[WOW~~~!]

Exclamations and gasps echoed one after another. The audience had been listening to the commentators joking about the race, thinking it was already impressive for the Chinese rookie to break into the top ten. Who would have thought he'd soar straight to the top?

"MY GOD, is this lap time really set by a Chinese driver? It's unbelievable!"

"Since when did China have a rookie of this caliber? Don't they lack a proper racing system?"

"The Chinese guy is a driver trained by Honda."

"The issue is, even the Japanese drivers trained by Honda aren't that impressive."

As this spectator finished speaking, Kobayashi Shuji's lap time appeared on the leaderboard.

1 minute 58.278 seconds.

Kobayashi Shuji was the only racer who knew Chen Xiangbei's practice lap times.

He wasn't dismissive or underestimated him; he pushed with all his might during the qualifiers, achieving his best time in the entry-level formula at Silverstone Circuit.

Even so, he was still 0.4 seconds slower than Chen Xiangbei!

Sometimes the gap in skill is like an insurmountable mountain, no matter how hard you try, you just can't overcome it.

Kobayashi Shuji never thought that the Chinese opponent, who joined temporarily, would be so strong that he couldn't be beaten.

Clearly, after Kamui Kobayashi, the next rising star in Asia should have been him!

Kobayashi Shuji's lap time seemed to validate the discussion in the stands. Honda indeed trained Chen Xiangbei, but his current skill and speed weren't entirely due to Honda.

"Oh crazy, the Chinese driver Xiangbei temporarily leads the qualifying leaderboard; he's only 0.4 seconds away from the track record set by Schumacher. This performance far exceeded pre-race expectations!"

Commentator James exclaimed in awe.

Immediately, he turned to his partner and asked: "Mike, earlier you said the Chinese driver's ceiling was the top ten, now Xiangbei is the fastest lap, do you have any explanation for that?"

Faced with his partner's teasing tone, Mike looked slightly embarrassed.

He had thought he might get proven wrong, but he never expected Chen Xiangbei to climb to the top of the leaderboard.

What does it mean to be at the top on your debut race? Even in Japan's history with nearly twenty F1 Drivers, none have achieved such a feat!

Moreover, this Renault European Cup is not weak; Magnus, Vergne, and Costa, every one of them dominated their karting careers.

Especially Magnussen and Vergne, one is the son of former F1 driver Jan Magnussen, who was exposed to karting at the age of two, truly hailing from a racing family.

The other is the son of an automotive giant, who directly bought land to build his karting track. When others were just starting, Vergne was already nearing the finish line.

And yet, with such a background, they could still be taken by surprise by the Chinese rookie at the top?

While Mike found it incredible, he was also somewhat unconvinced.

Under normal circumstances before, he might have joked a bit and let it pass. The European and American commentary style is inherently humorous and exaggerated, and failed predictions are quite common.

Back when Yao Ming entered the NBA, commentator Barkley doubted him immensely, claiming he'd be nothing more than a "bust first pick." He even bet that if Yao scored 19 points in a game, he'd kiss a donkey's butt.

Afterward, it was mostly remembered as a humorous anecdote, with no one taking it seriously.

But this time, Mike was visibly agitated by Chen Xiangbei's performance, stubbornly insisting on his judgment: "The qualifying session isn't over yet, being on top isn't the final pole position result, I believe a faster lap will appear."

"But such laps won't appear five times."

James replied playfully, also believing there's a high possibility of a lap faster than Chen Xiangbei's.

But Mike's initial prediction was that Chen Xiangbei couldn't break into the top five of the qualifiers!

Chen Xiangbei's lap time of 1 minute 57.875 seconds was already quite astonishing. For five more drivers to exceed this, even the pole record set by King of Cars Schumacher might not hold.

Faced with this statement, Mike was speechless.

Even if the qualifiers weren't over, the Chinese rookie could still make it into the top five based on this lap time.

Could it be that an Asian prodigy is truly going to shine on the European circuit?

After completing this flying lap on the track, Chen Xiangbei did not inquire about his lap time from the pit. He directly went full throttle across the line to start his second flying lap.

He might not be very familiar with the other drivers competing, but he knew Magnussen's style too well. This guy is the quintessential extraordinarily strong single-lap driver, capable of going toe-to-toe with world champions during peak qualifying laps.

The reason Magnussen has long been mid-lower tier in the F1 Paddock isn't that he's slow, but due to shortcomings in endurance and wheel-to-wheel clumsiness.

The V-shaped overtake at T7 just now, Magnussen absolutely won't let that slide. Once the tires warm up, he'll definitely push all out to reclaim dominance!

"Xiangbei-kun, are you going for two consecutive laps?"

Sawano Hiroyuki's inquiry came through the TR, with the team monitoring the race data observing that Chen Xiangbei showed no sign of slowing down, still accelerating at full power.

"Yes, I want to use ultra-light fuel to pull off an even faster lap."

"Xiangbei, due to your previous lock-up, the tires have considerable wear; pushing for another lap carries substantial risk."

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