[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 195
Pushing through the hot air of Bahrain, Leclerc ran. He had no thoughts. He didn’t let any thoughts invade his mind. He was using all of his spirit and mind solely to run.
He was lonely. His race engineer had nothing to say, and McLaren’s Steven King, who was chasing him, was falling behind and could not catch up. Perez, the next in rank, was visible, but there was still a long way to go to catch up.
He was fighting alone on the circuit. Like a mad gladiator brandishing a sword at a virtual enemy on a battlefield with no one else around, Leclerc was continuing a desperate fight all on his own.
Perhaps it seemed like a meaningless struggle. But he knew that he had to win this fight to move forward toward the next battlefield.
Step by step.
In the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible, Leclerc continued to take heavy steps.
‘One more time, one more time…!’
No one knows where this step will lead him. Whether a bottomless pit awaits him, from which he can never escape, or whether an empty plain, like the ground he has walked so far, is waiting for him, no one can tell. He had to stake everything, but the reward was a road that led to nothing.
When he once asked Yooihyun why she walked such a road, she said this:
‘That’s just how it is.’
Just how it is. Her words encapsulated the extreme notion that, to run toward success, one must bet everything on an uncertain future. In other words, only those who have the resolve to withstand such absurdities can walk the path of success.
She knew better than anyone that such seemingly meaningless steps would ultimately lead to success. Despite his age, Leclerc couldn’t shake the feeling that her words were steeped in experience.
Yooihyun added one more thing:
‘Falling down is not a dream. It’s myself.’
It was a remark so obvious to Yooihyun that she tossed it out casually, but Leclerc chewed over their conversation that day. Each time, he found himself feeling insignificantly small.
Leclerc also believed he had done his best. He had pushed himself to the limit until his body could no longer move and had clutched the steering wheel until his fingers blistered and hardened, while others ate, played, and rested. He proudly thought he worked as hard as he could. However, in front of Yooihyun, those times seemed to lose their meaning.
The standards of ‘best’ were different. No, perhaps the mindset was different. If Leclerc worked hard enough to almost d*e, Yooihyun acted as if she could d*e without concern. She was unimpeded in her pursuit of her dreams, and no doubt could interfere. The dilemmas that Leclerc struggled with were merely part of the problems she had to bear.
In reality, she raced on the circuit just as she desired, and in her racing, there was not even a hint of worry or burden. Yet, this did not mean she looked down on the dreams of others. On the contrary, it was likely that her greatest efforts were born from the respect she held for them.
‘I have to do the same.’
Having thought that far, Leclerc realized what he was lacking. What he lacked was neither skill nor a race car.
It was only courage.
Vroom!!!
Normally, he shouldn’t have been able to accelerate at this speed here. Leclerc’s resolve, properly set at the tips of his toes, transmitted through the pedal to the engine.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The engine, fully receiving his resolve, throbbed as if ready to explode in rage and excitement. Leclerc’s heart was racing in sync. A chilling sensation radiating from his heart spread through his entire body. Lost in exhilaration, Leclerc thought.
‘I see the path… a new path appears.’
Just by changing his mindset, paths that he couldn’t even attempt before, paths that were previously invisible, opened up. Paths that could have been faster lay appetizingly in front of him.
‘This… so easily…’
While Leclerc thought that, it wasn’t just because he changed his mindset that new paths opened up so easily. Rather, it was proof that he had walked so persistently that, just by changing his mindset, he could see new paths. He had already reached a level, but it was only the lack of courage and fear that blocked his vision.
Gaining courage, Leclerc sped forward without hesitation. No external problem could stop him. A heart devoid of fear was filled only with confidence. Only belief and faith in the path he was taking existed.
In that moment, Yooihyun’s final message relayed through his race engineer came to mind.
-I don’t know what you mean, but… who are you?
Yooihyun’s question “Who are you?” He couldn’t answer then, but now he could.
Leclerc said quietly.
“I am a driver… I am an F1 driver.”
An F1 driver.
No other words were needed. That was enough.
*
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[Leclerc is gradually closing the gap to Red Bull. Earlier, he was over 20 seconds off Perez at the first pit stop point. But now, having completed the 13th lap, he has reduced the gap to under 10 seconds.]
[The speed at which he is closing the gap is considerable. The longer the time passes, the faster the gap is decreasing.]
The commentators mentioned only Ferrari, despite being accused of biased commentary, not hiding their anticipation. Without a doubt, Yooihyun was the star of this Grand Prix, and even Leclerc, who seemed to be struggling in comparison, was performing beyond expectations.
Perhaps that’s why the audience also bore no grievances about the biased commentary. From their perspective, the stars of this Grand Prix were the two Ferrari drivers, and they found their emotions heightened by the commentators’ excited and outraged voices.
[Yooihyun’s performance is shining through now. If she had been caught by Ricciardo, she wouldn’t have had this opportunity to push forward like this.]
[That’s a fair point, but it can’t be said that the situation was created solely because of Yooihyun’s performance! Thanks to Leclerc buying time after Yooihyun’s first pit stop, she is able to move forward like that now.]
[If we’re talking about the start, it has to be Yooihyun who started from the 6th grid in qualifying. Wouldn’t you agree?]
As if they were praising their own children, the commentators busily spoke of how their ‘child’ was doing better.
[Well, when it comes to the start, it can go on endlessly. The important thing is that the two Ferrari drivers are supporting each other and circulating!]
[That’s right. They’re teammates anyway, so what’s the point of determining whose performance is greater? Even now, they are relying on each other to move forward!]
Yooihyun created an environment for Leclerc to run ahead. Leclerc utilized the environment she crafted to advance. They reached each other’s hearts through their maximum efforts and best responses as teammates.
And that sincerity was gradually bearing fruit.
[As the second pit stop approaches, Leclerc narrows the gap to Perez to 5 seconds! The chase is accelerating!]
[Given the decreasing gap per lap, overtaking before the pit stop seems unlikely. But that doesn’t mean the race is over! No, it’s not!!]
While it couldn’t be specified, it was obvious to anyone that the second pit stop was approaching. With each passing moment toward the pit stop, Leclerc was getting closer to Perez.
At this point. Leclerc’s race, the most solitary yet most focused, was drawing attention, graphing an upward trajectory and stirring the hearts of the viewers. The Red Bull he thought he could never beat was being caught up with by Leclerc, the hero of the Tifosi, showing a dramatically rapid growth. The new path he hadn’t seen until now was that much faster, and as he adapted to that path, his lap time was drawing an upward graph.
Soon, both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers could come to a singular thought.
‘It’s the limit.’
The end of the second stint, which was more intense than the first, was approaching. The tires for both Ferrari and Red Bull were worn out like rags. They had pushed themselves without caring for their well-being to defeat the opponent, but they realized that the moment for the inevitable pit stop had arrived, which they could no longer ignore.
And Perez realized one more fact.
That Leclerc was right behind him.