Chapter 142 - 66: Yes! Yes! Yes!

Chapter 142: Chapter 66: Yes! Yes! Yes!

Alan followed the crew out, opened an umbrella, and squatted beside him. "The rain will only get heavier. Be careful not to push too hard."

"Yeah, I know."

While they talked, the crew members unloaded four wet tires from the trolley and started inflating them.

"Keep the pressure low," Wu Shi said.

"What?" Alan was puzzled.

"Never mind, just inflate them to the normal level." Wu Shi shook his head. Lower tire pressure would increase the tire’s contact patch, providing better grip, which would be generally beneficial for early competition. However, the larger contact patch would also cause the tires to overheat quickly, leading to a rise in tire pressure and accelerated wear. In certain situations, such as some qualifying sessions, low tire pressure could provide a stronger competitive edge than high tire pressure. But for the main race, it was better to have higher tire pressure to avoid a blowout mid-race.

Alan held the umbrella, glancing at his watch from time to time.

The entire track was exceptionally busy. Aside from the staff preparing the tires, many others were adjusting the front and rear wings of the cars. A wet-weather setup differed significantly from a dry-weather one, with its core purpose being to increase the car’s grip.

A full ten minutes later, the staff cleared the track. The safety car led the pack for a rolling start to avoid the risks associated with a standing start.

After passing Turn 7, the safety car pulled into the pit lane near Turn 8.

Before this, Verstappen had already backed up the pack, bunching all the cars together. Only then did he slowly navigate Turn 7, weaving left and right to warm his tires. Wu Shi did the same. The Norisring Track was too short, and the distance they had just covered wasn’t nearly enough to bring this new set of wet tires up to their optimal operating temperature.

Compared to the wild tire-warming maneuvers of these two drivers, the rest of the field was much more conservative. Doing this in the rain meant that even a slight lapse in attention would result in warming the walls instead of the tires. No one was willing to take such a risk unless they felt it was controllable.

Wu Shi, of course, had excellent control over his car. As he weaved left and right, the tire temperature rose significantly, pushing his operational limits just a bit higher.

Warming the tires was one thing, but his attention was primarily focused on Verstappen’s car, as they were about to reach the checkered line. Once Verstappen crossed the checkered line, the race would officially restart. Wu Shi knew that Verstappen would definitely accelerate suddenly at a certain moment, restarting the race before the drivers behind him could react.

His prediction was spot on. At the apex of Turn 8, the steering angle of Verstappen’s car noticeably decreased. If one wasn’t watching him closely, they might not have even noticed this detail. Most people hadn’t anticipated that Verstappen would use the brief moment of straightening his car to accelerate right away.

VROOM!!!

The previously suppressed engine sound exploded in an instant. Verstappen took the lead, speeding onto the starting straight.

Almost at the exact same time, Wu Shi also began to accelerate. However, Jordan King, who was right ahead, was clearly fooled by Verstappen’s fakeout and was half a beat too slow. By the time he started to accelerate, Wu Shi’s car was nearly side-by-side with his.

But since they hadn’t crossed the checkered line yet, the overtaking ban was still in effect. Therefore, Wu Shi precisely controlled his car, staying a front wing’s length behind Jordan King.

At this point, the rain was still light, and the standing water on the track was shallow. The kicked-up spray wasn’t dense enough to completely obscure the drivers’ vision. Wu Shi watched helplessly as Verstappen pulled away rapidly, but, constrained by the rules, he could only match Jordan King’s sluggish acceleration.

Finally, after Verstappen crossed the checkered line, the overtaking ban was lifted. The race officially resumed!

Car No. 32’s rear-wheel torque surged instantly. The engine let out a fierce roar, prompting Jordan to glance sideways.

"This is a rainy day! Going full throttle is just asking for a spin!" he mocked inwardly.

However, the slipping and spinning he anticipated never happened. Car No. 32 kicked up a cloud of spray and sped away.

"No!"

Jordan King couldn’t accept this reality, yet he didn’t dare press harder on the gas pedal or speed up his shifts. He could only seethe in impotent rage. He already felt that his car was difficult to control. If he got greedy over this minor time loss, it would lead to him losing control of the vehicle.

Although Wu Shi had cleanly overtaken Jordan King on the starting straight, he couldn’t immediately shake him off as their speeds increased. Soon, the cars sped past the dummy Turn 1. The rain spray turned into white dragons, spreading across the track.

Just before entering Turn 2, Wu Shi started braking early. The braking point was so premature that everyone thought he had made a mistake. But Jordan, who was trailing closely behind, was startled. With his vision already compromised, he didn’t realize Wu Shi had braked early until they were dangerously close.

To avoid a collision—and unsure if slamming on the brakes would cause him to lose control, or if the brakes could even reduce his speed to a safe range—he had no choice but to steer outward while feathering the brakes to slow down.

VROOM.

Downshifting into second gear, Wu Shi saw Jordan’s predicament through the rearview mirror. He nonchalantly cut into the apex, taking the innermost line through the corner.

SWOOSH!

Wu Shi accelerated and pulled away.

Meanwhile, Jordan was struggling to turn. Blocked by Wu Shi like this, he broke out in a cold sweat, his rhythm completely thrown off. On the track, any mistake was an omen of failure. In that brief window, Jack Dennis caught up. Sprinting alongside him were O’connor and Lucas.