Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 106: Champion of the first race in Renault! (10K)

"Costa, Plan B, Plan B!"

When the Manor team saw this unexpected situation on the track, the race engineer urgently issued an order for Plan B.

Under normal circumstances, when a team formulates tactics, it will not only formulate a single tactic of "success or death", but often have a backup plan in case of failure.

In order to help Costa overtake at the start, the Manor team prepared three different plans.

The first set was to cooperate with Magnussen to complete the "double ghost knocking on the door", forcing Chen Xiangbei to brake and give way to seize the leading position.

The second set is that if the snatch fails, in order to prevent himself from crashing, he will go directly to the buffer zone to "cut the watermelon", leaving the Chinese guy and Magnussen to fight or crash.

The third set was half successful. Costa failed to overtake Chen Xiangbei, but used the advantage of inside cornering to overtake Magnussen.

As a celebrity of this Renault European Cup, Magnussen can be said to be the primary target of research and targeting by each team. His goal is definitely to win the first race and it is impossible for him to lag behind for a long time.

Costa's job now was to accelerate as fast as possible to catch up with Chen Xiangbei's slipstream and minimize tire wear. He didn't want to get caught up in a fight with Magnussen and be left further and further behind by the Chinese guy!

Faced with the team's TR instructions, Costa was still in a daze. He had never expected Chen Xiangbei to do this, using the provocative method of changing lanes to seduce Magnussen to exchange positions with him.

It was as if the Chinese kid knew his thoughts and team tactics in advance.

Does this mean that TR tracking also exists in Formula Junior?
It should be noted that in Formula One events, the voice communication systems of each team are only encrypted internally, and the common channel facing the FIA ​​is completely open. This means that the Red Bull team can hear the voice of the Mercedes team, and the Ferrari team can hear the internal communication of the Sauber team.

Even later on, there was a large team from the same camp that directly gave instructions to the drivers of the small team.

For example, in 18, Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff publicly admitted to the media that during the Monaco Grand Prix, he issued a cross-team order to IndyForce driver Ocon, directly asking him to give up his position to Hamilton behind him.

On the contrary, teams in different camps often choose to use code names such as Plan A or Plan B to replace the content of the instructions they want to convey in order to prevent their opponents from knowing their tactical instructions.

Or if the opponent likes to "eavesdrop", they can simply spread false information in TR to deceive people. This is also a famous "telecom fraud" incident in the field.

But the problem is that even if people can listen to each other's calls on the public channel, in order to prevent voice calls from being crossed, it is still divided into more than a dozen small channels. If you want to listen to all the conversations, you have to arrange at least a dozen people to watch.

The cost of this kind of "eavesdropping" is not even sustainable for an F1 team, let alone a junior formula team.

Costa couldn't understand how a Chinese rookie with almost no karting experience could be so shrewd. Not only did he see through his plans and intentions, but he also tricked Magnussen. It was simply unconscionable!
"Costa, are you ok?"

Seeing that his driver did not respond for a long time, the engineer of the Manor team asked again.

"I'm OK."

Costa came back to his senses and replied to the team.

"Execute Plan B!"

The race engineer emphasized again that the team had the same suspicion as Costa, believing that the Super Dream team had heard their internal team voice.

This time, the plan was expressed using code names, rather than directly describing the tactics using voice as before.

"COPY."

Costa responded, then accelerated to full throttle to catch up with Chen Xiangbei's tailwind.

The thing Costa is most worried about now is that Magnussen will attack him, and then the distance between the two of them and Chen Xiangbei will become farther and farther, until the Chinese boy finally gains the advantage.

Fortunately, Magnussen seemed to calm down suddenly, just following behind the car, sucking in the tailwind, and getting into the rhythm of protecting the tire.

"The drivers in the first group on the track are now maintaining a peaceful tacit understanding. Chinese driver Bei is leading the way, with Costa and Magnussen following closely behind to save fuel and protect their tires."

"We all know that Renault is a standard-setting car. In many cases, being at the front is not an advantage, but rather a disadvantage."

"I don't know how stable Bei is over long distances. If he keeps going at this speed, his tires will wear out much more severely than the car behind him under the same conditions!"

Track commentator James saw the intentions of Magnussen and Costa. Since there was no way to overtake Chen Xiangbei from the beginning, he should restrain his pride and arrogance and fight a "protracted war" according to conventional tactics.

Let the new Chinese people be the locomotive and find ways to consume his fuel and tires!

"Team leader Odetto, Magnussen did not attack Costa, which is not good news for us."

Hiroki Sawano's expression became serious.

Although he could not understand the new European drivers as well as Odetto, Hiroki Sawano had also seen the driver information that Chen Xiangbei had seen.

Kevin Magnussen comes from a racing family. His father Jan Magnussen is a former F1 driver, but he did not achieve any results. Later, he participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This family background is very similar to Verstappen's.

Influenced by his father, Magnussen came into contact with karting at the age of two. This advantage of winning at the starting line as a child allowed him to compete in low-level karting competitions, thus developing an aggressive and reckless character.

In fact, this is normal. Children do not have the rationality and self-control of adults, and outstanding ones are often prone to youthful recklessness.

This is true for historical geniuses like Senna, Schumacher, Verstappen, etc.!
According to Magnussen's personality, he was fooled by Chen Xiangbei and had his chicken stolen by Costa. How could he tolerate this?

But he just endured it now, so the one who felt uncomfortable was Chen Xiangbei.

"It's normal. Magnussen is impulsive on one side and obedient on the other. When faced with strong instructions, he will choose to obey."

Odeto replied calmly. Compared to Hiroki Sawano, he knew Magnussen from the information.

He had the real contact with Magnussen Sr. in the paddock and could be considered the one who watched Magnussen Jr. grow up.

Magnussen is only impulsive and reckless, but lacks the reckless arrogance!
He would change lanes like a dragon in the braking zone, using a seemingly tough stance to block his opponents.

He would also take turns wheel to wheel, showing that he was not afraid of anything.

He also became the first driver in F1 history to be suspended due to all points on his super license being deducted, and was given the title of "Legendary King of Penalty Resistance".

However, many of these operations were not Magnussen's original intention, but were instructions from the team. He only did some dirty work.

The real arrogance in one's bones should be like Schumacher.

Odetto knew without a doubt that Magnussen must have received instructions from the team to follow behind Costa and absorb the slipstream, waiting for the best time to attack.

In addition, many engineers in the paddock team subconsciously do not want to let the Chinese drivers take advantage, and would rather give up the fight and live in peace temporarily, and be united against the outside world first!
"North, push with all your strength to get rid of Costa behind you!"

Seeing the "train-like" situation on the track, Odetto directly gave the team instructions to Chen Xiangbei.

"Team leader, you're pushing after only the second lap. I'm worried the tires won't hold up at the back."

Chen Xiangbei put forward his own idea. In order to increase the tire temperature and grip as quickly as possible, he chose the red tire with the softest rubber material.

According to the rules set by the FIA, Formula One racing tires are divided into two categories: dry tires and rain tires, among which dry tires are further divided into several subcategories with different compounds.

The commonly used tires in the competition are the super soft red tires, the neutral yellow tires, and the hardest white tires.

The softer the tire, the faster it heats up and the better the grip, but the corresponding rate of wear increases simultaneously.

Under normal circumstances, the peak performance of soft tires can only be maintained within ten laps. If the grip exceeds this limit, it will show a downward trend. If the wear is more serious, it will directly cause a tire blowout.

If the driver chooses to push as hard as he did in qualifying, the peak life of the soft tire may only last for two or three laps!

In a sense, this is why "preserving the fetus" is such a profound subject in F1 racing.

Some skilled drivers can run 20 to 30 laps with a set of soft tires and maintain speed, which saves them one pit stop time compared to their opponents, thus earning them the title of "tire preservation master".

The Renault race has a total of twenty laps, and it would be good enough if you can finish it without stopping to change tires.

If you choose to accelerate in the second lap, the car is still in a heavy oil state, and the damage to the tires will be greater than light oil propulsion.

Even if he could complete the race without suffering the worst consequence of a flat tire, Chen Xiangbei's tire performance would be greatly reduced after ten laps. He would no longer be able to grip the ground in many corners, and his speed would naturally slow down.

The current situation is okay, and Chen Xiangbei feels there is no need to be so radical.

"Bei, if you don't shake Costa off, he'll stay at peace with Magnussen, and your tire wear will still be greater than your opponent's due to the wake effect."

"You decide whether to let them take advantage or let them fight among themselves!"

Odetto gave his own reasons, but did not force Chen Xiangbei to make a decision using team instructions.

As long as Chen Xiangbei speeds up to get rid of Costa, the latter will not be able to absorb the tail wind and will become the leading car in disguise.

At that time, it depends on whether Costa can still be "selfless", leading in the front to pull Magnussen's tailwind and reduce the tire and fuel consumption of his competitors.

Or should he choose to do as Chen Xiangbei did, taking the risk of significant tire wear and taking the opportunity to accelerate and get rid of Magnussen!

Odeto’s philosophy is very simple: if he does nothing, only Chen Xiangbei will suffer.

Getting rid of Costa and not letting the opponent suffer from the slipstream, even if Chen Xiangbei may suffer a greater loss, at least everyone has to suffer together.

If I don’t have a good life, you won’t have an easy life either!

"clear."

After understanding Odette's intention, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the accelerator to speed up without saying a word.

In his previous life, dominated by conservative thinking, he would hardly do such a thing that "harms others and does not benefit himself".

Now maybe influenced by the old man Odeto, he likes to make things bigger when something stands out!

Faced with Chen Xiangbei's operation of advancing in the second round, Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani looked at each other, feeling quite amused.

In theory, this means "everyone dies together." In reality, Chen Xiangbei's tire wear and the risk of a blowout are still greater than his opponent's. Team leader Odetto seems to never consider the consequences...

"The track situation changed, and Bei chose to speed up on the second lap, trying to shake off Costa who was in the slipstream behind him."

"Pushing forward at this time will cause significant wear and tear on the tires. Bei's current ability to maintain his tires is unknown. Does he have the confidence to complete the race with severely worn tires?"

"Or maybe the Super Dream team has prepared a one-stop strategy and plans to pit for a tire change?"

Commentator James didn't quite understand Chen Xiangbei's move. Even if he wanted to get rid of Costa behind him, he should at least wait until the fuel was almost used up after running more than ten laps and the weight of the car reduced the wear and tear on the tires before making a move.

Speed ​​up now. If the tire protection level is not good enough, Chen Xiangbei's car will skate on the track in more than ten laps!

Costa, who was ranked second, was unable to react for a while when the gap between him and the car in front suddenly widened.

According to previous race experience, the situation is similar to driving a train and can run for more than ten laps. Only when the driver makes a mistake under the pressure of pursuit, the car behind will choose to pull away and attack. Otherwise, everyone will focus on protecting the tire.

"Team, Plan B has changed. Should I speed up and pursue, or maintain my current speed to protect the tire?"

Costa used TR to ask the team that the Chinese drivers had not played by the rules throughout the entire race, and the tactics prepared before could not keep up with the changes!
Soon, the race engineer's response came from the helmet headset.

"According to monitoring data, driver No. 13 North is accelerating very quickly and has opened up a gap of over a second between you and him. If you want to catch up, you must push at full speed."

"Costa, are you confident you can get rid of Magnussen?"

The Manor team engineer did not ask if he could catch up with Chen Xiangbei, but asked if he could get rid of Magnussen.

When Chen Xiangbei ran away alone, Costa's biggest enemy at the moment was Magnussen, who was hiding behind and comfortably absorbing the tailwind.

If Costa can successfully get rid of his opponent, it would be nothing more than repeating Chen Xiangbei's operation, and he might even be able to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the tailwind of the car in front.

If we can't get rid of Magnussen, it would be like making things difficult for our opponents.

You should know that before Chen Xiangbei sped up, he had a lead of nearly 1 second in turns T2 and T1. Even if he was caught up a little by his opponent's slipstream, he still had about 0.5 seconds left.

Magnussen is currently very close to Costa, and the distance between the two cars may be around 0.2 seconds.

"I can shake off Magnussen!"

Without much hesitation, Costa gave his answer.

Although he ultimately failed to enter F1 in history, he was able to win the FE World Championship, which still proved that he is one in a million top drivers.

Costa naturally possesses the confidence and pride of a driver!
After all, if you don’t even have the confidence to get rid of your opponent, then what’s the point of competing? Wouldn’t it be better to admit defeat at the beginning?
"OK, get rid of Magnussen and catch up with the Chinese driver to catch the slipstream. This will make up for the extra wear on your tires."

"Roger that!"

Just as Odeto expected, Chen Xiangbei's action triggered a chain reaction. Costa was unwilling to become Magnussen's stepping stone in the absence of a common enemy.

However, Costa did not choose to accelerate immediately. He knew Magnussen's strength very well and had to choose the best corner and time.

The place Costa chose was the T9 Copps corner of the Silverstone Circuit, which was also the corner where Verstappen crashed in the famous "21G" in 51 years.

That year, Verstappen and Hamilton were engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle. The two cars collided at the highest-speed corner of the Silverstone Circuit. Verstappen's car was pushed off the track by Hamilton and "flew" straight to the tire wall at the edge of the paddock at a speed of up to 290 km/h.

Post-race data showed that Verstappen's maximum G-force when he turned into the tire wall was as high as 51, which is an extremely exaggerated number, five or six times the human body's cornering load limit!
Fortunately, this was only a momentary G-force, and Verstappen's physical fitness was excellent. Apart from blurred vision for a long time after the accident, there were no other serious injuries or sequelae.

The reason why Costa chose to take action here is that there is a blind spot entry point in Turn T9, which allows him to speed up secretly and suddenly, leaving Magnussen no time to react.

In addition, after the T9 corner, there will be four or so high-speed consecutive corners, which require very high balance of the car and driver control, and can also disrupt the wake in the vacuum zone behind the car.

Without the support of wake swirl, the car behind will have no speed advantage!

"WOW, it seems Bei's speed increase has caused a chain reaction. Costa is about to leave Magnussen behind at the T9 corner."

"I didn't expect that in a Renault Formula Junior race, the front row of drivers would engage in a full-scale melee on the second lap. Is this the change that Driver North has brought to European racing?"

"I have to admit that my opinion of this Chinese newcomer has changed a lot. He has demonstrated the speed and passion of motorsport!"

At this moment, James put aside his stereotypes and prejudices and expressed his recognition and praise for Chen Xiangbei.

He's commented on many junior Formula One races, and because of the limited performance of the cars, unless a crash on the track brings some changes, most of the time it's just a race, with everyone trying to save their tires and take advantage, and no one willing to take the initiative to attack.

And the higher the level of the drivers, the more conservative and boring the competition is!
This is why later low-level formula racing such as F3 adopts reverse starting order.

Only by changing the competition system can the competition be made more exciting.

As a result, the Chinese drivers, who were previously regarded as "weak and conservative" in Europe, have muddied the waters like a catfish. They have been engaged in exciting tactical games since the start, and now it has become a full-scale melee.

James can say without exaggeration that this is the most exciting low-level formula race he has seen in the past year!
"Putting aside the racial factor, Driver Bei's driving style is really radical."

"If aggressiveness worked, Ide Ariharu would be the king of the race. With this kind of driving, he'll probably end up with a flat tire in the second half!"

"A flat tire in the second half is better than a lifeless race. This race was truly exciting."

"Costa should catch up with this Chinese guy and show him what a real driver is!" The discussion among the spectators at the track gradually became polarized.

Some people agreed with commentator James's opinion that Chen Xiangbei did make the event more exciting.

However, most people still don’t take Chen Xiangbei seriously. The Chinese boy will pay the price for his recklessness in the second half!

At the same moment when James was commenting, Costa had already stepped on the accelerator in the corner, and the speed reached the acceleration limit of the Renault car at 250km/h.

Even so, Costa despairingly discovered that even with his full throttle acceleration, exploiting the blind spot on the track, he still couldn't escape Magnussen's sight. The other driver accelerated almost synchronously, tightly clamping down on his slipstream and leaving him no chance of escape.

Until this moment, Costa finally understood that Magnussen's "peaceful coexistence" was a preparation for speeding up the pursuit, which was why he reacted so quickly!
Even the sudden "attack" could not shake off Magnussen. The S-turns with continuous lane changes from T10 to T14 were even more impossible for Costa alone. The two cars passed the combination turns one after the other.

"Great! Costa has been held back by Magnussen, and they can't catch up with Xiangbei-kun!"

Seeing this scene, Sho Mizutani excitedly clenched his fists and celebrated.

The main opponents were caught in a fight. If they couldn't catch the slipstream, the distance between them and Chen Xiangbei would only get farther and farther. As long as they could establish a sufficient lead, even if the tire grip decreased later, the second echelon would not be able to catch up!
After hearing what Mizutani Sho said, the other crew members in the P room also became a little excited.

Only Odette remained expressionless, neither agreeing nor objecting.

He fixed his eyes on Vergne of the ART team on the broadcast screen. The driver was left behind in the second echelon at the start and did not participate in any competition between the front row cars. He always maintained his lap time and rhythm.

And Odetto also keenly discovered that Vergne gave his teammate a position. He dropped from fourth to fifth, but his single lap speed was steadily improving.

From the initial second tier, now while Costa and Magnussen are fighting, they have caught up with the two cars in the front row, and their teammates have also successfully caught the tailwind of the car in front!

In just one more lap, the situation on the track will become Chen Xiangbei speeding in the front and four cars forming a "train" behind him.

Odetto knew very well that Vergne was a driver whose strength was greater than his fame. His steady running style was destined to be unpopular, and the audience would naturally pay attention to those radical and eye-catching drivers.

But often these long-distance and steady drivers will quietly catch up in the race and achieve a very good result.

The former four-time champion "Professor" Prost is one of these people.

Odetto didn't know Vergne's team strategy, but decades of experience and intuition in the paddock told him that it was too early to say that he couldn't catch up with Chen Xiangbei!
After trying to get rid of Magnussen without success, Costa temporarily "calmed down".

Just pushing at full speed through these few corners, the wear and tear on the tires caused by extreme braking is very exaggerated.

If there was another round of intense driving like this and Magnussen hadn't gotten rid of the car, Costa might have been the first to run off the track.

The fierce battle in the front row on the track entered a "truce period". Chen Xiangbei took a look at the distance between him and Costa through the rearview mirror and also entered his own tire protection rhythm.

To be honest, he is not worried that the drivers in the front row will catch up. He is more worried that the drivers in the large group behind will do something weird. If there is a racing accident that triggers the safety car, he will suffer a huge loss.

This may be because European drivers are too familiar with the Silverstone Circuit, or it may be because the track's buffer zone is exaggerated enough, leaving enough margin and "escape" space for car operations.

From the fourth lap to the seventeenth lap, except for a few cars that malfunctioned and voluntarily returned to the maintenance station to retire, there was no accident that caused a "flag", which made Chen Xiangbei feel relieved.

But at this point, Chen Xiangbei vaguely felt that the car body had begun to drift, and the tires clearly showed signs of insufficient grip.

As the leading car, he never experienced any slipstream from the beginning to the end. In addition, due to the heavy fuel push at full speed in the second lap, the soft tires were severely worn out. It can be said that the tire surface was full of potholes.

However, the worst situation happened at this time. On the 18th lap, Magnussen, who had been patient throughout the race, finally received the team instructions from TR.

"Kevin, pass Costa in front, catch up with the Chinese newcomer and win the first race!"

“COPY!”

There was an unconcealable hint of arrogance in Magnussen's tone of reply; he could finally show his fangs.

"Vergne, Magnussen is about to launch an attack. Use the wake effect to overtake Costa. His tires are worn out and his speed is very bad. He can't stop you!"

Almost at the same time, ART conveyed team instructions to Vergne.

They had a team engineer who listened to Magnussen's TR voice on the public channel, waiting for the radical Danish driver to launch an attack.

Now the time has finally come!
"Aaron, switch places with Vergne."

At the same time, another team order was conveyed to Vergne's teammates.

He was always running in the front and pulling the tailwind, acting as a "wingman". Now it's time for him to leave.

Many experienced spectators expected that there would be fierce competition in the last few laps of the race, but this time the attack was more sudden and fierce than ever before!
With almost no warning, Magnussen chose to take action directly on the long straight.

Many people know about the "wake effect" of Formula One racing, and understand that as long as they are in the vacuum area of ​​the wake of the car in front, they can go faster and save more fuel and tires.

However, most people don’t know what the “slingshot effect” is.

Simply put, the racing car in the wake area will generate a low-pressure suction force due to the speed difference in air flow.

As long as you seize this opportunity to change lanes, the car speed will increase suddenly, as if it were "catapulted" out with a slingshot. This phenomenon is called the "slingshot effect."

In fact, it's not just on the racetrack. If you encounter a large truck driving at high speed on the highway, you will also feel a suction force when you want to overtake it. This is also due to the low-pressure suction caused by the difference in air flow speed.

Magnussen's overtaking action this time was extremely clean and neat. Costa didn't even have time to change lanes or block the car before he saw a car passing by quickly.

Sadly, Costa had to experience the same scene twice.

Before entering the bend on the straight, Vergne also launched his own overtaking attack. This time Costa was prepared to block the car.

It's a pity that the wear of his tires made it impossible for him to grip the ground in the corners. Vergne was hit by his teammates' slipstream throughout the race. His tire damage can be said to be the lowest among all the drivers on the field.

He took advantage of the grip to cross the line and easily passed Costa.

"Xiangbei-kun, the car behind us is catching up, prepare to defend!"

Hiroki Sawano saw the two cars behind him suddenly speed up, and immediately reminded Chen Xiangbei through the team voice.

"Let them come."

Chen Xiangbei replied calmly that he had already made preparations.

What Chen Xiangbei didn't expect was that he thought he was going to face an attack from Magnussen, but the leading car that finally appeared in the rearview mirror was Vergne's No. 5 car!
【what's the situation? 】

Chen Xiangbei was full of surprise. TR had previously told him that Vergne was ranked fifth. Could it be that he overtook three cars in one lap and even Magnussen couldn't stop him?
Just at this moment, Odeto's voice came from the headphones.

"North, the ART team's strategy is not just to protect tires, they also have the ultimate light fuel."

"From the start, Vergne must have used at least 10 percent less fuel than normal. Now, thanks to the advantage of tires and lighter fuel, he's nearly two seconds faster per lap than you."

"The last lap and a half, find a way to stop him!"

Two seconds?

When Chen Xiangbei heard this number, he was shocked.

At this point in time, he is two seconds faster than me, and the tire wear is at least twice as good. Is Vergne some epic "tire preservation master" or does he completely ignore the post-race spot check and think he can definitely avoid it?

In fact, Chen Xiangbei was a little wrong. Compared with a team like Mewtwo where the two drivers are equal and the team is more humane.

ART is a truly highly professional team that follows the law of the jungle where the fittest survive.

From the beginning to the end, ART resources were only given to the main driver Vergne. His teammates were not even opponents, but pure cannon fodder providing services!
Only by always breaking the wind and leading the way can Vergne achieve the ultimate in fuel and tire conservation.

Magnussen's forbearance is nothing compared to Vergne!
Realizing the reason, Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but complain in his heart.

The second driver of the F1 team is not so strictly hierarchical. The ART team really does not treat uncompetitive drivers as human beings!

Of course, now is not the time to complain about this. Vergne used the "speed of light" to catch up with Chen Xiangbei's wake area.

The sudden change in the situation on the track made commentator James exclaim, "My God, this is beyond everyone's expectations. Who could have thought that the two drivers vying for the championship would be Chinese newcomers Bei and Vergne!"

"Ultimately light fuel consumption and tire protection were the keys to Vergne's catching up. Whether this match was a tactical victory or a personal advantage, let's wait and see!"

James felt his blood boiling. This kind of tactical and driving skills confrontation was rare even in F1 events. He didn't expect it to appear in the first round of the Renault European Cup.

Not only James, but the audience at the track were also moved by this scene, and all kinds of cheers rang out like thunder.

"Virgène, well done, you surpassed this Chinese rookie!"

"Driver Bei's tires can't hold up anymore, take him down in the next corner!"

“It turns out that Silverstone will always be the home track for European drivers!”

"Give up, Chinese rookie! You can't stop Vergne with a two-second gap per lap!"

Chen Xiangbei naturally could not hear the roars from the audience. All he could hear were the team's instructions and the roar of the engines.

"North, you're in front of the T7 Woodfield Bend. Vergne will definitely choose to attack here."

"If you choose a U-turn, you must stick to the centerline of the curve. If he uses the tire grip to overtake, you must immediately cross the line to overtake him."

"Remember, now you are the one who has nothing to worry about. You must be stronger and faster than him. Don't give your opponent any hope of defeating you by force!"

Unlike before, Odetto did not watch the race as a "bystander". This time, he took the initiative to issue extremely "radical" team instructions, which also vaguely implied that the team should not be afraid of colliding with opponents.

Although Chen Xiangbei is still in the leading position, his situation is actually quite weak, and Vergne is the driver who is in control of the situation.

At the start, Costa could rush to the inside without any scruples, just betting that Chen Xiangbei, who was wearing shoes, was afraid of going barefoot.

Now Chen Xiangbei has become the barefoot one. It depends on whether Vergne, who has been planning for the whole game, is willing to give up all his efforts at the last moment!
"clear."

Chen Xiangbei replied, his expression turning stern.

Turn T7 is the corner with two different routes. In qualifying, Chen Xiangbei used a V-shaped route to overtake Magnussen who was warming up his tires.

Now that it’s time to compete for the championship, we naturally have to use a faster U-shaped route.

But the problem is that using a U-shaped line in a U-turn requires very high tire grip, and you must stay in the middle of the track the entire time to maintain the fastest speed.

Chen Xiangbei's tires were now drifting when cornering at high speed and could no longer hold onto the inside of the track, making it extremely difficult to defend against Vergne the entire time.

But he has no choice. If he wants to win the championship, he must put his opponents behind the car!
"Sawano-senpai, the data shows that Xiangbei-kun's tire grip has decreased by 60%. I'm afraid that even if we cross the line, we won't be able to overtake our opponent. If we go too fast, there's a great risk of losing control."

Sho Mizutani is a data analyst, and the tire grip percentage is clearly displayed on the monitoring screen.

Although the buffer zone of the Silverstone Circuit is relatively large, no one can guarantee 100% safety if one really rushes out. Odetto's instructions are more like those of an aggressive gambler, using a very small chance of winning to allow the driver to make a comeback!

"Mizutani, if you've never been a racer, you won't understand the meaning of a sentence."

This time, Hiroki Sawano did not agree with Sho Mizutani's opinion, but just replied with an expressionless face.

"What?"

"As a driver, I would rather be smashed to pieces than slow down."

"If you are afraid even when competing for the championship, Xiang Beijun will never be able to reach the threshold of F1 in his life!"

That’s right, this desire for the championship cannot be experienced from racing monitoring data. Only former drivers can empathize with it.

Hiroki Sawano believed that even if the risk was a hundred times greater, Chen Xiangbei would definitely give it a try.

Dancing with death is what drivers have to do many times, not to mention that this is far from that level.

Just as Odetto expected, Vergne was sure that Chen Xiangbei's tires could not grip the ground in the U-shaped line, so he launched an attack directly at Turn T7.

After entering the corner, Chen Xiangbei felt the car sliding, but he did not choose to step on the brakes hard to slow down. Instead, he kept stepping lightly and turned at a speed of more than 80km/h.

Although this speed is not very high for a Formula One car, the cornering speed of a U-turn itself is not fast, not to mention that Chen Xiangbei's tires are almost worn out.

Even though his cornering angle and braking control were extremely perfect, the physical limit of grip could not be broken. The car that was originally driving in the center of the road strangely showed signs of "shifting sideways".

Seeing this scene of the car in front, Vergne showed a smile. It seemed that the Chinese boy's tires could no longer grip the ground.

In a flash, Vergne did not hesitate at all. He changed lanes at the bottom of the U-turn and accelerated to overtake from the outside.

There was almost no suspense. With the light fuel weight and grip advantage, Vergne overtook Chen Xiangbei.

"GOOD!"

James shouted loudly, then explained: "Chinese driver Bei led the entire race, but on the last lap, he couldn't hold off the attack from Vergne of the ART team."

"In this game, we saw Vergne's terrifying long distance and composure beyond his age. It was really shocking and incredible."

"Extreme team strategy and driver performance were the key to this victory!"

James just changed his opinion of Chen Xiangbei, which does not mean that he will favor Chinese drivers.

When James saw the European genius overtake and was about to win Renault's first race, he couldn't help but "open the champagne" to celebrate in advance.

Facts have proved that this year's European talent is abundant, with Magnussen and Costa being aggressive in single laps, and Vergne being steady over long distances.

The Chinese driver Bei performed very well indeed, but it’s a pity that he has come to the field of true genius!
But as soon as James finished speaking, the tens of thousands of spectators on the Silverstone Circuit had no time to cheer.

The situation at Turn T7 changed. When Vergne was exiting the turn and moving from the outside to the inside, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the accelerator directly, and the camera showed the tires spinning and slipping.

However, he managed to complete the cornering line from the inside to the outside, and at the moment when the two cars came out of the corner, he overtook Vergne at the cross line and took the lead again!

"Well done!"

"Brother Bei is awesome!"

"吆西!"

"NICE!"

The Mewtwo Racing team's P-room was boiling with cheers in various languages.

If Vergne can't overtake at Turn T7, then there is no hope at other turns!
The course of the race was exactly as the Superdream Team had expected. In the following races, Chen Xiangbei almost blocked Vergne's overtaking route, leaving the opponent no chance at all.

Until the black and white checkered flag at the end of the race appeared on the track, many people were still stunned and could not believe their eyes.

The pole position and champion of the first round of Renault European Cup will actually be a Chinese driver?
Chen Xiangbei had already arrived at the award ceremony area. The first thing he did after leaving the cockpit was to find the camera broadcasting the track, and then pointed to the red flag on the waist of his racing suit, signaling for a close-up.

That’s right, he wanted to tell the audience that the pole position and champion of the first round of the Renault European Cup was won by a Chinese driver!
(End of this chapter)