RoleplayNovel Chapter 37 Interview
Chapter 37 Interview
In a 63-lap race, what does it mean when the safety car is deployed on lap 59?
This means the safety car will decide the outcome of the race!
The safety car may stay until the end of the race, or it may leave on lap 62, leaving all the drivers to have a tense and exciting battle for position on the last lap.
What outcome will the FIA deliver?
Laps 59, 60—no one pitted for tires, and no one would. Even if the safety car didn't finish the race, one or two laps left wouldn't be enough to recover the position lost due to pit stops, let alone improve it. —Lap 61, 62… Late on lap 62, the safety car left the track.
Because the safety car compresses the pack, all drivers have a chance to attack on the last lap.
For Tanger, whether he gets an attacking opportunity depends on Verstappen's start.
Verstappen starts the Thunder! He floores the accelerator and takes over the car completely!
Verstappen's RB18 could easily outpace Tancher's AT03, but Tancher's AT03 couldn't outpace Perez's RB18.
Perez has an attacking opportunity at Turn 2.
Tanger occupied a position slightly to the left of the center line and entered the apex late, forcing Perez to take the outside!
Tang Che started applying linear throttle at the apex of the corner, then immediately turned the steering wheel to block the intersection line as he exited the corner! He then calmly cut into the inside line of Turn 3!
We've held them off!
It's not over yet! Turn 14 is an overtaking spot! Although it's difficult, it's definitely worth trying to overtake!
This is a high-stakes braking zone where every second counts... Tang Che's braking is even more extreme! Tang Che holds his position!
There are no more designated overtaking points after Turn 14. Of course, the fact that there are no designated overtaking points does not mean that overtaking is not allowed. Skilled and daring drivers like Toncher and Verstappen can overtake at unconventional overtaking points such as Turn 17!
Was Perez going to risk overtaking at an unconventional overtaking spot? No! Perez used the Red Bull car's performance advantage to stay right behind Tontatta's rear end!
What is Perez trying to do? Perez is making a U-turn on the short straight after Turn 18! Perez is definitely trying to outmaneuver Tontatta on the straight!
This is a completely unnecessary maneuver under normal circumstances, because after Turn 19 you are in the Dresden zone, where there are plenty of opportunities to turn around!
But this is the last lap. After Turn 19, we will be at the finish line. If we want to make a quick run on the straight, we can only do so on the short straight after Turn 18!
Once they pull up side-by-side, Perez doesn't even need to overtake Taunter. He only needs to take a slight lead before the finish line, even if it's just 0.001 seconds, to grab P2!
Was the tap successfully tapped? Not entirely!
Tanger anticipated Perez's turn direction and changed lanes in advance, leaving Perez with very little space!
Perez's front was indeed alongside Tontatta's rear, but one of Perez's wheels had already rolled onto the edge of the grass, which made Perez hesitant to accelerate aggressively—the uneven grip on the left and right sides made it more dangerous to accelerate too much.
Tangche maintained his lead before Turn 19!
Perez no longer has a chance to compete for the position!
The checkered flag waved, and Tang Che crossed the finish line, bringing P2 back once again!
The pit wall of the Alfa Romeo team has been blown up!
After the safety car left, Mattia, Franz, and the others on the pit wall barely dared to breathe.
Although it was better than the team expected for Tangcher to slide to P3, they still hoped he could hold onto P2 if possible. Therefore, the battle for P2 on the last lap made Mattia, Franz, and others on the pit wall extremely nervous.
Especially when Perez turned on the short straight after Turn 18, Mattia, Franz, and others almost had their hearts stop.
But Tanger held on! He held on to the lead with a car that was inferior in straightaway performance! It was like a bottom-feeder team leading by only 1 point defending against Michael Jordan's last shot. How could this not be thrilling?
In Tang Che's TR, the sound of monkeys crying on both banks of the river is so intense!
Tanger remained calm as always: "This upgrade worked very well. Thanks to the hard work of my colleagues at the factory; thanks to the strategy team and the tire change team. Today's strategy was excellent and the tire change was very reliable; thanks to everyone on the team. This podium belongs to all of you."
After finishing the return lap, Tontatta parked the car in the closed pit area, jumped out of the cockpit, gave Verstappen a bro hug first, and then Perez... Tontatta and Perez didn't have much of a personal relationship.
When Tontard was a reserve driver for Red Bull, he could get along with Verstappen and Albon, but he just couldn't get along with Perez, and they couldn't even find anything to talk about when they chatted.
One reason is the huge age gap. Perez was born in 90, while Tanger was born in 02. The generation gap is unknown.
Another reason is that Perez is not the type of person who actively develops personal relationships with colleagues. During his year at Red Bull, he generally had only average personal relationships with everyone.
Players like Verstappen and Albon, born in 97 and 96 respectively, are both considerably older than Tangeter. However, Verstappen and Tangeter have a mutual respect for each other, and Albon has a cheerful personality. Despite the generation gap, they have a good personal relationship.
After the three podium drivers finished weighing themselves, they moved on to the interview session in the closed parking area, a spot that fans love to see.
Today's interviewer for the three podium drivers is former F1 driver and renowned F1 commentator, Mark Henrietta!
Henne first interviewed Verstappen: "Max, congratulations on winning this tournament. Was today's start a bit tricky?"
"The track was difficult to overtake, the DRES were unavailable, and Tom's defense on the wets was very solid, which definitely made things a bit tricky for me," Verstappen said with a smile and a tilt of his head. "But as you can see, I won the race."
Hene laughed and said, "You said on the TR on lap 33—I think it was lap 33—that you wanted Tanger to put more pressure on you. What was that all about?"
"I'm just enjoying the race," Verstappen shrugged. "Tom is a formidable opponent; his wheel-to-wheel skill is absolutely top-notch in the paddock. It's very enjoyable to battle with a driver like that."
Henne: "Thank you, Max, thank you for speaking."
Next up is Tonton, the runner-up in the 2022 F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and the best driver in the 2022 F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix!
"Tang, congratulations on bringing P2 back again. Before asking the formal questions, I'd like to ask what you think of Max's evaluation of you just now?"
Tang Che's lips curled into a wicked smile: "That guy definitely has a crush on me."
This answer was so entertaining, and Henrietta was very satisfied.
The audience was very satisfied, and a thunderous cheer erupted from the stands.
Verstappen couldn't resist giving Tanger the middle finger, but he was off-camera and wouldn't be seen by the live audience.
Playing around is playing around, but nobody takes an obvious joke seriously.
Just laugh it off.
Hene chuckled: "Judging from the results, both of your attempts today were effective, but looking at the process, both attempts carried significant risks. Aren't you afraid that the results might not be as expected?"
Tang Che: "From my and the team's perspective, the risk isn't actually that great. Most of the time, we just need to trust each other, and good things will happen naturally."
Leclerc: I disagree with that.
VfL's drivers are generally trustworthy, but VfL's drivers are often not trustworthy.
Henne nodded: "Checo launched a furious comeback on the last lap, but you held on and maintained your position."
On the surface, it simply states a fact without asking any questions, but the absence of questions is tantamount to having countless questions—how would you evaluate your performance in the last lap? How would you evaluate Perez's performance in the last lap? ...
There's no way around the issue of evaluating Perez; it's unavoidable.
Once an evaluation is made, no matter how it's evaluated, there will definitely be public opinion—if you praise someone, some people will say you're hypocritical; if you criticize someone, some people will say you're gloating; if you just say polite things, some people will say you're fake.
Tang Che didn't want to cause any public outcry that would upset his mother, even though his aunt said his mother wouldn't feel bad.
So how should Tang Che deal with this?
Jim Hacker, the most powerful prime minister since World War II, once said that one way to deal with difficult reporters is to not answer their questions and just talk to yourself.
Tang Che: "This podium belongs to my teammates. Without their support, I wouldn't be able to stand on the podium."
It didn't bother Henne that he didn't get any interesting comments from Tanger, because he could always get them from someone else.
Please give a round of applause to... Sergio! Checo! Perez!
Although Perez was now on the ground, the virus remained dormant, and his sharp intellect still held sway. Perez knew very well that if this sparked public outcry, he would suffer even greater negative consequences.
When an old driver is in his prime, he's truly experienced, spouting off a lot of cheesy talk that makes Hené fall asleep.
Podium! Launch!
BWT: Don't start it yet! Don't start it yet! Let's go to the cooling room and add some water first!
Whose water should we refill? Of course, we should refill bottled water produced by BWT.
Before the pandemic, podium drivers would go to the cooling room after the race to rehydrate, cool down, and calm themselves before lining up to go up on the podium.
When the pandemic hit, the cooling room was temporarily canceled, until this stop when it was revived by BWT, a marketing genius.
There are three high stools in the cooling room.
To avoid any awkwardness between Taunter and Perez due to their close proximity, Verstappen took the initiative to sit on the middle stool, separating Taunter and Perez.
This is also why Verstappen is happy – not only did he win the championship, but he also won ethane at VfB, making it a double celebration for Verstappen! – He not only doesn't hold Perez's disobedience to the team's orders against him, but he also takes Perez's feelings into consideration.
Perez: Max is still an honest man!
Of course, Verstappen sitting in the middle was mainly to consider Tanger's feelings.
Tang Che: Thank you very much, but it doesn't really matter. As long as I'm not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.
The screen hanging on the wall of the cooling room played back footage of Leclerc running off the track.
Tang Che couldn't help but ask, "In what position did Charles finish the race?"
"It should be P9, right?" Verstappen turned to Perez and asked, "It's P9, isn't it?"
"Probably," Perez said, unsure. "Or maybe it's a P8."
"P8," the staff member next to him said. "Charles overtook Seb on the last lap and moved up to P8."
Tang Che almost lost his composure: 2 x 4 = 8, isn't this a kind of return to its proper place?
The podium is ready to be activated!
Horner in the audience seemed to be having a good time.
Horner: I'd be happy to bring back Red Bull 1 and 3, and Ferrari would bring back Ethane. As for that guy in P2... he'll be a Red Bull driver sooner or later!
Marco's smile was somewhat forced...
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Shortly after returning to the hotel with Tang Che, Tang Jingqing came across an interesting news article and casually handed the tablet he was using to browse the news to Tang Che.
Breaking news! Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko publicly criticized Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in an interview!
Helmut Marko said: "Max played great in this tournament, but his attitude was not serious enough. He did not try his best to break through Tontcher's defense, but instead fought with Tontcher in an almost playful manner, which is not the mentality of the defending champion."
"Checo... he's too impulsive! He already paid the price for his lack of composure at the Australian Grand Prix, and in this race he still let his emotions dictate his decisions, abandoning his responsibilities, causing Max to lose unnecessary time. Checo's racing mentality in these two races is even worse than that of a rookie who just entered F1! This is not the performance expected of Red Bull's number 2 driver! Checo needs to show a more mature and rational racing mentality to deserve his Red Bull seat!"
"How can this be considered a criticism of Max?" Tang Che handed the tablet he was watching the news back to Tang Jingqing. "This is clearly a praise."
"That's where Marko's shrewdness lies," Tang Jingqing said unhurriedly. "On the surface, he criticizes both of them, making it seem like he's not specifically targeting either of them, but the intensity of his criticisms of the two drivers is quite different, drawing public attention to Perez, whom he criticizes more harshly. In fact, he's specifically targeting Perez."
Tang Che: "So you're putting pressure on Horner, huh?"
"There is indeed a veiled criticism, but Marko genuinely wants you to replace Perez immediately," Tang Jingqing said slowly. "Given the old man's character, if Red Bull's number 2 driver doesn't perform to his liking, he'll immediately replace him. If you hadn't driven a Red Bull car before, Perez's performance would have been perfectly satisfactory to Marko, but since you have, and delivered a phenomenal performance, Perez's performance can no longer satisfy Marko."
Tangche: "No matter how anxious Marco is, it's useless. Only four races have passed this season. How could Horner possibly let me take Perez's place?"
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Bonus Chapter: F1 Anecdotes (6)
At 00:01, Sky Sports reported that Perez put laxatives in Marco's water, causing Marco to go into shock and be hospitalized.
This incident instantly became a trending topic on F1 social media, with Red Bull fans expressing utter disbelief, disbelief, and bewilderment, saying, "Perez seems like a pretty honest guy, how could he do something like this?"
It turns out that after the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Perez was furious because Marko publicly criticized him. He thought to himself, "I'm going to teach that old man a lesson."
While Marco wasn't looking, Perez added a laxative for ten people to Marco's water glass.
Marco drank the spiked water and instantly transformed into a jetpack warrior, unable to stop...