nycdaug Chapter 18 The Northern Expedition!
Chapter 18 The Northern Expedition!
The team's engineers worked through the night and finally delivered a perfectly good car to Townche before the start of the race.
Troubleshooting and fixing the fuel system malfunction didn't take this long. The engineers were worried that the cars might develop other problems, so they checked the Towne and Gasly race cars several times from start to finish, which is why it took so long.
Team engineer: We've burned out. If there's still a malfunction, we'll commit suicide!
In contrast, Mick Schumacher's car was so badly damaged that engineers were unable to repair it before the race.
Because of Mick Schumacher's retirement, Tontard's starting grid position was moved up one position, starting the race at p14.
Gasly started on medium tires as planned, while Townter switched to hard tires.
Switching to hard tires is a standard, no-brainer strategy.
Typically, drivers who unexpectedly fall to the back of the grid will start on hard tires because hard tires have a longer lifespan. When the front row of cars that started on soft or medium tires come to the pits to change tires, cars on hard tires can stay on the track and try to gain position.
Once a position is secured, the strategy team should then focus on helping the driver maintain that position.
With the five red lights off, the 2022 Formula 1 Saudi Grand Prix has begun!
Tang Che made a thunderous start! He overtook Zhou Guanyu, Daniel Ricardo, and Norris in the opening stages! He reached page 11!
Zhou Guanyu, who started at p13, wasn't actually overtaken; he fell behind because of a problem with his car—the Anti-Stall system was triggered at the start, causing a power interruption and a sudden drop in speed. This was also the reason for his dizzy start in Bahrain.
So, the Mars group is all similar, while the Earth group each has its own shitbox moments. —Tang Che
Turn 3, Norris tries to fight back... Tanger blocks the line!
The straight after Turn 3 often divides the cars into different shapes.
Thanks to his faster exit speed from corners, Tanger pulled away from Norris on the straights and maintained his position at p11.
At this moment, standing in front of Tancher was Tancher's teammate, Gasley.
Tontard's car unleashed its full potential more thoroughly than Gasly's, achieving a slightly higher top speed on the straight, and naturally closing in on Gasly at the end of the straight.
Gasly hesitated when he saw car number 49 in his rearview mirror: Should he defend against Tom?
There aren't many overtaking spots on the Jeddah coastal circuit, and it's difficult to overtake in Turn 4 and the subsequent consecutive turns.
If Gasly wanted to defend, he could at least easily defend against Taunter in this series of corners.
But you either need to defend yourself or give way to the car, why hesitate? Hesitation will lead to defeat!
Tanger astutely seized upon Gasly's hesitation and blocked the inside line at Turn 4.
This was extremely risky; both cars could have had to retire from the race. But Tangche controlled the situation perfectly, and his timing was absolutely flawless!
Gasly out!
Gasly suddenly smiled with relief. What kind of race car driver is hesitant? He should be like Tom, with a clear goal, forging ahead and seizing every opportunity!
Gasly: I need to move up in rank too, I can't let Tom leave me too far behind!
Things never go the way you want them to!
Understanding braking on a curve can categorize people in different ways; Gasly was pulled away by Towne, while Magnussen was caught up by Towne.
Compared to Gasly's hesitation as Townter, Magnussen was extremely decisive as Townter's rival.
Magnussen held the line firmly, perfectly utilizing the difficulty of overtaking in this series of bends, giving Tancher no chance to attack.
Will the straightaway after Turn 12 divide the cars into different shapes?
Although the straight-line performance of Tancher's AT03 was similar to that of Magnussen's VF-22, Magnussen used yellow tires while Tancher used white tires, so Tancher still couldn't outrun Magnussen on the straight.
Another series of bends, another series of bends, making overtaking difficult, and Magnussen still manages to block the line.
Tanger remained calm, steadily following the car and patiently applying pressure to Magnussen, waiting like an experienced sniper for a decisive opportunity.
Exiting Turn 17, after passing the Drs detection point, Tangche was in Magnussen's Drs zone, but it was useless; Drs were banned for the first two laps of the race.
The two sections of the DR section passed by normally.
At Turn 1, Magnussen thought Tanger was about to make a move and immediately occupied the center line.
But Tanger didn't make a move, and steadily followed the car into the bend.
This puzzled both Magnussen and Mattia, the track engineer for Townsend.
Magnussen: Wasn't this kid playing the late braking and weaving through gaps? Why isn't he doing it now?
Mattia: Knowing Tom's style, we shouldn't have missed this overtaking opportunity!
Magnussen/Matthia: Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!
Magnussen was on high alert, constantly wary of a sudden attack from Toncher.
But Tanger followed steadily for another lap, and after turning point 1, he still didn't make a move.
Mattia was still pondering Tancher's intentions when he heard Tancher ask in the TR, "Who's behind me now?"
Mattia quickly replied, "It was Norris. Norris overtook Pierre at Turn 1 on the last lap."
Tang Che: "The first DRS test report showed the gap between Lando and me."
Mattia: "copy."
Mattia: What exactly is Tom trying to do?
Of course, I can't ask all these questions, since it won't affect Tang Che's match. And there's no need to ask; the answers should be available before I reach the first DRRS testing line.
At the first DRS test line, Mattia reported: "Leading Norris by 0.73 seconds."
Tang Che: "copy".
Upon entering the first DRRS zone, Toncher activated DRRS, and Norris behind him also activated DRRS. The three vehicles formed a DRRS high-speed train in the DRRS zone.
Tancher followed but did not overtake. Norris was rapidly closing in on Tancher, and at the end of the DRSE zone, the two cars were only 0.3 seconds apart!
Although Magnussen couldn't figure out what Taunter was up to, he sensed that Taunter might attack at Turn 22, so he rushed into the apex of the corner.
As expected, Tang Che made his move at Turn 22! A powerful outside attack!
Tanger even aggressively pushed Magnussen towards the apex of the corner!
Exiting the corner, Magnussen was a car length ahead!
Did Tanger fail? No! Tanger cut inside at Turn 23!
Crossroads! Tangche used a crossroads move to get past Magnussen!
But overtaking isn't the end of the story! Holding onto your position is what matters!
At Turn 24, Tontatta finally unleashed the super late brake that Magnussen had been waiting for!
A late brake gave Tangche a 0.15-second lead!
After passing through the DRRS activation point, Magnussen activates DRRS!
Can Tanger withstand Magnussen's DR' offensive?
Tanger didn't need to carry the load at all! Because Norris was in Magnussen's DR section! Norris activated DR!
Norris was rapidly closing in, forcing Magnussen to abandon his attack on Tanger and instead focus on guarding against Norris's offensive.
It clicked! Mattia understood immediately!
Why didn't Tanger make a move earlier? Because Magnussen had a tire advantage, and it would be more difficult for Tanger to maintain his position after overtaking.
Tanger waited until the DR section was available to close the gap with Norris in the first DR section, overtook him at turns 22 and 23, and after overtaking, Norris could immediately use the DR section in the next DR section to directly confront Magnussen, leaving Magnussen no time to fight back.
While Norris and Magnussen battle, Tanger can calmly maintain a safe distance and focus wholeheartedly on chasing the car in front.
Tang Che: "Who's in front of me? How far behind am I?"
Mattia: "1.5 seconds behind Bottas."
Tang Che: "copy".