Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 179 I Want to See Your Speed
"Manager Briatore, isn't it wrong to deceive the driver like this?"

Hiroki Sawano, who has a straightforward personality, couldn't help but step forward immediately. Lap time is extremely important information for drivers, and misjudgment can lead to unpredictable consequences.

"cheat?"

"NO, NO, NO."

Briatore shook his finger, arguing, "I'm not deceiving them, I'm just trying to unleash their potential."

"That's not how you unleash potential. Don't you know that this will bring unnecessary risks?"

Odeto then asked a question.

Having served as a member of the strategy team for many years, how could he not understand the subtle thoughts behind the floral pattern?

The problem is that even if you reduce the time by a fraction of a second, it might still motivate the driver to push the limits of the track.

A one-second error, given Chen Xiangbei's aggressive and adventurous nature, would greatly increase the chances of him crashing into a wall if he actually tried to challenge and break through.

"Odette, what do you mean by unnecessary risk?"

"Is it unnecessary to push drivers to achieve even higher speeds?"

Odette and Briatore were already rivals, and now Briatore's unreasonable arguments were even more unacceptable to him.

Even if the other party is the team manager, Odette is determined to argue his case.

"Drivers challenging speed doesn't mean they should do it blindly; taking unnecessary risks makes it a pointless endeavor!"

"No, value is relative. As long as it's faster, it has value!"

After saying this, Briatore turned to Odette and said with utmost seriousness, "I don't care about the process, I only care about the result."

"If you or Bei cannot accept this instruction, either leave or find someone more capable."

Every manager or team leader has their own personality and style.

Briatore's philosophy of life was based solely on results.

In a sense, his ability to discover the legend of Schumacher lies in the mutual respect between the two.

After confirming eye contact, I met the right person.

When Briatore accepted Chen Xiangbei's invitation, he made it very clear that he had to have absolute control over the team's command, and even the management was not allowed to stop him.

The "playboy" persona is merely Briatore's facade; in reality, his true nature is one of tyranny and iron fist!

Having said all that, Odeto's chest heaved violently as he could only suppress his displeasure and anger.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, that was the reality: if Briatore left, the HRT team would fall apart instantly.

Let alone integrating multiple forces to compete for the championship, it would be good enough if they could just manage to finish the entire season with some stumbles and setbacks.

“Briatoli manager, even if you don’t consider the people, at least consider the cars.”

"If damage occurs, we don't even have a spare vehicle."

Seeing the two bigwigs of the team at loggerheads, Hiroki Sawano, who had transitioned to a data engineer, could only try to ease the tension and offer persuasion from the sidelines.

Floral fabric may not care about the driver's risk, but it should at least be concerned about the damage to the vehicle.

HRT's current R&D capabilities are insufficient to build a third TF110 race car.

If there's a collision, one driver has to end the winter testing early.

Keep in mind that this is only the first day of winter testing. Is it really necessary to be this aggressive?
As expected, Briatore hesitated when he heard Hiroki Sawano's words.

It's not that he doesn't care about the drivers, but rather that the two drivers on the team haven't demonstrated the value that he cares about.

If one of them were Alonso, he would treat him like a "father," and his cash cow couldn't afford any mishaps.

Of course, this is just an exaggeration, but the principle is the same.

After a moment's hesitation, Briatore compromised, saying, "Push it around once, and then proceed with the formal testing procedures."

One circle marks the final line of the floral fabric.

After all, he wasn't Odeto; he hadn't witnessed Chen Xiangbei's growth and couldn't directly perceive the talent and potential of this young Chinese man.

At the same time, it has been five or six years since Trulli left the team, and it remains to be seen whether the Italian driver still has the speed he once had.

He needs this lap's performance to determine the team's future resource allocation.

Upon hearing Hua Bu's words, Odeto, Hiroki Sawano, and the others also ceased their objections, with both sides taking a step back.

The crew often needs time to work together, as no two people have exactly the same personality and philosophy.

To put it simply, it's about seeking common ground while reserving differences.

The difficulty lies in finding the right balance.

Chen Xiangbei understood this principle, which is why he still invited Briatore to serve as the team manager, even though he knew Briatore was a double-edged sword.

Just think about how the team strategy group, with only a few people, is filled with disagreements and arguments. If we expand that to the entire R&D team of hundreds of people, how can we appease and resolve the disputes over different technical approaches and design ideas?
Briatore and Bob Bell's Renault trio was the cornerstone of suppressing controversies within the R&D team, and also the reason why he was appointed as manager!
Two HRT cars were driving on the track, and Chen Xiangbei was still thinking about the lap times that Hua Bu had just reported.

He felt something was wrong and suspected that there might be a problem with the testing equipment.

But it's not easy to say it outright, since Huabu has confirmed it with absolute certainty, and continuing to argue would seem like making excuses.

Chen Xiangbei's dislike of making excuses is a sign of incompetence.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to do another lap after completing the cooling lap to see how fast he could go.

Trulli was also puzzled; he really couldn't believe that Chen Xiangbei could run so fast.

A lap time of 1 minute 20.266 seconds would have placed him in Q3 in last year's qualifying.

Let alone a student who skips grades in this era, even a rookie in the future who makes his debut in the Q3 of the qualifying season would generate heated discussions and receive countless positive reviews.

Making it into Q3 in a debut is just as valuable as scoring points in a debut.

One test verified the single-lap speed, and the other verified the long-distance stability.

For an F1 driver, neither of these two is dispensable!

Despite their doubts, Trulli and Chen Xiangbei never expected Briatore to use lap times to create such a spectacle.

Trulli, in particular, knew that his speed would determine whether he would receive the number one driver treatment.

He will try his best to be faster than Chen Xiangbei on the next lap!
With the warm-up and cool-down laps completed in succession, the two HRT race cars began to advance on the track.

This scene left the members of the other teams completely stunned.

Although it is well known that the competition within F1 teams is fierce, most of the time everyone still maintains a respectable demeanor.

Moreover, it's during the winter testing phase, when there's no pressure to achieve results. Is it really necessary to start pushing ourselves to the limit on the very first day?
They had no idea what the HRT fleet was up to, but some older people who were more familiar with the fabric vaguely guessed that it might be related to the old Italian rogue, who always pulled off some bizarre and ridiculous stunts.

Whether it's Patton, Trulli, or even Piquet Jr., who came later.

There's nothing you can't do with floral fabric, only things you haven't thought of.

Whether it was spurred on by Chen Xiangbei or simply because he's still got the skills he needs all these years, Trulli's dynamic acceleration from a standstill is astonishing.

This guy had decent results in lower-level formula racing, winning the world karting championship and the German F3 championship, before skipping directly to F1.

It's worth noting that since Schumacher emerged in German F3, it was highly prestigious for a long time, almost comparable to the British F3 of established racing powerhouses.

Trulli has another very distinctive characteristic: he is the king of single laps, but loses in the entire game.

His lap times were very good early on, and he was arguably the only driver to outpace Alonso in qualifying.

His most amazing moment was driving a Jordan race car, overtaking McLaren, Renault and other top teams, and finishing second in qualifying.

It's worth noting that the Jordan race car was the second slowest car in the paddock that year, only ahead of the "Groundhog" Minardi.

In later times, it would be equivalent to driving a Haas or Sauber race car and finishing second in qualifying!
However, Trulli's performance in the races has been poor for various reasons, sometimes due to his own mistakes and sometimes simply due to bad luck.

For example, he is the driver with the most first-lap retirements in F1 history...

Trulli is a standard qualifying driver; he is very confident in his lap times.

This is why Trulli agreed without hesitation when Briatore asked him to compete for the number one driver position, without worrying at all that the old Italian rogue would cheat.

The problem is that he never took Chen Xiangbei seriously from beginning to end!
At this moment, Trulli took the lead and sped off. He was very familiar with the characteristics of Toyota race cars. In a sense, this TF110 was an upgraded version of last year's TF109.

If Toyota hadn't withdrawn, they might have witnessed the investment bear fruit.

Meanwhile, Trulli's more than ten years of professional career have allowed him to accumulate at least 5,000 kilometers of driving experience on this Catalan circuit.

Trulli knew every bend and braking point like the back of his hand.

What can Chinese newcomers use to compete on my "home turf"?
"NICE, Trulli is on fire."

"After all these years, Trulli is still as fast as ever."

“Although North has great potential, I don’t think the number one driver should be a newcomer.”

"Turulli's experience is indeed more important for a new team." Trulli's crew members in the pit lane, as well as some Renault engineers, couldn't help but praise him at this moment.

People are ultimately biased, just like Odette and others, who would definitely favor Chen Xiangbei.

Trulli had spent several years with the Renault team, and many people felt it was unfair for him to leave, believing that Briatore was too cold-blooded and ruthless, and that he had ruthlessly suppressed the team's veterans in order to promote Alonso.

Now that they've reunited, they still carry the impressions from back then.

They believe Trulli possesses the skills of a top-tier veteran and can bring better feedback and setup to the team.

The HRT race car sped through the corners, and Trulli truly lived up to his title as a qualifying specialist. His braking points and tangent angles were incredibly precise and smooth, and his car didn't exhibit the kind of temperature fluctuations that Chen Xiangbei had experienced.

This means Trulli needs to adapt to the car better and master the balance between maximizing performance and cooling.

It's only natural that such a performance would result in good results.

When Trulli crossed the starting line, the lap time record from the track monitoring data was broken, reaching 1 minute and 19 seconds.

The actual lap time is 1 minute 19.622 seconds!

Trulli is just 0.1 seconds away from catching up with last year's pole position.

"Team, what's my lap time?"

Whether you're driving well or not, and how fast you're going, the driver can usually get a general idea of ​​it.

When Trulli asked this question, there was a hint of excitement in his tone; he had already realized that this lap would definitely not be slow.

"1 minutes, 19 seconds, 622."

"Great run, Trulli!"

This response wasn't given by Florence, but rather by Trulli's race engineer, Soter, who preemptively pressed the voice call button on his headset.

He also saw Briatore's antics and outrageous actions.

Briatore had a history of mistreating Trulli when he was with the Renault team, mistaking him for a "Japanese".

Now that it's in his hands again, he'll probably have to squeeze Trulli to the point of risking his life to run away.

Winter testing has just begun, and out of consideration for the drivers, Sott doesn't want the manager to go too far.

Briatore understood Sott's thoughts, but he made no comment. In any case, the desired effect had been achieved; Trulli's lap was indeed very fast.

But that wasn't enough. Hua Bu pressed the voice call button to inform Chen Xiangbei, who was preparing to push the message.

"North, Trulli just ran a time of 1 minute 19.622 seconds."

"I hope to see you go even faster."

[1 minute 19.378 seconds?]

Chen Xiangbei was stunned when he heard the number.

Historically, Trulli's lap times were indeed impressive, reaching the standard of a top-tier driver in the paddock.

But the problem is, can he leave himself behind for more than two seconds?

Verstappen left Latifi by just over two seconds!

Starting with Formula Renault, Chen Xiangbei, relying on his experience from his previous life and his efforts in this life, can be said to have easily overtaken his way to the F1 paddock.

At this point, the "benefits" from the previous life have been exhausted.

However, Chen Xiangbei was well aware that he was no longer the mediocre rookie who failed at the F1 threshold in his previous life, at the F2 level.

He definitely has top-notch car sense and talent in this lifetime.

When the actual winter testing period arrived, he found a difference of more than two seconds, which made him question his life choices.

Was Trulli too good, or was I just too bad?

Whatever the reason, Chen Xiangbei was unwilling to back down before the battle even began; he had to at least give it his all and challenge his limits!

This time, he didn't even reply with a "copy" voice message. He just stepped on the gas and sped off, squeezing the potential of the TF110 prototype.

The car's speed kept increasing, and with the extreme speed tuning, Chen Xiangbei now only pursued one word: "fast"!
However, this kind of tuning and pursuit comes at a price.

Once the speed exceeds the safe threshold, the control of the race car instantly becomes much more difficult. Even the slightest mistake on any corner, at the current speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour, will lead to serious consequences.

Whether the person is dead or not is unknown, but at least the car is definitely destroyed.

You could even say that Chen Xiangbei's current high-speed driving is like dancing on the edge of a knife.

The team's strategy group and engineers in the pit lane simultaneously saw Chen Xiangbei's racing data and speed, and everyone's expression was somewhat complicated.

Unexpected, surprising, worried, questioning...

A mix of emotions welled up inside me, and I didn't know how to express them.

“Uncle Liang, this race is entirely computer-simulated in terms of speed, without any adaptation to Brother Bei’s driving style. It’s too aggressive. I’m really worried that he won’t be able to control this TF110.”

At this moment, Ah Yong said something to Liang Chi beside him with some anxiety.

After all, he personally set up the initial car tuning based on simulation data, so he knew very well how extreme the bias was.

To some extent, the biggest improvement during the nearly one year spent in Europe was not actually seen in Chen Xiangbei, but in the Chinese technicians, including Liang Chi.

Chen Xiangbei has a background in this field, while A Yong went from being an ordinary Renault-level Formula mechanic in China to establishing himself in a top F1 racing team.

The speed of its growth can be described as "ascending".

After several months of advanced training at Brawn GP headquarters and the Liffield Technical Centre, coupled with Ah Yong and others' intensive study of various cultural courses, they have truly come to understand the principles of F1 car structure, operation, maintenance, and tuning.

Ah Yong knew the difficulty of controlling extreme tuning, and he understood the consequences of losing control.

He used to think Odette was radical enough, but now it seems the Italian old man is at best all bark and no bite.

The new team manager, Briatore, is a cold-blooded and ruthless "heartbreaker"!
"I have faith in Xiangbei's strength."

Liang Chi replied to this sentence indifferently.

To be honest, Ah Yong had experienced this mental state many times, worrying that Chen Xiangbei would not be able to control the race car and would have an accident on the track.

But now he has "let it go," and this is the fate of Chen Xiangbei, or rather, the driver.

You can't stand firm if you're not ruthless.

To deal with a ruthless person like Briatore, you have to be even more ruthless than him!
As the race car navigated the T14 and T15 combination bends, Chen Xiangbei arrived at the final 90-degree right-angle bend.

At this point, the temperature of his rear wheels exceeded the warning threshold, and the braking force of the brake discs also dropped significantly due to heat fade, meaning that even without long-distance testing, signs of overheating had already begun to appear in the TF110 race car.

However, Chen Xiangbei was no longer in the mood to pay attention to these things; he was more interested in knowing how fast he could run this lap!
After all, it wasn't that he was more than two seconds slower than other drivers, but that he was more than two seconds slower than his own teammate.

For an F1 driver, the slowness might also be due to the car.

But if you're a step behind your teammates, there's no excuse, and it can easily end your career.

The roar of the engine reached the pit lane from afar, and then Chen Xiangbei drove the TF110 race car across the finish line at full throttle.

Almost simultaneously, the track monitoring equipment obtained the lap times.

1 minutes 19 seconds 378!

Chen Xiangbei's lap this time directly surpassed last year's pole position, and was a full 0.3 seconds faster than Trulli, who is famous for his lap times!
When this lap time was achieved, not only were the HRT team's pit crew members shocked and surprised.

Even the many crew members at the repair shop who were paying attention to the other vehicles couldn't help but gasp in shock.

"MAN! The Chinese newcomer has surpassed Trulli's lap time! Is this guy really that fast?"

"Breaking last year's pole position lap time with a wake rake is still an amazing achievement, even with the significant improvements in energy recovery systems this year."

"As expected of a driver who made history by skipping a level, he seems to have the hard skills of an F1 driver."

"MY GOD, no wonder Briatore was so arrogant at the press conference, saying that Chinese driver Bei could surpass Schumacher and Alonso. He really has extraordinary talent!"

To become a member of the F1 crew, one is certainly not a novice, and would not blindly belittle or praise a particular driver.

Let the data speak for itself!
Chen Xiangbei is faster than Lulu, but there are various objective factors at play.

For example, the tuning might be biased, the test items might be different, or Trulli might simply not be running at full speed.

After all, internal conversations and competition within the HRT team are not communicated to the entire team via TR voice chat.

But surpassing last year's pole position lap time is enough to prove that Chen Xiangbei is something else!

Keep in mind that this is only the first day of the winter test. If this pace continues, how fast will Chen Xiangbei be able to run by the end of the test?

F1 has its share of drivers who have made a splash in winter testing.

These types of drivers often become the next paddock stars in F1.

Could it be that the focus of the 2010 F1 season will be a Chinese rookie?
(End of this chapter)