[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 122
“Let’s get started, Won-jin.”
“Okay, I’ll begin collecting data, including the first lap.”
Pit Wall*. A place where all necessary situational information for the race gathers in one point.
*The strategic room set up for each team, facing the track. Race engineers, strategy directors, and mechanics sit there communicating with the driver and strategizing the racing.
Various weather information, including temperature changes according to sunlight, probability of precipitation, and the expected amount of rain. Detailed temperature information of the track divided by sections. The temperature and condition of the race car’s tires, engine, and brakes.
In that place where all strategic information hovered above dozens of monitors.
I was spending anxious moments with Won-jin, who believed in me, and a few engineers.
“Is it finally yielding results… This is a bit nerve-wracking.”
“Let’s just watch. We’ve done our best, so we should see the results.”
“Please, please operate normally without any errors…”
We could only wait for the data we meticulously created to reveal itself on the screen.
Hybrid Suspension. I prayed for it to show figures that corresponded to the reason, functionality, and purpose for which it was made.
I focused on the two screens moving with the race car and sent a communication.
“10 laps. After doing 10 laps, return to the pit. We’ll change from soft to super-soft tires, running a total of 30 laps with 10 laps each. Once finished, take a short break, switch to another race car, and do the same again.”
– Confirmed.
– Just give me the signal at the last count.
I received immediate responses from Yooihyun and Leclerc. Even while turning through intense corners, enduring immense gravitational acceleration. There wasn’t even a hint of wavering in their voices. I already knew their skills were extraordinary, a fact everyone acknowledges.
Indeed, the world’s top-tier are truly top-tier.
Caught in tension, I couldn’t help but admire their calmness. It was hard to believe that Yooihyun, who had just joined the team, could remain so composed.
“Yooihyun is unbelievable. Isn’t this only her second time in our car?”
“Probably. Once at Monza on her debut day. Today, here. Twice in Imola.”
“But can she drive like that?”
The engineers regarded Yooihyun with a level of awe that surpassed mere admiration.
She appeared to drive lightly, yet Yooihyun was instinctively extracting maximum performance from a race car she had only driven twice. Her racing metrics formed a perfect hexagon, proving her proficiency.
Moreover, the Imola circuit lap time she posted in For One verified that she was indeed faster in reality than that.
In other words, Yooihyun was essentially like a KING.
“The current temperature is 8 degrees, and the track temperature is 7 degrees. The temperature is expected to rise to 15 degrees over time.”
I gulped down dry saliva and sent a communication to Yooihyun and Leclerc. Since there was no specific part to intervene in the game, I still felt the need to provide minimal information for a smooth race, which would make the test results more accurate.
– Confirmed… By the way, I hope it warms up quickly. The tires aren’t gripping well on the track.
– Yeah, there’s no sticky feel. Is it because it’s medium? We should have done a formation lap.
Their relaxed demeanor was entirely different from the fast race car displayed on the screen. At this point, I thought we might not be the ones actually racing.
Two race cars pierced through the calm Imola circuit drenched in bright sunlight. The sound of wind splitting apart echoed through the in-ear monitors. The race cars, hurtling forward, might as well be called bullets.
The vast circuit was a g*n, Yooihyun and Leclerc were the triggers, and the race cars were the bullets.
A relentless race was underway, riding on the fate of those bound to a track that spiraled infinitely.
“It’s the last lap. Prepare for a pit stop.”
Leclerc was in the leading vehicle, and on the opposite side was Yooihyun. Like magnets pushing away from the same pole, they maintained a precarious distance between them.
There was a significant gap because it wasn’t a competition. They couldn’t hear the screams of each other’s engines. Their distance was at least 30 seconds. Considering Hamilton’s fastest lap time of 01:01:229 at the Imola circuit, it was roughly half a lap.
This was for accurately assessing the suspension system’s precise performance, ensuring individual driving without any interference.
After racing for several tens of minutes.
– Entering the pit.
Following Leclerc’s pit stop,
– I’ll be entering soon too.
Switching from medium to soft tires at the start. Completing the last pit stop from soft to super-soft tires.
The test was gradually reaching its conclusion.
*
*
*
After completing the first test and switching to another race car, I sent a communication to Leclerc.
“The difference is so subtle that it’s hard to pinpoint, but I can definitely feel it.”
– Uh… That seems right. When I switched from that to this, the reverse sensation hit me hard.
The race car with the system applied truly felt subtly different. It was as hard to notice as the difference between a pinch and two pinches of salt in a dish meant for ten people.
Something was indeed different.
Speed, downforce of the chassis, tire grip, performance of the brakes, etc. As obvious as it was, the changes brought about by the hybrid suspension were not limited to just one area but impacted the overall vehicle performance.
On the straight, it spread its wings parallel. Lowering the rear’s stance, adding acceleration with DRS. Before entering the corners, it changed to a high-lake position, applying power to the tires, raising the temperature and momentarily increasing grip. The hot, red brake discs cooled quickly with the increased speed, maintaining their performance.
When one cog turns, the next cog turns, and that ultimately gives rise to a single mechanical formula that connects everything.
In the midst of that wondrous connection, I could only marvel at the technology of this era.
31 years of technological advancement… What has happened in a decade?
“Was it intentional or just a coincidence?”
The sensitivities of each area intersect and intertwine, transcending the limits of imagination with complicated interrelationships. The entangled lines transform into chaotic scribbles based on the numerous branches infinitely stretching out.
Lines are drawn over and over again, and they become surfaces. Each component transforms from individual to collective.
The tires are brakes, the suspension, the front wing, and the rear wing.
The suspension is also brake, tire, front wing, and rear wing.
Brakes and front wings too. Everything is one with individual names.
In the realm of race cars, they mix, merge, and operate as one perfect machine.
“This… has fundamentally changed more than just one suspension?”
– Right, the entire class has shifted.
Class. If Leclerc, who has likely driven Ferrari’s race car hundreds of times, talks about class, it speaks volumes.
Even without seeing results, it was clear that this suspension system was successful. Just from this, lap times could be reduced by about 3 seconds.
The intermittent transmissions from Enrique confirmed that my assumption was correct.
– Leclerc has gone from 1:12 to 1:09. Yooihyun has gone from 1:11 to 1:07. Each reduced by 2.3 seconds and 2.9 seconds.
Name / Time / O / X
Yihyun Yoo 1:08:483 / 1:11:392 – 2.909
Charles Leclerc 1:10:010 / 1:12:301 – 2.291
– Look at how the lap times have dropped. I’m not one to get overly excited… but this is truly insane.
“Exactly. I can’t help but say this is definitely insane.”
On the track, seeing the flickering lap time records on the occasionally visible electronic scoreboard, it was undeniable that the suspension system developed by Enrique and Won-jin showed incredible efficiency.
It wouldn’t be strange at all for Minoto to come out and bow down to the two of them.
Moreover, this isn’t even the engine. It may not even be the most crucial core component, yet achieving a reduction of 3-4 seconds is very encouraging. This system vastly alleviates the burden of engine development.
Saying this may make it sound like a utopia with only advantages, but just as there are many benefits, there are also drawbacks proportionate to those benefits.
“However… it’s a bit unsettling. There’s also quite a bit of vibration, and it’s very sensitive to wind direction.”
The first drawback is that driving difficulty has increased tremendously.
It’s not an issue to worry about the manual operation of the suspension via button pressing, as I’ve formed my own way based on my senses. The significant problem is the loss of downforce and grip that occurs when the chassis transforms to low-lake on the straight.
As the car speeds up due to the loss of downforce, it becomes severely affected by the forces and directions of the wind. If I move the steering wheel even a little, it feels as if a huge weight has been placed on the handle. Keeping balance becomes incredibly difficult.
Conversely, during corners, a dramatic change to high-lake occurs. Since all corners are different, the changes during those intervals become situation-dependent, making controlling handling, acceleration, and deceleration more difficult.
It’s as if the timing or original formula has been completely altered. All the countermeasures I knew became useless.
– That’s true… Although it’s easy to race like this during the test, I’ll have more gaps during an actual race. Line transitions and defensive or offensive movements will be virtually impossible.
The second drawback is that, as Leclerc pointed out, I’ll inevitably be passive in positioning battles.
Due to the first disadvantage, it would clearly be difficult to execute strategic movements for defending or attacking.
In the case of overtaking, even if I rapidly catch up on the straight, I can’t escape if the opponent blocks my path.
In defense, if the car behind exploits slipstreaming to find an opening, I won’t be able to defend precisely due to the unsteady chassis, even if I understand their intentions.
So, hybrid suspension.
This is completely a double-edged sword.