Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 186 F1 Bahrain New Season Begins

The typical F1 calendar cycle is as follows: after the main race, there is a short break followed by winter testing, and then a long holiday period following Christmas and the Gregorian New Year.

This period is known as the "winter break," which is equivalent to the Lunar New Year holiday in China.

Because the opening game of next season conflicts with the Lunar New Year holiday, and because Chen Xiangbei needs the equipment at the Lifield Technical Centre to assist in training, he does not plan to return to China for the Chinese New Year.

Just a few days ago, Chen Xiangbei received a call from Zhou Yanjing, who said that the University of Southampton would be on holiday during Christmas and he would come to London's Racing Valley to get together. If possible, they could spend the New Year together.

Chen Xiangbei readily agreed. Now that he has obtained his super license and become a full-fledged F1 driver, he no longer feels the pressure and urgency he used to.

Stepping out of the office, Chen Xiangbei was surprised to see Lu Xiaoman standing outside the door. With a mocking smile, he asked, "Did you reach an agreement?"

"you know?"

It's clear that Lu Xiaoman's question was about her agent.

“Of course, I invited Briatore to do it.”

Lu Xiaoman not only knew about it, but also took the initiative to bring them together.

Just like motorsports, many professional tasks need to be handled by professionals.

Back when the operation was still in its early days, Lu Xiaoman could work part-time as a physical trainer, nutritionist, doctor, and agent.

With her official joining of the F1 team and Chen Xiangbei's team getting on track, Lu Xiaoman has resigned from her positions as a doctor and physical trainer, retaining only her professional duties as a nutritionist and agent.

But she knew very well that she was an incompetent agent.

F1 drivers' professional agents typically assemble a management team to handle all day-to-day affairs so that the drivers can focus on the races.

This includes media relations, commercial endorsements, contract negotiations, and so on.

At most, Lu Xiaoman could provide Chen Xiangbei with some sponsorships and connections in China through her family's influence. Now that she's in Europe, many things are beyond her capabilities.

For example, Chen Xiangbei's negotiations with Carabant, his efforts to recruit Briatore as the team manager, and his coordination with external parties regarding the application for a super license.

These were things that should have been done by the driver's management team, but Chen Xiangbei ended up handling them all himself.

It doesn't matter during non-competition periods, but once the new season officially starts, there will be as many as twenty regional events held in a row. Chen Xiangbei will be flying all over the world to participate in the competitions. Where will he find the time and energy to deal with these things?
At the same time, there are also the most important commercial sponsorship contracts. Due to the current economic development conditions in China, the funds that can be provided are relatively limited.

F1 abroad already has a mature racing system, and those in the know can attract sponsors more easily and quickly, without having to worry about exchange rate issues such as earning RMB and spending USD.

After spending about a month together, Lu Xiaoman had a good understanding of Briatore, and the Italian manager was indeed very capable in all aspects!
F1 is a dog-eat-dog arena where mediocre good people are no match for despicable bad people.

Especially for a "three-no driver" like Chen Xiangbei who has no connections, he needs to cooperate with local bigwigs like Hua Bu, even if there is a possibility of being ripped off.

After all, the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!

"Thank you, Sister Xiaoman."

Chen Xiangbei didn't know what to say, so he simply thanked him.

"Stop being so dramatic, I'm just happy to relax."

"Winter break is here, and I finally have time to go shopping! Bye-bye~~!"

Lu Xiaoman waved her hand nonchalantly, then turned and left.

Having been in the UK for so long, she hasn't really had much time to relax and have fun, except for going out to celebrate with her team members.

After all, Chen Xiangbei is a racing machine, so there is no time for him to stop.

Watching Lu Xiaoman's retreating figure, Chen Xiangbei smiled and turned to head towards the team's gym.

Everyone can relax during the winter break, except for Chen Xiangbei.

He is well aware of his weaknesses and shortcomings, just like Hamilton did not dare to slack off in his rookie season and took advantage of the off-season to run a full two thousand hours of simulator training.

Opportunity always favors the prepared mind.

As noon approached, Chen Xiangbei received a call from Zhou Glasses, who said he had arrived at the entrance of the Leedfield Technology Center.

It had been more than half a year since the two last met. At that time, Zhou Glasses said that he had submitted an application to study in the UK, and that it was the alma mater of aerodynamic master Newey, and that he wanted to stand at the pinnacle of racing with Chen Xiangbei.

Now he has kept his promise and come to England to pursue his dream!

But when Chen Xiangbei reached the gate, he saw a very unexpected scene.

That was Zhou Glasses, who used to have the image of a scholar, but now he was wearing a cycling outfit and a full-face helmet, riding on a sportbike and waving at me.

"Zhou Chenshu, you can ride a motorcycle?"

Chen Xiangbei asked with a look of surprise, "This kid used to be a typical homebody. Every day after school, he would tinker with the computer and wouldn't even participate in basic outdoor activities."

How come you've changed so much in just six months?

"Yes, I studied in England."

"How do I switch genders to study this?"

"I went to see the Isle of Man TT."

When Zhou Glasses said this, his tone was filled with barely suppressed excitement and agitation.

[Isle of Man TT?]

Upon hearing this term, Chen Xiangbei's expression became somewhat complicated.

There's a saying in the racing world: "Four wheels carry the body, two wheels carry the soul."

If there is any racing event in the world that can transcend all monetary interests and the darkness of paddock politics, it must be the Isle of Man TT.

The reason is simple: the Isle of Man TT is different from other motorsports. In its early days, there were no prize money for the races, and drivers had to pay for their own participation.

Their sole purpose in coming to the Isle of Man was to risk their lives to pursue the glory that belongs to "knights".

Many riders consider the Isle of Man to be the last race of their careers, because the moment they step onto the Isle of Man track, their lives are in God's hands.

Throughout the history of the Isle of Man TT, nearly 300 riders have died on the track, not including spectators and staff, and the number of those seriously injured or disabled is countless.

It has nothing to do with money or profit; it's purely a choice of life and honor.

When you choose to challenge for glory, it's like putting your life aside.

Even though Chen Xiangbei is an F1 driver, he has to admit that the Isle of Man TT is like the last pure land in the racing world.

"I'd rather be smashed to pieces than slow down"—that's probably the best description of the Isle of Man TT drivers!

"After watching the Isle of Man TT, I truly understood your passion and yearning for racing."

"Speed ​​is the true romance of a racer."

Seeing the intoxicated look on Zhou's face, Chen Xiangbei simply smiled.

This kid is just like I used to be; he could stand in front of an F1 poster and stare at it for ages.

However, there is still a huge gap between hobbies and professions, and it is very difficult to break through it.

Often, the most painful thing in life is turning your hobby into a career.

"Head north, hop on and I'll take you for a couple of laps so you can experience my driving skills."

After saying that, Zhou Glasses tossed a helmet to Chen Xiangbei. "Okay."

After taking the helmet, Chen Xiangbei sat on the back of the motorcycle.

To be honest, he found this feeling rather strange; he never imagined that one day Zhou the Glasses would be giving him a "go-around."

With the roar of engines, motorcycles raced through the streets of "Racing Valley".

There was no speed or passion involved, just normal driving. It's hard to change one's inherent nature in a short time; Zhou Glasses is still the same boy he always was.

"Xiang Bei, Wang Yidong failed his application to study abroad and can only study at a university in China. But he said he would try to apply for an exchange program and come to the UK to reunite with us."

"No wonder I haven't received any calls from him. I guess that fatso is too ashamed to show his face."

Chen Xiangbei chuckled and made a sarcastic remark, but he had actually anticipated this.

Wang Pangzi's grades are so low that he would have a hard time getting into a regular undergraduate program in China, let alone a prestigious British university for a racing engineering program.

However, getting into university is already beyond expectations, at least it's better than the car washing that I used to joke about.

"Hehe, he said he'll contact you when he arrives in England, and then he'll give you a surprise."

"Surprise? More like a shock."

The two of them drove around in the breeze, chatting about friends and the past.

Since coming to the UK to participate in professional competitions, Chen Xiangbei has not felt this relaxed in a long time.

"Hey north, there's one more thing. My university advisor found out that you and I were classmates, and he introduced me to a racing car designer. Can you guess who it is?"

"Can't guess."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head. With more than ten F1 teams, it means that at least ten top racing car designers are born every year. How could you guess that so easily?

"The legendary Ferrari designer Rory Byrne was my mentor's classmate in South Africa."

Chen Xiangbei might not have cared about any other name, but when the name Rory Byrne came out, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

There's a famous saying in Formula 1: "Whoever gets Newey gets the world."

In fact, before Newey created two Red Bull dynasties, there was another designer who could rival him, or even slightly surpass him. He was Rory Byrne, the racing car designer who designed a total of seven championship cars for Benetton and Ferrari!
It is widely known that Ross Brawn served as the design director during Ferrari's establishment of the Prancing Horse dynasty.

In fact, Ross Brawn was more inclined towards management at the time, and the chief race car designer who was really comparable to Newey was Byrne.

His joining Ferrari can be said to have saved the team, ending a two-decade championship drought, and he is hailed as the ace horse breeder of the red prancing horse.

However, Byrne announced his retirement in 06 due to health reasons, marking the end of an era for a legendary design master. Newey no longer had any rivals to compete with him, and went on to build two Red Bull dynasties, Vettel and Verstappen.

Chen Xiangbei never expected that Zhou Glasses could be connected with Byrne.

"Byrne is really good at designing race cars. You should try to get closer to him. Maybe you can even learn from him."

"Yes, I know, he's a legend."

Zhou Glasses nodded. Byrne's story is known to everyone in the racing world. He designed the Ferrari championship car "Horse" for the once invincible WJ Team and MI6 Team.

My mentor introduced me to Byrne, hoping to learn something about racing car design from this legendary designer.

After all, Zhou Glasses' major is aerospace engineering, which is somewhat different from racing engineering.

The motorcycle circled the racing valley once and returned to the gates of the Leedsfield Technology Centre.

Chen Xiangbei took off his helmet and said, "Zhou Glasses, let me show you around the HRT team headquarters."

"Okay."

Zhou Chenshu happily agreed. He had long wanted to see the actual manufacturing process of F1 cars, and also wanted to see Chen Xiangbei as a professional driver.

To be honest, even today, his feeling about Chen Xiangbei's transition to a professional racer is similar to Chen Xiangbei's feeling about him riding a motorcycle – a sense of unreality and unfamiliarity.

At least Chen Xiangbei and Zhou Glasses haven't seen each other for more than half a year, and a lot could have happened in that time.

In comparison, Zhou Glasses felt that Chen Xiangbei had simply run a few laps around Nanyun Mountain and suddenly became a Formula One driver.

The process was so fast, it was as if he had become a completely different person.

Today I finally got to witness Chen Xiangbei's professional side, which at least changed my perception of him.

Just as the two entered the Lifield Technology Center, Zhou Glasses suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Xiang Bei, did you know that Dong Yuanxi came to England?"

"do not know."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head. After Dong Yuanxi left Macau early that day, the two of them had no chance to meet.

"She got accepted into the University of London and started school in early October. Her teacher even sent a congratulatory message in the class group. You didn't see it?"

"I don't have time to look at this."

Chen Xiangbei didn't even have time to look at his phone, let alone check the class group chat. During non-competition periods, he basically trained for more than ten hours a day.

"Skipping a grade" is like a lower-grade student having to learn all the content of a higher grade in a short period of time. In addition, Chen Xiangbei had never crossed the F1 threshold in his previous life, so it was as if he had to learn everything.

"Xiang Bei, I feel like Dong Yuanxi might like you."

Zhou, wearing glasses, said something mysteriously.

He was unaware that Dong Yuanxi had come to Macau, let alone that Chen Xiangbei and Dong Yuanxi had been in private contact. To Zhou Glasses, it was more like discovering a little secret.

"How did you sense it?"

“She actually had many choices, and her teacher recommended that Dong Yuanxi go to the United States, but she ended up coming to the United Kingdom.”

"Furthermore, Dong Yuanxi, a girl, chose mechanical engineering and even took STEM courses, which is simply outrageous!"

Why did Dong Yuanxi choose mechanical engineering?
Hearing Zhou Glasses' words, Chen Xiangbei was somewhat surprised, as he himself was also studying courses related to aerodynamics and racing engineering.

It's true that very few girls in this era would choose such a hardcore engineering major.

Before Chen Xiangbei could ask a few more questions, Liang Chi happened to come out of the workshop. Zhou Glasses was considered his "online" disciple, and the two were naturally pleasantly surprised to meet again. So they chatted about their recent situations.

For the next month or two, Zhou Glasses stayed at the HRT team headquarters, following Liang Chi and Bob Bell, diligently learning about racing.

At the same time, he also truly saw Chen Xiangbei's side as a professional driver: high-intensity fitness training, long hours of simulator driving practice, and using his spare time to study theoretical knowledge.

At that moment, Zhou Glasses finally understood why Chen Xiangbei was able to become an F1 driver in such a short time.

Hard work will eventually pay off.

And so it wasn't until mid-February, with the start of the new F1 season and the HRT team moving to Bahrain, that Zhou Yanjing reluctantly left.

As the plane landed, Chen Xiangbei led the HRT team to Bahrain International Airport. As soon as he stepped out of the arrival gate, he was surrounded by a dense crowd.

This time, Chen Xiangbei is no longer just a background figure for F1 drivers, nor is he some unknown nobody.

He has become the focus of attention in the new F1 season!

(End of this chapter)