The day we've always dreamed of: The 2000 French and British GP
And we are back. We had an ... interesting stretch of races last chapter. We had a couple of decent results, but they left me a bit ... well, was expecting more, specially at Monaco since the AIs always DNF a lot there. Anyway, still a long season to go, we need more points. Back on Europe from our travel to Canada, let's see the performance chart for the day.
Thanks to the upgrade we will deploy during the French GP, we will overtake Sauber ... for at least 1 weekend, they will upgrade during the British GP. Also, note we are getting closer and CLOSER to the Big 3.
No big, notable engine upgrades from any supplier. Mugen-Honda made a Spec 03A engine which Im still waiting for.
OK, France. A good test track, probably the ideal track to show off our new upgrades. The only issue is that low "Heat" rating.
So, a few Points of "Heat" to counter that. "Grip" because my pace, "Wind" also helps against driver errors.
I decided to ... make things a bit even. I put Hard tires on both cars, and will run a 2 stopper today. Whoever runs best in Quali gets the 2 stop, the other gets the 1 stop.
Oh ... so ... Diniz had a bad day, then. Ferrari front row lockout again. The Mika ... geez, just a millisecond off of Collard.
OK, as planned, Takagi will get the 2 stopper. If he can extend the first stint (he should), he will. I ... could have gone with warm, scrubbed tires for a bit more grip, but decided against it.
Diniz gets the 1 stop. I hope this strat works ... that said ... maybe this stint is a bit too long. We'll see.
This image shows 3 things. First, MSC dominance. Second, the Tora train. Third, I think the 1 stop wasn't it.
Mika Salo is the unluckiest driver of them all, as I'll explain on the next image. The 1 stop wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Diniz ... just, didn't have it today. Tyrell in general just wasn't it.
The Other Mika was comfortably running 2nd on this race ... well ... yeah ...
I mean, good thing he did, he would be GONE had he finished 2nd.
Benetton still running away from us. We need to do better but ... you know ... that's going to be complicated because Benetton > Tyrell.
Benetton?! It is working out for Ferrari because their car is OP. I don't think your car will be OP. WHY?! Welp ... if one of the Big 3 will go down ... we MUST move up.
Sure, leave. I don't mind.
... F YOU!! (Starts rant, let's move on)
Yep, multiple Cash Sponsor signings means I don't mind Sponsors leaving.
Look at THAT graph. We are expected to make $69m this year ...
...
N I C E
Fortunately, next year's chassis development is going great.
Test day went great.
We are slowly, but surely, getting the cars fixed.
Done. We needed 2 more Cash Sponsors to complete our Sponsorship roster. And a 2 year deal too, which means there's no need to renegotiate this next year. We needed as many 2 year deals as possible. Next year there's a lot to negotiate.
Yup, full roster.
I see a 03A Spec of Wet Weather boots. I want those. Goodyear, we are your top team in the standings. Get to work!
Here's a little comparison. An extra $3m for thanks to the new sponsor deals. However ...
We'll have to negotiate Team Sponsor, 2 Cash Sponsors (on of which hopefully is Petronas) and all of our Suppliers. The most critical one is Engine. I could go Mercedes (In real life canon, this team went Merc at a certain point of their existance), Ferrari or Peugeot (There's another French engine builder I'd like to target, but they aren't around), the only Engine Suppliers that provide Works deals. Mugen Honda has done alright ... but we must move on.
The old Silverstone. The track of impressive Average Speeds and low overtakes. Generally a fantastic test and race track. Rain is always a danger in this place, we will be prepared.
Points in "Rain" because the weather around here is crazy. "Grip" and "Wind" round out the setup. Diniz on the Softs, Takagi on the Hards.
Oh, dear lord, HOW?! I know we on Softs ... but Diniz came out here firing, beating nearly EVERYONE ... except the Ferraris because of course. Takagi had a much more subdued Qualy. Probably due to the Hards ... I'm ... heh ... this is clearly a Soft tire track, full stop.
This grid would be nice and tidy if not for some drivers underperforming.
I decided to experiment. I loaded up Diniz with just 20 laps of fuel and hot, scrubbed tires. The plan is he does the first stint, does a longer 2nd stint on fresh tires, then a full speed final stint on hot tires.
Also experimenting here. If I see Takagi losing too much pace, I can swap him to a 1 stop strategy. If not, 2 stops it is.
Diniz is still absolutely HOT. Burning HOT. Yes, man is P1. The last time we led a race was the 1999 German GP. We got overtaken, because of course, our cars were meh. Today, our cars are not as meh. I do expect a podium out of you, Pedro. As for Takagi, was force to go 1 stop. Would not work.
Huh ... Huh?
We ... uhhh ... We won a race ...
...
We won the 2000 British GP! We, the Tyrell GP Team!!
Of all interesting, weird and questionable moments in this series, this one deserves an explanation more that any other. Diniz was exceedingly quick on those Soft rubbers. He was lapping closely to The Michael before he blew up. Why? Like most amazing things in this here series, I Don't Know™. He eventually took first place from Salo. Villeneuve had some fun playing midfielder before getting up to speed, which was a concern. The McLarens were ineffective. The Benettons eventually ran out of pace ... it was Villeneuve that wanted the win. For 12 laps he put pressure on Diniz. He actually managed to overtake a few times, entering Maggots-Becketts, only for Diniz to re overtake him exiting the complex. I was actually scared less of the position and more about the engine, as I told Diniz to push the engine to max revs. The engine held on. Diniz held on. Villeneuve eventually made a mistake on the final lap that gave Pedro a breather, and finally the win.
Yeah ... we've won a race in the year of our lord, 2000. We. HAVE. DONE IT!!
POINTS!
POINTS1!
Cash
WINNERS!!
WOk, Ok.Let me collect myself because there's a bit what if. What if Takagi was on softs too? Double podium? 1-2? In other news, Arrows evolves.
Ferrari dominance might bore fans.
Yeah, full Sponsor roster for the W.
Soon enough, we'll complete the design for this car..
Solid test day. The mechanics are doing perfectly.
Tidy, clean cars
This is likely to be our new engine until the Spec 03A comes along and I mod that to the moon..
That was easily the best chapter on the entire series. There are still some tracks where good results can happen, one of them is on the next chapter. I expect good things. See you soon.
Note: Expect less frequent updates soon, as college is starting next week and I'll be a bit busy.
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