Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 327 Demonstrates Qualitative Progress

The two sat in the drivers' lounge discussing track details when Perez walked in and stood quietly to the side, listening.

Trulli did not "drive them away" even though they were competitors.

To be honest, he could understand Perez's mentality of wanting to seize every opportunity; Trulli himself used to be the same.

Especially compared to his own background in Italy, it was much more difficult for Perez to come from Mexico, a developing country in the Americas. Just like a young person from a small town who comes to a big city, he will do his best to gain a foothold.

Even if the methods used throughout the process were not exactly honorable.

Another very similar example in later generations is O'Connor, who was known as "the leather shoe".

Ocon has a very poor reputation in the paddock, and could even be considered one of the most unpopular drivers.

However, many people don't understand why he drives so dirty, competes so fiercely, and engages in so many ungentlemanly behaviors.

The root cause lies in the fact that his parents sold all their assets to make this move. O'Connor's family pressure was far greater than that of any other driver in the paddock. The result of his failure was not only that he would have to leave the paddock, but that his entire family would fall apart.

In the arena of F1, a game that burns money, children from poor families will fight desperately for victory in every race, regardless of whether they are facing opponents or their own teammates on the track!
Furthermore, teammates who drive the same model of car are more likely to stick together compared to their rivals. Frequent intra-team competition, wheel-to-wheel, naturally leads to a poor reputation and public image.

There's no problem for a young person to establish themselves and rise to a position; as for how much they can "learn" from others, that depends on Perez's own abilities.

After the theoretical data explanation was completed, Chen Xiangbei spent the entire night in the basement of his room frantically practicing simulator driving.

Of course, the same goes for Perez.

However, after nearly two practice races, Chen Xiangbei has gained a certain understanding of the gap between the simulator and the real track.

To be honest, the realism is very poor.

On the one hand, the limitations of technology in this era limit the capabilities that simulators can achieve.

On the other hand, the reality of the track is complicated by too many uncontrollable factors, which makes lap times not very reliable.

Perez would probably agree with this, as he can run an amazing time of 1 minute and 12 seconds on the simulator, but it is very difficult for him to run 1 minute and 13 seconds in practice.

There was a full second difference in between!
Time passed by as they drove around the track until midnight. Odette came to the practice room to dissuade them, and Chen Xiangbei and Perez finally pressed the end button to avoid overexertion affecting tomorrow's qualifying.

On the stairs back to their room, Odeto and Chen Xiangbei walked side by side, with the stars shining brightly outside the window.

"Have they taken control of what Trulli teaches?"

Odeto casually asked a question, having also witnessed Trulli and Chen Xiangbei exchanging experiences in the drivers' lounge.

Team leaders cannot teach F1 drivers how to drive.

But it's possible if they are both F1 drivers.

Trulli may not be as strong as Chen Xiangbei in terms of raw ability, but he still has experience and insights on the Monaco circuit, otherwise he wouldn't have won the race title.

"more or less."

"Turulli is willing to teach you these things, so he must be planning to retire."

【What? 】

Upon hearing Odette's words, Chen Xiangbei stopped and looked at him with a surprised expression.

Trulli was still showing signs of actively competing for a spot, so why would he think of retiring?

"Did he talk to the team about it?"

"No."

Odeto shook his head.

"However, I can sense that he has actually lost his competitive drive as a driver."

"Perhaps he also realized that the future no longer belonged to him."

Hearing Odette's reply, Chen Xiangbei fell silent.

He also sensed Trulli's change; he was no longer as fiery and arrogant as before, and had become more peaceful and calm.

To be honest, from an objective point of view, Trulli really doesn't have much of a competitive edge.

Whether it's age, potential, or sponsorship funds, he can't compare to Perez in any of them.

It is still a cruel thing to make a driver accept being eliminated. Perhaps Trulli has already mentally prepared himself and no longer regards Perez or Chen Xiangbei as competitors, which is why he took the initiative to share his experience about the Monaco circuit.

"rest early."

Odette wasn't a pretentious person, and besides, he didn't have a deep relationship with Trulli. After saying this, he patted Chen Xiangbei on the shoulder and went into his room.

……

The night passed quickly, and with Saturday's third practice session and qualifying session approaching, the entire Monaco circuit was absolutely bustling with activity.

In terms of spectator capacity alone, the Monaco circuit, with its tens of thousands of spectators, doesn't rank among the top in F1. The Austin Grand Prix in the United States has a single-race capacity of an astonishing 400,000.

However, the visual impact of the large number of spectators in Monaco is unmatched by many other races.

The reason is simple: the spectators are close enough to the track!
The visual impact of a dense crowd of people just a few meters apart is completely different from that of spectators separated by tens or even hundreds of meters.

It's fair to say that as long as the drivers are outside, they can hear the shouts coming from the stands at any time.

This time, however, the cheers welcoming Chen Xiangbei weren't just cheers and encouragement; they also included various provocative voices. Rosberg took to social media last night to launch a scathing attack on Chen Xiangbei, shifting the blame for the crash onto him while subtly implying that Chen Xiangbei couldn't stop him at this stop.

Indeed, this was the case. Afterwards, many online experts reviewed the practice match video and found that Rosberg's speed was clearly superior to Chen Xiangbei's.

If it weren't for the difficulty of overtaking on the Monaco circuit and Chen Xiangbei's almost dangerously tough defense, he wouldn't have been able to stop Rosberg from behind!

These remarks immediately boosted the morale of Rosberg's supporters and Monaco's local car fans.

Throughout the entire 10 season, Rosberg was basically suppressed by Chen Xiangbei, which was a very serious blow to a driver's pride and confidence. He desperately needed a victory to break through his "mental demons".

Compared to Rosberg's "high profile," Chen Xiangbei was much more low-key in the third practice session. He no longer focused on pushing for better and faster times, but instead carried out long-distance tests with heavy fuel loads according to the team's plan.

Although the two HRT team drivers share data, Chen Xiangbei and Perez have very different driving styles, which can even be described as two extremes. It is difficult to fully match many things without driving them yourself.

As a result, Chen Xiangbei did not achieve any significant results in the third practice session, while Rosberg deliberately pushed the pace for another lap.

这一圈的速度更为恐怖，达到了惊人的1分12秒883，距离舒马赫赛道记录的1分12秒791仅剩下一步之遥，排位赛很有可能完成突破。

When this lap time was announced, the entire audience erupted in cheers.

Even commentator Henry slapped the table with joy and said, "NICE, Rosberg is too strong. He has fully demonstrated his talent at the Monaco circuit. I believe this result is definitely not his limit."

Is Schumacher's five-year-old record about to be broken?

"If possible, I believe the title of successor to the King of Racing should not be exclusively Vettel's!"

The title of "King of Racing" Schumacher is undoubtedly a golden brand in the racing world.

With this brand name, Vettel gained the favor of Red Bull's Marko and Horner, and remained the team's absolute core for several years, even when Webber once overtook him in the points standings.

However, the resources and the team's attention to him have always been far less than Vettel's. The simplest example is that in the 2010 British Grand Prix, Vettel damaged his front wing in practice, and the team simply installed Webber's new front wing on Vettel's car.

It's important to remember that at this point, Vettel hadn't yet become the world champion, and in the last few races, he was neck and neck with Webber in the standings. The outcome of the championship was still uncertain, yet there was an open bias in the team's resources towards him.

Although Rosberg holds dual citizenship, he is essentially a German, otherwise Mercedes would not have chosen him to partner with Schumacher without hesitation.

As the saying goes, "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?"

For Rosberg, if years later this "Zhuge Liang" figure is Hamilton...

So now it's Vettel's turn.

This outstanding German of his time garnered all the glory and honor.

"Team Leader Brown, has North given up?"

In the Mercedes team's pit stop, looking at the final results of the third practice session, test engineer Field asked a question.

He was the Brawn GP engineer who first assisted Chen Xiangbei in F1 testing, so it's fair to say he's quite familiar with this young Chinese man.

According to Field, Chen Xiangbei is not someone who gives up easily, especially after the collision during the second training session. He will definitely try his best to get revenge and will not allow himself to suffer any loss.

As a result, the two got along peacefully during the three training sessions, and Bei didn't even push a single lap, which was somewhat out of character for him.

They're either enduring it silently, or they're facing reality and giving up.

The question is, if Chen Xiangbei is to remain patient, what trump card can he really pull out to achieve a speed faster than the pole position record?
Field believes it is absolutely impossible. Every 0.1-second improvement in the difficulty of the Monaco circuit is like climbing to the sky, requiring absolute proficiency from hundreds or thousands of practice sessions to achieve.

Let alone a super difficult track like Monaco, even a slight lack of proficiency on other ordinary tracks can have fatal consequences, just like McLaren's young driver Piastri who was vying for the championship in the 25 season.

Just when everyone thought he was more composed and had more of a champion's look than Norris.

As a result, they faltered on the Americas circuit, averaging 0.5 minutes slower than their teammates in qualifying.

Being 0.5 seconds slower than your teammate is an insurmountable gap in F1. The reason for this is that most European drivers have never raced on American circuits in lower-level competitions.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. When Europe becomes the center of motorsports, their eyes will not look elsewhere.

However, if an event wants to go global, it must involve more countries and even continents; otherwise, you can just close your doors and entertain yourselves.

This is why the F1 calendar has grown from a dozen to over twenty races, in order to add circuits from other continents, with the Americas circuits, led by the United States, taking the lead.

If you haven't run it before, you're naturally unfamiliar with it, and if you're unfamiliar with it, you'll naturally be slow.

Chen Xiangbei's experience is actually similar to that of Piastelli. However, compared to some new and less popular tracks in the Americas, no matter how much he has never run Monaco, this three-crown track in the motorsport world is still something he has never experienced. But surely he has seen pigs run before?

The basic data familiarity and simulator training volume are sufficient; the challenge lies in how to integrate them with real-world tracks.

"He won't give up."

Ross Brown gave a very firm answer.

To be honest, as the leader of the "opposing" camp, Ross Brown's statement had a rather embodied sense of boosting the morale of the opposing side.

But Ross Brawn knows Chen Xiangbei's personality all too well. If this Chinese kid had backed down, he would never have entered the F1 paddock, let alone be in the championship contention he is in today.

"I had the same feeling."

Field nodded, then asked another question.

"Team Manager Brown, do you think Rosberg can be a threat in the North Qualifying?"

"Anyone could be a threat to Rosberg, and to get pole position, you have to beat all your opponents."

"I believe Rosberg has the ability."

This time, Ross Brawn gave his approval, confirming that Rosberg indeed demonstrated extraordinary speed on the Monaco circuit.

As long as he doesn't make any mistakes, no one can be faster than him!

After saying that, Ross Brawn looked toward the HRT team, where the black and orange No. 13 race car was parked in the pit lane, and Chen Xiangbei was doing the final adjustments with the team's mechanics.

We'll find out who's faster this afternoon.

It was 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, the start of the first qualifying session.

Both HRT cars had completed their oil warm-up. Perez was the first to leave the pits to warm up his tires, while Chen Xiangbei sat in the cockpit waiting for instructions from the team.

About a minute later, Odette waited for a gap in the track traffic, and the starting indicator light above turned green, meaning that Chen Xiangbei could leave the pits immediately.

"Brother Bei, come on!"

"Xiang Bei-jun, don't put too much pressure on yourself, just do your best."

"Bei, believe in yourself, you are the best."

"North, for HRT!"

Cheers rang out as crew members encouraged Chen Xiangbei before the train departed.

They all knew what falling behind meant at this crucial moment in the championship race, and how much pressure it put on a rookie.

However, the crew members did not criticize him. They knew that Chen Xiangbei had done his best, and even if the final result was not satisfactory, Bei was still the same young man chasing the wind on the track.

"For HRT!"

This time, Chen Xiangbei didn't just laugh it off; instead, he shouted out the slogan.

The subtext of "for HRT" is actually for you.

He knew what the crew members were looking forward to, and he also knew the glory and significance of the championship team.

The fight for the championship may be tough, but he will not let down the team members who are silently supporting him.

As soon as the words were spoken, car number 13 shot out of the garage like lightning, performing a routine warm-up before dynamically crossing the line to start.

In the broadcast footage, the HRT race car resembled a "black lightning bolt," sounding the horn for the qualifying sprint.

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei no longer maintained his low profile during practice sessions, but went straight into "full power" mode. He wanted to combine his past efforts with Trulli's track experience.

I can conquer Monaco's F1 Crown Circuit as well!

Turn T1, Turn T2, Turn T3...

Just like in his conversation with Trulli last night, Chen Xiangbei corrected some of his past flaws and defects on every turn, and no longer made those unnecessary corrections and slips.

The entire curve was completely different from before.

When the cornering speed sensors transmitted Chen Xiangbei's data to the race command center and then to their respective teams' pit garages, even these experienced professionals still showed expressions of astonishment on their faces.

Can a single night truly transform a driver?

(End of this chapter)