บท 8: The First Crown
The time gap between Senna and Zhou Guanyu, who had already pitted, reached a staggering 42.7 seconds.
Yet, Senna showed no intention of entering the pit lane. With his skilful and deliberate tire-preserving driving style, the average wear on his soft tyres was only at 31%, well below the cliff point where grip would start to deteriorate sharply.
The cliff point is where tyre wear causes a sudden and significant drop in grip. Up until that point, the decline in grip is gradual. However, once the cliff point is reached, the grip decreases rapidly.
On the 26th lap, Zhou Guanyu's car experienced a gearbox issue that prevented it from engaging properly after turning T1. Although it didn't stop completely, the car's speed was severely compromised. Zhou Guanyu pitted for repairs on the 27th lap and rejoined the race just ahead of Senna.
Senna was momentarily taken aback upon seeing Zhou Guanyu ahead of him on the track. He wondered how Zhou had managed to get ahead despite his own tire strategy. After a quick exchange with his team over the radio, he learned of Zhou's mechanical troubles.
Feeling a pang of regret for his rival, Senna responded to his race engineer, Jason, "Got it."
The commentators on Sky Sports sighed collectively upon hearing of Zhou Guanyu's misfortune. They had been looking forward to a thrilling race with Senna and Zhou battling for the top positions.
On the 29th lap, Senna's patience was rewarded when Artem Makarov's Force India car suffered an engine failure on the same long straight where Zhou's gearbox had failed. Unlike Zhou, Makarov's engine failure was catastrophic, bringing his race to an abrupt halt.
The race committee deployed a safety car in response to the incident. Senna, who had been running on his soft tyres for 29 laps and had just reached the cliff point of tyre wear, seized the opportunity for a free pit stop and switched to hard tyres.
In the familiar Mercedes meeting room, Niki Lauda closed his notebook and left with Toto, confident in the race strategy unfolding on the track.
Sui Wentao and his crew executed a flawless tyre change for Senna, having practised extensively. Despite knowing they had a comfortable time buffer, the team performed under pressure with remarkable efficiency.
Senna rejoined the race still in the lead, followed by Zhou Guanyu's teammate Callum Ilott, and Senna's teammate, Mick Schumacher, who had impressively moved up from sixth to third.
The Prema team's dominance was becoming evident. With Senna leading the race and Mick Schumacher making significant progress, their championship prospects looked exceedingly bright.
The rise of Prema, with Senna's exceptional performance and Schumacher's tenacious driving, seemed almost certain. It would be an injustice if Prema didn't clinch the championship this year.
Led by the AMG GT safety car, the drivers completed two laps, giving the track marshals enough time to deal with Makarov's stalled car.
With 10 laps remaining, the safety car withdrew, and the race was set to restart. Senna, confident in his abilities, didn't feel the need to hold back. As soon as the safety car entered the pit lane, he began to push hard.
Just after the restart on lap 31, disaster struck for Mick Schumacher, who had been running in third place. Struggling with tyre temperature issues, he ran off the track at T7, causing him to plummet down the order and out of podium contention. When Mick rejoined, he was outside the points.
Seeing Mick's misfortune, Rosin's previously bright smile faded. Jason, despite wanting to laugh at the irony, maintained a composed expression due to the proximity of Mick's team engineers. However, a close look would reveal the twitching corners of his mouth.
Senna, unaware of the drama behind him, maintained his pace. Even with the yellow flag, he had already moved past the trouble spot and continued unimpeded.
With only 9 laps left, Senna entered a cruising mode but did not relax. He opened up a two-second lead over the following cars, maintaining his tyre management strategy.
By lap 40, Senna was leading comfortably as he approached T8. The Prema crew, unable to contain their excitement, crossed the pit lane and climbed up the guardrail, cheering and waving their fists in celebration.
Realizing he had secured his first F2 victory, Senna greeted his crew as he sped past. Although Senna felt the victory had come too easily, he kept his focus and control, acknowledging his team as he went.
Rosin, although pleased with the win, couldn't fully celebrate due to Mick's unfortunate drop. The potential for a one-three finish had been tantalizingly close, but now only the championship remained.
In the Sky Sports Live Room, the commentators were ecstatic. Jacques shouted, "Congratulations to our home driver Senna for winning the F2 main race championship in his first race!"
"Senna has made history today as the first home driver to win the F2 main race on his debut," another commentator added. "His driving style is stable and fast, his defensive tactics are sophisticated, and his tyre management is extraordinary."
"I still can't believe he managed 29 laps on those soft tyres," Jacques marvelled.
"Even the average F1 driver's tyre management isn't as impressive," echoed another commentator.
As the camera showed Senna driving back to the paddock, a close-up lingered on the Austin flag on his car. The scene then shifted to the team's radio communication.
"Well done, Senna! You are P1!" Jason's excited voice broadcasted to the audience.
"Got it, haha, great job, everyone. The car setup was perfect," Senna responded with a calm smile, his tone exuding a composed confidence that belied his youth.
Soon, a TR screen representing Senna's communication with the team's track engineer appeared on the right side of the screen.
"Well done, Senna! You are P1!" Jason's somewhat excited voice reached the ears of all the audience watching the game.
"Got it, haha, everyone did a good job, and the racing tuning is very pleasing to me," Senna responded with a smile, though his tone had a calmness that seemed to lack the fiery passion often associated with young drivers.
Driving the car all the way to the starting grid, Senna arrived at the area marked with signs for the championship, runner-up, and third place. He parked his car under the sign representing the championship. After parking the car and turning off the engine, Senna removed the steering wheel and unplugged the headphone cable connected to the car.
Having completed these tasks, Senna stood up from his seat.
At this time, the camera was focused on Senna. Unlike other drivers who might stand on their car to celebrate exuberantly after winning the championship, Senna maintained his composure. Winning is not a new thing Senna, After Senna completed is first F2 lap he understood that he was winning the race. It's not Senna is arrogance it's his confidence in his skill and in his team and car.
Senna's actions as he exited the car were very calm. Throughout the process, he didn't celebrate, as if he hadn't finished in P1 but rather in P2 or P3.
After completing the mandatory weigh-in, a box was placed beside Senna's car. On the box was a Pirelli champion's hat adorned with a golden F2 embroidery on the left side and "1st" on the right, signifying the champion.
Instead of immediately grabbing his first championship cap, Senna first shook hands with the other two drivers, who were from the Ferrari youth academy, and they exchanged congratulations. Despite any personal rivalries they might have, Senna remained composed and courteous in front of the cameras, avoiding any display of arrogance.
However, this so-called greeting was just a handshake and a pat on the shoulder to acknowledge the other's performance that day.
After exchanging brief greetings with the other two drivers from the Ferrari youth training program, Senna returned to his car. He wiped the sweat from his face with a white towel, placed his helmet and gloves on the table, donned the champion's Pirelli hat, and then walked over to the interview area.
"Congratulations, Senna! Your performance today was incredible. You dominated the race with your impressive skill, and this was your first time competing in an F2 race. It must have been easy for you, right? How does it feel to win the championship?"
Senna took the microphone, pausing for a moment before replying, "It wasn't easy. I'm still adjusting to the weight of the F2 steering wheel, and I had to use all my strength to control the car's direction on the track. But winning the race feels fantastic. I never imagined my first F2 race would end like this. It still feels like a dream. The car responded well, giving me the speed I needed in the medium and high-speed corners. That was key to my success today."
"We also noticed that you managed to run 29 laps on a single set of soft tyres. How did you make them last so long?"
Senna scratched his head, pondering how to explain it. He had driven normally to protect the tyres, relying on his skills to extend their life. Truthfully, it seemed almost unnatural.
After a moment, he responded, "My team's technicians helped me find the optimal tyre setup for this track, allowing me to make the tyres last so long."
This answer left Jason, Steve, and Alvin, who were watching from the track guardrail, a bit puzzled. When did we tune the tyres that perfectly? Isn't this just a standard low-to-mid-pressure setup?
But they couldn't exactly interrupt the interview to clarify, so they had to let Senna's explanation stand.
With those two questions, Senna's interview concluded. After the host congratulated him, it was lliott's and Armstrong's turn to be interviewed.
Meanwhile, the staff of each F2 team began packing up their equipment. For well-known reasons, this Austrian Grand Prix was being held in an unusually simplified manner.
The podium at the Red Bull Ring was a departure from the usual setup, consisting simply of three round blocks positioned at the edge of the track, each labeled with "1st," "2nd," and "3rd."
Upon these blocks sat trophies and bottles of champagne corresponding to the respective rankings.
To the familiar tune of the F1 award music, the three drivers ascended the podium in turn.
As Senna stood atop the podium, representing the champion, his track engineer hurried over at some point. He was slightly out of breath from the run, his portly figure evident.
Senna nodded in acknowledgment, and Jason responded with a grin before taking his place alongside Senna as the champion's racing engineer.
With the four figures in place, the national anthem began to play, echoing through the venue.
After the national anthem ended, Senna let out a long breath, then lowered his head and carefully picked up his first F2 championship trophy, examining it closely.
As he held the trophy, Senna couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Why did this small object seem more and more pleasing to the eye?
Next came the celebratory champagne stage.
Senna found himself the main target of the champagne spray. Ilott, in second place, and Armstrong, in third, aimed their bottles at Senna, not out of spite, but as a gesture of respect for his dominant performance on the track.
After all, Senna had left them both trailing so far behind they could barely see his car's taillights.
Senna chuckled and indulged in the playful spraying before directing most of the champagne foam towards Jason, his racing engineer.
With a grin, Jason returned the favor, joining in the lighthearted revelry.
Amid the festivities, Jason raised a glass of champagne to toast Senna, who, being teetotal, declined the offer. Nonetheless, he appreciated the gesture, taking the bottle of champagne with him as a memento of his victory.
Back at home, Senna already had a spot in mind to display this symbolic trophy.
Meanwhile, as the young drivers finished their celebrations, the director shifted the camera to replay the thrilling moments of the race, including a slow-motion close-up of Senna's car crossing the finish line.
Following these shots, the director displayed the final race standings and points:
1st: Senna - 32 points (25 for the win, 5 for pole position, and 2 for fastest lap)
2nd: Ilott - 18 points
3rd: Armstrong - 15 points
4th: Longard - 12 points
5th: Ticktum - 10 points
6th: Alessi - 8 points
7th: Dretraz - 6 points
8th: Drugovic - 4 points
9th: Panasonic - 2 points
10th: Nice - 1 point
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Hey guys, Senna won his first F2 and his home race in a pretty fashionable manner. Sorry for the late update as I had some work to do This is the only chapter for today !!! and more chapters coming soon. If you guys have any suggestions or recommendations don't forget to leave a comment. If you guys like this story support with power stone.
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