Saturday afternoon is the main race of the F1 European Grand Prix.
The Valencia track can accommodate more than 100,000 spectators, but today, the stands around the track are already full.
Of course, the vast majority of Spaniards are Alonso fans, so there were many Alonso supporters at the scene, waving Spanish flags and supporting their compatriots. Almost all foreign audiences came to witness Schumacher's comeback. It can be said that this race, as Schumacher's comeback, has already touched the hearts of sports fans around the world.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the green light in the pit area turned on, and the first qualifying session officially began.
When Schumacher appeared on the track driving the red Ferrari, he immediately attracted the attention of all the spectators. At this time, both the other drivers running on the track and the drivers waiting in the pit area were all reduced to To set off Schumacher, the TV broadcast cameras also followed Schumacher throughout the entire process and filmed Schumacher's timing laps.
"Schumacher looks young. Although he is forty years old, his speed is not behind those young people."
"Coming back after an absence of three years, I originally thought that Schumacher had lost his feel for the game, but now it seems that he has at least returned to the level of an average driver."
On the track, Schumacher refreshed his fastest lap speed lap by lap. From within 1 minute and 42 seconds, to within 1 minute and 41 seconds, and then to within 1 minute and 40 seconds, Schumacher had already touched the second row. The threshold of the ranking competition.
Finally, Schumacher beat Lu Yu's time of 1 minute 39 seconds 082. This time at the Valencia circuit was enough for him to enter the second qualifying session. The car king was also very satisfied with this result. He did not Continuing to strive for better results, he chose to return to the pit area.
In the second qualifying session, Schumacher's performance was still stable. Not only did he successfully run within 1 minute and 39 seconds, but he also ranked in the top ten and successfully entered the third qualifying session. Schumacher before the race The first goal I set for myself has been achieved.
Ferrari's car is relatively competitive in Valencia, but it is not the strongest. At the Valencia circuit, the two strongest teams are Force China and McLaren. It is worth mentioning that both teams use Mercedes-Benz engines.
Mercedes-Benz's engine is very suitable for this track. Even in the third qualifying session, the car has been filled with race fuel, and their car can still run within 1 minute 39 seconds 5. For example, Barrichello's time was exactly 1 minute 39 seconds 500. This lap speed was 0.289 seconds faster than fifth-placed Vettel.
However, Barrichello ended up finishing third, with defending champion Hamilton surpassing Barrichello by 0.002 seconds. But Hamilton is close to 0.1 seconds behind Zhang Guan, who is in first place. Zhang Guan, who had not tasted the championship for two consecutive races, once again won the pole position.
Force China and McLaren took the top four places, with Vettel in fifth place, Ferrari's two cars ranked sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Renault's Alonso.
As a native Spanish player, Alonso only ranked eighth in the home game. This is obviously not excellent for a world championship-level driver. However, with the level of Renault Racing this year, he can finish eighth. The name is pretty good too.
As for the car king Schumacher, he gave everyone a small surprise. He ranked seventh. For a veteran who has been away from the car world for three years and is already 40 years old, he can drive a car. It is no small achievement to defeat a group of young people who can be his sons and enter the top eight points in a car that does not belong to him.
Moreover, in tomorrow's race, Lee, Schumacher and Alonso will start on the same row. The two old enemies will face off again after three years, which is enough to stir up a lot of topics in the media.
…
On August 23, the main race of the F1 European Grand Prix kicked off.
Hamilton sat on the car with high spirits, and his second place in qualifying was his best qualifying result this season. And this ranking also made him look forward to winning this championship.
After all, Hamilton was the world champion last season. Originally, he was full of confidence in wanting to win two consecutive championships. However, the rise of China Force and Red Bull forced him to only rank fifth in the standings. Now that the season is halfway through, Hamilton has missed the championship, but he very much hopes to win a race championship to prove that he is not a flash in the pan.
Benefiting from the Mercedes-Benz engine, the McLaren team showed strong competitiveness in this race, but the beneficiaries were not only McLaren, but also Chinese forces, and it was Hamilton who won the championship. The biggest competitor for the station championship.
"I want to win. I must win this race. I finally got the opportunity to start in the front row. I want to give it a try!" Hamilton couldn't help but encourage himself in his heart.
The five red lights went out and the race began. Hamilton started immediately, and Zhang Guan next to him was not far behind.
"The corner is mine!" Hamilton tried hard to seize the route into the corner, and he almost collided with Zhang Guan's car.
"Danger!" Even the commentator couldn't help shouting.
Zhang Guan was shocked by Hamilton's aggressive approach. He knew that Hamilton had a history of dangerous driving. This black boy really dared to risk his life and lose both sides. Zhang Guan, who had not tasted the championship in two races, Guan obviously didn't want to be knocked out at the beginning of the race, so he chose to give up the cornering position to Hamilton.
"I succeeded! I entered the corner first and got the first place!" Hamilton felt ecstatic in his heart. He felt that his first race championship this year was already waving to him.
However, Hamilton's happiness did not last long, because the next second he found that Zhang Guan had already approached and began to try to overtake.
"Want to overtake? I won't let you pass." Hamilton immediately began to recall Zhang Guan's overtaking technical characteristics, and then prepared to make targeted defense. However, only then did he realize that he had no idea about Zhang Guan's overtaking technical characteristics. Nothing.
…
Each driver’s driving style is different, and their technical characteristics when overtaking are also different. Some riders like to grab the line, some like to brake late, and some like to use tactical shakes to confuse their opponents. And if you know what method the opponent is good at using to overtake, you can carry out targeted defense, which can reduce the defender's disadvantages in offensive and defensive battles.
Among the eight F1 championships that Zhang Guan has won so far, except for the Malaysian Grand Prix where he ran in the rain with a set of tires, the others were all led and finished, that is, he started first and then led all the way to the finish line. . As for the winner of the Malaysian Grand Prix, he mainly relied on not pitting to change tires to gain an advantage, which can be regarded as a strategic transcendence.
It can be said that Zhang Guan showed excellent leading skills, but he did not show much in terms of overtaking. Therefore, Zhang Guan's technical characteristics in overtaking are not in Hamilton's memory.
"That guy Zhang Guan has always been the leader. Even when overtaking, he always faces the slow car that is lapped. Damn it, more than half the F1 season has passed, and I still don't know how the driver in the first place overtakes! "A sense of absurdity arose in Hamilton's heart.
Zhang Guan began to put pressure on Hamilton, applying pressure and waiting for his opponent to make mistakes on his own initiative. This is what some experienced drivers often do. Hamilton also knew this, but he had nothing to do because he didn't know Zhang Guan's technical characteristics when overtaking, so he couldn't judge when Zhang Guan would overtake. He could only be on guard at all times.
The so-called fear of being stolen by thieves is the fear of being noticed by thieves. Especially if you know that you are noticed by thieves, you will always think about how to prevent thieves. The same is true for Hamilton now. Although he is the leader, he cannot play at his own pace. Zhang Guan is always hanging behind him, so he has to devote a lot of energy to defense.
In an F1 race, it is easy for the leader to get away from the driver behind him, because there are no other cars in front of the leader. He can run at his own pace without worrying about being suppressed by other cars. While the person in second place is subject to the leader in front, he will also be attacked by the third person behind him. The second person defending the third person will consume some energy, so his speed will slow down and he will be thrown away by the leader.
However, Barrichello is in third place today. It is obviously impossible for Barrichello to overtake his boss, and he also wants to help his boss block the cars behind him as much as possible, so Zhang Guan does not have to worry about overtaking behind him and can concentrate on his concentration. against Hamilton.
Behind Barrichello is Kovalainen. This youngster is very aggressive, but his experience is much inferior to Barrichello who has more than ten years of F1 experience. Experience can be used exponentially in defense. When the gap between the two cars is not big, it will be difficult for Kovalainen to surpass Barrichello.
The cars running in front are fighting, and the cars behind will naturally catch up, just like driving on the road. On a road with a speed limit of 50 kilometers, the car in the front has to go at 30 kilometers, and the car behind Pressing the car is inevitable. In the competition, pressing means the opportunity to overtake, more chasing, and more fighting.
…
The track is full of battles between racing cars. You are overtaking me and I am overtaking you. Almost every car is in fierce competition. This dazzles the audience and the broadcaster’s director does not know what to do. Whoever you point the camera at can only insert one slow motion after another.
On the track, the drivers were also full of passion. The most attractive thing about motor sports is not the speed, but the exciting feeling when overtaking. This is true for the spectators and the drivers. Every racing driver has the heart to surpass the car in front, otherwise he cannot be a racing driver. Nowadays, the distance between the cars is very close, allowing the drivers to find room to play. Each of them is staring eagerly ahead, trying to overtake.
Only Hamilton did not feel the passion brought by speed. Everyone else was trying to overtake the car in front, but he was the only one who was always guarding against Zhang Guan behind him.
Hamilton looked in the rearview mirror and estimated the distance between him and Zhang Guan, feeling a little irritated.
"In the two laps just now, the route I took was already extreme, but I still couldn't distance myself from Zhang Guan. It seemed like I couldn't get rid of him at all! No, I have to run even more to the extreme. I have to get rid of him. he!"
Hamilton is originally a driver who likes to use road shoulders, which means that his route will go to the extreme, so he is very fast, but then he sacrifices his tires, and his running style also It consumes tires very much.
Moreover, the weather in Spain in August is also very hot. For example, today, the temperature reached 30 degrees, and the track temperature exceeded 40 degrees. Although this is conducive to the racing tires quickly entering working condition, it is also It also makes the tires wear much faster.
Sure enough, on lap 16, a reminder from the team's strategy engineer sounded in Hamilton's headset.
"Lewis, your tires wear off very quickly. If you don't want to pit too early, you'd better run more conservatively!"
"Conservative? How is this possible? Zhang Guan is chasing so closely behind, and his car is very fast." Hamilton retorted.
However, just as Hamilton finished speaking, he saw Zhang Guan throw the front of his car out.
"Is he going to overtake? Or is it a test?" Hamilton immediately made a defensive move, but his car did not reach the position it should have as he expected.
"Oops! Has the grip of the tires begun to decrease?" Hamilton felt a red figure chasing him and then overtaking him.
"Zhang Guan passed. On lap 16, he passed Hamilton and took back the first place!"
…
Barrichello, who was ranked third, was in very good condition today, and as the car's fuel capacity became less and less and its weight became lighter, his speed became faster and faster. For two consecutive laps, he brushed Set the fastest lap time.
Around 20 laps, the car with a light fuel load started its first pit stop, but there was not much change in the rankings, and the distance between the drivers did not widen too much. You can throw away your opponents on a high-speed track, but it's impossible to get too far ahead.
On lap 24, Vettel's car exploded. His engine was replaced at the German Grand Prix in early July. After passing the German Grand Prix and the Hungarian Grand Prix, and arriving at the European Grand Prix, the high-speed track and hot weather overwhelmed the engine and forced Vettel to withdraw. As the game progresses, the gap between him and Zhang Guan will become wider and wider.
On lap 37, Barrichello once again set the fastest lap time. On the same lap, Hamilton pitted. However, the technician made a mistake in changing tires. Hamilton's tire changing time reached 13.4 seconds, which was four seconds slower than the estimated time. seconds, while Barrichello behind him used the light car to constantly refresh the fastest speed.
On lap 40, Barrichello pitted for refueling. When he walked out of the pit area, he was just four seconds ahead of Hamilton. This meant that the four seconds lost by the McLaren technician's mistake in changing tires allowed Barrichello to complete the victory over Hamilton. of transcendence. After completing the overtake, Barrichello ran faster and faster, slowly widening the gap with Hamilton.
If this continues, Zhang Guan will be first and Barrichello second, and the Chinese force will once again take the top two spots.
…
On lap 42, Zhang Guan also chose to stop for refueling for the second time, which took 10.3 seconds.
However, what Zhang Guan didn't expect was that when he ran out of the pit area, a red car happened to pass him.
"Red, Ferrari?" Zhang Guan took a closer look and found that it was his teammate Barrichello.
"My dear, did old Barrichello take a shot of chicken blood today? He ran so fast and even overtook me!" Zhang Guan thought to himself.
"There is Barrichello in front of you. I will ask him to slow down and let you pass him at the end of the next straight." Ross Brown's voice came from the headset.
Team instructions are an indispensable part of motor sports. It is normal for the No. 2 driver to give up the car to the No. 1 driver. What's more, Zhang Guan is the owner of the team, so Barrichello will naturally give up the first place.
However, Zhang Guan said: "Let him run with all his strength!"
"What?" Ross Brown asked in disbelief. He didn't know if he didn't hear clearly what Zhang Guan was saying, or he didn't understand what Zhang Guan meant, or both.
"I mean, let Barrichello run with all his strength! He is also a member of the team. He has been working hard and contributing to the team. He should taste the taste of a championship." Zhang Guan looked ahead silently, his face But a relieved smile appeared involuntarily.
…
Barrichello looked carefully in the rearview mirror and recognized that it was Zhang Guan who was running behind him.
Barrichello subconsciously felt that he should give up the first position, so he spoke to the radio and said: "I will brake earlier at the end of the next straight to give up the corner entry position."
"No need, just run with all your strength!" Ross Brown's voice sounded.
"What?" Barrichello also asked the same word incredulously. He didn't know whether he didn't hear clearly what Zhang Guan was saying, or he didn't understand what Zhang Guan meant, or both.
"I'm telling you to run with all your strength and compete for the championship!" Ross Brown continued.
"Let me take first place? Are you kidding me?" Barrichello said.
"This is not my decision, it is Zhang Guan's decision!" Ross Brown explained.
"Did I do something wrong? Should I be fired?" Barrichello suddenly panicked.
"Zhang Guan said, you have been working hard and contributing to the team, so you should taste the taste of a championship." Ross Brown then added: "Well, these are his exact words!"
"What do you mean, boss?" Barrichello was stunned for a second before asking. At this time, he even called Zhang Guan "boss".
"What do you mean? Hahaha, it means that the European championship is yours! Just think of it as a reward from the boss!" Ross Brown laughed as he said it.
(End of chapter)