Chapter 72 - 4: One Match Is Enough

Chapter 72: Chapter 4: One Match Is Enough

Sebring Raceway was an FIA Grade 2 circuit spanning 6.02 kilometers with seventeen corners, many of which were merely deceptive kinks.

"It feels rather dilapidated," Wu Shi said upon seeing the track.

"Not all tracks are like Grand Prix circuits," Verstappen said, adjusting his baseball cap.

The majority of the track’s surface was paved with concrete, with only a few straights made of asphalt. The barriers were shallow, and the circuit itself felt overwhelmingly empty. In February, the surrounding open ground was covered in withered grass, making the entire place look undeniably desolate.

"It’s mainly because it’s just too big. Karting tracks have similar layouts, but since they’re smaller and surrounded by crowds along the barriers, they look completely different." Wu Shi was also wearing a khaki baseball cap, and oversized sunglasses concealed half of his face.

"This series was planned last year and is holding its inaugural races this year, so it doesn’t have much of a reputation yet," Stroll said as he approached. He had crossed paths with Wu Shi and Verstappen during KF1, so they were somewhat acquainted.

"It doesn’t have much of a reputation, yet it still charged me ninety-five thousand Euros!" Wu Shi cringed at the cost. At the current exchange rate of roughly one to eight-point-five, the registration fee translated to eight hundred thousand RMB! If the registration fee hadn’t included the car, the engineer, and the team of mechanics, he definitely wouldn’t have been willing to participate in a race that offered little in the way of fame.

"This series aims to create an innovative, groundbreaking training competition separate from standard championships and cups. The most important thing for all of you during this process is to build your strength, hone your driving skills, and enjoy racing! I wish everyone a joyous time throughout this series!"

Before the race officially began, the director of the Florida Rafa Driver Academy took the stage to reiterate the spirit of the series to the drivers. His resonant voice, at the very least, kept people from dozing off.

"Alright, kids, head to the pit lane and get ready!"

Each stop of the series lasted three days. The first day consisted of four free practice sessions, each an hour long. On the morning of the second day, two twenty-minute qualifying sessions would be followed by the first race. On the third day, the second and third races would take place.

Perhaps to fit the title of a training series, the main races utilized a format of thirty minutes plus one lap. This meant that the leading driver didn’t need to worry about extending their gap; they only had to focus on maintaining their pace as best as they could.

The cars provided by the driver academy were Tatuus FA10B models. Their design closely resembled the lower-tier formula cars of the era, featuring long, slender suspensions and a minimalist yet sturdy body. At first glance from a distance, a layman might easily exclaim, "Chopstick suspension!"

"You still have this many sponsors on your racing suit?" Verstappen was quite surprised. When he came to America to race, he had virtually no sponsorship backing.

"Guess how much appearance fee this brand gave me?" Wu Shi asked, pointing to a tire logo on his left waist.

"Ten thousand Euros?"

Wu Shi gave him a baffled look, stating bluntly, "It seems your family is quite wealthy. I hope Uncle Jos can give me a sponsorship like that."

"Hahaha, I figured any brand that makes you wear their logo everywhere must be paying a lot. Otherwise, why would you be so attached to it?" Verstappen laughed heartily.

Wu Shi was speechless. He thought, "In the future, you’re going to travel the world wearing nothing but a single Red Bull Team uniform all year round!"

After changing into their racing suits, they each got into their respective cars. Since today was dedicated to practice sessions, the goal was for everyone to familiarize themselves with and adapt to the track. Wu Shi greeted the engineer and team of mechanics assigned to him by the academy, then drove out of the pit lane.

Sebring Raceway was exceptionally wide for a Tatuus FA10B. As a result, many corners could be navigated in the shortest possible time without even needing to use the curbs.

Jos and Sid monitored the data in the pit lane. Just like during his previous training sessions, Wu Shi’s driving style varied significantly from lap to lap at the beginning as he searched for the optimal racing line.

"I’m very curious about how he manages to produce such controlled, minute differences over several consecutive laps," Jos said.

The moment he finished speaking, a voice came over the team radio. "How was the speed in the first sector?"

"It improved by 0.12 seconds. Good job," the engineer replied with the data.

"He’ll optimize it again on the next lap. Tsk, tsk. It’s truly incredible." Jos sighed in admiration. He then looked at Sid and added, "Why don’t you have his mother invite those people from Rafa Headquarters to come take a look? To think they only offered a developmental youth contract to such an extraordinarily gifted driver."

Sid smiled and said, "I’ve already notified them. They said they’ll come watch the first race tomorrow. Just the one race."

"One race will be enough," Jos nodded.

The four hours of practice sessions were split between the morning and afternoon. The track surface temperatures varied slightly during these different periods. Wu Shi used his two sets of new tires—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—to gauge how well the tires adapted to the differing temperatures.

However, one of the new sets was swapped out after only a brief test. For the races over the next two days, the drivers were only allocated two sets of new tires, one set of used tires from the practice sessions, and one set of wet tires. Since these tires had to last through three full races, it was absolutely necessary to preserve a set of used tires with minimal wear during practice.

By the end of the entire testing process, Wu Shi had essentially grasped the critical characteristics of the track. Was there still room for optimization? Of course. But with limited time, it simply wasn’t necessary.

"The car feels weird to drive," Verstappen complained as soon as he got out.

"You could ask Jos to help you tune it," Wu Shi said.

Verstappen shook his head repeatedly. "My current training focus is on car adaptability. He won’t let me tune it perfectly. He’ll just make me find a way to adapt to the car as it is. Besides, there isn’t much we can adjust anyway."

"True," Wu Shi nodded. In these types of races where the cars were officially provided, the setups were strictly limited. Drivers weren’t allowed to make many modifications to suit their personal styles.

"Aren’t you going to tune yours?" Verstappen asked in return.

"Did you know? During recruitment, some companies ask interviewees to provide a solution to a specific problem as a way to test their skills," Wu Shi said.

"I’ve never been to a job interview, so I don’t know anything about that. But what does that have to do with you tuning your car?" Verstappen was puzzled.

"Because in the end, the carefully crafted solutions provided by the interviewees are simply stolen and used by the company. We call it getting something for nothing," Wu Shi explained.

"Are you saying you think the tuning setups you provide will be stolen by Rafa?" Verstappen looked perplexed for a moment before bursting into laughter. "HAHAHA! Wu Shi, I never realized this before, but you’re actually quite hilarious."

"As long as you get the joke."

Wu Shi patted Verstappen on the shoulder. He was naturally just talking nonsense. Even if his current tuning skills were genuinely incredible, they would only be put to real use once he reached F1. Rafa certainly wouldn’t be coveting his supposed tuning expertise at this stage.

At nine o’clock the following morning, right before qualifying, Sid spoke to Wu Shi, who was sitting in the monocoque. "Martina might invite a few executives over for the race this afternoon. They’re currently in Miami."

"Okay, I’ll drive my best."

Wu Shi pulled down his visor and gave a hand signal. Once the mechanic gave the all-clear, he drove directly into the pit lane.

VROOM!

The car’s engine roared to life. The first qualifying session lasted a total of twenty minutes. Each driver’s fastest lap time would determine their starting position for the first race, while their second-fastest lap time would be used for the second race. Therefore, they needed to set two valid lap times on the six-kilometer-long track within twenty minutes. This meant the window of opportunity was rather tight.

The engineer’s voice frequently crackled in Wu Shi’s earpiece, keeping him updated on the track conditions. "There are three cars ahead, and they’ve all started their flying laps. The gap between you and them is over five seconds. You can start your flying lap now."

"Copy."

Wu Shi quickly weaved from side to side to bring the tire temperatures up just a bit more, then accelerated fiercely.

SWISH!

He blasted across the checkered line and began his flying lap.