Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 201 Offense is the Best Defense

"Webber, how's the race car going?"

Red Bull team manager Horner, watching Webber's ranking keep dropping, immediately pressed the voice call button on his headset.

At 34, Webber is considered an old driver in the F1 paddock. Currently, only Trulli and Schumacher, who has made a comeback, are older than him.

At his peak, Webber had the ability to compete for the championship. In his debut in 02, he managed to finish fifth in a Minardi car that was at the bottom of the pack. He later maintained a close relationship with teammates such as Heidfeld and Coulthard, and even beat Rosberg, who was in his first season.

However, physical skills and professional performance will gradually decline over time. Not every driver can maintain a top-level performance in the paddock like Alonso, who is approaching forty.

After joining Red Bull in 09 and becoming teammates with Vettel, Webber's performance and form gradually declined.

If we compare them to the Red Bull team during their four-time championship era, they are roughly slightly weaker than the peak Perez level.

After all, with his Red Bull Mars rover, even if he gets crushed by Verstappen, he can at least secure second place in the annual competition thanks to his performance advantage. The older Webber, at best, can only get third place.

It was precisely because of Webber's poor performance in his later years that many people questioned Vettel's ability to win four titles.

After all, winning a championship by driving a Mars rover is often expected, but to make it more prestigious and convincing, it needs to be compared with teammates from the same period.

Vettel's victory over the aging Webber was far less impressive than the peak battle between Senna and Prost in their prime.

It's even less impressive than Schumacher's consecutive victories over world champions like Piquet, Damon Hill, and Häkkinen.

Of course, Vettel is not a four-time champion yet, and Webber does not believe he will be easily defeated by a younger rookie.

However, the defeat he suffered while teaming up with Vettel last year put Webber under a lot of pressure. Coupled with the loss in qualifying for the opening race, he was eager to redeem himself in the race and avoid becoming the number two driver.

After all, veterans who are inferior to rookies in terms of speed, potential, and performance will have their evaluation significantly lowered in the eyes of the team's management!
In order to win the race, Webber suggested running the engine at overpowered power, a suggestion that the team readily agreed to.

Design Director Newey also wanted to know where the potential limit of the Red Bull RB6 lay!

As it turns out, the high-power output made the Red Bull RB6's performance off the charts, and Webber took off like a rocket.

Unfortunately, Webber's ultimate opponent was his teammate Vettel, who was also driving a Red Bull RB6. After several laps of frantic chasing, the engine was overwhelmed, emitting black smoke and on the verge of failure.

However, it must be acknowledged that the RB6 became the first championship-winning car to establish the Red Bull dynasty, not only because of its speed and performance advantages, but also because of its extremely strong stability.

After Weberson oil relieved the pressure on the race car, the engine seemed to return to normal.

Upon hearing team leader Horner's question, Webber pressed the steering wheel intercom button and replied, "No problem, the car's power output is normal."

"Then block the car behind us and prevent us from dropping any further in the rankings."

Horner gave a word of advice: if things had gone smoothly, Red Bull could have achieved a double podium finish and a winning start to the new season.

Webber's car has now malfunctioned, making the final result uncertain once again.

Fortunately, Webber only dropped to fifth place, and still has a chance to catch up. He can't let a small team like HRT overtake him again!

Chen Xiangbei couldn't hear the Red Bull team's voice chat, so he naturally didn't know that Webber's Red Bull car had returned to normal.

From Chen Xiangbei's perspective, Weber had the intention to deliberately obstruct him.

It's well known that this kind of information gap often occurs in the F1 paddock, where neither driver knows the other's intentions, so much so that you can often hear all sorts of profanities and friendly greetings in the TR voice chat.

Later, as voice communication technology improved, various delays occurred in the team's TR voice during live broadcasts. Profanities were either censored or not played at all, making the drivers in the paddock appear much more "civilized."

"North, Webber is regaining his speed, Kubica has caught up to the overtaking zone, watch out for defense."

Odette's message followed. He had been paying close attention to Webber and Kubica's speed changes. Now the offensive and defensive situation had changed. It would be difficult for Chen Xiangbei to overtake them at his current speed. He should focus more on maintaining his position and defending.

“COPY.”

Chen Xiangbei gave a brief reply, then turned his attention to Kubica behind him.

Compared to Weber's uneventful career in his later years, Kubica's career can only be described as "legendary".

However, his "legend" does not refer to his achievements.

A Polish prodigy, he has won the Renault World Championship and broken the lap record at the Guia Circuit in Australia, demonstrating astonishing speed.

He skipped directly from F3 to F1, and his outstanding performance during his time with BMW Sauber made him the only Ferrari driver in nearly 20 years to be confirmed ahead of schedule, which shows his potential and the importance that the big teams attach to him.

Unfortunately, Kubica's fate was fraught with misfortune. Just as he was about to jump from Renault to Ferrari, he suffered a serious car accident while participating in a rally, resulting in multiple fractures. In particular, the injury to his right hand caused him to lose almost 70% of its function.

This meant that from then on, he could only use one hand to control the steering wheel, while the other hand could only be used for positioning and balance. Even with this injury, Kubica returned to the paddock after several years.

Many people, when boasting about their driving skills, have said things like they can drive an F1 car with one hand.

Kubica actually drives an F1 car with one hand!

Some fans in later generations felt sorry for Kubica's fate, believing that if he had joined the Ferrari team, he could at least have become the next championship contender.

The 10 season was Kubica's last healthy season and also the time when he was at his peak.

Even though Renault's racing cars weren't very competitive, Kubica still pushed the performance to its limits, chasing Chen Xiangbei's car at top speed and waiting for the right moment to launch an attack.

Rosberg couldn't stop Kubica, so theoretically Chen Xiangbei would be even less able to stop him!
The race has entered its fifth lap, and Kubica has yet to launch an attack.

This wasn't because he was kind-hearted, but rather the calm before the storm!
Although the energy recovery system of this era does not require charging, it does need to store energy in the flywheel through braking. During Kubica's overtaking of Rosberg, the kinetic energy in the flywheel was already released.

He needs to prepare again so that he can deliver a fatal blow to Chen Xiangbei when he is at his strongest.

"Kubica was 0.2 seconds faster than Xiang Beijun on the last lap. The continuous overtaking and battling took a lot of wear on Xiang Beijun's tires. In addition, the data shows that the Renault car's tire wear is lower than ours."

With a worried expression, Mizutani Sho reported the situation, saying that if things continued to improve, Chen Xiangbei might be 0.3 seconds slower than Kubica on the fifth lap.

With this speed difference, the TF110 can't stop the R30.

Faced with Mizutani Sho's words, the people on the outdoor command platform remained silent. In fact, they didn't need to report or remind them; their experience told them what would happen next.

But at that moment, Briatore, who was enjoying the air conditioning in the pit lane, chimed in through the team's voice chat.

"The best defense is offense, and he won't try to stop you."

"Manager, what do you mean?"

Sho Mizutani retorted, "The track isn't a one-on-one race, so how can Mukai-kun attack Kubica?"

"North will attack Webber, let the opponent stop the opponent!"

As Briatore finished speaking, Chen Xiangbei arrived at the T9 and T10 combination corners of the track, which are also known as the "Bahrain Corner".

Bahrain Bend is a series of slow left turns (T9) followed by a right turn (T10). It may seem ordinary, but it is actually the slowest section of the entire track, and it puts the most demanding on mechanical grip and traction control. The surface is also very bumpy. Testing mechanical grip and traction control means minimizing the efficiency differences of the aerodynamic components.

The Red Bull race car, also equipped with a diffuser, can be considered an upgraded version of the TF110. In a high-speed cornering contest, Chen Xiangbei would have a hard time surpassing Webber. He could only drag the Red Bull RB6 into a battle where neither car was good at it.

It's no longer about simply comparing driving skills and the perception and control of the race car!
To be honest, Chen Xiangbei's current driving skills are probably not as good as those of the elderly Webber.

However, Chen Xiangbei was confident that he would not lose to his opponent in terms of driving skills.

In addition, compared to veteran drivers, the biggest advantage of rookies is their fighting spirit and belief.

Chen Xiangbei might risk his life as a torpedo, but Webber wouldn't die alongside a rookie!
This is why Verstappen was nicknamed "Turret" and ridiculed by everyone when he was a rookie.

As time went on and he became a world champion, his driving style became much more stable, and he even learned to yield.

Drivers who wear shoes have many more concerns!
On the short straight leading into the corner of the T9, Chen Xiangbei did not slow down at the usual braking point, but instead opted for heavy braking to change lanes and turn out to the outside, entering the corner alongside Webber's Red Bull RB6.

Looking at the TF110 race car that appeared beside him, Webber felt more surprised than anything else. Didn't the Chinese newcomer know that the Bahrain Kick required the use of the entire inner shoulder to create the best line for the T10 Kick?

It's worth noting that the T10 had the lowest speed on the track, and its throttle control was at an abnormal level.

You need to apply the accelerator in an extremely smooth and gradual manner. If you apply even a little too much pressure, the rear wheels will spin, and in severe cases, the wheels will even spin out!

Are Chinese newcomers so confident that they can overtake other cars at a faster speed without slipping when taking the outside line through the T10 bend?

"James, driver North is getting a bit impatient. His choice to make his move at Bahrain Bend is not a good timing."

As a local, Emil was naturally very familiar with the driving techniques and challenges of the Bahrain Bend.

Slow corners may seem easy to catch up with and surpass, but in reality, what you see is not the speed entering the corner, but the speed exiting the corner.

His failed challenge against Alonso didn't seem to teach the Chinese newcomer a lesson enough, as he once again overestimated himself and challenged Webber.

Do you really think Australians are pushovers?

"Kubica put a lot of pressure on North; his speed is too easy to lose control of."

James agreed with Emil's statement; he could understand the young driver's fighting spirit.

But in F1, fighting spirit alone cannot solve all problems.

Even a player as strong as Senna back in the day couldn't overcome fate when faced with Schumacher's pursuit!
No one had a good chance of overtaking Chen Xiangbei, not even the members of the HRT crew. Based on their years of racing experience and objective thinking, they also believed that overtaking at the Bahrain Bend would be too difficult.

Chen Xiangbei may pay the price for his impulsiveness.

"Head north, hold your ground!"

Inside the P room, Lu Xiaoman nervously clasped her hands together.

She didn't have that kind of professional understanding, but she could see through Chen Xiangbei's radicalism and risk-taking.

The two race cars entered the right turn side by side, with Chen Xiangbei, who was originally on the outside, now on the inside.

However, due to his excessive cornering speed and inability to perfectly cut the line, the TF110 race car slid almost uncontrollably to the outside of the track, with the rear wheels on the white line of the curb, and visibly spinning.

Chen Xiangbei's face beneath the helmet remained expressionless, showing no sign of panic or fear. His mind was focused solely on the car's grip and his control of the steering wheel.

A feel for the car is what truly determines the upper limit of a driver's talent.

Fortunately, Chen Xiangbei is second to none in this respect!
With constant fine-tuning and corrections to the steering wheel, the TF110 race car teetered on the edge of losing control.

When Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 car did not lose control and go off the track, the benefits of seizing the apex of the corner and taking the best line became apparent, and he achieved a corner exit speed far exceeding Webber's.

Looking at the HRT race car with its black and orange color scheme that had surpassed his own, no matter how much shock and disbelief filled Webber's eyes, it couldn't change the outcome.

"He's overtaken! Chen Xiangbei has once again surpassed Red Bull driver Webber!"

"Including the six laps of warm-up laps where he surpassed two top F1 drivers, who would still dare to say that Chen Xiangbei is a paid rookie?"

"Chen Xiangbei is awesome!"

"Chen Xiangbei has proven with his strength that he is not only the strongest driver in China, but also a world-class driver!"

"Chinese drivers can also reach the top!"

The Chinese spectators in the stands were absolutely thrilled. Many of them came to the race simply to support the Chinese drivers.

Especially those fans who truly understand F1 racing don't have overly high expectations.

They are well aware of how weak the overall motorsport environment is in China.

It's no exaggeration to say that it couldn't compare to Chinese football at the same time.

Because they were so weak, there was no one to laugh at them, and no one even thought about achieving any results.

For Chen Xiangbei to score a point in his debut is already an amazing breakthrough!
However, Chen Xiangbei's performance on the track repeatedly challenged their expectations, qualifying seventh and then rising against the trend to fifth in the race.

If it weren't for the name in pinyin, and if there weren't that bright red national flag in front of the name, who would believe that this is a result achieved by a rising Chinese talent?
So much so that many viewers began to hope that Chen Xiangbei would be able to take the stage!

Compared to the ambitions of the track spectators, the team's strategy team members were trying their best to suppress their excitement. They absolutely could not be reckless and disrupt the team's pre-race strategy and the drivers' own rhythm.

"North, Webber should be able to hold off Kubica for a while, cruise and maintain the tire to open the pit entrance window as wide as possible."

"clear."

Chen Xiangbei replied.

Even with ample soft red tires, the three-stop strategy still requires each tire to run for at least ten laps.

The HRT race car has decent relative speed and stability after power reduction. If there's a drawback, it's the lack of a wind tunnel to simulate and verify the problem, thus addressing the root cause of the exhaust diffuser's drawbacks and resulting in relatively high tire consumption.

The continuous overtaking and confrontations have caused severe tire wear to Chen Xiangbei's tires. He now needs to enter the cruising phase to protect the tires and try his best to secure a pit stop window.

The intense battle between the two teams reached a bottleneck, with a series of drivers retiring from the track. Virgin Racing's De Grassi, Lotus Racing's Kovalainen, and Toro Rosso's Agursurari all left the track.

The stability issues of the new team and the new car are gradually becoming apparent. Not every team can be as lucky as the HRT team to obtain a prototype car built with Toyota's expertise.

However, these race cars were able to slowly return to the maintenance period, without significantly affecting the progress of the race.

But just as the race reached lap eleven, a yellow flag suddenly appeared on the track, and at the same time, team instructions came through the headset.

"North, Trulli and Sutil have had a track accident and are preparing to pit for tire changes."

(End of this chapter)