"Do you have any problems with this new car?"

Korcel stood next to Zhang Yifei, looked at the Dallara car in front of him and asked.

"No problem."

Zhang Yifei still gave a positive answer, in fact, it is also fate, when Zhang Yifei was training in go-karts on Hong Kong Island, the frame that Lu Shutuo brought back from Italy was made by Dallara's company, and it is also the world's top go-kart frame.

"It's fine."

Corell nodded, but he didn't think it was a big deal.

The car's aerodynamic layout and handling are almost identical to those of previous Renault cars, with little need for adaptation.

You must know that many F3 events use junior formula cars provided by Renault or Ford, but the power is changed. If even this change is difficult for Zhang Yifei to adapt to, it means that he does not have enough strength.

"That's right, this time the F3 car opted for super-soft tyres and high downforce tuning. In the second half of the practice session, you should pay more attention to the change in the grip of the tires, and if the decline is too fast, you should consider changing the tires in the main race. ”

"Well, I understand."

Zhang Yifei used ultra-soft tires once before, and the effect was not bad. However, because the Guia Circuit is a street race, the asphalt standard of the road surface is not up to the track level, and it is an ordinary road, and the roughness is far higher than that of a professional track.

In such a road environment, the wear rate of ultra-soft tires is greater than that of professional tracks.

Under normal circumstances, the ultra-soft tires run for half an hour on the professional track, which may be barely enough, and even if the grip decreases in the later stage, it does not become gripless all of a sudden, and there is a process of attenuation.

However, if the tire wall is too thin in the later stage of the rough road, it is not only a problem of grip, but also a certain risk of puncture. There has been more than one puncture on the Guia Circuit, and Kosell has to take that risk into account.

After Cosell instructed a few words, he didn't say anything more, because Zhang Yifei is not a rookie now, and he knows a lot of things in his heart.

As a young driver grows up, Korcel should slowly return to his role as a race engineer, rather than instructing Zhang Yifei on how to drive, as the previous "coach" did.

As the time for the game began to approach, the spectators on both sides of the road and in the stands could already be described as "full".

The Grand Prix itself is the only racing event in Hong Kong and Macau, so at this time of year, people from Hong Kong and Macau come to watch the action.

Because only when you come to the scene, feel the speed of the car whizzing by at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour, and listen to the roar of the engine, can you truly appreciate the speed and passion brought by motorsports.

This year's popularity is even more than before, because Zhang Yifei's announcement of the competition, even many mainland spectators and fans have come to the Guia Circuit.

In the past, Zhang Yifei's name was just a name on TV for mainland audiences. They have not seen Zhang Yifei racing, and even Zhang Yifei has not run a professional event in China.

Just like being born out of nowhere, when CCTV reported it, many people knew that we also have such a strong formula driver in China, and he entered the F1 team in a miraculous way.

This time, Zhang Yifei flew to Ao Island to participate in the Grand Prix, and for many mainland fans and supporters, they will have the opportunity to witness with their own eyes what kind of strength the strongest driver in China can show against the world's top F3 drivers on the most dangerous track in Asia!

So today's main stand can be described as a piece of Chinese red, dyeing the Grand Prix into Zhang Yifei's home field.

"Phineas, the Grand Prix, you're going to win."

Ah Hu looked at the supporters in the audience, and said to Zhang Yifei in a serious tone, which was not at all his heartless style in the past.

"Of course, on our turf, I have to win."

Zhang Yifei replied with a pun, there are less than two months before the return of Ao Island, which is naturally China's territory.

Ah Hu has always been relatively simple-minded, but this time he understood the meaning behind Zhang Yifei's words, and replied in a firm tone.

"Yes, this is our territory."

Looking at Ah Hu's serious appearance, Zhang Yifei patted his mind and a smile appeared on his face.

Zhang Yifei knows what kind of results these viewers want to see, and he can only say that the 50-year history of the Grand Prix, and the history of not having a Chinese champion driver on his own turf should be a thing of the past.

At 8:40 a.m., after the pre-race special, it's time to get ready to get on the track.

Because of the special structure of the Guia Circuit, all the cars are assembled and started in the maintenance lane, and there are many fewer steps, so the time is also very calm.

Zhang Yifei has changed into a full set of racing suits, and unlike before, this time he has the LOGO of the Guo Group on his chest. For formula drivers, the commercial logo on the racing suit is not only a simple representation of advertising and sponsorship income, but also a proof of strength.

Only a strong driver will have so many manufacturers recognize his commercial value.

However, the body of the car was not printed with the Prost team logo and the business logo of the Kwok Group.

Because Zhang Yifei participated as a purely self-funded driver this time, and did not receive the sponsorship of the Prost team. And at this moment, the Prost team is estimated to have no ability to provide Zhang Yifei with any technical support, so there is naturally no need to print the Prost team logo.

Even the logo of the Prost team is not printed, and the two million US dollars of the Guo Group's team sponsorship fee has nothing to do with Zhang Yifei, so the car is still the original one.

In an event of this level of F3, there are basically few purely self-funded drivers to participate, so like Zhang Yifei, who maintains the original state and does not have all kinds of bells and whistles, can be regarded as an "outlier" on the track.

Sitting in the Dallara car, Zhang Yifei didn't feel anything uncomfortable, just like his previous Renault car.

After he gestured OK to the team members, Ah Hu and Chen Zhi directly pushed the car to the parking space of the pit lane. After all, this is a total distance of less than ten meters, and there is really no need to be so troublesome about ignition.

The other drivers in the P room, basically the same as Zhang Yifei's actions, the originally slightly empty pit lane, suddenly became crowded. The racing girl dressed as sexy and hot is also holding various signs and standing in front of the formula car.

As Zhang Yifei's car pushed from the P room to the starting area, the spectators in the main stand let out loud cheers.

Zhang Yifei did not put down the mask at the moment, and when he heard the cheers from the audience, he also waved his hand in the direction of the stands to say hello.

However, in addition to Zhang Yifei, several other drivers also received cheers from the audience, and one of them had a voice that was not weaker than Zhang Yifei at all, and even vaguely exceeded the taste.

This driver is the native of Ao Island, who is a Portuguese but born and raised on Ao Island. Compared with Zhang Yifei's first competition, the audience in Hong Kong and Macao is more familiar with him, and in a sense, this is his real home field.

So there is this strange scene on the track, two drivers of completely different nationalities, standing on the same track, but both claiming to be fighting at home.

The Grand Prix is very tight on time because there are three different types of events in a day. In addition to the regular tryouts (qualifying), there is also an additional practice match today.

You must know that in general F1 races, a race takes three days, Friday's practice session, Saturday's qualifying, and weekend's race.

The Grand Prix, which is only an F3 event, cannot do the complete process of F1 racing. In addition, there is an important point that in a tourist and gambling city like Ao Island, long-term road closures will bring a lot of inconvenience, and the schedule is very streamlined.

So today from 8 to 9 o'clock, there will be a combination of practice and qualifying. At the end of the Drivers' Practice session, there will be a pit stop for tyre changes, after which the fastest lap times will be counted, and the top 20 drivers will qualify for tomorrow's race.

At this point, the process is similar to that of Formula Renault, except that there is an additional practice session and the process of pit stop tire change.

Compared with other drivers who are supported by professional teams, Zhang Yifei's team only has two technicians, Ah Hu and Chen Zhi, and the delay in the tire change time is likely to cause him to run one less lap of qualifying in the limited time.

However, these are not too affected, after all, the fastest lap in half an hour, the last lap of the tire grip is reduced, and it is difficult to run the fastest lap under normal circumstances.

At 8:55 a.m., five minutes before the start of the practice session, the race girls on the field, photographers and other unrelated personnel began to evacuate the pit area. At the same time, the team technicians were holding external ignitions, connecting the ignition port located at the rear of the car, ready to start the car.

"The power is normal."

"The tire pressure is normal."

"The oil is fine."

Ah Hu and Chen Zhi constantly report the car data to Kossel, and in the absence of the team's chief technician, the race engineer is the overall decision-maker of the car's condition.

"Ignition."

Cowel gave instructions to Zhang Yifei, only to hear the sound of a roaring engine turning, and the Dallara racing engine was successfully started.

"Yifei-kun, come on."

"Phineas, get the pole position!"

"Fly, let go and run."

Before the team members left, they cheered for Zhang Yifei, and after experiencing the run-in of the Renault event, the biggest change is that the team's self-confidence has improved a lot.

Even the most conservative Yamamoto Ukyo, he is full of confidence that Zhang Yifei can win the Ao Island Grand Prix!