"Impossible, is there a problem with the timer? How could the Chinese guy possibly have set a pole lap time?"

"Ah-ssi, did the HRT Racing Car go overpowered again?"

"I strongly request the FIA to check Chen Xiangbei’s car computer. I suspect there might be a cheat program enhancing performance!"

"That’s right, there’s something wrong with Chen Xiangbei’s pole position!"

Even though the facts were right before their eyes, the scene was still filled with rising doubts and skepticism.

Actually, such things are not uncommon in the F1 Paddock. The famous King of Cars, Schumacher, had twice faced media and fan skepticism.

Once was during his time with the Benetton team when there were suspicions that Schumacher used electronic aids to negotiate corners quickly and precisely.

Moreover, reporters even sought confirmation from the then Benetton team leader Briatore. That old Italian rogue just smiled without saying a word, seemingly confirming external speculation, which caused Schumacher’s first world championship title to be heavily disputed.

The second time occurred during the Ferrari Yue Ma Dynasty era, which had similar engine power output settings.

Generally, settings had to be finalized during practice, just like the rule in later generations that forbids changing car settings once into qualifying. Yet, Schumacher occasionally showed unusually fast, precise, and aggressive speeds when overtaking on the track, far surpassing his teammate Barrichello.

Thus, it sparked doubts and controversy again, with the outside world suspecting whether Schumacher’s car computer had a cheat button to unleash greater engine power in critical moments and deactivate it during cruise mode to protect the power unit.

But these doubts and controversies eventually turned into a joke as Schumacher repeatedly claimed world championships, defeating the strongest opponents in the paddock time and again.

Schumacher didn’t need cheating to beat them.

Or rather, even if they cheated, they couldn’t beat Schumacher!

Chen Xiangbei, this emerging rookie combined with HRT Racing Car’s erratic performance, indeed looked peculiar, as if the car’s performance had mysteriously soared.

The cheating allegations suppressed at East Sea International Circuit were escalating at Lingyan Circuit.

In this regard, Briatore sitting in the P room, just smiled without speaking. This old rogue, having traversed the paddock for decades, had seen all sorts of scenes. To him, such skeptical voices were just nonsense!

As long as Chen Xiangbei was not affected, he even wished for more intense criticism.

By the time, the Chinese kid would use victory after victory to shut them up!

"Dennis, has my lap time been surpassed?"

Also on a cool-down lap, Hamilton asked the team with a slightly trembling voice.

When he set the fastest lap, the team’s race engineer even prematurely expressed congratulations. According to the computer’s ideal lap data, on a wet track condition, Hamilton was already near the limit, and other drivers didn’t have the ability or time to surpass it.

But who would have thought, just before the countdown ended, Chen Xiangbei completed the final flying lap, defeating Hamilton by a margin of 0.1 seconds.

Facing this "sad" news, the team didn’t notify Hamilton immediately.

Yet, this McLaren driver also sensed from the audience’s reaction that pole position was not his.

Because he did not receive applause and cheers from the stands by the track.

"Hmm, Chen has taken pole."

Dennis replied in a slightly low tone.

"What was his lap time?"

"1 minute 35.585 seconds."

Upon hearing this speed, Hamilton’s face turned very grave.

Even considering Chen Xiangbei was the last to go, and the track line was mostly dry, achieving this result was still extremely challenging.

The reason is simple: merely having a dry racing line means requiring terrifyingly precise driving lines; otherwise, if the tires hit a slippery spot, they would immediately slip due to wheel speed difference.

This is similar to regular people driving on a highway, where hitting a line marking is more slippery than the road surface.

On a motorcycle or bicycle, there’s even a chance of falling.

Within an extremely limited range, Chen Xiangbei achieved the fastest lap; as a top professional driver, Hamilton knew well there was no element of luck or chance in this.

Chen Xiangbei was simply faster and better!

"We all underestimated Chen before."

After a long silence, Hamilton admitted as much.

To be honest, before this race, Hamilton already recognized Chen Xiangbei as a rival rather than just someone by the roadside like before.

However, there are levels even among opponents; for instance, Barrichello is a rival, and Rosberg is also a rival.

But could they compare to the caliber of Schumacher or Alonso?

Chen Xiangbei’s positioning was even below Rosberg and Barrichello.

Now, the pole position at South Korea’s Lingyan Circuit has completely awakened Hamilton; the Chinese rookie has arrived at the position of his championship-contending rival!

"Yes."

Over the radio, Dennis acknowledged this statement.

Yet immediately, he emphasized: "But we are stronger; he will still be a loser."

With qualifying already over, there’s no use dwelling on the results; the real showdown will be in the race.

On the other side, Chen Xiangbei drove the car back to the pit lane, where team members helped him remove the steering wheel, unfasten the seatbelt, and showered him with encouragement and praise.

The pole position result far exceeded the team’s expectations, and Chen Xiangbei deserved any kind of admiration!

Just as Chen Xiangbei was leaving the cockpit, a microphone was thrust towards him amidst the team crowd.