The technical team is making fine adjustments to the car’s setup with the team engineers, and Chen Xiangbei and Trulli didn’t take advantage of the downtime to rest, but instead joined the calibration team to ensure their feedback was executed as precisely as possible.

Even the third driver Perez was crouched nearby observing and learning.

Compared to those European drivers who start with an advantage, drivers from less renowned racing countries like Chen Xiangbei and Perez understand the importance of hard work and seize every opportunity to climb upwards.

The second practice session in the afternoon proceeded as scheduled, and Chen Xiangbei and Trulli had a rough understanding of the TF110’s potential, so they didn’t push as fiercely as in the first practice, instead focusing on matching themselves with the car.

Chen Xiangbei sought a balance between the qualification setup and race setup, while Trulli simply adapted to a low downforce setup plan.

It’s important to know that car setups often aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Depending on the track, there can be setups that lean towards qualifying performances, and those that are inclined towards race performances.

East Sea International Circuit has a comprehensive range of turns, with overtaking difficulty being moderate among the F1 calendar, showing no particular bias in performance.

But often on such tracks, balance and choice become especially important!

Chen Xiangbei hopes to find the perfect balance to achieve his first pole position and victory in F1, needing particularly precise adjustments.

As for Trulli, his adaptation process is more of a struggle, facing multiple instances of sliding and running off the track during the second practice.

Trulli may have once had a genius background, but the inevitable decline in form due to the passage of time makes learning and adapting notably difficult.

Moreover, he must change his instincts, further intensifying the challenge!

The newly built tracks after 2000 have the advantage of having sufficiently wide circuits and buffer zones, providing drivers with room for small errors.

If it were on the long-standing historic tracks or street races, Trulli’s number 14 car might have already been wrecked.

Compared to the plainness of the HRT Team, other drivers grew increasingly aggressive in the second practice.

Among them, the four giant teams, including Red Bull and Ferrari, developed towards high-speed setups, unwilling to "cede" this race victory!

It’s important to know that in the previous two races, Red Bull and Mercedes each took one race win, while the runner-up positions went to McLaren and Ferrari, meaning both in team and driver standings, the four major teams are extremely close.

Even the HRT Team, with the dual car points and Chen Xiangbei’s podium, ranked fifth and theoretically fully capable of challenging the four major teams and contending for the championship.

Undoubtedly, this has continued the chaotic scenes from the end of last season, with no team displaying absolute "Mars Rover" dominance.

The contest among numerous powerful competitors, anyone has a chance to be crowned king!

In these circumstances, every point becomes especially important, otherwise, the season finale might see reversals or 1-point decisive victories again.

"Kubica, hold a stable line at turn 2, the speed can be faster."

"Rosberg, find a way to use more of the curbs and the track width!"

"Hamilton, this lap was beautiful, matching Xiangbei’s speed."

"Button, adjust your state, you should be faster."

"Schumacher, don’t forget you are the ruler of this track, not the newcomer Xiangbei!"

Various team communications are continuously transmitted to each driver’s ears via radio waves.

In such peak confrontations, the team strategy group or race engineers can provide information more on the circuit and car data, as well as encouragement, but can’t "teach" drivers how to drive.

Whether for performance or benefits, other teams don’t want HRT to challenge their position.

After all, in this era with prize and ranking dividends, the more money HRT takes, the less the knocked-down teams receive; in the aftermath of the financial crisis, it directly lowers the team’s competitiveness, causing a vicious cycle.

Unlike the future where even the bottom teams, relying on FIA dividends and budget caps, can survive comfortably through any difficulty.

The time for the second practice session flew by, and Chen Xiangbei’s lap time remained at the top, but not as leading as before, with several drivers closing the gap to mere hundredths of a second.

This time indicates surpassing isn’t impossible, a mere maintenance of strength.

After practice, as he took the shuttle back to the hotel, at the entrance Chen Xiangbei saw an unexpected figure—it was Emily, Staler’s granddaughter.

Today Emily wasn’t in her usual lean towards a businesslike, neutral style, but dressed in a sexy and hot outfit with high heels and a short skirt; after not seeing her for some time, Chen Xiangbei didn’t recognize her at first glance.

"HELLO, all-around driver Xiangbei~~!"

Seeing Chen Xiangbei step off the shuttle, Emily excitedly waved her arms to greet him.

Seeing this scene, the team members thoughtfully entered the hotel by themselves, leaving Chen Xiangbei alone to talk with her.

"Emily, how come you are here?"

Although Chen Xiangbei invited many people to watch the race, he hadn’t notified Emily, and the scheduled time was the Sunday race.

On one hand, considering the tight schedule, only the weekend is a general holiday.

On the other hand, because Chen Xiangbei and Emily weren’t that close, asking someone to travel across countries to watch the race felt a bit too bold.