[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 173
During the season, and on the day of the main event no less, the sudden start of the broadcast was utterly chaotic.
It had become customary to avoid broadcasting for about two weeks leading up to the Grand Prix, focusing instead on practice, and the viewers understood this better than anyone. Therefore, the unexpected start of the broadcast was naturally welcomed.
The chat room was scrolling rapidly with different topics, or rather, with pointless chatter devoid of any topic at all.
[Hahahaha, you’re broadcasting even during the season?]
[Honey Badger… a true broadcaster]
[Isn’t he just a broadcaster for real?]
[? Didn’t you know? This guy’s main job is being a streamer and his side job is being a driver]
[It’s all Lando Norris’s fault…]
[Don’t talk bad about our baby Norris.]
The host of the broadcast was none other than Blue Bull’s Honey Badger, the driver of Blue Bull known as the “Honey Badger.”
One minute… three minutes… seven minutes… ten minutes after the broadcast started.
People were unconsciously stretching the scroll of the chat room while waiting for Ricciardo to say something. It was expected that if the broadcast had started, there would be some words spoken, and they thought there must be a reason for him to go live at such an unexpected time.
However, despite the ten minutes that felt like an eternity, Ricciardo had yet to say a single word.
To be precise, he hadn’t spoken at all to the viewers.
His mouth was moving constantly, but it was clear he was whispering to someone.
Thus, people could only speculate from what they could see.
[Why is he broadcasting if he’s not saying anything?]
[Isn’t it likely he turned it on by mistake? His gaze seems like he turned it on by mistake…]
[What kind of idiot accidentally turns on a broadcast? Is there a system that works like that? Hahaha]
[That’s true… but this idiot is speaking nonsense]
[These idiots are fighting again. Jammin are you guys leaving? Where’s Conan?]
[Given that the stream title is (none), it doesn’t seem like it was turned on by mistake.]
[Why isn’t that a mistake?]
[Setting up a broadcast involves several buttons, so if it was a mistake, the title wouldn’t be that neat. And if you don’t set a title, it generates a default one.]
Fortunately, amidst the chaos, there were those who calmly sorted out the situation. The chat room, previously chaotic, began to follow this reasonable inference.
[The only visible things are Ricciardo and Perez’s faces]
[Since they’re whispering, it looks like they’re talking to someone]
[Who are they talking to?]
[They must be talking to each other]
[Then why are they whispering, you idiot?]
[Seriously, these guys’ intelligence is questionable;;]
[No idea who it is, but they seem to be talking to the same person. I’ve never seen them speak simultaneously.]
[Oh… that’s true]
[Oh, you’re right]
Putting together the sloppy clues, the observers moved forward step by step, reminiscent of observing human evolution.
From Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, and then from Homo sapiens to Neanderthals, leading to modern humanity.
They looked like fools gradually realizing something amidst their stupidity.
By this point, they could have become bored and left the broadcast, but instead, they found it interesting and stayed.
[So what are they doing now? Aren’t they supposed to be practicing? I thought practice details shouldn’t be disclosed.]
[They’re not practicing, that’s why]
[They’ll start soon. Today is the race;]
[Shouldn’t someone whisper to let us know?]
[Hahaha, who’s going to tell us that? Someone who is friends with Ricciardo or Perez???]
[Really, who is going to tell us???]
[Someone donate already!!!!]
[You think they haven’t tried donating? Haha, but donations are blocked.]
Hundreds of thousands of viewers were no longer leaving out of curiosity about what Ricciardo and Perez were doing. Considering various circumstances, it meant that Ricciardo was intentionally ignoring the viewers.
However, they could not understand the reason for that.
At that moment, as if to answer everyone’s questions, the camera angle showing Ricciardo and Perez turned to darkness.
[What is this? It’s the loading screen when entering a room.]
[Looks like he’s meeting someone.]
[Is there anyone important to meet at this moment?]
[We’ll know if we just watch.]
The black screen was a loading screen familiar to For One users.
When the loading screen reached 100% and visibility returned,
[?????????]
[What is this???]
[Why is Hyun-na coming out here…?]
[Hehe, it’s Hyun.]
[Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun! Yoo Yi-hyun!]
[Are they seriously having a rematch with Ferrari? The tremendous muscles are impressive…]
The newcomer was none other than Ferrari’s rookie driver, Yoo Yi-hyun.
*
*
*
Vroom!!!
As the race started without a formation lap due to rule changes, it was fierce from the get-go. Four race cars, including mine, were terrifyingly close behind one another.
Perhaps because there were only four of us, the tension flowing through the air felt even more vivid.
“The starting phase is indeed fast for all…”
Starting from the back of the fourth grid, I chewed on my lips as I fell to the back.
I considered making a fuss during the start, but with only four cars, the situation was quite intuitive, and since all were world-class drivers, the starts were similar, creating no variables.
Since all the race cars were identical, there was no opportunity for differentiated plays by utilizing vehicle characteristics.
What I possessed, my opponents also had, so from now on, it would purely be a matter of skill.
If I lose here, unlike during qualifying, there will be no excuses. Although it’s only 20 laps, this isn’t a one-off practice; everyone is driving the same race car.
‘Still… it’s been a while. This was a necessary time for me to check myself…’
Thus, I was able to focus entirely on myself.
I cherished this moment. When driving Ferrari’s V-1, I was so busy communicating with the V-1 and utilizing its characteristics that I hardly took care of myself.
Lacking in uniqueness, but therefore fair to all, the basic race car of For One is designed to bring out a driver’s pure capabilities to their limit.
Driving it made my body and senses feel as if soft fabric was being touched strand by strand. There’s no better race car to find answers about where I am stiff and what I need to utilize more.
This is not just by chance that current drivers love For One to maintain and practice their senses.
Looking at that, For One is indeed a well-made game.
‘Let’s focus. Focus…’
Just before entering Turn 1.
I shook off my stray thoughts and recalled only one goal.
My goal was not to win this race; it was a meaningless goal. Since we’re not driving our respective teams’ race cars, winning against them would yield nothing.
All I could do was break their momentum.
So my goal was to improve my skill. It was essential to elevate my basic skills to properly control the ‘Hybrid Suspension’ that had been difficult from the start and continued to trouble me.
Of course, it was not that the technology was unmanageable. I had tried it enough, felt it enough, and I had a certain level of know-how and confidence.
However,
‘I have to control it perfectly. This level won’t cut it.’
That level of resolve will not change anything. It would only change the numbers here and there.
Defeating Blue Bull in the qualifying was merely an eccentric act usable in specific situations. Entering the main event in this state, I’m not confident I can catch up to even one of the two Blue Bull duos.
With all due respect to Blue Bull, if I can’t handle them, how can I catch up to Mercedes?
So practice today, even to establish conviction, will center around establishing ‘myself.’
To do that, I must become more stubborn so as not to be swept away by the obstinate V-1.
Vroom!!!
As I entered the corner, the race car—or rather, my heart—beat fiercely.
What I am racing is not just the race car but myself. It’s a long and great journey, beyond becoming one with the race car to make my mind a single entity.
I am the race car, and the race car is me. The four wheels are my legs, the suspension coordinating my center is my spine, and the engine beating uniformly is my heart.
I felt a chilling and omniscient sensation, as if I became a god. My narrow view trapped in the helmet and cockpit broke free from a small world to fly in the air like the sun in the sky illuminating the track.
The corners and straights, all the race cars ahead and their trajectories, the air, the wind, the surface… everything that forms the track flooded into my mind through my sight.
That feeling of omnipotence, though ultimately just a sensation, elevates humanity to a higher dimension.
Without a shred of doubt, I pressed my foot down with sheer belief.
In the blink of an eye, the brake pads clamped down, and smoke ignited to a dangerous degree.
Screech!!! Zing!
That feeling of omnipotence enabled maneuvers I would have never considered before, out of fear of failure,
Thump thump! Vroom!!!
It forced me to step into realms I once deemed impossible.
‘I must believe in myself even more.’
That illusion of omnipotence pushed me forward, and I was undoubtedly moving ahead.
The race had just begun, and its end lay somewhere beyond Ricciardo, who was in first place.
The goal was not to win but to reach.
To get to that place where no one else would be beside me.