F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 75 Unveiling Station (5K)

Whether it's the season launch ceremony or the formal track media day afterwards, similar questions are always tirelessly asked by various media outlets.

Shu Long wasn't sure what kind of answer the team wanted to hear, but he was sure what kind of answer the fans wanted to hear, and he was also very sure what kind of answer he shouldn't have.

“We are all drivers, and when we sit in the car and get on the track, no one feels fear.”

In the world of F1, especially within a system like Red Bull, all conclusions are based on performance; there's no need to put yourself in the spotlight for short-term gains.

Although the most exciting answer that everyone wanted to hear wasn't given, this round of dragon-binding subtly boosted everyone's morale, and it was definitely an answer that most people could accept.

What is F1?
To put it bluntly, this is just a slightly more upscale workplace, and the most important thing in the workplace is interpersonal relationships.

Of the four drivers in the Red Bull system, Gasly is under the most pressure, followed by Albon.

Although Albon is a bit older, as a complete rookie, he is still considered to have a promising future in the entire paddock.

So even though he carries the mission from the Thai Bulls, it's perfectly acceptable for him to fall slightly behind in the first few games, as long as he can show his growth.

In contrast, Gasly is in his second year of racing, and should be faster than Shu Long in terms of both experience and car performance.

But he knew perfectly well how well he had adapted to this year's Red Bull race car. With Shu Long's abilities, driving this year's Red Bull, which wasn't bad at all, he might actually be faster than him, and by quite a bit.

Gasly's concerns proved to be well-founded; he struggled in all three practice matches, while Shu Long cruised through the competition.

The Albert Circuit is essentially a street circuit. The biggest difference between street circuits and other proper paved tracks is that they are more prone to uneven surfaces and bumps.

After all, a large part of these tracks are used daily as normal urban traffic routes, so you can't expect the protection of these tracks to reach the same standard as that of closed racetracks.

Red Bull's cars this year are notoriously sensitive. While Gasly adapted relatively quickly on a smoother track like Catalunya, that hesitant feeling to push the accelerator seemed to return in Melbourne.
Marko has begun his daily routine of intermittent high-intensity pressure training. Fortunately, Horner intervened to maintain the team's overall stability. Otherwise, Gasly might have wondered if he would have to move Shu Long to a different position if he couldn't even finish a race with the Lamborghini.

Gasly did consider being a man during the winter testing, but Marco's provocation led to a red flag that ended up in pieces.

But just recently, Shulong showered him with compliments. Is he going to back down now because he's afraid of a collision?
"I bother!"

That's right.

From the moment a driver sits in a race car, they shouldn't have any absurd thoughts like being afraid of speed; they should just go for it!
This time, Gasly was lucky. He was blessed by Lady Luck several times while walking on the edge of a tightrope, and successfully stopped at position P5 before FP3 stopped.

Then he looked up and saw that Shulong was in P4, and even faster than him by 0.1 seconds.
Mercedes dominated the track once again, with Hamilton and Bottas leading the pack by 0.5 lap times, a gap that is now comparable to that between the Mars and Earth groups.

The reason Shulong was able to squeeze into P4 is mainly due to Ferrari's generous donation.

Ferrari seems to have encountered some problems here. Their design philosophy for the front wing this year is actually similar to that of Toro Rosso. To some extent, they are also facing similar troubles as Toro Rosso – tire temperature.

In addition, their shortcomings in car balance seemed to be fully exposed by the bumps at the Albert Circuit, with the team constantly calling both drivers back to the pit to change the car settings throughout all three practice sessions.

The car is definitely faster overall than Toro Rosso, because Shulong's fastest lap in FP3 was actually not faster than Vettel's lap time in Q2; in fact, it was much slower.

However, this is already a remarkable achievement for a mid-table team, but for a team like Ferrari that aims to compete for the championship, it is an intolerable flaw.

Being 0.8 seconds slower than Mercedes in a single lap time is almost equivalent to giving up the competition.

Of course, what Ferrari's Vettel found most unacceptable was the Mercedes team's Versailles performance. Despite their cars showing such a clear and huge advantage, they insisted on saying in front of the cameras that they were no good.

“Our car still has many problems that have not been significantly improved, and Ferrari also showed worrying potential during winter testing, so we need to continue our meeting later to discuss what changes are worth making.”

Listen, is this human language?
During the interview at the end of the third training session, Vettel was not far from Mercedes. Upon hearing this, he couldn't hold back and directly criticized Mercedes in front of the reporter's camera, saying that they didn't need to be so hypocritical.

This year, due to changes in tire regulations, at least half of the teams in the paddock are finding it extremely difficult to adapt to the new tires, the most obvious manifestation of which is that the tires' optimal operating temperature window is very narrow.

Because of the reduction in sidewall thickness, tires with a soft compound overheat very quickly, while tires with a hard compound take a long time to warm up because they dissipate heat too quickly.

Therefore, every race car is driven very carefully on its exit lap and return lap before the race, for fear of causing additional wear and tear on the tires due to temperature issues.

Pirelli's solution has indeed greatly improved tire safety, and issues such as blistering have been significantly reduced.

However, the incompatibility of tire characteristics with this year's new aerodynamic regulations does not seem to have made the overall wear resistance of tires much better than before; in fact, phenomena such as granulation are more likely to occur.

Of course, whether the tires are sensitive or not is not a big problem for Shu Long. Compared to the general complaints about tires from drivers in the paddock, he actually likes Pirelli's new tire technology launched this year.

There's only one reason—it's bright!

This year, thanks to Pirelli's improvements to tire mold technology, every tire is now so shiny and black, as if it had been waxed, that you could even use it as a mirror if you put your face right up to it.

When Shu Long first saw the new tires this year, his first reaction was to go over and rub them back and forth with his hands several times. The jelly-like luster even made him want to hug them and take a bite.

Regardless of the results of the three practice races, the process of wearing down the shiny tires each time brought him considerable pleasure, and he was clearly cheerful throughout the interview.

However, the reporters at the scene clearly interpreted his emotions in a different way.

Hello, Shu!

"Hi."

"Congratulations on your outstanding performance in the third practice session. Could you share your thoughts on the car you're driving now?"

"Hmm, the overall balance of the race car is quite good, but there's still room for improvement in its characteristics. And of course, most importantly, this year's tires are really fun to play with!"

So many drivers have just passed by, and everyone is complaining about the characteristics of this year's tires. Now, suddenly, a weirdo has appeared here saying that tires are fun. The reporter couldn't tell for a moment whether this person was being sarcastic or not.

"May I ask what your goals and expectations are for the qualifying rounds? Is there still a chance to compete for the podium or even win the championship like last time?"

This reporter really dares to think outside the box; Shu Long was completely at a loss for words.

The current situation is that he has already demonstrated the excellent speed potential of the Toro Rosso race car. If he is too humble at this point, it will only make people dislike him. But if he makes grand pronouncements and fails to deliver, he will also be embarrassed.

So after less than half a second of hesitation, Shu Long blurted out, "Who doesn't want to win when they come to the competition? Tomorrow I'll pull the Mercedes down from the horse and show you!" Sometimes, people take lies as truths simply because the lies aren't fake enough. With Shu Long saying this, no one would hold a grudge or continue to take it seriously.

Let alone the Toro Rosso, even Verstappen's Red Bull has a lap time difference of at least 0.8 or 0.9 laps with Mercedes. Unless Shu Long is a Super Saiyan who can carry the car and fly, such a gap is beyond human skill to bridge.

He laughed it off, but when the afternoon qualifying races officially started, Shu Long's expression was more serious than anyone else's.

The Albert Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, is a relatively narrow track. Even with three DRS zones, overtaking is still very difficult. It can be said that the qualifying results largely determine the final results of the race.

Another reason why Shulong values ​​qualifying is related to the new racing regulations this year.

This year, the FIA's rule changes for F1 go beyond just tires. To improve the entertainment value of the races, the most pressing issue is addressing the difficulty cars face in following and overtaking during the race.

The most noticeable changes are to the front and rear wings of the race car.

The front wing has a simplified structure and a higher and wider design, which not only reduces the outward exhaust airflow but also the outward channeling airflow. This is to give the following car more downforce and grip when cornering.

The rear wing also features a higher and wider design, which greatly increases downforce at the rear of the race car. This is the main reason why Toro Rosso has now revealed an overly soft rear suspension system and exhibits understeer characteristics.

Of course, while increasing downforce, this year's F1 will also face the problem of excessive drag on the straights.

When Shu Long first drove this year's STR14 race car during winter testing, he had a very strange feeling. The stability in the corners was very good, but on the straights it felt like he was carrying a huge parachute on his back.

The reason for such a strong contrast is that whenever he turns on DRS in simulated ranked matches, the sudden acceleration feels like someone has kicked him hard in the butt.

Such a significant acceleration effect means that when the car in front does not have DRS, the car behind can more easily obtain a higher tail speed through the straight-line drag reduction system, thus increasing the chance of overtaking.

In addition, to reduce drivers' anxiety about fuel levels, the total fuel limit for this year's race cars has been increased from 105 kg to 110 kg, in order to minimize the risk of drivers being hesitant or timid due to fear of running out of fuel.

For smaller teams, this could be an opportunity to upset stronger teams. Earth-group cars can compensate for performance differences by taking advantage of various conditions in the race. Even a Mars rover might be able to be defeated if it's not careful.

If the performance gap between the cars wasn't so large, Shu Long might actually have considered taking action against Mercedes. However, aside from the two Silver Arrows ahead of him, there's still a chance to fight for third place on the podium.

However, ideals are always beautiful, but reality is not always as one expects.

Because the track temperature wasn't very high in the fall, Shu Long's strategy was mainly to wait for the track conditions to be optimized before making his push laps. So, while looking at the data panel in the car, he immediately spotted two Ferraris running Q1 on yellow tires.

According to Pirelli's tire compound analysis for this race, yellow tires may be 0.6 seconds slower per lap than red tires, while white tires may be 1.5 seconds slower per lap than red tires.

I don't know what tricks they're up to this time. Although lap times aren't that important as long as you can qualify for the Q1, the fact that they dared to go out on yellow tires when other cars were using red tires only shows that Ferrari is very confident in its speed margin.

It seems that Mercedes is not the only one releasing smokescreens; that indignant, crooked-headed uncle from before is also full of bad intentions, and he probably wants to stuff his underwear into his asshole.

Regardless of Ferrari's true intentions, this move is a very bad sign for Shulong, which is vying for a top spot.

But regardless of the final outcome, Shulong's most important task right now is to do his best in his current lap.

In March, Australia is still in autumn, and the surface temperature of the racetrack is only around 30 degrees Celsius.

Shu Long originally planned to wait until everyone had run enough and let the track warm up a bit before he went up to do his sprint laps.

Who knew these people would be so calm and collected? Ten minutes of the 18-minute Q1 had already passed, and yet nearly half of the twenty cars still hadn't achieved a valid result.

It seems that this year's tire temperature issue is indeed a test for many racing teams, and many people are holding the same idea in mind.

However, Shulong was not going to wait any longer. The narrow track width meant that the flight path required a lot of clean air. Once everyone was on the track, it was common for them to encounter slower cars blocking their way if they were unlucky.

Now that the team had spotted a very clean window, Shulong, who had been poised to go, no longer hesitated. The reflective tires emitted a sharp whistle, and the red and blue painted Toro race car drifted away from the pit lane with a small drift.

Because of the nature of the tires this year, everyone is hesitant to make any big moves on the track, but now there's this one exception who runs incredibly fast even while warming up the tires.

Drivers rely not only on the data displayed on the steering wheel screen to judge tire temperature, but also on their own physical sensations of the tires' working condition, which is also a very important indicator.

The optimal operating temperature is ultimately just a fixed figure; actual performance changes constantly with varying conditions.

Shulong appeared to be running fast, but its movements were actually not intense. Until it was about to enter the starting straight, the tire temperature was actually five degrees lower than the so-called standard.

This is exactly what he needs.

He was going to push the red tires on Q1 to their limits with a full lap left. If the tire temperature was too high at the beginning, Shu Long might face tire overheating at the end of the second stage.

While ensuring a steady progress in Q2, this move also aims to test the limits of the current car to some extent, so that he can better plan his pace in Q3.

Before the race even started, his confidence had already convinced him that he was at least guaranteed to finish in Q3.

Noticing that the lap time belonging to Shu Long at the bottom of the screen had started ticking, the five-star commentators who had just been praising Norris's equally impressive performance immediately straightened up and stopped their increasingly off-topic discussion.

"Okay, we see that Shulong has finally set off and begun his first flight."

"Wow! He was only two-hundredths of a second slower than Bottas, who is currently in P1, in the first stage!"

"Being only two-hundredths of a second slower than Bottas in P1 means that Shulong was even faster than Hamilton, who is currently in P2, in the first stage! It seems that Toro Rosso's cars this year are more than just good-looking in terms of paint job!"

With a sudden, unexpected burst of milk, Shulong only made a quick, slight adjustment to his direction when he reached the road shoulder, and entered the third stage with a 0.08 deficit behind Bottas before crossing the finish line!
This time, the commentators didn't go out to look for the name belonging to Shu Long, because the name with the two white calves logo was right behind Bottas, even squeezing out Hamilton.

1:22.517, leading Mercedes' five-time champions by 0.164 seconds!
Hamilton's time was affected by three slower cars within a single flight lap, but that's not the main point.
The key point is that this lap time is even faster than Verstappen's!

The first reaction of the commentators was not that Shulong ran well. Their first thought was that there was a problem with the design of this year's Red Bull race car, how could it be slower than the Little Red Bull?

Everyone paid attention to Verstappen's flight circle just now; at least on the surface, there didn't seem to be any obvious mistakes.

Since it has nothing to do with the driver, then it must be a problem with the race car, right?

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(End of this chapter)