F1: Starting with a Simulator Master

Temperatures have fluctuated wildly over the past hour.

There are 15 minutes left in the second free practice session.

Most of the racing cars have returned to the pit lane, either for tuning or analyzing data.

The rain had stopped on the asphalt surface of the Sepang circuit.

Instead, it is replaced by the intense sunlight unique to the equatorial region.

The rain has stopped and the sky is clear.

What might be a beautiful sight for tourists is, in the eyes of drivers, the most disgusting steam room mode.

The water on the track surface evaporated rapidly under the scorching sun, and white water vapor rose like ghosts from the cracks in the black asphalt.

The uneven heating of the air caused optical distortion, and the T1 bend in the distance swayed in the heat wave, like an unreal mirage.

Inside the P room, the stuffiness was suffocating, like stepping into a giant sauna.

Luo Xiu sat in the cockpit, sweat trickling down the edge of his fireproof mask.

But his eyes, through his water-drenched goggles, were fixed intently on the track leading to the exit of the pit lane.

The road surface is undergoing visible changes.

The track, which was originally completely wet, now has a faint gray-white track.

That's the racing line.

The race cars that had sped past swept away the water, and the exhaust heat from their engines caused the narrow road, which was only one car's width wide, to dry out first.

On either side of it, there was still dark wetland, with water even accumulating in the shoulders and buffer zones.

"Slicks. Now."

Luo Xiu pressed the radio button, his tone calm.

On the other end of the headset, Chen Pengfei's hand stopped on the microphone switch.

Should I change to a dry tire?

On this track where only one line is dry, and you'll slide off the track if you deviate by even half a meter, how do you change to dry tires?

This is a typical "intersection".

This refers to the transitional phase where the track surface conditions change from wet to dry, or from dry to wet.

This is the time period that all team managers hate the most.

Because it's very possible that any strategy or vehicle setting will be flawed.

This is a game of strategy, but even more so, a gamble of courage.

"Copy." (Received)

Chen Pengfei finally pressed the call button, no longer worrying about when Luo Xiu would hit a wall.

Even if an accident does occur, it might be a test for Luo Xiu.

"That kid has some nerve."

The technicians received the order to change the tire. Although they were somewhat surprised by this radical decision, they carried it out quickly.

The P room instantly became bustling with activity.

The technicians didn't even use a trolley; they just carried out four smooth, bald tires.

The F4 didn't have a tire warming blanket, and although the four tires were exposed to the sun for a short while, their surface temperature was still far from reaching the optimal operating temperature.

At this moment, the surrounding P rooms also erupted in chaos.

Seeing Luo Xiu, the first-place finisher in practice, pit to change to dry tires, those drivers who were still hesitant or eager to prove themselves instantly became restless.

"Is he on slicks? Get me slicks too!"

"Box! Box now!"

A feeling called "FOMO" (fear of missing out) is spreading in the repair area.

This is the herd effect at racetracks.

When the lead sheep decides to jump off a cliff, the rest of the flock only worry about not jumping gracefully enough.

Luo Xiu exited the station.

When Pirelli slick tires come into contact with a semi-dry road surface, they have almost no grip.

The rear of the car wiggled restlessly, as if it had been smeared with oil.

Luo Xiu quickly made corrections with both hands on the steering wheel.

In coordination with changes in throttle, each correction was made in a small amount, as if soothing a raging beast.

Behind him, the flock of sheep that followed, having switched to dry tires, did not have such good micro-management skills.

A brightly painted yellow-green race car had just rushed out of the pit lane, its rear wheels only slightly touching a little bit of the still-wet white line water.

Nourishes—

The tires immediately slipped.

Without any warning, the car seemed to be given a hard shove, instantly creating a pendulum effect, drawing several huge spiral tire tracks on the track, and then the rear of the car slammed heavily against the guardrail.

Carbon fiber fragments flew like raindrops.

It hasn't even reached Turn 1 yet.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiu's race car was driving smoothly on the only dry tire lane.

In the vision of the temple of thought, the originally complex track was rendered in the ultimate black and white.

The black areas on either side are wetlands, a death abyss.

The white line is the dry tire line in the middle, the path to survival.

This road is less than two meters wide most of the time.

At certain bends, the road can narrow to less than a meter due to the road surface angle and vehicle speed.

Luo Xiu is currently like an acrobat walking on a tightrope, but fortunately everything is going smoothly so far.

His four wheels rolled precisely along the white line.

Entering the corner, cutting into the apex, exiting the corner—at this moment, the track is not only a competition of speed, but also a test of precision.

On the high-speed corner of T3, his left rear wheel was on the edge of the wet/dry dividing line, less than 5 centimeters from the deadly puddle.

If he had steered even a millimeter too far in the wrong direction, he would have been stuck on the grass.

But he didn't.

Not only did he avoid mistakes, but thanks to the deliberate water-clearing route he had taken with rain tires, the dry tire lane was actually a little wider than others thought in some sections of the road.

That was the back door he left for himself.

The checkered flag waved before the finish line.

The timer screen flickered.

2: 10.491.

The data for another track in the Mind Hall has been updated—the Sepang track proficiency has reached 100%.

On this semi-dry, semi-wet track with many people climbing the walls, Luo Xiu achieved a brilliant purple score.

It was a full 12 and a half seconds faster than the fastest lap on the wet tires in the first practice session.

Inside the pit crew room, the previously noisy sounds of tire installation hammers and technicians shouting all stopped.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the terrifying time difference on the screen.

The shock wasn't just because it was fast.

Rather, it was because of the precise, calm control he displayed under such road conditions, and the speed that pushed the limits.

"So fucking crazy!"

This is what the track technicians keep saying when they talk about Luo Xiu.

Maintenance area rest area.

Xu Zihao lay listlessly on the sofa, having become desensitized to Luo Xiu's constant brushing of purple.

After all, no one knows exactly how monstrous Luo Xiu is.

But participating in an F4 standard race in Southeast Asia, he knew very well that it was like watching fish being scrambled.

My fingers were unconsciously scrolling through my phone, surrounded by the noisy buzzing of the air conditioner's outdoor unit.

"What's wrong with Xu Zihang? Ever since he started that new media account, he's become so arrogant."

Xu Zihao was very dissatisfied.

"I only saw him this morning when I was looking for Luo Xiu to shoot footage, but I haven't seen him at all this afternoon. Did he fall into the toilet?"

Chen Pengfei had just taken off his headphones and was still reviewing the terrifying lap data on his laptop.

He casually replied, "Maybe they found the rainy day boring and went back to the hotel."

Just then.

The old television in the lounge, which was playing the live broadcast of the game, suddenly flickered.

The broadcast changed from a fixed camera position to a high-definition signal.

First, there's a panoramic view of the Sepang Circuit taken from a helicopter.

Immediately afterwards, the camera switched to race car number 6, which had just returned to the pit lane and come to a stop.

The image is extremely clear, and there's even a professional UI interface in the picture.

The left side displays the names of all drivers and their real-time lap times, while the bottom shows the speed and gear of the specific car.

"Hey guys! Welcome to my channel!"