[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 136
Last lap. Yooihyun was entering corner number 1.
“Glug…”
“Ah…”
“……”
Everyone in the pit held their breath.
From Minoto, the head of F1 Ferrari, to Jihyun Lee, an engineering trainee, no one dared to speak.
This was because the condition of Yooihyun seen through the cockpit camera was extremely concerning.
The steadily rising engine heat had long exceeded the limits of cooling. The heat generation had already surpassed 100% and was running beyond that. The engine’s performance was clearly degrading, visibly so, not just in numbers.
In other words, the cockpit internal temperature was soaring above the average of 50 degrees, surpassing even 60 degrees.
How many laps had passed, enduring the unbearable heat that was like a sauna? Even seasoned engineers were gulping dry saliva, worrying for Yooihyun’s safety.
Such extreme circumstances were unprecedented even for them.
Yet, despite the situation, Yooihyun, while groaning, did not let go of the steering wheel nor bow her head. Instead, with a determination in her unfocused eyes, she gripped the steering wheel tightly, holding her head upright to gaze straight ahead. She secured her waist firmly in the seat and pressed down hard on the pedal with her thighs.
Her appearance was less human and more like that of a beast. Rational thought had been stripped away, leaving only pure instinct.
In her unfocused eyes as she maneuvered the race car, it seemed that only the word “racing” was reflected.
“I’m entering the corner…!”
With the strained voice of an observing engineer, the new model of the race car dove into the corner.
Swoosh—!
The driver looked like she would collapse at any moment, but on the contrary, the race car divided the air with flawless poise and unwavering stability.
The control was precise, and the speed was swift.
Yooihyun’s race car flowed seamlessly through corners 2, 3, and 4, following the left turn, right turn, and again a left turn. Even while riding the curb at the edge, the tires never strayed beyond the track.
“It’s amazing…!”
“That was perfect…”
The distance between the curb and the unpaved road was barely 0.1 cm. Truly, it was no exaggeration to say the race car was “kissing” the inner track.
It was as if it were dancing. The movements flowing beautifully like petals fluttering in the wind.
In the trajectory that moved the race car and the level of control achieved, no unnecessary elements were visible. At every moment, according to the changing conditions, Yooihyun’s blue line perfectly covered the red line shown by the machine, which indicated the optimal racing line.
It was as if she instinctively drew an imaginary curve that could not be traced even with a ruler.
“……”
The engineers, mechanics, and even Leclerc, the first driver due to his experience, were all entranced, lost in Yooihyun’s racing.
At this point, thoughts of her exhaustion slipped from their minds. All that remained was the awe of witnessing the pinnacle that a human could reach.
Screech! Squeal—!
With each corner beginning, the glowing red brake gripped the disc tightly. The sound, like it was about to tear, was the prelude to the performance about to unfold.
The brake calmed the tires, and the front and rear wings pressed the chassis down with downforce. The suspension transformed to high rake, achieving triple deceleration.
The speed drastically decreased. Simultaneously, as the steering wheel turned counterclockwise, the chassis rotated with it. The speed that had been maintained began to exceed the apex!
With a powerful push on the pedal, it accelerated, receiving elasticity.
The DRS opened, surpassing a certain point, and the suspension switched to low rake, reducing downforce. Once again, the mad dash began.
Vroom!
Next corner,
Zwoosh!
Then the following corner,
Swish!
And the next corner followed the same pattern, differing only in the depth of deceleration.
Yooihyun executed the perfect process of driving perfectly at every moment.
It no longer mattered how she managed to achieve such driving state with her mind half gone. What mattered was simply the fact that she was a person capable of such driving.
“Is it finally over…?”
“Just the last corner left…”
“Ah… It’s already the last?”
How many times had she flawlessly sliced through corners?
As Yooihyun and the race car neared the end, the staff let out sounds of anguish. They felt regret. They had become so deeply immersed in racing that they didn’t even realize they were holding their breath, so now, the impending conclusion felt exceptionally cruel.
The frustration of wanting to see more but facing the end echoed here and there.
However, ends are bound to come. Yooihyun’s race car crossed the grid and signaled the end of the test.
“The test is over!”
The last lap, the 63rd lap, which felt longer than the previous 62, finally concluded.
“What was the record? What happened?”
“What? How many seconds, how many seconds?”
“Did we update the lap record?”
The engineers and mechanics rushed to the pit wall to see the updated lap time.
After a brief silence, the screen displayed the 63rd lap time.
[LAP.63 – 1:01:789]
“One minute one second!”
“Updated lap record!”
“Wow!!!”
One minute, one second, seven hundred eighty-nine. The fastest lap time across all tests, the fastest lap was updated in the final lap. Despite the engine not functioning at its full potential due to excessive heat generation, it was a monumental achievement made possible by Yooihyun’s flawless driving.
At that moment, all the personnel in the pit cheered as if the sky would fall. The embodiment of hope. Even though it was last year, they had finally caught up with Mercedes Benz’s overwhelming record.
However, among everyone celebrating, there was one person who could not smile.
“Unnie!!!”
Won-jin, having thrown off the headphones he was using for communication, burst into tears with red eyes and dashed out onto the track where the race car had come to a stop.
Soon, a heavy silence descended over the noisy pit.
*
*
*
“What should I do?”
This was not in my plan. I had only excluded all other elements and designed and manufactured it focusing solely on speed, as requested by Yooihyun and Leclerc.
The cost of underestimating that was far too great.
-Ugh……
The painful groans of Yooihyun, who had been suffering from unyielding high heat for over an hour, penetrated my ears through the headphones.
“Unnie! You can stop now; we’ve already collected all the data!”
No matter how much I shouted, Yooihyun didn’t hear. No, she couldn’t hear. She had shut off communications.
The situation was becoming increasingly serious. Along with myself, many others utilized radios, electronic scoreboards, flags, and loudspeakers—every means she could see and hear—to signal her to stop the test, but the race car would not stop.
I did everything I could to halt Yooihyun, but it was all in vain.
“Please stop…!”
While I could have placed the responsibility on Yooihyun, having done my duty, hearing her moans grow deeper and more agonizing made me wonder,
“Would she have heard me if I had kept the communication open?”
Yooihyun’s condition was entirely my fault.
I recklessly interpreted her words, “Leave all the burdens to the driver,” and forcibly applied a technique deemed impossible by everyone.
As a result, the heat generation surged rapidly, surpassing the limits of the cooling system.
It may have been inevitable for the cockpit’s temperature to exceed 60 degrees. The fact that Yooihyun was exhausting herself and losing her sanity might have all been because of me.
The problem now is solvable. I know the cause; I am not clueless about how to fix it.
However, I had no choice at the moment. I could only sit in the pit, engulfed by guilt, watching Yooihyun’s figure on the screen, powerless to do anything.
Vroom—!
She was determined to endure. Grinding her teeth and struggling to find her scattered focus. I didn’t know the reason she was pushing through like that, but one thing was sure.
She was shouldering the responsibility for something I had caused.
After the test ended, I ran towards the race car, which had halted, seeming dead after racing past the grid.
“Unnie!”
With her head tilted sideways, Yooihyun lay still, possibly having fainted, showing no signs of movement at all. The urgent thought of having to get her out overran my mind.
I unbuckled the seatbelt and reached my hands under her arms, pulling with all my strength, but I couldn’t manage to get her out by sheer force alone.
Yet I didn’t stop. No, I couldn’t stop. This was all I could do.
The seat was scalding hot from the engine heat, like a frying pan, burning with searing pain every time my skin touched it, but that didn’t matter. Yooihyun’s safety was more important than my hands sizzling.
All I thought about was saving her.
“Hurry! Get her out! Get her to the medical room quickly!”
“Call for the ambulance as fast as possible!”
When the medical team arrived, I could only helplessly watch as they rescued Yooihyun.
That day, I realized the weight of my actions and words and the worth of the person that is Yooihyun.
“Ugh… Huh…”
The cost of that realization was far too great.