Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 154 Low-Level Arms Race

Are Chinese newcomers really that strong?

An F1 team engineer asked the question that resonated with almost everyone at that moment.

The temperature and road conditions at Spa today were indeed perfect for breaking records, as evidenced by the fact that the average lap time was nearly a second faster than last year.

However, this does not mean that Chen Xiangbei can be 0.2 seconds faster than Hamilton.

What's even more terrifying is that this Chinese kid only pushed the wheel twice from start to finish.

One lap of practice, one lap of qualifying.

There's always the possibility of exceeding expectations, or it could just be a fluke.

So, two times means that this young Chinese man has absolute confidence!

He is at least very confident in his lap consistency, and his average lap times on the simulator are basically around the pole position record.

Amazing, absolutely amazing.

F1 has a history of countless talented drivers, but compared to Chen Xiangbei, their growth trajectories are often traceable.

For example, someone from a prestigious racing family might demonstrate extraordinary talent in karting, eventually surpassing their opponents to reach higher-level formula racing.

People are at least somewhat prepared for such a child prodigy, and have a premonition that he will produce amazing results.

But Chen Xiangbei has always been outside the world's expectations!

"Nelson, check this Chinese kid's information."

Renault team principal Burrier gave an instruction to team motorsport manager Nelson.

Chen Xiangbei's performance at this moment has once again come to the attention of the management of the Renault team, one of the "Big Three".

In fact, Renault's engineering team had already taken notice of Chen Xiangbei during the testing at the Catalan circuit and had even informed management of the performance of the rookie test drivers.

However, at that time, the Renault team was not very interested in Chen Xiangbei. Their third driver was Grosjean, the GP2 champion known as "Grosjean the Great," and they did not need a Chinese rookie to compete for a seat.

The reason for letting Ho-Pin Tung test drive the car was purely because of the hype surrounding the Chinese F1 driver and the sponsorship funds he could provide.

Furthermore, test results are not equivalent to actual track performance. There are many precedents in F1 history of rookie drivers who train like tigers but perform poorly in races. Chen Xiangbei still needs to prove himself through race results.

But these days are different!
In August, the Renault team announced the dismissal of their number two driver, Piquet Jr.

They think this second-generation Brazilian car is too weak, it can't even see the taillights of driver Alonso, what's the use of it?

This is similar to the situation where Verstappen frequently changed teammates in the Red Bull team later on. The team doesn't need you to be very good, because no matter how good you are, you can't outrun Verstappen. But at least you have to be able to keep up with him and serve as a qualified tool.

If you're eliminated in Q1 of the qualifying rounds, you won't even be able to utilize your slipstream ability, so you might as well just get kicked out.

The result was a situation where Verstappen remained a constant in the Red Bull Racing team, while his teammates came and went.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't cause much controversy if one of the "Big Three" teams replaced a relatively unknown second driver; the outside world would consider it perfectly reasonable.

But Piquet Jr. is no ordinary rookie; his father's name is Nelson Piquet, a legend who has won three F1 world championships!
Oh, and Piquet the elder had a daughter named Kelly Piquet, who married Verstappen, making it a perfect circle...

When he saw that his son had been cut by the Renault team halfway through the season, Piquet the elder could not stand it and directly revealed the truth about the "crash incident" at the 08 Singapore Grand Prix.

He told reporters that Piquet Jr.'s crash was instructed by the team to cause an accident and bring the safety car to the finish line, thus helping driver Alonso win the championship!

Renault's current actions are a classic case of "using someone and then discarding them."

When this news came out, the Renault team was in an uproar. Team manager Briatore was permanently expelled from F1, team principal Simmons was banned for 5 years, and several other executives were punished for 3 to 1 year, which is equivalent to a complete overhaul of the management.

Meanwhile, driver Alonso also betrayed them by announcing that he would transfer to Ferrari next year. This caused the management and driver structure to collapse completely, and the title of the "Big Three" was in jeopardy.

The team urgently needs promising drivers to bolster its roster of both official and reserve drivers, and Chen Xiangbei's performance will undoubtedly put him on their consideration list!

In fact, it wasn't just the Renault team; Toro Rosso and Sauber also showed interest in Chen Xiangbei.

To some extent, Chen Xiangbei achieved half of his desired effect. He caught the eye of the F1 team management in a stunning way, and the next step was to get them to make a decision!

Compared to the "low-key" and "reserved" attitude of the F1 management, the reaction of the track commentators and the audience upon seeing Chen Xiangbei's lap times can only be described as a frenzy.

"MY GOD, Bei only completed one flying lap in qualifying and regained the top spot, while also breaking the track record to take pole position at the F3 series Spa Grand Prix!"

"I always remember Bei very arrogantly saying that he had mastered the Reynolds equation."

"Will he prove once again today that he will dominate F3?"

James had predicted Chen Xiangbei would finish in the top three in the paddock before qualifying.

But he never dared to imagine that Chen Xiangbei could so overwhelmingly take pole position and break Hamilton's record twice.

Listening to James's passionate remarks, the guest sitting next to him, Claes, swallowed hard, but couldn't find the words to say.

The sense of superiority of European whites made Klass really not take Chen Xiangbei seriously. So what if he won the Australian Grand Prix F3 championship? That race was indeed prestigious, but it didn't mean he could defeat a European genius.

It's worth noting that players like Hamilton and Vettel never won the Grand Prix, yet they still demonstrated their historical genius.

Conversely, the Grand Prix champions of recent years have been largely unknown in other Formula racing events, making the title of "King of F3" in Australia increasingly meaningless.

Chen Xiangbei proved with facts that he deserved it!

"Holy crap, Chen Xiangbei is really that awesome..."

One audience member, recovering from the commentary, muttered something to himself.

To be honest, due to the limitations of the Chinese motorsport environment at this time, there aren't actually that many loyal fans.

Even today, most of the supporters who came to Spa are just a group of "following the trend" fans. They had never paid attention to Formula One racing before, let alone knew the strength of the drivers in the paddock.

It was only because of CCTV's report and Chen Xiangbei's status as a Chinese driver that they came to the paddock to support him from the perspective of their compatriots.

To be realistic, even if it wasn't Chen Xiangbei running in the paddock today, but Ma Qingye or Cheng Congfu, they would still support him.

But when Chen Xiangbei actually achieved pole position, the Chinese audience at the scene understood.

Their support doesn't need to rely on sentiment; it can be based entirely on Chen Xiangbei's strength!

"Nonsense, otherwise Brawn GP would have signed Chen Xiangbei as a test driver. They're a championship contender!"

"Bei is Renault's strongest driver, and no one has surpassed his points since he retired from the race."

"I feel that Chen Xiangbei is even stronger than when he was in Australia. No one in the F3 class can beat him!"

"He's the man nicknamed 'Car God Bei'!"

The Chinese spectators at the track cheered and celebrated, and the vast majority even subconsciously used their native language.

The foreign spectators in the stands couldn't understand what they were saying, but from their actions and expressions, it was clear that they were completely obsessed with Chen Xiangbei!

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei was doing a return lap on the track. He didn't pay attention to his own time or the cheers from the stands. Instead, he focused his attention on the countdown on the big screen.

Only when the number reaches zero does it mean the ranking competition is over and everything is settled.

As expected, with the numbers ticking down to the last second, Chen Xiangbei's name remained at the top of the leaderboard, officially securing pole position at Spa-Francorchamps in the F3 series.

Only at this moment did Chen Xiangbei push open his helmet visor and see the red flags waving in the stands and the cheers for him.

Although Chen Xiangbei didn't care about cold looks and ridicule, he wasn't a masochist either.

Compared to that, such a celebratory scene of victory is naturally more enjoyable.

Inside the pit lane, the members of the Super Dream team were also celebrating with high-fives and hugs.

They just didn't have the same amazement as the audience and commentators.

The reason is simple: most of the crew members were mentally prepared.

Chen Xiangbei has already generated some astonishing data on the simulator recently, and the team members know that it won't be much slower.

Of course, no one expected it to actually be as fast as the simulator lap times. While some were happy, others were naturally "sad."

The Prema team engineer informed Ricciardo, who was also on his return lap, with great regret that his lap time had been surpassed by Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei, and he had dropped to second place in qualifying.

In fact, Ricciardo had already seen the change in the top lap time leaderboard on the track's big screen without the team even informing him.

He just couldn't understand how Chen Xiangbei could run so fast.
Could it be that the F1 team's tuning really can produce such amazing results?
The problem is that the Prema team engineer, who is considered to be on par with the "Mars team" in lower-level formulas, has always believed that they are no worse than bottom-ranked F1 teams like Super Aguri.

As it turns out, even the top GP2 cars can't compete with F1 cars.

Meanwhile, Bottas and Bianchi, who had already returned to the pit lane, were also looking at Chen Xiangbei's name on pole position with disbelief.

They had considered the possibility of losing, but they never imagined they would lose to a Chinese newcomer.

This substitute driver, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, brings with him the technical resources of an F1 team. It's like he's here in F3 to "destroy" the competition.

Is it the difference between the teams or the drivers?

To be honest, many people want to know the answer to this question as well.

In this era, it is common for F3 drivers to skip levels, which means that as long as a driver can make it in F3 racing, he can basically come into the sights of F1 teams.

The top drivers establish contact with F1 teams early on, and once they achieve good results and realize their talent, they can obtain the status of reserve driver or even official driver!
Bianchi is a student at the Ferrari Driver Academy and has the backing of the Ferrari racing team.

Ricardo is part of Red Bull's youth academy program, which means he has the Red Bull team behind him.

As for Bottas, nominally he was contacted by the Williams team, but in fact he had the most resources and background, as he was a Finnish driver!

Despite being a small Nordic country, Finland is a renowned motorsport powerhouse, producing countless top drivers.

Especially in F1, the seats have always been passed down!
Since Leo Ginnünen, the first F1 driver in 1974, Finland has been searching for successors in the paddock, until the three-time world champion Mika Häkkinen reached the pinnacle.

The driver who succeeded him was Kimi Räikkönen, known as the "Finnish Iceman".

Raikkonen's remarkable "three-level jump" was inseparable from Häkkinen's recommendation. He also helped his compatriot Kovalainen secure a seat, intending to continue the legacy of Finnish motorsport.

Unfortunately, Kovalainen's career took a downturn after a strong start, failing to live up to his reputation as a "Finnish racing genius".

However, Bottas's emergence has given Finland a target candidate for the next generation of F1 drivers. He has already received sponsorship from the Finnish giant Vihuli Group, and Häkkinen can provide connections within the paddock.

If Chen Xiangbei can obtain the technical resources of the F1 team, they also have ways and means to obtain them.

Given the current pressure and intensity, the two F3 races at Spa-Francorchamps could very well turn into a low-level "arms race"!
Chen Xiangbei returned to the pit stop, where the mechanics immediately surrounded him to conduct a thorough inspection of the race car, ensuring that there would be no problems during tomorrow's race.

It's important to understand that Chen Xiangbei's two laps at full speed, combined with the characteristics of the Spa circuit, put enormous pressure on the engine's output power.

If any hidden dangers are found, even at the risk of being penalized with a decommissioning penalty, a completely new power unit must be replaced.

After unfastening his six-point harness, Chen Xiangbei stepped out of the cockpit and into the pit lane. Unlike the other team members, Odette did not congratulate him on pole position; instead, he crossed his arms and stared at the lap time rankings on the screen, looking somewhat thoughtful.

"Odette, is there a problem?"

Upon seeing this, Chen Xiangbei stepped forward and asked a question.

"This Ricardo and Bottas are something else."

Odeto replied casually.

He wasn't looking at the fastest lap times of his two rivals; instead, he was looking at their average lap times.

Ricciardo and Bottas each putted a lap in practice and two more flying laps in qualifying, with incredibly consistent times across all three laps, almost always coming very close to pole position.

Even Bianchi, aside from one lap where he was affected by slower cars, actually broke the pole position record on two laps.

Consistent lap times demonstrate the driver's remarkable skill; it seems Europe truly is Europe, with its drivers maintaining a significant lead over the Grand Prix in overall performance.

"Yes, they are very strong."

Chen Xiangbei nodded, agreeing with Odeto's statement.

However, his answer surprised Odette, as the Chinese boy rarely openly acknowledged the strength of his opponents.

"Kid, you're not scared, are you?"

"I'm in pole position, why would I be afraid?"

When Odeto asked him a question, Chen Xiangbei responded with a hint of disdain.

Acknowledging the other party's strength does not mean being afraid of them.

Chen Xiangbei, with a more historical and insightful perspective, knew that both of these drivers at their peak were at least top-tier level within the paddock.

"That's more like you."

Odette didn't think that much about it; not taking his opponent seriously was more in line with Chen Xiangbei's "persona".

Just as the two were talking, the FIA ​​tournament director arrived with a group of staff to conduct a vehicle inspection.

In lower-level formula racing, vehicle inspections are only conducted on the top three finishers and a few randomly selected cars after the main race. There are very few vehicle inspections during qualifying, and if there are, they are theoretically random.

However, the fact that the FIA ​​stewards came to the pit stop for inspection so quickly clearly indicates that it was not a random event and that they had come prepared.

When Renault won the championship, Chen Xiangbei felt angry and dissatisfied with such a "humiliating" test.

He didn't seem too upset and appeared quite calm.

Changes in strength can truly bring confidence and self-assurance.

After experiencing so many races, Chen Xiangbei is no longer a "newbie"; he has all the qualifications to become an F1 driver.

"Not bad, you've grown."

Seeing that Chen Xiangbei remained silent, Odeto casually offered a word of encouragement.

Having lived in the paddock for decades, he knew very well that anger alone was not enough to gain the approval of others.

Chen Xiangbei's amazing pole position lap time will definitely prompt rival teams to request vehicle inspections to prevent the Chao Meng team from using illegal designs or materials, such as replacing the rear wing with an illegal one or using the wrong size front wing, etc., to gain an advantage.

Or, to go even further, use fuel with a higher calorific value, disassemble parts to reduce weight, and so on.

"I said that this match will be an indisputable vindication."

"It would be better if the FIA ​​came to inspect the vehicle, so that the loser would have no reason or excuse."

Chen Xiangbei replied calmly, knowing full well that from the moment the Mewtwo team was deployed, the Spa leg of the tournament would be accompanied by controversy and doubt.

FIA vehicle inspections, to some extent, avoid a lot of arguments.

"Good, keep that attitude."

After saying that, Odette added, "The F1 practice sessions will start soon. Go to the Brawn GP team's pit garage now and experience the real F1 racing atmosphere."

"Ah."

Chen Xiangbei nodded and headed straight for the Brawn GP team's pit garage.

Chen Xiangbei is not only an F3 driver, but also a test driver for the Brawn GP team.

In theory, Chen Xiangbei's work scope includes observing and waiting in the team's pit garage, as well as testing the data improvement of the car's upgrade kit on the simulator at the Blackley headquarters factory.

In reality, Chen Xiangbei's test driver contract was signed by Stahler, leveraging his shareholder status and Ross Brawn's personal friendship; the entire Brawn GP team had no expectations of him being of any use...

But Chen Xiangbei's performance in qualifying was witnessed by the Brawn GP team members. This time they truly realized how "visionary" Team Principal Ross and Stahler shareholders were, being able to discover the potential of the Chinese rookie so early!
Strength is always the primary criterion for gaining recognition in the F1 paddock.

Even though Chen Xiangbei was a test driver, when he stepped into the pit lane of the Brawn GP team again.

This time, it's no longer a matter of ignoring someone or making a perfunctory gesture.

The Brawn GP crew applauded and congratulated Chen Xiangbei, acknowledging the speed of the young Chinese driver!

(End of this chapter)