Chapter 68 160 laps
Wu Shi and Verstappen walked into the maintenance area together, where two fully prepared FR2.0 Renault Formula cars were parked.
"The seats were made based on your data from three months ago. Try sitting in them and see how they work. Today is mainly for testing the vehicle," Michel Lecomte said.
Both of them got into the car. Unlike the simplicity of a go-kart, the Renault Formula car had various buttons on the steering wheel.
"Is the seat okay?" the technician called out from the side, speaking in a perfect British accent.
"OK".
Wu Shi adjusted his body. The seat was custom-made, so it offered excellent support, and the six-point seatbelt kept him firmly in place.
The only thing I'm not used to is the lack of HALO, which makes the field of vision feel very wide open.
"Try lighting it."
"good."
Buzz!
The engine roared to life, and powerful acceleration came from behind.
If you release the clutch at this point, the vehicle will definitely lurch forward. No way, it will just stall.
At the level of Formula Renault, while the horsepower of the vehicles increases, the difficulty of handling also increases very rapidly.
After testing the remaining functions of the vehicle, the first test drive of the day was completed. Basic driving practice will be conducted tomorrow, and the formal testing will begin the day after tomorrow.
Michel Lecomte called over an experienced driver and had him take the two of them for a lap around the track.
"The Pombray circuit has a total of nine corners and is 2,343 meters long. You have just come from the karting level to this kind of big track, so you need to pay special attention to stability."
The veteran driver gave a lot of advice, and Wu Shi listened while stepping on the curb at the edge of the track a few times.
"This track is over twenty years old, much older than yours," the veteran driver chuckled.
"I've heard that some drivers who were great in go-karting don't adapt well to Formula racing," Verstappen suddenly said.
"Oh? Are you talking about yourself?" Wu Shi laughed.
"No, I'm talking about you. You can't beat me in go-karting, but you might be able to in Formula One." Verstappen laughed and said, "I actually practiced beforehand."
"I know, you tried out for F3 last year, how could you not have even touched a Renault?" Wu Shi didn't care. If anyone had to say who had practiced beforehand, he had practiced even earlier.
"Aren't you worried about not being able to outrun me?" Vestager asked.
Are you worried about not being able to outrun Leclerc?
"Of course." Verstappen nodded. This year, he and Leclerc were locked in a fierce battle in the karting competition.
"We're different now. I'm not worried at all, because worrying is useless. You'll only know once it's over."
The setting sun casts its glow on the spacious stadium.
The following day, the two drove their vehicle onto the racetrack.
Verstappen was in front because he had driving experience and could lead the way and give a demonstration.
"Is this Wu Shi's first time driving a Formula Renault?" Michel Lecomte asked.
"Yes," Sid said affirmatively. Why does everyone like to ask Wu Shi if it's his first time driving a certain car?
"He needs to practice at least a few dozen laps today to get familiar with the vehicle so that tomorrow's test can proceed."
"Hmm." Sid nodded.
The Verstappen ahead was warming its tires on both sides, and the vehicle swayed a lot, as if telling Wu Shi that this is how you should warm up your tires.
Wu Shi also swayed wildly with him, and the tire temperature did indeed rise rapidly. He subconsciously glanced at the data screen, but there was no tire temperature data on it.
But this is nothing serious.
Buzz!
Verstappen began to accelerate, but then braked suddenly before the corner.
Wu Shi pressed TR: "Max, what are you playing at?"
Panzi TR: "Oh, haha, I'm testing the vehicle's performance."
Verstappen was clearly teasing Wu Shi.
Wu Shi TR: "Then I'll test it too."
Panzi TR: "OK, but be careful not to crash. A Formula One car is not easy to drive."
Buzz! ! !
With a loud engine roar from behind, Wu Shi's car overtook Pan Zi.
Panzi TR: "Hey! You didn't say you were going to beat me! But if you want to see who's faster, then let's go!"
The two's TR was overheard by several people in the maintenance area, and Sid looked at Joss.
"Trust them," Joss said.
Michel Lecomte had no objection to Joss's statement, but he was somewhat worried.
Rustling sound!
After Wu Shi passed the first turn, he accelerated rapidly and maintained a high speed at the second turn.
Upon seeing this, Michel Lecomte gripped the back of his chair. "Kart racing champion, please don't crash on your very first test of Formula Renault!"
Joss and Sid, who were more familiar with Wu Shi, were at ease. In their impression, Wu Shi was not the kind of person who would take risks when running laps normally.
Whoosh!
Sure enough, the Formula Renault cruised through Turn 2 with ease, passing it at an incredibly high speed.
"Truly impressive," Michel Lecomte remarked.
Pan Zi, not to be outdone, followed Wu Shi's approach into the bend, but as soon as he reached the apex, he slammed on the brakes, sending up a cloud of white smoke.
"He's not sure," Sid said.
"If it were me, I wouldn't be sure either," Joss shrugged.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The two cars sped along the track without stopping.
Considering that the two had already started testing today, Michel Lecomte had a mechanic and a tire changer called in, and then told the two in the TR which number their respective pits were.
After eighteen laps, Wu Shi entered the station.
The technician holding the jack swallowed hard, thinking, "Don't let yourself get thrown off!"
laugh!
The race car stopped right in front of him, without missing a beat.
"Hey! Stop spacing out!" a technician called out.
The jack technician immediately lifted the vehicle.
Buzz!
Tire change complete.
Buzz!
The vehicle drove off.
"It looks like we can complete the 160-lap test today," Michel Lecomte said.
"Yes, and the lap times all look pretty incredible," one engineer said.
Joss stroked his chin, thought for a long time, and said to Sid, "Let them run F3 next year."
"Straight over Renault?"
"Of course, their speed is enough to support them in F3."
"So that's why you came to test the Reynolds equation." Sid understood.
"By the way, what about Rafa?" Joss asked.
"There are youth training positions available, but we are not satisfied with the contracts they offer. They require Wu Shi to strictly follow the promotion process, while we believe it is unnecessary to spend too much money and energy on lower-level competitions."
"Haha, we think the same way," Joss said happily. Even though the Netherlands sponsors Verstappen every year, the cost is increasing as the level of the competition gets higher and higher.
For a test like today, there are costs for renting the track, tires, fuel, maintenance, etc., and four thousand euros a day is the minimum.
In one day, the two ran through nine sets of tires and completed 160 laps of the test.
After all the test data was compiled, Joss stroked his chin, his brows furrowed.
"Have you noticed? Wu Shi's data is too strange."
The crowd then shifted their attention from the speed comparison graph of Wu Shi and Verstappen to where Joss was staring.