novelODS Chapter 25 Holding the Position
Chapter 25 Holding the Position
Tanger closely followed Leclerc, making a U-turn before Turn 1 and forcefully cutting into the apex of the corner!
Exiting Turn 1, Tanger took the lead!
Will Leclerc launch a counterattack at Turn 2? No!
This was a rational choice. Turn 2 is indeed not a suitable corner for attacking, and launching a counterattack at Turn 2 like Tanger would be considered crazy.
3号弯和2号弯之间的drs区，勒克莱尔没有drs，而AT03的速度并不比F1-75慢！
The AT03's straight-line performance is even better than the F1-75! Even if this section of the Drs section isn't a straight, Leclerc without Drs couldn't overtake Tancher!
But Leclerc caught the slipstream from Tontatta, giving him another chance to attack at Turn 3.
Before Turn 3, Leclerc swerved to the left... then suddenly swerved to the right!
Leclerc: Follow me, left hand, right hand, one feint.
He failed to shake off Tangcher, who positioned himself at the center line in front of the braking zone and calmly cut into the inside of the corner, blocking Leclerc's offensive route.
But he couldn't shake off Leclerc at all; Leclerc followed very closely, its front wing almost touching the rear of Tontatta's car.
This is where the huge difference in cornering performance comes in. The total cornering time of the Tontatta AT03 was more than 0.7 seconds longer than that of the Leclerc F1-75! The difference in lap times between the two cars is basically due to their cornering performance!
If the series of corners after Turn 3 hadn't been unsuitable for an attack, Leclerc would have made his move right at Turn 4.
Before Turn 9, Leclerc was running alongside Tontatta with extremely high top speed, but Tontatta cleverly positioned himself on the side closer to the inside line.
Tanger caught the rim of the corner and blocked Leclerc once again!
They entered the DRS zone again, where there was no DRS, and Tang Che maintained his lead.
Then, in a series of bends, Leclerc caught up to his rear again.
Tang Che: Damn it, I can't shake him off, he's so annoying! (crossed out)
Just kidding, just kidding. Tang Che wasn't that agitated; he had already calmly completed his situation analysis.
With no DRES for these two laps and overtaking difficult on the track, it's relatively easy for Tontatta to defend against Leclerc. But once the DRES recovers, it will be much harder to defend against Leclerc.
"Did Max get rid of the car behind him?" Taunter asked in TR.
Given Verstappen's personality, if he had the chance, he would definitely wait for an opportunity to overtake two opponents behind Leclerc. Leclerc would then be distracted by Verstappen and wouldn't be able to seize every opportunity to attack Tanger as he is now.
The cunning frog keeps touching your belly! Verstappen must have been held back by the car behind him, which allowed Leclerc to act so recklessly.
"He should be able to pull Russell away within a lap." Mattia guessed that Tang was going to use the same tactics he had used in Jeddah. "Hold on, Tang."
Keep going... Leclerc unleashes a surprise attack at Turn 14!
This is an unconventional overtaking point; it's not easy to overtake without a speed advantage!
Leclerc didn't have the speed advantage, but he still made a move. Was it recklessness? No! It was pressure!
Just because a section of track is not suitable for overtaking does not mean that a driver can only follow the car in front on that section of track. Occasionally, like Leclerc, you can put some pressure on the car in front, and if you keep putting pressure on it, you might just cause the car in front to make a mistake.
Tanger was unfazed by the pressure; he instantly determined that Leclerc couldn't overtake him, calmly maintained his lead, and easily held on to his position.
On the long straight between Turn 1 and Turn 14, Tanger even slightly pulled ahead of Leclerc.
That's why Red Bull racing cars are called muscle cars; their straight-line performance is truly far superior.
Honda Engine: Speed on a straightaway is true speed; who can't stay on the curves?
Leclerc: Really?
Because of the lead that Tanger gained on the straight, Leclerc didn't have a good opportunity to attack at Turn 1, but after exiting Turn 1, Leclerc quickly closed the gap with Tanger, and after exiting Turn 2, he tightly sucked into Tanger's slipstream.
They're going to have another showdown at Turn 3!
Tang Che used the same tactic again, taking control of the inside side before Turn 3.
Leclerc didn't use any feints this time; he made a perfectly timed turn before Turn 3, aiming for the outside!
Is this an attempt to achieve high cornering speed?
Tang Che: He's not trying to outspeed the corners! He's going to take the crossroads!
Tang Che cuts to the outside line early after exiting the corner, blocking the intersection! Maintain the lead!
Mattia then pointed out, "Max has shaken off Russell! He's currently 1.2 seconds behind Leclerc."
Tanger: "Report again on the gap between Max and Charles before Turn 13."
Turn 9 again! Leclerc's top speed is terrifying, and this time he got inside!
But Leclerc's entry speed into the corner was too fast! He had to brake hard! Tanger seized the opportunity and maintained his lead as he exited the corner!
Thanks to Leclerc's mistake, Tontatta even pulled away from Leclerc a distance after exiting Turn 10.
Tang Che was holding down the car in the continuous curves.
Before Turn 13, Mattia reported: "Max is 0.3 seconds behind Charles."
After passing through the DRS testing line, Leclerc has DRS, and Verstappen has DRS.
After passing through the DRRS activation point, Leclerc activates DRRS, and Verstappen activates DRRS.
Leclerc was too close to Taunter! That allowed him to attack very early, and he dribbled from the middle to back of the DR's zone, completely outplaying Taunter!
Tanger simply couldn't keep up with Leclerc!
As if things weren't going to go wrong, Verstappen activated DRRS and was rapidly closing in on Tanger.
Verstappen closed in on Tontatta at the end of the straight, but Tontatta simply let him pass.
What is Tang Che doing? Has he given up after his tactics failed?
Impossible! Tang Che never gives up his position easily unless he's playing a tactical game.
The tactics that Tancher wanted to use were not the same ones he used in Jeddah at all!
Tang Che is going to use the same tactics Hamilton used before!
Focus on defending Leclerc, let Verstappen chase into Leclerc's attack range, then put both of them in front and let them fight, while Tanger waits for an opportunity to take advantage.
But Townche had a lot more of a gambling element than Hamilton.
First, Hamilton will definitely not be completely pulled away by the close battle between Tontard and Perez (the lap times of both players will definitely drop). Second, even if Tontard and Perez quickly decide the winner (Perez will usually win), Hamilton can still catch up with Tontard, so he won't lose too much.
Will Tanger be completely pulled away by Leclerc and Verstappen, who are locked in a fierce battle? It's hard to say. What is certain is that if Leclerc and Verstappen quickly decide their match, Tanger will definitely not be able to catch up with either of them.
So Tanger played this move by betting that Leclerc and Verstappen would engage in a prolonged battle and that he wouldn't be completely pulled away by Leclerc and Verstappen in their entanglement.
There's no other way but to gamble like this. Expecting Tang Che to drive the AT03 to prevent the two Mars cars, which are almost a second faster per lap, from lapping by more than 1 laps is less effective than hoping that the two Mars cars will retire from the race.
Instead of wasting time and effort on the final P3, it's better to defend P3 relatively easily and then gamble on the chance to get a position.
Now it's time to witness the outcome of the bet.
Verstappen certainly won't have a chance to attack at Turn 1, but he will at Turn 3!
Verstappen closes in on Leclerc before Turn 3! He launches an attack... Leclerc blocks the inside line, and Verstappen's attack comes to nothing.
In the series of corners after Turn 3, Verstappen was quickly pulled ahead by Leclerc by 0.3 seconds.
Before the lap was even over, Leclerc had already pulled ahead of Verstappen by 0.7 seconds.
After listening to Mattia's report in TR, Tanger laughed out loud; people often laugh when they're speechless.
How to put it? Let me paraphrase a football commentator: Verstappen! You have to keep up with that car! You wasted a great individual performance by Tontatta!
Tang Che: All that talk is nonsense. I'll accept my loss and stick to my MP3 player.
Mattia: "Leading Russell by 1.6 seconds."
Although they didn't quite understand why Tontatta let Verstappen pass, Mattia and the Alfa Toli team's strategy team respected Tontatta's choice and felt that letting Verstappen go and focusing on defending P3 was a rational choice, so their mindset didn't change.
"Hamilton is behind Fernando at p5," Mattia said. "He should be a little while before he can overtake Fernando."
Hamilton and Russell were the most likely to threaten Tangcher in the remaining 25 laps, so Mattia reported their information to Tangcher.
Tang Che: "Where's Perez?"
Mattia: "Perez is now in p8, 21 seconds behind you."
In the short term, the only one who can threaten Tanger is racing legend Russell.
The racing emperor himself has taken to the field. Although the emperor's W13 lap time is faster than that of Tontatta's AT03, the difference is limited; he can't catch up to the attack range in one or two laps.
Tanger must try to delay Russell's entry into the offensive range as much as possible. The later Russell enters the offensive range, the greater the chance that Tanger will be able to hold point 3.
Push! Push! Push!
On lap 39, Mattia reported in the radio: "Lead Russell by 0.95 seconds, lead Hamilton by 2.2 seconds."
The A-class driver, on hard tires, hadn't even pitted yet when he started, so he was inevitably overtaken by Hamilton, who had the newer tires.
Tang Che: "cop..."
Before Tang Che could finish his copy, Mattia excitedly reported in TR: "Max's car has malfunctioned, virtual safety car."
Tang Che wanted to laugh, but now was not the time. The question now was—should they go into the station?
If Towne pulls into the station while both Mercedes cars do not, Towne will fall behind Hamilton after exiting the station.
Despite the positional disadvantage, the significant tire advantage likely makes it a win-win situation.
If both Tontard and Mercedes pit, the relative positions of the three cars remain the same and their tire conditions are equal, but Tontard still benefits because the AT03 tire wear is higher than the W13. Even though Tontard pays great attention to tire preservation, its tire degradation is still more severe than Mercedes'.
If none of the three cars pit, then it depends on whether Tanger can hold his position in his car, which has higher tire wear. If he holds it, he won't lose by not pitting; if he can't, he will lose.
If Taunter doesn't stop at the station while Mercedes has two cars or one car stops, then Taunter will lose out.
Tang Che: "Box! Box!"
Tangche pitted for a tire, Russell pitted for a tire, Alonso pitted for a tire, Hamilton pitted for a tire, Perez pitted for a tire.
The team changed Tang Che's tires to yellow ones... 2.1 seconds, which is not bad compared to other cars in the same race.
The pressure is on Mercedes.
Before this season, Mercedes' tire changes at both races were not fast, both around 3 seconds.
Both Hamilton and Russell took around 2.3 seconds to change tires at this race, which is quite good compared to other races.
But this time, two trains are entering the station. Accidents often occur when two trains enter the station. Can they handle it?
Russell changed the tire in 2.2 seconds, which is not bad.
What about Hamilton? Hamilton arrived at just the right time, avoiding the common situation where the front car blocks the rear car when two cars enter the station.
Hamilton changed tires in 2.15 seconds; the tire-changing team performed consistently.
Five cars lined up to enter the station, and five cars lined up to leave the station.
汤彻（p2）、拉塞尔（p3）、汉密尔顿（p4）的位置保持不变，佩雷兹从之前的p6落到p8，头哥从之前的p7落到p9。
On lap 40, not long after the cars left the pits, the virtual safety car was removed, and the race restarted.
Mattia reports: "Leading Russell by 1.1 seconds, leading by 2.3 seconds."
Two laps later, Russell closed to within one second of Tanger, and Hamilton closed to within one second of Russell.
After passing the Dr. Resistance Testing Line before Turn 13, Russell has Dr. Resistance, and Hamilton also has Dr. Resistance.
After passing through the DRRS activation point, Russell activates DRRS, and Hamilton activates DRRS.
Here we go again, the DRS high-speed rail.
But this DR's area wasn't enough for Russell to get into the offensive zone, let alone Hamilton.
Hamilton hasn't even closed the gap with Russell much.
Both W13 and DR are on, but I can't break their defense!
After passing through the Drs zone between Turn 3 and Turn 2, Russell still couldn't catch up to the attacking range.
Overtaking in the DRSE zone on this track is actually quite difficult, unless you're like Leclerc and have closely followed Tanger's car before entering the DRSE zone.
After driving nearly two more laps on the Dr.S. high-speed rail, Russell finally caught up with Tanger in the latter part of the Dr.S. zone between Turn 1 and Turn 14.
Russell pulled away before he could even get very close to the car.
Those who frequently drive F1 cars know that following a car a little further behind significantly reduces the wake effect.
With Russell's following distance, the catapult effect from the swerve is simply not enough for the W13 to surpass the AT03, which has better straight-line performance.
At the end of the straight, Tangcher was still a car ahead of Russell and had a higher top speed, easily shutting Russell out at Turn 1.
Was Russell's overtaking maneuver a mistake?
No.
Russell's style of following a car often involves following it from a great distance and then pulling away; it's his personal style.
However, with 14 laps remaining, Russell still has plenty of opportunities to attack.
There is an attacking opportunity at Turn 3.
Russell used Tanger's signature offensive tactic—the late brake.
Tang Che: Very good braking, which made me brake later.
Tanger stepped to the limit, took control of the apex, and gained a faster exit speed, slightly pulling Russell away.
Russell did not launch an attack at Turn 9, where Tangcher and Leclerc battled it out twice.
After passing through the Dr.S. zone between Turns 10 and 11, Russell used Dr.S. to close the gap again.
But in several consecutive corners, Russell was pulled away by Tanger again.
The W13 has better cornering performance than the AT03, but only by a limited margin. Tanger can close the gap or even gain a slight advantage through extreme maneuvers.
Once again, Russell arrived at the Drs area between Turn 1 and Turn 14. This time, he followed the car quite far away, but he didn't make a move too early like last time.
Russell made his move before Turn 1.