In the 25-year F1 Bahrain Station, the Red Bull Racing Team encountered such a predicament, with two cars using white tires (hard tires) for their heat resistance and long lifespan.

Unexpectedly, the tire temperature continued to overheat, while the grip of the tire rubber resembled that of ice, an extremely bizarre situation where two seemingly incompatible extremes occurred simultaneously.

Even someone as robust as the racing machine Verstappen couldn't help but complain in the TR, "This car is simply undriveable."

Under normal circumstances in a Formula practice race, the team would have drivers test the performance of different tire compounds to make the optimal strategy choices.

But Chen Xiangbei, having never touched an F3 car with mechanical control, spent all practice time on car tuning and didn't have time to test the differences between tire and fuel load.

Now, faced with rare high temperatures in Australia leading to abnormal tire temperature spikes, the surface rubber of the tire didn't melt, creating an "ice and fire" situation.

This means that Chen Xiangbei must focus on maximizing tire protection while constantly monitoring tire temperature changes, avoiding overheating and tire blowouts during the competition!

"Received."

The five indicator lights above the track had consecutively lit up, and Chen Xiangbei, apart from formulaic responses, had no more that would be meaningful.

The lights went out, and twenty F3 cars shot out like arrows, fighting for the highest honor on the East Bay Circuit.

Chen Xiangbei's start reaction was quick, but his starting speed wasn't the fastest.

The grip of the medium tires was insufficient, forcibly increasing engine speed and torque would only result in wheel slip and tire burn.

In a battle of masters, victory often lies in the smallest of margins.

Compared to the "rawness" of Renault's junior formula drivers, those participating in the Grand Prix F3 have at least one F3 championship title under their belts.

For instance, Kokumoto Keiyo is not only the defending champion of last year's East Bay Circuit but also the annual champion of the entire Japan F3 event!

Motana is the same, as he is the new Italian F3 champion.

Chen Xiangbei knew his grip was weak and that speed alone wouldn't keep the pole position entering the corner, so the only option was to change lanes as quickly as possible, using blocking tactics to forcibly obstruct opponents trying to grab the line into the turn!

The idea was beautiful, and the operation wasn't faulty.

The problem was that the opponents weren't random amateurs — tire grip differences were enough for top "local snakes" like Motana to seize the opportunity and complete the overtaking!

Just as Chen Xiangbei made a lane change move, Motana, having raced in the Grand Prix for two years, expertly locked his front wheel into position behind Car No. 13, leaving no space for Chen Xiangbei to block.

Not only that, but the third qualifying defending champion Kokumoto Keiyo took advantage of the medium-tire starting weakness by going full throttle down the long straight, intending to force Chen Xiangbei inside at T1 Waterbend.

"Senior Sawano, these opponents are really strong this year. I wonder if Xiangbei can stabilize his emotions and execute the pre-race strategy."

Mizutani Sho said with some concern, just the start alone showed that those participating in the Grand Prix were much more seasoned than those in the Renault European Cup, almost resembling a prelude to F1.

It can only be said that it's worthy of being the world's strongest F3 race, producing countless top-notch drivers. Those who can snag a front-row start aren't ordinary folk.

Facing this "wolves ahead, tigers behind" scenario, Chen Xiangbei didn't risk losing control by forcibly speeding up or braking late to compete with Motana for the inside line.

The strategy devised by the team's strategy group had already anticipated being overtaken upon the start. Odetto's only request for Chen Xiangbei was to protect the tires as much as possible and avoid meaningless actions that would consume tire life.

Like tire lock-ups caused by extreme late braking.

Soon, three cars arrived at T1 Waterbend, Motana and Kokumoto Keiyo on the left and right, inside and outside, virtually simultaneously overtaking Chen Xiangbei stuck in the middle at the turn.

This scene instantly caused an uproar among the audience!

It's crucial to know that most of the audience present today, due to the domestic motorsport fan base, didn't actually understand Formula racing.

They learned from media promotions that a Chinese driver had taken pole in the Grand Prix event and came out of simple national pride and support for a compatriot, without even understanding the distinctions between soft and medium tires.

In their eyes, the visible result was Chen Xiangbei being overtaken, and overtaken by two at that!

"Wasn't it said that Chen Xiangbei is very strong, breaking the track record with pole, why is his race performance so poor?"

"Exactly, I remember the news saying Chen Xiangbei is good at starting. Was the publicity fake?"

"I heard the East Bay Circuit is hard to overtake, won't he be able to retake?"

"This is tragic, is this the F1 test driver standard?"

Front-row cars performed overtaking maneuvers in the narrow T1 Waterbend, while drivers in the back also hoped to take advantage of starting opportunities to improve their ranking.

However, they didn't possess Chen Xiangbei's precision in controlling car distance and forcibly squeezed three cars into the bend, engaging in close-quarter tactics.

Faced with the crowded TI Waterbend, a rear-position driver who doesn't dodge quickly enough or gets sandwiched without room for avoidance can easily cause a chain reaction rear-end accident, a scenario often seen on the East Bay Circuit.

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