In the face of Charlie's expectations, Zhang Yifei nodded solemnly, he was also waiting for this opportunity to let the world see the peak strength of Chinese drivers!

The conversation between Zhang Yifei and Charlie standing in front of the garage door was vaguely heard by the McLaren strategy team next to him, because the two garages were too close, and Charlie's emotions were a little excited later, and he spoke a little louder.

"BOSS, it seems that this year's Prost team is determined to win the opening game."

Team manager Whitmarsh opened his mouth to speak, with a more solemn expression on his face, because this year's winter speed test, McLaren Racing can be described as a complete collapse.

David Coulthard, who had high expectations, fell directly to 11th place, which is an unthinkable result. Last year, Coulthard was the world runner-up, and the top driver who competed with Schumacher, why did he perform so poorly in the winter test?

Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand, exceeded the team's expectations, finishing eighth in the winter test. This result is not top-notch, at most it is at the middle and upper level, but you must know that at the end of last season, the team almost drove Kimi.

It was a surprise that a driver who didn't expect much was running the team's best.

However, this does not change the overall situation, because McLaren is not a small player, but the only top team that has stood in the Big Three for more than a decade and is qualified to compete with Ferrari.

An eighth, an eleventh result may be said to have set the McLaren team's worst record in the history of winter testing.

McLaren's board of directors has put a lot of pressure on the team's management to finish in the top three in the new season, otherwise the team's management will have a big change next year.

In previous years, it was enough to keep an eye on Ferrari and Williams, but this year there is another Prost team, and Renault is eyeing it. So hearing the conversation between Charlie and Zhang Yifei, Whitmarsh felt very uncomfortable.

"Prost is certainly confident, they signed Driver Fei last year, but Peugeot broke the contract only to be a blessing in disguise and bought the strongest Ferrari engine."

"This year, I signed a Spanish driver who was not even looked down upon by the Minardi team, but he was able to run a seventh lap in the winter test, and all kinds of operations were like God blessed, so it is strange that I didn't have the confidence to win the opening race."

McLaren team chairman Dennis, after finishing speaking, sighed heavily, he was really a little jealous of Prost's shit luck, and it took two years to build a team at the bottom into the current giant.

"BOSS, there's no need to be discouraged, our MP4-17 car is not inferior to Prost's AP05 car. And Kuthard is just a matter of form, the strength is still there, and the potential of the winter test Kimi is also starting to explode, and the situation is not so bad. ”

Team designer Adrian Nevey comforted the fact that the F1 paddock genius was confident that he had led the design of the MP4-17, and that the eighth-fastest speed ranking this year was definitely not the car's true performance.

Nuvey even thinks that even if it encounters the "Mars rover", the MP4-17 has the strength to fight the other party!

"That's right, boss, in fact, our situation is not that bad."

Whitmarsh also comforted him by saying that the more difficult the time, the more important it is to keep faith.

"You don't have to comfort me, I'll always have confidence in the drivers and the team!"

Dennis replied with a smile, his face showing his previous discouragement, because he knew that he could not show any frustration under any circumstances, which would affect the confidence of the whole team.

And, as Nuvey said, McLaren's new car is not bad, far from being unbeatable. Last year, Zhang Yifei drove a "tractor", and the rookie season was able to run two sub-station championships, and McLaren's new car can not be as good as last year's Prost "tractor"?

In addition, Coulthard was a little depressed because of the failure to win the championship, so the poor state of the winter test does not mean that he has no strength. Kimi is also much better than last year, with the quality to compete with the drivers in the front row, maybe the winter test results are the darkest moments, but the future is definitely bright!

It's just that after comforting himself like this, Dennis still has a question in his heart that can't be suppressed, that is, is Coulthard really just a state problem?

Zhang Yifei didn't know what McLaren's strategy team was discussing next to him, because after he watched the car, he had already walked into the pit control area with Alonso, and discussed the preliminary tuning and strategy of the car with Kossel and Kode.

"The layout of the track in Singapore, I'm sure you're already very clear on the simulator. As a low-speed, multi-bend track on the street, the requirements for car grip are particularly high, and it is very difficult to overtake on narrow tracks. ”

"That's why I recommend starting on the super soft tyres and then stopping and switching to the soft tyres to finish the race."

Korcel said his strategy, because in street races like Monaco or Singapore, the overtaking environment is not very good, it is difficult to overtake once you fall behind, and because there is not enough buffer zone, overtaking is much riskier than on a normal track.

Therefore, minimizing the number of stops and adopting tire-preserving tactics is the mainstream street race strategy.

Regarding Kossel's tactical arrangement, Zhang Yifei and Alonso both nodded and did not have any objections.

Seeing that Zhang Yifei and Alonso had no opinion on the one-stop tactic, Korsell continued.

"It's a brand new track, so there's no setting experience, according to the data given by the simulator, this track has very high requirements for the braking system, so the brake cooling system is especially crucial, you have to pay attention to the braking system temperature at all times during the race to ensure that it is within the normal working range."

"In terms of engine tuning, it is less necessary to open the full throttle valve (the standard term for lifting engine restrictions), and the pressure on the engine is reduced. However, with continuous acceleration and deceleration, the frequency of gearbox shifts will surge, so the stability and low-speed torque of the gearbox are very important, and the team technicians will make preliminary adjustments, and the specific race adjustment will wait for the track feedback before making a decision. ”

"In addition, the maximum downforce adjustment of the car's suspension system is tentative, and we also need to wait for the feedback data from the track to make a final decision."

After talking about the car tuning, Kossel concluded: "It's a new track, all the tuning is based on experience, and it may not be the perfect solution." ”

"If you want to fit the track better, you're going to need to get the best of the car in three practice sessions."

In the face of Coser's instructions, Zhang Yifei nodded and replied, "I know." ”

He understands what Kossel means, and without any setting experience, he values the driver's understanding of the track and feedback.

"I'm fine."

Alonso replied very strongly, since Zhang Yifei didn't say anything, he wouldn't have a problem.

"Very good, let's go to the lounge to change into racing clothes and get ready, the first practice session will officially start at seven o'clock in the evening, and the second practice session will be at half past nine in the evening."

Back in the lounge, Zhang Yifei and Alonso sat on the sofa, just like when they faced Alessi before, basically nothing to say.

It's just that unlike Alessi's own silent personality, Alonso doesn't talk a lot, but the opposition of the identities of the two people, as well as their arrogant and confident attitudes, are often in a silent contest.

This silent scene is not only present in the Championship Lounge, but also in the Renault Stadium.

Helio and Barton sat on the sofa like two sculptures, and even the air could feel a chill.

The reason why Helio didn't speak was simple, that is, he was always arrogant and disdained to say nonsense. As for Barton, he actually has a good personality, at least he can get along very well, but the expression on his face at the moment is also very indifferent.

The reason for Barton's attitude was that after the winter test, the team set Helio as the number one driver and he became the number two driver.

Normally, when a newcomer joins the team, he starts as the No. 2 driver. Unless it is a well-known driver who has transferred, no matter how good the results outside the F1 paddock are, you must also give the team's seniors a little face, and be a junior brother for at least a year.

But this time, in the face of the amazing lap time run by Helio in the winter testing stage, the Renault management directly positioned Helio as the No. 1 driver, and all the resources were tilted towards him.

If this is the case, Barton will probably put up with it, after all, he is not a driver with a lot of personality, otherwise he would not be called the most non-existent WDC (F1 World Champion abbreviation) in F1.

The problem is that after Helio became the No. 1 driver, he kicked his nose directly in the face and unceremoniously let Barton act as a wingman to serve himself in all aspects!

Even if the team's "veteran" becomes the No. 2 driver, Helio ruthlessly makes himself a wingman, and Barton can't bear his temper no matter how bad he is. What's more, Barton's performance in this year's winter test was also amazing, running the sixth fastest lap, beating Alonso, Kimi, Massa and other well-known newcomers, and the result was to be trampled on the head.

It can only be said that the world is impermanent, who would have thought that the future world champion driver would be inappropriately looked upon by an Indy driver at this moment!

It is precisely because of this estrangement that the relationship between Helio and Barton is very stiff, and they belong to the kind that has nothing to say at all. If it weren't for Barton's lack of violent tendencies, he would probably have recreated the lounge boxing show between Heidfield and Alessy!

However, for Barton's angry attitude, Helio showed no concern.

In the Indy paddock, even the senior driver who is also a world champion did not pay attention to Helio. You are a Barton rookie, and letting you be a wingman is to give you face, and you actually give me a face, really give you face?