To be honest, Perez’s skill in rain-soaked races doesn’t reach top-tier level, but he’s not a complete novice either.

After all, the Monaco rain winner in ’22 has some worth.

However, for rookie Perez, keeping pace with Chen Xiangbei’s speed is a challenge and too much pressure.

In not-so-hot weather, in just a few seconds, Perez’s fireproof innerwear was completely soaked with sweat, keeping his attention in a state of extreme tension and focus.

With any slight mistake, he could crash into the wall!

"Stay steady, Mr. Xiang Bei!"

"Come on, Xiangbei!"

"Just one lap, finish this lap!"

As the rain grew heavier, the crew in the repair station couldn’t help but shout to cheer for Chen Xiangbei.

Odetto’s eyes weren’t on the monitor screen; the breeze brought by the rain clouds just happened to blow open the lap times of Chen Xiangbei recorded by Mizutani Sho on the simulator last night.

The dense numbers on it highlight Chen Xiangbei’s effort and his gradual improvement in lap times.

With curiosity, Odetto flipped to the last line.

The figure of 1:35.291 made his eyes widen.

This lap time has reduced the gap to the ideal lap time calculated by computer to less than a second!

Could it be that this kid has already mastered the Lingyan Circuit?

With full surprise and shock, Odetto again turned his gaze to the broadcast footage, and Chen Xiangbei happened to rush out of the last corner with great danger, entering the final long straight of the finish line.

As the black-and-orange No. 13 car roared past, a new name appeared fifth on the current lap time leaderboard; he is Chen Xiangbei from the HRT Team.

And in just a few tenths of a second later, another HRT racing car entered the leaderboard, ranked even higher, surpassing Chen Xiangbei by a mere 0.046 seconds to reach third; his name is Perez.

"HRT forever!"

In the HRT Team’s garage, members’ cheers were like fireworks exploding, with everyone plunging into emotional frenzy.

No one expected HRT to make it into Q3 with both cars again; it’s simply a miracle.

Meanwhile, through the team’s communication system, various congratulations and encouragements to the two drivers came through, proving their strength and bringing glory to the HRT Team.

Especially Perez, praised by team members, as a complete rookie making it into Q3, surpassing a sector winner rival, fully deserving any acclaim.

Only Perez knew in his heart that his achievement was just standing on the shoulders of giants.

If Chen Xiangbei had deviated from his lane, there was no way Perez could’ve comfortably caught the draft, and naturally, he couldn’t be faster than his teammate ahead.

Perez even felt that Chen Xiangbei deliberately gave him the draft.

No wonder Trulli, the fiery Italian, could acknowledge Chen Xiangbei, a Chinese rookie; just judging by his character and magnanimity, there was really nothing to criticize.

Besides catching the draft, Perez also mirrored Chen Xiangbei’s racing line.

The other found the line with the best grip for cornering, always on the verge of losing control, and Perez precisely followed Chen Xiangbei’s line to thrillingly complete the flying lap without hitting the wall.

Truth be told, Perez felt somewhat conflicted at this moment.

Having a strong teammate is a good thing, but when the teammate is so strong that defeating them is hard, that’s a bad thing.

It’s like the mindset of brothers suffering together, yet fearing the brother driving a Land Rover.