[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 61
I didn’t bother to look at the information window.
There was no time to check, and if the concentration focused on driving wavered even for a moment, it would immediately result in negative outcomes.
The voice of Kang Ho-yun, which had not been heard for a while, was likely for that reason.
I could only realize through the fact that Max’s rear was getting closer and closer.
That I was getting faster.
That the end of this race was approaching.
“Last lap…!”
As Max and my race car raced past the silent grid with a deafening roar, the final lap began.
The last sprint to put an end to the long battle.
Vroom-!!!
I didn’t stay too close to Max’s rear, considering the dirty air.
*The unstable airflow coming from the car in front. It causes the trailing vehicle to lose downforce and reduces grip, leading to increased tire wear.
The super-soft tires had already reached the end of their life after being overused for 18 laps.
Due to severe blistering, pushing the tires any further was impossible.
*The phenomenon where tire surfaces tear due to friction with the ground and high heat.
Just holding out until now was already impressive.
So, the opportunity must be seized all at once with perfect timing and a perfect strategy.
“Whew…”
I entered the first corner with one last breath.
Following Max, who smoothly traced an ideal aerodynamic curve through the corner, I also turned with a smooth and stable maneuver.
The race car wobbled up and down along the slopes.
Now, there was no need to push or even the possibility of pushing.
Max, too, was racing on soft tires during lap 26, so he couldn’t help but feel the strain on the tires, though it may not be as much as mine.
From now on, it was a battle of who could lead the race car that had reached its limits for longer.
Roar… roar…
Each time I passed a corner, the engine, tires, and brakes emitted raspy sounds as if they were exhausted.
I began to feel the rapid degradation of tire condition, noticing the loss of grip.
The rear axle couldn’t handle the speed, gradually pushing me out of the planned racing line.
Chiriririk-!! Chiric! Chiriririk!!
I adjusted the brake pedal, applying it longer and more frequently, sacrificing speed to invest in maintaining tire condition.
When the brakes started to slide, I deactivated the DRS to increase downforce and substituted grip for braking.
In this way, I gradually sacrificed one aspect and compensated with another as I sought balance.
However, during the 71 laps of relentless pushing to close the gap with Max, any part was facing the limits of its performance.
I knew that such a reverse maneuver would not last forever.
“Control it just enough so it doesn’t blow…!”
Still, I couldn’t give up on the reverse maneuver.
As the components cooled through the air duct, I exploited every slight decrease in temperature from the thresholds of their limits as soon as it happened.
As if torturing them,
When they came back to life, I squeezed them out; when they failed, I doused them with cold water.
Again, when they regained focus, I squeezed them out; when they failed, I doused them with cold water…
I continued driving as if each individual part was organically connected like a time bomb that could go off at any moment.
They became individual and collective in my hands, living, breathing organisms that never stopped moving.
Krrr-!!
As I poured everything into hoping they wouldn’t burst, the components responded with laborious turns.
Kudududuk!!!
As I worked to narrow the gap, I reached corner 9.
The exhausted race car somehow rounded the corner with me.
“This is it. Just a little longer!”
Now what’s left is the straight road toward corner 10.
The right angle corner 10.
The straight section beyond the corner.
That is where the checkered flag is waving.
The last overtaking point and the true end of this race.
Vroom-!!!
The race car, which had been racing without limits, let out its final cry.
Max’s race car was the same.
On the straight section heading toward corner 10, the last battle unfolded without a single concession.
Max desperately defended to maintain his first place.
I took the risk of the dirty air and closely tailgated him to use his slipstream.
Time…
Slowed…
Down.
Thum-thump! Thum-thump-!
The heavy piston reciprocating through the cylinder emitted a laborious sound through the exhaust.
Cardaduduk! Kudududuk!
The sound of tires breaking through the rough surface jolted my senses, feeling extremely eerie in every strand.
Shuaaaak!!!
Finally slicing through on the outside of Max in the corner, the sound of my race car ripping through echoed in my head.
Name / Time / Laps
① KING 0:49:927 71/71
② Max Verstappen 0:51:766 +1.839 71/71
The rankings, which had not changed for 70 laps, finally flipped as I passed the last corner.
A thrilling rush and catharsis surged over me, making every hair on my body stand on end.
I had raced 70 laps for this moment alone.
For this thrilling moment of reversal at the very end.
To overturn everyone’s expectations and demonstrate my unique worth.
As I exited the corner, I pressed the accelerator toward the distant, vigorously waving checkered flag.
Just as I was about to start racing again,
Perrr!!!
With the sound of something bursting, the race car spun.
*
*
*
The last remaining lap was a frenzy of excitement for the entire world.
It wasn’t just because of the global popularity of Formula One.
It was because of the two drivers who performed the final race more thrillingly than any other.
Max Verstappen and KING.
-Max and KING enter the final lap! KING has caught up with the gap of over 40 seconds and is now threatening Max’s throne!
-Both drivers are experiencing significant tire wear. Max, who has maintained the lead, is in a better situation than KING, but it’s still precarious!
-They’re entering corner 1! Both come out of the corner very smoothly! The condition of the race cars seems to have reached their limits!
The overly excited commentators, reflecting the heightened racing excitement, shouted the match details in cracking voices.
[Run!!! KING!!!!]
[Wow, what the hell…]
[sh*t, this is insane… He caught up with all of that?]
[So impressive]
[His tires are completely junk, but he’s still racing like that?]
[That’s pure talent, beyond mere control. Look at the tire and brake usage frequency table.]
[Is that a normal person?]
[Wow, what’s with that? Is it real that he’s hitting his limits so perfectly?]
[And he’s not even using one at a time. The tuning is unreal.]
[Is this guy really clueless?]
[Full throttle, DRS, no brakes KING]
[I feel like I’m actually dying…]
[Words can’t describe it. Max is Max, and KING is KING, both are insane.]
The viewers’ reactions were not much different from those of the commentators.
As I passed the corner and approached the finish line where the checkered flag waved, the admiration only grew.
-KING’s distribution ability is exceptionally outstanding. He’s filling in the lacking parts with the remaining ones; how is that possible?
-The control that implements that is one thing, but how can he gauge his limits so accurately… It’s truly ghostly driving!
-Max’s defenses and the appropriate crossings of racing lines are always awe-inspiring.
Drivers shining each in their own right without exception.
It was a race where it wouldn’t be strange no matter who won, and it became a race where it didn’t matter who won.
-Both drivers enter the straight heading toward the last corner 10!
-KING is pulling up close to Max’s rear! He’s finally making his decisive move!
-KING is attacking from the outside as he enters the corner!
Using the slipstream to bounce off the corner while diving inside of Max, KING overtakes him in an instant.
It was a historic moment as the 1st and 2nd place, unchanged for 70 laps, switched.
-KING achieves the reversal at the last corner of the last lap!!!
Now what’s left is merely to race toward the checkered flag.
Just as KING’s race car dramatically rounded the corner and was about to accelerate toward the checkered flag.
Perrr!!!
The left rear tire of the race car, which had been holding on with great difficulty, couldn’t withstand the road’s friction and burst with a loud sound.
-KING has a tire puncture!
-Oh…
Kiiieeeek-!!
The race car spun around its torn axis.
Max’s silver race car passed by without the slightest hint of sympathy.
Shuaaaak!!!
The rankings changed again as Max received the checkered flag, ending the race.
KING regained control of the spinning race car and brought it across the finish line on the remaining three tires.
Name / Time
① Max Verstappen 0:51:766 +1.839 🏁
② KING 0:49:927
-In the end, Max takes 1st place, claiming victory in the 5th Kiwitch 1-on-1 Tournament!
-Regardless of the winner, both drivers put on an incredible performance. Thank you to Max for achieving victory and to KING for narrowly missing reclaiming 1st place.
-We’ll meet for the winner’s interview and the podium with 2nd place KING!
The finals of the Formula One x Kiwitch 1-on-1 Tournament, which had heated up the entire planet, came to an end.
*
*
*
“Hah…”
I leaned my head against the steering wheel and let out a deep sigh.
The last.
The tire puncture that occurred as I exited the last corner.
If I had been just a bit more precise, if I had been just a bit more cautious, maybe the tire wouldn’t have burst.
Overwhelmed by my great disappointment and self-loathing for not being able to hide my excitement blinded by the checkered flag.
On the circuit, I should have kept my heart hot and my head cold, but I failed.
I resented myself for becoming clouded in judgment, unable to resist the thrill of the overtake.
“Let’s go…”
But I can’t stay in this swamp of regret forever.
Though I lost to Max, I have always grown from defeat and failure.
Today’s race will also be a stepping stone for the future, so I can accept it humbly and develop.
kiwitch: KING. Please come up to the podium now.
KING: Understood.
I moved toward the podium, where many viewers were waiting.
Max was waiting for me behind the podium.
As I approached, he extended his hand for a handshake.
“KING. This was the most meaningful and fun race I’ve ever had.”
Having always been the one to extend my hand from a position of victory, I felt a subtle emotion.
Originally, I was meant to be in 1st place and Max was either 2nd or 3rd.
I empathized deeply with the feelings of a loser as we shook hands.
“I had fun too. You’ve really improved, Max.”
“Haha! It feels like we’re meeting for the first time on the circuit, but you sound like you know me.”
“Well… is it really the first time?”
“What… Are you saying we’ve met on the circuit? Who are you? Are you an alt account?”
I have met you.
You were at Red Bull, and I was at Ferrari, competing for rankings for 3 years.
I chuckled a bit, passing him and making my way to the podium.
“KING! Look over here!”
“Congratulations!”
“Today’s race was amazing!”
Even in 2nd place, the numerous flashes and cheers erupted, revealing just how great today’s race was, regardless of the outcome.
Shortly after, Max emerged with the trophy, basking in the joy of victory, marking the official end of the tournament’s event.
Before answering the barrage of questions in the subsequent interview, I opened the chat room.
One million users, combining Kang Ho-yun’s and my viewers, were igniting the chat, showering me with donations to encourage me.
“Finally….”
Though not in 1st place, this moment was truly the moment I had been waiting for.
I pulled up my user information window with trembling hands.
[KING#16007 – F2 / Rank 921]
Name: Unpublished.
Age: Unpublished.
Appearance: Unpublished.
Race record.
General races: 0 times – 1st 0 times. 2nd 0 times. 3rd 0 times.
Ranking races: 120 times – 1st 112 times. 2nd 8 times. 3rd 0 times.
The settings at the bottom of the long information window.
[Unpublished YES / NO]
Now, with the world’s attention concentrated, it’s the perfect timing to put the finishing touch on the existence of KING.
Without hesitation, I reached out toward NO.
[KING#16007 – F2 / Rank 921]
Name: Yooihyun.
Age: 13.10.21
Appearance: Published.
Race record.
General races: 0 times – 1st 0 times. 2nd 0 times. 3rd 0 times.
Ranking races: 120 times – 1st 112 times. 2nd 8 times. 3rd 0 times.
As the content of the information window began to be modified, the black exterior that had covered me began to wash away.
Yooihyun, my true self, revealed slender arms and legs.
Brilliant white skin and long black hair reaching my waist.
A perfectly beautiful face that seemed to be molded by God began to emerge.
Yes.
It was the first moment that the perfect Yooihyun, beyond description in words, appeared as KING in Formula One.
“…”
“…?”
“…!”
The noisy podium fell into astonishment.
Now I should properly greet them.
Not as KING, but as Yooihyun.
“Hello, I am KING, Yooihyun.”
Max turned into a cold rice state in an instant…