Chapter 71: One match is enough.
The Sebring circuit, a FIA2 level circuit, is 6.02km long and has 17 corners, many of which are false corners.
"It looks dilapidated," Wu Shi remarked upon seeing the racetrack.
"Not all tracks are like Grand Prix tracks," Verstappen said, adjusting his baseball cap.
Most of the track is paved with cement, with only some straight sections being asphalt. The guardrails are also shallow, and the track is spacious. In February, the open ground was covered with dry grass, making it look desolate.
"It's just too big. Go-kart tracks are similarly set up, but because they're smaller, and with people surrounding the guardrails, they look completely different." Wu Shi was also wearing a khaki baseball cap, with large sunglasses covering half his face.
"This series was planned last year and is only being held for the first time this year, so it doesn't have much of a reputation," Storr said as he stepped forward. He had met Wu Shi and Verstappen when he participated in KF1, so they were acquaintances.
"They charged me 95,000 euros even though I'm not famous!" Wu Shi felt a pang of pain. At the current exchange rate of about 1 to 8.5, the registration fee was equivalent to 800,000 RMB!
If the registration fee hadn't included a team of cars, engineers, and mechanics, he would never have participated in a competition that wouldn't bring him much fame.
"This series aims to create a novel and groundbreaking training event outside of championships and cups. The most important thing for everyone in this process is to strengthen themselves, hone their driving skills, and enjoy racing! We wish you all a happy series!"
Before the race officially began, the head of the Florida LaFerrari Drivers Academy went on stage to reiterate the spirit of the series to all the drivers. His deep voice kept everyone awake.
"Alright, kids, let's go to the repair area and get ready!"
Each stop of the series lasts three days. The first day consists of four free practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first match is held on the morning of the second day after two 20-minute qualifying matches.
On the third day, the second and third matches will be held.
Perhaps to fit the name of the training series, the main race uses a setting of 30 minutes plus one lap, which means that the leading driver does not need to worry about how much of a lead they can make, but only about maintaining their form as much as possible.
The race car provided by the Driver Academy is the Tatuus FA10B, which is very similar in design to the low-level Formula cars of this era. It has a slender suspension and a simple yet robust body. At first glance, those who do not know the car will exclaim "chopstick suspension!"
"You still have so many sponsors on your racing suit?" Verstappen was quite surprised. He came to America to race and had almost no sponsors.
"Guess how much this brand paid for the appearance?" Wu Shi asked, pointing to a tire logo on his left hip.
"Ten thousand euros?"
Wu Shi was full of questions and said bluntly, "It seems your family is quite wealthy. I hope Uncle Joss can give me such a sponsorship."
"Hahaha, I thought the brands that let you wear them everywhere would pay you a lot of money, otherwise why would they be so reluctant to spend it?" Verstappen laughed.
Wu Shi was speechless, thinking to himself, "Are you going to wear the same Red Bull jersey all year round?"
After changing into their racing suits, everyone got into their respective race cars.
Today is a practice race to let everyone get familiar with and adapt to the track.
Wu Shi greeted the team of engineers and mechanics assigned to him by the college, and then drove out of the repair area.
The Sebring circuit is quite wide for the Tatuus FA10B, so many corners can be passed in the shortest time without even needing to use the shoulders.
Joss and Sid were looking at the data in the pit area. Just like in previous training, Wu Shi's running style varied greatly at the beginning, as he was looking for the optimal running style.
"I'm curious how he manages to produce such controllable, minute differences over several consecutive laps," Joss said.
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from TR, "How was the speed in the first timing segment?"
"A 0.12-second improvement, well done," the engineer reported the data.
"He'll optimize it again in the next lap, wow, that's amazing." Joss said with admiration, then looked at Sid and said:
"Why don't you have his mother invite those people from the LaFerrari headquarters to come and see for themselves that such a talented driver is only offered a developmental youth training contract?"
Sid smiled and said, "I've already notified them. They said they'll come to watch the first game tomorrow, just one game."
"One game is enough." Joss nodded.
The four-hour practice session was divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The road surface temperature varied slightly at different times. Wu Shi used the two sets of new tires in the morning and afternoon respectively to experience the tires' adaptability to different temperatures.
However, one of the new tires was only tested briefly before being replaced.
Because there are only two sets of new tires for the next two days of the race, one set of old tires from the practice session, and one set of rain tires, and these tires have to be used for all three races, so one set of old tires with less wear must be left over from the practice session.
After the entire test, Wu Shi basically figured out the key points of this track. As for whether there are any areas that can be optimized, of course there are, but there wasn't enough time, so it wasn't necessary.
"I feel like the race car is driving weird," Pan Zi complained as soon as he got out of the car.
"You can ask Joss to help you adjust the car," Wu Shi said.
Verstappen shook his head and said, "My training recently has been about car adaptability. He won't let me fine-tune the car; he'll just make me find ways to adapt to it. Anyway, there's not much to adjust."
"That's true." Wu Shi nodded. In these officially sponsored races, the cars are strictly limited and you can't make many modifications according to your own style.
"Aren't you going to adjust the vehicle?" Panzi retorted.
"Did you know that some companies ask interviewees to provide solutions to a problem during the recruitment process, in order to test their abilities?" Wu Shi said.
"I've never participated in a job interview before, so I'm not familiar with this mechanism. What does this have to do with whether you're transferring the car or not?" Verstappen asked, puzzled.
"Because the company directly uses the solution that the interviewee meticulously prepared, we commonly call it getting something for nothing," Wu Shi explained.
"You mean you think the tuning instructions you provided will be stolen by Lafayette?" Verstappen asked for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Wu Shi, I never realized you were so funny."
"It's good that you can understand my joke."
Wu Shi patted Verstappen on the shoulder. What he said earlier was obviously nonsense. Even if his current car tuning skills were indeed pretty amazing, they would only be useful in F1. LaFerrari certainly wouldn't covet his so-called car tuning skills at this time.
The following morning at nine o'clock, before the qualifying race, Sid said to Wu Shi, who was sitting in a monocoque, "Martina might invite a few executives over for the afternoon race; they are currently in Miami."
"OK, I'll drive carefully."
Wu Shi took off his goggles, made a hand gesture, and waited for the technician to feel reassured before driving directly into the repair area.
Buzz!
The car engines roared to life. The first qualifying session lasted twenty minutes. The driver's fastest lap time would be used in the first race, and the second fastest lap time would be used in the second race.
Therefore, you need to set two valid lap times on a six-kilometer track within twenty minutes, which means there aren't many window opportunities.
Wu Shi could hear the engineer's voice intermittently through his earphones, informing him of the road conditions:
"There are three cars ahead of you, all of which have already started speeding. You are more than five seconds behind them, so you can start your speeding."
"copy."
Wu Shi quickly swayed left and right to raise the tire temperature a little more, and then accelerated rapidly.
Rustling sound!
It crossed the grid lines and began to try to speed away.