line to hug the apex of the turn, and then use the smoothest curve to mitigate the outward throw of the center of gravity during the continuous downhill in the turn.

Of course, as mentioned above, this is a normal, undisturbed flight path.

Regarding the wheel-to-wheel battle in the main race, especially in the initial stage when everyone's tire performance has not yet been fully utilized, Russell's decision to take the inside line also has its own reasons, and the outside line where Shu Long is located is not necessarily an advantageous line.

The tires may not be able to hold onto the large lateral inertia of the outer edge. To smoothly transfer the lateral load on the tires to the longitudinal traction, it is necessary to take greater risks and spend more effort. Even if you have amazing car handling and do not make any mistakes, you will inevitably lose more speed.

For a player like Russell who makes a blatant, late-braking cut-in from the inside, the most rational and correct approach is to temporarily avoid his sharpness by using the crossover line, and then use the advantage of exiting the corner earlier to compete for the car's acceleration on the subsequent straight.

But this is just the beginning, the first bend on the track.

Once in the braking zone, the entire formation of twenty race cars will be quickly compressed into a small group. Shulong will not be able to leave himself any space to maneuver around the intersection lines. He will be completely filled by the other race cars following behind in no time.

Therefore, the cross line was never in Shulong's defensive tactics dictionary from the beginning. He used a speed that Russell thought was absolutely impossible to keep the car steadily on the outside of the corner, and maintained a parallel state with the car on the inside line in an extremely tough manner.

What is the limit of tire grip during the starting phase?

For other drivers, this might just be a rough estimate, but for Shulong, it's a completely transparent and fixed price. Even if there are occasional instances of exceeding the tire grip limit, it's simply because driving like that is a little faster for the characteristics of a race car.

From the outside to the outside, it means that Shulong's position has always been under pressure. Russell, who has a certain degree of road control in the paint, has, to some extent, the power of life and death in Shulong's hands.

However, Shu Long's deliberate slow start was not because he found the competition too boring and wanted to increase his own intensity.

As the saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally harbor murderous intent."

Russell, who was completely caught up in the moment, felt that Shu Long, who was already at a complete disadvantage but was still so aggressive, didn't take him seriously at all. He was willing to risk withdrawing from the competition to make such a dangerous move. Did Shu Long think he would let him win or something?
In such a short period of time, humans are creatures whose thoughts and emotions are swayed by hormone levels.

The dark side of one's heart is like a balloon that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Even a tiny splinter can easily prick it, and it will burst out with a "pop".

In a moment of rage, Russell gritted his teeth and pressed his racing car against Shulong, preparing to push him off the track.

To the left of Turn 1 is a gravel track connecting to turf. Because it is very close to the edge of the track, Russell doesn't even need to make any obvious illegal squeezing. He just needs to push one of the tires of the dragon out. If it catches up, the impact on the car's handling will be absolutely devastating.

No normal person would choose to continue fighting here; avoiding the situation and returning to the track would be the most sensible choice.

Otherwise, Shulong would have been easily overtaken by the two Ferraris behind him, and then dragged down by the yellow tires and the first red tire Stint. Russell believed that his first pole-to-win in his career was basically secured.

It wasn't that Russell was underestimating Ferrari; he knew exactly how much of an advantage their cars had on this track. From the moment he saw Ferrari both choose to start on yellow tires, Russell knew that the only real threat to him in this race was that one car, Shulong.

But someone just wouldn't!
Instead of avoiding it, he moved closer to Russell and, at the moment their tires made slight contact, he suddenly elbowed the slightly counter-steering wheel.

Two seemingly completely opposite or even contradictory adjectives, but this is the perfect condensation of Shu Long's operation just now.

【Tai Chi】The perfect guidance of force not only did not cause Shu Long to pay the price of injury for his life, but it also did not have any obvious impact on his racing dynamics. Everything seemed to be just a desperate counterattack to make up for the wheel running over the edge of the curb.

But Russell's experience was completely different.

Never underestimate the weight of an F1 car in a corner. Any fan who has ever used a simulator should know this. Even though the car has hydraulic power steering, the tires will still give the driver a very scary feedback under the terrifying downforce at high speeds.

And at this moment, we exit the bend!
Any experienced driver or simulator driver knows that controlling the steering wheel of a race car is not about gripping it tightly the whole time; the overall process can be summarized as loose-tight-loose.

Relax before entering the corner, input forcefully and precisely the moment you enter the corner, and gradually return to a relaxed grip as you exit the corner.

It's not just about proper planning of physical fitness, but also because oversteer is more likely to occur when exiting a corner. If the car's dynamics become abnormal and the original steering wheel input angle is maintained too aggressively, then loss of control is almost inevitable.

Correcting oversteer is actually quite simple, because the car itself will give what it considers the most correct answer in conjunction with the throttle opening. The key to recovering the car is not to counter-steering, but to control it through the "second steering wheel" of the throttle opening.

What should the driver's hands be doing?

You don't need to do anything. Just downshift when necessary, relax when needed, and let the steering wheel move on its own.

So right at this point of exiting the corner, Russell's grip on the steering wheel was relatively relaxed.

But just as he was certain that there was no significant slippage in the car's dynamics and was preparing to slightly increase the grip to adjust the car's direction as it exited the corner, a sudden, tremendous force lashed out at Russell's hand along the driveshaft.

The sudden turn of events left Russell completely unable to keep his balance on the steering wheel. His excessive height meant he could only control his weight by managing his muscle mass, but he lacked the innate strength of someone like Shu Long.

It was bound to get out of control.

Not only did he fail to maintain control of the steering wheel, Russell even felt as if his thumb had been twisted. He could only watch as the car spun 180 degrees in the sudden oversteer, blankly looking back at the direction he had come from.

Yellow flag!

Then the safety car!
(End of this chapter)