Chapter 93 – Race 2
After lunch, with barely any time to rest, the drivers were already preparing for the second race of the afternoon.
"I heard you wanted to change your strategy, but the team principal shut it down?"
Before the race began, the four Van Amersfoort Racing drivers sat together, and Wu Shi asked Verstappen.
"Yeah. I wanted to go aggressive this race," Verstappen said. He hadn't scored a single point in Race 1. And at seventeen, even the strongest composure cracks under pressure.
"Stay rational. You've got a better starting position in Race 3. Don't gamble everything on one heat," Wu Shi told him.
"Yep, that's exactly what my dad said." Verstappen laughed.
Wu Shi chuckled too, resisting the classic "I'm your dad" joke. He respected Jos Verstappen—who had helped him a lot in his career—not in technical guidance, but in the politics and chaos beyond the track.
He wasn't sure whether Verstappen knew that Jos, Sid, and his agent Raymond Vermeulen were scrambling for sponsors and contacting F2 and F1 teams, hoping to secure him a confirmed seat for next year.
"Guys! Get ready!" a technician shouted.
The four bumped fists and returned to their respective pit boxes.
Because the race came right after the morning one, preparation wasn't as complex as earlier.
Once the track conditions were confirmed, pit lane opened, and after the reconnaissance lap, the cars lined up in formation.
The commentators continued introducing the drivers and their qualifying results as the cameras panned across the grid.
Though repetitive, every race has a partly different audience, and talking through the grid helps ease the wait before lights out.
The routine unfolded as usual. The grid girls left, the one-minute board went up, and the camera cut to Esteban Ocon.
"There have been many changes to the F3 cars this year—new electronics and paddle shifters—and Ocon, who used paddle shifters in Formula Renault, may have an advantage over the others."
"The 2014 F3 chassis is very different from last year's. What you learned in 2013 won't necessarily apply this year."
"Engines are no longer mass-produced."
Before he could continue, the marshal on the platform waved the green flag.
"Twenty-six cars on the grid, green flag is out — we are ready for the formation lap!"
"This is Race 2, with a maximum duration of thirty-five minutes."
"Wu Shi starts from pole position. He scored all 25 points in Race 1, which means he enters Race 2 as the early championship leader."
"Blomqvist and Ocon sit second and third in the standings."
"Van Amersfoort Racing driver Wu qualified with a 1:51.001. In the late session yesterday, he was 0.321 ahead of Frenchman Esteban Ocon."
During the formation lap, commentators went over the grid order, including Verstappen, noting his father's racing pedigree.
In the grandstands, no one could hear commentary—only a wall of engine noise.
Coming onto the final straight, the cars weaved left and right to build tire temperature before the start, hoping to retain as much heat as possible during the few seconds of standing still.
One by one, all cars settled into their grid boxes.
The marshal raised the five-second board.
The red lights came on.
They went out.
Twenty-six engines roared—Race 2 of the championship began!
Wu Shi launched perfectly, with a reaction time of 0.141—exceptional by F3 standards.
Behind him, Ocon also made an excellent start.
But Wu, with the advantage of pole, moved decisively to the right to shut the inside door and deny Ocon the line into Turn 1.
Approaching the corner, he glanced at his mirrors. The cars behind were shifting left, meaning no one was attempting an inside dive, so he no longer needed to defend the right.
He swept back left, hit the center of the track, and turned into Turn 1 cleanly.
Behind him, the pack jostled, but Wu's launch had been so smooth that he opened a small but crucial gap before Turn 2.
"Wu had a superb start and keeps the lead! And look—Blomqvist, who started third, has been overtaken by Fuoco! Yes! Antonio Fuoco moves up into P3!"
"Oh! Behind Wu in P1, the three Prema cars have locked down second, third, and fourth, keeping the yellow No. 31 car boxed in."
"Fuoco tries to swing wide but has to lift! He drops momentum! He's under attack—Jordan King dives! Forces Fuoco back onto the racing line!"
"End of Wellington Straight—left-hander coming—Fuoco locks up!"
The Prema car in fourth locked its front-left, a long plume of tire smoke trailing behind.
King couldn't capitalize, and Fuoco held position.
"Strong winds today—drivers must account for buffeting and crosswind cuts."
"Wu Shi now leads Ocon by 1.3 seconds. A very strong early margin."
The opening lap and a half were chaotic—cars running wide, dust clouds rising, drivers fighting to gain or defend track position.
By Lap 3, the front order stabilized, and the cameras shifted to the midfield battles.
Wu Shi sensed that he had Race 2 in hand—another benefit of starting from pole.
Clean air kept his tires and engine in their ideal window, while any pursuer would be stuck in turbulent air and hot exhaust.
On Lap 4, the commentator suddenly shouted:
"Stroll is attacking! Going the long way around! Grip out there is terrible—no, he can't make it! Takes the long route and loses momentum!"
"On the other side—Goddard attacks! He's alongside—he's ahead! He holds the inside—oh no! Contact!"
Mitchell Goddard's ThreeBond T-Sport car bounced high as its left rear lifted off the ground, then slid several rotations before stopping in the gravel trap.
"Oh no, Goddard in trouble again—worse than this morning!"
Alan from Race Control: "We have an incident. Yellow flag not deployed yet."
"Copy."
Wu glanced at the big screen—already two car lengths ahead of Ocon, just as he had been ahead of Blomqvist that morning.
The yellow flag appeared on Lap 5 but didn't significantly impact the race.
After a single neutralized lap, the race resumed.
As Wu passed the crash site, he saw the neon-colored car being craned away.
A chill ran through him—he suddenly thought of Bianchi.