[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 160

Plop!

“Whoa… Is it because I’m putting in all my strength? I feel a lot more exhausted than last season.”

As soon as Leclerc stepped away from the track with millions of pairs of eyes watching him, he slumped into a chair in an empty room. He looked like anything but a veteran who has spent a long time on the circuit, so I playfully asked him.

“Why, it’s the same thing every time, but why is it so hard today?”

“Why is it so hard, you ask?”

Keeping his head still, Leclerc rolled his eyes to look at me and let out a long sigh as if his soul was escaping.

“It’s been a while. Running with this much tension…”

“What do you mean? Are you saying you weren’t tense before or that you were particularly more tense today?”

“The former. I wasn’t tense at all.”

“The former?”

“I’m saying I had no tension. In the previous seasons.”

Leclerc, staring blankly into space, added, “This might sound irreverent, but…”

His statement about not being tense on the circuit was irreverent, arrogant, and irresponsible for a driver. It was akin to betraying the efforts and hopes of hundreds of people who had been focused solely on him.

For a moment, an instinctive resentment surged within me, but I couldn’t read such base emotions in his tone or gaze. Rather, he seemed to be slowly reminiscing about a past filled with defeat, his eyes reflecting regret and disappointment.

Leclerc, forcing a smile, continued.

“Since last year’s Season 30, then 29, 28, 27… back then, we had no competitiveness in Ferrari. You can see from the results that the car was the worst, and the research didn’t progress at all; it was regression after regression. As a result, the team atmosphere grew worse day by day, and nothing worked out. At some point, losing became the norm, and there were no expectations for victory, so there was no tension. Tension is something only possible for teams that have a chance… And I’m not making excuses, but as a result, I fell into a slump too.”

“……”

I thought that since he had performed well today, only good feelings would emerge… I didn’t expect such serious words to come out, so I showed my attentive silence.

“Maybe it wasn’t my fault? Regardless of the race car, maybe I just didn’t have what it takes? If someone else had sat in my seat, would the results have been different… Since some time ago, I’ve been increasing my practice time and looking over engineering late into the night, but nothing worked out, and my self-esteem fell, making me feel quite out of form. I really tried my best, but nothing changed, so I think my limit is here.”

“That’s…”

Leclerc, that’s not your fault.

I wanted to say that. It was absolutely not your fault that it turned out this way. In fact, when faced with a situation like yours, most people blame the circumstances, not themselves. I genuinely wanted to tell him that it’s impressive that he has been pushing himself through such hellish days and situations.

However, he didn’t seem to need such comfort anymore.

Rather, since he had performed well today, it was as if he could talk about it now; his expression was gradually changing from regret and disappointment to relief.

“But today, I drove with tension for the first time in a while. Both I and the race car were prepared to race under tension, and I had confidence. The results matched my expectations.”

“Confidence…”

“You wouldn’t know how great that feels. Should I say it’s exhilarating or refreshing… Are those two the same? Anyway, the sense of liberation was incredible.”

To him, I was just a rookie driver, barely nineteen and freshly debuted, so he might have spoken like that, but I understood. I had lived another life as driver Jin Hyun-woo.

I couldn’t fathom the magnitude of that feeling, but he must have felt an immense sense of freedom. Despite having powerful wings filled with stiff feathers, he had been shackled by the race car and had never been able to fly properly. The thrilling moment when he finally threw off those shackles and soared toward the sky couldn’t be compared to anything else.

I understood but couldn’t act like I did, so I playfully tapped Leclerc on the shoulder.

“What’s with that old man talk?”

Although I was laughing and speaking like this now, in the past, I wouldn’t have been able to smile like this. Every time my previous life became meaningless, I felt like my true ‘self’ was eroding away like sand being swept away by the wind, and I had felt depressed on multiple occasions.

However, now it didn’t matter. No, it was even better. Just as a cup needs to be emptied to be filled anew, as ‘I’ disappeared, another ‘me’ was entering.

Previously, I had accepted this process as annihilation, but since joining Ferrari, I had been accepting it as transformation. It was a desirable and positive process of becoming Yooihyun from Jin Hyun-woo.

Now I had to recognize and accept that I should live as Yooihyun, not Jin Hyun-woo.

Amid all these thoughts, I heard Leclerc’s loud laughter.

“Haha. Was that a bit old-fashioned? But it’s advice from your senior, so pay attention, Yooihyun. Got it?”

Seeing that teasing expression, I couldn’t help but want to immediately bring up the days when Jin Hyun-woo held three champion trophies, but I managed to hold it in.

I am Yooihyun, Yooihyun…

“Ah, yes, senior. I will follow your orders.”

“Of course, junior.”

Although it was just the two of us in this empty room, it felt more crowded than the circuit filled with the audience at that moment.

The night in Bahrain, dyed in Ferrari’s name, couldn’t have been sweeter and cozier.

Yes, to put it simply… I felt really good.

*

*

*

After dealing with the reporters’ relentless interviews like mosquitoes in early summer, we changed from our sweat-soaked clothes to fresh ones when Enrique approached us like the grim reaper.

“Our drivers, you’ve worked hard. You must be tired, but sleep later. For now, let’s return to the laboratory. We have a lot to prepare for the main event.”

Even though we had just come back after making notable contributions in the race, we were ordered to regroup at the back of the battlefield.

Although we had successfully completed the qualifying, there was no room for complacency regarding results for Leclerc and me. On the contrary, there was an atmosphere in the team where relaxation was a luxury even after such achievements.

Given that both of us had practically lived at the headquarters laboratory, we knew the situation, so we had no complaints. It was only natural for everyone to share in the struggles and progress together.

Starting the season full of disadvantages, it was only fitting.

“Yes, let’s do that, Engineer Enrique…”

“I’ll take charge.”

“What is it… Why are both of you acting so out of character? What’s with that creepy tone?”

As I ignored Enrique’s words and pretended to be formal, the quick-witted Leclerc folded his hands above his head for support.

Enrique, who had a strange expression, soon erased it and continued with a neutral tone. When he climbed to 6th place with a perfect lap earlier, he had shouted and wasn’t the most excited one, but seeing him now made me think he really separates work and personal life meticulously.

“You two won’t have much to do. It’s not like we can change engineering much the day before the main event, and there isn’t much for the engineers to work on either.”

“What are we doing then?”

“The director, along with me and the race engineers and the racing data analysis staff, will establish strategies tomorrow. We’ll set realistic goals based on the collected data first and then move on to setting specific strategies. You can give us your input along the way.”

Leclerc, who had been listening quietly, murmured.

“Realistic goals… I think just getting 1 point would be a solid performance.”

1 point would mean 10th place. Given the qualifying results, that was a somewhat humble attitude, and Enrique cocked his head in confusion.

“1 point? Considering the qualifying results of the teams below us, that seems like too low of a target. Aren’t we looking to secure a spot within the top ten?”

If you don’t understand races, this is a very logical and reasonable question. But if you do understand racing, it’s a very foolish one.

Although Enrique is a race engineer, he is just a newcomer who has only dabbled in the theory for a couple of months. Considering his lack of experience, Leclerc and I began to explain kindly.

“It’s not necessarily the case. Once we get into the main event, there are unexpected variables that can turn things around.”

“Whether it’s oversteer, understeer, gearbox failure, or the powertrain breaking down, or the engine itself failing and losing power… Besides these internal issues, there are external issues like crashes that can ruin the race.”

“And we don’t know who might get caught up in that. Even if it’s Mercedes.”

Practice doesn’t have many unpredictable aspects, and qualifying tends to be easier to predict, but anything can happen in the main event. If you get caught up in internal issues or accidents, it can lead to immediate retirement in F1.

You can collapse by miscalculating the strategy, and if a Safety Car scenario arises at an unfortunate time, it can cause significant losses, or a single driver error can plunge the ranking.

Due to many reasons that are too numerous to list, races are always beyond control, and no matter how strong a team is, it can’t completely shake off the grip of misfortune.

“I also climbed to 6th place, but if we’re talking realistic goals, I would think it’s fortunate just to score a point.”

So I answered that way.

But…

“However… We’re not going through all this trouble just to compromise with reality. That’s a realistic goal!”

“……?”

As Enrique looked at me with eyes saying ‘So what do you want to do about that,’ I raised five fingers.

“5 points?”

“No, I mean 5th place. We should at least aim for that.”

Sorry, but I have no intention of compromising with reality.

And.

“I’m confident too. I’m sick of running from the back.”

Leclerc felt the same way as I did.

Seeing our confident expressions, Enrique chuckled and replied.

“I don’t know. You two can handle convincing the director.”