[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 135

“The calculation program shows that the speed loss rate is almost zero. There hasn’t been a single miscontrol, and it was all the best choices. Whether it’s DRS or suspension, the timing of turning it on and off was perfect… So, what’s going on, sister? Are you a machine?”

Won-jin couldn’t close his gaping mouth. While it can’t be said that humans are perfect, every indicator was close to perfection.

As she said, the racing data converging to 99.9% was flashing on the screen. The efficiency and performance values of various systems and parts, with data converging at 100%, were astonishing in themselves.

The fact that the analyzer followed all optimal, best, and top choices by compiling all the situational information meant that she had a mind capable of understanding those difficult calculations and the skill to implement them in reality.

Yooihyun was not just someone who could drive well. When it came to F1, she possessed both outstanding understanding and skills, truly a genius with talents in both martial and literary arts, a rare individual who comes around once every thousand years.

“Don’t inflate her ego for no reason; after all, these are all your creations. The engine, double turn, hybrid suspension, extreme, and all the rest like side pods and air ducts, even aerodynamics… They’re all your results.”

“Seeing the indicators like this, what… It feels like I’m not the one who’s flying the plane but rather you, sister?”

Typically, a genius would take the opportunity to boast at least once, but Yooihyun never did. Instead of taking credit for her results, she always attributed them to the engineers and mechanics. Of course, their contributions were significant, but the indicators showed that Yooihyun’s impact likely accounted for half of it.

Thus, Yooihyun had a pretty good reputation among the F1 staff. Everyone praised her for being humble, polite, and even pretty.

However, that’s not the reality. While it was true that Yooihyun maintained a humble attitude, the reason behind it was a great sense of regret about herself.

“I should have pushed my limits. No, I should have pushed beyond my limits…” This was the manifestation of a mind relentlessly pursuing endless perfection. If she became satisfied with her current self, there would be no further growth, so Yooihyun kept lowering herself.

But engineers are not fools. They understand the situation accurately through countless simulations and analyses of the results. Therefore, they instinctively know whose contribution is greater.

To prove that point, the engineers crossed their arms, feeling a shiver running down their spines, and each expressed their thoughts.

“Ah… The indicators are really insane… It’s just art.”

“Now there’s nothing more to say… Yooihyun is being Yooihyun.”

“By the way, it’s been 50 laps, and the heat generation is still at 84%… Hey, who brought Yooihyun here? This deserves an award, seriously.”

With those words, silence fell over the pit. They had expressed all the praise they knew, leaving them with nothing more to say.

All that could be heard were simple exclamations of admiration such as,

“Ah…”

“Wow…”

“Geez…”

“Hey sister, there are only ten laps left. The heat is precarious, but… you should still be fine. Keep pushing until the end.”

“Understood. I’ll close the communication and focus.”

[Heat Generation 97%]

With the race car approaching the limit of heat it could withstand, the test was nearing its conclusion.

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Enduring a painful heat that felt like it was burning her back, Yooihyun was nearing the end of both the race car and the test.

The race car had long since faced its limits, and she was fighting her own limits while maximizing the potential of the race car.

“Huh…”

Yooihyun let out a groan.

It was hot. Too hot. Sweat poured down from her head to her toes like a torrential downpour. It felt as though water was gushing from her entire body as if the faucets had been turned on.

She wanted nothing more than to throw the race car aside and tear off her fireproof suit. The fireproof suit was meant to withstand the heat, but once the inside got heated, there was no sign of the heat dissipating. Even if it did, it was meaningless due to the scorching wind pushing from behind.

The heat pressed against her face and chest, covering her heart. She felt like she couldn’t breathe and her vision was fading. Despite the cool wind hitting her at over 300 km/h, the heat showed no signs of retreat. The helmet had dozens of small vents, but their functionality had long since become meaningless.

While resisting the pressure of the heat, she had to corner sharply and accelerate down the straightway. Her body and mind were beginning to crumble under the accelerating speed.

However, even in the dizzying and trembling state, Yooihyun focused her mind.

“I can endure…! Just a little longer… just a little more…!”

She clenched her teeth and scoured her pain, keeping her eyes wide open. Even though it wouldn’t be unusual to give up driving in a test or to have already lost consciousness, in her mind and heart existed only one thought: to endure until the end.

That was the pride of a driver. Having started driving as a driver, she was determined to face the end, even if it meant collapsing. Perhaps it was a commitment that seemed foolish and silly, but it was this resolve that kept her going.

It was also a sense of responsibility. It was a heavy responsibility imbued with respect and gratitude for the engineers who had devoted their lives without rest, food, or sleep to create this race car.

Completing the race car, which carried the invaluable time of hundreds of people, to the finish line was the utmost honor Yooihyun could provide as a driver.

Thus, her foolish pride and heavy sense of responsibility were the driving forces that allowed her to continue driving even when losing consciousness was a possibility.

Two laps remaining. The heat generation had now reached 100%.

“Ugh…”

Click! Click! Click…

With a straw tube stuck in her mouth, Yooihyun pressed the hydration button on the steering wheel repeatedly without even realizing it. However, the straw only became wet with her saliva and did not deliver any refreshing drink.

The helmet was connected to the hydration system mounted on the suit to prevent dehydration for drivers, but the hydration container had already run dry.

Reeling from this realization, Yooihyun’s thumb moved away from the hydration button.

“……”

Yooihyun felt her mouth drying up. Not only was her external body suffering from the high heat, but her inner body was also feeling the severity of the heat, making it nearly impossible to swallow.

No, there wasn’t even any saliva to swallow, as her salivary glands had run dry.

“Hey sister, if you can’t do it, get out! It’s just a test. Sister? Sister!”

“Yoohyun, the temperature has risen too high. The heat generation has exceeded 100%. Either return to the pit or stop the car and take off your fire suit!”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation through the abnormal heat within the cockpit and Yooihyun’s labored breathing, Won-jin and Enrique shouted urgently over the radio.

However, Yooihyun, who had turned off the communication since lap 10, could not hear their voices.

In fact, while racing is strenuous, it’s not to this extreme. It’s a normal intensity when one endures n times of gravitational acceleration, pushes the muscles of the entire body, and drenches sweat in a stuffy cockpit, but with proper training, it’s manageable.

However, this level had gone beyond what was normal.

The cockpit temperature was far from normal, and the heat battle had begun earlier than expected and had been prolonged. The suspension was shaking the body all around, blurring vision and disrupting concentration, as it was strange that her mind wasn’t slipping away.

So, the clear cause of this situation was, calmly put, entirely Won-jin’s fault.

The double turn crank and extreme suspension he created were the direct culprits.

Firstly, the double turn crank caused the RPM to skyrocket, piling on engine heat.

Secondly, the incomplete extreme suspension made the car bounce this way and that, causing nausea and disorienting vision.

While the functionality of each part was groundbreaking, the cost of it was painfully severe.

The relentless heat and dizzying vision.

Just as the race car is expendable, so too are the humans behind the wheel. In lap 66, nearly two hours into the race, rookie engineer Won-jin had overlooked that fact.

“Hey sister. It’s the final lap, the final lap! Please turn the communication back on. Or at least look at the electronic scoreboard…!”

Won-jin was at a loss, full of regret. Even knowing that communication was cut off, he continued to transmit and operated the large electronic scoreboard above the track, praying that Yooihyun would see the remaining lap count displayed.

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Her head spun. Her body was sore, her mind hazy, and her vision was spinning. Meanwhile, the scenery zipping past her to the side was moving too fast to register.

She couldn’t distinguish what she was doing or where she was.

She thought she might have seen the number 1 briefly while passing the electronic scoreboard, and maybe someone was waving a yellow and red flag urgently…

“Ah…”

She couldn’t remember. All that was registered was the primal instinct to keep running.

She pressed the pedal.

Turned on the DRS.

Changed the suspension.

Steered the wheel.

Thus, it was all instinct urging her to run as fast as possible.

She recognized her existence as she passed familiar scenery she had brushed past hundreds, even thousands of times.

“The starting… grid…”

The starting grid. It was the very point where the race begins and ends.

Corner 1 was in front of her. She transferred the strength she barely managed to gather with her hips to her leg pressing the pedal.

Growl! The heavy, exhausted sound of the engine exploded around her.

Once more, corner 1.

“Huh… Huh…”

She caught her breath.

Whether it was the remaining laps, the race car, or herself.

This would probably be the last.