F1: I was born to be useful, and you are all destined for greatness.

Leclerc withdrew from the race.

Russell will automatically be promoted to P1, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should at least be able to bring the team back from the podium.

Red Bull hasn't made any moves yet, but their championship hopes have skyrocketed! Whether it's Perez or Verstappen, as long as they surpass Russell, they've basically secured the title!

After playing solo for most of the game, Tang Che effortlessly moved up to another position.

Tangcher/Verstappen/Perez/Russell: Leclerc is still a decent guy!

Now Red Bull can go all out against Russell!

On lap 29, Red Bull called Verstappen to pit for red tires.

Red Bull's strategy team really dared to think big and act boldly. By bringing Verstappen into the pits, they not only changed Verstappen's pit entry strategy, but also gracefully handed over the task of attacking Russell to Perez.

This time, there's no need to worry about being stopped by Tang Che.

Verstappen was 12 seconds ahead of Taunter this time. After pitting for tires and then exiting the pits, Verstappen will be 10-12 seconds behind Taunter.

There is a good chance that Tanger will enter the pits before Verstappen catches up, and even if he is caught up by Verstappen before entering the pits, Tanger's yellow tires will not be too far from the pit window.

Verstappen will have a huge advantage over Tangcher in terms of tires. Even if the DRS is still unreliable, it will be much easier to break through Tangcher's defense than to break through Russell's defense.

Even if we can't surpass them, we can still use the strength of Red Bull Team 1! Can Red Bull Team 2 really defy the odds?

On lap 31, Zhou Guanyu retired from the race again due to a car malfunction.

Ethane isn't enough for Vorfa engines; even customer teams using Vorfa engines need two cars with Vorfa engines. The Barcelona circuit should just be renamed the Vorfa Destroyer Circuit.

Iron Buddha Temple: Binotto, where is your Ferrari?

Binotto: It's not me who ruined VfL, it's this track that ruined VfL!

Also on lap 31, Perez cleanly and decisively passed Russell.

The difference between having DRS and not having DRS is so great that it's like two completely different games.

Russell's lap times weren't as fast as Perez's, and once he was overtaken, he couldn't catch up at all.

Behind Russell, Tanger finally emerged from single-player mode.

Verstappen is closing in on Tangcher at an astonishing pace! He's almost 2 seconds faster than Tangcher on a single lap!

The Mars rover with the advantage of having tires is just that absurd.

On lap 31, Mattia reported in the radio: "Max will probably catch up to you in attack range around lap 35 or 36."

Tang Che: "copy".

Mattia hesitated for a moment, but still reminded him, "Tom, we can get into the box early; there's absolutely no need to defend Max."

Tangche is now a P3, and he should be guarding the podium. Why doesn't Mattia want Tangche to guard it?

Does the Alfa Romeo team not want a podium finish? Of course they do!

But Verstappen's lap times on the new red tires were much faster than Tancher's on the old yellow tires! Tancher was much harder to defend against!

Even if we manage to stop him this time, he'll still lose his position when we enter the pits. It's better to pit first and let Verstappen pass, betting that after his third stop he'll fall behind Toncher—the red tires won't last until the end, and Verstappen will definitely have his third stop.

Tang Che: "copy".

Mattia and Tannh have been partners for so long that, while they may not know Tannh inside and out, they at least have a basic understanding of his temperament.

Before giving the warning, Mattia knew that Tanget wouldn't listen; Tanget would definitely stay on the track waiting for Verstappen to close the gap before defending him. But this time the lap time difference was indeed too large, and defending him was really unnecessary, so Mattia couldn't help but give the warning.

As expected, the reminder resulted in a "copy" response indicating that the order would not be carried out. Whether Tangche followed or not the team's orders, the reply was always "copy," but the tone would be slightly different, and Mattia could distinguish the difference.

Mattia was at a loss: Tom must have his reasons; I just need to trust him. Trust him; trust doesn't need a reason.

Tontard certainly had his reasons – pitting first to let Verstappen pass was a good strategy. With his new yellow tires, Tontard wasn't at an advantage over Verstappen on his red tires. Verstappen could potentially create a pit window before his third pit stop using the red tires, but would still be ahead of Tontard after the third stop. However, if Tontard focused on protecting Verstappen before his pit stop, trying to wear down Verstappen's red tires as much as possible, ideally reducing the RB18's lap time advantage over the AT03 on the new yellow tires, Verstappen might not be able to create a pit window after Tontard's second pit stop and could fall behind him after the third stop.

Verstappen's lap time advantage is significant, but a large part of it comes from cornering; his straight-line advantage isn't as pronounced, and his DRS (Driving Speed ​​Restraint) is inconsistent. On this track where overtaking relies heavily on DRS, and on this track where tires degrade quickly, Verstappen's lap time advantage isn't very helpful for overtaking, and it won't last long. Tanger is confident he can neutralize Verstappen's lap time advantage!

On lap 36, in the DRS zone before Turn 1, Verstappen could attack! Verstappen still couldn't get his DRS working... but he did in the middle of the DRS zone!

Was Verstappen's top speed enough? No! Absolutely not... Tangcher severely understeered at Turn 1! He almost went off the track! A huge gap on the inside!

A huge, huge, super, super basic mistake! Toncher gave Verstappen a brilliant overtaking opportunity!

Verstappen drives straight to the basket! Verstappen takes the lead!

Mattia was shocked and couldn't believe it: How could Tom make such a big mistake? You have to understand that Tom has made less than five mistakes since he entered the paddock!

Those present at the scene and watching on television were astonished, yet they couldn't believe it: Was Tang Che acting? But his acting was just too...

The reason behind it... Tang Che said in TR: "My steering wheel suddenly felt so heavy!"

That's not surprising! That's not surprising!

Those who frequently drive F1 cars know that F1 cars have power steering, but the power steering is not very strong. When going through high-speed corners, the steering wheel is still very heavy, weighing about 20-30 kilograms.

However, if power steering is lost, the steering wheel will feel heavy in any bend.

Tang Che's mistake was that the car suddenly lost power steering, but he was still trying to turn the steering wheel with the same force as when it was powered. Of course, he couldn't turn it back, and the race car would definitely understeer.

Why did the race car suddenly lose power steering? Alfa Romeo's engineers explained: "A hydraulic system malfunction."

Tang Che quickly asked, "Is it serious?"

Hydraulic system malfunctions can cause a variety of problems—loss of power steering, loss of brake assist, transmission failure to shift gears properly, and DRS failure to start...

Some problems can be very serious. For example, if the gearbox cannot shift gears properly, it basically means retirement from the race.

However, modern F1 cars have excellent modular isolation, so in most cases, a hydraulic system failure will only cause one of the problems.

Engineer: "At present, it only appears to be affecting the steering system."

Not serious? Actually, it's quite serious. It greatly affects Tangche's chances of securing a position, at least in the eyes of team manager Franz Tost.

Franz Tost believed that Tontatta, having never driven an F2 car, was completely unaccustomed to the lack of power steering in advanced Formula One racing. Asking him to perform wheel-to-wheel positioning was far too risky. Even if the loss of power steering didn't affect Tontatta's wheel-to-wheel positioning, the stress on the car was considerable; what if the car malfunctioned? A wheel-to-wheel malfunction…

Franz Tost: "Tom, let's just finish the race safely and stop trying to gain positions."