Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 123 A Well-Deserved Champion! (9K)

"FUCK, what is Dixon doing?"

Upon witnessing this scene, the ART team leader immediately flew into a rage in the pit lane.

The best time to block cars is during the restart phase of the race. If you seize the opportunity, it's normal for the car in front, Vergne, to gain a one-second lead. But Dixon let the "enemy" go and attack his teammate. Is he really crazy?

"Dixon, carry out the team's orders!"

"Upon receiving the reply, execute the convoy's orders!"

The race engineer kept calling Dixon in the TR (Traffic Transmission) system, but the latter acted as if he hadn't heard, showing no sign of backing down in the combination corners, watching helplessly as Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 car sped past.

Meanwhile, Dixon's "fierce" demeanor shocked Verne, who chose to avoid his sharp edge and give way to him.

Vergne had a premonition that Dixon would not back down in the face of such a strong challenge, and that the ART team would have to retire with both cars out of the race!

After all, Verne, who was on the same team as Dix, knew best about the extent of the tire wear. He also knew that Dix was essentially barefoot, which is why the team leader did not hesitate to abandon the order to block Chen Xiangbei.

The problem is that a sword has two edges; it can be used to hurt others, but it can also be used to "hurt oneself."

Compared to Dixon, Verne is now also wearing shoes!
Vergne's retreat allowed Dixon to successfully overtake and move into position P4.

The audience was already shocked by Chen Xiangbei's one-man victory over two opponents, and now they were even more confused about the situation on the field.

Dixon's tire wear meant he wouldn't be able to finish the race and would have to pit for a tire change. Overtaking his teammate would be pointless and would be a lose-lose situation.

Does this mean there's really internal strife within the ART team?
"Brother Lei, car number 6 did not choose to compromise; he still mustered the courage to fight back."

As he stared at the broadcast screen, A Yong whispered these words to Zhao Lei beside him.

Compared to the surprise and astonishment of many people in the paddock, the two young mechanics in the pit lane of the Super Dream team deeply felt Dixon's psychological change.

The second driver also had his own grievances!

Indeed, just as Ah Yong said, Dixon's "disobedience" was not only a protest, but more about proving himself.

Karting results don't tell the whole story. In fair competition without team orders, I can still overtake you, Vergne!

Mike, a guest in the track studio, reacted and said in an exaggerated tone: "Oh wow, the battle between the two drivers of the ART team reminds me of the infighting between Alonso and Hamilton in the McLaren team in the 07 season."

"Perhaps Vergne's previous thoughts were similar to Alonso's in 07, believing that Dixon would obediently assist him in winning the championship."

Mike brought up the infamous "internal strife" incident that occurred two years ago within the McLaren team, when Alonso was riding high.

He was the dragon-slaying prodigy who shattered Schumacher's dream of an eight-time world champion, winning the F1 World Championship titles in 05 and 06. He made a high-profile transfer from Renault to McLaren, aiming to achieve his own three-time world championship.

When he first joined the team, Alonso wanted the same treatment as Schumacher at Ferrari, with McLaren assigning him a second driver similar to Barrichello, someone with good skills who would follow instructions and focus on helping him win the championship.

Unfortunately, the team assigned Hamilton, a legendary F1 prodigy and McLaren's crown prince, to the number two driver!

Tou Ge never expected that this "Little Blackie" would be so utterly devoid of martial ethics and show no regard for the dignity of his senior.

From the opening round in Australia, both teams overtook each other and relied on their own abilities, with the lead changing hands until the Indiana round in the United States.

At this moment, the conflict became completely public, evolving into an ultimate internal struggle where teammates tore off each other's masks!

Vergne and Dixon are certainly not at the level of Alonso and Hamilton. However, their current mentality and the internal battles in the corners are exactly the same as those of the McLaren team two years ago.

Verne was probably completely stunned, watching helplessly as his teammate became his biggest opponent!

"There is only one condition for a teammate to feel at ease serving as a 'wingman,' and that is to be strong enough to overwhelm both sides to the point that neither side can compete. Obviously, Verne cannot do that."

James added in his commentary that infighting within teams is not uncommon, especially in top-level racing like F1, where finding a qualified second driver is very difficult.

If the second driver isn't good enough, then we'll see a scenario like the Red Bull team in later years, where Verstappen is fighting alone in the front row, single-handedly taking on multiple competitors, while his teammates are so far behind that it's all pointless.

On the contrary, if the second driver is good enough, why should I be the underling?
A man was born between heaven and earth, how could he live in a state of depression for a long time?

The first step to winning the championship is to sacrifice the number one driver, which is how Alonso was forced to leave McLaren.

"But this reminds me of yesterday's qualifying session, where Super Dream driver Takatoshi Kobayashi slipped. It seems that driver Kita's strength has won over his teammate."

James's additional statement instantly brought back memories for many people on the track.

Indeed, it is extremely rare in Formula One racing to achieve a pole position lap time that breaks track records by actively pulling out slipstream without being coerced by team orders.

"It seems that driver Bei is still quite impressive."

"Nonsense, Kobayashi Takatoshi himself said it was an honor for him, so he must be convinced."

"Bei's performance really shattered my perception of Chinese drivers."

While the commentators and viewers were discussing the team's internal conflicts, Chen Xiangbei focused all his attention on the car in front, Costa.

Compared to the relatively unknown Dixon and the driver who is not good at single-lap speeds and close-quarters combat, Costa's lap speed is comparable to Magnussen's, making him one of the strongest drivers in this year's Renault European Championship.

In the previous race, Costa planned to overtake Chen Xiangbei in the corner, but the Chinese player took advantage of this mentality, which led to a battle between him and Magnussen. In the end, Vergne, who was playing a safe strategy, took advantage of the situation and he didn't even make it to the podium.

Costa has made up his mind for this match: he will not lose to the same person twice in a row!

The two race cars sped off one after the other. Costa executed his defensive details perfectly, holding the overtaking line tightly and giving Chen Xiangbei no chance.

Looking at the number 13 car in the rearview mirror, which had tried to attack several times without success, Costa's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of mockery.

During the interval between the two races, he watched Chen Xiangbei's race videos dozens of times and even worked with the team's engineers to create cornering trajectory lines in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Chinese driver's driving style.

It's worth noting that in this year's Renault European Cup, besides Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei, even Japanese drivers like Takatoshi Kobayashi have European racing experience, and their previous race videos and data are available.

Only Chen Xiangbei's resume is blank in all aspects!
The principle of "know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated" is not only understood by the Chinese, but also by Europeans.

Costa believes he suffered because he didn't understand Chen Xiangbei, otherwise he wouldn't have been "tricked" in the first race for Renault.

Through in-depth analysis over the past few days, he discovered that the driving style of Chinese drivers tends to be characterized by oversteer, coupled with extreme late braking before entering corners to overtake.

It's important to know that entering a corner at high speed can easily lead to understeer, or in technical terms, insufficient steering. Chen Xiangbei needs to make the steering more sensitive to compensate for the shortcomings caused by extremely late braking; otherwise, he could easily fail to turn the corner and run straight off the track.

However, oversteer does not necessarily mean perfection, because sharp turns in corners can easily lead to fishtailing. Drivers need to be extremely sensitive to the movement of the rear of the car and find the critical point of balance just before losing control and fishtailing!
If you can't control this critical point, oversteering can easily lead to spin (slipping and spinning).

Verstappen of the Red Bull Racing team later favored an oversteer style of driving, which over time led to misunderstandings among outsiders and the team.

That is, they believed that Verstappen's style was just like that, which led to an even more extreme development direction, resulting in the creation of a race car that was extremely difficult to drive.

In fact, Verstappen's driving style is simply biased towards oversteer, which does not mean that he likes this kind of handling.

On the contrary, the real strength of the turret lies in its understanding of tire grip, which always allows it to control the rear of the race car well and avoid fishtailing and rear wheel slippage!

This kind of exceptional car feel and talent isn't something every driver possesses, at least not Verstappen's teammate. This led to Red Bull's number two driver being a frequent guest driver, and countless others coming and going, their resolve shattered...

Chen Xiangbei at this point is certainly not at Verstappen's level of control.

Driving an oversteerable race car, Costa noticed that the young Chinese driver was unable to perfectly handle the rear-end slippage of the car and frequently had to correct his movements in corners.

This kind of correction is hard to see from the broadcast footage; only the driver's first-person perspective of the race video can reveal clues. Chen Xiangbei would occasionally counter-steer on certain corners.

What Costa needs to do is take advantage of the narrow track and the difficulty of overtaking, block Chen Xiangbei's overtaking lines where he can make perfect turns, and then go full speed and cut through the corners where the Chinese kid needs to correct, trying to widen the distance between the two cars.

After all, no driver can achieve perfection in every corner of the entire track.

Suppressing the opponent's strengths and exploiting their weaknesses—that's Costa's game strategy!
“Team leader Odeto, Costa of the Manor team knows Xiang Beijun very well, and his current racing style is very targeted.”

A serious expression appeared on Hiroki Sawano's face. He could tell that Costa must have done a lot of homework. The line and speed changes in every corner were completely adjusted according to Chen Xiangbei's driving style.

In addition, given the difficulty of overtaking at Donington Park Circuit, it won't be easy for Chen Xiangbei to find a breakthrough in a short period of time.

Furthermore, Scott's obstruction allowed Magnussen to pull further and further ahead, widening the lap time difference to more than a second in just a few laps!
At this rate, even if Chen Xiangbei surpasses Scott, it will be very difficult for him to catch up with Magnussen and win the championship.

Although in Hiroki Sawano's eyes, Chen Xiangbei's second-place finish at P6 would already be considered a very good result, this young Chinese man often finds himself unknowingly raising expectations of him during competitions.

All Hiroki Sawano wants to see now is Chen Xiangbei standing on the highest podium!

"Yes, that's right, the Mano team has studied the north."

"In that case, you now analyze Costa with Mizutani and find loopholes to provide to North Overtake."

what?
Hiroki Sawano was taken aback when he heard Odette's response.

I'm a competition engineer, not some kind of god. The broadcast quality in this era is generally poor. I have to copy the recordings, zoom in, and slow them down to meet the standards required for data analysis.

How can we find Costa's technical vulnerabilities in such a short time?
In a sense, this is the effect of Chen Xiangbei's victory in the first race and the subsequent string of wins, which led to his being the most outstanding person in the forest and thus vulnerable to being crushed by the wind.

For drivers from other teams, simply list him as an opponent and study him.

Conversely, Chen Xiangbei, along with the team, was unable to simultaneously analyze all nineteen opponents on the field.

His training focus for this leg of the trip was entirely on the Donington Park track.

Since we can't target everyone, we can only target the track.

"Why are you looking at me? I don't have any good ideas."

"Hurry up and act, or Bei will really be unable to catch up with Magnussen."

Odette shrugged, completely passing the problem on to Hiroki Sawano.

As the team leader, he is better at handling strategic decision-making. As for the more detailed tactical issues like data analysis, he shouldn't make things difficult for this old man.

Faced with Odette's "frank" remarks, Hiroki Sawano showed the same bewildered expression that Chen Xiangbei had before the match.

The team leader completely shirked responsibility for this race, and the only track strategy he gave was to let Chen Xiangbei overtake other cars.

As for how he overtook it, that's none of his business...

"Yes, team leader."

The Japanese are unquestionable when it comes to obedience. Even though he found it extremely difficult, Hiroki Sawano didn't say a word and went to the control panel with Sho Mizutani to find the control loopholes in Costa.

"The situation on the track is now at two extremes, with the drivers in the back row engaged in a fierce battle, and there are changes in position almost every lap."

"On the contrary, after the front row drivers made a crazy four-lap overtake of three cars in the early stages of the race, they fell into a stalemate. With the race already halfway through, the Chinese guy was still following behind Costa looking for an opportunity."

"The only change was that Dixon, who was in fourth place, couldn't hold up his tires and had to pit for a tire change, while his teammate Vergne moved up one place to the back of the car in the north."

"Given Vergne's excellent long-distance performance, if driver Nürburgh cannot quickly overtake Costa, then he will face the challenge of being sandwiched between him and others!"

James explained the changing situation on the track, and in a sense, the current stalemate at the front is a common sight at Donington Park circuit races.

After all, standard racing cars with the same power rely entirely on slipstream to overtake. Once the track is too narrow and there is not enough space, the brief "slingshot effect" disappears, and even if you step on the accelerator, you still can't overtake your opponent.

"James, driver North has been following Costa for almost ten laps. This must be the limit of his speed and ability. He hasn't shown any outstanding driving skills."

Mike said this with a slightly amused smile on his face.

In his view, James's previous remarks were somewhat biased towards Chinese drivers.

Objectively speaking, Chen Xiangbei's four laps overtaking three cars at the start was impressive, but he doesn't deserve to be called a driver who surpasses his class!

Do you really think there are no talented young people in Europe?

Costa has already demonstrated his strength; Chen Xiangbei couldn't overtake him even after ten laps!
Mike's comment instantly resonated with the audience.

Chen Xiangbei had put on a show for half the game, maintaining a mindset of not playing when things were going badly, which had left many white viewers waiting for a long time.

Now that Chen Xiangbei is being held back by Costa, it seems he's not all that great.

"Go Costa, don't give the driver any chance."

"The Chinese driver was just lucky; he ran into internal strife within the ART team."

"They overtook several people ahead and were making a huge fuss, do they really think they've created a lap of God on the track?"

"I'm putting this out there: I'll never beat Costa in the North Super League, or I'll run naked on the track!"

The atmosphere in the stands instantly became tense, with a few even standing up and taunting the Chinese spectators.

Those Chinese guys were so arrogant just now, why aren't they bragging anymore? "Costa, you did a fantastic job, the audience is cheering for you, keep up the good work against North!"

Manor's race engineer timely relayed audience feedback to Costa, hoping to encourage the driver.

"Roger that!"

Costa sounded excited when he heard the team's TR.

It's worth noting that he's not a popular driver in karting and F4 racing. The audience's attention is usually focused on F1 "family scions" like Magnussen, and drivers with excellent performances and results like Vergne.

He became the center of attention, which made Costa incredibly excited!

Costa also glanced at Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 race car following behind through the rearview mirror.

I've completely seen through this Chinese kid; there's no way he can surpass him!
Just as Costa was brimming with confidence, Chen Xiangbei also received a TR from the team.

"Hey, Costa had a problem with his line not being accurate at the Schwantz corner on T9."

"If you're planning to overtake, I suggest you do so at T9 Schwarz corner and capitalize on his line error!"

Hiroki Sawano may have the relatively conservative shortcomings of the older generation of Japanese cyclists, but this is merely a defect caused by his professional environment or experience, not a lack of his professional ability.

On the contrary, Hiroki Sawano also possesses the advantage of having extremely solid basic skills, a trait common among older generation Japanese drivers.

Working together with Mizutani Sho, he actually managed to pinpoint Costa's driving error despite the less-than-clear broadcast quality.

No one can perfectly control the entire track. Just as Chen Xiangbei had too many flaws in correcting certain corners, Costa also had the problem of inaccurate racing lines.

T9 Schwarz Bend is where Chen Xiangbei overtakes!

"Sawano, when you say the line isn't precise, do you mean Costa understeers in corners?"

"Xiang Beijun, do you know?"

In TR, Hiroki Sawano asked in utter surprise, completely unexpected that Chen Xiangbei had already seen through the flaw.

"Ah."

Chen Xiangbei responded softly. Compared to Hiroki Sawano's observation through video, he had only followed Costa for ten laps, so he naturally had a clear view of the opponent's route.

Costa's running style tends to be characterized by understeer, which is considered the mainstream style of this era.

Alonso and Hamilton are examples of this.

Under normal circumstances, there is no distinction between good and bad styles, but in the face of different cornering characteristics, shortcomings will sometimes be exposed.

For example, the combination of corners T8 and T9 at Donington Park involves a series of high-speed right-left-right-left turns, causing the car's center of gravity to shift rapidly. Drivers need to quickly adjust the steering wheel angle in both corners to maintain the overall balance of the car.

When driving in a low-steering style on wide, sharp corners, especially with the 1:1 steering ratio of Formula One cars, it is often necessary to quickly turn the steering wheel more than 100 degrees, leaving the hands in an extremely awkward and uncomfortable joint angle.

Then, you have to counter-steer by more than 100 degrees, almost making a full circle with the steering wheel. It takes top-level skill to achieve such extreme precision.

Without a doubt, Costa is not capable of that.

Chen Xiangbei followed behind for several laps and had already noticed Costa's mistake in positioning, but he did not launch an attack rashly.

Dixon's tough defense made Chen Xiangbei realize that he was now a lot of "hatred".

Unless there's an absolutely certain opportunity, a forced overtake will most likely result in a collision. Especially considering Costa was outmaneuvered by himself in the last race, with both old and new grudges combined, he'd probably rather crash and retire than watch someone overtake him.

Since that was the case, Chen Xiangbei did not make any rash moves. He followed the opponent around in circles, gradually making him relax and realize that he could not overtake him.

"Sawano, how far away am I from Magnussen right now?"

"2.41 seconds."

"it's time."

With ten laps remaining in the race, Chen Xiangbei needs to be 0.241 seconds faster than his opponent on each lap if he wants to catch up with Magnussen.

In addition, overtaking takes time, so Chen Xiangbei needs to be at least 0.3 seconds faster per lap to secure victory.

That lap is when Chen Xiangbei will overtake Costa!
Looking at the T8 bend in front of him, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the gas and accelerated at full speed, directly biting the back of the Costa's car. At this moment, the distance between the two cars could be measured in centimeters.

Costa felt the roar of an engine approaching from behind, and could only see half of Chen Xiangbei's car in the rearview mirror, but he did not panic much.

The reason is that Chen Xiangbei had played this trick a few times before, which gave him the illusion of "the boy who cried wolf".

As Costa predicted, Chen Xiangbei followed into the T8 bend without making a move.

However, as he exited the corner and entered T9 Schwarz, Costa's steering wheel turned. Due to being chased by Chen Xiangbei, his cornering speed was too high, and the car clearly showed signs of understeer.

In that instant, Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 race car appeared like a ghost on the side of Costa in the broadcast footage. Then, with more precise steering lines, it quickly passed the entire car of its opponent, completing the overtaking maneuver with unparalleled ease and precision.

Throughout the entire process, Costa could only watch helplessly as Chen Xiangbei passed by him. Even when he tried to forcefully steer the wheel to change lanes and resist the urge to collide with the two cars, it was all in vain.

The understeer caused by the understeer made it impossible for him to make any moves at all!

"NICE!"

"Well done, Xiang Beijun!"

"Brother Bei is awesome!"

The area next to the Super Dream team's P station erupted in cheers; Chen Xiangbei truly lived up to his word.

He said he would overtake at the T9 Schwarz corner, and he actually did it!
What's even more terrifying is that only the Super Dream team's strategy group knew that Chen Xiangbei had already outmaneuvered Costa, and that the opponent's attempts to stop him from beginning to end were nothing but a pipe dream.

This keen observation and the patience to follow the car for ten laps completely exceeded the mental limits of a rookie driver!
So much so that even Costa himself, looking at Chen Xiangbei appearing in front of him, could hardly believe his eyes. He had blocked Chen perfectly, giving his opponent no chance whatsoever, so how could Chen have overtaken him so easily?

What went wrong?
"GOOD!"

James shouted, glancing at Mike.

As it turns out, driver Bei has demonstrated a level of skill that surpasses his class!
"Ladies and gentlemen, with ten laps left in the race, Chinese driver Bei has overtaken P2 driver Costa, leaving only the leader Magnussen ahead of him."

"To be honest, I was stunned by what I just saw. I don't know how North managed to overtake Costa so easily. It was as simple and smooth as if he were taking a leisurely stroll."

"Keep in mind that Costa comes from the veteran team Manor and has even won the British Karting Championship. His familiarity with this track far surpasses that of Chinese driver Bei."

"Costa couldn't stop the North, and with Magnussen holding a commanding lead for the remaining ten laps, can he secure his championship title?"

No one knew the answer, but Magnussen, who had been informed by the team TR, had a bad feeling!
He didn't know why he had this feeling. With a lead of more than two seconds, he had an absolute advantage. Chen Xiangbei was not only not a threat, but it was probably a question of whether he could even catch up to see the taillights.

What's so ominous about it?
Theoretically, Chen Xiangbei's chances of catching up and winning the championship are slim, but his performance has already won the approval of the Chinese audience at the scene.

He was penalized five places and chased down from P6 to P2. It was obvious that his status as the "public enemy of the track" gave him special attention. He still relentlessly overtook one opponent after another. Chen Xiangbei has done more than enough.

"Chen Xiangbei, keep it up! You didn't let Chinese drivers down!"

"North, fly freely, you have already done your best."

"Whether you become the champion or not, I am proud of you!"

Countless cheers and shouts rang out. Compared to the usual calls for the driver to win the championship, even though Chen Xiangbei was only ranked P2, the Chinese and overseas Chinese audience at the scene were already extremely satisfied.

Chen Xiangbei has created too many unexpected miracles. He is like a wild grass that has sprung up in the barren desert of Chinese Formula racing, and he is growing wildly with his own efforts.

You can't expect wild grass to grow into a towering tree in an instant.

He has performed well enough!

Chen Xiangbei was unaware of the satisfaction the Chinese audience at the racetrack would receive.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't stop there!
With Costa out of the way, Chen Xiangbei improved his lap times at an astonishing pace. With five laps left in the race, he set a new race record of 1 minute 09.155 seconds, close to the race record at Donington Park.

Keep in mind that this fastest lap time wasn't achieved during the later stages of the race when the team specifically pitted to change to new tires.

Given the current tire wear, being able to achieve a lap time close to the track record is truly amazing!

"Sawano, how far am I from Magnussen?"

"1.09 seconds."

Hiroki Sawano felt his voice tremble slightly when he answered the question.

He really hadn't thought that Chen Xiangbei would have a chance to catch up with Magnussen.

I never imagined that this Chinese kid would be aiming for the championship!

As the race cars sped around and around, the audience fell silent as they watched the distance between them shrink on the big screen.

Everyone stared intently at the two cars at the front of the track, wondering if Chen Xiangbei could eventually catch up with Magnussen and challenge for the championship.

Meanwhile, Magnussen, who was running at the front, listened to the team's constant reports on the gap between the two cars and could hardly believe his ears.

Even though I was pushing forward in the last few laps, why did the distance between the two cars close so quickly? Could it be that driver Bei's tires are particularly durable?

It wasn't that Chen Xiangbei's tires were durable; rather, it was because he had been following the Costa for so long that, besides observing the other car's driving line mistakes, he had been using the wake to protect his tires.

Conversely, Magnussen, who was in the lead, wanted to maintain his absolute advantage and push forward, not wanting Costa to get his slipstream and create the "train" scene commonly seen in F1.

Heavy oil propulsion causes far more wear and tear on tires than Chen Xiangbei's current light oil propulsion, resulting in a huge difference in lap times.

With two laps remaining in the race, Chen Xiangbei finally caught up to Magnussen's car and even managed to get a slipstream. His speed increased again, and the two cars instantly closed the gap to less than 5 meters!
Are you ready to attack me?
Looking at car number 13 in the rearview mirror, Magnussen wore a cold expression. Leading for the entire race, only to be overtaken at the last moment—anyone would be unhappy in that situation.

Chen Xiangbei remained expressionless, but his heart was filled with fighting spirit.

The upcoming match will be a direct confrontation with a future F1 driver, which is something to look forward to.

The added speed from the wake effect meant that Chen Xiangbei was bound to be faster than Magnussen in front of him. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately changed lanes and used the "slingshot" effect to launch an attack.

Magnussen reacted quickly, almost immediately setting up a defensive line to block Chen Xiangbei behind the car.

Chen Xiangbei had anticipated this; if Magnussen were so easy to surpass, he wouldn't have become an F1 driver in the future.

With only two laps left in the race, Chen Xiangbei didn't have enough time to engage in a close battle with Magnussen. He had to unleash his absolutely fierce offensive and completely shatter any of his opponent's defenses!
An extremely exciting scene unfolded on the track, with Chen Xiangbei launching continuous attacks in the last two laps, while Magnussen's defense was equally resolute and swift, showcasing a beautiful offensive and defensive confrontation between the two.

However, as time went on, Magnussen felt the pressure increasing, especially when Chen Xiangbei overtook him several times on the corners by crossing lanes. If it weren't for his extensive experience practicing karting tracks since childhood, he might have already been overtaken by his opponent.

To prevent this situation of parallel crossing on a curve from happening again, Magnussen made a second move in the braking zone, using a "dragon drawing" technique to prevent Chen Xiangbei from overtaking!
The FIA's rules on second lane changes will not be finalized until the 2011 revision. Although the maneuvering at Magnussen is disgusting, it can only be considered a close call and not a violation!
With only one lap left in the race, many people were on tenterhooks watching Chen Xiangbei, whom they couldn't overtake. Was it really impossible for him to pull off a miraculous comeback?

But at that moment, Chen Xiangbei once again used the slingshot effect to accelerate, only this time he went a little further to the left than a normal overtaking maneuver. Magnussen saw this and also turned left to change lanes to defend, but Chen Xiangbei immediately countered by turning right, and the rapid lane change caused the car to show signs of burning tires.

Magnussen was no novice when faced with Chen Xiangbei's "deceptive" overtaking maneuver; it was impossible for him to be fooled.

He immediately turned the steering wheel to the right, determined not to give Chen Xiangbei any room to overtake!

This time, however, Chen Xiangbei wasn't trying to overtake; he intended to take the corner faster.

Chen Xiangbei turned the steering wheel to the right and rode directly onto the curb of the curve, with the right tire even extending to the outermost gravel buffer zone, cutting the curve in a way that could be described as "taking a shortcut".

The tires kicked up sand and gravel that filled the air. Magnussen realized something was wrong and tried to stop it, but it was too late.

Chen Xiangbei's car overtook his rear wheels, then the rest of the car, then the front wheels and the wing. He could only watch in disbelief as Chen Xiangbei overtook him and appeared in front of him.
Does this count as a successful overtaking maneuver?
The question on everyone's mind was whether Chen Xiangbei's "cutting the watermelon" was a violation, and whether it would be like the previous case where improper judgments resulted in the tires being swapped after crossing the white line.

Only Oddo had a meaningful smile on his face.

This kid really figured out the essence of the Senna's "Loop of God" video from back then; he even knows the correct route when the track layout has changed.

Back then, this was a standard race track with asphalt paving. However, with changes to the track layout, part of this area became a gravel buffer zone. Chen Xiangbei's tires did cross the white line, but not all four wheels, meaning he didn't violate any rules.

No one had taken shortcuts before because gravel was very damaging to tires. Now, on the final lap, Chen Xiangbei no longer needed to worry about tire wear; he could freely take extreme driving lines!
Being able to navigate this corner is not only a demonstration of driving skills, but also signifies that Chen Xiangbei has thoroughly studied the Donington circuit.

Apart from strategy team members like Odette who have been in the paddock for decades and witnessed the 94 F1 Grand Prix, most team strategy team members present probably wouldn't even know about this extremely obscure cut-off line.

Having achieved this much, even Odette, who doesn't have much of a feel for low-level formula racing results, had to admit that Chen Xiangbei's championship was undisputed.

Deserved!

(End of this chapter)