F1 AIE Chapter 9

F1 Anon In Equestria Chapter 9


T-3 months and 25 days till the Baltimare Grand Prix.

>So, Celestia has started an F1 season.
>That's pretty fucking cool really.
>Only 3 Grand Prix in all though, so getting a good points finish in each race is absolutely paramount.
>You crash and you're fucked out of the championship pretty much.
>Nothing like what your used to.
>Usually a season lasts 18 to 20 races long, spanning a good part of the year.
>You could put in a DNF in the first race and still go on to become World Champion.
>But not this time.
>Celestia sent you a letter earlier today listing the race schedules. Just like back at home, each race is spread two weeks apart.
>First race at EquineRing (Nurburgring GP Circuit) 60 laps.
>Second at Circuit Villep0ny (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve) 70 laps.
>And the final race at P0nyville Circuit (Monza) 53 laps.
>Celestia stated that EquineRing should be completed by the end of the month. That's when you and Dash should start packing your bags and head to Baltimare.
>Early birds get the worm so they say. If you guys get there just as its cleared for racing, you can get Rainbow familiar with the track before any other team can.
>Speaking of other teams, who the hell are you gonna be racing against?
>If Rainbow is any hint, your competitors will most likely be pegasi, they seem to have a natural talent for this racing thing.
>Then again, Money makes people do crazy things. Well, p0nies in this case.
>With 200,000 bits as the championship winnings, You might see some unicorns and earth p0nies in the mix.
>Granted they might not be that great at driving, but good on them for trying.

>You're forced out of your train of thought as a irritated Rainbow Dash, coming back from work at the Weather factory, loudly slams the door of the library.
>RD: "UUUUUUGGGGGGHHH"
>Uh oh, the sponsorship talk might not have gone well.
>She said she was sure that the Weather Factory would happily agree upon being the main sponsor of your F1 team on account of the massive advertising boost they would gain.
>You were even going to name the team "Cloudsdale Weather Racing"
>But her mood upon entering the formerly quiet library doesn't seem too promising.
"That 'ugh' didn't sound too good."
>RD: "They said they'll THINK about it."
"Are you serious..."
>RD: "Yes unfortunately, jeez you'd think they would be like AW HELL YEAH! Fuckin hard-asses..."
"That is like all executives though, every aspect needs to be thought out, pros and cons weighed, stuff like that."
>RD: "Whatever. They need to get on with it."
>So, while we mull over that situation, lets go ahead and go down the rest of the checklist.
>Cars?
>7 cars. 2 main, 5 spares. More than enough for a 3 race season.
>Tires?
>Plenty.
>Fuel?
>Enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool.
>Crew personnel?
>...FFFFuck, negative on that one.
>OK, To start off, we need a crew chief. Were gonna need somep0ny smart, somep0ny who can form successful race strategies, somep0ny who knows the drivers well.
>Hmm...
>TS: "Afternoon Anon."
"Hey Twilight"
>.......
>WAIT
"Twilight!"

>You catch Twi just before she heads out of the door to run some errands.
>TS: "Yeah?"
"I have a favor to ask of you. Our team needs a crew chief, and I honestly think you would be the perfect mare for the job."
>TS: "You think so? What would I have to do?"
"Form race and pit strategies, keep track of the cars telemetry, relay information to us during the race. That kind of stuff."
>TS: "Now that's definitely more my kind of thing. No idea what Celestia was thinking when she made me a car. I'd love to be your crew chief!"
"Awesome! Now read this. It's the FIA F1 rules and regulations. Vital info on the cars and races."
>You hand her a folder containing the 2012 FIA rules.
>TS: "Will do Anon."
>She heads out, folder neatly placed in her saddlebags to study later on.
>RD: "Now that that's taken care of, what about our actual pit crew?"
>Right, who are we gonna get to do that?
>*Fiery dragon belch*
>And there's Spike.
>SP: "It's for you Anon."
>Spike hands you the letter. Lets see what this says.
>You roll out the scroll and read aloud.
"To Anon and Rainbow Dash, If you were thinking that you would have to go out and hire your own pit crew, you don't. I have that taken care of. Every team who enters will have a full trained pit crew waiting for them at each race."
>RD: "Nice!"
"Theres more." You say,
"Here's an update on the competitors. 2 teams have signed up in the past week.

Bass Cannon Racing:
#3 Octavia
#4 Vinyl Scratch"

>RD: "The Musicians?"
>What did I tell ya, earth p0ny and unicorn right there.

"And Wonderbolts Racing:
#5 Spitfire
#6 Soarin"

>RD: "NO WAY!"
>Cue wingboner.

"One more thing, The points system has been finalized. With 25 points being awarded to the winner, placing first in a Grand Prix is even more important for the championship."
>Yep, just like back home as well.
>If we get a repeat winner, whoever that is will be the champion hands down.
>The racing is definitely going to be hectic with these rules in place.
>You just quietly hope no one gets hurt in this.
>Yes, the cars are as advanced in safety as they have ever been, but there is always that one variable that will be there to fuck everything up.
>You hope it will happen to you before it happens to anyp0ny else.
>But we'll get there if we get there.
"Hey Dash, you hungry?"
>RD: "Starving"
"Lets go over to Sugarcube Corner and get our fat on."
>Rainbow starts to laugh at your term for eating, then responds.
>RD: "Oh that sounds perfect right now, lets go."

>After you guys pig out on some of the best made from scratch cupcakes you've ever had, like holy fuck they're amazing, you two head over to the gym to work all that shit out.
>A few pounds packed on before the race can add on a couple hundredths of a second per lap time.
>With the cars weighing around 1400 lbs including the driver, every pound counts.
>Come qualifying that could mean the difference from pole position to 7th place.
>Fuck that noise.

>RD: "The first 6 places were nose to tail?"
"Yeah, the last few laps of that Grand Prix were insane."
>RD: "Who ended up winning?"
"Mark Webber, he was just on it that day, absolutely superb driving."
>You converse about your prior experiences in F1 with Dash as you walk back to the library from the gym.
>You crashed out of the Monaco GP in the first corner, slamming straight into Romain Grosjeans right sidepod after he spun out.
>Disappointing? very. But you live and learn.
>Finally reaching the library, you open the door and let Dash in.
>*Yawn* A nap sounds good right about- GRAPHS.
>GRAPHS AND CHARTS EVERYWHERE, GOOD LORD.
>TS: "Oh hey guys!"
>Holy shit, when this p0ny is serious about something, she gets shit DONE.
>DAYUM
>Engine performance mapping, tire degradation charts, aero settings, a map of each track.
>Oh you've got this shit in the bag.
>RD: "Wow Twilight! Did you make all this?"
>TS: "Yep! Neat huh?"
"More like fucking awesome!"
>TS: "Thanks! Oh! I remembered what I was going to tell you. Nothing in the rules states that each car has to be uniform, so I went ahead and drew up plans for a new front wing that will allow better handling through the fast corners at EquineRing."
>Shes already finding loopholes. A true F1 engineer right here.
>She hands you the blueprints to your new front wing.
>It looks very similar to Mclaren-Mercedes front wing, not an exact carbon copy but you can see the similarites
(http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/Images/front_wing_endplate_mclaren_1.jpg)

"How do you know this will work better than the existing one?"
>TS: "That's what testing is for right? When the circuit opens in a month we'll conduct tests to see which wing will allow better lap times."
>Not gonna argue against that.

T-3 Months and 4 days till the Baltimare Grand Prix

>EquineRing opens for testing tomorrow.
>Twilight, Dash, and yourself have traveled to Baltimare just for this occasion.
>It's around lunchtime, bright and sunny. So the three of you are sitting in an outside area of one of the many restaurants downtown, each enjoying a salad, discussing the letter Celestia sent you a day earlier.
>RD: "Aloe and Lotus? The Spa P0nies!? They entered!?"
>TS: "They never even seemed like the racing type."
"Maybe they need the money for the spa itself, you never know."
>RD: "Maybe, but still, I really didn't see that coming."
>Yep, The final three teams have signed up for a grand total of 12 competitors including you and Dash.

>Hurricane Force Racing
>#7 Cloud Chaser
>#8 Flitter

>Team Thunder
>#9 Thunderlane
>#10 Blossomforth

>SPA Racing
>#11 Aloe
>#12 Lotus

>TS: "Did Celestia say how they were able to enter?"
"Yeah, it said in the letter that she made a driving simulator, accurate to the point. Who ever could get up to a certain lap time within 5 laps was eligible to enter."
>Good thing she did that instead of letting random p0nies loose in the real things.
>Oh god you don't wanna even think about it...


>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fcyRhamqF0


>You fucking thought about it. Good job.
>RD: "Well knowing Thunderlane, hes just going to get sick before the Grand Prix, so nothing to worry about there."
>Dohohoho.
>TS: "I think our biggest worry might be the Wonderbolts, They race for fun constantly."
"Yeah they seem like they're going to be pretty annoying come race weekend."
>You then hear somep0ny yell in your direction from behind.
>"Your biggest worry the Wonderbolts? HA! You haven't even seen us out there yet!"
>Turning around you see a white unicorn with blue striped hair, a stone colored p0ny right next to her.
>Ladies and gentlmen, Bass Cannon Racing as entered the building.
>RD: "What makes you think you're gonna be faster than the Wonderbolts!?"
>VS: "Numbers don't lie. We both got faster lap times than them in the simulator. Why do you think we have numbers 3 and 4 while they have 5 and 6?"
>TS: "Because you signed up earlier than them."
>VS: "See? We are quicker!"
"Faster lap times or not, a simulator has nothing on the real thing, good luck controlling the car under 5+ g's"
>VS: "Whatever, You guys are still going down. That prize money is so going to be ours!"
>With that they start heading on their way, you hear Octavia scold her teammate while they head off.
>OCT: Vinyl, What did I say about sportsp0nyship? We almost got banned from participating because of that appaling behavior a month ago."
>The ego is massive on that DJ.
>RD: "OOOO that p0ny is gonna get it when we get out on the track!"
"Rainbow don't let her get to you. Just stay calm okay?"
>RD: "Ill try... *sigh*"
"Thank you"
>RD: "YOUR MUSIC ISN'T EVEN GOO-"
>You quickly cover up her mouth, but it might have been too late.
>Vinyl stops in her tracks, slowly turns around, and heads over to your table again.
>Yep, too late.
>VS: "Whoa whoa whoa, hehe. Um, What was that?"
"NOTHING! Nothing!"
>VS: "Right... I'm watching you two, Don't even begin to think I'm gonna let 'Cloudsdale Weather' by me easily."
>A few moments of staring each other down, then she heads back on her way.
"Dash... That is the easiest way to get wrecked. Don't rile up your competitors."
>RD: "Okay okay I'm sorry, I just got a little offended when they said they were faster than the Wonderbolts."
>TS: "Well flying and driving are two completely different things. You might even be faster than them."
>RD: "Really? You think so?"
>That got her spirits up a bit.
>Oh yeah! speaking of what Vinyl said, The weather factory eventually agreed to being the main sponsor of your team.
>So you are officially Cloudsdale Weather Racing.
>After that eventful stint, You each finish your lunch, then head back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow.

T-3 Months and 3 Days till the Baltimare Grand Prix

>Here it is, The grand opening of EquineRing.
>And it looks like you three weren't the only ones to make the trip to Baltimare for this either.
>The entire grid of drivers are waiting at the front gate. Eager to get their hooves wet on this new track.
>So much for being early
>You three pick your spot among the crowd, waiting for the gates to open.
>After a few minutes of standing around chatting about Twilight's new front wing design, You are approached by Spitfire herself.
>SF: "So you must be the individual who sparked this whole thing. The names Spitfire."
"Anon, and yep that would be me."
>SF: "I was going to ask you, what was your best time at P0nyville? That was the track we had to run the simulator on. I just wanna get a glimpse of what we're up against."
>Oh wow, what was that time again? Oh yeah.
"I managed a 1:23.024"
>As soon as you utter that time, everyone just turns and stares at you. A look a disbelief spread throughout.

"What? What did I say?"
>Thunderlane speaks up from over next to the gate.
>TL: "That's a full five seconds faster than the time we had to beat to even enter!"
>Oh, damn.
>"How were you able to even manage that!?" Flitter exclaims.
"I dont know, I just drove. I've been driving these kinds of cars for years."
>VS: "So you have more experience!? Now how is that even fair!?"
>CE: "Its fair because I disabled DRS and KERS in the simulation."
>Just in time Celestia. That felt like it was getting hostile.
>Cloud Chaser speaks up: "But why did you do that?"
>CE: "To get your pure driving skill out of you, no speed assists. Which means all of you here, out of thousands of applicants, are the best drivers Equestria has to offer. Don't worry, with DRS and KERS enabled, you would easily match Anons time."
>That pleased everyone. Now you don't have to worry about getting taken out in turn one later on today.
>CE: "And with that, I welcome everyp0ny to Pre-season Testing at EquineRing! Get out there, find your vehicles limits, and most of all, have fun and enjoy yourselves!"
>The gates open up and you all start to make your way to the paddock.

>As you approach pit lane, the first 12 garage stalls open up revealing all 12 fire breathing 700+ horsepower machines, ready for competition.
>Along with them, a full trained pit crew for each team, already getting to work prepping the cars for testing.
>Garage stalls correspond to the number of your car, thus you and Dash have the first 2 stalls to yourself.
>They even put your names above the garage openings
>RD: "Oh now this is cool."
>Since you mentioned to Celestia that Twilight is going to be your crew chief, her name is over on the seat in the Cloudsdale Weather pit wall gantry.
>TS: "This, This is all mine?"
"Yep, any and all info about everything will be displayed to you here. Telemetry, live race feeds, lap times of every car, everything."
>TS: "Oh this is glorious!"
>Twilight is definitely in her element here.
>RD: "So when do we start?"
>TS: "Right, here's the plan. First, of course, get used to the track. Once you guys are comfortable, you are both going to keep the current wing on and run 5 laps on Options going for the best time you can. Then come back in, replace the wing with the new one, and run 5 more laps, again going for your personal best."
"Sounds good"
>RD: "Yep"
>Twilight turns her attention to your new pit crew.
>TS: "Did you guys hear that!?"
>You hear one of them yell out "Yes ma'am!"
>Awesome. A cooperative pit crew is the best thing you could ask for.
>You and Dash walk into your garage as the first waves of engine fire ups echo through the paddock.
>Sounds like some of the other teams are going out there right now.
>From inside the garage, you see two blue and yellow f1 machines roll down pit lane. Wonderbolts Racing is wasting no time getting out there.
>Dash looks on with admiration as they go by.
>Directly following them are both Hurricane Force machines. The track is finally live with the song of high performance Ferrari engines.
>If Celestia modeled them after the engine in your car, technically every one of these cars are Ferrari powered. That was your teams engine provider back on Earth.
>You and Rainbow quickly get suited up and signal the pit crew to start up the cars.
>Strapping yourselves in, Rainbow gets to the radio button before you can.
>RD: "Radio check!"
"I read you."
>Twilight comes in from the gantry.
>TS: "And I can hear you guys as well."
"Alright we're off."
>With that, you let go of your clutch and head down pit lane, Dash close behind.

>10 laps in
"You getting comfortable with the track back there Dash?"
>RD: "I'm still a little iffy in the chicane, but everywhere else feels really good"
>There has already been one incident today, Blossomforth put too much throttle into turn 9 and spun it.
>She didn't hit anything or anyone. just launched herself into the gravel pit. Still getting used to no traction control you guess.
>TS: "Everything is looking perfect out there guys, I think its time to start the front wing testing. Both of you pit in and switch to options."
"Roger, pitting now."
>You two pit your cars in, quickly switching to the softer "Option" tire compound.
>Those stickier tires give way more grip than the standard "Prime" tire you were using to get used to the track.
>You head back out and start your 5 lap stint. Dash heading out shortly after.
>TS: "I'm predicting lap times around 1:30.800 with the current setup. When you switch to the new wing, I'm expecting those times to reach the lower 1:30.000's. maybe even hit 1:29.900."
"We'll do our best."
>Coming up to the final turn on your warm up lap, you engage KERS and DRS, attacking these next 5 laps as hard as you can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e1_J4Mcw0A

>After 5 laps, your best lap time is a 1:30.547. Dash coming in with a 1:30.601.
>TS: "Nice! better than predicted. keep that up!"
>You pit again. Both Dash and yourself fit Twilight's new wing on the front of the cars, then set up the rest of the car for the change in aero attitude, and repeat the 5 lap stint.
>Immediately going into turn 2 coming out of the pits, you notice a huge increase in grip. Like holy shit.
>RD: "Woah! I didn't have to slow down as much there. Twi this thing is great!"
>TS: "Yes! It works! Give these next laps no mercy."
>Following her order you both tackle each turn as hard as you can.
>Maybe a bit too hard.
>Going into the Schumacher S on your 3rd lap, you test out the limits of this new setup by flooring it through the sweeping turn.
>Bad idea.
>As you yank the wheel to the left, the weight shift becomes too much for the rear tires to handle.
>They break traction and start to overspin, you go to correct but because the cars wheel base is so long, your move is futile.
>Spinning around you see Dash speed by. holding her hoof up.
>You finally come to a stop in the gravel pit. Rainbow coming in over the radio.
>RD: "You come out of that alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine, got a whole bunch of rocks in my seat now though."
>TS: "Those two laps you completed were enough to prove this wing is going to be used in the Grand Prix. So not all is lost, just that set of tires."
>A tractor comes over to help you out of the gravel pit. Once your out, you wait for Twilight's signal to rejoin the track.
>TS: "You've got a Aloe and Soarin coming up, after he goes past you've got a big opening in between cars."
>The pink and blue SPA Racing machine fly's past, quickly followed by the #6 of Soarin. You hit the throttle and rejoin the track on your way to the garage.
>You pit in and back in to the garage. Pit crew getting to work replacing the spent option tires.
>Knowing Twilight got what she needed with those two laps, you decide its time for a break and climb out of your car.
>Looking out for cars coming down pit lane, you cross over to the pit wall, sitting next to Twilight at the gantry.
>Dash's live feed from the TV pod on the car is on the screen in front of Twi. Looks like shes got a bit of traffic ahead.
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ac-L1Srp4&feature=related
"Who is that in front of her?"
>TS: "Vinyl."
"Figured as much with the tire lockup."
>Still need to work on that braking there scratch.
>You then look over to the screen above you and see the lap times each driver has achieved.

>1. Anon - 1:29.990
>2. Rainbow Dash - 1:30.242
>3. Soarin - 1:30.451
>4. Octavia - 1:30.776
>5. Thunderlane - 1:30.871
>6. Spitfire - 1:31.001
>7. Vinyl Scratch - 1:31.132
>8. Cloud Chaser - 1:31.399
>9. Lotus - 1:31.405
>10. Flitter - 1:31.478
>11. Aloe - 1:31.677
>12. Blossomforth - 1:31.900

>Wow. were all within 2 seconds of each other.
>That's pretty close actually.
>If Twi didn't engineer that wing, Soarin would be a bit faster than both you and Dash right now.
>TS: "What exactly was that out there? Was it the wing that made you spin?"
"Oh no it wasn't. I just did a little experiment to see if the car could handle turn 9 at full throttle. Turns out it cant."
>TS: "I could have told you that, look what happened to Blossomforth."
"I know, I know. Still, didn't hurt to try."
>Twilight sees you eyeing the lap times.
>TS: "Those are only going to get closer together you know."
"You think?"
>TS: "I know, look over there."
>She points down the pit wall and you see p0nies at their respective gantrys, mostly unicorns.
"What about them?"
>TS: "Those unicorns are crew chiefs as well. I saw them react to your fastest lap time. Its a matter of time before they make modifications to their machines as well to match us."
"That's the beauty of the sport Twilight. I'ts continuously changing. You have to be on top of your game at all times, even off season, in order to be successful."
>TS: "Right"
"So don't stop planning even for a second, always improve, always innovate, keep looking for those loopholes. The moment you are content with where you are is the moment teams start passing you."

>Looking at Dash's live feed, you can see shes starting to lose patience trying to pass Vinyl.
>Vinyl is a tad bit slower, holding Rainbow up.
>You can tell this is just a disaster waiting to happen.
>Out of the chicane, Dash looks inside of Scratch's #4 machine.
>Vinyl quickly responds with a block forcing Dash to keep behind her.
>Coming out of the last turn though, Dash gets a nice run on her through the front straight.
>She successfully gets on Vinyls inside again, but the #4 is moving over.
>Scratch forces Dash to the edge of the track. Then it happens.
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9jPvPS_xHk
>Oh god fucking dammit.
>RD: "THAT FUCKING CUNT!!!"
>TS: "Dash, listen, This is just a testing session, you're not even racing. Don't worry about her, just nurse the car back to the garage okay?"
>RD: "I swear to Celestia...."
>Suddenly a message appears in front of everyone sitting at each pit wall gantry.
>"Incident involving car #2 and car #4 is under investigation by The Stewards."
>ooooooooo someones in troooooubllllllle.
>I wonder who that could be?
>As Dash rolls up to the garage, you can see the extent of the damage.
>The left side of the front wing has been sheared off, looks like we're not using that one anymore.
>A second message appears on the screens before you.
>"Car #4 is to be parked for the remainder of the day for unnecessary aggressive blocking, Driver VINYL SCRATCH will subsequently receive a 5 place grid penalty in Qualifying for the Baltimare Grand Prix."
>Oh shit! These Stewards don't take rough driving at all!
>Vinyl then gets to her garage. Looks like she found out about her penalty on the way here.
>She is visibly livid.
>Getting out of the car, she throws her steering wheel clear across the garage stall nearly hitting a few p0nies including Octavia.
>VS: "AAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHH!!!"
>Temper Vinyl, temper.