457 Unprecedented Pressure (Chapter 3)
Without too much hesitation, Zhang Yifei saw Barrichello overtaking, so he just kicked the accelerator and then changed lanes to block Barrichello's car.
This lane change action is very obvious, and Zhang Yifei is planning to fight!
"good! I was still considering whether the Chinese newcomer would dare to respond and fight back when facing Barrichello's strong provocation."
"It seems that Fei has really maintained his usual toughness. Even when facing Ferrari driver Barrichello, he did not choose to retreat!"
Brendel is now really impressed by Zhang Yifei's performance. There have been many young and frivolous drivers on the F1 track, but many people will choose to tolerate and retreat when facing truly powerful opponents.
Now it's just a practice game, and the opponent is still from the most powerful Ferrari team at present. Zhang Yifei plans to fight to the end. Even if it's included in the young and frivolous drivers, it's still rare.
Not to mention before the practice match, it is said that Zhang Yifei also received death threats from Brazilian gangs. Faced with such additional pressure, he dared to respond to Barrichello's provocation, which is even more admirable.
But this scene was particularly angry in the eyes of Brazilian commentator Gonzalez.
"The Chinese newcomer really has blind trust in himself. He thinks that if he ran the first two races, can he be Barrichello?"
"Sorry, we will see soon, Barrichello crushed over!"
Gonzalez is not like Mohada, who intends to become a global commentator in the F1 organization and will establish good relations with Brendel.
Even if he doesn't mess with F1 commentary, he can still play with Indy series commentary, so he doesn't have to worry about his biased commentary content that will affect his future career development.
And then again, what he is talking about now is exactly what the audience likes to hear, and his approval rating is even higher.
On the track, when Barrichello faced Zhang Yifei's lane change and blocked the car, he almost made a reverse lane change in an instant, trying to pass from Zhang Yifei's other side.
Barrichello's operation, in terms of speed and lane change accuracy, exceeded the opponents Zhang Yifei faced before, and even his own performance in the rain battle in Malaysia has greatly improved.
There is no doubt that Barrichello was serious at this moment. He planned to crush Zhang Yifei with the momentum of being under the influence of Mount Tai to prove his strength and status in the f1 paddock.
However, Zhang Yifei's reaction was not slow, and the hardest suspension brought a more stable body posture, making lane change more flexible.
Almost immediately when Barrichello was about to seize the overtaking line, Zhang Yifei blocked him behind his car again. The distance between the two people's cars was once shortened to the centimeter level, and they almost rear-end and collided together.
This scene also caused an uproar among the audience, and at the same time, the "dong, dong" samba drum beats sounded again, and the girls wearing hot and sexy sambas also twisted their bodies to cheer for Barrichello's offensive.
At the Prost Repair Station, the team strategy team who saw this scene had a serious expression on their faces. Because they never expected that Barrichello, who performed relatively low-key in the outside world, would have such a radical choice to attack Zhang Yifei in the first game of the practice game.
This is not a battle between two new drivers at the Malaysian station, but a top-notch driver in the f1 paddock who provokes a newcomer on the track. This situation is quite rare.
In comparison, Zhang Yifei's tough counterattack was something that the team members expected. After all, after being together for so long, he still has a rough understanding of the character of the Chinese boy. He could not be afraid of Barrichello on the track.
"The mentor, the flying racing cars are only experimentally adjusted and are not perfect in many aspects. This tough confrontation may cause problems."
Yamamoto Ukyo said to Cosel with concern, unlike a veteran like Barrichello who has been running the Interlagers track for several years, Zhang Yifei is setting foot on the Brazilian track for the first time today.
Therefore, the adjustment can only be based on previous experience, rather than in line with Zhang Yifei's driving style.
But Barrichello is different. He has been running for so many years, and even if there is no adjustment for the practice race, the impact is not very big. In order to save his physical strength, it is okay to let the test drivers run the practice race directly.
This is also something that many large teams will do. If the track is particularly familiar, there is no need for the main driver to spend more energy, and it can also give test drivers the opportunity to go on stage to train.
In a sense, Barrichello is doing something in a practice game, which is a bit like stealing the chicken and bullying newcomers.
Cosel didn't say anything, but just stared at the broadcast track screen. The practice competition was not a main competition, and there were basically no too fierce conflict scenes. So now the battle between Zhang Yifei and Barrichello has become a hot spot in the track, and the broadcasting camera simply locked the two of them and conducted a full live broadcast of the track.
Henry heard Yamamoto Ukyo's words and nodded to Cosel, saying, "Cosel, it is a bit too much of a loss to make Fei and Barrichello conflict at this time, and the risk is very high."
"I think the convoy should be issued to get the flying back to the repair station to avoid this conflict."
It is normal to return to the maintenance station during the practice competition, so Henry felt that for rational reasons, letting Zhang Yifei come back was the safest solution.
If something happens again, the shocking counterattack of the Malaysian station will not be so easy to perform. Moreover, Sao Paulo has been clear in the sky these two days, and there is little hope of another rain battle.
Kossel still did not respond. He knew in his heart that from a rational perspective, it was indeed the best choice to let Zhang Yifei avoid the edge for the time being.
But not everyone can look at it rationally. The audience does not know whether it is on the scene, nor does the shooting media. Even Zhang Yifei, who is a little bit popular, may not be able to understand the team's decisions.
The battle had just begun, and he chose to surrender and lose and flee, which was not in line with Zhang Yifei's personality.
Seeing that Cosell did not respond, Henry's face showed a helpless expression. He knew that Cosell's radical personality was difficult to make him weak.
Moreover, Kossel is the team's chief racing engineer. Except for the boss Prost, no one has the right to command on the track, and can be greater than Kossel. As long as he does not issue team instructions, other members will not point fingers during the race and can only stand by and watch the game silently.
The team strategy team was in a dilemma, and Zhang Yifei on the track was actually not much better.
He is under the most pressure of chasing since entering Formula racing, but he is the one he is being chased.
Barrichello is a good driver of Green Leaf, but it also depends on who Green Leaf is. In his peak F1 era, Schumacher can steadily suppress him. No other top driver dares to say that he has steadily defeated Barrichello.
This is why Zhang Yifei doesn't like Barrichello's behavior of "smacking money" and not accepting, but agrees with his strength in the f1 paddock.
Now facing Barrichello who has shown all his strength, Zhang Yifei began to feel what is the real top driver of the Big Three team. Whether it is the route, overtaking timing, and the pressure brought by catching up, they are far from comparable to those second- and third-rate drivers on the track, as well as future ace drivers who are still newcomers.
The peak period is the peak period, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of momentum!
The invisible pressure enveloped Zhang Yifei, and almost all his strength was mobilized, and he used all his methods to block the car, not giving Barrichello any chance to tangent.
To be honest, from an objective perspective, Zhang Yifei really has no advantage in facing Barrichello now.
Whether it is track experience and familiarity, racing tuning and performance, or even absolute hard-power driving skills, Zhang Yifei cannot find a place ahead of Barrichello. The only thing he can fight may be the momentum of not admitting defeat.
The rapid speed of the car was accelerated, the bumpy track and the tension at the height even made Zhang Yifei show a hint of numbness in his hands. He could feel his heartbeat, which was unprecedented.
Moreover, the Interlagers track is not only rough on the road, it also has various slopes. When you pass a downhill section quickly, it feels like you are riding a roller coaster.
This sense of air-lifting makes Zhang Yifei constantly warn in his mind that the car may have lost its grip and the wheels are hanging in the air. This false warning makes people have the instinct of avoiding risks and survival, and the brakes are slowed down.
Now Zhang Yifei finally understood why the Interlagers Circuit was regarded as one of the most unpopular tracks by F1 drivers, and even far exceeds the Monaco Circuit, which is more difficult than it.
It is because of the counterclockwise running line and this uncomfortable feeling of airflow that brings great physical disgust to the driver. In addition to challenging the difficulty of the track, you also need to overcome your own physiological instincts, which is the most uncomfortable thing.
This kind of thing cannot be felt on a racing simulator. Even if it is placed twenty years later, it cannot simulate this physiological "fear".
As Zhang Yifei, who was the first to compete in the Interlagers track, he had never experienced it before, so it was even more difficult to overcome it. Moreover, in terms of adapting to the track, he was far inferior to Barrichello who was catching up later. The experience and the advantages he brought to home are really too great.
With the right time, place, and people, all of them are not on my side. For the first time, Zhang Yifei lost the absolute confidence to defeat his opponent.
Chapter completed!