Chapter 49 Which one of you is his coach?
Verstappen's racing talent is beyond doubt. In all the races before entering F1, he basically had a significant lead, and he was able to maintain this lead even when the car's performance was not particularly good.
It was precisely because of his outstanding performance that he was valued by Marko and directly skipped GP2 and F2 to enter F1.
Seemingly noticing everyone's gaze, both Joss Verstappen and his son Verstappen turned to look.
"Should we go say hello?" Sid asked, thinking it would be a good thing to get to know a former F1 driver.
"No need," Wu Shi shook his head, "there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
However, Joss walked over with Verstappen Jr., bypassing the group of adults, and said directly to Wu Shi, "Wu Shi, your year-long victory in Italie last year was very remarkable."
"Thank you," Wu Shi nodded.
"You have to beat him." Joss patted Verstappen on the shoulder.
"Yes, I will," said Verstappen Jr., his lips so thick and his face so round that he looked as if he were pouting as he spoke.
"He shouldn't be able to beat me."
Wu Shi reminded Joss Verstappen that this was not arrogance, but rather that Verstappen was far from reaching the level he would reach in the future, while Wu Shi was already at that level.
"No, see you on the track," Joss Verstappen said, then led his son Verstappen back to adjust the car.
The pre-race preparation is the busiest time. Even if the vehicles seem to be in perfect working order, there's always a feeling that something might go wrong during the race, so the mechanics check them extremely carefully.
"How did the previous practice go?" Seth asked.
"It feels good, but I haven't fully adapted to the race car yet," Wu Shi replied. Because his trip to Belgium was a sudden change in schedule by Sid, he didn't have much time to practice with the car or run on the track.
"Well, get used to it first. In the future, you will always need to adapt to various new race cars. Good adaptability to race cars is also a reflection of a driver's ability," Sid said.
As a member of a major karting team, he was involved in the transition of more than one karting driver to lower-level formula racing, so he knows which abilities lower-level formula racing teams value most.
"I know," Wu Shi nodded.
Over the next two days, practice sessions, qualifying rounds, and warm-up races were held on this track. These races were not enough to fully assess the drivers' abilities until the qualifying rounds before the main race.
Before getting into the car, Verstappen looked at Wu Shi. He had already learned about the honors this man had received from his father, but it didn't mean much to him.
Since he started participating in karting competitions in 2005, he has won the VAS Championship, ROTAX MAX Karting Challenge, the Belgian and Dutch Minimax Championships, the Belgian Apprentice Championship, and more.
For him, victory is the norm.
The go-karts hummed as they entered the track.
The Marienburg circuit is 1,366 meters long. The fastest lap in the KF5 class is generally around 57 or 58 seconds, which is much faster than the fastest lap of the Mini class, which is more than a minute. And the faster the lap, the more difficult it is to control.
Wu Shi sat in his go-kart. The KF5 was indeed faster than the Mini, but it wasn't a huge improvement for him. He didn't find it difficult to adapt to the handling at all.
Unfortunately, he hasn't had the go-kart for very long and hasn't fully integrated it into his senses yet, which means he can't perform those truly superhuman driving maneuvers.
Buzz!
After the warm-up lap, the competitors began to attempt the speed lap.
Wu Shi twisted a few times and began his own gallop.
Rustling sound!
Because his understanding of racing is not yet fully developed, he will not attempt any extreme or dangerous maneuvers, but will simply use the skills he already possesses to drive.
After smoothly turning into Turn 1, immediately pull the vehicle to the side line to prepare for Turn 2.
I must say, sometimes even without fully focusing on the driving experience, the race car feels quite good; it really does give you the feeling of driving a car.
Wu Shi was positioned towards the back of the pack, so his lap time came out later.
One by one, the scores appeared on the billboard, with Verstappen at the top of the list, scoring 57.686.
Joss Verstappen nodded in satisfaction. 58 seconds was a hurdle, and Verstappen had cleared it at 0.3, a truly outstanding result.
"Verstappen Jr. is indeed very strong. The fastest driver after him is a full 0.5 points slower than him," Seth said. In racing, a fraction of a second is enough to decide the winner, and a fraction of a second is a huge difference.
"Wu Shi should be about the same," Sid said.
"I feel Wu Shi is much faster; his performance is absolutely outstanding," said the team's mechanic.
The three of them weren't talking loudly, but Joss, who was standing to the side, heard them. He turned his gaze to Wu Shi on the field, and with his discerning eye, he could naturally tell that the boy's driving was quite smooth.
'I wonder who taught him, his driving skills are quite superb,' he thought to himself.
A few dozen seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
sieve!
57.681.
Wu Shi's results came out.
"Five-thousandths of a second faster!" Joss suddenly tightened his arms, which were crossed over his chest. His eyes sharpened as he mentally compared the driving trajectories of Verstappen Jr. and Wu Shi.
"I feel Wu Shi is running too slow," the team mechanic continued. Unlike Sid and Seth, he had been convinced by Wu Shi's seven-race undefeated championship in Italie, so he shook his head in disappointment when he saw that Wu Shi was only leading by such a small margin.
"…" Sid and Seth exchanged a glance. They had to admit that they had felt the same way just now.
However, after rational analysis, looking at Verstappen's superior performance, it seems that the two of them are indeed leading by a significant margin.
Now that you mention it, Joss does indeed have a son with considerable talent.
"What did you say?!" Just as the two were thinking of Joss, they saw the burly Dutch man walk over and question the technician.
The mechanic was no pushover either, and he was quite assertive with the former F1 driver, saying directly, "I think Wu Shi was too slow, otherwise he would have been at least 3 points ahead of second place."
"Very well, so why do you think he's faster than Max?" Joss asked.
"Uh, I can't really explain it, but it will definitely be faster." The mechanic shrugged. He was just a car repairman, how would he know why Wu Shi was able to run so much faster than the others before?
However, he often heard the coaches marveling that Wu Shi's driving line was always different from the others, and his understanding of the track was always unique and leading.
Upon hearing this, Joss looked at Sid and Seth and asked, "Which of you is his coach?"