RoleplayNovel Chapter 31 Rain
Chapter 31 Rain
Will the competition start as soon as we get back to Europe?
How could it be so fast? The Australian Grand Prix and the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix are also two weeks apart.
Even without competitions for the time being, daily training cannot be neglected, and research and development work cannot be interrupted.
F1 driving must be an extremely busy profession, with races, pre-race analysis, post-race review, training, research and development... there are hardly any days off throughout the year.
It's no wonder that many drivers say they don't have time to spend with their families. Their work schedules are much fuller than those of ordinary workers, and they travel all over the world, leaving them with neither the time nor the space to spend with their families.
Some drivers are different; although they don't have time to spend with their families, their families can accompany them on their travels.
Take Max Verstappen, for example. His father, Jos Verstappen, often supported him at matches... Considering Max Verstappen's childhood experiences, Jos Verstappen's presence might not be considered particularly noteworthy.
Take Tang Che for example. His aunt, Tang Jingqing, has always supported him, both on and off the field.
The support from the sidelines far exceeds that from the field.
Tang Jingqing oversees all work related to Tang Che, including legal affairs, business, and public relations.
Most of the work is handled by the team, with Tang Jingqing in charge of overall coordination; a small portion of the work is handled by Tang Jingqing personally, such as managing Tang Che's social media.
Tang Jingqing: Let me see which little sluts are trying to seduce my Archer today.
Models and online influencers frequently send private messages to Tang Che's Instagram account, and the content of these messages...
Tang Jingqing: It's an eyesore!
Instagram has relatively less censorship and its private messages are more restrained, but Twitter private messages... well, even Tang Jingqing doesn't dare to look at them.
Tang Jingqing: In a situation like this, how can Archer personally manage social media? Our Archer is still a child!
However, on the other hand, Archer is already 19 years old, so it's fine for him to have a serious relationship.
Tang Jingqing: "Ache, do you want me to introduce you to a girlfriend?"
Tang Che: "My girlfriend only slows me down."
Tang Jingqing: Okay, I'm only 19 anyway, no rush.
-----------------
Before we get into the race weekend, let’s take a look at the track.
The Imola circuit not only carries the sad story of Enzo and his son, but also the painful history of F1 – where Ayrton Senna met his tragic end.
……
The Imola circuit is 4.909 kilometers long per lap, with only one section of the DRS zone, containing a total of 19 corners, including 10 left-hand corners and 9 right-hand corners.
The main race consists of 63 laps, with a total distance of 309.049 kilometers.
The track is situated in a hilly area, exhibiting distinct undulations. The highest elevation change is 34.4 meters, with a full throttle usage rate of approximately 71%, and an average cornering speed of 205 km/h.
Imola is a typical old-school high-speed permanent circuit. Due to its narrow surface, extremely low margin for error, and extremely high overtaking difficulty, it is known by motorsport fans as "Monaco without walls".
Most sections of the track can only accommodate two cars side by side. The outer buffer zone is mostly gravel and grass, close to the guardrail. If a driver makes a mistake in the line, it is very easy to cause the car to crash into the wall or get stuck.
With the full return of ground effect rules in the 2022 F1 season, the loss of downforce when following other cars has further amplified the difficulty of overtaking on this track.
To enhance the viewing experience, the FIA has adjusted the only DRS zone at this race, significantly moving the detection point from 20 meters before Turn 17 in 2021 to 385 meters, while keeping the activation point at 60 meters before Turn 19, thus extending the effective distance of the DRS.
The track surface asphalt was laid in 2011, with moderate wear and good overall grip, but it requires a relatively balanced lateral and longitudinal load on the tires.
Pirelli provided the Imola station with a combination of C2 hard, C3 medium, and C4 soft tires, the same as the Saudi Arabian station.
Because this race uses a sprint format, the number of tires allocated is one less than that of a regular weekend, with each team receiving a total of 6 sets of soft tires, 4 sets of medium tires, and 2 sets of hard tires.
Pirelli's technical team believes that the asphalt properties of the Imola circuit cause the tires to heat up quickly, resulting in a smaller performance difference between soft and medium tires, while medium tires offer better long-distance stability.
Friends have already experienced four races in an immersive way, so they should be able to finalize the car setup based on the track characteristics, right?
What kind of setup is suitable for this track? Please type your answer in the chat.
That's right! This track is suitable for a medium-to-high downforce setup! Sacrifice some straight-line speed in exchange for higher cornering grip.
What else?
That's right! Because the track is undulating, the suspension needs to be softened to handle the bumps.
Because this race uses a sprint format, there is only one free practice session before qualifying for drivers to adjust their car settings.
Unfortunately, Kakuda was unable to launch.
For this race, Alfa Romeo brought a brand new floor, upgraded the car's braking and steering systems, and made some minor modifications to the diffuser.
The upgrade is quite significant.
Is it a mid-season upgrade or a post-season upgrade? Let's put it to the test. We can put it to the test, but it probably won't verify much.
It was raining lightly when the first practice match began.
Those who frequently drive F1 cars know that rain can turn an F1 race into something completely different.
A wet track provides less grip than a dry track, so drivers can't push as hard as they would on a dry track.
Rainwater can affect the aerodynamics of a race car to some extent. Water on the ground can significantly reduce the downforce generated by the ground effect plate, and may even cause the plate to generate virtually no downforce.
Driving an F1 ground effect car in heavy rain is like driving a boat with very poor maneuverability; it's extremely dangerous.
This is why F1 in the era of ground effect became a world-class formula championship where races don't take place in the rain.
Things always have their pros and cons. While rain can have many negative effects on ground effect racing, it can also reduce the performance gap between race cars.
The Earth rover's floor doesn't have the same ground effect as the Mars rover, and it's far less affected by accumulated water.
The presence of water on the ground significantly reduces the downforce on the Mars rover and less on the Earth rover, effectively narrowing the downforce difference between the two rovers.
With downforce reduced and mechanical grip in wet conditions not being high, no racing car engine can output full power, which means the Mars rover's engine advantage has been eliminated.
Rainy weather also puts drivers to the test – race cars are more likely to lose control, the risk of wheel-to-wheel attack and defense increases significantly, and the accident rate rises sharply.
What does this mean? It means Earth rovers can now compete with Mars rovers! It means the competition will be more about the drivers! It means mid-table teams can now compete with Mars rovers for the podium and even the championship!
Unfortunately, the light rain during practice only had a negative impact on the Alfa Romeo team, with no positive effects.
However, for a driver of Tanger's caliber, even in the rain, it's still possible to partially verify the effects of the car's upgrades.
Tang Che drove his race car, equipped with full-weather tires, onto the track.
"The stability on the curves has improved significantly."
……