Chapter 70 - 2: Test

Chapter 70: Chapter 2: Test

Jos was staring at the top-right screen, which displayed a line graph comparing the driver’s throttle input, brake application, and steering angle over the last three laps.

This graph was mainly used for driver debriefs, allowing them to isolate data from advantageous sectors to analyze differences. The brake application data, in particular, was confidential and not to be leaked.

After all, anyone knows to step on the gas on a straight. It’s braking that makes a real driver.

"Is the equipment malfunctioning?"

"Which three laps is this data from? The last three?"

"It’s from laps 149 to 151."

"The new tires had just entered their optimal working state then."

"Look at the wind speed. There was basically no wind at that time."

Everyone chimed in, one after another, offering their guesses and analyses.

Michel Leconte tapped the back of his chair and asked, "What’s the precision of our data?"

"To the hundredth of a percent," an engineer replied.

"These three laps... if Jos hadn’t pointed it out, I would have thought it was the same lap," said Michel Leconte.

Everyone fell silent. Looking at the data, that difference of a few hundredths of a percent... how on earth did he manage to control it?

"A robot." Michel Leconte looked at Jos and said, "This guy is like a robot."

Jos nodded in agreement, but far from praising him, he said instead, "When he gets back, I’m going to teach him a lesson."

"What?" Michel Leconte was confused.

Having changed their clothes, Wu Shi and Verstappen came out, talking and laughing.

Wu Shi looked exhausted, his lips even a little pale, while Verstappen’s complexion was much better.

Jos scowled at them, and both immediately had the same thought: ’What the hell did we do to piss this guy off again?’

’Dad isn’t usually this serious, even when I lose to Wu Shi,’ Verstappen thought.

’What’s this old geezer pissed at me about now?’ Wu Shi wondered.

"First, give me your self-evaluations of today’s test," Jos said.

"I still felt it was a bit difficult to control in the corners. I couldn’t really push the speed. I have no idea how he managed to find his comfort zone after just a hundred laps and take his speed up another level," Verstappen said, looking at Wu Shi.

Jos nodded. "Your testing speed is already faster than the official driver’s, which Mr. Michel Leconte can confirm. However, I believe you still need to work on your consistency."

Hearing this neutral assessment, Wu Shi realized the old geezer was coming for him next. He quickly reviewed his run in his head. ’My lines were fine.’ So he ventured, "I think I did pretty well today?"

Jos nodded again, but then he pulled up the data he was looking at earlier. "These three laps," he said, "Why did you run them so similarly?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. What was he talking about? Didn’t similar data prove high consistency?

Wu Shi didn’t know why Jos was saying this, but he still explained his reasoning: "I thought the conditions for those three laps were about the same. Using the same lines wouldn’t lose lap time or increase wear, so..."

"No! You were running out of stamina, so you got lazy!"

Jos pointed out sternly, then pulled up the data from the previous dozens of laps.

"Look. In the twenty laps before that, you had a tire change, and the wind direction and speed changed. During that time, you were sensitively adjusting your controls—even now, I don’t understand how your control can be so precise—but at least then, you were still trying everything to make every lap the best it could be."

"But later on, especially in these three laps, you completely stopped thinking. You assumed the situation was more or less the same, so you stopped adjusting. That’s giving up, you know that?"

After this long speech, Michel Leconte and the others looked at Jos in disbelief. Was this really such a big deal?

Wu Shi’s lap time difference over these three laps was only about one or two hundredths of a second. In qualifying, that could be the difference for pole position, but during a cruising stint in a race, it was completely normal.

"I admit, I was really tired," Wu Shi shrugged. His lips were now completely colorless.

Renault Formula, even as a lower-tier series, was still a formula car. The G-forces it generated were far greater than a go-kart’s, and fighting against them had taken a heavy toll on him.

"So, I think you need to step up your training, especially your neck," Jos said.

"I understand. I’ve actually been training on my own."

"You need a nutritionist and a physical trainer. Your physical condition is noticeably weaker compared to Max’s, and you can’t just train blindly."

"Mm, I’ll think about it."

Wu Shi felt a headache coming on. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hire a nutritionist and a physical trainer, but that shit was fucking expensive!

There were too many expenses right now. Honestly, his family’s finances weren’t in great shape. If it weren’t for Peng City Airlines increasing their investment year by year, and Martina and Sid securing sponsorships from several Italian kart manufacturers, he probably wouldn’t have even been able to come to the United Kingdom for testing.

Their testing at Pembrey Circuit would last until the end of November, a period of nearly two months.

During this time, Jos and Sid would once again go out to find other testing opportunities.

In the end, Wu Shi didn’t hire any nutritionist or physical trainer. The daily expenses were at least five thousand euros, and he was already struggling to make ends meet.

In his previous life, he had been with a major team, after all. Even if he couldn’t be a professional nutritionist, he still remembered the basics of how to prepare a nutritional meal plan. It was just that these meals might not be perfectly tailored for him.

As for physical training, running, neck exercises with resistance bands, adding weights to his helmet, and so on, all became part of his daily routine.

At the end of November, Wu Shi first returned to Italy to meet Aunt Martina and Louise, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a short vacation for him.

Fifteen-year-old Louise was like a budding lotus flower: elegant, graceful, and serene.

Of course, that was her public persona. With Wu Shi, the first thing she said upon seeing him was, "Whoa, how did your neck get so thick?"

Then she immediately grabbed his neck with her hands and said happily to Martina, "Mamu, look! I’d need three hands to get them all the way around his neck."

"Wu Shi finally comes back for a visit, and the first thing you do is grab his neck?" Martina was speechless.

"Hehe, isn’t it weird?" Louise pulled her hands back and scratched her cheek.

"It’ll get even thicker in the future."

"Really?"

"Of course," Wu Shi nodded.

The necks of most F1 drivers are nearly as wide as their heads. After all, if you’re constantly fighting G-forces, you need a thick, strong neck. Otherwise, your brain would be scrambled after a single lap.

"How many days are you staying this time?" Martina asked.

"Three days, I think. In December, I have to go test Renault Formula and Formula 3 cars," Wu Shi said.

"Mm, well, make sure to have some fun for the next few days then."

"Yay!"

Louise cheered, jumping up and hugging Wu Shi.

"If you hadn’t come back, I would have had to study this weekend!"