[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 150
If the drivers in FP1 were like a blunt wooden sword with a flat edge, then the drivers in FP2 are like a sharp and finely honed sword.
FP1 is the time for each F1 team to heat, cool, and forge their bodies in their enormous forges.
FP2 is the time to experimentally swing that forged sword around.
This process, which takes place in just one hour, seems incredibly vast in its scope of change, making it look impossible.
It may be an anachronistic statement in the democracy-dominated 21st century, but how should I put it… it’s almost like the species itself is different?
The monstrous stamina that lasts around 1 hour and 30 minutes can be developed through training, but the ability of drivers to accurately perceive objects and their surroundings at speeds exceeding 300 km/h, performing countless actions such as acceleration, deceleration, and gear shifts simultaneously within a mere 0.1 seconds while calculating and responding to the irregular and instantaneous variables of a race—this is nothing short of superhuman.
Considering that being an F1 driver is a title that only 20 can hold out of the world’s 8 billion people, it’s not hard to accept the notion of being superhuman.
And in both the world where I was Jin Hyun-woo and this world where I am Yoo Yi-hyun, I have stepped into that narrow and arduous world of superhumans.
I unleashed the sensations of a superhuman, adjusting the pressure on the brake pedal strongly, softly, with a wide spectrum, and a gentle gradient, releasing my held breath.
“Phew…”
The race car, gracefully gliding through the corner, left only the afterimage of its red taillights.
I beat my previous lap time by an astonishing -0.07 seconds at this corner, where I thought I couldn’t go any faster. I had found a new answer, a new path.
Enrique’s voice, quietly exclaiming “Nice…!” penetrated my earpiece. The audience, who had been singing cheers, broke the rhythm and cheered like waves as I passed by.
“Just a little… a little more for the perfect lap!”
No, perhaps even the word “superhuman” is insufficient.
I have to say it is inappropriate, but I am known as an elite among elites, a genius among geniuses. I am something of even higher rank than that.
Talent above talent.
Representatively, there was Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and I, Jin Hyun-woo.
If other drivers are ordinary swords, then I and they are the legendary swords that come once a century.
In F1 terms, one could call that a champion.
And indeed, in this world too, those who possess talent beyond talent—those who were champions in their previous lives—were standing shoulder to shoulder.
The electronic scoreboard displaying rankings shone brightly under the moonlight.
Name / Time / Team
① Lewis Hamilton 0:59:996 – Mercedes Binz
② Max Verstappen 1:00:117 +0.121 – Mercedes Binz
③ Yoo Yi-hyun 1:01:032 +1.036 – Ferrari
④ Charles Leclerc 1:03:430 +2.434 – Ferrari
At the end of FP1, I was nearly 3 seconds behind Hamilton, but now I had successfully narrowed that gap to about 1 second. Leclerc was also reducing the gap and following closely, while Max, Hamilton’s teammate, was similarly closing the distance.
Hamilton and Verstappen must be slowly taking notice of us.
We had quickly surged ahead, and even though our lap times were gradually decreasing, they could hardly ignore us.
Although, it would still be difficult to beat them with the noticeable difference in technical skills and machinery between Binz and Ferrari at this moment. But the progress thus far has been a meaningful result.
Conversely, it also indicates that there is now an opponent who can threaten them purely based on driving skills, independent of the machinery.
Generally, those who are being chased are much tenser than those who are chasing. The ones being pursued have much to protect, while those chasing have less to guard against their targets.
They must understand that if they do not remain tense, they can fall behind at any moment.
Even with the penalty of machinery difference, just instilling a sense of caution in the world of Binz, Hamilton, and Verstappen was already a great success…
“Let’s try to set a perfect lap…!”
I didn’t want to be satisfied here. No, I couldn’t.
I acknowledged the difference in machinery but at least wanted to beat Binz during this practice session that did not yet reveal its full performance.
That was my pride as a former champion and would be the driving force for my teammates to push forward.
Crash!
【 7th Gear – 8th Gear↑ 】 / 【 360km/h 】 / 【 DRS Activation 】 / 【 LOW 】
Maximum gear.
Maximum speed.
The race car, the V-1, began to roar furiously to catch up for 1 second.
That was the beginning.
*
*
*
On the hot night of Bahrain, even the clouds had hidden themselves.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Swish!!!
Twenty race cars sliced through the sticky air at incredible speeds, pushing forward, forward.
They became furious bulls on the straight and acted like cunning serpents in the corners.
As they raced fiercely as if they were ready to throw away their lives today, in the moments of potential d*ath where they had to move, they evaded danger with peculiar control.
If d*ath were a person, one could say they waltzed with it.
One, two, three!… One, two, three!
They were continuing a dangerously synchronized duet in a steady rhythm.
With such a breathtaking display, one could almost say they were born under a lucky star. It appeared as though they weren’t evading d*ath but that d*ath was avoiding them.
Amidst their heavy breathing, cheers filled the stage of d*ath, but noise interrupted.
[Binz and Ferrari are in continuous contest…!]
[Yoo Yi-hyun is closing the gap with Max in 2nd place!]
[Yoo Yi-hyun, so far so good up to sector 2. It’s the fastest record! If she finishes sector 3 well, she’ll catch Max!]
It was a stage where twenty people were performing a dance simultaneously, but naturally, there were those who shone brighter than others.
The star shining the brightest was Ferrari’s driver, the rookie Yoo Yi-hyun.
[Really… truly amazing!]
[Yes. The new race car V-1 of Ferrari has changed so much to produce lap times like that in just one season. The rookie driver Yoo Yi-hyun piloting it is equally remarkable.]
[The car is impressive, but Yoo Yi-hyun’s skills are unbelievable. We know she was called KING in For One, but this isn’t a game!]
Although Yi-hyun was in 3rd place, she was indeed the protagonist, the true queen of this stage. Considering the difference in machinery, she was showcasing outstanding skills that no one could deny.
Her driving was mesmerizing just to watch.
The angles and timing of entering the corners, the artistic and mechanical trail braking, and the bold, unwavering judgment maximizing acceleration while exiting were truly an art form.
Even on the seemingly easy straight, she operated hybrid suspension that disrupts left-right balance significantly while perfectly fitting the broken balance of the race car into herself.
The top speed she reached was enough to temporarily overwhelm even the performance of the dominant Binz.
Thus, Yoo Yi-hyun was the puzzle piece for Ferrari. A perfect piece filling the empty spaces and gaps of Ferrari.
However, she was not just a piece; she was a whole. Not just the last remaining piece of the puzzle but many pieces representing the entire picture.
If Binz was a team with just the driver puzzle piece left, Ferrari was a shabby team with many gaps even without the driver. The shape had just begun to take form, but it was such a jumbled puzzle with too many gaps that it was hard to grasp.
Even in a puzzle that was just beginning, fitting one piece together requires a lot of patience. There’s no basis to guess where each piece should be positioned.
Thus, it takes an enormous amount of time to compare and classify similar pieces one by one.
However, among such dire situations, there are those who can solve puzzles swiftly. Those who connect probabilities between pieces at a glance and know how to apply them to the picture.
Such individuals naturally attract admiration and awe from people.
Excited commentators were going wild.
[Yoo Yi-hyun is entering the last corner of sector 3! She’s fast! The speed is excellent!]
[Wow… the line is an artwork. There’s no way to describe it other than it being complete…]
[Even though she’s a rookie, she’s a complete driver… Where in the world could there be a driver more perfect than this!!!]
All they had to do, with their brains already painted with the picture, was to move their hands to complete it.
In their minds, it was already complete; their bodies just had to execute it.
Grrr…
The V-1 roared as if it were mad in Yoo Yi-hyun’s hands. She was going through the same process.
In her mind, everything about the Bahrain Circuit was contained. All that remained was to control the race car and her body.
Just before the corner, V-1 slid like a painting. It would be more accurate to describe it as slipping rather than turning out of the corner, for there was no hesitation in that movement.
Just before the corner, she smoothly reduced speed. One step, another. 1 km/h, 1 km/h…
Truly, even the minute figures were treated with utmost care, and one could sense a kind of madness in her touch.
With a delicately reduced speed, V-1 grazed the curb as it slipped in. The curb had merely fallen to the role of a tool for faster lap times, its inherent dangers lost all meaning in front of her.
【 116km/h 】
± 0 km/h.
The magnitude and interval of the progressively decreasing speed lessened, and at last, the moment of change halted.
Grrrr…
The engine began to throb again, shooting flames out of the exhaust in a wild ascent of speed!
The speedometer rapidly shifted gears and reset. The process of pushing up to the red zone, the end of RPM, then returning to the beginning was repeated.
【 154km/h 】
Going up,
【 191km/h 】
Going up,
【 249km/h 】
Going up again.
【 300km/h 】
Going up once more,
Boom!!!
【 358km/h 】
Finally reached the maximum speed.
At that moment, the ranking also changed.
Name / Time / Team
① Lewis Hamilton 0:59:644 – Mercedes Binz
② Yoo Yi-hyun 1:00:032 +0.388 – Ferrari
③ Max Verstappen 1:00:097 +0.453 – Mercedes Binz
④ Charles Leclerc 1:03:430 +2.786 – Ferrari
[Yoo Yi-hyun has finally surpassed Verstappen!!!]
[It’s insane! It’s unbelievable!]
It was the moment rookie driver Yoo Yi-hyun overtook Max Verstappen.