The moment the two walked into the VIP suite and found their seats, they leaned toward each other and started chatting, throwing out guesses about how the race might unfold.
As the conversation picked up, they decided to make a bet. Guanyu Zhou slapped the armrest of the sofa and confidently wagered that Verstappen would come back to win the race.
Alex Sun, on the other hand, stubbornly backed Leclerc, convinced he could hold onto pole position. They quickly settled on the stakes: the loser would have to sincerely call the other "Dad" right to his face.
Amid jokes and playful trash talk, time flew by. Before long, it was time for the race to begin.
The roar of engines on the track surged to a peak. The commentator's voice over the broadcast grew increasingly urgent. One by one, the five red lights lit up, and the entire venue fell silent, leaving only the low growl of the engines.
The next second, all the red lights went out.
The 2021 Formula 1 Baku Grand Prix had officially begun.
At the start, Leclerc reacted instantly. With a clean launch, he firmly defended pole position as the red Ferrari shot into the lead.
Hamilton followed close behind, clinging tightly to the slipstream of the car ahead, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Verstappen held steady in third, showing patience instead of forcing an early move, his eyes fixed on the cars ahead as he waited for an overtaking opportunity.
"Lec's doing well. That launch was solid," Alex Sun said quietly in admiration.
But the lead didn't last long. On Lap 2, Hamilton used the slipstream on Baku's extremely long straight to power past Leclerc without even needing DRS, surging straight into first place.
Guanyu Zhou couldn't help muttering, "Once he gets that slipstream, the speed difference is insane. Lec can't defend at all. When your car's slower, it's really painful."
Alex Sun immediately complained as well. "That's just the SF21. It can't do anything right. Hopefully Lec can still get a podium today."
"Hard to say. Mattia Binotto can build engines, sure, but managing a team? That's a mess. Lec's probably still going to be Saturday gogogo, Sunday nonono," Guanyu Zhou replied.
"Can't you think of something positive? Lec's the one paying for dinner tonight. You're straight-up jinxing him," Alex Sun shot back.
Leclerc's difficult situation unfolded even faster than anyone expected.
On Lap 7, Verstappen spotted a tiny mistake in Leclerc's racing line and decisively dove to the inside, completing the overtake and moving up to second.
Leclerc's driving line remained precise throughout. His defense was solid, and he made no driving mistakes, but the Ferrari simply lacked the speed to resist the Red Bull.
Perez, right behind them, also used the Red Bull's performance advantage to close in and overtake Leclerc.
In the blink of an eye, the two Red Bulls had pulled away, leaving Leclerc stuck behind with no chance of breaking through.
"Nothing you can do. The SF21 just isn't good on high-speed tracks. Lec's already pushing to the limit," Alex Sun said with a hint of regret, though his tone remained clear-headed like a racer's. "At this rate, Super Max will catch Hamilton soon enough. That Red Bull speed is ridiculous."
On Lap 10, Leclerc chose to pit early for hard tires, hoping strategy might turn things around. But when he rejoined the track, he dropped straight into the midfield traffic and couldn't break free no matter how hard he pushed.
Race strategy is often like that. One wrong move and everything becomes reactive.
Hamilton pitted on Lap 12, but ran into congestion in the pit lane. The stop took 4.6 seconds, costing him his advantage.
Then on Lap 13, Verstappen came in.
Red Bull delivered a stunning performance. The pit stop took just 1.9 seconds. With the overcut, Verstappen jumped Hamilton and retook the race lead.
"Red Bull's pit stop speed is insane. 1.9 seconds. Those mechanics are incredible," Guanyu Zhou said, staring at the screen in admiration.
He turned toward Alex Sun with a smug look.
"See? Verstappen's got this locked down now. The win's definitely his. About that bet earlier—you'd better accept defeat. Get ready to call me Dad."
Then he added with a sigh, "If I ever get into an F1 team, I hope I can have pit stops this fast too."
Alex Sun finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
Guanyu Zhou immediately turned and glared at him, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
"What? You got a problem with that? Once I get into F1, can't I enjoy this kind of top-tier pit stop speed too?"
Alex Sun quickly suppressed his grin and waved his hand seriously.
"No problem at all. Just hope they don't give you a 19-second pit stop instead of 1.9 seconds. That would be embarrassing."
"Can you stop hoping for the worst for me?" Guanyu Zhou rolled his eyes helplessly. "What team would do 19-second pit stops every race? If that really happened, the mechanics would get roasted by the drivers."
Alex Sun pursed his lips and decided not to respond.
He suddenly remembered Guanyu Zhou's ridiculous 42.26-second pit stop in Canada during the 2024 season in his previous life. If he said anything more, he was afraid he'd burst out laughing and end up getting roasted by Zhou instead.
Meanwhile, the situation on track began to stabilize.
Verstappen led comfortably, with Perez behind him acting as protection. The Red Bull duo effectively locked down the first two positions, their advantage steadily growing.
Leclerc struggled in the midfield, boxed in by the cars ahead. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't break through. The rhythm of the race was slowly falling completely under Red Bull's control.
The turning point came on Lap 31.
Stroll's left rear tire suddenly exploded. His car instantly lost control and slammed into the barrier, scattering debris across the track. Race control immediately deployed the Safety Car.
The race slowed as all drivers reduced their speed and waited for the track to be cleared.
After four laps of cleanup, the Safety Car came in on Lap 35 and the race resumed.
Verstappen still led, with Perez firmly holding second. The two worked together smoothly, steadily widening the gap to the cars behind.
Leclerc seized the opportunity to pass two drivers and climbed back up to fifth, but he still had no answer for the Red Bulls. At this point, the only suspense left seemed to be whether Red Bull would finish first and second.
Everyone believed the race would end with a Red Bull 1–2.
No one expected an even bigger accident on Lap 46.
With just five laps remaining, Verstappen—who had led most of the race—suddenly suffered a left rear tire blowout.
The car instantly spun out of control and slammed hard into the barrier.
The violent impact destroyed the car. Verstappen had no choice but to retire. Unable to contain his frustration, he kicked the blown tire before turning and walking quickly back toward the pits.
The victory that had been within reach disappeared in an instant.
"Holy shit! Verstappen blew a tire?" Guanyu Zhou nearly jumped out of his seat, his face full of disbelief. "He led most of the race! Just a few laps away from winning. That's way too unlucky!"
Alex Sun was stunned as well.
His gaze moved from the wrecked Red Bull on the track to Verstappen's lonely figure walking away. His emotions were complicated.
Suddenly, a memory from his previous life surfaced.
He remembered a famous scene that fans jokingly called the "Dutch national team player" moment, but he had never really thought about where it came from.
Only now, seeing it with his own eyes, did he finally realize.
It was this race.
This exact moment.
The moment Verstappen kicked the tire in frustration.
He understood Verstappen's unwillingness to accept it.
For a racing driver, the greatest regret is being just one step away from victory—only to have everything ruined by an unexpected accident.
With Verstappen out, the entire race situation flipped instantly.
Race control immediately showed the red flag, forcing the race to stop.
All drivers returned to the pits to change tires.
A race that had seemed completely decided suddenly came to a halt. The stoppage lasted thirty-five minutes.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final two-lap showdown.
No one had expected the 2021 F1 Baku Grand Prix to become this dramatic, filled with twists and turns until the very end.
...
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