Chapter 712: Chapter 286: The Ups and Downs of Life

"Perez, your setup plan is very good, both tire temperature and tire wear are maintained well."

Faced with Perez staring at him, Chen Xiangbei didn’t understand the shock in the other’s heart, so he gave a friendly compliment.

To be honest, in terms of tire conservation driving style, Chen Xiangbei indeed couldn’t match Perez.

Previously, he often suffered from the trouble of high temperatures in the braking system. This was indeed partly due to driving style and car setup plans, but it couldn’t erase Perez’s talent in "smooth" driving.

No wonder he is the strongest among Verstappen’s former teammates!

"Bei, it’s you who are strong."

Perez said with mixed emotions.

Everyone has their setup plan, but whether they can adapt depends on personal ability.

Obviously, Chen Xiangbei possesses this capability.

"It’s okay."

Facing Perez’s praise, Chen Xiangbei just smiled slightly.

His current comparison targets are no longer these new faces in the paddock but the legends within it!

Compared to the subtle mutual compliments between Chen Xiangbei and Perez, McLaren boss Dennis loudly shouted, "Hamilton, you did an amazing job!"

In the third practice, Hamilton’s lap time surpassed Vettel, reaching the top of the leaderboard.

Dennis has always regarded Hamilton as the next leader of F1, but this young man’s only flaw is not being disciplined and hardworking enough, as well as not focusing solely on racing, with his mind easily drifting elsewhere.

The appearance of Vettel temporarily ignited Hamilton’s desire to win and lose.

However, the German’s personality was relatively mild and lacked sufficient pressure.

The emergence of Chen Xiangbei, this Chinese kid, completely triggered Hamilton’s anger, making him extremely eager to teach his opponent a lesson.

Dennis was pleased to see this kind of situation; top drivers should always maintain a combat-ready state!

Hamilton did not become complacent with Dennis’s praise but directly addressed the car issues.

"The exhaust diffuser upgraded for this station on the MP4-25 has some problems; under high pressure, the temperature easily overheats. Engineers need to find a way to solve this hidden danger before the qualifying session."

This double-layer exhaust diffuser, a black technology at the season’s start, has now been fully adopted by midfield and upper-midfield teams, including McLaren, after several races.

However, as McLaren increased its utilization of the exhaust diffuser, the McLaren Team also encountered a problem that the HRT Team once faced: the engine’s exhaust naturally comes with high temperatures, which can easily cause tire temperature and brake system temperature to be too high.

The HRT Team has never been able to solve this problem, but Chen Xiangbei, through trial and error, has discovered a certain pattern, enabling him to find a way to maintain the temperature around the critical point.

Obviously, Hamilton hadn’t fully adapted yet; during the third practice, in his pursuit of the fastest lap time, he encountered the overheating issue caused by the exhaust diffuser. It remains to be seen if the McLaren Team engineers have a more perfect solution.

"Okay, I will have Whitmarsh handle it."

Dennis nodded and immediately called Whitmarsh to organize the engineering team for improvements.

"Hamilton, the points of the front few are very close. Whoever wins this station will become the leader. I expect you to stand on the pinnacle again."

"I will."

Hamilton responded confidently.

He would let Chen Xiangbei, this Chinese rookie, see what happens when you anger a world champion!

Actually, not just the team members, even the two commentators were still having a lingering discussion about the third practice.

"Red, it seems my prediction is still more accurate; Driver Bei at Lingyan Circuit is far inferior to Hamilton."

Park Dongxu said with a somewhat arrogant tone, suggesting the British commentary was not impressive.

"Park, I think it’s too early to draw conclusions now; the qualifying hasn’t even started yet, let alone the main race."

"You have to know, Bei has never missed a Q3 session. He has created many miracles in F1, overturning countless people’s perceptions."

Red retorted.

This doesn’t mean he supports Chen Xiangbei that much. In fact, during the Australia Station, he was one of those who mocked the Chinese rookie.

But Red was slapped in the face by Chen Xiangbei’s strength, and this contemptuous view was completely overturned after the China Station.

He has realized that this Chinese driver is very likely to become a miracle in the F1 racing world!

"Three practice sessions, Chen Xiangbei didn’t enter the top ten even once. I don’t think he can create any miracles in qualifying."

"Miracles are called miracles because no one thinks they are possible before they happen."

"Right? Haha."

Regarding Red’s insistence, Park Dongxu gave a contemptuous smile; he didn’t want to continue arguing.

The Lingyan Circuit in South Korea will definitely become the heartbreak for Chinese drivers!

After the practice session, a short period of silence appeared in the paddock, with the audience and teams waiting for the arrival of the afternoon qualifying session.

But at this moment, the Korean meteorological department released a new radar cloud map, showing a cumulus cloud floating over the circuit, with a rainfall probability of thirty to fifty percent and a rainfall volume of less than 10mm of light rain.

The various teams glanced at this satellite cloud data without paying much attention.

The reason is simple: such a rainfall probability is not high, and the actual chances of rain are lower than predicted.

Additionally, a rainfall volume of less than 10mm is actually the standard for drizzle.

As long as it doesn’t occur at the very start of the qualifying session, the teams won’t even consider switching to rain tires; the drainage and evaporation from the track will be enough to get through the qualifying session.