"Kimi, it looks like you're really going to meet a tough opponent this year."

In the McLaren lounge, Coulthard spoke to Kimi Raikkonen, a taciturn newcomer to the team.

You must know that as the most dazzling and most talked-about newcomer in the past two years, Kimi has always been regarded as a rising star driver of the future, and even if he is strong enough, he may not be able to take over the superstar class.

In fact, Kimi went from challenging Schumacher in the rookie stage, to finally winning the Drivers' Championship in '07, and then becoming a wingman and driving a "health car", it can be said that he has experienced a full career as a driver.

The only thing that hasn't changed is Kimi's popularity, which exploded from the rookie stage and has lasted for almost twenty years. A lot of people are pinning their hopes on him as the next superstar-caliber contender.

In the end, Kimi became a top driver and star, but there is still a certain gap between him and the superstars of the era.

Kimi Raikkonen stared at the small TV on the wall of the break room, where a video replay of the training session on the track was playing. In general, the main content is to let the driver look at his own alignment problems to find mistakes and improvements.

But this time, it was played in the small TV, and there was also a video of Zhang Yifei's timing lap. Although Kimi never said that he wanted to fight with Zhang Yifei, after all, he can be regarded as a "senior" and a new star.

But in the face of Zhang Yifei's rapid rise, Kimi Raikkonen still paid attention to it. Whether it's for the sake of face or for victory, Kimi Leykenen has to show what he's capable of.

"It's good to fly, but I'm stronger."

Kimi said lightly, no expression on his face, but his tone was confident.

After all, he is the rookie driver who has made F1 history, and he has proved his strength to some extent in the rookie season.

The lap time of a practice session can't make the Chinese newcomers reach the point where they can compete with themselves.

More importantly, Kimi is a driver from Finland, just as China is famous for table tennis and Brazil regards football as its own football, racing is the symbol and symbol of Finland, and it is not too much to call Finland a giant country in the world of motorsports.

You must know that compared to the land area and population, Finland is only an effect, but it has more than 200 kinds of motor races, and has produced 14 rally world champions, 4 F1 world champions, and countless other well-known drivers, large and small.

Many Finnish kids, including Kimi Raikkonen, have already tried karting when they're only wheels tall. It can be said that the racing culture has been engraved in the bones of Finnish boys.

It is precisely because he comes from such a racing country that Kimi is very confident in his driving skills, and he doesn't think Zhang Yifei is stronger than himself!

"Then it seems that you have to show a little strength to prove that you are stronger."

Coulthard said in a playful tone, motivating and ridiculous, but he wanted to see Kimi show his strength and prove himself!

Kimi was recommended by Coulthard's former teammate and world champion Mika Hakkinen to join the McLaren team, so it can be said that he has taken on the responsibility of inheriting and replacing Hakkinen.

"Finnish Flyer" Hakkinen won two F1 world championships, and as his successor, "Finnish Iceman" Kimi Raikkkonen, since the rookie stage, many people have demanded him with the standards of a world champion.

In this regard, it is much stricter than Cosell's requirements for Zhang Yifei, at least Cosell initially only asked Zhang Yifei to be an official F1 driver, not a world champion!

But now there's an equally tough newcomer who not only replicates Kimi Raikkonen's miracles, but also has the ambition to transcend and compete for the rookie halo that should have shrouded the "Finnish Iceman".

Two drivers on the same team may be the most formidable opponents, but they are still teammates until a conflict of interest erupts. In particular, the cooperation between Kuthard and Hakkinen is very pleasant, and he naturally hopes that Kimi, who is also from Finland, will not lose the face of the Finnish driver.

In the face of Kuthard's words, Kimi fell silent again, but he was ready to surpass Zhang Yifei in his heart.

It was fast in the afternoon, and the second practice session followed, this time with the main direction of testing the car to complete the long distance test of the simulated race with heavy fuel loads.

Unlike the first round of testing, which was adjusted after a few laps, this time it will be more than 40 laps in a row, even exceeding the maximum pit lap time of the race.

You must know that the Albert Park circuit has a total of only 58 laps, and more than 40 laps in a row, which is basically the maximum limit that the car can run with fuel tanks and tires. In this way, the team engineer can evaluate whether the car is perfectly tuned through extreme test data.

Another point is that the wear life of the tires can be preliminarily determined, so that the strategy team can decide on the best pit stop tire change plan. For the drivers, they need to learn how to save fuel and tires in the second practice session.

Unlike Formula Junior where there is no pit stop option, F1 players will pit with the throttle and the shoulder of the road, and the end result will be that you will make one more pit stop than the other drivers.

Not to mention that refueling may take more than ten seconds, even if it is just a pit stop to change tires, plus the time for deceleration and deceleration in the maintenance channel, it will be delayed for at least 3 seconds. This means that the advantages of your previous extreme cornering manoeuvres may have been lost in this pit stop process, or even more backward.

That's not even counting the risk of loss of control and punctures that come with riding shoulders, so don't think it's funny to save fuel and tires. Where the lap time gap between the really top drivers and the newcomers opens up is in this subtle difference in driving.

The long-distance test of heavy fuel is generally not the stage of intense driving by the driver, after all, the weight of the car and the wear and tear of the tires are placed here. Therefore, the second stage of practice is the heaviest stage of the team engineers, but it is also the most Buddhist stage for the drivers.

The moment to really start challenging the lap times was put on Saturday morning for the last practice session. Because qualifying is all about the shortest lap time for the drivers, this practice session will be based on qualifying, with light fuel loads, heavy tyre wear and aggressive driving.

Basically, the lap times of the last practice session can roughly guess the qualifying order of the drivers, so the audience here today was also very enthusiastic.

"When McLaren Racing was interviewed yesterday and said they were ready to take the fastest lap of the day, I felt like they were more of a response to Kimmy's doubts over the past two days."

"I think so too, after all, this year's Ferrari are so strong, the fastest lap in the first race, they are determined to win."

"Regardless of the outcome, I'm sure we'll see the battle between Fei and Kimi today!"

"That's right, it's a little exciting to think about!"

Just when these real fans were discussing enthusiastically, several voices next to them interjected: "COPY also deserves to be called a twin star with Kimi, they are not a first-class opponent at all." ”

"Let's wait for Fei to get a few points in the official competition, a rookie who has just come in is just blowing into the sky."

"In the first round of testing, no driver would have run the fastest lap, and the Chinese newcomers were still far behind."

Although these words are ugly, they are not unreasonable in all seriousness, the first two rounds of qualifying do not prove anything, everything needs to be seen in the results of the main race.

However, this still does not affect the smell of gunpowder on the track at the moment. It's not just Kimi who wants to prove himself, but many veteran drivers from other teams are also unconvinced that they have been overtaken by a Chinese newcomer.

In the pit lane, all the drivers are dressed and ready to prove their worth in this round of practice.

Especially in the McLaren team's pit pits, Kimi originally belonged to that kind of relatively cold imagination, and this strong desire to fight burst out, making the atmosphere of the P room have a feeling of hot summer, which has dropped to the freezing point.

"Are you ready?"

Kimmy's race engineer asked.

“OK。”

Again, it's a short and direct answer.

"Ignition."

With the order of the race engineer, Kimi's car drove out of the P room and into the track through the pit lane.

Practice sessions are still not a group start to the track, so it is still necessary to follow the green light rule and start from the team pit stop at a time to avoid car damage and accidents caused by a swarm of starts.

All the convoys began to set off in turn with the traffic lights, and this time Zhang Yifei's expression began to become serious.

The other drivers want to prove themselves and not lose to this Chinese newcomer or rookie. But Zhang Yifei also wants to prove that he is not a rookie, but relies on his strength to enter the F1 team and has the qualifications to be on an equal footing with other official drivers.

The roar of the engine resounded throughout the track, and the cars set off from the pit in turn, and just as Zhang Yifei was about to start, the rare voice of Alesi came from the earphones.

"Newcomer, run faster, it's time to show yourself."

Although the relationship between Zhang Yifei and Alessi has eased a lot, there has even been an exchange in the lounge. But to be honest, it is limited to the exchange of a few words, after all, the two of them have a festival there, and they are both big men, even if they don't care much in their hearts, they are embarrassed to say anything on their faces.

So suddenly hearing Alessi's words still made Zhang Yifei quite surprised.

"I'll show myself, and so will you."

Zhang Yifei replied, but he didn't expect laughter from Alessi's side: "I don't need to show myself anymore, but if you don't run fast, you will experience what is called real criticism and questioning." ”

Alessi didn't explain it thoroughly before the game, and the ridicule and questioning that Zhang Yifei suffered before were just the behavior of the audience.

But if it doesn't show up in the game, then it will be overwhelming media coverage, and the influence will increase exponentially.

In the past, many Japanese drivers on the Formula 1 circuit suffered from this kind of scene, and even some non-European drivers who "jumped" also suffered from these pressures.

So Alessi gave Zhang Yifei a warning, he didn't want this Chinese kid to collapse if he couldn't bear the pressure, so that he would be left alone in today's F1 season.

"Thank you, but I like the feeling of being alone against the world, and I hope they have a chance to report it."

After saying this, the green light on the track just lit up, and Zhang Yifei rushed out of the P room with one foot on the accelerator.