[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 59
Grahhh!!!
1V1 Tournament Finals.
As the 11th lap passes at the Circuit Blue Bull Ring.
Mr. Yooihyun was facing the worst situation.
– Max Verstappen sets a remarkable lap time of 51.999 seconds!
– 51 seconds had never been achieved before, right? There are 50 seconds with super-soft tires, but this is a record with soft tires.
– Even though KING is struggling with medium tires, Max does not give him any chance to catch up!
Gifted with natural talent, Max Verstappen successfully jumps to a new level with a lap time in the 51s at the Blue Bull Ring.
“The sun is disappearing… What is the current temperature?”
[Current temperature: 29 degrees ↓ decreasing]
The clouds began to pile up, and even the muggy weather started to cool down rapidly. The circuit also began to be shrouded by the clouds, as the quietly overheated track cooled down even faster than that.
Seeing the clouds approaching from afar, the track temperature was expected to continue dropping.
“The meaning of choosing medium tires has disappeared…”
Mr. Yooihyun had chosen the stable medium tires based on the weather information he checked before the start, which did not show a single cloud.
But now that the situation had rapidly changed, the significance of choosing medium tires was lost.
Mr. Yooihyun planned a 2-stop strategy starting on mediums, while Max prepared for a 3-stop strategy starting on softs. KING intended to take a stable route even at a loss of lap time, while Max aimed to minimize lap times even at the cost of pit stops.
As the track cooled, the efficiency of the medium tires would continue to drop, forcing Mr. Yooihyun to change tires earlier than planned.
Conversely, Max could take advantage of the easier tire management situation to potentially cut down from the originally planned 3-stop strategy to 2-stops if he only focused on management.
In other words, he could reap all the benefits of the soft tires without taking on any risks.
Max’s favorable conditions completely backfired on KING.
– In this case, Max’s operation becomes much easier. He was pushing his race car while dealing with the risks of a 3-stop.
– Yes. He is truly driving smoothly to suit the soft, soft tires.
– While the lap times have slowed down, if he delays his pit stop for a 2-stop, he will gain over 20 seconds.
– KING is in a tough spot. He must be troubled about how to manage his pit stops.
There couldn’t have been worse news.
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Grumble!!!
Since the temperature dropped, I pushed my tires hard while racing on the track.
Compared to Max, who started on soft tires, my losses were significant, but it was already done.
I could not remain in despair calculating the losses indefinitely.
I had to save that time and pour everything I had into catching up with Max.
“Right… Anything can happen on the circuit.”
Rather than rationalizing this situation, anything can truly happen on the circuit.
Drivers competing for high positions could retire due to accidents, or retire due to a tire problem caused by the pit crew’s mistake, or have to give up the race due to chassis issues like engine defects.
Many other reasons can change rankings, and the intersection of joy and sorrow takes place at F1.
“Although there’s a penalty here…”
In For One, there are no retirements, but it’s still not the worst situation.
If I don’t plan to give up, I need to adapt and create changes for this situation.
I decided to stick with the originally prepared 2-stop strategy.
I considered using the medium tires for as long as possible before switching to hard tires for a 1-stop, but doing so would incur immense lap time losses.
So I would go with the planned 2-stop, but there was one change.
The type of tire.
Changing from medium, medium, soft to medium, soft, soft.
Switching from MMS to MSS.
The improvement in weather conditions wasn’t necessarily good news, but at least it opened up possibilities for me.
Given the current track conditions, I could use the softs twice and still finish the race.
Since Max, who started on softs, is also expected to reduce his 3-stop strategy to 2-stops, I had to follow suit.
“I need to pit in as quickly as possible.”
From here, I had to change to softs as quickly as possible, so I needed to squeeze everything out without saving the tires.
Simultaneously shortening lap times while advancing my pit in timing to switch to fresh, more efficient soft tires quickly.
It was the best choice I could make in this situation.
Once the plan was set, the next step was…
Grahhh!!!
Just to keep racing.
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The Blue Bull Ring circuit was breathlessly turning.
The two, separated by tire differences, were completely racing their own races.
From the viewers’ perspective, the battle between KING and Max brought thrills beyond wheel-to-wheel or side-by-side.
[This is lost]
[What’s with those clouds coming in?]
[The temperature has already dropped to 26 degrees lol]
[Max’s soft tire gamble succeeded]
[Max seems to be going for 2-stops soft soft? KING will likely use mediums as much as possible and catch up]
[KING needs to change tires quickly. The lap time gap keeps increasing]
[But both are performing incredibly well… The tires are holding up even at such cornering]
[These are truly talented individuals]
The race flowed quickly without giving an inch.
Finally, Lap 19.
Max, who had built a gap of 32 seconds over Mr. Yooihyun, entered the pits.
Considering that an average of 30 seconds is spent on pit in, it was a difference that could maintain his lead.
[Max Verstappen Tire Change……]
[Soft → Soft]
As expected by the viewers, Max chose to switch to softs instead of mediums.
There were 52 laps remaining.
The temperature was still dropping, and even if the temperature were to rise again, he had one more pit stop left, allowing for flexible responses to the situation.
The choice of softs at the first pit stop was appropriate.
Max returned to the track with fresh tires and started racing again.
On the other hand, KING did not pit and instead followed closely behind Max.
His tires were still usable enough not to pit alongside Max, and thanks to his pit stop, the gap that was 32 seconds shrank to 2 seconds.
Two seconds was a distance from which to utilize slipstream, so Mr. Yooihyun could not afford to miss this small opportunity.
Although he wouldn’t benefit much due to tire differences, he had to reduce the gap in any way possible.
Max was speeding away, and KING was persistently chasing him.
That scene reminded me of Daniel Ricciardo’s match against KING in the Round of 16.
Lap 26.
KING finally changed his tires.
[KING Tire Change……]
[Medium → Soft]
The change was naturally to soft tires.
As soon as Max’s tire strategy was determined to be three consecutive softs, Mr. Yooihyun’s tires had effectively been forced to softs as well.
– KING changed to soft tires on Lap 26. Currently, he is more than 43 seconds behind Max, and there are only 45 laps remaining.
– To succeed in reclaiming his position, he needs to be around 1 second faster than Max per lap. It seems extremely difficult unless Max makes a mistake.
– That’s right. Also, he can’t afford to make mistakes himself over these 45 laps. The way tires can determine winners and losers needs to be watched until the end.
The commentators analyzed the race from KING’s perspective, but they knew better than anyone that the idea of running 1 second faster per lap was nonsensical.
If it were possible, such a gap wouldn’t have emerged in the first place.
No matter how positively one looks at it, the race seemed to have already ended.
[Finally on Lap 26, only softs]
[There’s nothing more to see. Max has won.]
[No matter the weather, it’s just a class difference, huh, KING fans? lol]
[Are you seriously comparing an ordinary person with the second-best in the world?]
[1 second per lap lololol. Make it make sense.]
[I just lost~]
[Did I expect too much only to feel a sense of emptiness at the end?]
[I was hoping for back-and-forth, but what can I say? Luck is also an element of F1.]
The viewers who had always expected new worlds from the driver named KING had no choice but to give up this time.
Mr. Yooihyun continued his hard fight on the lonely circuit, whether he knew the viewers had lost hope and expectations or not.
But on Lap 27, 28, 29, 30…
As the laps added up, the previously hopeless flow gradually began to change.
– Now on Lap 31, Max achieved a 53-second lap while KING achieved a 52-second lap, narrowing the gap. However, he still needs to catch up by another 42 seconds.
– On Lap 33, KING again reduces the gap by another second with great focus.
– On Lap 34, KING reduces the gap by 1.5 seconds.
– On Lap 37, KING capitalizes on a mistake by Max who deviated from the racing line in the first corner and successfully reduces the gap by 2 seconds.
– On Lap 38, KING again reduces the gap by 0.8 seconds…
– On Lap 40, KING once again…
The gap between them continued to shrink, albeit slightly.
The only thing that changed was Mr. Yooihyun’s tires, while there was no difference between Max and her race car, except for the drivers.
The gaps were frighteningly closing.
[What’s going on? Why is it shrinking?]
[lol Why is it shrinking? Because KING is maintaining his pace much better.]
[He has to make up for over 30 seconds, which is hopeless, but his focus is impressive.]
[It seems he hasn’t given up… Did he show something this time?]
[What can he show? It’s just his last struggle.]
[Hey, I’m a KING fan… I’ll keep hoping until the end.]
[KING!!! Stop the hope torture!!!]
The chat room began buzzing with viewers starting to cheer half hopeful, half resigned, as the spark of hope emanated from KING.
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Grrr!!!
Mr. Yooihyun gritted her teeth and raced around the circuit.
‘How did I come this far…?’
‘I finally met Max!’
It was frustrating that her showdown with Max was tainted by that damned element of weather.
With an unyielding focus springing from her anger, she perfectly executed every lap since the tire change on Lap 26.
In the process, she reduced the gap with Max down to as little as 0.1 seconds and as much as 2 seconds.
By the time she switched to soft tires on Lap 26, she managed to bring the gap down from 43 seconds to 27 seconds.
Having already completed a total of 52 laps, there were 19 laps remaining.
Although it had been reduced well, reducing the gap by 25 seconds over 19 laps was impossible if Max made no mistakes, and given that her rival was Max, it was unwise to hope for luck.
In her moment of contemplation, it was time for one last pit stop.
Max had completed his last pit stop by switching back to soft tires on Lap 45, making her upcoming pit stop the last one of this race.
Grrr…
KING entered the pits, throwing out his final gamble.
[KING Tire Change……]
[Soft → Supersoft]
The chat room went wild.