Chapter 442: Azerbaijan Grand Prix | The Race V

Jos sighed in relief when the radio back-and-forth between Fatih and his team played, showing Fatih forcing the team into a two-stop. Finally, Max was out at the front, and Fatih would now be required to climb through the field again.

Although with the new tires Fatih would have a pace advantage, he was on a timer. He would soon need to do some Lift and Coasting to prevent the car from running out of fuel. As a result, the chance of Fatih gaining the 10-plus seconds he needed in the remaining twenty laps was near null, meaning Fatih had needlessly killed the team’s chance of securing a win.

If he had remained on the track and somehow managed, with the gap he had gained, there was a chance he could have kept the lead of the race or even retained a podium position, but all of that was now thrown out the window. His heart had risen to his throat from anxiety, but it seemed all of it was for naught. That thought lasted for four more seconds before the feed, which was focusing on Gasly complaining about his loss of power, cut to something that made Jos’s and Horner’s hearts drop.

...

Franz Tost on the pitwall turned in the direction where Fatih’s pit stop was happening. He couldn’t help but look at Fatih in the car with a frown on his face, as it seemed this young driver thought only his inputs mattered and nothing the pitwall said carried any weight.

It was unheard of for a driver to strong-arm the team into pitting him when, no matter how they looked at the data on the area of complaint, there was nothing that could be pointed to as a problem at all. He was already thinking of what he needed to do to remind the driver that this is a team sport and the pit wall’s words held enough importance, sometimes more than the driver’s words, since they are the ones with the data.

But that line of thought went out the window when the screen in front of him turned yellow before the live feed changed to showing Stroll’s crash. Only excitement remained, as the situation had played out perfectly for them.

....

"Gasly is complaining about a loss of power as his teammate is trundling down the pit lane on the pit exit. I’m sure some on his team are wondering if the situation required him to pit and change his twenty-lap-old hards for brand new mediums, but what is done is done. He has lost the lead, and there is yet to be a safety carOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!

AND IT IS LANCE STROLL IN THE ASTON MARTIN, AND AS I SAID, HERE IN BAKU YOU ARE ONLY A FEW CENTIMETERS AWAY FROM A BIG ACCIDENT, AND LANCE STROLL MIGHT WELL HAVE BEEN COMING INTO THE PITS. THE ONLY DRIVER WHO HADN’T PITTED IN THIS RACE SO FAR HAS LEFT A HUGE AMOUNT OF DEBRIS ON THE TRACK, AND IT IS A SAFETY CAR.

I HOPE LANCE IS SAFE. BUT FOR ALPHATAURI, THE GAMBLE HAS PAID OFF! THEY HAVE PITTED, OR RATHER, FATIH HAS FORCED THE TEAM TO PIT HIM FOR THE TWO-STOPPER, PERFECTLY, BECAUSE THE PIT LANE ENTRY HAS BEEN CLOSED! NO ONE CAN PIT UNTIL IT IS OPENED, AND THE GAP BETWEEN THE LEADERS AND FATIH WILL BE REDUCED TO NOTHING AT THE END OF THE SAFETY CAR PERIOD.

THIS IS WHAT ALPHATAURI MUST HAVE BEEN PRAYING AND GAMBLING FOR, AS IT WILL TAKE A FEW LAPS TO REMOVE THE CAR AND CLEAR ALL THE DEBRIS ON THE TRACK, AND ALL OF THAT IS NOTHING BUT GOOD NEWS TO ALPHATAURI AND FATIH YILDIRIM’S EARS," David Croft, filled with excitement, commentated as the feed changed from the crash to the replay of it before showing the reaction in the AlphaTauri garage, where they immediately started cheering once Stroll’s safety was confirmed. They had gambled it all, and it was paying off.

...

LAP 31: Behind the safety car, Fatih kept swerving left and right calmly, feeling his heart palpitating as he closed the gap to those ahead.

LAP 32: He had already caught up to the front three as they drove behind the safety car. He still swerved left and right while also keeping his foot on the brakes to warm the tires using the radiated heat.

LAP 33: Still behind the safety car, but those ahead of him were all starting to complain about the situation.

{This is going to be a massacre at the restart; these tires are impossible to warm up in these conditions,} Hamilton said as he looked at Fatih in the rear-view mirror with the brand-new yellow-rimmed tires. The hard compound had already been driven for more than 20 laps, and it would take a long time to bring them to temperature again. Fatih, who was on brand-new tires, was not going to face that problem.

{New mediums? What is his position?} Verstappen asked in surprise when he learned of the compound and condition of the tires Fatih took.

{Yes, and he is P4,} GP said as if telling someone something they didn’t want to know.

{Fuck,} Max said, as he knew things were going to be impossible to handle. The pace difference was going to be massive because Fatih’s car was both lighter than anyone else’s while at the same time having fresher and grippier tires.

LAP 34: The pit lane was finally opened, but with everyone already bunched up, no one at the lead pitted. Only Alonso, Giovinazzi, Russell, and Schumacher came into the pits, but with them being in the bottom ten, it was not that big of a penalty nor a surprise.

LAP 35: The Safety Car ending announcement went up, and the drivers ahead started aggressively warming their tires in preparation for the restart.

.......

The feed focused on the safety car and the cars at the front as they bunched up behind the safety car. They entered the start-finish straight while the safety car rushed ahead and returned to the pit lane, leaving only the Formula 1 cars on the track and Max to decide when to go.

"For the top ten, it is Fatih on a fresh new compound against everyone else on fifteen-plus-lap-old hard tires that will take two to three laps to bring to temperature. Max is taking his time. You don’t want to go too early here, because while the car behind can’t overtake, what it can do is get the tow and the slipstream, and you do not want to be giving a slipstream if you’re Max Verstappen.

Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, and Fatih Y?ld?r?m are right behind him, but the two Red Bull cars are weaving around, trying to get temperature into those tires. Hamilton is staying in a straight line to not be caught off-guard, as Red Bull would have definitely talked about this.

Where are they going to weave? Where are they going to get the jump? Of course, Lewis and Fatih can’t afford to do that, because they need to be in the slipstream, ready to get Perez right at the start, while Fatih is looking to not be caught off-guard to start clearing the field with his advantageous tires and lighter car.

The safety car has been out for five full laps, exactly within the window AlphaTauri had gambled on. Even if they are off by a single lap on their fuel calculations, it won’t be too detrimental. Because if he gets to the lead within a few laps and disappears ahead to open the gap, the gamble would have successfully brought them into race-winning contention, and the perfect opportunity is only a green flag away.

Verstappen is approaching the line, and at some point, he has to stop weaving and get on with it, and that time is now! AS HE MAKES A PERFECT START, OPENING A GAP TO PEREZ IMMEDIATELY! HAMILTON GETS A REALLY GOOD TOW FROM SERGIO, AND FATIH IS GETTING THE BEST OF THE TWO!

WITH SUPERIOR GRIP, HE HAS TO LIFT SLIGHTLY TO NOT OVERTAKE BEFORE THE START-FINISH LINE. AS SOON AS THEY PASS, HE OVERTAKES HAMILTON AND IS NOW SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH SERGIO AS THEY BARREL INTO THE BRAKING ZONE OF TURN ONE! WITH GRIPPIER TIRES AND A LIGHTER CAR, HE OUT-BRAKES SERGIO INTO TURN ONE!

IT IS THE SECOND TIME THAT HE’S ACCOMPLISHED A DOUBLE OVERTAKE, BUT HE IS NOT DONE WITH THE HUNT, AS MAX VERSTAPPEN STANDS BETWEEN HIM AND THE RACE LEAD, AND HE HAS NO PLAN ON LETTING HIM KEEP IT ANY LONGER! BUT VERSTAPPEN GETS ANOTHER STRAIGHT TO KEEP HIS POSITION AS THEY EXIT TURN TWO.

FATIH IS TAKING HIS TIME, KNOWING HE HAS ALL THE TIME AND GRIP IN THE WORLD TO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS. HE CAN DEAL WITH HIM ON THE LONG STRAIGHT AT THE END OF THE LAP, AND HE IS NOW BUILDING UP FOR THAT," Croft, fully enjoying the spectacle, shared the joy with the viewers, as the live feed focused only on Fatih and Verstappen, who were very close to one another. It was clear to anyone that the race leader was in a very disadvantageous position and there was nothing he could do.

Many found themselves speechless as, for the first time, they saw a race-winning-contending team being made to feel helpless by a midfield team. Even worse, the main team was being bullied by the sister team.

"ALL THE SETUP, GAMBLES, AND EVERYTHING ALPHATAURI AND FATIH HAD PUT ON THE TABLE AS A WAGER WAS FOR THIS MOMENT!

FATIH, AS IF HE IS AN EXPERIENCED GAMBLER, HAS BIDED HIS TIME, HAVING WAITED FOR THE PERFECT MOMENT. HE REMAINS IN MAX’S SLIPSTREAM, ENJOYING THE TOW AND FOLLOWING MAX, WHO IS DOING EVERYTHING TO TRY AND BREAK THE TOW BUT IS LEFT TO FEEL HELPLESS AS FATIH FLIES PAST HIM NOT EVEN HALFWAY ALONG THE STRAIGHT!

BUT MAX LOOKS LIKE HE IS NOT DONE, AS HE IS NOW TUCKING BEHIND FATIH TO TRY AND GAIN SPEED FROM THE TOW TO REGAIN HIS POSITION!

ALAS, THE GRIP AND PACE ISN’T THERE, AS FATIH, DESPITE PUNCHING A HOLE IN THE AIR FOR VERSTAPPEN BEHIND HIM, MANAGES TO KEEP HIS POSITION! AND FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THIS RACE, FATIH YILDIRIM RETAKES THE LEAD INTO TURN ONE!"