F1: Starting with a Simulator Master

The sound of the torrential rain pounding on the tin roof was no longer background noise, but a deafening roar that dominated everything.

Every raindrop seemed to be trying to smash through the roof.

Inside the P room.

Luo Xiu sat in the cramped cockpit of the racing car.

The moment he fastened his helmet and goggles, the world instantly turned into a silent film.

Until Chen Pengfei's voice, filled with a loud electrical noise, came through the headphones.

"Radio check. One, two, three."

Team Radio, abbreviated as TR, is translated as team radio.

At this time, Luo Xiuzheng was conducting radio communication tests with the team.

It's not the high-fidelity sound quality found in computer games.

The analog signal was accompanied by a hissing sound.

It's like the sound of an old TV channel switching to static when you're a child.

That's the background noise generated by the entire universe.

"Loud and clear."

Luo Xiu's radio control button is on the steering wheel. When he needs to practice with the team, he can press this button to communicate with the team via radio.

Chen Pengfei patted Luo Xiu's helmet, forcing him to raise his head, appearing unusually serious.

In the pit lane, especially when the riders are wearing helmets, Chen Pengfei has to shout at the top of his lungs to get Luo Xiu's attention if he doesn't use a walkie-talkie.

The reason Chen Pengfei, with such a solemn expression, came to Luo Xiu was because of the rain.

Even though he was speaking over the radio, he still wanted to remind Luo Xiu in person.

"This is your first race in the rain, and also your first F4 race. This is just a test. Don't be reckless. Victory is bringing them back safely."

Chen Pengfei's voice pierced through the chaotic static.

"Don't just trust your intuition, also trust the track data I give you."

Several mechanics from the convoy were moving quickly around.

"Tyre pressures set."

"Check the rear wing angle."

Those rapid-fire English instructions were concise and efficient.

This is the official public technical team for F4 SEA.

For them, English is the only language of communication in the paddock.

"Copy" (Received)

This team of technicians can hear each other clearly even in a noisy P-room, demonstrating excellent teamwork.

Even back in professional racing teams in China, the requirement to speak English is quite common, let alone in Sepang.

Because language is an extension of national power.

English has permeated professional racing worldwide for over a century.

Motor racing in China started very late. Although there are more and more racing drivers and races in the country now, there are still not many drivers who can reach the professional level.

Even scarcer than professional drivers are professional racing technical teams and racing technicians.

This requires more time and money to accumulate.

After all, training an individual and training a team are completely different concepts.

China doesn't lack money, but it lacks time.

Even today, many racing teams in China simply pay for Southeast Asian technician teams.

In domestic paddocks, although most people have East Asian faces, it's impossible to be sure what country they are from, so in the pit room, everyone usually speaks English for daily communication.

Luo Xiu quickly switched the language mode in his mind, as smoothly as switching the game interface to English.

He replaced the familiar Chinese word "进站" (meaning "enter the station") with the English word "Box".

Luo Xiu glanced at the data board in Chen Pengfei's hand.

The low-pressure, aggressive settings that were originally designed specifically for the Sepang Straight Road have been crossed out in red.

Instead, a more conservative setting was adopted, which aimed for higher downforce and increased fault tolerance.

The anti-roll bar has been softened, and the angles of the tail wing and canard have been increased.

This is to allow for more weight transfer and body roll when cornering, thus squeezing out more mechanical grip.

The trade-off is that the vehicle's body roll angle will be greater, the vehicle's response speed will be slower, the agility when cornering will be reduced, and the speed will be slower.

Brake ratio, adjust backward by 3%.

This is to prevent the front wheels from locking up on this slippery surface, at the cost of reduced front wheel braking efficiency and longer braking distance.

Increase the tire pressure slightly because the rain has caused low temperatures on the track and in the tires.

Low temperatures cause the initial tire pressure to decrease, and low tire pressure leads to a larger tire contact area, increased resistance, and slower speed.

This series of combined attacks turned the F4 race car, which was originally imagined to be tight, precise, and able to hit any target exactly, into a soft sponge.

For safety reasons, it lacked a sharp edge.

The thought process is synchronized with the car's current performance tuning, simulating various situations after leaving the station.

A few minutes later.

The mechanic removed the jack, and the race car crashed heavily to the ground.

Because F4 regulations strictly prohibit the use of tire heating blankets.

This means that the four brand-new Pirelli rain tires under Luo Xiu's feet were almost as cold as the water on the ground.

There was no warm-up or any additional grip protection.

Once you step out of the station, it's like being forced to eat raw meat, a real battle of wits and strength.

Chen Pengfei patted Luo Xiu's helmet one last time.

"Keep the communications clean. English only. Box, push, gap. Make it short."

The technician pushed the cart and escorted Luo Xiu out of the P room.

The gray-white curtain of rain was getting closer and closer.

"Green light. Go, go, go." (Green light, exit the station, good luck!)

Following Chen Pengfei's command, the engine roared, Luo Xiu released the clutch, and the vehicle started smoothly and drove away from the pit lane.

However, the actual track conditions immediately gave him his first rude awakening.

Just as it exited the repair area, the moment the rear wheel crossed the white line, a huge torque instantly overwhelmed the pitifully little tire grip.

Nourishes—

The engine revs instantly spiked into the red zone, indicating that the tires were spinning freely.

Even someone as skilled as Luo Xiu can slip in unfamiliar environments.

Without the assistance of TC (traction control), this 160-horsepower monster is like tap dancing on an ice rink.

The rear of the car seemed to have a mind of its own, wildly swaying to the right as if trying to put on a solo waltz.

In that instant, time seemed to stretch infinitely through Luo Xiu's senses.

The steering wheel in Luo Xiu's hands suddenly became light and airy. The original tight damping feeling disappeared as if the power had been cut off. This was a signal that the steering wheel had lost its force feedback, which meant that the rear wheels had lost physical grip.

If it were an ordinary novice F4 driver, their instinctive reaction at this moment would be to ease off the accelerator or counter-attack with a heavy foot, inevitably resulting in a crash into the wall after a pendulum effect.

But in Luo Xiu's racing world, such unexpected loss of control is also within his control.

His wrist is like a precision servo motor, completing the counter-steering motion in 0.1 seconds with an accuracy down to the millimeter.

At the same time, the right foot did not completely release the accelerator, but made subtle adjustments on the accelerator pedal, successfully retaining that tiny bit of traction.

Successfully avoids drastic shifts in the vehicle's center of gravity, commonly known as avoiding a gyroscope effect.

At that moment, the feedback force transmitted from the fingertips was no longer an analog signal, but a real physical game.

The car body shook violently, as if held down by an invisible hand, and forcibly pulled back to the driving line.

They've been saved.

"Slippery as hell."

After the car returned, Luo Xiu felt a lingering fear and couldn't help but mutter something in the TR.

The Mind Palace also updates the status of the track and race cars in real time.

At this moment, Luo Xiu's understanding of the track was no different from that of the other drivers; the water level on the track was unknown to everyone.

The real nightmare began.