Chapter 106 - 36: He Is Really Brave

Chapter 106: Chapter 36: He Is Really Brave

For Wu Shi, going all-out for a push lap meant immense tire degradation. He’d take every corner at the absolute limit, bringing the tires to the verge of sliding.

Pushing them that hard would cause massive deformation as he turned. A few laps like that, and the tires would be completely shot.

The team’s plan was surely for him to push for two consistent laps. With two lap times faster than 1:32.169, he could secure a spot on the second row for Race 2 and pole position for Race 3.

This certainly seemed like the safer strategy, but considering two factors, he wasn’t planning on following the team’s orders for this session.

First, there was the remaining set of new tires. Per this weekend’s regulations, it could only be unsealed for Race 3. This meant everyone would be on equal footing tire-wise for that race. And when there’s no tire advantage, doesn’t it all come down to the skill of the driver and the quality of the car?

Second, if he could use this set of tires to clock a faster lap than Blomqvist, it would further highlight his abilities, which would be beneficial for his negotiations with F1 teams the year after next.

He was already on the F1 teams’ radar, so he needed to demonstrate what made him special.

VROOOM! WHOOSH!

The car entered the start-finish straight, engine power fully unleashed. With low drag and low downforce, the car’s top speed was even higher than it was at Silverstone!

The first corner was an open one, gentler than a right-angle turn, which meant it could be taken at a much higher speed.

In his seven years of racing, Wu Shi had mastered this type of corner. He always managed to leverage his exceptional feel for the grip to achieve higher cornering speeds and greater exit efficiency.

SWISH!

The car mounted the kerb. The stiffened chassis quickly planted it firmly back on the track. The instant all four wheels touched down and regained grip, torque surged to the rear wheels while the front wheels guided its path, flinging the car out of Turn 1.

WHOOSH!

In the pit garage, Alan rubbed his fingers together. He glanced at the crew, all of them glued to the monitors, and sighed in resignation.

’He didn’t know if anyone else had noticed, but he certainly had. This kid isn’t following the strategy I gave him. He’s going to try and beat Tom Blomqvist on this lap.’

’Never mind that the Van Amersfoort car is already inferior to the JAWC Team’s. He has a slipstream and you don’t. How are you supposed to beat that?’

’You can match Verstappen’s time even when he has a slipstream and you don’t, but you can’t possibly wring even more performance out of the car without one, can you?’

BUMP! SCRAPE!

The car rattled as it sped over an uneven patch of tarmac.

Wu Shi knew that to beat Blomqvist, he had to push even harder, leaving no room for a single mistake. He had to set the fastest time in all three sectors to even have a chance.

His mind was a flurry of calculations—the car’s status, the racing line, the most extreme angle he could possibly take through the corners.

An F3 car’s floor sits higher than an F1 car’s, and the car itself is slower. That means the racing line through many corners doesn’t need to be as precise as in F1. You can be more aggressive!

’Of course,’ he reminded himself, ’I remember how that American lost it.’ The grass and sand off-track had terrible grip. He couldn’t afford to run wide, or he’d face a sudden loss of traction.

He felt his mind burning, his head growing hot, but his eyes remained locked on the track ahead.

SWISH! WHOOSH!

Just like in Turn 1, Wu Shi took Turn 2 at the absolute limit. His right-side wheels kissed the very edge of the track—the tire’s sidewall even scraped against the grass.

The powerful wake kicked up a cloud of dust and grit.

There were no high-speed cameras positioned there, so all anyone saw was flying dust and gravel. The commentator couldn’t help but exclaim, "Did he run onto the grass? It doesn’t look like he lost control, though! Wu Shi is still charging ahead, coming up on the first sector split!"

Alan’s fists clenched as he stared intently at the data feed.

SWOOSH!

The car flashed across the timing line, and two numbers popped up on screen.

Alan immediately got on the team radio, his voice tense with excitement. "You’re 0.143 seconds slower than Blomqvist!"

Wu Shi didn’t reply. This was only the beginning; there was still no room for error.

And yet, the crew in the garage had already burst into applause. Blomqvist had his slipstream in the first sector. It was completely normal for Wu Shi to be slower in a section where his rival had such an advantage!

What mattered was the margin. There’s a world of difference between being completely outpaced and just being a little behind. Right now, he was just a little behind!

This meant that if Wu Shi could make up that time in the next two sectors, it was doable. Judging by his performance in the last qualifying session, it was definitely possible.

After all, the pace Wu Shi had shown in that first sector was just monstrous!

"Unbelievable! Oh my god! Wu Shi is a tenth of a second faster on this lap than he was in the last qualifying session! That’s incredible! And remember, he’s doing this completely without a slipstream! How is he doing that?!"

While the commentators reeled in shock, Tom Blomqvist had already returned to his pit garage. He was wiping his face with a towel when he happened to glance up and see Wu Shi’s first sector time flash onto the team’s monitor.

His hand froze mid-wipe. A moment later, he rushed toward the screen.

He would have sworn that his last lap was the most incredible of his career. He, in his yellow machine, had beaten the multi-colored Prema cars! It was the culmination of his many years of experience in F3!

’And most importantly,’ he thought, ’my speed wasn’t just from the slipstream. I was also running the engine slightly overclocked!’

But after seeing Wu Shi’s time, he realized that if this guy could maintain this extreme, stable pace for the next two sectors, his pole position might actually be snatched away!

’What the hell?! Is he even human?! How is a normal person supposed to compete with that?!’

He watched in silence. He watched Wu Shi’s terrifying cornering attitude through the hairpin, looking as if he’d lose control at any second. He watched him take a high-speed corner without even lifting, then smoothly guide the car into the next sharp-angled turn.

It was a breathtaking display of car control.

Only a fellow driver, someone competing in the same race, could truly appreciate the gap in skill on display.

Racing was, after all, a sport where victory was decided by millimeters.

"He’s... he’s really brave."

Blomqvist said in a daze as he watched Wu Shi cross the second timing line, clawing back another 0.121 seconds.

At such high speeds, the slightest deviation of the steering wheel could send the car flying off the track and into a barrier.

That’s why in narrow sections, drivers rely on instinct and always leave a margin for error.

It’s not a margin they consciously choose to leave; it’s that it’s impossible to control it any further. A slightly larger steering input, and that margin vanishes, leading directly to a crash.

But Wu Shi was different. He left no margin whatsoever. The near-zero gap between his car and the edge was unbelievable even on camera.

"If he can drive like this on a street circuit, I’ll have nothing but respect for him."

Blomqvist waited quietly for the final verdict.

SWOOSH!

The No. 32 car shot across the finish line. The time appeared.

1:31.632.

Faster by twenty-three thousandths of a second.