All-round Athlete

Chapter 666 Continue to burn money

"Zhang, you are such a genius!" Rose Brown was holding a financial statement in his hand, and at the same time he continued: "The sponsorship plan you came up with to lower the sponsorship fee and increase the championship bonus is really amazing! Although we The sponsorship fee we received was much lower than expected, but in the last race, the extra bonus we got has completely exceeded the lost sponsorship fee.”

"It seems that there should be no problem with the team's recent operating expenses!" Zhang Guan said.

"There is no problem with the basic operating expenses, but the research and development is still not enough. Now all the teams are rushing to research their own double-deck diffusers. It is foreseeable that our advantage will become smaller and smaller. I also We don’t know how long the advantage of our racing car will be maintained, so if we want to maintain one, we must invest more funds in research and development.” Ross Brawn said.

"Has the main research and development direction been determined? Develop a new aerodynamic kit?" Zhang Guan asked.

"No! The research and development of aerodynamic kits must be based on wind tunnel experiments. This season's rules have restricted wind tunnel tests, so I am not going to develop new aerodynamic kits. I want to speed up the kinetic energy recovery system The speed of development. I hope that our car can be installed with a kinetic energy recovery system as soon as possible, preferably before the Italian Grand Prix. After all, it is an extra 20 horsepower, and it is very advantageous to run on a high-speed track like Monza ’” Ross Brown said.

Historically, after Ross Brown acquired the Honda team, he did not use the kinetic energy recovery system throughout the season. The main reason was that he had no money for research and development. So in the first half of the season at that time, the Brown team achieved a crushing advantage by virtue of the double-layer diffuser. In the second half of the season, after the double-layer diffuser of other teams was also developed, the Brown team became A docile sheep.

But now, the team's funds are more abundant, and Zhang Guan's ability to absorb money is also stronger, so of course Ross Brown will choose to invest money in the research and development of new technologies.

The sport of racing is indeed a bottomless pit of burning money. Even if your team has won the first place and already has a crushing advantage, there are still a lot of fields that can help you spend money go out.

...

After the Chinese race, all the teams rushed to Bahrain immediately, preparing to participate in the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 26.

The Bahrain Circuit is a high-speed circuit with only 12 turns in total, and there are more medium-to-high-speed turns, as well as four relatively long straights. This track is also a track built in the desert. If you look at it from the sky, you will find that there is a yellow desert all around.

For the audience, this track is also a very boring track. The characteristics of the track are not clear enough, and the technical requirements for the drivers are not high. As long as the car is fast enough, there is a great chance to surpass the opponent. Moreover, the track is not dangerous enough to cause serious accidents, so the possibility of uncertain events is very small.

It is almost impossible to have a rain fight in the Bahrain game. In Bahrain this season, the temperature can reach 30 degrees, and the track temperature will also exceed 40 degrees. The tires of the racing car can enter the best condition relatively quickly.

The high temperature is the biggest difficulty that the drivers have to face. At the same time, the drivers also have to face another difficulty, that is the wind.

The Bahrain circuit is built in the middle of the desert without shelter, which means there will be cross winds.

Crosswinds are dangerous to high-speed vehicles, especially vans, buses, and canvas vans. Because of their high centers and large side areas, they will deviate in the direction of travel when subjected to crosswinds. cause danger. Therefore, there are barriers on expressways to prevent lateral crosswinds.

Formula 1, which pursues grip, will naturally not be overturned by the wind, but the crosswind will affect the aerodynamics of the car. This effect may be beneficial or harmful.

As for the racing car of China Power, it is actually very suitable for this track. The performance of the Mercedes-Benz engine on the high-speed track is not inferior to that of Ferrari. The double-layer diffuser can also help the car in corners.

Friday's practice session was very dull, and all the teams were also tuning their cars. The only news was that the Toyota team activated their kinetic energy recovery system in this race, and they became the first in the "diffuser gang". A fleet of vehicles equipped with kinetic energy recovery systems.

Before the start of qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the air temperature in Bahrain had reached 38 degrees Celsius, and the track temperature was as high as 51 degrees Celsius, which made many drivers feel a little uncomfortable. Sitting at a high position of 38 degrees, sitting in a small racing space, and wearing a racing suit and a helmet, this is obviously a torment.

In the first practice session, Zhang Guan quickly ran a timed lap, and immediately drove the car back to the garage. He could not feel the coolness from the wind at all due to his helmet and racing suit, but the high temperature of 38 degrees was The real thing.

1:32.978, this is Zhang Guan's result in the first qualifying session, and this result also ranked fourth among all drivers, which is enough for him to advance to the second qualifying session.

In the second qualifying session, Zhang Guan returned to the maintenance area after only running two punches. His time was 1:32.822, which was enough to guarantee his promotion.

Compared with the previous races, Zhang Guan's qualifying results have obviously dropped significantly. In the previous qualifying races, Zhang Guan could get a lead of more than 0.5 seconds every time. Today, Zhang Guan is in the first two races. Didn't even get first place.

Of course, this is also related to the climate. The weather here even gave Zhang Guan an urge to give up the game.

After the two qualifying sessions, the temperature has risen to 40 degrees Celsius.

In the third qualifying session, Zhang Guan broke the fastest lap three times in a row, and he even ran the fastest lap within 1 minute and 34 seconds. But in the last lap, Zhang Guan's results were surpassed by two cars of the Toyota team one after another. Among them, Trulli of the Toyota team scored 1:33.431, Glock, another driver of the Toyota team, scored 1:33.712, and Zhang Guan ranked third with 1:33.995.

This is also the second time that Zhang Guan failed to get pole position after retiring from the last qualifying race.

After the 2005 Japan Grand Prix, the Toyota team won the pole position again, and it was also the first time in the history of the team to start on the front row.

Red Bull's Vettel started fourth, McLaren's Hamilton fifth, Zhang Guan's teammate Barrichello sixth, followed by Renault's Alonso and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

After climbing out of the racing car, Zhang Guan ran directly to the air outlet of the air conditioner, while Ross Brown walked over quickly.

"Trulli's time is 1:33.431, more than 0.5 seconds faster than me. How did he run so fast? Is the kinetic energy recovery system so effective?" Zhang Guan turned to the air-conditioning outlet, asked.

"It shouldn't be the effect of the kinetic energy recovery system. They must be ultra-light fuel. I think they should start on supersoft tires in tomorrow's race, and then they will stop to change tires in about 10 laps!" Ross Brown answered.

The second chapter is delivered, tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, I wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance! Special thanks to book friend Muzi Xiaodao and Dawang for sending me to read the book Ten Thousand Points Awards!