"This was really a race without any mistakes. Schumacher and Zhang Guan fought from the beginning to the end of the race. The two contributed a wonderful offensive and defensive battle. In the end, the car champion was still unable to overtake Zhang Guan. , Zhang Guan crossed the finish line with a 1.8 second lead. 1.8 seconds is not even a gap on other tracks, but on the high-speed track of Spa, it is really difficult to open up such a big distance between the drivers. . However, in the press conference after the game, Zhang Guan did not think he was the winner, but the car king Schumacher praised Zhang Guan’s performance in the game.” - "Racing" magazine.
At the press conference after the Belgian Grand Prix, three people wearing red racing suits sat on the podium. At first glance, one might even think that these three people were from the same team.
"Zhang Guan, congratulations on your victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. This is your ninth championship this year, and you defeated the car king Schumacher in today's race. Do you have any special feelings that you would like to share? For everyone?" a local reporter asked first.
"I'm honored to compete with Schumacher, but I don't think I won this game. Schumacher and I only had a tie at best. I was in a defensive position during the game. Everyone should know that defense is important. It's easier than attacking. If it were me attacking and Schumacher defending, I might have been far away from him." Zhang Guan replied with a smile.
Schumacher fans are obviously very satisfied with the answer given by Zhang Guan. Racing is different from other sports. In the eyes of many people, racing drivers are more gentlemanly than athletes in other sports. After the game, it seems that it has become an unspoken rule of the sport to praise each other. Sometimes two people Even if there is hatred, they will not blame each other. This is different from boxing, in which boxers are always tit-for-tat, whether before or after the game, as if they are filled with gunpowder.
…
With the end of the Belgian Grand Prix, Zhang Guan is firmly at the top of the standings with 103 points. Comparing the points of other drivers, the media have taken the banner that Zhang Guan has won this year's championship in advance.
There are only five races left in this year's F1 race, which means drivers can still earn up to 50 points. The current second place is Zhang Guan's teammate Barrichello. He has 58 points. He is also the only driver who theoretically has the possibility to surpass Zhang Guan in total points. However, as the second driver of the China Force Team, Barrichello Even if Luo is forced to retire, he will not surpass Zhang Guan.
The third-placed Vettel currently has 51 points. Even if Vettel wins the championship in all the last five games, Vettel's points can only reach 101 points. Even if Zhang Guan fails to score a point in the last five games, he still has 101 points. It will be two points more than Vettel. Therefore, it is impossible for Vettel to surpass Zhang Guan in total points.
It is impossible for Vettel to surpass Zhang Guan in third place, and of course it is even more impossible for the drivers behind him, so Zhang Guan has actually won this year's F1 championship five races ahead of schedule.
The championship has lost its suspense, but the attention of the Formula One race has greatly increased. Schumacher's comeback is one reason, and the contest between Schumacher and Zhang Guan is another reason, especially the huge Chinese audience. It brings unlimited business opportunities to Formula One.
…
September 11th is a special day. Various commemorative activities were held in the United States. On the other side of the Atlantic, at the Monza circuit in Italy, the F1 Italian Grand Prix also started its practice session on Friday.
The Monza track is the fastest track in F1. This high-speed track is also a very dangerous track. The danger is not because there are more racing accidents, but because once an accident occurs, there will be many consequences. Large ones may result in casualties.
For example, due to the bad weather at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, accidents occur almost every year during the competition, but it is unlikely that anyone will be killed, so that kind of track is not considered dangerous. Newly built tracks after the 21st century will The first thing to consider when designing is safety. Only those old tracks in Europe, almost every one of them carries the life of the driver.
The safety requirements of F1 competitions are getting higher and higher. After the misfortune of car god Senna, no F1 racing driver has died due to a racing accident. The most tragic one is the Paralympic champion introduced earlier, who lost both his legs. leg. Around 2000, Schumacher's broken leg was considered a very serious accident. But in Monza, even in the 21st century, people are still losing their lives due to accidents. In 2000, a track employee was hit by debris from a racing car in a five-car pileup and died.
Ferrari is an Italian brand, and the Monza circuit is obviously Ferrari's home track. Ferrari accounts for 40% of the previous championships at the Monza circuit. And since it is Ferrari's home stadium, it is also Schumacher's home stadium. Schumacher drove a red Ferrari and won five championships here. It can be said that the king of this track is still Schumacher.
In fact, in the old circuits in Europe, Schumacher will always be associated with the track king. In modern F1, Schumacher's achievements are indeed unmatched.
For Ferrari, they can give up any race, but they must not give up Monza. No matter how bad their car is, they will sacrifice everything to get a podium at Monza. The fans here are also the craziest in Europe. When Schumacher won here for the first time, the fans even rushed into the track excitedly before the game was over to celebrate Schumacher. The final celebration turned out to be There was a riot, with hundreds of fans sent to the hospital and hundreds more sent to the police station. The performance of those fans is not even much better than that of British football hooligans, but they can make the fans as crazy as the fans, which is enough to show Ferrari's influence here. For fans, the podium is incomplete without a red figure.
Returning to Monza, Schumacher is of course aiming to win the championship. Ferrari even hopes to get two positions on the podium, but their road ahead is not so smooth. There will always be strong competitors and A sudden disruptor blocked Ferrari's dream of winning the championship.
At the Monza circuit, McLaren is Ferrari's traditional competitor. McLaren's cars are also very adaptable to running on high-speed circuits. Half of the previous championships at the Monza circuit belong to Ferrari, and the rest Of that half, two-thirds belong to McLaren.
The spoiler will be different every year, and this year's spoiler is obviously Zhang Guan. China Force's racing cars are no less capable than Ferrari on high-speed tracks, and Zhang Guan is also indistinguishable from Schumacher, which adds a lot of gunpowder to the game.
The results of the practice session seemed to confirm this. On Friday morning, Ferrari's traditional rivals took the lead in showing their strength. McLaren found a suitable car configuration, and their two drivers took the top two places in the practice session respectively.
In the afternoon, Ferrari finally found some feeling. Schumacher successfully won the first place in the Friday afternoon practice session, but the Renault team suddenly appeared, and Schumacher's old enemy Alonso won the second place.
The practice session on Saturday morning belonged to Force China, and Zhang Guan successfully took the first place. The three teams of Ferrari, McLaren and Force China took turns in the practice session, and each won the first place in the practice session. .
The Monza track has only seven corners. Compared with the twists and turns of other tracks, Monza can almost be said to be going in circles. The competition here is speed. As long as the speed is fast enough, overtaking is relatively easy, and the same is true between drivers. It will not open up a very large gap between cars. On this kind of track, although a good starting position is very important, a suitable strategy is even more important. The drivers have to work hard on the track for more than ten laps to catch up with the gap. Website strategy can be easily achieved. Because of this, the importance of Monza qualifying has been weakened a lot.
In qualifying, perhaps affected by the lack of hope for the championship, Vettel's performance was not ideal, and he ranked behind Alonso. In front of Alonso is Barrichello, and in front of Barrichello are Ferrari's Raikkonen and McLaren's Hamilton.
The first place on the starting grid was car king Schumacher. Under the spotlight, Schumacher showed great strength and won his first pole position after his comeback. Zhang Guan finished second with a gap of only 0.066 seconds. Compared with the previous station, the starting order of these two people has been reversed. Before, it was Zhang Guan in front and Schumacher behind, but now it is Schumacher in front and Zhang Guan behind.
…
"The F1 Italian Grand Prix is about to start, and the drivers have already begun to enter the warm-up lap. In the last race, Schumacher was behind Zhang Guan. He tried to overtake Zhang Guan throughout the race, and today The two of them changed positions and exchanged offense and defense. I think Zhang Guan will continue to challenge Schumacher. The battle between Zhang Guan and Schumacher continued from Spa to Monza!"
The commentator looked at the track and continued: "The drivers are ready. When the five red lights go out, it's time to start!"
The entire audience held their breath and concentrated, including the commentator, without making a sound. They watched the red lights light up one by one. The next second when the fifth red light turned on, five red lights appeared simultaneously. extinguished.
"Start!" As the commentator shouted, the sound of roaring engines sounded on the track.
The Monza track starts off on a very long straight, and the subsequent Turn 1 Tribe Bend is also a high-speed corner. For drivers, starting at the start can step on the accelerator to the bottom and increase the vehicle speed to nearly 300 kilometers. And this moment is also a good opportunity to try to surpass your opponent.
"Zhang Guan, coming to Schumacher's side, he wants to surpass Schumacher!"
There was a cry of exclamation at the scene. Many people did not expect that Zhang Guan would initiate his first overtaking at the beginning of the race, and everyone's eyes were focused on Turn 1, which might tell everyone the result of Zhang Guan's attack. .
The experienced Schumacher held on to his first position and entered the narrow Turn 1 first, but Zhang Guan's overtaking did not end there, because after Turn 1 there is another straight road, as long as there is excellent exit speed , can still surpass Schumacher.
Zhang Guan's cornering speed was maintained very well, but Schumacher's cornering speed was also very good. After the two came out of Turn 1, they were still walking side by side, with Schumacher leading by more than half the car body. .
"Zhang Guan grabbed it very fiercely!" The commentator clenched his fists. From the start to the speed of 300 kilometers, the two still couldn't decide the winner.
"Do you want to use speed to overtake me? The second turn ahead is a left turn, and the position of Zhang Guan will be more advantageous." Schumacher gritted his teeth, but still did not slow down.
"Schumi should brake! Why haven't you brake yet?" In the command center, Ferrari manager Domenechali was already breaking into a cold sweat. The data showed that Schumacher's speed had exceeded 330 kilometers at this time. If he hadn't braked, , is likely to run off the runway at Turn 2.
I saw Schumacher's big brake, and the sudden locking of the tires caused the car to move briefly. The vibration of walking on the road shoulder made the front suspension of the car shake up and down, but Schumacher successfully grabbed the wheel. Better exit position.
"Beautiful defense!" Applause sounded from the stands next to Turn 2.
Schumacher's defense caused Zhang Guan to miss this opportunity. Before turning 3, Zhang Guan was not allowed to slow down to let Schumacher pass first. Turn 3 is called Loggia Turn. It is a very dangerous corner. The five-car collision that killed the track staff happened here.
There is a big uphill ahead, and the uphill is only followed by a big downhill, and then uphill and downhill again. These are not conducive to overtaking, and Zhang Guan's attack can only come to an end.
"Huh!" Schumacher let out a long breath. The attack and defense just now made him break out in a cold sweat. If it hadn't been for his bold defense, he might have been surpassed by Zhang Guan.
"This overtaking is really fierce, and his car is fast enough. If it were someone else, he might really be overtaken by Zhang Guan. It seems that this game should not be taken lightly, otherwise he will really lose. ." Just as Schumacher was thinking about it, the voice of the team sounded in his headphones.
"There was an accident. Webber of the Red Bull Racing team behind you was rear-ended. His car hit the protective wall, and a yellow flag was shown in the second stage." the strategy engineer reminded.
Schumacher breathed a sigh of relief. Overtaking is not allowed in stages where the yellow flag is shown. On a high-speed circuit like Monza, showing a yellow flag in the second stage with the most curves basically means a break. In addition to the possibility of technical overtaking, in the other two stages, in terms of pure speed, Ferrari did not fall behind.
And it will take some time to clean up the car debris on the track, which may take four or five laps. That is, during this period of time, Schumacher will be in a safe state.
On the sixth lap, the track was finally cleared, but Zhang Guan had not had time to start overtaking. On the ninth lap, BMW driver Kubica's front spoiler end plate came off, and the race showed a yellow flag for the second time.
Three more laps later, Zhang Guan assessed the condition of his tires and temporarily gave up the attack. On the seventeenth lap, Zhang Guan took the lead in entering the pit area to refuel and change tires.
"Schumi, Zhang Guan has just pitted. What is certain now is that his strategy is the same as ours, which is a two-stop strategy." The engineer suddenly paused and said quickly: "Schumi, run faster and try to Get to a pit window and you have to come back the next lap too, repeat, come back the next lap.”
"I should have enough fuel for three more laps, and I can hold on until the nineteenth lap." Schumacher replied.
"Zhang Guan changed to a new set of soft tires. Once his soft tires take effect, the speed will be greatly improved, so you have to come back. We also have to change to a new set of soft tires, and we also need a short pit stop. Let you get ahead of him." The team engineer said.
"I understand!" Schumacher sighed softly: "It seems that the second game between us has just begun!"
(End of chapter)