Red Flag !!!
As the rain continued to pour down on the Red Bull Ring, the three commentators explained the starting order of today's F2 race for the audience who didn't have time to watch the qualifying session.
Senna was in first, Zhou Guanyu second, and Tsunoda Yuki third.
Most of the audience didn't care about the drivers behind. They primarily came to watch F2 to see Senna, and many wanted to see Zhou Guanyu's performance. Why they remembered the name Tsunoda Yuki because his national flag had a bit of national tension in the eyes of the Chinese, so they remembered him clearly.
Many passers-by were very happy to see Senna and Zhou Guanyu beat Tsunoda, and they had a bit more recognition of Senna and Zhou Guanyu.
Soon, the director displayed the starting order of many drivers, the times they set these lap times, and the time difference between the rear and front cars.
This was also the first time that a driver from China started in the front row of an F2 race.
When the director showed the driver rankings, Senna, who had already switched to rain tires and stopped on the track, wiped the raindrops off his helmet visor helplessly.
The rain didn't seem heavy, but once you were in it, you realized the raindrops were not large, but relentless.
Just now, when Sui Wentao was helping Senna check the car settings, he stood up too hard and knocked over the umbrella placed on Senna's car.
There was water on the umbrella, and this sudden movement splashed the water all over Senna's helmet.
A lot of water also entered Senna's monocoque.
Fortunately, Senna's racing suit was not only fireproof but also had a water-repellent coating on the surface.
Unless it was soaked in water, it was unlikely that water would penetrate it.
Even if water did get in, Senna's racing suit had a set of sweat-absorbing tights inside. Any small amount of water would be absorbed by this material, keeping Senna's body dry.
Additionally, there were drainage holes in Senna's monocoque, preventing the car from flooding even in heavy rain.
Sui Wentao quickly repositioned the umbrella over Senna's car, checked the settings again, gave Senna a thumbs-up to indicate readiness, and began to pack up, leaving the umbrella with the Ferrari and Prema team logos over Senna's head.
With three red lights remaining, the staff began to remove tires and tools from the track. Only the staff helping the drivers stay dry remained.
The director was eager to cut to Senna and the team's team radio (TR) to show the audience, as only Senna's TR band was always active.
The director was curious about what Senna's team was discussing with him and why they were still communicating for so long.
However, it wasn't just the domestic audience who were curious and expectant about Senna. More people abroad were paying attention to F2, and thus, more people knew about Senna and had a strong curiosity about him.
When the director listened in on the TR channel of Senna and his team, he was surprised to find that the Prema TR was always active because no one was talking—they were playing music instead.
Despite the touching song, the director thought it was an odd time for music, wondering if the driver could hear instructions.
Just as the on-site director discovered this, Senna asked Jason to play another song for him.
...
Soon, as the starting lights changed from three to two, Sui Wentao, who had just held an umbrella for Senna, removed the umbrella from Senna's monocoque and made a cheering gesture to him.
Senna nodded in response, started his engine, and began warming it up.
During this process, Senna glanced at his right rearview mirror. Due to the headrest, he couldn't see Zhou Guanyu behind him directly and had to rely on the mirror. At that moment, Zhou Guanyu happened to be looking at Senna. Both drivers noticed the other's gaze.
Senna raised an eyebrow, while Zhou Guanyu's eyes showed a hint of challenge.
The two weren't friends and often raced against each other with fierce competition.
As the team staff withdrew from the track, the five red lights gradually went out, with only one left. Then, this light also went out.
Under the safety car's leadership, Senna drove out of his parking space first, followed by Zhou Guanyu, with Tsunoda behind him.
Zhou Guanyu found it difficult to follow Senna due to the heavy rain. The mist created by the full rain tires obscured his vision, making it hard to see the road ahead. He had to rely on the flashing red indicator light on the back of Senna's car and the scenery on both sides.
This was just the warm-up lap. It was hard to imagine if the mist raised by the F2 cars at full speed would still allow Zhou Guanyu to see Senna clearly.
Because of the water on the track, the safety car led the field for several laps without starting the race.
The rain was too heavy, making track accidents likely, so the race director decided to let the safety car run a few more laps and wait for the rain to lessen.
The safety car circled the team for about seven laps, but the rain didn't decrease. A red flag appeared as soon as the safety car entered the T7 position.
Hearing the red flag prompt from his TR, Senna thought someone had slipped and caused a major accident.
After asking, he learned that meteorological monitoring predicted heavier rain in about 15 minutes. For safety reasons, the race was paused, and drivers returned to the maintenance area to wait for the rain to stop.
Because of the red flag, drivers couldn't enter the maintenance area and had to park in a queue.
While waiting for the red flag, Senna decided not to sit in his car in the rain.
He didn't know how long the red flag would last and didn't want to sit in the rain.
Although the rain couldn't penetrate the hydrophobic layer on Senna's racing suit, some drops fell on his neck, making him uncomfortable due to the low temperature.
So, while other F2 drivers remained in their cars with the engines running, Senna got out of his car to wait under shelter.
Naturally, Senna's unique behaviour attracted everyone's attention.
"What's Senna doing? Getting out of the car?"
One commentator guessed, "He probably wanted to go to the toilet or something."
Another explained, "You can get out of the car during the red flag period. Leclerc often gets out of the car to go to the toilet during red flag periods."
While the commentators chatted, Senna ran directly to the covered area of the P room to stay dry.
When Sui Wentao and others arrived with tyres, equipment, and umbrellas, they were confused to find Senna's car empty. They wondered where Senna had gone, only to see him waving at them from the P room.
Zhou Guanyu, who was behind Senna, initially planned to stay in his car until the race restarted. However, seeing Senna's example, he also got out of his car before his team staff arrived.
This created a unique scene on the F2 field: the other F2 drivers sat in their cars obediently, with team staff busy around them or holding umbrellas for them, while the first two drivers were missing. Their cars were turned off, with umbrellas placed over them, and the team staff inspected the cars.
The photographer on the scene captured Senna and Zhou Guanyu, two drivers wearing helmets, sitting side by side on a long iron box for photographic equipment, lent by a kind photographer, chatting happily under the P room eaves.
"Senna and Zhou Guanyu seem to be having a good chat," observed one commentator.
"Yes, despite their fierce competition on the track, it seems they have mutual respect," another commentator added.
Zhou Guanyu was actually complaining about the rain to Senna: "The water mist from your car makes it impossible to see anything on the long straight after T1. Water poured directly into my goggles and cockpit. My car felt ten pounds heavier."
Senna raised an eyebrow, "Is it that bad?"
Zhou Guanyu rolled his eyes, "Try following me and see for yourself."
"No need," Senna replied decisively. "I'd rather lead the way."
...
In the Five Star Sports studio, seeing the two drivers wearing different team uniforms chatting together, one commentator couldn't help but comment: "Senna and Zhou Guanyu seem to have a mutual understanding despite the competition."
Another commentator echoed, "They are both talented drivers with a lot of respect for each other."
Zhou Haoran provided some background: "Senna, being an Austrian driver, has shown remarkable skill in the rain, which is evident from his strong performance today."
As the rain showed no sign of stopping, the race was on hold, and the drivers remained in their respective areas, waiting for the weather to improve so they could get back on track and continue the competition.
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