the inside line | tk

P1

CHAPTER GLOSSARY

Jeddah Grand Prix: the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix (2/24 of the season)

Race Line: the optimal path to take around the track (speed and distance in mind) most drivers will take this line to maintain their position

Paddock: housing for all the teams, garages, and exclusive viewing of the race

Pit Stop: pitting involves leaving the track to enter the pit lane for a tire change (happens at least once every race) Drivers tend to lose around 20 seconds with a good, fast pit stop, so these are strategically timed

Tire Compounds: Softs, Mediums, and Hards. Soft: faster speed with less tire life; Hard: slower with longer tire life

Race Engineer: each driver has an engineer on the other side of their radio. This person is the direct point of contact for the driver during the race and it's their job to update the driver of all road conditions, call the car in for a pit stop and take mid-race feedback from the driver

Redbull / Sauber / McLaren: F1 Teams

▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀ SAUDI ARABIA ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀

Jeddah was one of the most difficult races of the season. The track layout meant there was only one pit really needed and it was always go, go, go, on the throttle.

Jungkook had raced in Saudi the year before in F2, but it was entirely new in the cars of F1. They hardly slowed down on that track. Turns were taken at high speeds and if they weren't fully locked into the race, barrier collisions were all too common.

He hit the pitlane button on his steering to slow down at the pit entrance, tail lights flashing in the night race that prompted heavy street lamps across the area to light the track. He swerved into the Mercedes pit lane and pulled up to the jack, feeling the car jerk up from both ends as his degraded medium tires were swapped out to new hards. He hit the water button and drank some water in the seconds of a break.

He could make it to the end of the race in those tires.

Fresh tires meant he could try for the fastest lap of the race.

When he got the green light, Jungkook pulled forward and into the main road.

"Slightly slow pit, but you're maintaining position and entering behind Ader in the Rebull." His engineer's voice filled his ears and Jungkook let the car maintain the pitlane speed until he passed the line. "Clear entry. Sauber five seconds behind."

With that, he sped forward onto the ramp merging back into the track. Moving to the left lane until he picked up some speed on the straightest part of the track, Jungkook returned to the race lane as he hit the brakes to enter turn one. His seat pressed into his sides as he turned left and then sharply left through the chicane before evening out on a short straight.

"How close am I to DRS on Ader?" He asked before swerving into the continuous turns that made up turns four through twelve. Jungkook shifted up and hit the corners near two hundred kilometers per hour the force hitting his chest as he worked the pedals systematically.

"You're point-two seconds within DRS range."

Jungkook became ambitious with the news and forced more speed on the straights. The Mercedes was better on turns than the straights— especially compared to the Redbull. It was advantageous in Jeddah with minimal straight parts of the track.