[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 88

The sun was still glaring in the afternoon.

After the race, Leclerc and I, lined up on the grid, climbed onto our race cars and waved to the audience in the grandstands.

Perhaps it was because we showcased a race that didn’t feel like an event race.

Cheers crashed over us like a tidal wave.

As I lowered my helmet to greet the crowd, I locked eyes with Leclerc, and a peculiar sense of kinship formed.

It felt like that moment when you watch a funny scene on a TV show and, instinctively, you turn to the person next to you only to find them looking back at you.

In our embarrassment, we couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

He seemed quite satisfied with today’s race as well.

“Thank you!”

Amidst the cheers of the audience, I conveyed my gratitude which was likely drowned out.

Like Ferrari’s passionate red, the announcement of my joining was wrapped up with that intense fervor.

A calm night with the moon and stars softly settled.

After the schedule ended, we decided not to move to Maranello, where Ferrari’s headquarters is located, but rather to spend the night at a hotel in Milan.

Although it was only a two-hour distance, it was considerate of them since I was still adjusting to the time difference.

Besides, despite having used a strength-enhancing suit, my body had turned to mush after just 20 laps.

Traveling in this state would only add to my fatigue.

“Phew…”

I realized once again the weakness of my body and kept muttering, “I need to work hard on my core exercises.”

My mind was wholly consumed with thoughts of exercise.

For some reason… it felt necessary.

“Ugh… Delicious.”

By the way, this wine is excellent.

The initial taste is refreshing, and the finish is smooth, going down easily.

Where is it from? It must be Italian since we are in Italy.

I wanted to know its name, but the waiter took the menu away.

I started to dislike the waiter.

A gentle breeze wrapping around my body felt delightful at the restaurant located in the heart of Milan, enhancing the wonderful atmosphere with the outside view.

As Milan is a city well-known for tourism, the urban landscape itself resembled a painting.

In such a setting, it felt as if something wonderful, a fateful event, was bound to occur, not just to me.

Leclerc, Myung-jin, Minoto, and his aide, Sabina, who all sat around the circular table on the restaurant’s outdoor terrace, seemed equally engrossed in their own reflections.

“The breeze feels nice…”

Across from me, Leclerc sat crossed-legged, swirling his wine glass, taking a sip as he gazed out at the view with a misty-eyed expression.

Following his gaze, I turned my head and saw the magnificent cityscape sparkling quietly at night.

The beautiful sight has a captivating charm that draws you in just by looking at it.

However, Leclerc’s misty eyes were somewhat displeasing to me.

Realizing I was frowning without meaning to, I quickly turned my head away.

“Ugh… What are we going to do about our team…? Huh? Someone say something.”

Minoto, sitting beside me, had downed wine as soon as he sat down and had long since lost himself to it.

Drunk, he incessantly talked about everything from the engine to the team.

Of course, there wasn’t a single constructive idea among them.

While I thought the engine was indeed a headache, part of me felt sorry for Minoto.

His affection for the team seemed no less than any other director’s, yet the results were the opposite.

Efforts don’t always correlate with results, but the current state of Ferrari feels excessively harsh.

With His competing against us, it says it all.

Still, there seems to be a glimmer of hope; since Enrique Tinko joined, changes in vehicle performance have been noted.

From aerodynamics to the basic design of the engine, details like the front and rear wings are slowly taking shape.

The issue was time.

Whether we could become a winning car before the season opener was questionable.

There were less than two months left until the opening.

“I wish Enrique had come…”

Since I had requested him to come, I had planned to bring Tinko to Milan today, but he declined, saying he couldn’t find the time.

I felt disappointed, but in this world, Enrique, who doesn’t know Jin Hyun-woo or Yooihyun, must put me last.

As a diligent engineer, he was likely still working somewhere on vehicle development, whether at the laboratory or elsewhere, even at this moment when we were drinking.

Sabina, who was sitting next to me, talking cheerfully with Myung-jin, began putting on her outerwear when she saw the drunk Minoto.

I felt the warm touch of Sabina’s hand creeping into my armpit through my hazy vision.

“Director has a meeting at headquarters early tomorrow morning, so we should head back to the hotel. Can you take care of the Director, Myung-jin?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll take care of Leclerc and the Director getting back. Sabina, please look after Hyun Lee. In Korea, she’s a high school student, so it’s the age when one typically doesn’t drink.”

“Oh, no wonder. She seemed quiet…”

“Look at those fierce eyes! She’s probably never even had alcohol, so I shouldn’t have given her any.”

What’s she talking about? I’m perfectly fine right now.

Suddenly irritated by Myung-jin’s pointing, I felt a surge of annoyance.

“Eh? I’m fine… Do you know how many bottles of champagne I’ve popped on the podium while being the champion? Over forty bottles, over forty!”

“Alright, alright. Shall our champion rise?”

“Hyun Lee’s drunkenness is just as strong as the Director’s. Sabina, I’ll settle the bill first.”

I yelled with a firm expression, but all I received in return was Sabina’s motherly patting and Myung-jin’s total disregard.

After that, everything went blank.

I vaguely remember clinging to Sabina like a baby monkey as we somehow exited the restaurant.

But what happened afterward was like a complete deletion of memory in my brain.

When I opened my eyes, the only thing I knew was that I was lying in bed at the hotel, sound asleep next to Sabina.

While I still felt more comfortable lying next to a man, I was relieved that my dorm life with Jihyun had toughened me enough not to be startled by such a situation.

But that wasn’t the issue.

“Ugh…”

A pounding hangover resonated in my brain, and I grabbed my head slowly, rising from bed.

“…?”

I was wearing clothes, but something felt empty.

It felt like something that should be there was missing.

Sensing something strange, I quietly got out of bed, careful not to wake Sabina, and headed to the bathroom.

Clack!

When I turned on the light and checked the mirror, the source of my discomfort revealed itself.

“Why am I only wearing a robe…?”

I was draped in a light white robe.

Is it a relief that my underwear is still on?

I couldn’t have changed clothes while being inebriated…

So, it must mean that Sabina changed my clothes while I was drunk.

“Ah, seriously…”

I felt utterly embarrassed.

*

*

*

On the day of Yooihyun’s joining ceremony, the laboratory was bustling with all sorts of personnel.

The reason so many people were busy was solely for the improvement of the race car.

With over ten research departments, and each assigned with at least twenty staff members, one could grasp the magnitude of investment in manpower and capital in F1.

Enrique was also fulfilling his duties amidst the smoothly running operation.

In the conference room.

Enrique Tinko was participating in a meeting next to Logan, Ferrari’s head engineer, who oversees all departments.

“The engine development seems to take a lot of time, so let’s focus on both low-rake and high-rake settings for our research. Anyone have something to add?”

Before Logan finished speaking, several senior engineers immediately voiced their concerns.

“Isn’t it a waste to balance both? It would be better to focus on one…”

“I’m hesitant to say this since we don’t know when engine development will finish, but I also think it’s better to focus on one. We might end up missing both if we try to catch two rabbits.”

“Even if the development is successfully completed, we don’t know how much performance will improve, so I see it as a bad move to pursue both.”

Opposition was fierce.

Yet, Logan’s expression was unfazed.

It made sense since such opposition was a predicted outcome.

There are advantageous settings for each circuit.

If there are many corners, naturally, the high-rake setting, which enhances downforce, is better; conversely, if there are fewer corners and more straight paths, the low-rake setting is preferable due to its straight-line acceleration.

So, couldn’t we just alternate between the suitable settings for each circuit?

That was nearly impossible.

It wasn’t merely a lack of technical skill; it was a matter of time as well.

As F1 teams gather the best engineers and scientists, they could theoretically come up with innovative technologies and results through their collaboration.

But, where has such groundbreaking discoveries and inventions ever come easily?

Even now, with hundreds of personnel dedicated to a single objective, progress was at a standstill.

To split a path, they would either need to double their workforce or have the current personnel work twice as hard.

And that choice was an impossible one.

Furthermore, to change the direction of a race car once it has a set configuration, all additional factors must also be altered.

So, no engineer would passionately engage in goals that guaranteed no successful outcome.

Logan wasn’t unaware of these facts.

Still, there was a reason behind suggesting a split in direction.

His intent was to concentrate on secondary elements to slightly alleviate the burden on the engine, as Ferrari’s engine was weak.

Engine development takes a long time, while research on other components tends to progress faster.

Also, Ferrari is the most storied team in F1.

They prepared a vast amount of foundational data, believing that they could achieve anything with enough effort.

Of course, this didn’t mean they would siphon off resources from engine development.

The engine is the most crucial component of a race car, so thinking about prioritizing or withholding efforts would be an entirely different matter.

If this succeeds, it could become a winning plan.

Both the engine can improve somewhat, and they could prepare settings suitable for the specific characteristics of each circuit.

However, this is merely a positive perspective that does not consider potential hazards.

In reality, it could be classified as high-risk, high-return, but it also represents an extreme high-risk with a very slight chance of return.

For engineers who rely on numerically-based precise designs, it was an utterly indefensible figure.

As opposing opinions continuously emerged, at that moment…

“I think I can manage it.”

Enrique Tinko spoke up.

It’s incredibly rude for a newcomer who had been with the team for less than a month to speak in the conference room, but everyone merely expressed their dissatisfaction in silence, as they were hesitant to oppose the team leader, Minoto, and the head engineer, Logan, who was firmly by his side.

“What do you think you can manage?”

Logan broke the silence.

“I can’t guarantee on the engine, but I can handle both low-rake and high-rake settings.”

Enrique’s eyes shone brightly with confidence.

His youthful, fiery gaze and audacious statement were anything but reckless.

It was certainty.