Chapter 91 - 21: He Couldn’t Be Another 1 Second Faster, Could He?

Chapter 91: Chapter 21: He Couldn’t Be Another 1 Second Faster, Could He?

Wu Shi didn’t get any rest all afternoon; too many people were looking for him, and his phone was blowing up.

"Wu Shi, is it true what you said?!" came Leclerc’s voice. He was still driving go-karts.

"I don’t say things I don’t mean," Wu Shi replied.

"I know you’re someone I look up to, but talking to an F1 team about a seat while you’re still in F3... it’s just unbelievable!"

Faced with the somewhat starstruck Leclerc, Wu Shi had no choice but to chat with him patiently. By the time he hung up, there was only an hour left until qualifying.

He had to head to the briefing room to discuss the upcoming strategy with the team.

In truth, there wasn’t much to discuss. Although the team had four drivers, Wu Shi and Verstappen were the real hope for scoring points. The other two were basically just there to make up the numbers at this point.

"Jules, Gustavo, you two need to go out first and check the track conditions," the team principal said bluntly.

"Alright." Jules nodded. He followed the team’s orders unconditionally.

Gustavo shrugged in agreement. He just couldn’t believe how formidable these two rookies were in their first year of F3.

Qualifying strategy primarily revolved around tire usage, fuel load, and when to release the car onto the track.

The FIA provided three new sets of tires for qualifying and the main race. Just like in the Florida Winter Series, how to allocate these three sets was crucial.

The fuel strategy was self-evident: a light fuel load allowed for faster laps but resulted in fewer attempts, while a heavy load slowed the car down—a counterproductive move.

The latter—when to release the car—was mainly about adapting to the situation on the fly.

After the strategy discussion, it was about time to head to the track.

For qualifying, the cars had to be weighed. The drivers drove their cars to the scales to complete the weight check.

Wu Shi was confident in himself, so he opted for a light fuel strategy. The gap between the two afternoon qualifying sessions was over fifteen minutes, which meant he could refuel in the interim.

That way, he wouldn’t have to carry fuel for both sessions.

The team sent out the first two drivers. The data they sent back appeared on the computer screens. After analyzing it and considering the track conditions, the engineers hesitated for a moment before sending out Wu Shi and Verstappen.

By this point, Jules and Gustavo had already completed three laps, but their times still hadn’t broken the 1-minute-52-second barrier, so they were still struggling.

The track conditions weren’t ideal. Wu Shi and Verstappen continued on their out laps, warming up the tires and waiting for a clear enough stretch of track to start a flying lap.

On his seventh lap, Jules finally managed a 1:53.001. It was a shame he was so close. He told the team he wanted to stay out on track.

After four laps, Wu Shi felt his tires were fully up to temperature. He asked Alan, "Can I go for a flying lap now?"

"One more lap. Keep it around two minutes, and you’ll get a good window."

"Copy that."

Wu Shi did as instructed. He noticed many other drivers on the track were just cruising, undoubtedly waiting for clear track space. ’But how is that possible?’

’If everyone’s waiting like this, we might as well all just go for it.’

As his fifth lap was about to end, he said over the team radio: "PUSH."

That team radio message was chosen for broadcast, and the commentator perked up, saying:

"And it’s Wu Shi who’s the first to start a flying lap! In his previous races, we’ve always seen him wait until the last possible moment. I can’t believe he’s chosen to change his strategy for his very first F3 race!"

As the commentator spoke, Wu Shi was already hurtling down the main straight, heading for Turn 1.

Alan TR: "Engine mode 6."

Wu Shi TR: "I know."

In qualifying, you naturally want the engine at full power, but you don’t get many chances to do that. Each car only has one engine for the entire competition, and changing it means a ten-place grid penalty for the next three races.

It was a very harsh penalty.

Therefore, learning how to preserve the engine was a required lesson for every driver.

’One lap. That’s all I need.’

Car number 32 arrived at Turn 1. Unlike his previous corners, he braked even later. It was a subtle difference that only some of the spectators in the Turn 1 grandstand would have been able to spot.

Even the commentator wasn’t sure what was happening, only sensing that the car’s attitude seemed a little different, so he said:

"In this morning’s practice session, Wu Shi said he didn’t think he needed to push too hard. Well, let’s see what kind of lap time he can set now that he’s unleashing his true potential!"

"His entry into Turn 1 is incredibly aggressive, like a raptor diving for the ground! Whoa! And into Turn 2... how is that possible?! He’s three kilometers per hour faster than before! Is... is that because of the engine mode change?!"

The commentator’s eyes darted between the track and the data screen.

Meanwhile, in Wu Shi’s pit garage, Alan’s fists were clenched. The car’s data was unusual—the tires were heating up very quickly, which meant extremely high wear, but it was still within a manageable range.

"Look, look! Wu Shi is on a hot lap!" Louise shouted excitedly.

Ophelia was speechless. She wanted to say something to her sister, but then she saw that Caroline was also staring intently at the track. The speeding car seemed to have a magical pull, capturing everyone’s attention.

Approaching Turn 3, Wu Shi didn’t brake at the absolute limit this time. The section between Turns 3 and 4 was the slowest on the track, and getting out of it as quickly as possible was the better option.

As he rounded Turn 3, he immediately aimed the nose of the car at the apex of Turn 4.

VROOOM! ROAR!

The engine roared as he clicked rapidly up through the gears.

The car shot toward a point on the straight between Turns 4 and 5, but closer to Turn 5. There, the car suddenly downshifted and decelerated.

The car, now in extreme oversteer, was brought under control by Wu Shi’s precise steering, the nose pointing directly at the apex of Turn 5.

This maneuver was equivalent to skipping Turn 5 entirely!

But for any other driver, this would have meant losing a massive amount of speed, because no one else could have steadily rotated the car from that position.

Even Wu Shi could only pull it off by letting completely loose, with his concentration and control pushed to their absolute limits.

And risking a spin to pull this off was all just to spend the same amount of time as a normal entry and exit through Turns 4 and 5.

So what did he gain in return?

The ability to start accelerating from that exact point and not let up.

A longer acceleration zone meant a higher top speed. A longer straight meant he could maintain that higher speed for a greater distance.

This would save him more time!

VROOOOMM SSSSHHH!!!

The engine screamed as the car shot forward, hurtling toward the apex of Turn 5.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

After running over the curb, the rear wheels slipped slightly, but with a delicate touch on the throttle, he instantly regained full grip!

WHOOSH!

Less than halfway down the Great Straight, the car was already at top speed. This would gain him two-tenths of a second!

VROAR! CLICK-CLICK-CLICK~!

Before Turn 6, he downshifted, decelerated, then blipped the throttle.

"Sector 1, he’s three-tenths faster than his personal best."

"He’s... he’s not going to be a full second faster, is he?"

"A one-second lead for pole position in F3? Are you kidding me?!"

In the garage, the crew members were too stunned to speak.

The commentator glanced at the data, his keen eyes catching it, and he roared into the microphone, "Wu Shi’s driving style is completely different from before! He... he’s faster again in the first sector! And by a huge margin!

"Does everyone remember? His previous fastest lap was a 1:51.333, a time that was already close to pole position. And now! He’s still pushing! Is he trying to etch his name into the record books for this track forever?!"