Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 185 Building a Win-Win Cooperation
HRT Leefield Technical Centre Manager's Office.

Briatore sat in the boss's chair with his legs crossed, a huge cigar between his fingers.

The desk was covered with newspapers from prominent European sports media outlets from the past few days. They all shared a common theme: reporting on Chen Xiangbei's astonishing winter test lap times, highlighting the impressive performance of a Chinese driver who achieved first place among rookies and second place overall.

Second only to last year's runner-up, Vettel!

Compared to the "newcomer" HRT, Vettel, with the support of Red Bull Racing, is challenging the position of the "Big Three".

Many media outlets predict that if McLaren and Renault continue their decline, the three giants of the paddock next year will be Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull.

The two sides are not evenly matched, yet Chen Xiangbei managed to hold his own against Vettel, which is truly remarkable.

"Bei, have you seen these reports? You're going to be the next superstar in the paddock."

Hua Bu's face was filled with smugness. Chen Xiangbei and the HRT team's performance had undoubtedly given him a great sense of satisfaction.

Are those old fogies at the FIA ​​trying to sanction themselves?
It’s simply a fool’s dream!
Even without Renault, Briatore can still make a comeback.

"It's a bit too early to talk about superstars now."

Chen Xiangbei replied helplessly that in the past, he might have tried to generate buzz when faced with this kind of media publicity.

Now that floral fabrics exist, there's no issue of a lack of hype; on the contrary, he feels it's a bit excessive.

Competitive sports are ultimately about results; if you have nothing to show for it...

"morning?"

"NO NO NO".

Briatore shook his finger and then added, "Superstars need promotion and packaging. Many talented drivers remain unknown their entire lives, and the effect will be greatly reduced if the hype is delayed."

"Many people judge a driver based on their first impression."

The star drivers in the paddock over the past decade or so have all achieved fame at a young age.

Schumacher paid for a seat with the Jordan team, raced only one race, and immediately became a sensation before being poached by the Benetton team.

Kimi Räikkönen achieved a remarkable "triple jump," being hailed as the next superstar even before he had a chance to drive an F1 car.

The same applies to Alonso, who, as a newcomer, squeezed out veteran Barton.

Hamilton, needless to say, was at his peak right from the start, coming within one point of the World Championship in his rookie season.

Is it too early for Chen Xiangbei to become a sensation?
Briatore felt it was not too early at all!

Of course, the Italian rogue Hua Bu wasn't saying all this to praise Chen Xiangbei; he had his own motives and practical interests.

“Bei, I think you need a real agent to handle the team’s contracts and business-related matters.”

Sure enough, after only a few words, Briatore revealed his true intentions.

He had long coveted Chen Xiangbei's identity as his agent, as only in this way could he continuously obtain sufficient profits.

Currently, Florentino Pérez serves as the manager for two F1 drivers in the paddock: Fernando Alonso for Ferrari and Mark Webber for Red Bull.

One of them earns an annual salary of 30 million US dollars, while the other earns 8 million US dollars.

Briatore takes a 20% cut of both of their salaries, including not only their annual salaries but also all of their commercial endorsements and image rights.

After observing the team for a long time, Hua Bu concluded that Lu Xiaoman was not a qualified agent; she could only be described as a liaison.

It cannot help drivers handle tricky situations, nor can it bring huge profits.

The huge Chinese market behind Chen Xiangbei has potential far beyond the current advertising sponsorship of ten or twenty million US dollars.

Briatore believed that if he could join forces with Chen Xiangbei, he would definitely make a fortune!

"No need, things are fine as they are."

Faced with the floral fabric's probing, Chen Xiangbei refused without hesitation!
Although he trusted Briatore's abilities, he knew even better what kind of person this old Italian rogue was.

Once the two parties are too closely bound together, the cloth will habitually control the driver.

Alonso goes without saying; he's involved in all sorts of paddock politics and threats against the team. He was deeply involved in the infamous McLaren "spy gate" and Renault "crash gate" scandals in F1 history.

Often, personality truly determines destiny, and there's a reason why Alonso became a "team selection genius."

This kind of poor performance coupled with a penchant for political maneuvering caused the teams and teammates to dislike them in the early days, resulting in a complete lack of team spirit. Even with exceptional skills, they were unable to defy fate.

Alonso's behavior was often due to the machinations of the woman behind the scenes.

The Italian scoundrel's reason for instigating the conflict was simple: to pressure the team to increase their annual salary so he could get a larger share of the profits.

This same maneuvering wasn't just used on Alonso; in the previous 10 seasons, he also instigated Webber to create internal strife and a power struggle between the number one and number two drivers within the Red Bull team, just like how he incited Trulli to escalate the conflict.

The reason why Florentino instigated Webber's internal conflict was because he saw that Red Bull was in the lead in the 10 season and had the potential to win the Constructors' Championship.

Since you're already a champion team, it's not unreasonable to give the drivers a raise, right?
If they don't give you extra points next year, then let's stir up trouble and cause internal strife beforehand. When the team loses the championship, let's see if you panic.

For such an old rogue to sign a contract to become an agent, I wonder what kind of underhanded tricks he might pull behind the scenes.

He's alright when it comes to racing, but when it comes to business or paddock politics, Chen Xiangbei is very shrewd and knows his own limitations. I really can't beat him!

Since that's the case, adhering to the attitude of "if you can't afford to offend them, then avoid them," Chen Xiangbei ignored Hua Bu's many hints during this period, until today when Lao Deng couldn't help but confront him.

Briatore showed no impatience in the face of Chen Xiangbei's rejection.

Instead, he exhaled a puff of smoke and asked calmly, "Bei, do you know how much the mid-term operating costs of the fleet are?"

"do not know."

"This number."

As she spoke, Hua Bu held up her index finger and said, "At least one hundred million!"

"Even if we build the wind tunnel, the cost of improvement, testing, and manufacturing will still be tens of millions of US dollars."

"Not to mention the team salaries and operating and management costs, which also amount to tens of millions."

"We're desperately short of money if we want to compete for the championship!"

Chen Xiangbei remained silent as he listened to Briatore's words.

He actually knew that the team's mid-term operating costs were considerable, but he didn't respond because Chen Xiangbei was even more aware of it.

When that old Italian rogue said those words, he was either trying to brainwash people or he was trying to use psychological manipulation.

“Carabant is unreliable. He doesn’t have the capital or experience to run an F1 team. Our current car is not as competitive as last year’s PA109. We can only hold on until we achieve good results and get sponsorship and investment from a major company.”

"To solve this dilemma, we need to work together, leveraging your fame and background as a Chinese driver, as well as my connections and resources in Europe, to build a great team!"

Watching Briatore gesticulate wildly, becoming more and more excited as he spoke.

Chen Xiangbei could only reply helplessly, "Manager, just say what you want to say."

"I can get sponsorships from Nike and Intel."

Having said all that, Briatore stopped being cryptic. He had two major sponsorship deals and didn't want to let Chen Xiangbei or the HRT team benefit for nothing.

Each F1 team has its own clothing partner, which is often divided into racing suits for competitions and casual wear for off-seasons.

Racing suits are mostly sponsored by Puma and Adidas, who are considered official partners of Formula 1. If you look closely at the shoulders of an F1 driver's suit, you can see the Puma logo.

As for non-competition casual wear, most of them are fashion brands, such as "BOSS".

Where there is Adidas, there is often Nike.

Just like where there is a KFC, you can most likely see a McDonald's across the street.

The same applies to Intel.

AMD sponsored the Ferrari team as early as 2002, with an annual amount of up to 20 million US dollars, for a period of eleven years until 2013 when they were forced to sell buildings to make ends meet. However, with the release of Ryzen and a turnaround in its fortunes, AMD returned to the F1 paddock in 2018, sponsoring not only the Ferrari team but also Mercedes, demonstrating its considerable financial strength.

Intel, a major competitor, followed suit by sponsoring the BMW Sauber team in 06, a commitment that lasted until the end of 09.

With BMW withdrawing its sponsorship in the 10 season, Sauber competed as an independent team, leaving Intel without a sponsor for the time being.

Briatore hopes that Intel will switch to the HRT team, which would be a major boost to the team's continued operation!
It's important to know that after F1 banned tobacco advertising in 06, almost all small and medium-sized teams fell into financial crisis. Coupled with the financial crisis in 08, this triggered a wave of bankruptcies among F1 teams.

However, sometimes things don't work out in one area but work out in another. After the era of tobacco sponsorship ended, F1 was joined by a wave of sponsorships from technology companies.

AMD, Intel, Oracle, and Qualcomm—these are all renowned technology giants. Combined with well-known brands like Dell, HTC, HP, and Logitech, they formed the main sponsoring force of F1 in the first few years of the year.

Later, when Zhou Guanyu entered F1, he also had the support of SenseTime.

Compared to smaller sponsors, there is no doubt that giants like Intel and Nike can provide long-term and stable sponsorship contracts, which greatly helps the team's operations.

The reason is simple: stable sponsorship funding means that stable planning can be made.

There aren't many groundbreaking "black technologies" in the F1 paddock. To become a dynasty-building team, a team must rely on a steady and continuous investment in research and development, rather than on a stroke of luck.

How much money can you bring in?

"Twenty million dollars."

[Twenty million US dollars?]

Upon hearing this number, Chen Xiangbei was stunned.

He always assumed the worst about the floral fabric, after all, one couldn't be kind to an old Italian rogue.

As far as Chen Xiangbei was concerned, the sponsorship that Huabu had secured was nothing more than an attempt to trick him into signing an agent contract, with no idea what kind of trap they were setting.

But the amount of the sponsorship shocked him.

It should be noted that after Chen Xiangbei returned to China, he used various connections and received sponsorships from friends. Even after accounting for the difference in the amount of state capital used to purchase shares, the actual funds invested in the operation of the racing team were less than 20 million US dollars.

Admittedly, the economic gap between China and other countries plays a role in this, but even abroad, this is still a considerable sum. Lotus and Virgin Racing, which are also "newcomers," probably wouldn't even get half of that amount.

Furthermore, if Chen Xiangbei's personal endorsement is also included, such as the advertising logo on the racing suit, he can receive 50% of the revenue.

It's no exaggeration to say that buying floral fabric is equivalent to giving yourself millions of dollars.

If this old Italian rogue wants to earn it back, he'll probably have to offer a "contract of servitude" as a brokerage agreement.

"Manager Briatore, what do you want?"

Chen Xiangbei replied warily, he really didn't believe that Huabu could have any good intentions.

"A 20% commission."

"Only twenty percent?"

This sponsorship came from the floral fabric itself, so even if Chen Xiangbei received 20%, it would still be pure profit for him.

In addition, his annual salary is only a mere million dollars, and Huabu doesn't even intend to take him on a 50/50 basis.
Perhaps sensing Chen Xiangbei's doubts, Hua Bu revealed a disdainful smile on his face.

"Bei, don't forget, I'm essentially a businessman."

"Only businessmen who value win-win situations can make cooperation last."

Despite his thuggish nature, he remains a businessman, and Briatore's brokerage contract places great emphasis on trust.

This is why Schumacher, Alonso, and even Webber, who are "one of their own," have never criticized Briatore despite working together for many years.

He never eats alone!
"But in terms of results, it seems like I earned more?"

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's reply, Hua Bu's smile widened even more.

"Don't worry, I'll earn it back."

"Bei, you will definitely become the next Alonso, or even Schumacher!"

This phrase used to be an "advertisement," now it's a goal.

Briatore doesn't do unprofitable deals; he's willing to gamble on Chen Xiangbei's future.

"Since you believe I will become the next Alonso or even Schumacher, then HRT will naturally become the championship team."

"I don't think this sponsorship deal is quite suitable."

Chen Xiangbei replied with a meaningful remark.

"what do you want to say?"

Hua Bu immediately retorted, "Isn't a long-term sponsorship of 20 million US dollars appropriate? What exactly is this Chinese kid up to?"

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei's lips curled up slightly, and he tapped his fingers on the desk, uttering three words.

"You have to pay more!"

Since the fabric company wants to profit from future gains, it must sell itself for a good price; that's what makes it a win-win situation.

Furthermore, Chen Xiangbei, from his omniscient perspective, also knew that AMD's advertising contract with the Ferrari team was $20 million per year, and Adidas paid Mercedes roughly the same price, plus they also provided free custom racing suits for the entire team.

HRT may not be as good as Ferrari and Mercedes as they are now, but he felt that given Hua Bu's capabilities, there was still room for negotiation.

Don't the Italian scoundrels like to exploit their drivers?
Now it's time to fully exploit his potential as a manager!

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's offer to add more money, Briatore was initially taken aback.

He truly hadn't expected that Chen Xiangbei, who always seemed calm and composed, would give such an answer.

Immediately afterward, a relieved smile appeared on Huabu's face. He felt that he had finally met the real Chen Xiangbei today. This kid had the same crazy gambler mentality as himself!

"The total price is thirty million US dollars, of which ten million is for personal endorsements. That's the limit I can negotiate."

"make a deal."

Chen Xiangbei nodded in agreement without hesitation, knowing that future benefits would be based on current achievements.

The F1 paddock is very realistic; without money, there are no results.

Even knowing that the other party was good at creating mischief, he still decided to gamble on a "win-win" situation.

At the same time, giving back is Chen Xiangbei's consistent style. Just like when he signed a cooperation agreement with the Chaomeng Racing Team, even though it was a friendly sponsorship, he still chose to share 50% of the profits.

Only when interests are aligned will the other party work wholeheartedly.

"OK, then wait for me to prepare the agency contract."

After Hua Bu finished speaking, he pressed the call button on his desk. Immediately afterward, the door opened, revealing a tall woman and a little girl.

Chen Xiangbei recognized this woman; she was Victoria's Secret supermodel Heidi Klum, and Chen Xiangbei's ex-girlfriend who was pregnant out of wedlock.

"Bei, now that work is done, it's time to rest. Would you like to join my party?"

"Thank you, no need."

Chen Xiangbei politely declined. If he remembered correctly, Hua Bu had just married his Brazilian girlfriend this year, so he was two-timing her...

"What a guy who doesn't know how to relax. Happy winter break."

After saying that, Hua Bu put his hand on Heidi Klum's waist and walked out of the room with a flourish.

As for Chen Xiangbei, he wasn't unaware of the importance of relaxation; rather, he had his own plans.

He has already contacted Zhou Yanjing, who has arrived in the UK, so that the old classmates can get together and spend the New Year together.

(End of this chapter)