[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 164

“Wow… Now that I see it, Ferrari has a lot of fans.”

While gazing at Leclerc and the distant horizon, I turned my eyes towards the laboratory and couldn’t help but let out a pure admiration.

Flap-flap!

A multitude of red flags was fluttering in unison in the wind, clustered above the shining stars illuminating the ground. They were densely spread out across the entire area around the laboratory, resembling a deployed army.

It was indeed a massive grand army.

It’s typical for a team’s ranking to correlate with the size of their fanbase, but unfairly to other teams, the overwhelming number of Ferrari fans showcased a power that was not inferior to the dominance of Mercedes.

Even though it was my team, I couldn’t help but smirk at that unfair scene.

“Even if they finished 8th, Ferrari is still Ferrari, right?”

“Isn’t Ferrari Ferrari for no reason? It’s the essence of Formula One. F1 is Ferrari, and Ferrari is F1… Understand now, this is your team, Yooihyun?”

“What are you saying? Just because they have a lot of fans doesn’t mean they aren’t a team that hasn’t scored points for years. Well, I suppose finishing at all would be a blessing?”

“…I’m sorry, but could you please not poke at the sore spot?”

It was quite a sight to see Leclerc, whose shoulders were up high, being hit with facts and slumping down.

It might sound harsh, but unlike the dreadful past that couldn’t be changed, the present is a “now” that can be altered.

“In the next Grand Prix, the area around the laboratory, as well as places unseen, will all be dyed red.”

“I hope so.”

“It will happen. Even now, with the team in ruins, there are so many fans here; how many more will come if we even score a single point in this Grand Prix?”

While the Ferrari fandom is indeed large, the number of fans arriving at the circuit was not as grand as the majestic scenery visible now. Witnessing Ferrari being brutally humiliated at the circuit and self-destructing was akin to torture for the Tifosi.

The fact that so many fans had gathered to see Ferrari, despite its struggles, stemmed partly from the potential shown during practice runs, and, to put it arrogantly, partly because of me.

With the dramatically changed race car and its V-1, I had produced results that exceeded expectations, and the hope that was positively combined had drawn Ferrari fans to this place, Bahrain.

The Tifosi probably thought this was their last opportunity. With the performance improved to this extent and a young, talented driver joining, they might feel it was worth taking a chance this time.

But then again, if they can’t rebound now, this season might very well be Ferrari’s last.

So far, the performances during practice and qualifying have not only met expectations but exceeded them. Leclerc achieved 10th place, and I achieved a stellar 6th place.

The reason so many Tifosi came today, even though they couldn’t secure seats and had to watch the race from outside, must be right here.

As Leclerc looked at the fluttering flags, he spoke with a determined expression.

“Tomorrow will be the key, tomorrow…”

“Right. Tomorrow will be key. No matter how well we’ve done so far, it doesn’t count since it wasn’t the main event.”

Despite all the efforts we’ve made until now, we’ve really achieved nothing.

Good practice conditions and top-tier qualifying results—it’s all just a sign that something good might happen, but it cannot be considered an absolute result.

Meaningful results only exist in the main event.

“What’s the plan?”

Leclerc asked me. It was a question that might seem lacking in responsibility when asking a junior and rookie driver, but I felt no such sentiment at all.

It was simply a question born out of respect for recognizing me as a driver.

“A plan? I don’t really have one.”

“None? You have no plan?”

Leclerc’s eyes widened at the mention of having no plan.

I didn’t know what grand plan he was expecting… but I was sorry to say I truly had none.

“Yeah, no plan.”

“…Alright. There were too many variables to make a plan, and we were short on time. We’ll just have to face it tomorrow…”

Leclerc’s gaze, previously filled with worry, sank even deeper. The mention of being without a plan only added to my own concerns.

But

“You said you have no plan, but who said you can’t make a plan?”

“What do you mean…?”

“You said you’re not tired earlier, right? You’ve slept all day today. Let’s keep talking until dawn. You got it?”

“Yooihyun, you…!”

Feigning being touched, Leclerc placed his hand on my shoulder.

Far away, at the boundary where the laboratories touched at intervals, red, silver, black, and blue flags were fluttering as if they were about to devour each other.

It was a standoff between two grand armies on the eve of battle.

Finally, the decisive moment was approaching.

* * *

While Ferrari’s strategy division and executives were working hard to formulate and revise strategies, fighting off the morning drowsiness.

“Ferrari’s performance is quite decent compared to our expectations. We’re faster in a straight line, but they’re slightly better in the corners.”

“We’re unsure about durability, but it’s clear that we can’t rely on circuit strategies. We need to find a decisive area elsewhere.”

“When will the telemetry analysis results be available?”

“The procedure we input an hour ago has just finished analysis and is now in the validation phase. It should finish in ten minutes.”

“I hope there are some meaningful results… For now, let’s take a break and revisit this then.”

At the Blue Bull laboratory, which was in a non-competitive competition with Ferrari,

“This qualifying result is beyond average, so we shouldn’t be too bound to it. Formulating strategies based on typical scenarios is our best option.”

“As the engineer said, performance is indeed superior overall, but this result is what we got. Obviously, we need to consider average, typical, and general situations, but we can’t talk strategy without the variable of Ferrari.”

“What if we focus on realistic aspects while separately preparing countermeasures for Ferrari? Acknowledging Ferrari as a variable is one thing, but I don’t think they pose a threatening level like Mercedes. Since the performance gap is clear, if we just find appropriate countermeasures, we can likely outpace them quite easily.”

“I agree. With strong opponents closing in from both sides, investing all our effort into a less significant Ferrari seems imbalanced in terms of compensation and risk.”

“Alright, let’s wait and see what the telemetry results tell us.”

First driver Lando Norris perfectly outpaced Ferrari, but Stephen King, the second driver who got caught by Ferrari at the very end, was also busy drafting a victory plan at the McLaren laboratory.

“Just a little more struggle today, and we’ll have time until the next Grand Prix, so let’s hang in there, everyone. Stretch or do whatever. We’ll reconvene in the conference room in ten minutes after waking up a bit.”

The sound of stretching and soft sighs from the staff resonated through the meeting room like a dirge as the break time was announced.

“Ugh… I’m so tired.”

“I can’t remember a time when the start of the season has been this tough. Everything’s been messed up because of Ferrari…”

“Right? I really didn’t expect them to come back this strong.”

“So, what should we do?”

“How to…”

Despite being completely exhausted, they continued to seek solutions to the problems.

It wasn’t just Ferrari that wanted to win, that desired victory.

Ferrari had their desperate story and touching narrative, but they weren’t the only ones.

All teams participating in F1 had their reasons and stories as to why they must win.

Pouring everything into the effort—body and mind, perhaps even life—was not the exclusive domain of Ferrari, Mercedes, or the backmarker teams.

Perhaps that was why no one was without desperation, and everyone had urgency.

Teams prepared countermeasures against other teams, and measures against themselves found other countermeasures, perpetually running in an endless cycle.

This long marathon seemed to have no end. An eternal marathon that could only end when the opponent stops running.

Yet no one was willing to give up the race.

“I found it!”

This time, had they successfully surpassed an opponent? Someone shouted loudly.

“The approximate performance analysis of Ferrari’s race car, the V-1, is complete!”

It was a signal flare that the Blue Bull and McLaren teams had succeeded in identifying Ferrari’s weakness by refusing to abandon the marathon.