[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 26
Driving on the circuit is like racing on a high-speed road where you can’t see ahead.
Anywhere and anytime, lethal variables lurk, and drivers must rely entirely on their senses and the race car to navigate through the darkness.
If I had to pick the most important factor in that process, I would say without hesitation that it’s the tires.
Vroom!!!
The same conditions that Kang Ho-yun raced under. The circuit, the surface, the weather, the tire condition, etc.
Setting all conditions the same, I entered the corner where he lost grip and slipped.
A U-turn section that sharply bends.
Kang Ho-yun failed to calculate the limits of tire grip here.
The cause is not simply the tires.
Numerous variables that affect grip. Temperature, entry and exit angles, how much to turn the steering wheel, how much to decelerate, etc.
He would have adjusted and calculated the variables to draw the desired line, taking some and sacrificing others.
His problem is that he cannot calculate the tire condition to the decimal point.
In F1, where victory and defeat are decided in 0.001 seconds, failing to notice such fine differences as the level reaches its peak becomes a significant disadvantage and risk for the driver.
Vroom!!! Grrr! Grr!
I mobilized all my senses, receiving real-time feedback on the reactions of the car’s body, including the tires, continuously updating my calculations.
Finally, the race car entered the U-turn.
【 DRS Deactivation 】
I increased the angle of the rear wing to secure downforce and tried critical braking with reduced speed.
Vrooom!! Vroom!
Unlike Kang Ho-yun, who had slipped helplessly, the red race car exited the corner at the fastest speed possible under current conditions.
Honestly, I can only describe the play as perfect, and after finishing the race, I returned to the void from which the entire circuit could be seen.
Kang Ho-yun’s expression was filled with awe and wonder, as if he had witnessed the majestic turbulence of nature.
“Honestly, I’ve got nothing to say. What kind of guts do you have to decelerate that little there?”
“To be precise, it’s not guts; it’s skill. I did it because I calculated it.”
“Wait a minute.”
As if replaying my cornering just now, Kang Ho-yun disappeared and then reappeared.
“I still can’t find the words. I thought you should have reduced at least 10 km/h. How did you do it?”
“I told you, what can be calculated is one thing, and the rest comes from sensory experience.”
Seeing Kang Ho-yun, who couldn’t understand, made my head ache.
Explaining things that seem obvious to me to others turned out to be harder than I thought.
“Alright, I’ll explain it to you once, so listen carefully. So…”
“Wait, wait! I’m going to record this.”
That night, celebrating F2 achievement, somehow showed no signs of ending.
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KING#16007’s F2 achievement marked the second day of the Kiwich qualification round.
The forum erupted after the news broke.
Until now, KING’s rank was F3. He was good, but not enough to be considered a top player.
No matter how many consecutive wins KING had or how many circuit records he broke, there were always noises surrounding it.
In reality, the ratio of KING fans and haters was exactly 5 to 5, and their arguments had spiraled out of control, making the forum a battleground. The incident where tens of thousands of users got banned at the same time became a well-known event beyond the forum.
The disputes regarding KING continued fiercely even after the major ban incidents.
However, today, with KING#16007 achieving F2, the dynamics began to change.
Since For One is a game where rank holds absolute power, his entry into F2 became the strongest means to quell all past disputes and controversies.
<Hey, KING is in F2!>
(Picture of KING#16007’s user information window)
Hahahahahahaha
Yo…
F2: Huh…?
KING… I’ll include him…
For Love KING*: KING! KING! KING! KING! KING!
For Change Life*: Why all this fuss? He’s going to F1.
N-nickname*: Haha, look at the mindless casuals go quiet. It’s so refreshing.
Yeah (332.98): Finally scraping into F2 with just over 1000 rank and they’re already trying to raise him. So gross lol.
N-lemon*: KING viral?
EungGit*: EungGit!!!
The balance between KING fans and haters, which was held at 5 to 5, crumbled in an instant.
Most of the haters, except for the malicious ones, had remained loyal to their roles simply because KING was only ranked F3, so they naturally turned into fans, ushering the forum into an era of great peace.
Jeoktomatan and Han Joo-hyuk were also nodding with pleased expressions as they watched KING’s recent driving videos.
“Wow… it looks like he exceeded the critical point.”
“Is this how you defend the line?”
“Since the front was blocked, did he deliberately pull back the deceleration in advance to secure space… Wow, that’s really impressive.”
KING and Yooihyun.
Han Joo-hyuk had felt her skills were at their peak in their event match, but after watching KING’s driving videos recently, he felt otherwise.
She was at her peak but continued to develop, climbing towards an endless horizon.
The peak of the peak.
The person Han Joo-hyuk foolishly believed to be at the top was merely a stopping point.
While he was captivated by the video, Kang Ji-hyuk, the younger brother of Speed Racer and the youngest of the team, approached him to speak.
“Hyung, have you heard?”
“What?”
“The director said that KING, that person, has caught the attention of F1 teams and is planning to reach out soon. Do you know which team it is?”
“Which one?”
“Mercedes Benz. It’s Mercedes.”
Mercedes Benz.
It’s not a national team operated by a country, but a global automotive company that actually runs an F1 team.
Who could possibly be unaware of the prestige and status that Mercedes holds in F1 and For One?
The undeniable strongest team that has never missed a single season victory from the 2026 season to last year’s 2030 season.
As expected for the strongest team, Mercedes Benz also boasted a powerful lineup of drivers.
The current rank #1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, and #2 driver, Max Verstappen.
With these two genius drivers competing for the top positions, winning the season was practically guaranteed.
However, in the context of F1 competitions, drivers are not the only critical factor.
It’s the engine.
For One operates on the principle of fairness and equality, maintaining the performance of all vehicles in ranking matches and regular matches, yet this is an exception for official F1 competitions.
While ranking matches and regular matches are played individually rather than by teams, F1 events involve large-scale motorsports where hundreds to thousands participate as a team.
Before the competition, F1 teams spend astronomical amounts of money annually on engine development and personnel to prove their technological skills worldwide.
Conducting F1 matches under the guise of fairness and equality using race cars with the same performance would fundamentally deny the history and tradition of F1, and furthermore, eliminate the uniqueness of teams themselves.
This is also the reason why national representative teams cannot be found in F1 competitions.
In summary, consecutive season victories are the result of the outstanding technology possessed by Mercedes Benz and the collaboration of two genius drivers.
“Is that just your speculation? Are they really trying to reach out to KING?”
“I heard about Mercedes, so… it’s probably true.”
Such a fact was hard to believe, even for Han Joo-hyuk, who praised KING.
It stemmed from two pieces of information.
One was that no matter how much KING was soaring as a player, the drivers at Mercedes were world-class drivers competing for 1st and 2nd place with vehicles of equal performance.
The other was that KING was not in F1 but had just entered F2.
Han Joo-hyuk considered Kang Ji-hyuk’s words to be true and started formulating a plausible hypothesis about why Mercedes would be trying to recruit KING.
“Is it to monitor rival teams?”
While monitoring users above F2 rank or noteworthy users, Mercedes discovered the user named KING.
Recognizing his potential, Mercedes aimed to contact him beforehand to build rapport and recruit him, thereby saving costs and eliminating risks of entering rival teams.
It was a very good strategy.
Even if he couldn’t compete as a player immediately, KING was currently the hottest topic in For One, making the publicity effect of “KING joins Mercedes!” an excellent means.
If they nurtured him at the team level and saw more potential, they might even consider using him as a main driver.
“What if that’s not the case…?”
A spark ignited in Han Joo-hyuk’s mind.
What if, just what if, that wasn’t the reason…
“Do they think he can surpass Hamilton and Verstappen?”
It was an extremely unlikely hypothesis, but he began to feel an odd sense of excitement and anticipation.
The expectation that perhaps the first Korean driver affiliated with Mercedes Benz could be born.
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1024 participants.
The 1024 individuals had gathered at the channel where yesterday’s announcement was made to check the brackets.
The brackets were drawn in real-time, and during the drawing process, a broadcast was being conducted on the official Kiwich channel.
“We will begin the drawing now.”
As the announcer spoke, the drawing commenced, and participants’ names began to fill the long, black rectangles.
With each blank filled, people’s reactions were divided into extremes.
Famous people and those who were not.
For instance, when the streamer Kim Woo-hyuk’s nickname Speed Racer was filled, there was silence around him.
Having around 10,000 viewers in this situation meant nothing.
The same went for Kang Ho-yun, whose viewer count doubled his.
On the other hand, when names like Yoo Seon-jin, Steven, and Verstappen were filled, cheers and gasps erupted.
[Legend] VS [Royalty]
[Steven] VS [kkk1021]
[Verstappen] VS [Always Faster]
Wow!!!
Woooo!!!
People clapped and whistled with all their might.
It was the highest honor that could be given to F1 drivers.
After about ten minutes of filling in the blanks, at last, my nickname was filled in.
[KING] VS [Talent is all]
Everyone present turned to look at me, but only a chilling silence followed.
Seeing the looks in their eyes, it was clear that no matter how much I had made a name for myself, I was just a newcomer who had just entered F2.
I straightened my posture and puffed out my chest.
Ignore me all you want.
I’ll soon fill this place, filled with your silence, with loud cheers.
KING, the champion, is already prepared.