Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 135 Top-Tier Car Tuning Talent (Part 2)

The live audience cannot hear the TR voice prompts used by the racing team during practice; they can only judge the drivers' skill level by looking at the lap time leaderboard.

"What's wrong with Chen Xiangbei? Why is he lingering downstream in the first few laps?"

"Although people sometimes hide things during practice, as an F1 driver, he shouldn't behave like this."

"Please add the word 'test,' this is fundamentally different from being an official F1 driver!"

"Didn't you see that the driver's North Lap Time is steadily improving? He's practically jumped to F3 now, and it's the most difficult Guia Circuit at that. It's normal for him not to perform well."

"Raikkonen jumped from Renault to F1, how could he not perform well?"

Many of the audience members were unfamiliar with Formula racing, while others were knowledgeable about motorsports.

After all, the Grand Prix has been held for over fifty years, making it the oldest motorsport event in Asia. It has cultivated many loyal fans and spectators who know exactly what lap times they should achieve during practice on this track.

Just like in F1 practice sessions, even if the "Big Three" teams hold back during practice sessions, they will not normally fall to a position outside the top 15.

There were 26 participants in this year's Grand Prix F3 competition. Chen Xiangbei was ranked outside the top 20 for the first few laps, and only recently did he get into the top 20, which did not meet the expectations of many viewers.

It's worth noting that Chen Xiangbei holds the title of F1 test driver and is currently considered the top Chinese motorsport driver.

If you rank low even in F3, how can you compete in F1?

Not only the spectators at the scene, but even the engineers from the opposing team who were following Chen Xiangbei were puzzled by this lap time performance.

As professionals, they are well aware of the prestige of consecutive European Renault Cup titles, and Chen Xiangbei is considered one of the key contenders for the championship in this edition.

He is only behind Kyosuke Kunimoto of the TOM'S team and Martina of the ST team. Even Fong Chun-yu, the most popular local driver in Hong Kong and once regarded as a rising star, is ranked behind Chan Heung-pai.

Kyoto Kunimoto and Mattarella were the champion and runner-up in the previous competition, which shows the importance attached to Chen Xiangbei.

So this is the practice lap time?
For a moment, none of the teams knew whether Chen Xiangbei was faking it or if he was really that bad!
Chen Xiangbei, on the track, naturally couldn't hear the outside world's opinions and speculations, but even if he did, he wouldn't care.

He's become numb to the numerous similar questions he's faced in Europe. In comparison, the audience in Australia simply doesn't understand, which is quite "friendly" to Chen Xiangbei.

Now that he has adapted to the handling characteristics of the mechanical age, Chen Xiangbei's next task is to ensure that this F3 race car is fully compatible with the characteristics of the Guia Circuit.

"Sawano, the front wing angle needs to be increased to increase downforce and counteract understeer caused by sharp turns."

"The rear wing angle needs to be adjusted to reduce downforce. The Guia Circuit has many narrow corners, and excessive downforce will not help the corners much. Instead, it will affect the top speed on the two long straights."

Chen Xiangbei first provided feedback to the team via TR regarding the aerodynamic kit tuning plan.

To be aware, for aerodynamic components, especially the rear wing, to generate strong downforce, the race car must have sufficient speed.

If the vehicle speed is not high enough, the airflow will also be slow, and in this case, the aerodynamic kit can only serve a decorative purpose.

Many street-side modifications, often resembling those found in auto parts markets, involve adding a large rear wing to the trunk of the car to make it look impressive. However, in reality, if the car's speed is below 200 km/h, the downforce generated by such a wing is negligible.

Its most useful function is probably as a dining table, where you can sit on the back of the car and eat your boxed lunch...

The narrow and winding nature of the Guia Circuit means that cornering speeds can't be very high. In this situation, the car needs mechanical downforce more than aerodynamic downforce, so it would be better to directly change the car's aerodynamic tuning.

"receive."

Hiroki Sawano gave a brief reply, then looked at Oddo.

With a look of surprise, he asked, "Team leader, does Xiang Beijun know how to fine-tune the aerodynamic details?"

It's important to know that Formula Renault cars don't have such complex aerodynamic kits; their tuning focuses more on modifying and setting up the mechanical structure.

For example, simple low, medium, and high downforce settings.

Chen Xiangbei's team voice message just now clearly mentioned the adjustment of the front and rear wing angles, which is completely beyond the scope of a driver who is new to F3.

Chen Xiangbei's previous "struggle" driving of the race car also confirmed that he was completely unfamiliar with this F3 race car, and theoretically could not possibly understand the tuning feedback of the aerodynamic kit!
That leaves only one possibility: Odeto taught him?

"I didn't teach it."

Seeing Hiroki Sawano's questioning gaze, Odeto knew what the other wanted to ask and gave a direct answer.

How did you know that?

Hiroki Sawano's expression was full of disbelief, just like when he first saw Chen Xiangbei running a rain race and driving a racing simulator at Suzuka Racing Academy.

The problem was that at that time, Chen Xiangbei had the backing of Huasai Sports and the driving experience of CFR2000 race cars, so the most likely suspicion was that he had concealed his professional training time.

Chen Xiangbei's familiarity with F3 racing is now even more exaggerated, reaching a level that is "innate," and it can be completely ruled out that he may have had any prior contact with it.

Since there are no full-power F3 race cars in the entire Chinese mainland, where could Chen Xiangbei get access to them?

"Perhaps Xiang Bei-jun taught himself this in advance."

Sho Mizutani offered an explanation.

Chen Xiangbei trains for more than ten hours every day, which includes not only physical fitness but also a lot of theoretical knowledge related to racing.

This is why top drivers can participate in race car development. Although many of them may not have advanced degrees, their knowledge of automotive engineering is no less than that of a typical engineer.

In fact, if top drivers are willing, obtaining a degree from a prestigious university is a very simple matter.

Just like Chen Xiangbei having a student status in racing engineering at Suzuka University, seemingly "having only the name" and not actually studying, but if he were to take the exam, he could easily pass it.

Of course, Chen Xiangbei's experience in tuning aerodynamic kits does not come from his lifelong study of racing theory, but rather from his foundation from his previous life.

Racing car control systems will be upgraded from mechanical to electronic. However, fundamental physics like aerodynamics will not change in just over a decade, and experience can be applied universally.

"The gearbox needs a close gear ratio, especially the second and third gears, to highlight the acceleration capability on short straights and low-speed corners."

"Tire pressure and camber need to be adjusted to optimize the contact surface in corners and maintain grip."

"Reduce the front suspension stiffness and adjust the compression damping of the shock absorbers."

Chen Xiangbei kept talking about the TR feedback and tuning plan, and in the process, he increasingly found a familiar feeling from his previous life.

This is a real Formula One car; Renault is just a beginner's toy!
"Can one achieve this level of self-study?"

Odeto turned around and asked Mizutani Sho a question.

He felt that the feedback on the air kit adjustment alone was within acceptable limits.

Chen Xiangbei's feedback on the project is now at the level of a professional racing engineer.

To put it bluntly, as long as these tuning feedbacks can be verified to be correct, Odette believes that Chen Xiangbei's feel for the car and his proficiency in tuning are in no way inferior to those of ordinary mid-to-lower-tier F1 drivers!

Understanding car setup and feedback is a highly sought-after skill, even in Formula 1. It means that even if your driving skills are somewhat lacking, you can still attract offers from top teams' second drivers or smaller teams' number one drivers.

Just like former Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas, his car setup and feedback were the foundation for his three-year contract.

Even the huge gap between Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu and him in qualifying in his final year was rumored to be due to the refusal to share car setup data.

Zhou Guanyu is still young, and he can't compete with the veterans in terms of tuning experience.

"Probably...maybe...maybe."

Sho Mizutani stammered his answer, admitting he wasn't even sure himself.

While Chen Xiangbei was focusing on fine-tuning his car to match the Guia Circuit, many drivers from other teams were already testing their performance limits in practice sessions.

Because most of the teams participating in the Australian Grand Prix are considered "local experts," they have extensive experience in tuning and track data, so they don't need to start from scratch like Chen Xiangbei.

Even though Chen Xiangbei has the tuning scheme of a long-established powerhouse team like ART in Europe, it's still no match for teams like TOM'S, ST, or even Fang Junyu's local Kaifei team in Asia.

It's worth noting that even formidable players like Hamilton and Vettel, who come from outside the Mercedes and BMW youth training programs, have twice failed to advance from the Guia Circuit, demonstrating the significant home advantage of street circuits.

Although Hamilton did not win the F3 Grand Prix in 03 and 04, he holds the record for the fastest lap on this track, breaking the pole position record that Schumacher had held for thirteen years, and truly deserves the nickname "Liu the One-Lap".

The lap time is 2 minutes 09.873 seconds!

Inside the race studio, two commentators are discussing the practice session on the track.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region, the Grand Prix specially invited Li Bing, an F1 commentator from Samsung Sports, to partner with Luo Xuan, a local commentator from Hong Kong Island Television.

"This year's Grand Prix is ​​full of top drivers. The defending champion, Kyosuke Kunimoto, has already started testing the limits of his car. He set a time of 2 minutes and 11.335 seconds in the last lap, which shows that he is adapting to the track very quickly."

Li Bing praised defending champion Kyoto Kunimoto, whose performance at the Guia Circuit last year was truly remarkable.

At the age of nineteen, winning the championship in his first Grand Prix is ​​a rare achievement in the tournament's more than fifty-year history. At the same time, Kyosuke Kunimoto is also the second youngest champion in history.

"Kyosuke Kunimoto has shown the strength of the defending champion, but last year's runner-up, Motara, also had a very good lap time, placing him third on the leaderboard, and he hasn't pitted yet."

"In addition, our Hong Kong Island driver, Fong Chun-yu, is currently ranked sixth in practice lap times. He skipped the karting stage and reached the German F3 stage in just one year. His racing talent truly deserves the title of 'rising star'!"

Hong Kong commentator Luo Feng specifically introduced Fang Junyu's achievements and the title of "Rising Star," his tone filled with pride. Without the historical perspective of someone like Chen Xiangbei, Fang Junyu, at only seventeen years old, truly deserves to be considered a rising star among Chinese drivers, having reached the Grand Prix F3.

Veterans like Cheng Congfu and Ma Qingye were still racing in lower-level Formula racing in Asia, such as BMW and Renault, when they were teenagers. Even Chen Xiangbei didn't get the opportunity to go to the Suzuka Racing Academy in Japan until he was eighteen.

It's normal to praise one's own people, but this Hong Kong commentator, for reasons unknown, actually made a veiled criticism of Chen Xiangbei.

"Chen Xiangbei, a driver from mainland China, has the title of test driver for the F1 Brawn GO team, but his lap time ranked 17th, nearly three seconds behind Kunimoto Kyosuke."

"You should know that the Grand Prix has a tradition of qualifying elimination races, and only 15 drivers will be able to qualify for the main race. The speed and strength that Chen Xiangbei has shown so far seem to be inconsistent with the titles and fame that have been promoted."

The Guia Circuit is relatively narrow even for street circuits, making it impossible to accommodate 26 cars racing at the same time.

Decades ago, the Grand Prix adopted a qualifying elimination system, allowing a maximum of fifteen drivers to advance to the race. Based on Chen Xiangbei's current lap times of seven or eight laps, with his fastest time only ranking 17th, he will likely be eliminated in qualifying.

Luo Feng was a little confused. How could someone with this level of skill snatch Fang Junyu's title and be regarded as the next Takuma Sato in Asia?
"Teacher Luo, the results of the practice match don't mean anything. Chen Xiangbei may still be in the process of adapting and adjusting."

Li Bing spoke up for Chen Xiangbei.

He only recently started paying attention to this rising Chinese prodigy. Judging from his professional resume, Chen Xiangbei's speed of skipping grades is actually comparable to Fang Junyu's.

Can that CKC championship title fool mainland motorsports professionals?

Huasai Sports went bankrupt and never held the 08 CKC event!

This means that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Chen Xiangbei's go-karting experience will also be blank.

He had no professional karting experience, only trained in Japan for a few months, went to Europe to drive Formula Renault, won consecutive championships and broke track records, and now he is experiencing F3 racing for the first time.

In Li Bing's opinion, not being at the bottom is already considered acceptable. The talent ceiling that Chen Xiangbei has shown makes him no less than the next Takuma Sato!
"Mr. Li, are you saying that F1 test drivers also need to adapt to F3 cars?"

Luo Feng asked in a playful tone, "It's understandable that you run slowly, but to say you can't adapt is just ridiculous."

Faced with this statement, Li Bing was somewhat speechless.

Chen Xiangbei's rise to prominence was so rapid that even Li Bing, a domestic F1 commentator, had never heard of him before the Sports Weekly report, let alone knew about the process of signing with the Brawn GP team.

He wanted to defend Chen Xiangbei, but lacking understanding of the situation, he didn't know where to begin.

Theoretically, Luo Feng is indeed correct. Signing a test driver with an F1 team should not present any adaptation issues with F3 cars.

These comments from the race commentator drew more attention to Chen Xiangbei's lap time from the audience.

"The practice session is halfway through, and Chen Xiangbei is driving much slower than expected."

"Yeah, shouldn't F1 test drivers be far ahead?"

"How did they manage to sign with the Brawn GP team at this speed? It doesn't seem right."

"Are you kidding me? It must be a sponsorship deal."

Doubts and sarcasm gradually increased, and not every viewer was a supporter of Chen Xiangbei.

Especially in Hong Kong and Macau, there are quite a few people who are filled with an inexplicable sense of superiority.

The driver, who was supposed to be a force to be reckoned with, failed to demonstrate the expected strength and will inevitably become the subject of controversy.

"Odette, how worn are the tires?"

"The front wheels have an average remaining percentage of 12%, and the rear wheels have 31% remaining."

Compared to Formula Renault, F3 cars have a much larger number of sensors, including data on the percentage of tire wear, eliminating the need to rely on team experience for judgment as before.

However, F3 wear data can only provide an average value. If it were an F1 car, precise data would be available for each tire, making it easier for team engineers to study, correct, and adjust the tires.

After all, modern F1 cars have over seven hundred sensors!

"Odetto, how much time is left until the practice match ends?"

"Less than twenty minutes."

"Request to enter the station for calibration."

"Received, preparing to enter the station."

After Chen Xiangbei finished speaking, he drove the car into the pit lane on the next lap. Hiroki Sawano, Liang Chi, and others were already waiting in the pit area. They would complete the modification settings for the car as quickly as possible.

This time, as they entered the station, Chen Xiangbei spotted Odette from afar, standing at the front of the train with the front jack.

The biggest difference between F3 and Formula Renault is that F3 operates entirely as a simplified version of F1, meaning that after practice sessions, the car cannot have its settings changed, otherwise it will be penalized with time penalties or retirements depending on the severity.

The number of crew members for the Super Dream team that arrived in Australia was severely insufficient. In order to shorten the setup time, even Odeto, who was the team leader, had to take on the role of a maintenance technician.

And he even chose the most dangerous position for the front jack!
It's worth noting that Chen Xiangbei's previous Renault car setups involved parking the car at the garage entrance and having the mechanics push it into the pit lane, unlike F1 races where changes are made in the pit area.

This means that Chen Xiangbei has never been involved in Formula One pit stop training!

Don't assume that pit stops in Formula One racing are simple. To save every second, drivers need extremely high levels of speed control and precision. With a standard speed limit of 80 km/h, the driver needs to bring the car to a complete stop with an error of no more than three centimeters.

If a driver makes any operational mistake, the mechanic at the front jack will be the first to be hit and knocked over by the kinetic energy released by the race car.

Countless accidents have occurred in F1 history where drivers have crashed into their own team engineers during pit stops. Approximately one-third of these incidents involved mechanics operating the front jacks, highlighting the extreme danger involved.

Odette's presence in this position signifies his absolute trust in Chen Xiangbei. He believes that this young man can precisely control the F3 car, unlike the audience and commentators who are complaining about not being able to adapt!

Chen Xiangbei floored the accelerator and drove into the parking area, then braked precisely on the parking line. Odette didn't hesitate at all, immediately locking the jack in front of the car and, using leverage and with the help of Mizutani Sho in the parking space, lifted the entire race car up.

As for Hiroki Sawano, Liang Chi, and others, they quickly changed the race car tuning plan after changing the tires, based on Chen Xiangbei's previous feedback.

"By the way, Odato, the difference in tire wear between the front and rear is too large. I suggest setting the front axle stiffer to reduce the inertial pressure from braking, and setting the rear wheels softer to ensure traction when exiting corners."

During this time, Chen Xiangbei offered his feedback on the tires.

"Ah."

Odeto gave a simple response, without saying another word.

Odeto's attitude today felt somewhat "unfamiliar" to Chen Xiangbei.

He couldn't help but ask, "Odetto, do you have any objections to the adjustments I provided?"

What kind of opinion would you like to hear?

"It's the kind of opinion that asks whether there's a problem or not."

To be honest, since he was driving an F3 race car from a different era, Chen Xiangbei wasn't 100% confident in his tuning plan.

"no problem."

"Is it really okay?"

"YES!"

Odette gave an extremely positive answer; this time, he really couldn't find anything wrong with Chen Xiangbei.

Due to the large number of settings that needed to be changed and the lack of manpower, the car tuning process was not fast.

When Hiroki Sawano gave the OK sign to indicate that the car could be released, there were only five minutes left in the practice session. In theory, Chen Xiangbei could still run a maximum of three more laps before pitting.

In reality, Chen Xiangbei couldn't run three laps; he could only manage one lap at most!
The reason is that no one can guarantee whether Chen Xiangbei truly possesses top-tier talent in racing car tuning, or whether his feedback data is necessarily accurate.

The team needs to give Hiroki Sawano one pit stop for setup before the end of practice.

Chen Xiangbei understood this principle, and when the race car returned to the Guia Circuit, he began to unleash his full potential to challenge the limits of speed.

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei held nothing back, accelerating wildly and speeding along the track, cutting through corners and displaying a ferocious driving style completely different from before. This drew the attention of the track broadcast cameras and tens of thousands of viewers to his No. 13 race car.

"Fast! It's incredibly fast! Chen Xiangbei's speed after leaving the station is astonishing, giving the impression of a tiger sweeping across the vast distance."

"I don't know if Chen Xiangbei learned about the doubts and controversies surrounding him while he was in the pit lane, and it seems he wants to respond forcefully with his speed. There's no truth to the claim that he can't adapt to F3 racing!"

Commentator Li Bing sounded very excited, and he also had high expectations for Chen Xiangbei.

Li Bing felt extremely aggrieved by Luo Feng's words, the commentator from Hong Kong Island. He could understand the underlying sarcasm in Luo Feng's words.

But racing is all about results, and Chen Xiangbei's lap times, which placed him in the teens or so, left Li Bing with no grounds for rebuttal.

He now had a feeling that Chen Xiangbei's test lap time could be in the top three!
As it turned out, Li Bing's hunch was somewhat wrong; Chen Xiangbei's test lap times were not only in the top three.

With his full power on this lap, when the lap times appeared on the track's big screen, Chen Xiangbei gave everyone a lesson on what the true strength of an F1 test driver is.

2 minutes 09 seconds 926!

He became the first driver to break the 2-minute-09-second barrier in practice, just one step away from breaking the pole position record!
(End of this chapter)