[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 60
“Super Soft.”
Now, with a gap of 27 seconds to Max and 19 laps remaining until the checker flag.
The Super Soft tire, not the Soft, was the last resort and final struggle for Yooihyun.
[Wow! Super Soft!]
[Did they judge that even reducing the lap time with Soft wouldn’t lead to an overtake…?]
[SSSSS!!!]
[With this concentration, overtaking is possible!]
[I believed in you! KING!!!]
[But will tire management hold until the end? It seems like it’ll be really difficult.]
[They may reduce it quickly in the early to mid stages, but degradation will likely be severe in the later half.]
[The tension must drop in the latter half; from now, balancing lap time and tire condition will be crucial.]
[19 laps left in the Red Bull Ring with Super Soft? I can’t hold back.]
The viewers cheered and expressed concerns at KING’s bold choice.
While choosing Super Soft would presumably reduce lap times, there was the problem of much quicker tire wear.
A driver of KING’s caliber could manage to complete 19 laps somehow, but her goal right now was not just to finish but to overtake.
That meant she had to maintain the shortest lap times right up until the waving of the checkered flag.
It leads to the question of how to address the inevitable Super Soft degradation that would come in the later stages due to its lower durability.
-KING is trying to turn the tide by choosing Super Soft instead of Soft. Tire management won’t be easy.
-It might be good for reducing the gap in the short term, but I’m concerned about the pace drop in the later stages. I’m very curious how KING will address this.
-Regardless, given that it’s nearly impossible to turn the tables with Soft tires, choosing Super Soft means that KING isn’t giving up yet.
The commentators, like the viewers, voiced both encouraging and worried opinions regarding the Super Soft.
With 19 laps remaining now.
Max Verstappen is on Soft.
KING is on Super Soft.
Commentators and viewers began to delve into the last moments of the race, questioning whether this fight could turn the tables.
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Super Soft.
Kuaaaang!!!
The warm-up required for the tires to fully exhibit their performance was sufficient in just one lap.
The tire, which had melded together, pushed down on the track like a hand, and the sensation of driving the race car surged through my whole body.
Finally, the wild engine of the race car began to display its performance on the surface to 100%.
Ghuuung-!!
The high-performance Super Soft tires absorbed the engine’s power, which felt as if it would leap off the track at any moment.
Not only did they absorb it, but they transformed it into perfectly refined power through calculated and precise control in my hands.
Perfectly honed engine, tires, brakes.
Therefore, the race car…
Turns its beautiful form into a fantastic racing line on the circuit.
Yeah. I was igniting the driver’s spirit.
“Just enough… Just enough.”
I murmured as I sped through corners and straightaways, as if uttering an incantation.
I had to find a middle ground amidst the contradiction of needing to run fast while maintaining tire condition as much as possible.
Finding that halfway point was like dividing 10 by 3, seeking the last 3 in a division with infinitely recurring decimals.
Just when I thought I had found it, I would plunge back into a labyrinth, again and again.
Running through the confusion of not knowing what was wrong or what the answer was, seeking a singular answer.
In that seemingly impossible repetition, I had to find the middle ground.
Only then could I win.
Only then could I ascend to the podium.
Only then would I be worthy of the name KING.
I like the saying, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
If the opponent pours out passion, I pour out even greater passion.
If it takes effort, then I put in even more effort; if it takes time, then I spend even more time.
Whatever it is, sacrificing far more than others and throwing myself into it usually resolves most issues.
But no one puts everything on the line and immerses themselves.
Except for me.
So, this time is no different.
Even if the division is infinitely recurring, so what?
I will pour all my talents, efforts, and intelligence to endlessly pursue the answer.
To infinity, I will match it with infinity.
Even if I do not find the answer, I can converge on the optimal choice with maximum efficiency.
If I’ve resolved to do that, then there’s only one thing I must do.
Just move forward.
What can a driver do to find the answer?
Kwaak!
【351 km/h】
I accelerate.
I slam the pedal to the floor, open DRS, and keep my eyes on the front while turning the steering wheel.
With the race car that seemed about to lose traction, I coordinated it to move forward while soothing it.
A well-trained wild horse reaches the limits of its potential in the capable hands of a skilled rider.
The same goes for the race car.
Shuaaaak!!!
The race car sliced through the air, displaying maximum performance as if it were a reins-free horse.
I can genuinely say it tore through the air, disrupting the atmosphere in an instant as it flew swiftly.
Chiririririck-!!
The carbon brake halted the race car that had been dashing like it could fly.
The metal ground and heated up, emitting a chilling groan.
Shiiik-
The heated parts cooled slowly through the air blowing between the air ducts.
I maximized the speed and quickly assisted the parts in regaining their functionality.
Like a conductor communicating with an orchestra formed by many kinds of instruments like brass, strings, and percussion, I felt everything I could control in the race car intuitively and found the maximum performance with my fingertips and toes.
I balanced the components to ensure that the peak performance lasted as long as possible, sacrificing what needed to be sacrificed and replacing what was replaceable.
“Khup…!”
The heavy pressure of rapid acceleration and deceleration began to weigh down on me as gravitational acceleration pressed down on my entire body.
Taking on the precarious role of a tightrope walker who could fall and d*e at any moment, I had no time to think about Max.
I had to gather, organize, utilize, and apply all comprehensive information.
Enduring the terrible weight that pressed down on my body in intervals of seconds was driving me to the brink of madness.
Perhaps the state of trance I entered during this grueling racing was a kind of defense mechanism of my subconscious.
Yet I welcomed this extreme situation with open arms.
One more step, just one more step!
Could it be because I knew the miraculous changes this mindset could bring?
The pressure weighing on my head made me short of breath, choking my chest.
Even as sweat poured down due to the increasing heat in the cockpit, blurring my vision.
“Huh…”
It was enjoyable.
So enjoyable!
The sound that just escaped my lips wasn’t a groan born from enduring pain, but a laugh surging from my quivering lips.
And that laughter always led to results beyond expectation.
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Name / Time / Laps
① Max Verstappen 0:51:766 +1.839 69/71
② KING 0:49:927 69/71
“What the hell is 49 seconds…”
Kang Ho-yun couldn’t help but instinctively express his admiration, forgetting even that he was broadcasting.
49 seconds at the Red Bull Ring.
Before Yooihyun achieved this record, Lewis Hamilton’s 0:50:021 on Super Soft had been the fastest lap at the Red Bull Ring.
Max Verstappen, who surpassed the elusive 51 seconds on Soft tires, was similar, but.
KING, Yooihyun, breaking the 49-second barrier, which was a mystical zone for Super Softs, could not be underestimated as a driver.
Weather, temperature, race specifications, etc.
All conditions couldn’t be identical, but the record of 49 seconds achieved by KING was unparalleled, regardless of the form of the race.
[Wow… Seriously, all I can say is wow.]
[This crazy person;; is this just a second account of a current F1 driver?]
[Is it possible for an ordinary person to record 49 seconds?]
[Isn’t there still some kind of hack?]
[I’m really happy for you, KING. I feel like I’m going to d*e.]
[sh*t, haha, the gap is shrinking. It’s now a 7-second gap.]
[It’s just 0.094 seconds difference from Hamilton, the record holder for the shortest lap at the Red Bull Ring.]
[KING is really living up to his name…]
[It seems too late to overtake at lap 69, but 49 seconds is just absurd.]
[Just light… just hope… KING]
《Mr. Science No.5 donated 100,000 won!》
-I’m going… with my beloved car to take down the streets to 200…
《Mr. Science No.3 donated 200,000 won!》
-If you go, I’ll go too…
The viewers, mesmerized by the jaw-dropping record of 49 seconds, were too absorbed to care about Kang Ho-yun’s reactions.
Whether they gasped or cursed, it was a completely fitting time to express their admiration in any form.
KING’s record was so far beyond normal commentary that it was more unrealistic to provide a normal analysis.
Nonetheless, as a streamer and her partner, Kang Ho-yun snapped back to attention and began fulfilling his duties once again.
Only 3 laps remained.
The fierce race between Max and KING was coming to an end.
“KING has achieved a lap time of 49 seconds, now chasing Verstappen by a 7-second gap. If he can close in a bit more, he’ll have an opportunity to overtake using the slipstream in the remaining 3 laps.”
The battle between Max and Yooihyun’s two race cars, escalating to extremes, was nothing short of a battlefield.
Both were pushing their race cars and abilities to the maximum.
Max was defending, and KING was attacking, with both exchanging tactics that were highly intelligent and sensory.
As they fought to maintain and seize positions, both raced through the corners, rendering them almost perfectly overlapping racing lines.
‘Both are insane. Is that the place I should truly reach…’
Kang Ho-yun found himself speechless at such a distant level.
In the battle of stars, there could be no extraneous commentary, nor could any analysis convey the urgency and intensity of the race.
The best Kang Ho-yun could do was to remain silent and face the divine spectacle with an awestruck heart.
5 seconds into the 69th lap.
4 seconds into the 70th lap.
And the final 71st lap began.
The last dash between KING and Max had commenced.