August 30th, match day.
The sun is shining brightly in the sky, but the possibility of rain cannot be ruled out. The air temperature is only 16 degrees, and the track temperature is less than 30 degrees. This obviously takes a long time for the tires to perform as they should. The effect is great, and it is also a big challenge for drivers to start.
As the five red lights went out, the race officially started. Barrichello's car encountered some problems and started half a beat slow. Raikkonen behind him overtook him. Raikkonen followed Schumacher.
Schumacher's reaction to the start was also very fast, at least for a forty-year-old man, it was pretty good. But compared to the 23-year-old Zhang Guan, Schumacher was definitely a little behind. At that time, Schumacher did not take advantage, Zhang Guan seized a favorable position and entered Turn 1.
After Turn 1 is a long straight, and it is also a downhill section. This straight can use the kinetic energy recovery system to provide an additional 80 horsepower to the car. When the accelerator is pushed to the bottom, going downhill and adding an extra 80 horsepower, the car can quickly start to accelerate. The competition at this stage is the absolute speed of the car. But the next Turn 2 is the most dangerous place on the entire track.
In the 1960s, a lap of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit was longer than ten kilometers, and there were many very deadly corners. In 1960 alone, two drivers died on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Due to frequent accidents, After 1970, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit was suspended for a period of time. When it was reopened in 1983, the length of the track was almost reduced, and the most dangerous section of the track was also eliminated. But the Roenger curve, also known as Turn 2, is still retained.
The Ronge is a high-speed corner, and the arc is not very tortuous. When the car passes here, the speed can reach 300 kilometers per hour. However, due to the downhill section, the car will be difficult to control when cornering. Once it happens, The accident was also an accident involving a speed exceeding 300 kilometers per hour. Just imagine hitting a wall at a speed exceeding 300 kilometers per hour. Either you would die or you would be disabled.
In fact, this is also true. There was once a driver named Alex Zanardi who hit the wall at a speed exceeding 300 kilometers per hour at this corner. He saved his life, but lost half of his right leg. and an entire left leg. But this driver loves motorsports so much that he participated in the Paralympic handcycling competition in 2012 and won the Paralympic championship.
This kind of challenging curve is definitely the driver's favorite. Passing this kind of curve is tense and exciting, and the heartbeat feeling when cornering can best stimulate the driver's enthusiasm. However, for some inexperienced young drivers, accidents are likely to occur if they are not careful in this corner.
The reality is also true. Renault team's newcomer Grosjean made a mistake in this corner. He created a series of rear-end collisions, which directly eliminated four cars from the race, including the defending champion Hamilton.
The safety car was deployed to lead everyone around the track. Zhang Guan and Schumacher were still ranked third and fourth respectively. Behind Schumacher was his teammate Raikkonen. Unless there was a big difference in speed between the two, Raikkonen would It is impossible for Koning to actively try to overtake Schumacher. In other words, Schumacher does not have to worry about being overtaken by cars behind him. He can wholeheartedly compete with Zhang Guan for the top three.
The safety car led everyone for four laps and then returned to the pit area. From the moment the safety car returned to the pit area, a bloody storm broke out on the track.
Schumacher launched an attack on Zhang Guan, Barrichello behind him was also biting Raikkonen, Vettel was challenged by Alonso, and several star drivers were inextricably killed in an instant.
As for the first place Toyota and the second place BMW Sauber, they were ignored by the audience. The reason why these two cars were able to get the top two in qualifying was mainly because their cars were filled with more gasoline. Less, the vehicle weight is relatively light. The appearance of the safety car is obviously very bad news for racing cars that are lightly loaded with fuel. The advantage of carrying a light load of fuel is that you can run faster and gain more advantages when the car is light. However, under the guidance of the safety car, all racing cars are in a straight line. Not only can a car with a light load of fuel not be able to expand its advantage, but it can also Waste oil will be in vain. So the moment the safety car appeared, the advantage of the top two light cars was gone. Barring any accident, they had already withdrawn from the competition for the top three.
…
The camera focused on two red cars, that is Zhang Guan and Schumacher, and behind them, there are also two red cars, that is Raikkonen and Barrichello. Red has become the main color in the TV broadcast shots. From a distance, it is even difficult to tell whether they are opponents or teammates.
"Schumacher tries to surpass Zhang Guan, can he surpass him? One is the greatest car king, he has the best experience and technology in the world; the other is the most talented athlete, he has unparalleled talent. This is a In a duel between experience, technology and talent, who can win? Maybe the answer will be revealed soon!"
The appearance of the car king Schumacher on the field originally means the attention of countless eyes, and Zhang Guan is the strongest racing driver this season and has staged countless miraculous victories. This can be said to be a battle between the new and old car kings. The confrontation between them made it impossible for the camera to leave the two of them.
Schumacher is extremely familiar with the Spa-Francorchamps. He knows where the overtaking points are and how to overtake more easily on the Spa-Francorchamps.
"Force China's car is really fast. At least on this track, we are evenly matched. But there is an opportunity in front of us. We can lure Zhang Guan to the inside first and use the later braking point to overtake him!"
Schumacher recalled in his mind that he had surpassed every opponent here, many of whom were world champions, so he decided to attack Zhang Guan in the next stage.
Schumacher moved slightly to the inside lane, and Zhang Guan made a defensive move as expected.
"Okay, I took the bait! It's really nostalgic. I also used this method to overtake Hakkinen at this corner. It's been more than ten years now. I didn't expect that I would still be able to do it more than ten years later. There’s the same way to pass another driver.”
Schumacher followed Zhang Guan, using the wake of Zhang Guan's car to continuously accelerate. At the next moment, when he was about to throw the car to the outside, Zhang Guan took a step ahead and slightly moved half the distance to the outside.
"Huh?" Schumacher secretly exclaimed. Zhang Guan was blocking his chance to overtake on the outside. This meant that his planned overtaking plan had gone bankrupt, but at the same time, Zhang Guan's defensive action blocked the track. The inside was given to Schumacher again.
"Did Zhang Guan see through my intention? But in this case, the inside of the track gives me room to overtake. No matter whether you see through my tactical intention or not, I can overtake from the inside!" Shu Maher moved the car to the inside of the track and launched his first attack on Zhang Guan.
Due to the influence of the wake of the car in front, Schumacher was indeed faster at this moment. However, Zhang Guan remained unmoved. He continued to move along the original route, as if he did not see Schumacher who was about to surpass him. .
"Oh..." the audience cheered.
"It's impossible to pass." Ross Brown looked extremely calm when he saw this scene. The braking point on the inside of the track should have been earlier. If the brakes were applied too late before entering the corner, the braking point would be too late to enter the corner. Sometimes you will overshoot the runway, so you must have a large enough advantage to overtake on the inside runway. But now there is not much difference in performance between Ferrari's cars and China Force's cars. As long as Zhang Guan keeps his own line, it is impossible for Schumacher to overtake him.
In this situation, the most taboo thing for the car in front is to deviate from the original line. Lateral movement will reduce the speed of the car, thereby providing opportunities for opponents. Therefore, Zhang Guan remains unchanged in the face of changes and walks honestly on his own. on the route.
"Perfect response!" Schumacher also knew that Zhang Guan made the best choice. For him, it was not impossible to forcefully overtake from the inside, but it was very difficult to overtake. , and also bear the risk of running off the runway.
For Schumacher, the more difficult technical moves are simply impossible to complete in the eyes of other drivers.
Schumacher still did not choose to overtake by force. He braked early and followed Zhang Guan again.
…
"I guess that's it. It's impossible for Schumacher to forcefully overtake from the inside. It's too difficult. He was just trying to scare me." Zhang Guan studied Schumacher's experience book, so he knew Schumacher's driving style well. , he can guess Schumacher's tactical intentions, and at the same time, he can make targeted adjustments and responses.
Schumacher obviously didn't expect this. Soon after, he found what he thought was a good opportunity and started another overtake.
"Has Zhang Guan found out again?" Schumacher felt a slight sense of frustration in his heart. However, this frustration quickly turned into Schumacher's fighting spirit. The more he couldn't surpass, the more Schumacher wanted to surpass.
Schumacher attacked and Zhang Guan defended. Time and time again, the two chased each other on the track, trembling. Schumacher kept trying, failing, trying again, and failing again... Zhang Guan in front was always able to see through Schumacher's tactical intentions. , so that every time Schumacher surpassed him, he returned in vain.
Gradually, Schumacher began to feel a little angry, and then the anger gradually expanded. However, he did not lose his reason, but everything displayed by Zhang Guan in front of him made him feel a little incomprehensible.
"Another perfect defense. Zhang Guan seemed to have seen through my next move again. He directly blocked my next move! Why is it always like this?" Schumacher looked at the car in front, and his heart rose for the first time. I felt helpless.
"Zhang Guan's driving style is very similar to mine. He also knows how to control the throttle, which is a great weapon on steep tracks in Belgium. In front of him, my skills don't seem to have any advantage. I thought I could use Experience knocked him down. Now it seems that he has also done a good job in terms of race experience. His cornering choices are just right, and he can always see through my intentions. But where did he get so much race experience? "
"This must be Zhang Guan's first time participating in a race in Belgium, right? Spa-Francorchamps is not a track suitable for novices. Experience is very important here. Many drivers have to run four or five grand prix here before they can compete here. The running was relatively smooth. Experience is something that needs to be accumulated. I have participated in F1 races for more than ten years and have experience in hundreds of races. However, including the Belgian Grand Prix, Zhang Guan has only run twelve races. But looking at him, he looks like an old driver who has been running for more than ten years! How could this happen? Could it be Barrichello in front? Did he and Zhang Guan change helmets? "
This ridiculous idea arose in Schumacher's mind, but then he rejected the idea. Schumacher had been partners with Barrichello for many years, and he was also very familiar with Barrichello. He could feel that Zhang Guan was in front of him. He is much more familiar with this track than Barrichello.
…
On the 12th lap, some drivers started their first pit stop. Due to the relatively low temperature of the track, the new tires that had just been put on the cars could not adapt to the working conditions immediately. In addition, refueling increased the weight of the cars, so they walked out of the pits. The speed of the car has been reduced significantly.
The top two Toyota and BMW Sauber pitted one after another. At the same time, Schumacher's attack also temporarily came to an end. After more than ten laps of wear, his tires no longer allowed him to make unrestrained overtaking moves. Zhang Guan, on the other hand, used a light car to set the fastest lap time.
On the 16th lap, Zhang Guan and Schumacher came into the pit at the same time to change tires and refuel. One of them took 9.8 seconds and the other took 9.7 seconds. Both sides still maintained the original order and ran out of the pit area one after the other.
Two laps later, as the tire temperature increased, Schumacher began to try to overtake again. However, the result was the same as before. Zhang Guan's defense was rock solid, and he made no mistakes throughout the whole process, which made Schumacher unable to see any opportunities.
"Zhang Guankai is awesome! It has been more than 20 laps, and there is not a single mistake. It is just like me in 2002, without any weakness." Schumacher couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
2002 was Schumacher's best year. Ferrari's cars that year were not as powerful as those in the following two years, but Schumacher still broke various records on various tracks again and again, that is, In that year, people began to get used to getting up and wearing a red jersey. He jumped to the top of the F1 podium again and again.
On lap 31, Zhang Guan and Schumacher once again pitted for fuel and tire changes.
The Belgian Grand Prix requires a total of 44 laps, which means that this will be the last time the two of them enter the pits, and there is not much time left for Schumacher, so he has to give it a try.
On lap 35, Schumacher began to try to overtake.
On lap 37, within this lap, Schumacher launched five attacks on Zhang Guan.
After 40 laps, Schumacher's offensive could be said to be close to crazy.
On lap 41, Schumacher still did not surpass Zhang Guan. At this time, Barrichello, who was fourth, encountered an engine failure and had to slow down. Raikkonen got rid of Barrichello's entanglement and successfully closed in. The two people in front.
On lap 42, Schumacher finally decided to take a risk. He used the inside of Turn 8 to overtake, and even passed Zhang Guan when entering the turn. However, the late braking point still prevented him from controlling the car well when exiting the corner. Zhang Guan cut the inside track and exited the corner first. Schumacher's overtaking attempt ended in failure.
On lap 43, blue smoke came out of Barrichello's engine. His speed became slower and slower, and he began to be overtaken by the cars behind him.
The high-speed and steep slopes of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit will put a lot of pressure on the racing engine. For more than 40 laps and more than 300 kilometers, the engine almost always maintains a full-load working condition. The engine appears here. Cylinder explosion is also normal.
And this also reminded Schumacher. In 2006, Schumacher missed out on the championship due to an engine explosion in the Japanese Grand Prix. At that time, he was ahead of Alonso in position and in total points. As long as he finished the race successfully, he could win He reached the championship, but fell short due to an engine explosion, and was overtaken in points by Alonso.
Perhaps because of the psychological impression of the engine exploding, Schumacher gave up overtaking and slowed down his car with the last lap left in the race.
The 44-lap race ended. Zhang Guan crossed the finish line first, followed 1.8 seconds later by Schumacher.
Ferrari's Raikkonen finished third and Vettel fourth. Although Barrichello persisted to the finish line, he only finished seventh. After passing the finish line, he stopped the car. At this time, his racing engine There were already flames coming out, and the firefighters rushed over immediately. Needless to say, the engine must have been destroyed.
This was the end of the Belgian Grand Prix. The first battle between Zhang Guan and Schumacher ended with Zhang Guan's small victory. Zhang Guan himself also won his ninth championship this season.
(End of chapter)