F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 62 A Godlike Start (5K2 Super Bonus Chapter)

As Shu Long parked his car in the closed area and stood up from the race car, he could faintly hear the enthusiastic shouts from the stands.

I didn't expect the South American audience here to be so enthusiastic. I, a completely unknown newcomer, can receive such a grand cheer.

Just as he was about to wave to the audience, he discovered that it was Old Liu, who had secured pole position for the competition, who had climbed over the fence and was interacting with the fans.

It turns out the whole thing was directed at someone else. Luckily, I held back a little earlier, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing to be presumptuous.
"come on!"

"Good job!"

Hmm? Why do I feel like I vaguely heard a few words of Chinese?

Looking up through the helmet, I saw a five-star red flag being raised high in the corner of the main stand. Now that I noticed Shu Long seemed to be looking in that direction, he waved the flag in his hand, which represented his bloodline and identity, even more vigorously.

It seemed to be a spontaneous gathering place for domestic audiences, with the overall color scheme being bright red. At first glance, I thought it was a Ferrari fan club.

Shu Long felt a strange soreness in his nose and eyes. He had originally planned to take off his helmet, but instead put the visor back down. He just waved in that direction, made a gesture to show off his biceps, and then went to weigh himself as if trying to escape.

How come someone as unpretentious as me can suddenly be momentarily distracted when I hear a familiar accent?
On the way back to the weigh-in room, I ran into Leclerc and Max. They had just finished weighing themselves and were talking about Shulong.

These two had fought their way up in the lower-level go-karting classes, and were the kind of rivals and friends who respected each other. But today they have a common identity: P6 and P8 respectively, and they are both defeated by Shulong.

They greeted each other with a fist bump, and the two were now genuinely congratulating and marveling at each other.

It's their skill to get their teammates to create a slipstream for them; this is a very common element in motorsports. As long as it's not done through malicious cheating, there's no question of it being an unfair victory.

Moreover, aside from that amazing slipstream maneuver, the dragon's lap was already practically perfect; no one who sat in that car would dare say they could have done better.

Gasly and the other two were actually drivers who started growing up around the same time. They developed a friendship through their childhood on the track, and probably no one in the paddock knew Gasly's abilities better than them.

Based on the data alone, even excluding the slipstream factor, Gasly and Shulong would have a lap time difference of at least 0.4 seconds in this race.

He went back to the team and celebrated with everyone. The highlight was that he gave Gasly a big bear hug, which made Gasly's back crack.

Next, they change out of their clothes and go out for an interview. This is a regular event. After practice sessions one, two, and three, as well as the current qualifying session, all the drivers gather in one place to share their feelings about the car and their expectations for the upcoming races.

Because they were worried that the young man might say something reckless and arrogant, Toro specially assigned him the same press officer who had previously been in charge of Hartley, and had him go over the answer template several times before the interview.

But in fact, Shulong has a very good grasp of the nuances of this matter.

When asked by a reporter how the car was, he thanked the team's engineers and said the car was excellent.

When asked by a reporter why he could run so fast, he said it was mainly due to the selfless dedication of his teammate Gasly.

When asked by a reporter about his expectations for tomorrow's competition, he said that he would be happy if he could finish the competition and maintain his current ranking.

Now that it's the penultimate race of the season, the landscape of both the Drivers' Championship and the Constructors' Championship is basically set, but there's no guarantee that if he makes too much of a splash here, Red Bull will hint to them to give up their position.

Keeping a low profile is the key to success; the main strategy is to make a fortune quietly.

Actually, Red Bull was more pleased with the result than anything else.

The Toro Rosso car's potential is limited, and its current position is only achieved by exploiting a slipstream. In the race, once the distance is long, its true potential is revealed, making it difficult to tactically disrupt them.

Since it didn't have a major impact, it's certainly something to celebrate that another genius has been discovered in the team.

There wasn't much time to rest after the interview; there was a very busy tactical meeting going on backstage at P-room.

As a result, the team members returned to the hotel very late that day. It was a rare achievement to have such a starting position, and no one wanted to miss any opportunity to create a miracle.

Why do they have to be that damn second team? Even if people don't care about saving face, they should at least try to prove themselves!
Toro Rosso's team factory is in Italy, and many of the engineers on the team are Italian. Both are the birthplace of racing, so why should they have to be subservient to those British guys?
Strategies for entering the station, the timing of tire changes, and even emergency measures for dealing with unexpected situations.

The team held a meeting and developed five contingency plans, which can handle a total of hundreds of unexpected events on the track.

Including what to do if it rains again during tomorrow's main competition.

The general situation is that, apart from Ferrari and Shulong, other teams and drivers can accept the situation regardless of whether it rains tomorrow.

Shulong's strategy is basically the same as Ferrari's. If it rains tomorrow, the tire advantage he painstakingly saved today will become a joke. If it rains before the race, everyone will switch to rain tires. If it rains during the race, they will lose the time they wasted on starting on yellow tires.

So now all Shulong can do is pray that either he goes down from start to finish, which would level the playing field between the Earth rover and the Mars rover and give him a better chance in the rain battle; or he simply doesn't go down at all, so give the newcomer a break on his first appearance.

By the time Shu Long finished washing up and lay down in bed that evening, it was already 12:30 a.m. local time in Brazil, while it was still noon in China. After thinking for a while, he decided to make a video call back to his family, Gan Mengning, and even Gan Mengning's parents.

They had actually sent congratulatory and condolence messages before, but Shulong was too busy to reply and only gave a perfunctory response.

When you're out in the world, you can't just focus on the feelings of others and ignore the feelings of those closest to you. No matter how much the outside world praises you, the people who have the deepest expectations for you and the most steadfast support are those who have always stood firmly by your side.

Heart-to-heart talks are a two-way street. Knowing that it was already late in Brazil, no one wasted much time talking about trivial things. They just told Shulong to do his best tomorrow and not to feel pressured, and urged him to take some time to rest.

The convoy slept soundly in Shulong until almost 11 a.m. when someone knocked on the door to wake them up.

The driver parade starts at 12:30 pm, which is the part where the pig-cart carries twenty drivers around the track for the audience to watch. If I don't get up now, I'll be late for work.

The team originally offered some driver services for VIP spectators, such as taking photos, signing autographs, and driving on the track. However, considering that it was Shu Long's first time competing and he needed to compete for a good ranking, Gasly basically took on all of these tasks today.

As a complete newcomer and starting in P5 today, Shu Long was bombarded with questions by reporters for almost ten minutes during the parade.

Besides the same old things from yesterday, there were of course other template phrases: "I love this track!" "The fans here are very enthusiastic," and "Yes, Brazil is a very charming country, I love it here."

A large part of what he said was insincere, but it still drew cheers from the sidelines, making Shu Long feel embarrassed.

Although he was a completely unfamiliar face, the rookie managed to get P5 in his first qualifying session, which inevitably reminded people of Liu Laohan, who was still a young player more than ten years ago and started in P4 in his first qualifying session.

The only difference is that Hamilton was driving a McLaren that could still compete for the championship back then, while Shu Long is just driving a basic car that has just undergone effective upgrades.

Now one of them has become a multi-time world champion, so what about the other?

The future is expected!

After the parade, it's time for the outlap. During the time allotted by the race organizers, teams can choose to go on the track for a few laps to check the track's grip and the condition of the car's brakes, clutch, and other components.

After the race cars were parked in their starting grids in order, and the tires were changed and put on the tire warming blankets, there was a series of warm-up opening ceremonies, performances, and the raising of the national flag at the home stadium.

It wasn't until 2 PM, after being notified by the race organizers, that Shu Long, fully equipped, finally sat in his race car, ready for the main race to begin in ten minutes.

However, just before the crew members around him could leave, Shulong's helmet was struck once again by the same familiar person—Tost.

"Red Bull's pre-race data suggests they have a chance to win, so there might be some team instructions later." "What do I need to do?"

"keep Calm!"

It finally happened, the legendary convoy order.
Shu Long spoke so cautiously yesterday because he was worried that this situation might occur, but to be honest, it wasn't too unexpected. Tost's meaning was very clear: competing for rankings is fine, but don't fight with Red Bull's own people.

The reason Red Bull was 0.3 seconds behind the leading group in qualifying lap time yesterday was because they considered more of their race strategy in their setup, and their tire wear was also very low in this race.

The characteristics of Toro Rosso's race cars are derived from those of Red Bull.

The focus on high downforce will put them at a slight disadvantage in the third stage, but because there will be less lateral slippage, they will not only have a significant advantage in cornering speed in the second stage, but their overall tire consumption will also be much lower than that of Mercedes and Ferrari.

In qualifying, failing to maintain top speed in the third stage can significantly impact lap times, but in the race, following the car in front can greatly mitigate this disadvantage by staying close to the slipstream of the car in front.

Tost's advance notice suggests that he and Red Bull have reached some kind of agreement before the match.

Ricciardo was penalized five places in starting order today due to the engine kit change, and will start twelfth. Theoretically, he should have little chance of winning. This preparatory instruction is basically aimed at Max.

Although Verstappen has become much calmer on the road since his collision with Ricciardo, you still can't describe his style as "mild."

Shu Long's first time competing was a dramatic one, and to put it dramatically, he even had the potential to directly challenge for the podium in this race. Red Bull was also a little worried that the young man might get carried away and cause a lose-lose situation.

The clock struck 14:10, and the tire warm-up officially began.

However, an unexpected situation occurred right at the start.

Hamilton and Bottas, who were ahead of Shu Long, had already left. He was about to step on the gas and catch up when the two Ferraris in the next starting grid seemed to be stuck to the ground and didn't move for a long time. Shu Long was so scared that he quickly slammed on the brakes and stopped, almost causing Leclerc, who was moving up to the seventh position, to rear-end him.

In theory, it is not allowed to overtake the cars ahead of you in qualifying position during the warm-up lap. Even if it is not intentional, who knows whether the race organizers will make a ruling.

It seems like Vettel is the one who has a problem; Kimi wanted to leave but was blocked by his teammates in front of him.

In fact, Shu Long was probably overthinking it, because Bottas, who started third, had already set an example by letting Vettel, who had struggled for a long time to get his car moving, pass him at Turn 3. The race organizers did not seem to care.

What exactly is going on with Ferrari?

"Well, here's some news that might be good for you: Vettel's car seems to have some problems."

It didn't seem to be an accident caused by Vettel's operational error. He reported to the team in the TR that something was wrong with his car, and now all ten teams in the paddock knew this crucial piece of information that could influence the outcome of the race.

Back on the starting straight, because he was starting from the front, Shulong deliberately did an extra burnout, which was different from the team's instructions.

He started on yellow soft tires, which have an optimal operating temperature window that is actually higher than that of red tires. If he is not well prepared and is surrounded by a bunch of red tires, he may be at a significant disadvantage at the start.

For this race, Shu Long went all out, drinking Red Bull until he burped before even getting into the car to ensure that the "Energy Special" item could function reliably.

[Neural reflexes, recruitment speed: 99%], plus an overall boost of 10% from [Energy Tuning].

Staring through the goggles at the dragon overhead, whose five red lights were lighting up one by one, I felt as if time itself had slowed down.

After all five red lights were on, the timing of when the lights would turn off to start the race was completely random. But just before the lights went out, Shulong even captured the process of the signal lights gradually dimming due to the delay in capacitor discharge.

Although it's called attenuation, the process only lasts for tens of milliseconds, a moment that the brain can easily ignore in the eyes of ordinary people, yet Shulong actually perceived it.

There was no hesitation.

Almost simultaneously, Shu Long raised the clutch to a semi-engaged state, first maintaining a speed of 10,000 RPM to allow the rear wheels to experience a small launch dynamic, and then instantly slightly released the throttle to prevent the driving force of the rear wheels from exceeding the tire grip limit and causing them to spin freely.

My right foot steadily applied the accelerator, and as I felt the car stabilize, I completely released the clutch. In less than 1.3 seconds, I shifted into first gear and the red light was on the odometer. Without wasting any engine speed, I seamlessly transitioned into second gear.

"Okay, all five red lights are off! Let's take a look at the starting line."

"Oh! Vettel's start was very decisive. Could he cut inside Hamilton before Turn 1?"

"The starting straight at Interlagos is actually quite close to Turn 1, which to some extent alleviated Ferrari's disadvantage of starting on yellow tires. That's right! Vettel braked too late and locked up his right front!"

"Bottas, who started third, overtook him from the outside. Vettel's mistake was too big. Now Kimi behind him will also get past him!"

The battle for position at the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix was fierce. The three commentators were so focused that their minds couldn't keep up with their mouths. Even though they could clearly see a blue-painted car following Bottas, they kept repeating "Kimi" over and over again.

It wasn't until the cars that had been locked in a tug-of-war before Turn 3 finally separated that young Ran suddenly realized something was amiss.

"There's a little Red Bull behind Bottas! That's a Shulong! He moved up two places at the start and is now following behind two Mercedes!"

Bingge and Feige could hardly believe their eyes. The driver leaderboard on the left side of the screen hadn't been updated yet. It wasn't until Shulong was almost past the first DRS zone after turn three that they roared and stood up.

This start was absolutely dazzling. Not only did Shu Long overtake both Ferraris, but Verstappen, who started alongside him, also passed Kimi.

The race organizers promptly provided a slow-motion replay of the start, which showed that, possibly due to the yellow tires, the two Ferrari cars were significantly slower than the other cars around them.

But that's not the point. While all the other cars were still stationary, the front of the Shulong car, which also started with yellow tires, had already begun to arch forward.

The three commentators felt their hearts sink.

This is so much like a jump start, and the kind of jump start that can bring huge profits!

If the race organizers' decision is implemented, based on past experience, Shu Long is likely to have already incurred a 10-second penalty and must pit within the next 3 laps to complete the 10-second stop penalty, resulting in an actual time loss of at least 25 seconds!
In other words, although he appears to be ranked third now, his actual position must have fallen to twentieth!

It's over.

Regardless of whether Shu Long can finish the race normally, this result will inevitably be a heavy blow to a young man, both psychologically and in terms of the team's assessment of his value.

However, the verdict that was supposed to appear did not appear at the top of the screen. Instead, the starting footage was replayed once again.

Unlike before, the organizers have marked the reaction time of each car at the start of the race.

Hamilton's starting reaction time is 0.271, which is actually the slowest among the front row.

The two Ferraris didn't start slow, with reaction times of around 0.24, but the large visual difference was due to their yellow tires at the start.

Now here comes the key point: right next to that Red Bull race car in Shulong, a striking red number, 0.106, is eye-catching!

　No, no, I can't add any more chapters tomorrow. I need to take a break. Consider this an extra chapter I owe from the donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)