Roar! Roar! Roar!
Cheers. Jumping. Headbanging. A full-blown party.
The ART pit garage was a scene of jubilation, an adrenaline explosion releasing all the pent-up frustration of the recent weeks.
It wasn't just happiness for Kai.
The team started egging Borreipaire on, calling for him to hit the dance floor.
"Pierre! Pierre! Go, go, go!"
Was that... the rhythm of the Can-Can?
Borreipaire's face turned a deep shade of purple, looking like a frostbitten eggplant. He wanted to cry without tears. Why do you treat me like this?
Vasseur was right in the middle of it.
He had completely dropped his team principal persona, shouting louder than anyone else.
Satisfied, he turned and walked over to Nicolas Todt, who was standing at the back with his arms crossed, a huge grin on his face.
Vasseur leaned in, raising his voice over the din. "Did you predict this?"
A rookie. A novice. An outsider. A newborn. It was a gamble for ART, an attempt to take the team to the next level.
Of course, they weren't reckless gamblers. They had backups. Jack Aitken and George Russell were their aces, the ones expected to deliver. If Kai performed well, great. If not, ART wouldn't collapse.
But now?
Nicolas finally understood the complex mix of emotions Marchionne must have felt pride tinged with smugness, anxiety battling with uncontrollable expectation.
Reason told them to stay calm. Don't get carried away by one or two races. They had seen too many cases in Formula racing
Drivers who shone in F3/GP3 but faded into obscurity in F2. Drivers who stunned the world in F2 but were average in F1, their halos dimming.
Each step up the ladder wasn't just about more horsepower and speed. The real key was control on the edge of physics. Driving became exponentially harder, a true dance on the tip of a blade, where every detail challenged the limits of physics and the human body.
So, don't rush. Don't pull the shoots to help them grow. This was only GP3.
But the surging emotions were hard to control. Passion burned.
They couldn't help but think: if Kai could do this after only a few months, what could he do in a year? Two years?
Nicolas was sure Marchionne felt the same way constantly using reason to rein in his wild expectations, only to have that control shattered again and again by Kai's rapid evolution. Because he felt the same way now.
Vasseur shrugged lightly. "Of course."
The righteous tone made Nicolas freeze. He stared at his partner in disbelief.
Vasseur chuckled. "Joking. Just joking."
"Of course not. I expected him to be good, but this level of excellence is beyond anything I imagined. Nick, I think Old Man Todt really found a treasure."
He paused, turning to look at his partner. "So, have you planned his future?"
Nicolas let out a long breath and gave a bitter smile. "Honestly, no. It all happened too fast. I was caught off guard. I haven't had time to make a proper plan."
"That's my mistake."
"But it doesn't matter. It's not too late to start now."
Vasseur bumped Nicolas's shoulder, grinning. "The young man is performing so well, you old bones need to keep up."
The noise spread. This was a different level than Spain.
The paddock hadn't buzzed like this about GP3 in a long, long time. Everyone lived within the system, used to the rules:
Karting. F4. F3/GP3. F2. F1.
Step by step. Maybe some skipped F4, maybe some chose between F3 and GP3, but generally, this was the path. The FIA emphasized it constantly for safety.
Verstappen was the only exception.
And precisely because of that exception, the FIA's rules were becoming stricter, trying to prevent it from happening again.
In other words, the paddock was used to the system. They paid attention to the lower series, but a driver only truly stepped into the spotlight and the storm of discussion when they reached F2.
No one could break that barrier.
So, the previous rumors about Kai and Leclerc were just stirrings by bored spectators. The real heavyweights of the paddock didn't care. If they were interested, their eyes were on Leclerc.
Now, Kai had won the Austria Feature Race, adding another chip to the pile. Things were quietly changing. The spectators were going crazy.
Surging emotions, rolling heatwaves.
However, this wave still couldn't break the prejudice and the barriers.
"It's all the ART car."
People refused to acknowledge Kai's victory. They firmly believed it was because ART had built a "rocket ship," a car perfectly suited to the Red Bull Ring, a full tier above the competition. The winner wasn't Kai; it was the car.
And they weren't speaking without evidence. The proof was right there.
2017 GP3 Austria Feature Race Results:
Kai Zhizhou (ART)George Russell (ART)Jack Aitken (ART)Antoine Hubert (ART)
ART had not only swept the podium but locked out the top four!
Hubert, starting P8, had driven a brilliant race, fighting his way up to fourth and setting the fastest lap. After his slump in Spain, he had finally adapted to the GP3 rhythm and was beginning to shine.
The result: ART swept the top three in qualifying and the top four in the race. Without a doubt, they had the fastest car in the paddock. No one else could catch them.
Behind ART, the other teams were clearly struggling.
Behind Hubert, the gap to P5 was a massive 23 seconds. On a short, tight track like the Red Bull Ring, such a gap was definitive proof that ART's setup was lightyears ahead.
The only team that could somewhat keep up was Trident, taking 5th and 6th.
Especially Alesi. After a disappointing season opener, he started 6th and finished 6th, finally scoring points.
And, for the upcoming Sprint Race, Alesi would start P3 due to the reverse grid. The aggressive driver was poised to shine.
The answer was right there, obvious to everyone.
Kai won not because he was an excellent rookie, but because ART had a car no one in the paddock could catch. Kai was just lucky enough to kiss up to Nicolas Todt and get a seat in that car. That was the whole truth.
"No need to blow it out of proportion. Seriously, a cat could win in that car."
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