[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 146
Wow!
【 7th – 8th gear↑ 】
The race car, V-1, rushes towards corner 4 as if pouring itself out.
Those who have never driven an F1 race car will never know.
The fact that the overwhelming sense of speed blurs the entire surrounding vision.
From just watching on screen, whether it’s 300 km/h or 400 km/h, it looks like no big deal.
No matter how fast an object is, it only appears calm from a distance.
However, when you actually sit in a race car and feel the acceleration, you can barely discern only the target point ahead coming at you rapidly.
Accelerating and enduring this sensation is no ordinary feat.
The driver experiences the anxiety of not knowing where they are or how far they have gone throughout the race.
Even while racing on a straight track where you only need to go straight, anxiety creeps in at times. The most frightening thing is not stopping pressing the accelerator even amid that anxiety.
Drivers overcome their fears through countless experiences and instinctive senses.
“Ugh!”
After making a large turn at the right angle, I entered corner 4, which slopes downward gently, bracing my neck and upper body against the gravitational acceleration rushing in like a tsunami.
It wasn’t difficult. I just carved out the racing line with the best I could.
Vroom!!!
The V-1, exiting the corner, roared loudly to match the gear shift.
With powerful pulses, a deep engine sound, and vibrations that hardly felt intense.
The performance of the V-1, concentrated with cutting-edge technology, was more than sufficient.
The unstable balance of the chassis that had been frequently pointed out due to the hybrid suspension turned into an advantage along with the evolution of technology.
Thanks to the balance adjustment feature, the hybrid system perfectly stabilized the chassis height.
There was no need to mention the FR3 engine created by the five who practically led Ferrari.
The expertise of veteran engineers combined with the brilliant ideas of new engineers made the FR3 surpass the average in every way. Truly, when looking solely at last year’s Ferrari, it could hardly be considered a Ferrari race car.
Moreover, the durability validated through multiple test runs at the Imola Circuit was such that there was no longer any need for concern.
Sufficient performance and reliable durability.
Although internal evaluations suggested that it was still a long way to catch up to last year’s Mercedes Benz race car, it was by no means an inferior engine.
“Let’s accelerate a little more…!”
After exiting the corner, I felt the race car align and regain stability, and I pressed the accelerator firmly.
Vroom! Vroooom-!!!
The sense of speed pushing forward was significant. It was on a different level compared to the race car I drove when I signed to be a Ferrari driver.
At this level, it could truly be described as a metamorphosis.
– Lee Hyun, there’s still more you can push.
“Got it.”
The radio transmission from Enrique indicated that there was still performance left to spare.
It meant that I had not yet tapped into V-1’s full potential.
Stimulated by Enrique’s words, I decided to steadily push the V-1 to its limits.
Just as one must know their own limits, a driver who must treat the race car as one’s own body has the duty to know the car’s limits intimately.
Only then can a way to transcend those limits be found even in the utmost extremes.
And those extreme situations are bound to come. Just based on the records of the other teams that Enrique briefed me on, four teams were already surpassing our Ferrari.
For someone like me, who has no doubts about my abilities, this was simply a difference in the performance of the race car. It was not that I was falling behind due to any shortcomings.
However, in F1, driving such cars is also a part of skill, and no matter what the excuse, the words of a loser are but pitiful.
I accepted that too, and because I understood that, I concentrated on something beyond limits and extremes, something objective.
Sometimes, that indescribable something can prevail over the overwhelming difference of a race car and create a miracle.
And I believed that I was the driver who would perform that miracle, destined to fulfill that role. I had no doubt that was the value of my existence as a human from past lives to the present.
“5, 6, 7 consecutive corners… Sector 2 is starting.”
With a resolute mindset, I shot out towards Sector 2.
Sector 2 is the battlefield for shortening lap times, with the most corners from corner 5 to corner 12.
Given that the V-1 had many variables right up to the end, neither I nor Leclerc could accurately gauge its limits yet.
I had to push both V-1 and myself, even if it meant ruining this practice run (though of course, that shouldn’t happen).
Growling—! The engine began to operate at its maximum entry speed, exhaling rough breaths.
The engineers had done something for us.
Now, it was my time to accomplish something.
*
The heat of the grandstands, with no space to place a foot, felt like a melting pot.
They yelled at the top of their lungs, singing the team’s chant to boost morale and elevate the spirited atmosphere.
Those who were merrily intoxicated, indulging in greasy food and cold beer with frothy bubbles rising, led the audience at the center.
Following them, people swayed left and right, surrendering themselves to the mood.
Every time the drivers crossed the start line and updated their lap times, the cheer grew louder as it swelled in size.
Even though it was just practice runs, it felt that way.
You might say it raised the status of F1 too much.
But in this world where F1 has established itself as a global traditional sport, how many people, for how long, had waited for a new season to begin?
In this world, F1 is not just a type of sport but a massive festival for people worldwide.
Moreover, it was only natural, as the Bahrain Grand Prix is the opening race for the 31st season of F1.
“Wow!!! Benz! Benz! Benz!”
“Hamilton! Hamilton! Hamilton!”
“Max! Max! Max!”
Naturally.
The countless names shouted by the crowd overwhelmingly belonged to the drivers of Mercedes Benz.
The Earth’s strongest team, which achieved consecutive Constructor Championships for several years, Mercedes Benz.
A living legend challenging for the eighth championship based on the 31st season, the king of Formula One, Lewis Hamilton.
Often overshadowed by Hamilton’s halo, but holding the second place with outstanding talent despite being young and inexperienced, now aiming for the throne, Max Verstappen.
Two monsters fiercely competing in their own ways under the most beautiful three-pointed star that shines nobly.
Without the title of F1’s strongest, is it possible to find a team with more excitement and heart-pounding thrill than these?
I can say with certainty, there is none.
[Max Verstappen crosses the start line once again! He’s shattering the record set by Lewis Hamilton, who was in first place!]
[It’s only a 0.01-second difference, which is not much. Lewis is currently setting the fastest lap time as he enters Sector 2! If he finishes this lap without mistakes, the rankings will flip once again!]
[Even in the 31st season today, the two three-pointed stars are tussling up in the sky again. The race car from Mercedes Benz is delivering an excellent performance once again, isn’t it?]
[Yes, indeed. This season seems upgraded compared to last year. It’ll be exciting to see which star shines brighter at the end!]
Every broadcaster covering the race had similar commentary. They focused on Benz, reporting the showdown between Lewis and Max as the main storyline.
That was the scene most F1 fans were keenly interested in, and simultaneously, the most entertaining point to watch.
So much so that the viewer ratings were high.
Of course, other team drivers also received moments in the spotlight at times, but just briefly.
Although they created pivotal moments that could light up their entire careers, Lewis and Max were in the process of writing history in real-time.
It was inevitable for their spotlight to diminish.
Thus, the focal point of the race narrowed down to one.
Lewis and Max.
Would they defend the throne or seize it?
Despite being practice runs, the audience’s attention all focused on that.
Conversations about whose talents were higher or who understood their car better, heaping unverified claims to line them up in rankings.
Just as the rivalry was heavily one-sided.
One commentator suddenly remembered an important fact that was overlooked.
The monster-like rookie, who shot up like a comet as a ranked driver in For One, finally made his F1 debut, defeating current drivers.
[Speaking of which, how is Driver Yui-hyun doing?]
[Yui-hyun from Ferrari… is currently in 11th place. Outside the point zone.]
[Ah… The expectations from the Tifosi were really high. It seems he was quite burdened. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, is recording a very good result at 6th.]
[We’ll have to watch longer, but it doesn’t look easy to narrow the gap. Yui-hyun is recognized as top-tier in For One, but virtual and real differ.]
In reality, Yui-hyun had nearly a 9-second gap in lap time from Lewis Hamilton, who was in first with a time of 1:10:394. There was a 4-second difference from Leclerc.
Regardless of it being an exploratory practice run, those were numbers that could not be overlooked.
[He has a good result for a typical rookie driver, but being called KING and being highly anticipated, it’s somewhat disappointing.]
[Nonetheless, it’s quite significant that Ferrari has climbed up to this level.]
Slightly pessimistic perspectives from the commentators on Yui-hyun.
However, none of them could have anticipated what was about to happen.
In the second session of the practice run, who would have thought a horse would rise above the three-pointed star that no one could reach.