In practice races, traffic conditions are often worse than in qualifying.

The reason is simple: during a qualifying lap, slow cars ahead must voluntarily yield the racing line. If they maliciously block, they will face post-race penalties from the FIA.

Though the FIA regulations on blocking in this era are far less detailed and strict than they will be in a decade,

having them versus not having them makes a fundamental difference!

Chen Xiangbei achieving a lap speed of 2 minutes 9.926 seconds in practice means that, if everything goes well in qualifying, he has a great chance to break the Grand Prix F3 pole record.

The last driver who could achieve this was Lewis Hamilton.

He is now regarded as a historical-level rookie, having joined the championship race in F1 in 2007 and directly becoming the new world champion in 2008. The shock he brought to the outside world was no less than the triple jump of Kimi Raikkonen, and one could even say he was superior in terms of achievements!

That's why, when people saw Chen Xiangbei's surprising lap time in practice that came incredibly close to the record created by the new world champion, the supporters and audience at the scene were completely bewildered.

Could it be that a Chinese F3 rookie formula driver can really challenge the track record of a historical European genius?

"Damn, is this the true strength of an F1 test driver?"

"Who just said Chen Xiangbei was signed because of money? Come out and say something!"

"No wonder he's called 'Car God North'; everyone thought he had no chance, but he came from behind."

"It feels like the Grand Prix F3 record being written by a Chinese driver is just a matter of time!"

The street and grandstand crowds erupted into cheers, and the race engineers in the pits were left speechless with shock.

They actually suspected that Chen Xiangbei was feigning his speed. In a normal situation, if an F1 team signs you, even if you have some special 'money power,' if your skill is too weak, you would still be rejected.

Chen Xiangbei couldn't even make it into the top fifteen in the F3 practice race, which either meant the Brown GP Team was blind or that there was a huge weakness in city circuit racing.

Just like many F1 drivers, who have the title of "dry ducks," cannot adapt to rain races no matter what.

However, Chen Xiangbei had been making car adjustments all along, and, coupled with the fact that his racing line was indeed problematic before, as practice neared its end, there was a subtle consensus reached among other team engineers.

This Chinese driver should belong to the latter category, having not been exposed to street races and thus possessing significant technical weaknesses. Even if he was hiding something, it wouldn't be much.

Who would have thought that after Chen Xiangbei pitted, he would run such an exaggerated lap. Was there a need to be so slow before?

Immediately, strategy engineers from various teams had the same thought in their minds again.

Was Chen Xiangbei's lap due to his real strength or an extraordinary performance?

At the moment, no one knows the answer. After completing this lap, Chen Xiangbei didn't continue practicing but directly drove into the pit lane to stop.

"Sawano, what was the speed of this lap?"

During the pit lane speed limit process, Chen Xiangbei asked a question via TR.

"2 minutes 9.926 seconds."

Sawano Hiroyuki suppressed his excited emotions and reported his current lap speed.

"Not bad."

[Just not bad?]

The people in the P room looked at each other blankly, wondering if Chen Xiangbei hadn't remembered the track record after looking at so much East Bay Circuit information?

"Xiangbei-kun, do you know?"

"This lap was only 0.05 seconds away from Hamilton's pole record!"

Mizutani Sho couldn't resist reminding.

Even putting aside Hamilton's new F1 world champion status, the gold content of just the Grand Prix F3 pole record is already at the top of the world F3 events.

"Hmm, I know."

Chen Xiangbei's tone remained calm.

The level of Hamilton's pole record is undoubtedly high; not to say it can be surpassed, but just approaching it falls within the realm of top racing talent.

However, it is ultimately a record set during the F3 period, and drivers are constantly improving.

Compared to driving a Renault car, putting aside electronic control and mechanical differences, Chen Xiangbei is actually more familiar with and adapted to F3, as only starting from this level counts as an official FIA tier event, with many driving and control sensations being common.

If it weren't for an unexpected control failure, Chen Xiangbei's goal for himself was to break Hamilton's F3 period record!

"Xiangbei-kun, since you know, why did you..."

Mizutani Sho whispered through the TR but didn't complete his sentence.

Having interacted with Chen Xiangbei for more than half a year, he was already very familiar with his personality to a certain extent.

Emotional stability is the biggest feature of Chen Xiangbei that sets him apart from other young drivers.

However, upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei still gave an answer.

"Mizutani, because lower-tier formula records are meant to be broken."

Upon hearing this familiar phrase, a smile of understanding appeared on Odetto's face.

This kid has really grasped the essence!

The F3 racing car stopped at the pit entrance, and while unbuckling the seatbelt, Chen Xiangbei also gave feedback on several car adjustment details.

Liang Chi and the others said nothing, hastily made changes before the end of the practice race to avoid an FIA investigation for overtime.

After the F3 practice race ends, next is the GT prototype car practice session, and finally, the motorcycle race practice, allowing on-site audiences to enjoy three completely different types of races without interruption.

As for Chen Xiangbei, he had no leisure to stay in the P room to enjoy; after changing out of his racing suit, he returned to the hotel discreetly, went to the conference room, and opened the passing footage of Nakajima Ikki, comparing it with the track features in his mind.

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