[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 151
The elegantly flowing racing line that extends beautifully, no matter how many times I see it, whether it’s ten times or a hundred, feels as though it’s the first time every time, making every moment awe-inspiring.
If there is a god of F1, I can’t help but wonder if such curves would be drawn. There are no obstacles in moving forward, no hesitations, and no looking back. Only certainty moves Yoo Yi-hyun’s race car.
If I saw the extreme of engineering with Logan, Shin Juhyun, Minoto, and Won-jin in the laboratory, right now it feels like I am witnessing the extreme of driving through Yoo Yi-hyun on the circuit.
“Ah…”
I couldn’t even think of swallowing, as I could only stare with my mouth agape.
My position as her race engineer, my duty, was forgotten; all I could do was watch the broadcast screen.
The modelers who should analyze telemetry turned away from the numbers.
The strategy team, who should establish strategies and offer directions, also ceased to function.
They realized that their work had become utterly useless.
Dare I interrupt? The countless data and analytical metrics streaming in real-time on the dozens of monitors in the pit wall seemed meaningless.
I instinctively knew that adding even a single word would be an overstep.
That was a realm I shouldn’t intrude upon, a space of hers that even the objectified figures couldn’t penetrate.
Every moment was a perfect lap. A perfect lap refers to the absolutely flawless lap that can be achieved using that vehicle, the fastest possible that cannot be reduced any further.
The race car is a machine with clear limits, and the record line for a perfect lap is measured by the highest level of human technology.
Thus, to exceed limits within physical constraints is inherently contradictory and illogical; one might question how every moment can be a perfect lap.
The number derived after considering all possibilities is a perfect lap, you could argue.
However, unfortunately, that was reality. Yoo Yi-hyun continuously renewed and renewed the perfect lap, layering history upon history.
That is something that cannot be explained by logic or theory. Can we truly explain the potential that the greatest drivers have to overturn the game?
Yoo Yi-hyun’s talent and effort make the impossible miracle of every moment being a perfect lap possible.
There is one thing that even the utmost technology cannot calculate.
That is the player. No machine can measure the total amount of talent a player possesses. It is something akin to a miracle, transcending the limits of logic and reason.
Talent. Indeed, this is what talent looks like.
An overwhelming talent swept across the circuit, degrading the types of talent I had seen thus far into the ordinary. Both the audience and the commentators, even the analysis desk of other teams, were left speechless, simply staring.
“……”
Under the moonlight, the starlight settled upon the circuit, unfolding without reservation.
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It moves. It continues to move without rest.
Adjusting the vibrations from the road and the tremors from the chassis conveyed through the steering wheel in my hands.
Dividing the accelerator at my toes into 100, 1000, 10000, engaging in nanocontrol that exchanges very small numbers while not losing any power.
The corner.
Kwah!
【 7th gear – down to 6th 】 / 【 281 km/h 】 / 【 DRS deactivated 】 / 【 HIGH 】
Creeeek!
【 6th gear – down to 5th 】 / 【 213 km/h 】 / 【 DRS deactivated 】 / 【 HIGH 】
:
:
【 5th gear – down to 4th 】 / 【 162 km/h 】 / 【 DRS deactivated 】 / 【 HIGH 】
The straight.
Clunk! Kwooook-!!!
【 4th gear – up to 5th 】 / 【 156 km/h 】 / 【 DRS activated 】 / 【 HIGH 】
Guuuuunng!!
【 5th gear – up to 6th 】 / 【 208 km/h 】 / 【 DRS activated 】 / 【 LOW 】
:
:
【 7th gear – up to 8th 】 / 【 308 km/h 】 / 【 DRS activated 】 / 【 LOW 】
Relentlessly I raced ahead.
I don’t know when it started. For a long time, my meticulous and precise calculations that so many praised were no longer relevant. I simply ran as instinct directed me.
Embodied experience and refined skills responded to situations before thoughts could catch up. Perhaps it is calculation. The countless hours spent honing my judgment and calculations had been embedded in my cells, emerging as instinctive movement.
Suuuuuka!!!
The race car that reached its top speed is as unstable as an arrow shot from a bowstring. It sways left and right, rocking up and down, shot toward the target.
The heavy steering wheel, which does not shake, turns uncontrollably if left alone. Even the large tires stagger before the immense force charging toward time.
Activated DRS. The flattened rear wing lost downforce.
Hybrid suspension, low rake. The rear axle ran in eternal parallel lines while minimizing air resistance.
The FR3 emitted engine sounds that made my heart race just by hearing them, shaking the chassis and stabilizing it with tremendous force.
I seek moderation. I search for the balance within the tautly drawn three forces.
Somewhere… that balance that exists somewhere… At risk of completely falling into chaos, I seek an ideal beyond my physical self, groping with my soul.
Once reaching this realm, common sense loses its color. Common sense ceases to be common sense, and what was widely accepted becomes not so.
The time when the absurd becomes common sense. A magical moment when an individual transcends the limits of oneself and the situation and leaps beyond.
Individual ability overwhelms it all.
It is the time of performance.
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The Bahrain Grand Prix, which began with the warm weather unique to Middle Eastern countries and the corresponding enthusiasm of the audience, was fading into silence in the middle of the night. No, really, in the middle of the night, it was quietly subsiding.
On that lonely track. It was due to a wild horse running so fast that one could not even gauge where it was headed.
Red. The noble glint of the wild horse reminded me of a chestnut horse. Its entire body, built with solid muscles, seemed born only to run.
The thoroughbred known as V-1 was like that.
The bumpy yet flexible curvature of the cowl covering its chassis reminded one of a wild horse’s sculpted muscles, and the steady, even engine sounds evoked the rough breathing of a wild horse.
And atop that thoroughbred was the rider.
In For One, she was known as KING, and in reality, she was Ferrari driver Yoo Yi-hyun.
That rider, worthy of the alias KING, seemed perfectly in tune with the exacting V-1 despite being a newcomer.
She regulated her breathing, adjusted her speed.
She indicated direction and presented the path.
Pulling, tightening, squeezing, striking…
V-1 reacts instantly to even the slightest movement of the rider before the rider’s intentions are conveyed. Thought and action are executed without a 0.1-second delay.
The systematic and dizzying gallop that can only be achieved with long training, mutual understanding, and companionship was being effortlessly executed by her and V-1.
Like lifelong partners, the two considered and pushed one another.
V-1 was once again surpassing the innate limits of its kind in her grasp.
Yes. It did not appear to be an inanimate race car, but rather, something alive.
“What is that…”
“Wow…”
“……!”
Only silence, astonishment, admiration, and gasps cast their shadow over the grandstands.
Whether they were Tifosi or not, fans of Yoo Yi-hyun or fans of other teams and drivers, at this moment, no one could take their eyes off Yoo Yi-hyun.
Every moment of her continuously evolving driving was so enthralling, and the constantly replaced fastest laps brought a catharsis.
There, Yoo Yi-hyun, slowly catching up to time that run far away, was burning seconds away from the smallest decimal.
② Yihyun Yoo 1:00:032 +0.388 – Ferrari 1↑
③ Max Verstappen 1:00:097 +0.453 – Mercedes Binz 1↓
Finally, she pulled ahead of Max Verstappen.
She stood above a star no one could place under their feet.
“Wow!!!”
“Yoo Yi-hyun!!!”
“Ferrari! Ferrari! Ferrari!”
Like welcoming a returning army, thunderous cheers enveloped the entire Bahrain circuit and spread outward. Outside, there was a similar cheer from F1 fans watching the broadcast.
When has such a loud cheer erupted during practice runs that had no impact on the main event or even qualifying?
The Ferrari, which was 8th last season, shocked the world by defeating the shining Binz in 1st place. The primal and pure thrill of a rookie driver crushing a likely future champion.
The weak beating the strong, a cliché that is tired but genuinely effective, sent everyone into a frenzy.
[Ferrari’s rookie driver! Yoo Yi-hyun has surpassed Binz’s Max Verstappen!!!]
[Yoo Yi-hyun!!! Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun does it!]
As knowledge equates to vision, when the upset unfolded in their area of expertise, the commentators were swayed even more than the audience. No, “gone mad” would be a better expression.
At that moment, one oblivious commentator quietly muttered.
“This is just a practice run…”
Yet, in the madness of this heat, no one could help but swallow the fact that this was just a practice run.
Yes, this was a day that cannot be called merely a practice run.
It was the day of Hong Gil-dong.
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How many minutes had passed since FP2 began?
“Wow!!!”
“Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun!”
“KING! KING! KING!”
The audience’s cheers seemed to shake the sky,
-……
Enrique’s silence echoed through the radio.
[……Hyun! …of Max… surpassed……!]
Through the occasionally heightened voices of the commentators, I realized that I had surpassed Max Verstappen.
The revenge of the Kiwich 1V1 Tournament Finals was a great success.
“I’ve repaid it like this…”
Though my heart felt relieved unnecessarily, it was not over yet. Stars are not just one but two.
Moreover, those remaining stars have accumulated enough achievements to form a constellation.
The highest military rank of five stars, even assessed as a general, still falls short of two stars. Lewis Hamilton, challenging for the 8th championship.
Hamilton’s lap time, verified earlier, had entered the 50-second range, breaking the minute barrier.
Truly a level of skill from another dimension. He must have a unique eye of his own for seeing special paths, as he couldn’t have just gotten the 7-time champion title for free.
‘Here I go.’
I have no certainty that I can win. However, there is also no certainty that I will lose.
All I can do is struggle with all my strength in a battle with no end in sight.
Vroom!!!
I, and V-1, could not stop.