Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 111: The Monster That Will Not Be Overwhelmed (10K)

"The T8 right turn and the T9 left turn are continuous S-shaped combination turns. Lightly brake and adjust the speed to the right side of the turn. Pay attention to your angle and line. It is common to overtake by rushing to enter the T9 turn side by side here."

"To avoid this, you need to use the outside shoulder to widen your line, increase your cornering speed, and then accelerate full throttle out of T9 onto the uphill straight."

"Do you understand? It's full throttle!"

Odetto's "roar" could be heard through the earphones. Chen Xiangbei didn't know what the old man looked like when he was the F1 team leader.

But he knew very well that after Odette became the leader of Mewtwo, he only used 60% to 70% of his strength most of the time.

After being accustomed to the chaotic battles in the "realm of the gods", the low-level formulas really look like children playing house.

In a sense, this adjective is not sarcastic. The average age of Renault junior formula drivers is around 16 years old, which is still considered underage in most countries, except for the older Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei.

This time, Odetto started to exert his strength. He needed to improve Chen Xiangbei's lap time and driving skills as quickly as possible!

Chen Xiangbei did not respond to this command. He was so focused that he had no time to pay attention to the buttons on the steering wheel.

The S-curve is arguably the most common corner for drivers, and Chen Xiangbei is incredibly familiar with it. The key technical aspect lies in the gap between the two bends, requiring quick steering adjustments to maintain absolute balance.

The problem is that Odette has very high requirements for speed, almost stuck to or even exceeding the grip limit of this Renault car, so Chen Xiangbei can't use much of his experience in routing.

The reason why Odetto emphasizes speed so much is because the competition is about proficiency in the track and line-tracking. Even if Chen Xiangbei has the talent of Senna and Schumacher, he cannot achieve the results of others in a few days.

Driving a regulation racing car with the same power, but unable to outrun your opponent by following the conventional route, all you can do is press the accelerator longer, brake later, and drive faster than others!
From a top speed of just a few kilometers, he managed to carve out a lead of a few tenths of a second, accumulating little by little until he reached the top of the list.

The Renault car sped through the S-shaped combination curves at a speed beyond the limit of grip, making Chen Xiangbei feel that the car was "floating" almost all the time.

But this time, Chen Xiangbei's car did not lose control. He used superb control to complete a gorgeous line.

"Pretty!"

Hiroki Sawano clenched his fists and cheered for Chen Xiangbei in his heart.

As a double champion of Japan's top series, he is very aware of how "overwhelmed" the Renault car is on the track.

Chen Xiangbei's cornering speed and line are not only challenging his own limits, but also challenging the mechanical performance limits of the car.

The Chinese kid withstood the pressure and exceeded expectations to some extent!
At the same time, Odetto breathed a sigh of relief while no one was paying attention. He knew better than anyone how difficult the instructions he had given were. They were completely beyond the capabilities of a Formula Renault driver.

But the problem is that if you want to win the championship, you must crush your opponents.

If you want to enter the F1 arena, you have to crush the "common people" of the same level.

In the next few turns, Odetto did not give any instructions to challenge the limit, allowing Chen Xiangbei to play freely.

The reason is very simple. Odeto just wants to stimulate Chen Xiangbei's potential, not to let this Chinese boy die.

The tires' current grip level allowed them to safely navigate the first few corners, but that was partly due to luck. It was impossible for Chen Xiangbei to salvage the car at every subsequent corner.

If the driver can feel where the limit of the track is, he has reached the current standard of Odeto.

Chen Xiangbei quickly finished the first lap and used a full dynamic start to push for the second lap.

Data engineer Sho Mizutani did not tell the lap time. Due to several consecutive skidding to save the car, the single lap speed can be described as terrible. The second lap was the real timed lap.

However, Sho Mizutani did not have high expectations for how fast he could run in the second lap.

Excessive tire wear is no longer enough to push with all your strength. The price of being aggressive is to wear out a new set of tires in one lap.

This is why Formula One racing is so expensive. If you train hard and push your lap times, the tires alone can cost up to eight thousand per lap, not to mention the various oil and labor costs.

Chen Xiangbei himself was aware that the slippery track was causing more wear on the tires than initially planned. The second lap involved less aggressive braking and a more normal line, so the race was relatively smooth.

The short track is just over three kilometers long, and it takes only a blink of an eye to complete a lap.

As the Renault racer roared past the starting line, Chen Xiangbei immediately asked the team, "How long did this lap take?"

"1 minutes, 09 seconds, 976."

Mizutani Sho's answer came from the headphones.

"so slow?"

Chen Xiangbei asked back in surprise. He knew that this lap would not be very fast, but he did not expect it to be 0.5 seconds slower than expected!
The current pole position record at Donington Park is held by Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, who ran a lap time of 1 minute 08 seconds.

That’s right, this Ricciardo is not someone with the same name. He is the “Big Teeth” Ricciardo who later became a Red Bull driver and is quite popular in the paddock.

Ricciardo wasn't the only driver to hold the track record at Donington Park during this era. Mexican Sergio Perez, another driver from the Red Bull Racing team, also set an F07 pole position record in 3.

It is worth mentioning that among Perez’s opponents in this race is a driver from China, Cheng Congfu, who is known as the number one Formula One driver in China.

In the qualifying round, Cheng Congfu achieved a good result of second place, and in the race he overtook Perez to win the championship. This was the first time in history that a Chinese driver defeated a future F1 driver.

It’s a pity that this is an N Group (National Group) F3 event, and the attention and value are pitifully small, and it basically didn’t make any waves.

According to Chen Xiangbei's estimation, considering the tire wear and the fact that he did not push with all his strength, the speed of this lap should be around 1 minute 09 seconds, which is about 5 second slower than the pole position record set by Ricciardo.

After all, Ricciardo's strength and future performance are there. Compared with Magnussen's "high start and chaotic performance", the Australian driver's stunning debut in F1 is fully worthy of the word "god start"!

The race for the 2010 F1 championship was extremely fierce. Going into the final race, there were still three teams and four drivers who had the possibility of winning the championship.

In the end, the 23-year-old Red Bull driver Vettel made an incredible comeback and overcame the 15-point deficit, surpassing Hamilton to become the youngest world champion in F1 history!
Just two days after the race, Ricciardo drove the same RB6 championship car as Vettel in a rookie test at the Abu Dhabi circuit and achieved the top spot in the lap time list among the same group of rookie drivers!
Just talking about this rookie test lap time first place, it doesn't look like much from the literal meaning, and its gold content is out of the question.

However, Ricciardo's fastest test lap time was 1.3 seconds faster than Vettel's who set the pole position on the same track using the same car three days ago!
You read the number right, it’s 1.3 seconds!
This result is like a depth bomb dropped in the F1 paddock. A newcomer who has never driven an F1 car can be 1.3 seconds faster than the fastest lap of the new world champion just driving a test car. It is simply unimaginable.

Marko, the head of the Red Bull youth training team at the time and the pioneer of the "Great Move" in the paddock, immediately signed Ricciardo as the reserve driver of the Red Bull team.

From this performance and results, it can be seen that Ricciardo had a terrifying talent ceiling in his early years. The track records he created are of great value and may be even harder to break than Schumacher's record at the Silverstone Circuit.

Considering his lack of familiarity with the track and the car's insufficient grip, Chen Xiangbei could accept a gap of about 1 second, but 1.5 seconds was a bit unacceptable.

You have to know that this is a short track with a lap time of just over one minute. The lap time difference of 1 seconds is equivalent to more than two seconds on a standard track.

The performance of the Renault Formula car was widened by more than two seconds, which was completely overwhelming the kids!

"Xiang Beijun, it's not too slow."

"Last year's Renault EuroCup pole lap time was also more than 0.5 seconds slower than Ricciardo's pole position record. You are still very competitive."

Mizutani Sho replied through TR, saying that this was not just a consolation, as in fact Chen Xiangbei's lap time was indeed quite good.

As if to verify Mizutani Sho's words, Odetto gave the team instructions at this time, asking Chen Xiangbei to enter the pit to change tires and undergo readjustment, while Kobayashi Takatoshi of the other team conducted track practice.

Compared to Chen Xiangbei's radicalism, Kobayashi Takatoshi was much more conservative. He completed the warm-up lap honestly before starting the timing lap.

Odeto did not have as strict speed requirements on him as Chen Xiangbei. He just folded his hands in front of his chest and watched the racing data expressionlessly until the final lap time appeared on the screen.

1 minute 09 seconds, only 770 faster than Chen Xiangbei.

When he saw this number, Odeto frowned.

After all, Kobayashi Takatoshi has participated in karting competitions here and received technical support from the Honda team. He must have run a lap time of at least 1 minute and 09 seconds to be considered competitive enough.

Last year, the pole position driver was 0.5 seconds slower than Ricciardo. In addition to the difference in strength, there was also a difference in track conditions.

The weather is not bad for this year's race, and the overall strength of the participating drivers is much stronger. Odetto is expected to run a lap time of at least 1 minute 08 seconds to be sure of becoming the pole position driver at Donington Park.

Now both of them are generally more than a second slower. What the hell is going on?

"Xiao Lin, you've raced at Donington Park before. Does that mean this is your strength?"

When it comes to Takatoshi Kobayashi, Odette is just as straightforward, without any euphemism in his words.

There was some reason why Chen Xiangbei was slow. After all, the Chinese boy had only seen what the Donington Park circuit looked like for the first time today, let alone having run there before.

Even if some corners are pushing the limit speed, the overall line deviation cannot withstand the situation, and the lap time is thus pulled down little by little.

This was totally unacceptable for Takatoshi Kobayashi. Based on his performance at the Silverstone circuit, it would be normal for him to be 0.5 seconds faster than Chen Xiangbei in this lap.

"I'm sorry, Odeto."

Faced with doubts, Kobayashi Takatomo was also speechless.

He did race at Donington Park, using go-karts, which is a very different driving experience compared to single-seater Formula One.

More importantly, the track layout for karting is completely different from that for formula one, and even the starting direction is reversed.

One is counterclockwise and the other is clockwise.

This is equivalent to Takatoshi Kobayashi running on a mirror track, and he needs to reverse many fixed ideas in his mind.

"I don't want an apology, I want speed. Do you understand?"

"It's speed!"

Perhaps because the performance of the two drivers was not satisfactory, Odetto was obviously in a "hot" mood today.

The appearance of this scene made Hiroki Sawano and others in Room P look at each other in surprise.

It seems that today it is not only Chen Xiangbei who is targeted, even Kobayashi Takatoshi cannot escape the disaster.

Chen Xiangbei was not paying attention to Kobayashi Takashi's practice at this time. He was adjusting the train with Liang Chi and other maintenance technicians.

The road conditions at Donington Park Circuit were far worse than described in the information. Perhaps because it had been in disrepair for a long time, Chen Xiangbei felt like he was driving on a main road.

The bumpy and undulating conditions are even more exaggerated, and there is even a scene where the cross axle is suspended in the air.

You have to know that the wheelbase of the Renault 2.0 Formula One car is only meters, which is basically the same as the wheelbase of many family cars. Even this cannot ensure that all four wheels are in contact with the ground, which means that the flatness of the road surface is so poor that it is visible to the naked eye.

"Uncle Liang, the suspension needs to be softer, especially the rear wheels."

Chen Xiangbei gave his own feedback on the car, saying that the too stiff suspension resulted in insufficient flexibility, which was the main reason for the right rear wheel spinning.

"If it's too soft, you'll have a lot of body roll when cornering, and your stability out of the corner will be reduced. You've already lost control in the corner. Can you still control it?"

Although Liang Chi is not considered an "academic" in the field of formula racing, he has decades of experience in car repair and tuning, and he is well aware of the consequences of changing any parameter on the racing car.

Chen Xiangbei's high-speed cornering was not simply on the verge of losing control, but he lost control twice, but was barely saved and did not cause an accident.

As the car's handling ability further deteriorated, there was no guarantee that he would be able to complete the race smoothly.

"can."

Chen Xiangbei nodded. If asked if it was possible, he would always have only this one answer.

"Besides, when it comes to qualifying and the race, in order to push the lap time, we have to use the kerbs more aggressively. The road level difference might cause the tires to be completely airborne. We have to make a trade-off."

After giving the answer, Chen Xiangbei added his reasons.

The last lap was far from the point where I pushed myself to my limit, and qualifying will only be more radical and crazy!

"Okay, then we'll adjust the train according to your feedback."

Liang Chi did not insist. As the chief technician, he could give suggestions, but ultimately the driver's own opinion would prevail.

The only difference in positions when becoming a professional driver is that there is no distinction between elders and juniors.

"Also, the track has many left turns, which causes the left front tire to wear more severely than the other three tires. Let's see if we can make some adjustments."

"Ah."

After receiving feedback from Chen Xiangbei, Liang Chi immediately called on his two apprentices and other technicians to adjust the suspension of the car as quickly as possible.

In just ten minutes, a Renault No. 13 car with replaced tires and modified tuning appeared in front of Chen Xiangbei. This is the efficiency of the Formula One technician team!

"Odeto, I'm going to go to the track for the second round of training."

"Okay, get in the car and get ready to warm up, waiting for the start command."

Odetto didn't say much, his eyes still fixed on the computer screen.

Kobayashi Takatoshi ran two timed laps and one buffer lap. Now the fuel level has reached the lowest level, and the tire grip is at the end of its peak, so he is running the fastest lap.

As for how fast Chen Xiangbei can run in the qualifying round, Odetto actually uses Kobayashi Takatomo as a benchmark.

For a complete rookie who has never raced at the Donington Circuit to be able to achieve the lap time of his Japanese teammate who has competition experience, he can be considered qualified or even excellent.

The goal can be set higher, and Odeto is not the kind of leader who talks big about actual achievements.

With a "swish" sound of wind, Kobayashi Takatoshi's fastest lap time appeared on the screen, which was 1 minute 09 seconds 033.

At this moment, applause broke out in the P room. Kobayashi Takatoshi's lap time was only 0.2 seconds away from last year's pole position, indicating that he has gradually adapted to the road conditions of the Donington Park circuit.

The practice session has only entered the first section. At this rate of improvement, it won't be a problem to reach or even surpass last year's pole position.

Even though the overall strength of the participating drivers this year is relatively strong, the pole position results will theoretically improve. As long as Takatoshi Kobayashi can maintain his form and lap time stability, he will most likely be able to enter the top five in qualifying.

Compared to barely making it into the top ten at Silverstone, Kobayashi Takatoshi's progress is obvious, making the title of Japanese genius boy well-deserved!

"Xiao Lin is making a pit stop for adjustments."

"North, start the warm-up lap."

Odetto issued two more instructions in succession. He deliberately staggered the two drivers in order to create the most spacious and comfortable track environment and test the maximum speed under ideal conditions.

After hearing the command, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the accelerator and drove back onto the track. This time he also heard the hidden meaning in Odetto's words.

That is to emphasize the warm-up lap, which means that you have to run the fastest lap time in "actual combat".

As the Renault car crossed the line and started dynamically, Chen Xiangbei completely entered a state of "selflessness". In his mind, there was only the corner data of the Donington Park circuit and the scene in front of him that was receding like a slide!

"Sawano-senpai, Xiangbei-kun's speed on this lap is really fast."

At this time, Mizutani Sho exclaimed while looking at the surveillance data.

Just from the cornering speed of the first corner, Chen Xiangbei's speed increased by a full 10km/h compared to before.

Not only that, it can be seen from the cornering trajectory that appears on the screen that the arc "drawn" by Chen Xiangbei has an obviously larger and smoother angle than before, which means that the line is more perfect.

The combination of the three leads to an overall improvement in speed.

"It seems that Xiang Beijun is serious about this."

Indeed, compared to the previous times, due to factors of grip and adjustment, Chen Xiangbei's fastest lap was driven with caution, and he did not have much confidence in the mechanical performance of the car.

After re-entering the pit for tire changes and adjustments, both the grip and suspension parameters are now at their peak condition.

If he can't achieve a breakthrough speed in this lap, Chen Xiangbei's performance at Donington Park may be at its limit.

In addition, there is another hidden factor. That is, Chen Xiangbei saw Kobayashi Takatoshi's lap time and planned to surpass his teammate!
No driver wants to be inferior to someone else, even if that person is his teammate.

Even famous wingmen like Barrichello are not always willing to play supporting roles. After retiring, he once expressed his dissatisfaction and believed that at least one of the five world championship trophies of the Ferrari team should belong to him!
Chen Xiangbei believes that this mentality is not only shared by himself, but also by Kobayashi Takatoshi.

Otherwise, this guy would not change his daily routine and training intensity. It is obvious that he was stimulated by his competitive spirit and wanted to defeat his championship teammate who was far ahead on the Silverstone track!
After going through the long straight and T1 smoothly, Chen Xiangbei soon arrived at the combination of T2 and T4. Previously, due to the forward shift of the center of gravity caused by downhill acceleration, the car understeered at the exit of T4 and eventually lost control.

Chen Xiangbei will never make the same mistake twice.

This time, he controlled the cornering and line extremely precisely, and took the corner at a faster speed and in a safer way.

What Odetto said is right. Losing control or even crashing is not scary. On the contrary, only by experiencing this kind of scene can you clearly know where the edge of the track's limit is.

Otherwise, you will always be exploring within the safe area and will not be able to run the fastest lap speed!

Seeing this scene, Odette nodded subconsciously.

On the surface, Chen Xiangbei's track training today was not as good as his previous performance at Silverstone Circuit, as he often slipped and lost control twice, almost causing an accident.

But in the eyes of true professionals, Chen Xiangbei performed extremely well!

This guy not only showed top-notch car sense, but also excellent track adaptability and learning ability.

Chen Xiangbei made a mistake at the same corner and on the same line, but he was able to learn from it and make corrections, and even improved his speed to a certain extent, which was really surprising.

You have to know that Odetto had seen newcomers with poor psychological quality in his early years. After an accident occurred at a corner on the track, he had psychological barriers and became timid and dared not push the limit again.

This is why, after Chen Xiangbei experienced a loss of control, he continued to ask him to put pressure on him to turn at high speed.

A driver without an absolutely big heart will still suddenly collapse at some point even if he has top talent and driving skills.

If Chen Xiangbei can't hold on and is about to collapse, Odeto would rather he collapse now rather than wait until he fails at a critical moment in the future.

That would be a waste of your effort and emotions!
After all, given Odetto's age, Chen Xiangbei should be the last generation of young drivers he mentors. In Chinese terms, he is called his last disciple.

A truly top professional racer is a monster who will not be crushed by pressure, and Odetto hopes Chen Xiangbei will become such a person.

As he passed each bend, facing the expectant gazes of everyone in the P room, Chen Xiangbei's speed in this lap appeared on the surveillance screen.

1 minutes 08 seconds 853!

"Sawano-senpai, Xiangbei-kun surpassed last year's pole position on this lap."

Mizutani Sho exclaimed on the spot. He could foresee that Chen Xiangbei would not be slow in this lap, but he could never imagine that he could slightly surpass last year's pole position.

You have to know that Chen Xiangbei’s previous fastest lap time was only 1 minute 09 seconds. It improved by more than one second per lap. It’s simply a joke!

"It's not just fast. During this lap, I could clearly feel that Xiang Beijun was no longer as unfamiliar as before. He is now truly familiar with the Donington Park circuit and this Renault."

Hiroki Sawano could understand Chen Xiangbei's change. It was like an experienced driver suddenly driving someone else's car. He had no problem driving it based on his experience, but he always felt a sense of discomfort compared to his own car.

In the first practice session, Chen Xiangbei's exploration of the track and his adaptation to the car's settings were clearly felt.

During this lap, Chen Xiangbei drove very smoothly. Not only was he fast, but he also had an indescribable sense of smoothness!
"Zawano, what's my lap time?"

"1 minute 08 seconds, Xiangbei-kun, your lap was very fast!"

Hiroki Sawano answered Chen Xiangbei in an excited tone.

But then Odette's voice was heard in the team's voice call.

"No, that's not fast enough. Remember the pole position record is 1 minute 08 seconds."

"It might be difficult to challenge Ricciardo's pole position record."

Chen Xiangbei replied casually. He was very clear about Ricardo's early strength. He was definitely a driver who could run super-sharp lap times.

"What? Say it again?"

Odette's question, full of gunpowder, came from the earphone, which surprised everyone in the P room.

"Sawano-senpai, Xiangbei-kun clearly ran well, and the track and weather conditions when the pole position was recorded were better than they are now. The team leader clearly knows everything, so why is he still doing this?"

Mizutani Sho muttered quietly.

Many times, if the pole position record cannot be broken, it is not necessarily because the driver behind is not good.

The British Formula Renault series that Ricciardo races in is held at a slightly different time to the Renault EuroCup, with the Donington Park race scheduled for June.

Temperatures in the early twenties are the perfect time for both the car and the driver. Furthermore, Ricciardo is no rookie; he won the British Formula Renault Championship last year, dominating the field with a commanding lead.

The track temperature is totally different from what Chen Xiangbei is currently experiencing, and since it is also his first time running on the Donington Park circuit, Mizutani Sho thinks Odette might be too demanding.

"Mizutani, you don't understand. You said the wrong thing to Bei-kun."

This time, Hiroki Sawano did not stand on Chen Xiangbei's side. He knew very well what made Odeto angry.

As a driver, you must never give up the spirit of challenge!

"Bei, remember this: Formula Junior track records are meant to be broken."

"I don't care if it's Ricciardo or Schumacher, they're just numbers you're going to step on."

"have you understood?"

"clear."

Chen Xiangbei did not talk back, he also realized the mistake in his words.

It was just like what I said to Sha Minghui at Guangshen School.

Being afraid means losing!

Chen Xiangbei brought in more of the habits and memories of later generations, and regarded Ricciardo as the F1 driver with the "god start" rather than his opponent on the track.

He had to identify himself correctly. Even if his opponents were Senna and Schumacher, Chen Xiangbei had to have the belief to defeat them.

"One more push."

Odetto didn't say much. He wanted Chen Xiangbei to understand through his own actions that track records are meant to be broken.

Moreover, one thing you need to know is that Chen Xiangbei is practicing in an absolutely ideal environment now, without any interference or competition from other drivers.

Under normal circumstances, even in practice sessions, it is difficult to get a track environment like today, which is almost equivalent to a private test of the team on the track.

On the contrary, Ricciardo's pole position record is a lap time achieved in actual competition.

Chen Xiangbei was indeed not familiar with the track, and Ricardo also did not have the track conditions today. Both sides had their own disadvantages, which was relatively fair in Odette's eyes.

If Chen Xiangbei is "afraid" to challenge his opponent, he will be very disappointed!
"receive."

Chen Xiangbei took a deep breath, stepped on the accelerator and continued speeding on the track.

When Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani saw this scene, they looked at each other with complicated expressions.

Odetto was probably going to fight this time. If Chen Xiangbei couldn't run a lap time that satisfied him, he would have to push harder in the next lap.

Hiroki Sawano even suspected that this satisfactory lap time would break the pole position record!
As if to confirm Hiroki Sawano's suspicions, Odetto turned to him and said, "Sawano, have the technical team prepare five more sets of soft tires and set the tire warming blanket to maximum temperature."

"Captain Odeto, is this..."

Hiroki Sawano wanted to dissuade him, but after looking into Odette's determined eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words.

Chen Xiangbei was speeding on the track. At this time, Odetto had completely taken over the team's voice system. Except for when to pit and change tires, he no longer informed the team of lap time information.

I only have one thing to say to Chen Xiangbei: it’s not fast enough!

Chen Xiangbei didn't know how fast he could reach Odeto's standards.

He only felt one thing, that is, he could tell from the speedometer of the racing car that his speed of turning was getting faster and faster.

Many times, challenging your limits is like this. Once you succeed, it is no longer a limit, but becomes the next peak that needs to be reached.

Gradually, Chen Xiangbei got used to the feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife, as if what he was driving was no longer a Renault racing car, but the F1 racing car he had dreamed of in his previous life.

At the same time, Chen Xiangbei felt his blood boiling and his emotions gradually became a little excited.

Just as Odette initially commented, Chen Xiangbei is not a conservative traditional Chinese driver at heart. He has a radical and adventurous spirit.

After breaking through this critical value, Chen Xiangbei will show another side of himself. He enjoys the excitement of being willing to be torn to pieces rather than slow down.

Chen Xiangbei's repeated pit stops to change tires also aroused the curiosity of Kobayashi Takatoshi's crew in another P room. They gathered in front of the control console, watching the data transmitted from Chen Xiangbei's racing car, and witnessed the shock of the lap time being refreshed again and again.

"OH MY GOD, is this really Bei's first time running Donington?"

A maintenance technician questioned in a low voice that Chen Xiangbei's speed of adapting to the track had completely exceeded his expectations.

“Of course, before Silverstone, and even coming to the UK for the first time.”

Liang Chi next to him responded proudly. He said that he and Zhang Zhicong had helped to apply for Chen Xiangbei's passport. It was impossible for him to sneak into the Donington Park racetrack for training.

"Every time we put on a new set of soft tires, Bei's lap time would improve by nearly 0.1 seconds. It's incredible."

"That's right. In theory, the faster the lap time, the harder it is to improve."

"Bei's lap time improvement doesn't depend on time, it only depends on whether the tires have enough grip!"

Not only were the maintenance technicians amazed, but even the technical engineers in Super Aguri stared at the monitoring data with wide eyes.

At this moment, they really hope that all the cameras on the track curves will be turned on so that they can witness with their own eyes how fast Chen Xiangbei is speeding.

To be honest, many people have seen many super talents in the paddock, such as Lewis Hamilton.

But even former F1 team engineers have never experienced such an all-out breakthrough as today's!

Kobayashi Takatoshi stood there in a daze. He thought that his lap time of 1 minute 09 seconds 033 should be enough to beat Chen Xiangbei on this track.

After all, this is nearly one second faster than Chen Xiangbei's first practice session.

Who would have thought that Chen Xiangbei improved by 1.1 seconds in the second practice session, directly surpassing his own fastest lap.

Just when Kobayashi Takatoshi finished changing tires and adjusting the car, he was planning to go to the track and push forward at full speed again to surpass Chen Xiangbei's lap time again.

He saw this scene in front of him.

1 minute 08 seconds is far from Chen Xiangbei's limit. Under the encouragement of team leader Odetto, his Chinese teammates are challenging the track record of Australian genius driver Ricciardo!

Five laps, ten laps, fifteen laps...

Chen Xiangbei could no longer remember how many laps he had run on the track. He only knew that he kept pitting to change tires according to Odette's instructions.

The full-speed push in almost every lap made Chen Xiangbei feel that his body could not withstand the G-force pressure for the first time in a long time. The muscles in his shoulders and neck were already tingling, as if they were a little strained.

But Odetto never called a halt, so Chen Xiangbei knew that his lap time had not yet reached the standard of the old team leader.

Just as Chen was speeding north, the second team arrived at Donington Park. They were the ART team where Vergne was.

Vergne, in a sense, is a hard-working driver like Chen Xiangbei. He knows his single-lap times aren't fast, and often relies on long-distance stability to win races, which means he needs to be more familiar with the track than his opponents.

As the ART team members walked into the maintenance tunnel, they just happened to feel the wind noise and engine roar brought by Chen Xiangbei's racing car whizzing past.

Team engineer Todt once witnessed Chen Xiangbei practicing his speed at Silverstone. He and Vergne had the same intuition that this new Chinese driver was no ordinary driver.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Chen Xiangbei won the pole position and championship in the first Silverstone race.

This time, Chen Xiangbei's driving speed gave Todd an inexplicable sense of crisis that was even greater than the feeling he had at the Silverstone Circuit before.

Are Chinese drivers about to make another breakthrough?

"Bei, that's all for today's practice. You can drive the car back to the pits."

The news of Odetto's entry into the pit finally came through the earphones, and Chen Xiangbei felt as if all his energy had been drained away in an instant.

Odette did not tell Chen Xiangbei the lap time, so he did not know whether the track's maximum speed was reached.

He only knew that he had almost reached the limit of his physical and mental state!

"Odeto, what's my fastest lap time?"

After taking a breath, Chen Xiangbei pressed the call button on the steering wheel and asked.

The one who answered him was not Odette, but Hiroki Sawano, who had been holding it in for a long time.

"1 minutes, 08 seconds, 296."

"Xiang Bei-kun, congratulations on surpassing the pole position record at Donington Park!"

Immediately afterwards, Chen Xiangbei heard the group's cheers coming from the P room through his headphones.

At this moment, a smile finally appeared on Odeto's face.

What made him happy was not that Chen Xiangbei surpassed the pole position record.

Because Odetto's words that records are meant to be broken were not meant to stimulate or encourage Chen Xiangbei, but because he really felt that low-level formula records were not worth mentioning!
What really made Odeto happy was that Chen Xiangbei withstood the pressure.

The psychological quality of this Chinese boy far exceeds that of any newcomer on the track he has come into contact with before, even the new drivers in the F1 paddock.

In fact, at the F1 level, the difference in driving skills between top drivers is already negligible.

Even a historical genius like Verstappen finds it difficult to pull away from the competition.

The gap between many championship contenders lies more in their psychological endurance.

It's like the duel between the new generation driver Norris and Verstappen in 24 years.

Norris, with the performance advantage of the McLaren car, can ideally run faster than Verstappen.

He lost because he lacked Verstappen's stability and courage, which led to many unnecessary low-level mistakes.

Compared with driving skills and potential, Odetto cares more about Chen Xiangbei's ability to withstand pressure.

Today Chen Xiangbei proved that he will not be defeated by pressure, which is a crucial step towards becoming a top driver.

Of course, breaking the pole position record on the track also proves that Chen Xiangbei's driving skills have improved qualitatively!

After decades of history in Renault racing, a Chinese ruler may really be born.

(End of this chapter)