Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 147 The Most Powerful Racing Car on Earth

The Circuit de Catalunya is only about 30 kilometers from Barcelona Airport. The bus took about half an hour to reach the track, and the entire team of about 20 people arrived.

As the Catalan circuit serves as a testing ground for racing cars and a training ground for rookies year-round, it boasts comprehensive facilities, including large hotels and guesthouses nearby that can provide accommodation for racing crew members.

In terms of environment and facilities alone, the Catalan circuit gave Chen Xiangbei a first impression that was very similar to Silverstone Circuit in the UK.

The Super Dream team, consisting of about twenty people, first checked into the hotel, then had lunch and rested briefly before gathering around 2 p.m. to head to the garage and pit area of ​​the Catalan circuit.

Just as Chen Xiangbei reached the gate, he heard a deafening roar coming from the direction of the racetrack.

Compared to the roar of F1 engines that Chen Xiangbei heard in his previous life, the sound now is more powerful and fierce.

Without a doubt, the only engine in this era that can produce a similar roar is the 2.4L V8 engine in F1 cars, which revs up to 19,000 RPM!
When F1 entered the hybrid era, the engine size was reduced to a 1.6L V6 turbocharged engine, and more importantly, the speed was limited to 15,000 revolutions per minute.

As a result, the engine roar is sharper, lacking the deep and powerful sound of a V8.

"Field, are there any other F1 teams testing?"

Chen Xiangbei asked the people accompanying him.

The white man named Field was the receptionist and coordinator sent by the Brawn GP team.

Field will be responsible for all aspects of the work, including car crew hospitality, track coordination, and even race car logistics.

After all, Chen Xiangbei was unfamiliar with the place and the people there. The members of the Chaomeng team who were split up were mainly technicians, who were also not very familiar with logistics. Without Fidel's help, a lot of time would be wasted.

"Yes, McLaren junior driver Parfit is being tested."

Field casually replied, then seemed to remember something and added, "Oh right, there's also a Chinese driver named Tung who's currently undergoing trials with Renault."

"Tung?"

Upon hearing this strange name, Chen Xiangbei looked completely bewildered.

He didn't know if it was a problem with Field's accent or with the transliteration of foreigners, but he couldn't tell who it was.

Just like the transliteration of "Bei" in Chinese, it often sounds like "Bei" to foreigners.

In Chen Xiangbei's memory, only two Chinese drivers from this era came to Europe to race Formula One cars: Ma Qingye and Cheng Congfu, and neither of them met the Renault trial standards.

In the world of Formula E, there is often a term called the "Big Three".

These three top racing teams will have different compositions and classifications over time and in different eras.

In the early stages, the three generally recognized "big three" were Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams.

The "Big Three" that are generally recognized by later generations are Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes-Benz, which are basically undisputed.

As for the "Big Three" of this era, they did not demonstrate absolute dominance, but they can most likely be considered as Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault.

This also explains why Ferrari is regarded as the spiritual totem of F1, and why many drivers have a "Ferrari dream"—because it has never fallen out of the top three.

To get a trial with the Renault team, you either need to be incredibly talented or have an enormous amount of money. Chen Xiangbei couldn't think of any Chinese driver who was qualified.

However, since he would see it with his own eyes soon, Chen Xiangbei was not in a hurry.

He changed the subject and asked, "Field, why are two teams testing at this time?"

Normally, F1 rookie testing is scheduled after the end of the season, directly testing the current cars of the teams that have just retired. This is also known as end-of-season testing.

Active racing cars have a full year's worth of data from official drivers, which allows for a better comparison of the speed and potential of rookie drivers.

Meanwhile, the team members have not yet entered the winter break for vacation, and the active race cars generally have spare parts, which can greatly reduce the team's testing costs.

Unless it's a super rookie being groomed by the team, who is usually referred to as the team's "crown prince," private testing during the race will be conducted at any cost in order to accumulate driving mileage for them to apply for super licenses.

For example, Mercedes' "crown prince" Antonelli had 9000 kilometers of F1 racing driving experience before he even reached adulthood, a privilege that is unparalleled among rookies.

Botoletto, a Sauber super rookie who also won one F3 and one F2 championship in a year, had only driven a little over a thousand kilometers in private testing before officially undergoing the Bahrain winter testing. The difference between the two is very obvious.

If you're not the son of a racing team owner but want to gain more experience driving an F1 car, then you can only spend a lot of money on private testing, just like Chen Xiangbei is now doing his own testing.

Normally, rookie drivers don't have such substantial resources. Does this mean that F2 drivers in this era are all that rich?
Perhaps sensing Chen Xiangbei's doubts, Field explained, "Due to the impact of last year's financial crisis, the collective winter testing at the end of the season was not held, and many teams postponed their testing to this year."

"Oh, I understand."

Chen Xiangbei nodded. The 2008 financial crisis was arguably the most turbulent year for the F1 paddock.

Many teams couldn't make it through, such as Super Aguri, let alone those with the money to do winter testing at the end of the season.

Even a company as wealthy as Honda missed the first round of winter testing in order to save money. Otherwise, if they had tested the speed of their self-developed RA109 "Mars rover", they would probably have sold everything they owned to run it for another season!
So the group arrived at the warehouse area at the back of the pit stop. Two of the doors still had the Honda team's English sign hanging above them. This was where last season's RA108 race cars were parked.

As the electric gate opened, a white and green F1 race car came into Chen Xiangbei's view.

This is Honda's unique "Earth Dreams" concept paint scheme.

Looking at the race car in front of him, putting aside its performance, the aerodynamic shape created by the top-notch wind tunnel of F1 alone gives people a pleasing sense of technological beauty, making Chen Xiangbei feel an urge to try it out.

No driver dislikes a powerful race car, just as no man can resist a stunningly beautiful woman.

Especially when the most powerful beasts of this era are right in front of you, the combined psychological and physiological impact is truly irresistible!

Compared to Chen Xiangbei's overwhelming emotions, Odette and other members of the original Super Aguri team felt more of a sense of melancholy and regret.

It's important to understand that the title of "Honda's Second Team" in Super Aguri is not just a title.

Each generation of its race cars is a genuine, slightly modified version of Honda race cars.

The similarity in their technological approaches may even surpass that between Red Bull and Little Red Bull, both subsidiaries of the same company.

The Super Aguri 08 race car SA08 was a modified version of the Honda 07 race car RA107.

The problem is that the RA108 in front of us is also based on a minor modification of Honda's race car from last year. It is practically a sibling to the Super Aguri SA08, even their code numbers are very similar.

Unfortunately, the Super Aguri team retired after only three races in the 08 season, and even sold several cars to a German company, which became a source of pain for Odette and other members of the team.

Unexpectedly, after all these years, the reorganized Super Dream team has encountered this "old friend" again, and it will be rekindled in the hands of a Chinese newcomer. It just goes to show that fate can be unpredictable at times.

"Is this the car Patton drove, or Barrichello's? Why doesn't it have a license plate number?"

Logically, the team's old cars from last season should be cars retired by current drivers, but the car in front of Chen Xiangbei had no number on the front.

"The official driver's car was transported back to the Honda Tokyo Museum for its collection. It was an un-tuned spare car."

"Whether it can achieve 100% of its performance depends on the skill of the technician team."

As soon as Field finished speaking, Odette immediately gave the order: "Liang, push this race car to the pit lane for a full pre-race inspection and adjustment."

"Yes, Captain Odeto."

Liang Chi nodded and immediately instructed the technician team to push the RA108 from the warehouse to the repair station.

Chen Xiangbei naturally followed along. When he passed the Renault pit garage in the maintenance lane, he did see the face of a Chinese driver in a racing suit. He vaguely remembered him, but couldn't remember who it was.

At the same time, the other party also turned their attention to Chen Xiangbei, their eyes showing some surprise and astonishment.

After all, it's rare to see an Asian face in the F1 paddock. The few Japanese drivers have all secured their official driver seats and won't be coming to the Catalan test track at this time.

It is indeed extremely rare to see two Asian drivers appearing at the same time.

"Chen Xiangbei?"

A Chinese driver in the Renault pit lane unexpectedly called out Chen Xiangbei's name, and even said it in Chinese.

Now it was Chen Xiangbei's turn to be utterly shocked. Could it be that history had changed, and besides Cheng Congfu and Ma Qingye, there was a third Chinese driver who had gone abroad to compete? "Hello, may I ask who you are?"

Chen Xiangbei asked politely, noting that the other person looked older than him and should be considered a senior.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei has great respect for the pioneers of Chinese racing in this era. Regardless of their actual abilities, they at least played a pioneering and leading role; otherwise, there would be no new and stronger generation of Chinese drivers.

Just like Zhou Guanyu was mentored by Ma Qingye, another WEC champion driver, Ye Yifei, was a disciple of Cheng Congfu.

Without this generational inheritance, there would be no first Chinese F1 driver and the first WEC endurance race champion.

"My name is Ho-Pin Tung, a Dutch-Chinese driver."

Perhaps noticing Chen Xiangbei's surprise, Dong Hebin replied with a smile.

[Dong Hebin?]

Upon hearing the name, Chen Xiangbei suddenly realized who it was.

He previously focused more on Chinese drivers, but in fact, there are also drivers from overseas Chinese communities participating in Formula racing, and Ho-Pin Tung is one of the best among them.

Compared to Ma Qingye, Dong Hebin has achieved outstanding results in lower-level formula racing, sweeping the Dutch karting series and winning the European Formula BMW and German F3 championships.

Especially since the emergence of the legendary Schumacher, the overall level of drivers in German F3 has soared, making it second only to British F3 in Europe, and its overall prestige is quite high.

Based on this result, Ho-Pin Tung had already been tested by the Williams F1 team at a very early stage.

However, Tung Ho-Pin's career trajectory then took a turn for the worse. He ran the GP2 for three years with very average results, and his best year was when he only scored 7 points and ranked 18th.

This can no longer be described as below average; it's completely at the level of a rear rider.

This is why Ho-Pin Tung switched to racing the emerging A1 Formula racing series, and became teammates with Cheng Congfu, representing the Chinese team in competitions.

In early 10, the Renault F1 team announced in Spain that Ho-Pin Tung had joined the team as the third driver.

The current timeline coincides with the period when Ho-Pin Tung was undergoing trials with the team.

"Nice to meet you."

Although Chen Xiangbei knew Dong Hebin's background, he didn't want to appear familiar with him, so he could only exchange a few polite words according to Chinese tradition.

"Xiang Bei, are you also here to test drive at the Catalan circuit?"

Dong Hebin didn't notice anything unusual; on the contrary, he sounded somewhat excited.

It is indeed a happy thing to see a fellow countryman in the F1 paddock.

"Yes, I'm here to test the RA108 race car and accumulate mileage to help me apply for a super license."

Chen Xiangbei didn't mention that he skipped a grade, as it might seem like he was showing off before he actually accomplished something.

Chen Xiangbei has always kept a low profile in front of his "own people".

"I heard you won the Grand Prix, that's really amazing!"

Tung Ho-Pin gave a thumbs-up in praise, saying that he got to know Chen Xiangbei because of his interest in the Grand Prix.

It's worth noting that Ho-Pin Tung also raced in 04, but only finished sixteenth. He knows very well what winning the Grand Prix means; he is an absolutely top-tier talented driver!
Just as Chen Xiangbei felt a little embarrassed and wanted to say a few polite words...

With the roar of its engine approaching from afar, a silver and red McLaren race car sped past and came to a stop in the pit area in front of the pit lane.

Chen Xiangbei's gaze was instantly drawn to the McLaren F1 race car, model MP4-23, the championship car driven by Hamilton last year.

It also has another famous name: "Silver Arrow"!
The combination of Mercedes' silver and Marlboro's red creates the most powerful racing car on Earth at this moment.

The McLaren team's mechanics were very professional. The moment the car stopped, they surrounded the driver to help him turn off the engine, remove the steering wheel, loosen the seatbelt, and perform other operations. The whole process probably only took a second or two.

It can only be said that the championship team's foundation is there; even when serving as a test for rookie drivers, they still demonstrate first-class teamwork.

The McLaren driver emerged from the cockpit, pushed open his helmet visor, and saw Ho-Pin Tung and Xiangbei Chen "watching." Parfitt's expression clearly showed some disdain.

He snorted coldly and said, "Another Asian newbie."

What?
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei was taken aback.

It's quite common for lower-level formula drivers to engage in such frank and direct taunts.

After all, they are teenagers, in the prime of their youth, and it's normal for them to sometimes speak without thinking.

However, the higher the level of the Formula series, the more exposure and fame the drivers gain, the more cautious they become in their statements. At least they won't so openly belittle their "colleagues" without any prior grudge.

"Dong Hebin, what does he mean by this?"

Chen Xiangbei asked Dong Hebin, who was standing next to him, something that seemed rather puzzling.

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's question, Dong Hebin looked embarrassed.

Then he replied, "During yesterday's test, I made a mistake in controlling it and almost caused an accident."

Tung Ho-Pin's "high start and low finish" is quite exaggerated. In the past, when he was testing in a Renault race car, his lap time was a full three seconds slower than that of the number one ranked Parfit!

Formula 1 racing is no longer a standardized racing system; due to differences in research and development capabilities, the performance of each team's cars will vary.

In addition, there was no budget cap in this era, and the speed difference between big teams and small teams was huge. Coupled with the difference in the skill level of the drivers, it was not uncommon for them to be two to three seconds behind on a single lap.

However, it is highly unusual for Renault, another member of the "Big Three," to lag behind McLaren by three seconds.

This means that a qualitative gap has emerged between the two drivers!

The driver was already ridiculously slow, and then made a mistake that almost implicated his fellow drivers. Parfit was very dissatisfied with this, believing that this Chinese rookie was just a paid driver who had been brought in by throwing money at the problem.

Parfitt is very "hostile" to pay drivers. He won the F3 championship in his early years, but when he was upgrading to F3000, his seat was taken by someone with "money power", so he had no choice but to switch to DTM touring car racing.

However, given his talent, Parfitt won one championship and one runner-up finish in two years!
Ho-Pin Tung was so slow he almost bumped into her, which naturally made Parfit very unhappy.

Now another Asian driver has arrived, and he guesses that the other party must be a paid novice.

To some extent, Parfit was right; Chen Xiangbei was indeed paying for it himself…

Just then, Hiroki Sawano came out of the pit lane and called out to Chen Xiangbei next door, "Xiangbei-kun, the RA108 race car is almost ready. Change into your racing suit and get ready."

Upon hearing the shout, Chen Xiangbei immediately abandoned his idle chatter, said goodbye to Dong Hebin, and returned to Chaomeng's P room.

When Odette saw Chen Xiangbei return, he held up a data panel and said to him, "You haven't been involved with F1 racing before, so let me first introduce you to the performance data of the RA108 race car to prevent any accidents when you're handling it later."

"The RA108 engine has 750 horsepower, and with the 60 horsepower provided by the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), the maximum horsepower can reach 810 horsepower when the throttle is fully released."

"The transmission uses a seamless sequential gearbox, so there is no power interruption between each gear. You need to pay attention to the subtle differences that occur when shifting gears and coordinate with the accelerator to prevent the tires from locking up or slipping."

After saying these two points, Odette simply picked up a steering wheel from the table.

"This is the detachable steering wheel of an F1 car, which has many more integrated function buttons than an F3 car. I have handwritten down each function on the data panel, so you can memorize it when you change into your racing suit."

"Kid, remember that F1 cars are very expensive, and the Brawn GP team only has this one spare car."

"I don't want to see you make any mistakes during the testing process!"

Odeto once "encouraged" Chen Xiangbei to crash, to overcome his fear and weakness, because only in this way could he know where the limits of racing cars and tracks were.

Now he finally revealed his "conservative" side; this RA108 race car is really not worth crashing!

(End of this chapter)