All-round Athlete

Chapter 723 Zhang Guan VS Schumacher

Standing on the podium champion position, Barrichello has already burst into tears of excitement.

He didn't give way. In the last ten laps, he led the way and crossed the finish line first. He won the European Grand Prix.

For Barrichello, all this seems like a dream. He is 37 years old. Before Schumacher came back, he was the oldest driver on the circuit. He has a firm foothold, and he can still have a job in F1, which is already considered a blessing.

Barrichello feels that this may be his last season in F1. In this season, Barrichello is indeed trembling. Although he has a fast car, as the second driver, he naturally has to be the second driver. The consciousness of the No. 1 driver, the championship of the race is beyond his imagination.

If it was ten years ago, even five years ago, Barrichello would not be so excited by a championship, but now it is different. In the center of the stage, enjoying the glory of the championship, this is indeed the best reward for a veteran driver with more than ten years of F1 experience.

The championship of a sub-race is that although it will not have an immediate impact on the final outcome of the season, it at least proves that Barrichello is still young and still maintains a good state. Although Lian Po is old, he still eats more than the average boy. A championship in a race, coupled with Barrichello's skills and experience, is enough to ensure that he will not lose his job next season.

"Thank you! Boss, thank you! You are the best boss!" Barrichello hugged Zhang Guan. He knew that if Zhang Guan hadn't proposed it on his own initiative, the team would definitely give the order to give up the car. It can be said that his The champion of the sub-station was given to him by Zhang Guan.

Zhang Guan smiled and patted Barrichello on the shoulder, he could feel the joy of the veteran.

"I'm not just your boss, don't forget that we are comrades in arms!" Zhang Guan said.

"Comrade! It's a comrade!" Barrichello seemed a little incoherent.

Next to it, Hamilton seemed very depressed to get the third place. He could have won at least a second place, but because of the engineer's mistake in changing tires, he fell to the third place. For no reason, he lost two points. Not to mention, the distance The champion also went one step further.

Zhang Guan won the runner-up in this race. At present, he has won a total of 93 points, while the second-placed Barrichello has 56 points. Zhang Guan still has an advantage of 37 points. Vettel, who ranked third in the overall score list, retired because of an engine explosion, and the gap between him and Zhang Guan widened to 47 points.

The fourth place is a name that Zhang Guan did not think of: Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher surpassed his teammate Raikkonen three laps before the end of the race and rose to fourth place. Although it is still unclear whether Schumacher's own strength or Raikkonen deliberately gave way to the overtaking, but What is certain is that Schumacher has basically recovered the state of the game.

Returning to the game after three years, he won the fourth place in the first game. For Schumacher, it is already a perfect comeback, and the next stop is the Belgian Grand Prix, where Schumacher was crowned for the first time. People also have more expectations for Schumacher.

...

The China Force team won the top two again, and Barrichello, who won the championship, generously booked a restaurant and invited all the staff of the team to have a big meal to express his gratitude.

Zhang Guan sat in the corner, holding the dinner plate, but there was no expression of excitement on his face.

It all comes from Schumacher.

Schumacher was supposed to come back the next season, but now he has appeared on the field this season. Moreover, in Zhang Guan's memory, Schumacher's comeback was not very satisfactory in terms of performance, at least there is still a long way to go before competing for the championship. Many professionals also believe that Schumacher's comeback was a failure. However, the fourth place in the European Grand Prix clearly shows that Schumacher recovered very quickly, which is different from Zhang Guan's cognition.

"What are you worried about? Are you worried about the championship?" At some point, Ross Brown had come to Zhang Guan's side, and he continued: "You have now scored 93 points, and there are still six points left before this season. After two races, the possibility of other drivers wanting to surpass you is only theoretical, and maybe two more races, even the theoretical possibility does not exist.”

"I'm thinking about Schumacher. He hasn't participated in a race for three years. How can he run so fast?" Zhang Guan asked.

"That's normal, he is the king of cars, Schumacher! He should run fast." Ross Brown said with his hands open.

"But that's not his car, that car originally belonged to Massa." Zhang Guan continued: "I remember you told me that every driver has different needs for a car, and the driver will follow his own Need to adjust the car, for example, if I drive Barrichello's car, it will definitely be very uncomfortable. Schumacher should not be an exception, right?"

"Of course Schumacher is no exception. It is impossible for any driver to achieve good results in a car that he is not familiar with. But you also said just now that Schumacher drove the previous Massa car, so for Schumacher As far as Maher is concerned, it is not a car that he is not familiar with." Ross Brawn explained.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Guan asked a little puzzled.

"Before Schumacher retired, Massa was Ferrari's second driver and partner of Schumacher. At that time, Massa replaced Barrichello and entered Ferrari. At that time, Massa was still very young. He learned from Schumacher. Many things, he even imitated Schumacher's driving style for a while, but he didn't have the amazing talent of Schumacher. It can be said that the current Massa is like a poor man's version of Schumacher in terms of technical characteristics. In many ways, Massa and Schumacher are in the same line." Ross Brawn said.

"So Schumacher is very familiar with Massa's car tuning. Massa's needs for cars are similar to Schumacher's needs for cars. Does that mean?" Zhang Guan asked.

"You understand very well, but Schumacher can adapt to Massa's car so quickly, which is somewhat beyond my expectations, but think about it carefully, he is Schumacher, the greatest racing driver in the world, maybe In the world of F1, there is nothing he can't do," Ross Brawn said.

"But for us, we are about to face a formidable opponent." Zhang Guan continued hastily: "A top racing driver in the world, coupled with a world-class car provided by Ferrari, is even more powerful. The key is that he has adapted to this car, and Schumacher may be my biggest competitor in the next race!"

"If I agree with you before today's game." Ross Brown smiled meaningfully: "But after today's game, I think you can remove the word 'maybe', Schumacher will definitely become Your next biggest competitor."

"Because it's Belgium? Because it's the Spa Circuit?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Yes, there is Belgium, there is the Spa circuit, and Schumacher is the king there!" Ross Brown continued: "Schumacher has won six championships here, so he is known as the 'Spa King'. King'! You are about to face off against the king of the circuit at Spa, do you feel the pressure?"

"No, I feel very excited now! I am looking forward to playing against him in Spa." Zhang Guan said.

Ross Brown nodded in satisfaction, and he went on to say: "The Spa circuit has the biggest drop among all the circuits. This circuit is built on a mountain, so it is very steep. The length of a single lap of the circuit is more than seven kilometers. This track has steep slopes, smooth large-arc corners, narrow thin bends, changeable weather, and more importantly, it is a high-speed track. This track is important for every driver It’s all a challenge. Many drivers even think that the Spa circuit is the most difficult circuit in the world. To win the championship on this circuit, you may not have the fastest car, but you must have the best technology. You know Who was the last 'King of Spa' before Schumacher?"

Zhang Guan shook his head, while Ross Brawn explained: "Before Schumacher, the 'King of Spa' was Senna, the car god Senna, who has won five Spa championships, second only to Schumacher. In addition, Jim Clark has won four Spa championships, Damon Hill has won three Spa championships, now you understand, this track is prepared for the king of Formula One! To conquer Formula 1, you have to conquer Spa!"

"Conquer Spa..." Zhang Guan repeated this sentence, and then nodded seriously: "I will!"

...

The F1 European Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix are back-to-back races, so after the European Grand Prix, all teams rushed to Belgium non-stop to prepare for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix on the weekend.

Spa is a half-road track. The so-called half-kilometer track means that a part of the track exists in the form of a road. Some civilian vehicles on the road can pass through it in normal times, and the track part is closed. When there are competitions When the road is closed, the track is partially opened, which can just form a lap track.

This track has high requirements on the skills of racers. Without excellent skills, it is impossible to run at the limit speed on this track. Therefore, the champions of the Spa circuit are relatively hit, basically those few familiar faces are in a row, or they are in a row every other year. Among the drivers participating this year, only two have ever won the championship at Spa, one is Schumacher and the other is Raikkonen. If Schumacher does not come back, only Raikkonen has won the championship here, and he has won three consecutive championships.

Belgian audiences also have unusual feelings and expectations for Schumacher. Seventeen years ago, it was on this track that the Belgians witnessed Schumacher's first race championship and witnessed Schumacher's opening His own road to the car king, and today, the Belgians have begun to wait for the first coronation after the return of the car king.

As a high-speed track, racing cars with high-speed engines are definitely dominant. In the past ten years, the champions of the Belgian Grand Prix have been almost monopolized by Ferrari and McLaren, because Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz have high-speed engines. engine. But now, the China Force team, which also uses Mercedes-Benz engines, has become a spoiler between Ferrari and McLaren.

The press conference before the race was full of gunpowder. Both Ferrari and McLaren vowed to win the Belgian Grand Prix, especially the Ferrari team, which is full of confidence in the Belgian Grand Prix. Their cars are more suitable for this race This kind of track, and the two people who have won the championship in Belgium are also in the Ferrari team.

However, the practice session on Friday was not a perfect day. The practice had just started, and it started to rain on the Spa circuit. Not a big accident.

Belgium is a very livable country in Europe. The temperate maritime climate makes Belgium warm in winter and cool in summer. The average temperature in summer is only about 25 degrees, but the average temperature in winter is above zero. It's just that for tires, this is not a temperature that can work perfectly, and frequent sudden rains also increase the burden on drivers.

The weather on Friday afternoon suddenly became completely different. The sky above the track was blue sky and white clouds. The warm sunshine had already dried the track. The only fly in the ointment in everyone's nostrils is the occasional smell of gasoline.

The results of the practice race did not exceed everyone's expectations. The cars of Ferrari, McLaren and China Power could easily enter the top ten. In addition to these three teams, Toyota and BMW Sauber also performed well in Belgium Very good, and their car is also very suitable for such a high-speed track.

In qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Toyota and BMW Sauber once again gave everyone a surprise. Trulli of the Toyota team took the pole position, while Heidfeld of the BMW Sauber team took the second place. The results surprised many people. Originally people thought that the pole position would be born among the three teams of Ferrari, McLaren and China Force, but they did not expect that Toyota and BMW Sauber, two inconspicuous teams, got the front row of the grid, which can be regarded as a Big upset.

Another surprise is that neither of McLaren's two cars entered the top ten. If it weren't for the good performance of Chinese power, some people would definitely think that it was a problem with the Mercedes-Benz engine.

The two cars of Power China are third and fifth respectively, which also prevents McLaren from throwing the blame to the racing engine. Zhang Guan won the third place, and Barrichello, who was in good condition, finished fifth with a gap of 0.033 seconds.

...

"Zhang Guan, the fourth place is Schumacher, he will start on the same row as you!" Ross Brown's voice sounded in the earphone.

Zhang Guan gripped the steering wheel with some excitement. The news was so sudden that even he himself did not expect that the confrontation between him and Schumacher would come so soon!