Car Racing without Money-Chapter 447 - 178: I Want to See Your Speed_2
A lap time of 1 minute 20.266 seconds would qualify for Q3 last year.
Not to mention the rookies of this era, even a newcomer entering Q3 in their debut qualifying round in the future would spark discussion and garner endless praise.
The value of a debut entry into Q3 is comparable to scoring points in a debut race. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
One validates the single-lap speed, the other validates long-distance stability.
For an F1 Driver, neither can be lacking!
Even with the confusion, Trulli and Chen Xiangbei didn’t expect Briatore to stir things up with the lap times.
Especially Trulli, who knows his speed will determine whether he receives the first driver treatment.
In the upcoming lap, he will try to be faster than Chen Xiangbei!
As the warm-up and cool-down laps are completed consecutively, the two HRT Racing Cars begin to advance on the track.
This scene directly left members of other teams stunned.
Although everyone knows the competition within an F1 team is intense, most of the time, they still maintain propriety.
Moreover, during the winter tests, when there’s no pressure for results, is it necessary to start racing for speed on the first day relentlessly?
They don’t know what the HRT Team is doing; only some veterans familiar with Hua Bu vaguely suspect it might be related to the Italian old rogue, as this guy often comes up with bizarre tricks.
Whether it’s Button, Trulli, or even the younger Piquet later on.
Only what you can’t think of, Hua Bu can pull off.
Whether stimulated by Chen Xiangbei or proving the old knife is still sharp, Trulli’s start-up speed is incredibly impressive.
This guy has decent results in lower-level formulas, having won the Karting World Championship and the German F3 Championship, then directly jumping into F1.
To know, since Germany F3 produced Schumacher, for a long time its gold content was substantial, almost comparable to the old renowned racing power UK’s F3.
Trulli also has a very distinct characteristic, which is single-lap king but race-lost.
His single-lap speed was excellent early on, and he was the only driver who could suppress Alonso in qualifying.
The most incredible moment was driving a Jordan car, surpassing giants like McLaren and Renault, securing the second position in qualifying.
To know Jordan Racing, that year belonged to the second slowest car in the paddock, only ahead of the "Earth’s Core Car" Minardi.
Placed in later eras, it would equate to driving a Haas or Sauber Racing Car, and achieving second in qualifying!
However, Trulli’s race results fell short for various reasons; sometimes due to his own control mistakes, sometimes simply bad luck.
For instance, he holds the record for the most retirements in the first lap in F1 history...
Anyway, Trulli belongs to the standard qualifying-type driver; he is very confident in his single-lap speed.
This is why when Briatore wanted him to compete for being the first driver, Trulli immediately agreed without hesitation, without worrying at all about the Italian old rogue’s tricks.
Because from the beginning to the end, he never considered Chen Xiangbei!
Trulli, seen at this moment first proceeding to fly, is extremely familiar with the characteristics of the Toyota Racing Car, in a certain sense, this TF110 is just an upgraded version of last year’s TF109.
If Toyota hadn’t withdrawn, the bloom and result of the investment might be seen.
At the same time, regarding this Catalonia Circuit, with a career spanning over ten years, Trulli has accumulated at least five thousand kilometers of driving experience.
Every corner, every braking point is very familiar to Trulli.
My "home court," what can the China newcomer bring to challenge?
"NICE, Trulli is pushing hard."
"Haven’t seen for years, Trulli’s speed is still that fast."
"Although Xiangbei has potential, I believe the first driver shouldn’t be handed to a newcomer."
"Trulli’s experience is indeed more important for a new team."
In the pit station, Trulli’s team members, as well as some Renault engineers, couldn’t help but praise.
People are ultimately biased, just like Odetto and others, evidently more inclined towards Chen Xiangbei.
Trulli, after all, spent several years in the Renault Team, and many people were displeased when he left, thinking Briatore was too coldhearted and ruthless, crazily suppressing team veterans to promote Alonso.
Now, gathering again, they still carry the impressions of the past.
Believing Trulli has first-rate veteran competence, capable of bringing better feedback and adjustments to the team.
HRT Racing Cars raced through corner after corner, Trulli indeed truly worthy of his title as a qualifying-type player, brake points and angles were precise and smooth, and his car didn’t show the erratic temperature fluctuations that Chen Xiangbei’s car had.
This implies Trulli is better at adapting to this Racing Car, mastering the balance between squeezing performance and cooling.
Such a performance yielding a good result was entirely reasonable.
Ultimately, when Trulli crossed the starting line, the tracking data of the lap time directly refreshed into the realm of 1 minute 19 seconds.
The actual lap time was 1 minute 19.622 seconds!
Just short by one-tenth of a second, Trulli almost caught last year’s pole position.
"Team, what’s my lap time?"
Whether the drive went well, how fast one drove, the driver can also generally sense it.
When Trulli asked this question, his tone faintly carried a sense of excitement; he already realized this lap would not be slow.
"1 minute 19.622 seconds."
"Great run, Trulli!"
This response wasn’t provided by Hua Bu, but Trulli’s race engineer, Sote, who quickly pressed the voice conversation button on the headset.
