"MY GOD, is this the speed of the Chinese rookie?"

Seeing the data in front of him, the McLaren Team engineer let out a cry of surprise.

Others might not be aware of the speed of McLaren's "Silver Arrow," but as engineers, they certainly were!

This champion car's overall performance had fluctuated between the fastest and second fastest in the paddock last year, with only the Ferrari Team's F2008 able to compete with it, while Honda's "tractor" RA108 didn't even qualify to be a contender.

Besides, although Paffett historically never entered F1, he was definitely no rookie!

He had swept through karting in his early years and claimed the most prestigious UK F3 championship in lower formula racing.

After transitioning to touring cars due to financial constraints, he immediately won the most prestigious German DTM championship of this era.

With his amazing talent and adaptability, Paffett caught the eye of the McLaren Team, and for the past few years, he's been "part-time" serving as a test driver.

According to the timeline, it's indeed Paffett's first time test-driving the McLaren MP4-23, but it's not his first time driving an F1 car.

In terms of experience and testing mileage, Chen Xiangbei can't compare even if he had a cheat code, and he also doesn't count as a true rookie.

According to the judgment standards of McLaren engineers, if Paffett couldn't achieve a lap time at least 1 second faster than a complete newbie rookie while test-driving the McLaren champion car, it meant he had essentially lost to his opponent.

Not to mention he's now trailing by 0.3 seconds!

The adaptability shown by Chinese rookie Chen Xiangbei to F1 cars is simply unbelievable.

"Impossible, the RA108 can't achieve this speed."

Paffett immediately shook his head in denial; a driver's talent upper limit is hard to measure but the performance upper limit of a car has hard data.

Unless a recent super rookie like Raikkonen, Hamilton, or Vettel were driving it, the RA108, one of the slowest in the paddock, would never achieve a lap time of 1:27.552.

Perhaps even the Chinese rookie, Xiangbei, wouldn't dare to compare himself to Raikkonen and Hamilton, would he?

Upon hearing Paffett's words, the McLaren race engineer found some sense in them.

He then said to the data analyst next to him, "Miller, check if the track sensors are working properly."

A lap time that defies logical expectations is likely due to an error in the detection equipment.

On the track, after completing one lap, Chen Xiangbei almost immediately began his second flying lap.

The thrill of speed from the F1 car had already driven him into a state of "frenzied excitement." Chen Xiangbei was eagerly looking forward to challenging his limits!

Chen Xiangbei had always harbored some doubt in his heart; the achievements he had made and the speeds he had reached—were they the result of his talent or the experience from his past life?

In lower-level formula races, experience and effort often play a decisive role.

After all, most people hardly put in enough effort to even count on their talent!

But at F1's level, the "Domain of the Gods," experience and effort at most guarantee your floor, while talent defines the ceiling of a racer.

Sometimes, you have to admit that facing true super geniuses, no matter how hard you work, it might all be in vain.

Chen Xiangbei knows that in this life, his sense of the car and his talent surpass his somewhat "mediocre" past self.

He can judge this from his perception of the car; he can clearly capture energy changes even with slight tire slips and body swings, a sense that drivers with low talent do not possess.

But just how high his talent is, and whether it can overshadow his past life's "experience," Chen Xiangbei doesn't have an answer.

The RA108 he's driving today is tantamount to a touchstone for Chen Xiangbei.

He plans to use the test drive to test the limits of his talent!

The roar of the RA108's engine soared to the sky as Chen Xiangbei's speed visibly increased.

At the end of the long main straight past the starting line, the speedometer on the steering wheel's LCD showed 320 km/h!

Bear in mind, the F3 cars Chen Xiangbei previously drove had a top speed of only 280 km/h, and it was difficult to reach those speeds in actual races.

Undoubtedly, Chen Xiangbei was experiencing speeds he had never felt before.

"Senior Sawano, Xiangbei-kun's speed is dangerous."

Mizutani Sho couldn't help but voice a reminder since he could already sense Chen Xiangbei's intention to push the limits.

For a rookie test driver who has just come into contact with F1 cars, this mindset is too aggressive and reckless.

Listening to Mizutani Sho's reminder, Sawano Hiroyuki instinctively glanced at Odetto.

The team leader stood with his arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the broadcast screen, showing no intention of pressing the communication button.

Since Odetto hadn't made a statement, Sawano Hiroyuki didn't want to overstep by issuing an order himself, so he had to forcibly suppress his inner tension and anxiety.

Actually, Odetto's inaction did not imply he was composed; on the contrary, he also disapproved of Chen Xiangbei challenging himself so quickly.

However, having been in the F1 paddock for so many years, Odetto has rich experience with rookie test drives. He knows that at this moment, Chen Xiangbei is in an extremely focused state, and any noise could cause serious interference or even unpredictable consequences.

It's like when a regular person is concentrating intensely on something; suddenly, someone makes a noise beside them.

At worst, they will break out of their focused state; at worst, they might get startled!

Odetto knows Chen Xiangbei is so emotionally stable that there's no risk of being scared into panic.

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