Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 324 Fight or Retreat

The second practice match of the Monaco Grand Prix started on time at 2:30 pm on Friday.

After another round of car tuning, Chen Xiangbei immediately drove onto the track to warm up the tires, hoping to verify the accuracy of his feedback and find the balance between the car and the track as soon as possible.

“We can see that HRT team driver Bei still chooses to exit the pits on red tires, instead of testing the wear resistance of yellow or white tires like other drivers do.”

"Although the tire strategy for the Monaco Grand Prix is ​​very transparent, the suppliers still adjust the tire compounds every year. Is the HRT team planning to hand over all the tire testing work to driver number two Perez, or is the North dissatisfied with its practice lap times and want to launch a faster one?"

Commentator Red keenly noticed that Chen Xiangbei had not conducted a tire test and was still using soft red tires when he left the pit.

The Monaco circuit is quite different from other circuits in that, although the surface is bumpy and rough, it is not a high-wear track. Even if you drive 20 or 30 laps on soft red tires, there is no problem.

The main reason for this is that the Monaco circuit is too slow!
There are three main factors that contribute to tire wear in Formula 1 racing cars.

The first difference is the downforce due to the aerodynamic layout adjustment. Higher downforce naturally results in greater tire wear, while lower downforce naturally results in less wear.

You can simply think of downforce as a difference in vehicle weight. The same tires carrying a one-ton vehicle and a two-ton vehicle will have vastly different wear levels.

The second point is the road surface environment; smooth and flat track surfaces experience less wear than rough and bumpy surfaces.

The third point is the speed difference.

The friction loss between the tires and the ground when braking hard at 300 km/h is far greater than when braking at 150 km/h.

The average speed at the Monaco Grand Prix is ​​just over 100 kilometers per hour, which is much less than the speed difference of some high-speed tracks, which can be as high as 100 kilometers per hour. This means that the wear pressure on the tires is much less.

As a result, in most cases at the Monaco Grand Prix, the team's tire strategy was the standard one-stop tactic, with both sets of tires running the entire race.

Some teams that qualified lower even resorted to extreme tactics in an attempt to turn the tide, pitting for tires after the first lap and using the best possible tire maintenance to undercut their opponents.

Of course, when faced with the idea of ​​some teams trying to undercut, the front row drivers are not without countermeasures, namely, extremely slow and compressed lanes.

Whoever gets to the station first will either be overtaken by the group or blocked by a large number of slow trains.

Although F1 rules require slower cars to yield to faster cars during laps, mistakes and time losses can still easily occur during overtaking, not to mention that some drivers deliberately delay their cars to save time.

The extreme tactics of tire maintenance and lane control led to the Monaco Grand Prix becoming increasingly unwatchable, to the point that it became so boring that it could make people drowsy when the safety car was not deployed.

In order to change this situation of "running cautiously", the FIA ​​later forced the Monaco Grand Prix to have a "two-stop" system and to use all kinds of tires, including soft, medium and hard tires, to increase the randomness and excitement of the race.

However, this rule only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. The fundamental reason is that F1 cars are getting bigger and bigger, making it increasingly difficult to overtake on narrow old tracks.

If Monaco didn't have such a glorious history and such a strong ability to attract money, countless people would probably be calling for its cancellation.

Of course, this was the era of empty cars in the 10 season. Relatively speaking, overtaking was not as difficult or exaggerated as it would be in later years. However, the one-stop tactic was still the absolute mainstream, and collecting medium and hard tires was crucial.

Chen Xiangbei's exit on soft red tires means he still intends to explore the limits of qualifying.

Just as Red had guessed, Chen Xiangbei took a dynamic start and sped past the starting line as soon as the warm-up lap ended, clearly wanting to push for another lap.

Upon seeing this, commentator Henry said in a questioning tone: "The Monaco track is very demanding on familiarity. To make a breakthrough, you need extremely strong talent and track understanding. You can't just push yourself to run faster."

"In my opinion, Rosberg's speed has made North anxious!"

Normally, practice matches wouldn't involve such a rapid series of laps, so Chen Xiangbei's behavior is clearly illogical.

The root cause was that Rosberg's practice lap times were too fast, reaching a qualitative difference, making the Chinese player realize the significant gap between them and try to catch up by continuously pushing laps.

The problem is that the Monaco circuit is not so easy to conquer.

Drivers who attempt to take on an easy challenge often pay a heavy price!
"I don't think Chen Xiangbei needs to be in such a hurry. It's his first time running such a complicated Monaco circuit, so it's better to be cautious."

Guided by the commentator, the spectators at the track also subconsciously believed that Chen Xiangbei's mentality had changed.

"This is not only about the glory of Monaco's championship, but also indirectly affects the outcome of the World Cup. Do you think Chen Xiangbei is anxious?"

Another viewer held the opposite opinion, and he could understand Chen Xiangbei's mindset.

A rookie stands before the World Championship. If he can win, he will create an unprecedented and unparalleled rookie season championship in F1 history. Who can remain calm and composed?
"Driver Bei has created too many miracles, and I believe he will become a magical Chinese lad again!"

"Heh, Hamilton and Vettel have both done the same miracle, what's so amazing about it?"

"Then we'll just wait and see!"

In fact, it wasn't just Odeto who had confidence in Chen Xiangbei; even track fans and racing enthusiasts shared a blind fervor and worship for him.

Throughout the season so far, Chen Xiangbei has done everything he could, brought out the full potential of the HRT race car, and never let his supporters down. How could he not be full of confidence?
The HRT race car sped along the track, and everyone's eyes were glued to the broadcast screen. Chen Xiangbei's racing line was clearly more extreme this lap, almost using the curb to fill the entire buffer space. It was also noticeable that he made far fewer corrections in the corners.

He quickly flashed purple in the first timeout, meaning he had achieved the fastest speed of the entire race.

The second timeout being green means he was faster than he was in the previous lap.

Then, the third timing segment turned green again, confirming that Chen Xiangbei's speed on this lap was faster than his fastest lap in practice.

Whether Rosberg can catch up with or even surpass him remains to be seen.

However, this suspense did not last long, as the track data processing center soon displayed Chen Xiangbei's lap time on the big screen.

1 minutes 13 seconds 307!

Chen Xiangbei failed to surpass Rosberg's fastest lap, with a difference of 0.3 seconds between them.

However, the HRT team's pit crew still cheered and applauded. As a rookie running the Monaco circuit for the first time, his lap times in practice were already excellent.

In fact, Chen Xiangbei's lap time ranking has also risen to second place. "Xiangbei, good result, 1 minute 13.307 seconds, ranking second."

Hiroki Sawano immediately sent his congratulations to Xiangbei Chen via the team radio.

But upon hearing this number, Chen Xiangbei showed no joy.

A difference of 0.3 seconds is an insurmountable gap, not just in Monaco, but in any F1 qualifying session.

Moreover, for a championship contender, second place is the biggest loser, and Chen Xiangbei's only goal is first place!

After a brief respite from the heat, Chen Xiangbei kicked the ball all the way to the bottom, and the car's speed began to soar. At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to surpass Rosberg's lap time and become the fastest in practice.

As Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 race car on the monitor screen sped up, Mizutani Sho's face instantly tensed up. This speed had clearly exceeded the track's safe range, and Xiangbei was getting a little carried away.

Just as Mizutani Sho was hesitating whether he should warn Chen Xiangbei, the track surveillance footage showed that another race car was rapidly approaching from behind him!
"North, watch out for the Mercedes racing car approaching from behind."

Odette's voice came through the earpiece. He didn't mention Chen Xiangbei's dangerous speed, but only informed him that a race car was approaching.

This means the car behind is going faster!

Upon hearing Odette's reminder, Chen Xiangbei glanced into the rearview mirror. The Mercedes' silver paint shimmered with a unique "metallic" luster under the sunlight, rapidly approaching him like an arrow released from a bow.

As expected, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

At this moment, the Mercedes-Benz race car truly lives up to its name of "Silver Arrow"!
The two cars are still some distance apart, and while F1 car rearview mirrors are designed to reduce wind resistance and conform to aerodynamics, their area is pitifully small, so Chen Xiangbei couldn't see the car number on the front of the car immediately.

However, he knew very well that the person driving the Mercedes behind him couldn't be Schumacher; it could only be Rosberg.

Throughout the entire season, the relationship between Chen Xiangbei and Rosberg could be described as "irreconcilable".

Several car accidents at the beginning of the season, as well as Rosberg's "provocations," had already created a rift between the two.

Chen Xiangbei was indifferent to these kinds of grudges on the track, but Rosberg had a very prominent personality trait: he liked to rant and complain.

He often made sarcastic remarks or criticisms of Chen Xiangbei in various interviews, just like when he later became Hamilton's opponent. The two childhood friends subtly mocked each other's teammates, eventually becoming estranged.

Rosberg's actions stemmed from a combination of dissatisfaction and jealousy.

On the other hand, people need to vent under immense pressure!
Rosberg's initial circumstances were somewhat similar to Vettel's: he had a world champion father, a wealthy family, and a childhood sweetheart wife—a family that could be described as perfect.

The comfortable environment lacked tempering, and Rosberg and Vettel also lacked a strong enough mentality, which is very different from Hamilton, who grew up being ridiculed and discriminated against.

Unfortunately, fate pushed this rich young man into the ranks of world champion contenders, so much so that he faced immense mental pressure from Hamilton throughout his Mercedes career. In the later stages of the season, he even had to rely on a psychologist for counseling, and several times he was so nervous before a match that he had to go to the toilet to vomit!

That's why Rosberg chose to retire immediately after winning the championship in the 16 season.

He simply couldn't bear the pressure any longer.

Although Rosberg doesn't face the same intense pressure of competing for the championship as he did in later years, he still faces just as many expectations and doubts from the outside world.

The reason is simple: the son of a world champion is destined to be compared to a world champion.

Just like Ayrton Senna Jr. or Mick Schumacher in later years, their entire careers were overshadowed by the brilliance of their uncle Senna and father Schumacher.

It's expected that you run well; you've benefited from your parents' resources.

If you don't run well, you'll be ridiculed by everyone; you've completely disgraced your parents!

Rosberg was completely outplayed by Chen Xiangbei, a Chinese rookie, which undoubtedly drew a lot of ridicule and controversy. He was eager to find an opportunity to prove himself, and the Monaco home track was the perfect opportunity.

There is nothing more glorious than winning the championship at home, and nothing more satisfying than getting revenge at home!

Previously, it was always Chen Xiangbei who would provoke Rosberg as the attacker.

Today, Rosberg is filled with fighting spirit and determination. He wants to show Chen Xiangbei who the king of Monaco is!
The unusual scene of two cars chasing each other at high speed during practice was naturally captured immediately by commentator Reid.

He immediately explained: "An unexpected scene has occurred on the track. Rosberg from the Mercedes team is chasing HRT driver North, who is pushing ahead."

"Keep in mind that this is Friday practice, and everyone is still in the car setup and track testing phase. Rosberg's speed is equivalent to giving up feedback and evaluation of the track conditions. Even if this is his home track, and even if his practice lap times are far ahead, I don't believe he would be so confident as to give up testing directly."

"There's only one truth: Rosberg is provoking the North; he wants to prove his dominance over the Monaco circuit!"

Reid sounded excited. The most attractive part of the race was the rivalry, not to mention the performance of the two top new generation drivers.

He was genuinely curious how Chen Xiangbei, who was always outspoken and assertive, would deal with Rosberg, who had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support.

To fight or to back down?
Others may have two choices, but for Chen Xiangbei, he only has one.

The narrow road meets the brave to win!

The two race cars raced at breakneck speed, showing no signs of slowing down and treating the Monaco circuit as their own duel arena.

Often, the appearance of an opponent can squeeze out more potential. Chen Xiangbei already felt his blood boiling, which was the stimulation brought about by the large secretion of adrenaline.

"As expected of the North, judging from his speed, he chose to engage!"

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Reid's face. He really shouldn't have had such doubts. North would never back down.

Hearing Reid's words, Henry, sitting next to him, looked rather grim upon seeing this scene.

He then responded with a disdainful tone: "Driver North will soon realize that he has messed with the wrong opponent. No one can beat Rosberg on this track this year. He will show his opponents what despair is!"

(End of this chapter)