Chapter 713: Chapter 286: Life’s Ups and Downs (Part 2)

After all, rain tires are much slower compared to slick tires, not just a little bit slower.

Only Chen Xiangbei, after seeing the radar cloud data, reminded Liang Chi to preheat a set of intermediate tires with a tire warmer.

Because only he knows how ridiculous the rushed construction of Lingyan Circuit is, never trust the track’s drainage capability!

In the historical Season 10 Korea Station race, the cars turned into boats, creating an incredibly chaotic race and even leading to the dry-land duck Masa taking advantage of the situation to reach the podium.

Of course, history has changed now, and even the season’s timing at Korea Station has altered.

Whether there will be a rainy battle again is uncertain in Chen Xiangbei’s mind; it’s just a matter of being prepared for any eventuality.

Soon, it’s 3 PM, and the Saturday qualifying session of the Korea Grand Prix officially begins!

The sky over Lingyan Circuit is overcast, but the rain hasn’t arrived. All teams followed their initial plans and switched to soft red tires.

The HRT Team didn’t exit the pit first; instead, they waited for enough rubber particles to accumulate on the track.

It’s important to know that Lingyan is a brand new circuit, which means that the grip of the new asphalt is relatively low. Now, without the super-power output advantage of the previous station, the HRT Racing Cars can only rely on the positioning strategy of mid-to-small teams to compete in the qualifying session.

The later the exit, the better the grip!

However, it seems like all teams have the same idea, hoping that the opponents will be the first to exit and "warm up" the scene, causing a delay of three minutes in the first qualifying session, with everyone still awaiting in their pit positions.

"Red, what’s going on here? Isn’t anyone going out for qualification?"

Park Dongxu felt bewildered; he had never seen such a scene and had to ask the experienced UK commentator Red.

"Everyone is waiting for the right moment, trying to preserve their tires as much as possible. No one wants to be the pioneer."

Red, indeed an old hand at commentating, instantly understood the intention of all the teams.

Leaving the pits later not only has a grip advantage but also less tire wear!

After three practice sessions, the data analysts of the teams are well aware of the high tire wear of the Lingyan Circuit, added with the street layout of the first half, there’s no doubt that soft red tires can provide the fastest speed and the best grip.

The problem is that the allocation of soft red tires is limited. If drivers make it to Q3, then with a race strategy involving two or even three stops, there’s absolutely not enough soft red tires at the end.

The best solution is proactive preparation, saving a set of soft red tires as much as possible during qualifying.

For instance, in the not-so-competitive first and second qualifying sessions, only push for one lap with soft red tires, then use a brand new set in the third qualifying session.

This way, compared to opponents who use three sets of soft red tires, one set can be saved in terms of quantity, giving more flexibility and advantages in race strategy!

Only everyone wants to be the mantis stalking the cicada, but who will be the "cicada"?

However, this stalemate was soon broken, McLaren Team’s Hamilton headed out.

Big teams have the strength and confidence of big cars, even if the track’s objective conditions are weaker when leading, they can still rely on car performance and personal skill to make it into Q3.

"NICE, Hamilton!"

"This is the confidence of a world champion and the strongest rookie!"

"He started strong; who can challenge Hamilton?"

"Without the Chinese relying on tactics, he wouldn’t even see Hamilton’s taillights!"

The scene erupted in cheers, some purely for supporting Hamilton, others for comparing Hamilton.

No matter which, it all proves Hamilton’s popularity and strength.

With someone leading the charge, the four major teams soon followed suit, conducting their own flying laps.

The roar of engines soared across the sky, McLaren Racing Cars strove to speed on, and soon Hamilton’s first flying lap result came.

minute 37 seconds 551!

This lap time may not seem impressive at first glance. In fact, due to the inability to refuel midway during qualifying, the car’s weight is far higher than in practice sessions with certain extremely light fuel load test scenarios.

The fastest lap times can only be achieved as the fuel is consumed, and the grip of the track increases with sufficient accumulation of rubber particles.

This is why the third qualifying session time is generally faster than the first session under normal conditions.

With Hamilton’s lap time out, soon Masa, Button, Alonso, Weber, and others’ flying lap times followed closely.

Instantly, the top ten rankings were refreshed; history hasn’t altered, and Vettel still claims the top spot in the first qualifying session with Red Bull Racing’s absolute performance advantage!

minute 37 seconds 123!

This result matches his historical lap time exactly.

"North, Perez, get ready to head out, you only have one lap!"

Though the HRT Team has no plans for two or three stops, nor does it need to deliberately reserve a brand new set of red tires.

But the calibration schemes for both racing cars are entirely oriented towards the race, and during practice, the results of the two drivers were around the fifteen positions, equivalent to the edge of being eliminated in the first qualifying session.

To be safe, they could only delay their departure, waiting for the moment when track grip conditions are at their best.

Of course, this choice has pros and cons, with the downside being the time to run only one flying lap!

Theoretically, for the two HRT drivers, running only one flying lap on Lingyan Circuit involves significant risk.

A brand new circuit run one more time, translating to more adaptation space.

Additionally, Perez is actually a slow starter; when paired with Verstappen, the first flying lap often exhibited significant disparities, slowly catching up in the second lap.

This trait is quite like Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who can’t deliver good results in his first flying lap and needs two or more to adjust.

Unfortunately, being in a small team, either give up the best track conditions or bet everything, often without a second chance.

For strategy team members like Odetto et al., they weren’t familiar with Perez’s tendency to start slow, thus formulating track strategies in the most conventional manner. It all hinges on whether the driver makes it into Q2.

After the customary warming lap, the two HRT Racing Cars proceeded with flying laps, one following the other.

Compared to the Chinese Grand Prix, the current racing cars’ calibration schemes and performance are not within Chen Xiangbei’s comfort zone, making for a strenuous drive.

As for Perez, he wasn’t much better, being a pure rookie running his first qualifying session in a career, a challenge in itself!

With one short minute past, the results for the two HRT Racing Cars were revealed.

Chen Xiangbei clocked a time of 1 minute 38 seconds 257, temporarily positioned at twelfth on the board.

Perez, at a lap time of 1 minute 38 seconds 429, followed closely with a slight gap.

This outcome elicited immediate cheers and jeers within the paddock.

Although these two terms have opposite meanings, they, in fact, converge.

Cheering Chen Xiangbei for failing to make it into the top ten again, jeering Chen Xiangbei for his slow speed!

Bear in mind the first qualifying session isn’t over yet, and more lower-midfield drivers are still performing flying laps. The results of the two HRT drivers could very likely be pushed out of the cutoff line!

"Red, do you think Chen Xiangbei can still make it into Q2?"

Park Dongxu gleefully asked a question; currently, Barrichello, Hulkenberg, Glock, Sutil, and other drivers haven’t completed their laps, and their practice lap times were very favorable.

Moreover, this station marks a veteran’s return—that is, Saub Team’s third driver Heidfeld who replaces the mediocre de la Rosa in the race.

None of these names are easy prey; Chen Xiangbei’s twelfth position can’t be held!

"I think he can."

Feeling Park Dongxu’s undisguised bias and hostility, Red answered firmly.

Chen Xiangbei is a driver who creates miracles; he won’t easily fall!

The development of the race went as Red insisted; with the countdown of the first qualifying session concluding, the final driver’s flying lap result emerged.

Chen Xiangbei dropped to fourteenth place, and Perez was even more precariously perched on the cutoff line.

Witnessing this result, all HRT Team members breathed a sigh of relief, and enthusiastic applause resonated within the P room.

This result may appear ordinary from outsiders’ views, even lesser than Chen Xiangbei’s debut, and when combined with the last station’s title victory, it exhibits a feeling of life’s ups and downs.

However, the team members are extremely clear on what this result signifies.

A new circuit, reduced power, race calibration, missed practice, changed style...

Chen Xiangbei undoubtedly piled up all negative buffs but still managed to make it into Q2; he didn’t let the team members down!