RoleplayNovel Chapter 77 Rain Battle Master
Chapter 77 Rain Battle Master
Chapter 77 Rain Battle Master
It was raining during the third free practice session.
Even though weather radar indicated that the rain might continue into qualifying, the teams maintained their dry setup from the first and second practice sessions, as tomorrow's race is likely to be on dry ground.
Each team only adjusted car settings that were not locked by the rules, such as wing angle and brake ratio, so that the cars could maintain their core dry-weather setup while adapting to wet conditions as much as possible.
The teams in the Moon and Earth groups mostly switched to semi-wet or full-wet tires to collect wet data on the track. The Mars group showed little interest in wet testing. Verstappen, Perez, and Sainz didn't do much to get results, and Leclerc didn't even get a valid result, so he retired early to the pits to rest.
Tangche wasn't very interested in setting lap times on wet tracks, and like Leclerc, he didn't aim for effective times. However, he didn't stop as early as Leclerc, and instead spent a considerable amount of time on the track, collecting data on both wet and full-weather tires, and gaining a better understanding of wet tracks.
Tanger's observation: "The semi-wet tires couldn't provide enough grip in Turn 2."
Verstappen certainly agreed, as he went off the track at Turn 2 and cut the grass badly.
Mercedes was forced to raise the floor, which finally reduced the dolphin jump to a level that did not affect driving.
Perhaps it was because raising the floor resulted in a loss of too much downforce, or perhaps it was concealed, but in any case, the Mercedes cars' lap times in the third practice session were not ideal.
The Emperor's fastest lap using full rain tires ranks on page 7 of the three practice lap time chart, while the Cupping King's fastest lap using full rain tires ranks on page 15 of the three practice lap time chart.
This is the ranking of the four Mars team members and Tang Che without any lap times recorded. Is it a disaster or just a fluke?
The data from this practice session may not be of much reference value, but the fact that Mercedes' two cars were forced to raise their chassis is of great reference value.
The loss of downforce caused by raising the floor will definitely reduce Mercedes' competitiveness; it's just that we don't know who Mercedes will end up sitting at the same table with.
In the past, several of the teams that were able to lap the top spots in practice either didn't try or couldn't get there, so naturally it was the turn of the Earth team to show their prowess.
The coach set the fastest lap in three practice sessions, followed closely by the four-time champion, making it feel like a return to the 2012 season.
In case you're unaware of what the 2012 season was like:
The 2012 season featured six WDC champions competing against each other, along with Rosberg, the 2016 WDC winner, Massa, the uncrowned king, and Mark Webber. In this season of epic battles that fans rave about, Vettel and Alonso were the two truly vying for the title.
That season, Alonso, driving a slightly less competitive Ferrari, battled Vettel to the very last race, ultimately losing the WDC by a mere three points. Alonso's despairing expression at that moment remains a painful memory for many fans.
The wetland lap times achieved by these two individuals are highly valuable for reference.
Ao Ge is recognized by everyone inside and outside the paddock as a master of rain racing. The four-time champion's long-distance pace in the rain may be slightly weaker than Ao Ge's, but his qualifying level in the rain is absolutely top-notch. In the rain qualifying race where the performance gap between cars is compressed, both of them have the opportunity and strength to challenge the Mars Group, and may even take pole position!
Besides Tobago and the four-time champion, Tom Cruise, who has a very slippery turn 2, is also an undisputed master of rain racing and can also take on the Mars team.
While the competitiveness of Mercedes' raised chassis remains to be seen, it shouldn't be weaker than Adrien's Alpine or the four-time champion Aston Martin, right? Cupping King is also a rain-driving expert who needs no proof, and can also take on the Mars team.
Unfortunately, Charles Leclerc has already been penalized and will start from the back of the grid for the race, so there's no point in him participating in qualifying. Even if he does participate, he'll most likely just be a casual participant.
Even without Leclerc, there are still quite a few drivers who have a chance to challenge for pole position.
The qualifying rounds will be a fierce battle!
The wind follows the tiger! The clouds follow the dragon! Dragon and tiger heroes soar proudly across the heavens!
The qualifying session for the 2022 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix has officially begun!
The rain was still falling, and it was quite heavy, so all the drivers were using full-weather tires in Q1.
Be extra careful on this exit lap, as there is a lot of water on the track, and you can easily slip.
"Tom, we need you to make a valid loop as soon as possible," Mattia reminded Tom in TR.
It's advantageous to do the flight circle first.
On the one hand, because the road surface is slippery and the rain may fall heavily at any time, the probability of yellow and red flags is quite high. Therefore, it is necessary to make an effective lap as soon as possible to avoid being disrupted by the likely appearance of yellow and red flags.
On the other hand, if no yellow or red flags are displayed, as Q1 progresses, the grip conditions on the racing line will improve, making it easier for drivers who want to create flying laps to beat those created by Tang Che.
However, the probability of getting a yellow or red flag is higher, and the chance of gaining an advantage by making a quicker play is greater, so the team ultimately decided to have Tang Che start making quick play as soon as possible.
Tang Che's execution ability is comparable to that of the ruthless people in Tongliao. After finishing the exit circle, he immediately started working on the flight circle!
Those who frequently drive F1 know that driving on wet and dry roads are completely different things. A significant difference lies in the use of the shoulder. While you can use the shoulder on dry roads, it's not that you can't use it on wet roads, but the risk is much higher. Therefore, shoulder usage is generally much more conservative on wet roads than on dry roads.
Tang Che made a big fuss about the shoulder, using it almost as conservatively as he did on dry ground.
The team, watching the car's hushed tones, quickly reminded Tang Che, "Tang, the track conditions are still quite bad, don't push too hard for now!"
Tang Che: "copy."
""
Mattia knew immediately that this was the kind of player who wouldn't follow the team's instructions, but what could Mattia do? Mattia could only mimic the player's signature gesture to the team leader: "Trust Tom, he won't let things get out of control."
What could Tost do? Of course, he chose to trust Tontatta!
Unfortunately, the dangers on this track weren't limited to the kerbs. The team, after a moment of belief, quickly lost faith: "Tang, Hamilton ahead of you is kicking up a lot of mist, visibility is very low, don't take the risk!"
In the first one or two laps, there was a lot of water on the track, and the water spray from the rear of the race cars was unprecedentedly large, with almost no visibility.
Tang Che: "copy."
""
Mattia breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he was simply copying the team's instructions.
Tang Che may be fierce, but he's not a reckless fool. He knows when he can push and when he can't.
With a water mist this big, not only can you not see the braking point, but you can't even see the position of the car in front.
It's one thing if you can't see the braking points, but drivers of Tang Che's caliber are memorized track maniacs who are very familiar with every track and can drive blindly.
Not being able to see the position of the car in front is quite dangerous; driving straight into it will result in a high risk of an accident.
This risk is different from the risk of hitting the shoulder of a road. Tang Che can basically control the risk of hitting the shoulder of a road, but he cannot control this risk.
There are only two scenarios that would make Tanger push so hard, risking something he can't control.
Firstly, Tang Che is in the elimination zone, and this is the last flight circle;
Secondly, this is the main competition, and Tang Che is vying for a position.
In short, we should fight to the very last moment before considering suicide. We've only just begun, so there's no need for that yet.
However, slowing down this section does not mean abandoning the entire flight path. After maintaining a safe distance, Tang Che still completed the entire flight path.
A lap time of 1:36.997 is considered very slow, even on a rainy day at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.
But this lap time is currently ranked P3.
This is mainly because the players who pushed the first flight circle all encountered the same problem as Tang Che, and their rhythm was interrupted to varying degrees.
Moreover, these players all drive relatively conservatively. For example, while Tang Che is aggressive in taking the kerbs, his cornering lines are still relatively conservative.
In short, everyone is slow, and their lap times will likely be significantly improved in the future.
They refreshed their times just like that! Verstappen and Sainz both completed their second laps, setting their lap times to 1:35+, while Russell went even further, setting a new 1:34.989!
Brother Tou got purple in the first time trial! Purple in the second time trial! Third time trial — he gave up, just like Tang Che, he was affected by the water mist kicked up by the car in front!
The water mist was indeed quite significant, and Alfa Torrey took it very seriously: "Tang, increase the distance between you and the car in front—"
Okay — Once you cross the line, there's a clear field of vision; you can fly.
Tang Che: "copy."
""
Tang Che crossed the line and began his second flight loop.
First time slot, get purple!
The second time slot is for getting purple!
Get purple gear in the third time slot!
1:34.752! Temporarily listed on page 1!
But this lap time is still slow for this track, and it will definitely be broken significantly.
Tang Che still needs to make more laps.
Before Tang Che did his third flying circle, the Emperor and the Cupping King had already started doing their third flying circle.
The Emperor's first time slot is green!
The first timeout period for the Cupping King has turned green!
The Emperor's second time slot turns green!
The second timer for the cupping king turned green!
The Emperor's third time slot is purple!
The third timer for the cupping king has turned green!
Emperor 1: 33.825! Currently listed on page 1!
Cupping King 1: 34.626! Temporarily listed on page 2!
Verstappen is here!
The second time slot is for getting purple!
Get purple gear in the third time slot!
1:33.200! Verstappen surges to point 1!
The boss immediately retaliated with a purple-tier item in the third time slot!
1:33.136! Brother Tou, up to page 1!
This lap time is still slow! It can be significantly improved!
Sainz got purple in the first timeout! Then he was overtaken by Tang Che!
Sainz got green in the second timeout! Tanger got purple in the second timeout!
Sainz gets purple in the third time segment!
Sainz 1:32.781! The top spot has changed hands!
Tang Che got purple in the third time slot!
1:32.367! p1 has changed hands again!
The wetland ranking competition is truly a chaotic battle among all the heroes! The flag changes hands in p1!
Q1 has five minutes left, and each driver can complete a maximum of two more laps!
Tang Che's latest lap time is considered fast for this track. The Mars group might be able to easily set even faster times, but very few Earth group members can set even faster lap times.
Brother Tou is definitely one of them.
The four-time champion struggled extremely in Q1 and is still in the elimination zone. He can only rely on the remaining two or one flight laps to make it to Q2.
This wasn't because the four-time champion's skills suddenly dropped, but because the team set the wrong tire pressure for the four-time champion's car. Modern F1 cars are sensitive to tire pressure, especially in the rain; if the tire pressure is wrong, it will slip, slip, slip.
Tangcher's teammate Gasly suffered a brake malfunction and is currently struggling in the elimination zone.
Everything else is easy to solve, except for the vehicle's stability.
The Alfa Romeo team still has a long way to go!
Putting aside the technical issues, Gasly's current situation is very difficult. If it were dry, the team could have Tontatta, who has already secured Q2, create a slipstream for Gasly and help him push for Q2. But in the rain, Tontatta can only create a large amount of water spray, which not only doesn't help Gasly but also increases his driving risks.
Tang Che didn't do any more flying circles and drove the car straight back to the pit camp.
Before Q1 stopped, only Verstappen and Toni Kroos had set faster lap times than Tangcher, with Tangcher ultimately advancing to Q2 with a p3 finish.
Gasly's final lap was ruined by Sainz's off-track run, resulting in a yellow flag and P17's elimination.
The four-time champion simply didn't have enough grip to sprint, and in the end, he couldn't get out of the elimination zone.
The four-time champions did their best; the team is F1.5.
Emperor P8 advanced, and Cupping King P13 advanced. These two didn't push much in the final stage of Q1, so their true competitiveness is not yet apparent.
Zhou Guanyu advanced from P11 and should very likely advance to Q3 again.
It is worth mentioning that in the final stage of Q1, the rain decreased rapidly, and by the end of Q1 it was just a light drizzle. The track conditions at this time were much better than at the beginning of Q1, and were close to the conditions for using semi-wet tires.
This presents a dilemma for each team – should they exit the pits with semi-wet tires or full-wet tires in Q2?
Using semi-weather tires may cause discomfort during the first one or two laps, posing a risk of accidents.
If you use full wet tires, you might have to switch to partial wet tires after only a couple of laps, which could disrupt your qualifying rhythm.
Alfa Romeo team: If you're unsure about changing tires, ask Toncher!
Tang Che: Half-rain fetus.
It's just a matter of skating one or two laps on the ice; Tang Che could easily control the risk of an accident.
Verstappen exited the pits on full wet tires, while Perez exited on partial wet tires.
Sainz exited the pits on semi-wet tires, while Leclerc exited on full-wet tires.
Leclerc played his role seriously, managing to get into Q2 despite being someone who doesn't really need to play in ranked.
It's unclear what Norris, who was eliminated in p16, will think of Leclerc.
Since we're on the topic of Norris, let's briefly mention his teammate Ricciardo. Ricciardo advanced to Q2 with a P9 finish—will a driver considered for elimination by the team beat a teammate with a stable seat change the team's opinion of him?
Perhaps not, or perhaps we'll have to see how he performs in the future.
Brother Tou left the station with half-rain tires.
Mercedes cars with full wet tires left the pits.
After running more than half of the out laps, Cupping King said in the TR: "The current track conditions are very close to the point where we need to switch to semi-wet tires."
Clearly, the cupping king wanted to go back and change to a semi-rain tire.
Team: "Why don't you try doing a good lap with full wet tires first?"
The cupping master is also very efficient; he immediately started doing flying circles using full-weather tires.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Tang Che said in TR: "The track conditions are basically supporting the semi-wet tires."
Mattia: "Copy, you can do a flying circle, just be careful not to push too hard."
Tang Che: "copy."
""
Tang Che crossed the line and began to fly!
Exiting Turn 7 — A groundhog suddenly appears on the racing line!
Tang Che swerved sharply to avoid it—the front wheels lost traction!
Tang Che has spun!