F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 81: Etching Our Names in the History of the Track

The competition in the front row is actually very clear.

After overtaking Vettel, Verstappen, using tires newer than both world champions, caught up with Hamilton on lap 47.

Now he wants to fight for second place, and Vettel is only 12 seconds behind him, so he can basically rule out competing for the fastest lap points.

The two Ferraris ahead of them need no further explanation. After Gasly pitted, Leclerc was only about four seconds ahead of Shu Long, and Vettel was two seconds ahead of Leclerc. Neither of them had much room to fight for that point.

The only one behind them who could potentially affect the dragon's formation is Magnussen of Has.

Both Haas and Sauber, the two teams using Ferrari engines, have been incredibly fast this year. Moreover, considering the historical record comparison between Ralf Ralph and Magnussen, who has long been nicknamed "Magnussen the Dragon" by fans, Haas, which already shows the level of a top-tier car, may actually have even greater potential than it has shown so far.

Aside from the chaotic team management leading to a series of basic mistakes, Haas now seems to be living out a classic underdog story.

As for why they are said to be poorly managed...
Does anyone remember what happened in the first episode of Drive to Survive a week ago?

Haas encountered a tire problem during the opening race, resulting in both drivers' tires not being properly tightened, leading to a DNF (Did Not Finish: a driver's failure to finish the race due to an accident, mechanical failure, violation, or other reasons.)
After a whole year of preparation, as one of the world's top ten racing teams, surely even a small tire-changing problem should be resolved by now?
Huh~
Why wasn't Grosjean, who was ranked ahead of Magnussen at the start of the rankings, included in the list of those that Shulong needs to be wary of?
Because his tires weren't tightened properly again at this stop, it was like he was under some kind of curse, and it was the same left front tire from last year!
But it wouldn't be fair to say that Haas didn't improve this time.

Last year, the tire came off as soon as it left the pits. This year, after pitting on lap 16, the tire at least stayed on the race car until lap 32 before finally giving way.

As for the other teams, the competition in the mid-table group has always been fierce. The difference between each car from P7 to P12 is mostly only one or two seconds. It is impossible for anyone to give up their current points ranking just to ruin Shulong's good deed.

With all threats eliminated, there was no need to hide anything. Shu Long directly confirmed with the team in the TR that he could try to achieve the fastest lap by stopping twice.

The situation on the track can change in an instant, and strategies naturally have to change accordingly. It is common for a race to be changed several times.

From the tire compound selections handed over to Pirelli before the start of qualifying, including after practice, all signs pointed to the fact that the Shulong Project was a two-stop operation.

As a result, during the main race, it was found that the tire wear was not bad, and the front row cars, led by Vettel and Hamilton, and the back row cars, disrupted by Raikkonen, all showed the possibility of a two-stop. Shulong's strategy changed from a two-stop to a one-stop.

Now that the game is nearing its end, all the previous struggles have turned out to be futile, so the strategy has naturally shifted back to the second timeout.

"You're 0.4 seconds faster than Magnussen on a lap now. How's the condition of the yellow tires?"

"The rear wheel is quite grainy, but it's still within my control. I should still have about three or four more revolutions to go."

"Copy! Then push as much as possible. You need to create a safe enough window of opportunity for yourself to enter the battlefield!"

Shu Long responded and, following the advice of race engineer Hamelin, adjusted the engine power mode (STRAT) to 4 and the discharge mode (SOC) to 5, while also slightly tightening the corner differential.

It was only because the rules relaxed the fuel limit by 5KG this year that the team dared to let Shulong go all out.

Otherwise, according to last year's rules, without the DRS of the car in front helping to save fuel, let alone pushing forward with the throttle locked, the team's decision not to let Shulong coast at this stage was quite accurate in terms of pre-race calculations, in order to prevent the vehicle from being DSQ (Disqualified) due to failing the weight limit after the race.

Shu Long, who ruthlessly pushed his tires to their limits for five laps, successfully widened the time gap between him and Magnussen to 27 seconds by setting a lap time nearly a second faster than Magnussen's. At this point, even a six-second tire change would not be enough to shake their positions.

The large difference in lap times is not entirely due to differences in car performance and driver skills.

The main problem is that Haas's two bikes were among the unfortunate ones who were wrecked by Lao Laitou after about ten laps and had to stop in the pits. After entering the pits, they got caught up in the slow cars and lost a lot of tires. Now their tire condition is much worse than Shulong's.

Shulong charged up for lap 54 and pitted on lap 55 at the team's instruction. His 2.1-second tire change was perfect, and he was still four seconds ahead of Magnussen after exiting the pits.

A solid batch!
On lap 56, after a warm-up lap, the team only allowed Shulong a maximum of two laps to set the fastest possible speed, but as mentioned before:
"More than enough!"

The red tires are the old red tires that ran Q3, but on this track they still have a 0.6 lap time advantage over the yellow tires. Plus, Bottas' current fastest time was achieved with the old yellow tires that lasted for more than 20 laps. If you still can't beat them, you might as well give up and go to sleep.

There is no controversy about the three-segment purple.

When Shulong's lap time of 1:23.813 was announced, most of the commentators were not immediately aware that something had happened.

With the race nearing its end, the team was pitted and changed to red. It was obvious to anyone that three purples were almost inevitable. But when the organizers placed a record at the very top of the broadcast, the domestic broadcast channels erupted in jubilation.

七冠车王迈克尔.舒马赫，于2004年驾驶着法拉利F2004创造的1：24.125，已经尘封了15年的赛道记录在今天彻底改写上了束龙这一属于中国人的名字！

For Shu Long, the first Chinese driver to become a Formula 1 race car driver, every step he took was making history, but this step is one that will truly be permanently recorded in F1 racing history.

To be honest, the fastest lap in the race doesn't really mean much, and it's hard to tell a driver's true skill level. It's mostly related to the team's strategy in the race.

Aside from the three cars that retired and Williams, anyone else on the track could easily break this record if they wanted to, but it wouldn't make a difference. So it's basically just for fun, mainly for the fans.

Starting at P6, finishing at P6.

For Shulong, this was certainly not a particularly happy result, but the whole race was quite dramatic and entertaining for domestic racing fans.

I quietly ran a lap to pick up the tire poop, then parked back in the closed area of ​​the pit lane. The race organizers will send people over to weigh the cars, and they will also randomly select a few cars for technical checks.

This is the first time in my racing career that I've finished a race without standing on the podium. It feels so uneventful.
It seems a bit like Versailles, but this is the first time that Shulong, who has only participated in two main races so far, has failed to finish in the top three.

It was so uneventful that Shu Long himself felt he hadn't come up with any meaningful thoughts or reflections. During the return lap, Hamelin repeatedly hinted three times before Shu Long remembered that he should at least say something polite like thanking the team and the fans.

His ambitions are too great; racing is almost too much for him to handle.

For other Earth Group drivers, let alone managing to get sixth place and eight points, just squeezing into the points zone and getting one point would be a cause for celebration for the entire team.

Didn't you see how happy Gasly is now, driving a Red Bull and getting a P10 after all that?

Thanks to Shu Long's inhuman overtake on lap 25, which completely stunned young master Stroll, he was able to seize the opportunity to overtake and then, with Shu Long's help, achieve thirteen clean lap times. Otherwise, his opening race as a supercar could only be described as a disaster.

During the off-track lap, Gasly not only accelerated to Shu Long's side and gave him a thumbs up, but also ran over to give him a big bear hug after getting out of the car.

Of course, the happiest person today is Bottas.

This Finn, who is only 29 years old, instantly exudes the classic uncle vibe of the 70s and 80s after growing a beard this year.

Some say he grew a beard to show his resolve, but to those in the paddock who know the inside story, it's clearly the result of Bottas being worn out by Mercedes.

Last year, because Ferrari posed a constant threat to the championship throughout the season, Bottas played a completely supporting role throughout the entire 18 season in order to ensure Hamilton's fifth consecutive championship.

Strategically, regardless of who was in a better position at the time, Mercedes would definitely favor Hamilton. In fact, to ensure Hamilton had a sufficient points advantage, Bottas probably gave up many victories that could have been won after saying "Valtteri, it's James."

The opening match of this year went so smoothly. On the contrary, Hamilton was forced to play the role of a wingman for Vettel in order to deal with his strategy. Now Bottas can finally hold his head high and can't be happier.

Whether it's Raikkonen or Bottas, these Finnish drivers on the track all seem to have some dry and quirky traits.

Bottas looked righteous and seemed like a serious person. Ricardo had once lured so many people, including Hamilton, into enjoying that disgusting shoe-and-wine culture on the podium, and they all suffered the consequences. Only Bottas refused to give them that kind of face.

For this very reason, Shu Long had always felt that Bottas was not easy to get along with, so so far the only words they had exchanged were "Hello" three or five times.

But if you spend a little more time in the paddock, you can feel Bottas's peculiar and strange sense of humor to some extent, so he is surprisingly well-liked in the circle.
After the other drivers finished weighing themselves in line, Bottas had just finished his personal interview with the champion. On his way over, those who were slightly familiar with him went up to shake hands and congratulate him.

Shu Long is naturally a bit socially awkward.

This socially anxious person is not afraid of the process of interacting with people. He can quickly go from being a stranger to becoming familiar with someone whose personality is compatible with his. What he fears is the first step in starting a new relationship.

To sum it up, people who know him will think he's like a husky that's always wagging its tongue, while strangers will think he's as aloof as a cat.

Seeing Bottas walking straight towards him, Shu Long quickly simulated more than a dozen congratulatory lines in his mind, but he felt awkward no matter how he said them.

We don't seem very familiar with each other. What should I call him? Should I add "Mr."?
After stammering and hesitating for a while, I finally decided to just pretend I didn't see it. As long as I don't say anything, I definitely won't feel awkward.

Before he could even run away, Bottas grabbed his hand and kept saying, "Congratulations!"

Who is actually winning this? Are you kidding me?
After the match, Shu Long did not rush back to the hotel. He needed to summarize some of the problems that arose in the match during the post-match meeting.

The first issue is the overall performance of the race car. Since the winter testing, the factory has already made some targeted designs, so the car should receive the first batch of upgraded parts before the Bahrain Grand Prix in two weeks.

As for who should be given this upgrade kit to test first, Tost's idea was to give it to Alben to try out first.

The reason is actually quite simple: many teams will initially choose to let relatively less competitive drivers run the actual data for these design changes, since it's uncertain whether they are an upgrade or a step backward.

The data presented on the simulator is indeed quite good, but it is ultimately just a simulator, and there will inevitably be some differences between it and the performance in real racing.

In an endurance race car, such a slight deviation would have an almost negligible impact.

However, in F1 racing, even a difference of just a fraction of a second can result in a difference of four or five places in the final result.

Since the overall performance of the current racing cars is quite good, Shu Long doesn't really have any major objections to this.

There's nothing to criticize about the strategy. It's not that the strategy team did a bad job today. It's just that Ferrari may be a clown in the past, but they have the foundation of a champion. Being outmaneuvered by them isn't really a shameful thing.

Another point is about tire wear.

The car's overall balance is too far back. While this characteristic can be used to create unique lap times during single laps, it puts too much strain on the rear axle during long races when following other cars.

The front downforce was already insufficient, and it became even more insufficient when following another vehicle. This is why the rear tires showed relatively severe granulation at this station.

However, I heard that the parts for the race car in the next race are mainly designed to address this issue, so we can only hope that Albon can deliver a relatively impressive result in half a month and bring some positive outcomes.

　After paying back the previous chapter, I still owe 13-1=12.

　　Thank you to reader 20240831175038423, and to the author Guqi for their monthly ticket donations over the past month!

　　Thank you so much to the generous donor, "Awake and Dreaming 739"!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)