Chapter 96 - 26: 2nd RACE

Chapter 96: Chapter 26: 2nd RACE

After lunch, with barely any time to rest, the drivers had to prepare for the second race of the afternoon.

"I heard you wanted to change your strategy, but the team principal rejected it?" Wu Shi asked Verstappen before the race began, as the four drivers of the Van Amersfoort Racing Team sat together.

"Yeah, I wanted to push hard in this round," Verstappen replied. Having scored zero points in the first race, he was, after all, just a seventeen-year-old boy. No matter how strong his mental resilience was, there were times when he couldn’t help but lose his composure.

"Stay rational. Your starting grid position is better for the third race, so you can’t risk it all just for temporary gains," Wu Shi advised.

"Yeah, that’s what my dad said too." Verstappen chuckled.

"Haha." Wu Shi laughed along, holding back the urge to make an "I am your father" joke. He held genuine respect for Jos. The former F1 driver had provided him with a lot of help on his journey of growth. This help wasn’t about technical guidance, but rather matters off the track. He wondered if Verstappen knew that Jos and Sid, along with Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, had been running around seeking sponsorships. They were also contacting F2 and F1 teams, hoping to secure a definitive contract for next year.

"Guys! Get ready to start," a mechanic called out.

The group fist-bumped and returned to their respective pit garages. Since it closely followed the morning race, the preparations weren’t as tedious as they had been earlier. Once the track conditions were confirmed, the pit lane opened. After the reconnaissance lap concluded, the cars parked in an orderly fashion.

The commentator continued to introduce the drivers and their qualifying results, following the sequence shown by the broadcast cameras. While this information might seem repetitive, the audience for each race varied. Discussing the drivers’ backgrounds during the downtime helped make the wait less boring.

It was the exact same procedure. Shortly after the grid girls in tight yellow outfits cleared the track, the display board on the platform indicated that there was one minute left until the start. As the camera shifted to O’connor, the commentator continued, "There have been many changes to the F3 cars this year, including the electronic systems and paddle shifters. O’connor is already accustomed to using paddle shifters from his time in Renault Formula cars, which might give him a greater advantage in the race compared to others.

"Since the 2014 F3 cars are vastly different from last year’s, even if you participated in the championship then and learned a few things from your team, those lessons might not necessarily apply this year.

"The racing engines are no longer mass-produced models..."

Mid-sentence, the official on the platform waved the green flag, and the commentator immediately shifted gears. "Twenty-six cars are in position on the starting line. The green flag is waving, and they are ready for the formation lap!

"This will be the second race, with a maximum time limit of thirty-five minutes.

"Starting on pole is Wu Shi. He secured all twenty-five points in the first race, meaning he enters this match as the early leader of the championship.

"Bromquist and O’connor are ranked second and third in the standings, respectively.

"The Hua Country driver Wu Shi races for the Van Amersfoort Racing Team, which is powered by Volkswagen engines. His qualifying time was 1 minute 51.001 seconds. In yesterday’s late afternoon qualifying session, he edged out the France driver O’connor by 0.321 seconds..."

During the formation lap, the commentator went through the qualifying results in order. When introducing Verstappen, he highlighted the achievements of his father, Jos Verstappen.

In the grandstands, the commentator’s voice was completely drowned out; all the spectators could hear was the deafening roar of the engines. Entering the final straight, starting with Wu Shi, all the cars began weaving left and right to generate as much tire temperature as possible. Because they had to wait on the grid for the start, hotter tires would retain heat better until the race began.

With all the cars in position, the official held up the five-second board, signaling the drivers to prepare for the start.

The red lights illuminated, then went out.

Engines roared. The second round of the championship officially began!

Wu Shi’s reaction time clocked in at a razor-sharp 0.141 seconds—incredibly swift. Right behind him, O’connor was no slouch either, pulling off a very smooth start. However, relying on his extra grid position advantage, Wu Shi immediately squeezed to the right upon accelerating, firmly blocking the inside line and shutting the door on O’connor’s racing line.

As he approached Turn One, Wu Shi glanced at his rearview mirrors. The drivers behind him were all drifting toward the left edge of the track, meaning they weren’t going to force a dive down the inside. Thus, he no longer needed to hug the right side. Consequently, he swiftly swept left. By the time he reached the center of the track, he was already diving into Turn One.

The chasing pack stayed hot on his heels, but his post-start acceleration was flawless. Relying on marginal operational advantages, he instantly pulled a 0.1-second gap before Turn Two.

"Wu gets off to an excellent start and holds his position! We can see that the third-place starter, Bromquist, has been overtaken by Focca! Yes, Focca has moved up into third place!

"Whoa! Aside from Wu in the lead, the trio from the Prema Team have firmly occupied second, third, and fourth places. They’ve tightly blocked the yellow number 31 car behind them.

"Focca is trying to drift back to the outside line, where he has to lift off the throttle, but he fails! He’s under attack! Jordan King is attacking, and Focca is forced back to the inside!

"At the end of the Wellington Straight, there’s a left-hander. Oh! Focca locks up his tires here!"

The Prema car, currently running in fourth place on the track, locked its tires, sending a long trail of white smoke billowing from the front left wheel. At the time, King hadn’t managed to mount an effective attack, so Focca ultimately defended his position.

"The wind speeds on the track have been quite high recently, so the drivers need to account for the impact of crosswinds.

"Wu Shi is now 1.3 seconds ahead of O’connor, maintaining a dominant lead."

The first lap and a half was often the most spectacular part of the race. Drivers in the pack, whether striving to gain positions or fighting to defend them, were constantly making maneuvers off the ideal racing line. Many cars even exceeded track limits, kicking up clouds of dust and debris. By the third lap, the front of the grid had stabilized once more, so the broadcast cameras shifted their focus back to the midfield and rear cars.

Wu Shi knew that, barring any accidents, the second victory was already in the bag. This was the distinct advantage that a strong qualifying performance brought. In the main race, as long as he had a good start, it was essentially a Pole-to-Win scenario. Running in clean air allowed him to preserve his tires better and keep the engine stable. Meanwhile, if the drivers behind wanted to overtake, they would inevitably get caught in the dirty, hot exhaust wake of the leading car.

On the fourth lap, the commentator’s previously steady voice suddenly spiked with excitement as he shouted, "Stroll is going for an overtake! He wants to take the outside line! The grip over there is terrible... and sure enough! He doesn’t succeed and merely takes a wider line.

"On the other side, oh! Goddard wants to overtake! He’s pulled out! He’s holding the lead through the corner, he’s squeezing in—oh, no! There’s a collision!"

Roy’s car collided with the left rear wheel of Goddard’s ThreeBond with T-Sport car and was launched high into the air. It spun twice before coming to a halt in the gravel trap.

"Oh! No, this is the second time Goddard has faced trouble today, and this time is far worse than the morning session."

Alan TR: "There’s an incident. No yellow flags have been shown yet."

"Copy that."

Wu Shi glanced back. He was already a full two car lengths ahead of O’connor, just like his lead over Bromquist in the morning.

It wasn’t until the fifth lap that race control finally deployed the yellow flags, though it didn’t have much of an impact on the race pace.

A mere lap later, racing resumed.

As Wu Shi drove past, he happened to see the Neon Team car being hoisted away by a crane. Once again, his thoughts drifted uneasily to Bianchi.