[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 157

The rhythmic roar of the engine pierced through the helmet and resonated vividly in my ears.

Thump! Thump!

The pulsating sound of the engine, uncontrollably moving, vibrated my entire body like a bass that echoed through my bones. How could something so simple, an inanimate object, strike at the heart of a living being like this?

I exhaled a breath of overwhelming satisfaction.

“Ha…”

Whenever the sound of the engine came, my heart raced, often swept away by a surge of excitement. The pounding engine sound urged my time forward like the pendulum of fate swinging back and forth.

Thump… Thump… At first, the engine swayed left and right at intervals,

Thump- Thump- then it began to close the gap, producing sound at a faster pace,

Thump! Thump! Thump! Until eventually, it was so fast that I almost couldn’t tell if there was any interval.

Then my heart moved along with that rhythm.

Thump… Thump… then,

Thump- Thump- then,

Thump! Thump! Thump!…

Thus, I became one with the race car. Once united, a different world unfolded. From the human perspective to that of the race car. As the field of vision expanded, broader and higher, paths emerged that could not be seen through the human body.

I walked that path. I raced along an intangible line that could be called correct, whether it was a path I had chosen or one presented by something else.

At the end of that path today was Ricciardo.

“I have to keep following.”

Grrrrr-!

Ricciardo’s race car shot out sparks, trying to escape from me pursuing behind. The explosive sound of the exhaust, popping like popcorn, threatened me intimidatingly.

Sometimes getting closer, sometimes moving further away, I never left the tightrope. The more I swayed, the more I spread my arms wide to keep my balance and ensure I wouldn’t fall.

Inhaling the thick smoke produced by the burning fuel, I did not let go of the string of pursuit.

-Thank goodness. I was worried that Ricciardo might give up competing and defend… but he’s running hard.

Enrique let out a sigh of relief and blurted out his hidden feelings. Normally, he would keep quiet to avoid distracting my focus, but this time it was warranted. His instruction to give up clean air and use Ricciardo was his first substantial command as a race engineer.

Previously, his expressions of will had been indirect, like suggestions or recommendations, but this was a direct expression saying, “Do this.” It meant that it was a weighty judgment and order given in my capacity as a race engineer.

Understanding that burden, I kept my gaze fixed on the intangible line to avoid losing concentration and responded.

“Of course. They’re just a hair’s breadth away from McLaren. Even if it’s risky, they must want to challenge it.”

In hindsight, Ricciardo had no reason to defend against my pursuit by giving up the grid competition. The gains from defending his position were less than those from challenging for the fastest lap.

Far away, disregarding the alien-crafted car, Binz was racing alone… Although we were ranked from 3rd to 10th, Renyo, McLaren, and Red Bull were all closely chasing each other.

Even if the lap time difference was large, it wouldn’t exceed 1 second, leaving the chasers unable to let go of the thread of hope that “if I do just a little better, I might catch up…” and the ones being chased could not shake off the anxiety of “I need to reduce it by even 0.1 seconds to avoid being caught…” so all teams were desperate.

Ricciardo, currently in 8th place, felt the same way.

Name / Time / Team

⑦ Steven King 0:58:777 2.987 – McLaren

⑧ Daniel Ricciardo 0:59:001 3.211 – Red Bull

⑨ Yihyun Yoo 0:59:887 4.097 – Ferrari

Below me, I was pressing down, while Ricciardo was battling Steven King above. His teammate Sergio Pérez was in 6th place, merely 0.1 seconds apart from Steven.

That meant that if he shortened his lap time just a bit more, he could not only overtake Steven from the rival team but also his teammate.

Moreover, if he could lower it further, there was a position where he could aim for even higher.

Ricciardo had no reason to waste precious laps in Q3 defending against me. He must have made that judgment himself, and his race engineer, as well as the higher-ups in Red Bull, would have made the same assessment.

It was a perfectly logical and rational judgment.

In addition, in the illogical sphere, the emotional realm, Ricciardo was not a man to easily accept mediocrity. The Honey Badger, known for relentlessly clinging to his opponents, was not the type to give up the chase. Even if the order came to defend as a team, it would be Ricciardo to refuse that command and do as he pleased.

His character had often resulted in clashes with the team, yet perhaps that stubbornness had brought him this far.

-…

“…”

There was no further conversation between Enrique and me. Qualifying doesn’t particularly require strategies, so there was little to talk about. There were aspects that I was aware of but didn’t precisely grasp.

He would occasionally update me on quantified information, such as how the tire grip numbers were or how the engine efficiency was.

In that sense, qualifying was wholly the driver’s responsibility. Of course, the larger framework of decisions followed the collective intelligence through the team network, but the minor decisions and controls during the race were solely the driver’s domain.

The events on the track are sudden and urgent, offering no time for dialogue. Events occur in a blink, and one must react in the same instant. Simply aiming for the fastest lap rather than overtaking someone is usually a matter where the body must respond before the mind does.

Therefore, it was entirely understandable that Enrique was holding back his words now.

[With only about 5 minutes left until Q3 ends, will there be any changes in ranking? The race is getting more intense!]

I slowly felt that the time had come.

‘The decisive moment is soon. There’s no more time to waste.’

The next corner was approaching. Beyond it lay a straight stretch that would pierce through the suffocating night of Bahrain.

It was time to surge ahead, no longer just behind Ricciardo.

V-1 began to perfectly follow Ricciardo’s moves.

*

*

*

“Just a bit more…!”

“Please, please, please…”

“Let’s go, Ricciardo!”

At Red Bull’s camp, even though stuck in 8th place, they focused entirely on Daniel Ricciardo, who was maintaining a good pace with gradual ascending momentum. Now entering sector 3, Ricciardo was on the verge of breaking his fastest lap, having renewed all his lap times from sector 1 to sector 2.

If he crossed the finish line without any issues, he would not only surpass Steven King in 7th place but Sergio Pérez in 6th as well, and if he could also update his record in the remaining sector 3, overtaking Lando Norris in 5th was also a possibility.

This lap was crucial for changing Ricciardo’s grid number.

However, the beginning of this lap was not looking good. Yihyun Yoo from Ferrari was hovering closely behind him like a tick. Members of the Red Bull team frowned at Ferrari’s bold decision, but perhaps being chased stimulated them further.

Despite the pressure weighing on his shoulders, Ricciardo managed to pull off a faster lap time.

Everyone had to acknowledge Ricciardo. A veteran is a veteran. In this moment, his courage to overcome the crisis, or rather, his experience, shone through.

“Run! If you do well in sector 3, you’ll gain at least two places!”

Even his race engineer, who had to remain cooler than the driver, was pushing him. This lap might become the most historic lap of Ricciardo’s career. I couldn’t help but feel excitement.

Yihyun Yoo clung to his rear like a leech, but with reason overshadowed by adrenaline, it didn’t matter at the moment. At the pace Ricciardo was going, it seemed unlikely that Yihyun could overtake him. Years of experience in the brutal world of F1 made it almost impossible for a rookie driver just debuting to slip into a gap against a veteran like Ricciardo.

So, they were complacent. While Ricciardo might not have been, the pits were already in a festive mood.

However, the word ‘almost’ signifies that there is surely a very small part that exists, a word that is not as perfect as one might think.

As the last two corners approached, the commentators’ excited voices swept through the venue.

[Yihyun Yoo!]

[Perfect timing!!!]

[Ferrari’s Yihyun Yoo!]

At that moment, the concept of impossibility lost its meaning. No one could dare to speak carelessly.

The red race car, denying the existence of that word, was proudly racing around the circuit.