[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 134
“No, what is this? Extreme?”
Yooihyun, faced with the exposed extreme button on the hybrid suspension conversion button, was taken aback.
As if it were a nuclear missile launch button, the English letters “ext” were intensely engraved on the red button.
“You added this without asking, right?”
It was evident that only Won-jin could have conceived such a design.
As if caught off guard, Won-jin fell silent for a moment, then replied loudly, slightly embarrassed.
– “What, what! Who cares! As long as it gets faster!”
“Who cares? I asked because the design looks so childish, and I didn’t think it would be you.”
– “If you don’t like it, don’t use it!”
“I never said I disliked it.”
Yooihyun’s sharp tongue, not missing a beat, was comparable to her extraordinary driving technique.
“So what’s this? If I push this button, will I take off or something? Explain it to me.”
– “Yeah, if you push that, you’re gonna fly, just like an emergency escape—only the seat will be disassembled and you’ll fly into the air.”
“Really?”
– “Do you think it’s real…?”
Extreme suspension was, quite literally, an extreme setting that disregarded even minimal safety. Unlike the hybrid suspension that adjusts based on the rear and front, this one tilts left or right or diagonally depending on the steering and balance.
It used aerodynamics in a three-dimensional manner to harness wind from all directions. According to Won-jin, it was his own masterpiece he had devised.
In other words, it was a setup that prioritized extreme speed at the cost of the driver’s life span.
As for how heat generation was addressed with this…
– “Well, if it gets faster, it’ll cool down even faster.”
“Wow! Amazing.”
He said so.
Naturally, the idea was promptly discarded due to the minimal return value compared to the huge risk. However, Won-jin, the originator, couldn’t bear to let it go and secretly added the functionality.
– “But I was busy tinkering with other things, so I couldn’t finish it. It’ll probably be unstable, but it shouldn’t be too serious… I set it to activate only half of the functions since it’s still unfinished.”
“Wait. Listening to this, from the double turn to extreme suspension… You’re shamelessly using my life for some dangerous experiment, right? I feel like a lab rat.”
As Yooihyun let out her complaint, Won-jin waved his hands in the air as if to deny any accusation.
– “What! Even if it was Leclerc, I would have told him! This time, it just happened to be you who was unlucky. And! I never think about safety when I make things. I mean, it’s not like I’m intentionally excluding it…”
As his excuses dragged on endlessly with no sign of stopping, Yooihyun cut him off.
“So you mean you don’t think about it because you trust me, and you trust Leclerc, right?”
It was clear without needing to say. Won-jin’s audacious imagination spilling into reality and bizarre ideas being applied to race cars was rooted in an infinite belief not just in himself but also in Yooihyun and Leclerc.
Yooihyun understood.
No matter how bizarre and dangerous the technology applied, she had blind faith that if it were her or Leclerc, they would surely handle it. Thus, Won-jin’s imagination manifested in reality as a powerful weapon.
The genius driver and the genius engineer were thus stimulating each other and continually growing.
– “If you know, just…! Can you pretend you didn’t hear it? You make me embarrassed all the time… Last time in front of Ji-hyun…”
“Alright, I got it. This time, I’ll clean up the mess you made. Just trust me, our youngest.”
No matter how rude and unpleasant Won-jin might be, as an engineer, it was impossible not to appreciate him.
Click-!
Activating the ext, extreme button on the steering wheel, she thought to herself.
*
*
*
“I’ll solve everything!!!” she dramatically declared, but in reality,
‘The vibrations are getting worse. Heat generation feels much higher than before. No, it’s not just a feeling; it’s certain.’
The vibrations felt not just from the engine but also from the chassis began to be detected in her fingertips and toes.
Huff! Puff! When she pressed the pedal to accelerate or braked sharply before a corner, a heat wave came from all directions, centered around the engine at the rear.
The vibrations and tremors meant the chassis was losing its balance more and more, and the heat generation was climbing toward values beyond the cooling efficiency.
A single question was occupying her mind.
“Is this a problem I can solve with technique…?”
Was it truly a problem that could be solved with technique? She doubted not her skills, but despite her efforts, the situation didn’t seem to improve.
The cockpit was getting hotter, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to control the chassis, leaving her feeling frustrated.
Maybe this was a mechanical or design limitation. She began to question whether she was already producing the best results. To put it bluntly, distrust in the machinery was creeping in.
As always, confronting a problem beyond control brought helplessness crashing down like waves. No matter how she struggled, the waves would ultimately wash over the shore. At times like this, avoidance rather than confrontation was the answer.
She had to float above the shore.
However, a driver couldn’t just abandon their race car. Regardless of being submerged in waves or whatever else, adapting and overcoming was what a driver had to do.
“Focus, Yooihyun.”
Click-! Snap!
【6th gear → 7th gear↑】 / 【330 km/h】 / 【DRS Activation】 / 【Extreme SUS ON】 / 【LOW】
As she entered the straight, activating all functions, she heightened her concentration to another level and immersed herself in the race car.
She felt the heartbeat of the rapidly racing engine and noted its panting. She exhaled, measuring how far her breath reached. Estimating that point where she could spare some ease, she began to feel the limits of the FR3 precisely.
Like a doctor placing a stethoscope on a patient’s chest to feel the heartbeat and diagnose the problem.
Thus, she began to ascertain the state with meticulous attention.
Thump-thump-! Whoosh-whoosh-!
The heavy sound of the iron heart was rough yet majestic.
Swoosh-! Whoosh!!!
With each heartbeat, a thin and hot breeze expelled like a whistle.
Time seemed to flow slowly, and all movements and reactions felt three-dimensional through her skin, nose, and ears. She could almost count every strand of fabric touching her skin.
Very slowly and delicately.
There, she could certainly feel it. The FR3 had not yet reached its limits.
“I can still hold on. Let’s maintain the balance. That should definitely help control the heat generation.”
The engine hadn’t yet exhausted its power. The heat generation, however, was an issue. If only she could manage the heat, it could exert more power…
The turbulence caused by the residual vibrations of the chassis was the problem. The wind had to smoothly flow over the aerodynamic exterior of the race car, but right now, it wasn’t happening at all.
Essentially, with the hybrid suspension in place and DRS continuously utilized, the race car resembled a runaway locomotive.
Its focus on just moving forward had left the lateral balance irresponsibly dependent solely on its speed and weight.
The basic structure of the race car was precarious to drive, and now adding extreme suspension made it even more so?
Driving it had been difficult; now it was unbearable.
Maintaining the balance of such a race car was like riding on the back of a rampaging bull, ensuring it runs straight towards the finish line.
In other words, it was impossible.
Of course, unless the bullfighter was a legendary one who appeared once every millennium.
“The tires are fine. Let’s just focus on the engine vibrations and the chassis flow. I need to know exactly where and how the air is flowing.”
Believing she had become one with the race car, she felt the intensity of the wind flowing along the curves. Adapting to the changes in position due to the extreme suspension.
Click! Click! Clack!!!
Using every control at her disposal over the steering angle, DRS activation and deactivation, acceleration and deceleration, low rake and high rake, she started moving with the wind.
In the straight section, she pushed forward with a low and powerful stance. The wind gently wrapped around the chassis from above, allowing the race car to lie flat against the ground. The gap between the floor and the road seemed to disappear, giving a feeling akin to gliding on an icy surface.
In corners, whether left or right, the wind flowing along would accelerate the chassis without letting it bounce off, embracing the race car in a gentle curve. As the race car exited the corner, feeling slightly flipped, it ventured forth at a precariously magnificent speed.
Yes, the real change began then.
– “Sister… what have you done? The rise in heat levels is astonishingly reduced? No, before that, this lap time… does it even make sense?”
After entering the pit and replacing the tires with new ones, a few laps later, as the tires warmed up to find normal grip, the communication came back from Won-jin.
Maintaining a hyper-focused state that captured even the slightest breeze, she hadn’t paid attention to her lap time, but it seemed there was some significant change after all.
“What, how much?”
– “1 minute 2 seconds…”
“What? 1 minute 2 seconds? You’re not lying, are you?”
She unconsciously shouted at the incredible record.
1 minute 2 seconds. The shortest record from the official tests with the hybrid suspension was 1 minute 8 seconds 222. To drop 6 seconds down to 1 minute 2 seconds was astounding.
“Wow, the engine performance is insane… What did you make?”
The engine could only be described as beyond her expectations.
Even though it was still a second slower compared to last year’s Mercedes Benz, the fact that they produced such results with an engine that had just begun development was very encouraging.
They just needed to keep improving, but what kind of results awaited them at the end?
As she struggled to calm her racing heart, Won-jin blurted out.
– “No… not the engine, are you crazy? Wow, this is unreal. The utilization of gas dynamics is at 99%, and the real-time wind resistance is at the lowest in history. What the hell did you do?”
“…What did I do?”
Huh? What did he mean? It wasn’t the engine that was performing well; it was her doing a great job?
Was it just her imagination? Behind Won-jin’s somewhat embarrassing praise, it seemed like engineer’s exclamations mixed with curses were bursting forth.