Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 204 You Must Be More Ruthless to Your Opponents
"Seven or eight laps have passed, why can't Schumacher overtake Chen Xiangbei?"

One audience member, unable to contain their curiosity, finally voiced the question.

Many staff members who have worked in the paddock for many years still remember Schumacher from the invincible era of the Ferrari dynasty, let alone ordinary car fans.

In their hearts, Schumacher is a god!
"Schumacher's speed is beyond doubt; there's no way he can't be surpassed."

Another audience member spoke with conviction, saying that even Senna couldn't withstand the pressure when Schumacher was chasing him back then.

Let alone a mere Chinese guy?

"What exactly happened? This isn't the Schumacher I remember."

"It's probably a problem with the car. You could tell from the winter testing that Mercedes' performance was clearly inferior to last year's Brawn GP."

"There's only one possibility: Mercedes is too slow!"

The fans in the stands quickly reached a consensus: the performance of the Mercedes car was dragging Schumacher down.

To some extent, this is indeed the case. Compared to Brawn GP, ​​which was successfully transitioned from the original Honda team, Mercedes, as a world-class factory team, naturally has to take control of the team and car development.

The two different technological approaches, which were originally in a cooperative relationship, became competitors.

Not to mention ordinary R&D staff, even manager Ross Brown was marginalized during the Mercedes factory team's takeover process.

A few years later, he was replaced by a new team leader, Toto Wolf.

In contrast to the audience's doubts about the car's performance, in the Mercedes team's pit garage, Jean Todt, one of the former "iron triangle" members and the current FIA president, was standing with his girlfriend Michelle Yeoh.

Jean Todt will definitely be in attendance for the opening game of the new season. At the same time, with Schumacher's return and Ross Brawn taking on the role again, this former "comrade-in-arms" bond makes him feel emotional and nostalgic.

So we went to the Mercedes pit lane and reminisced with Ross Brawn about the glorious past.

"Michael, he's much calmer now."

Jean Todt watched the racetrack broadcast and said something with a sigh.

Schumacher followed Chen Xiangbei for so many laps, and many times the front of his car had already crossed the rear wheel line, but in the end he did not choose to take the risk and give up.

This is very unlike Schumacher's style.

Former racing champions would go to extremes within the rules, even forcing their opponents off the track!

Even though Chen Xiangbei is a newcomer, he still won't receive any preferential treatment.

Victory in the paddock is the true goal a driver should pursue.

The current Hamilton lacks that unstoppable, sharp edge.

It seems that even a racing legend like Lian Po cannot escape the ravages of time; he is getting old!

Faced with Jean Todt's sentiments, Ross Brown had a very complicated feeling, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

To some extent, Schumacher has indeed lost his former edge, but the reasons why he cannot surpass Chen Xiangbei are not limited to this.

Car performance, physical condition, tire changes brought about by Pirelli replacing Bridgestone, and the addition of the kinetic energy recovery system, all of these factors will affect Schumacher's once unparalleled speed.

Although Jean Todt was once a member of Ferrari's "iron triangle," and the two had worked together for many years and shared a deep friendship, Ross Brawn's professional ethics prevented him from revealing more now that he was the team principal of Mercedes.

Just as Ross Brawn was wondering how to answer, an unexpected incident occurred on the track.

Brazilian rookie Bruno Senna made a mistake while overtaking and crashed into the wall, prompting the yellow flag to be raised again.

Meanwhile, because Senna's car was blocking the lane, the race command center issued an order to deploy the safety car after a brief decision.

[We've finally got it!]

A glint flashed in Ross Brown's eyes.

The two tactics he devised for Rosberg and Schumacher were precisely to wait for the moment when the safety car would be deployed.

By entering the pits at this point, Rosberg will take advantage of the reduced tire change time to directly undercut Chen Xiangbei.

"Rosberg, approaching!"

Without bothering with any pleasantries with Jean Todt, Ross Brown pressed the call button and issued the order to enter the station.

Upon hearing the voice, Rosberg instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, and a relaxed expression appeared on his face.

Keep in mind that his soft red tires were already giving out, and compared to Chen Xiangbei, who was battling Schumacher, his speed was about 0.4 seconds slower per lap.

Without Schumacher's "assistance," and with Chen Xiangbei's all-out push to catch up, the lap time could have been 0.8 to 1 second slower.

Tires with diminished grip will experience a dramatic drop in speed.

If this trend continues, even with Schumacher's help, Chen Xiangbei will still be able to overtake Rosberg in two laps.

Even a yellow flag won't save it, unless the racetrack is red!
For every person who is happy, there is someone who is sad.

Faced with this sudden accident, the HRT fleet strategy team members all had serious expressions on their faces.

Rosberg's gamble paid off!
"North, the safety car is deployed. Rosberg is now entering the station. Based on the estimated time, he will emerge before you."

"You have to overtake in the fastest time, otherwise you'll be facing Mercedes' two-car strategy. Are you planning to pit for new tires?"

Odette briefly analyzed the track situation and then handed the choice to Chen Xiangbei.

The race has now reached 35 laps, and Chen Xiangbei is using the neutral yellow tires he has already run seven or eight laps on.

According to the plan, Chen Xiangbei will need to run about ten more laps with this set of tires before making one last pit stop to change to new red tires and push with all his might.

The problem is that Rosberg's gamble succeeded, and he took the lead directly ahead of Chen Xiangbei. Moreover, the two-stop strategy did not require another pit stop for tire change, which meant that there was a difference in pit stop time between the two sides, which was about 22 seconds.

If Chen Xiangbei wants to overtake Rosberg, he needs to have an average lap time that is one second faster than Rosberg's in the remaining 22 laps!
This data may seem exaggerated, but it is not actually impossible.

With light oil and brand new soft red tires in the F1 paddock, many drivers can achieve lap times two or three seconds faster than with the old tires!

For example, the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix was held at the famous Red Bull Ring circuit.

At that time, Mercedes was still invincible. Hamilton and Bottas won all eight races, and other teams could only stand below the podium and look up.

But as Red Bull Racing's home track, Verstappen decided to defy fate!

After discussions with Red Bull's strategy team, they took a risk by using hard white tires in qualifying, thus saving a set of medium tires.

With this new set of medium tires, Verstappen defeated pole-sitter Bottas, thus ending the reign of the invincible Mercedes team and winning the championship title at the Red Bull Ring home circuit.

Under normal circumstances, even if Rosberg's undercut is successful, Chen Xiangbei still has a high chance of winning as long as he can overtake quickly.

Now that Schumacher is behind them, the situation is completely different.

Chen Xiangbei is determined to take on two opponents at once!

What tire did Rosberg change to before leaving the pits?

Chen Xiangbei did not give an immediate answer, but instead asked a question.

"Hard white body".

"I'm not going into the station."

"North, are you sure you can quickly surpass Rosberg by relying on the old neutral yellow tires?"

Odeto wanted Chen Xiangbei to pit because he was worried that Chen Xiangbei wouldn't be able to overtake and would be sandwiched between the two Mercedes cars.

White tires heat up slowly and have poor grip in the initial stages, giving new red tires a crushing advantage. In contrast, after seven or eight laps of defense, the speed advantage of medium yellow tires is not so obvious.

As long as we can surpass them, we can still find ways to catch up if we fall behind.

If they can't get past that, the outcome of the match is no longer in doubt.

"can!"

Chen Xiangbei gave a resolute answer.

He only has one set of new red tires left, and even if he puts them on, he might not be able to finish the last 22 laps.

This means there's a chance we'll have to stop again for a tire change, turning the three-stop strategy into a four-stop strategy.

If we stop four times, we will definitely lose!
Given this, Chen Xiangbei chose to entrust his fate to his driving skills rather than gamble on the lifespan of his tires.

Before he had to defend against Schumacher, Chen Xiangbei might have hesitated, unsure if he could surpass Rosberg.

After seven or eight laps of back-and-forth action, Chen Xiangbei became certain of one thing: the TF110's performance was indeed superior to Mercedes-Benz, at least in terms of cornering speed.

The white tire heats up slowly, so Chen Xiangbei had to seize the window of opportunity before it reached the operating temperature.

"OK."

Without further persuasion, Odeto removed his hand from the call button. Rosberg, having changed to hard white tires, drove out of the pit lane, and just as the team had calculated, he blocked Chen Xiangbei's path.

However, the Lotus race car has not yet been hoisted off the track and is still in the yellow flag stage where overtaking is not allowed.

At that moment, the broadcast camera focused on Senna, who was crouching outside the fence, and the audience was filled with regret and anger.

Even commentator James couldn't help but remark with emotion, "Bruno actually had very good results in both qualifying and the main race, completely outperforming his teammate Kovalainen. If he can maintain his ranking, he can get points in his debut."

"Unfortunately, the world's expectations of him go far beyond simply scoring points in his debut."

Hearing James's words, Emil chimed in, "Yes, Bruno basically pushed the Lotus to its speed limit; he did a very good job."

Having a close relative who is considered a god is a lucky thing.

However, there is one condition: never work in the same profession as him, otherwise there is a high chance that you will live in his shadow for the rest of your life!
This statement applies not only to Bruno Senna, but also to other second-generation drivers in the paddock, and even to Mick Schumacher in later generations.

Bruno carried on his uncle's will, bringing the Senna name back into the F1 paddock.

But he couldn't reach the speed of the racing legend.

As fellow rookie drivers, Chen Xiangbei's ranking and performance can be said to have completely overwhelmed Bruno.

Even the Russian rising star Petrov surpasses him in absolute speed.

From a historical, God-like perspective, Chen Xiangbei knew how terrible Lotus racing cars were, and it was only natural that HRT and Renault racing cars were leading.

But the public and the racing team don't care about these things!
All they knew was that he was Senna's nephew and should achieve the same outstanding results as his uncle. Furthermore, the Lotus team's willingness to sign this older rookie was also an attempt to extract commercial value from Bruno.

Without results, commercial value will be greatly reduced!
The dual pressures of family honor and real-world achievements led Bruno Senna to take a risky step.

Just like Mick Schumacher crashing all sorts of times in the F1 paddock, but when he switched to WEC endurance racing, his consistency was excellent, and his performance far exceeded his former self.

While there are certainly differences in racing, mindset likely plays a significant role as well.

Without the pressure, I actually drove better.

Chen Xiangbei was driving the TF110 when he happened to pass by the accident site and saw Bruno leaving in utter dejection.

He can actually understand this feeling very well, because to some extent, he himself often bears the heavy pressure of the hopes for Chinese racing.

And it is no exaggeration to say that most viewers in this era, including Chinese car enthusiasts, are a group of "champion fans".

They praise when they win and criticize when they lose.

Liu Xiang is the best example.

Without his racing experience from two lifetimes and the influence of the internet age in his previous life, Chen Xiangbei doesn't know if he could withstand such pressure.

Fortunately, I have it.

The car hoisting was slower than expected, and by the time the staff waved the green flag to signal the resumption of the race, the race had already reached lap 37!

The pressure on the car gave Rosberg some space to warm up the tires, and combined with the high temperatures at the Bahrain-Sakhir circuit, it was practically at the operating temperature of hard white tires.

It became increasingly difficult for Chen Xiangbei to overtake.

As the safety car left the track, the race cars accelerated and started moving. Chen Xiangbei reacted quickly and was not shaken off by Rosberg. He caught up with the other car and tried to launch an attack.

Rosberg's expression was very indifferent as he looked at the No. 13 race car trying to overtake him in the rearview mirror, hidden behind his helmet visor.

In the early stages, due to his slow start and underestimation of his opponent, he was overtaken by Chen Xiangbei once.

Now, thanks to their long-distance stability and tactical overtaking, they have once again surpassed the Chinese rising stars.

Rosberg believes he will never make the same mistake twice!
With the accelerator fully depressed and the gear shifted, the car's speed began to soar wildly, and the engine speed was pushed to its maximum of over 18,000 RPM, which is already the limit of Toyota's engine speedometer.

As both cars entered the corner simultaneously, the TF110 demonstrated superior downforce and cornering speed, allowing Chen Xiangbei to gradually catch up and attempt to overtake using its faster exit acceleration.

[TF110 so fast?]

Rosberg was taken aback by Chen Xiangbei's aggressive approach.

In the initial stages, he didn't engage in much offense or defense with Chen Xiangbei, so he naturally didn't experience the racing performance of the TF110.

Now he understood why his teammate Schumacher had been unable to overtake Chen Xiangbei even after seven or eight laps. The cornering grip of this TF110 race car was truly terrifying!
After all, under normal circumstances, racing cars rely more on mechanical grip when cornering, and the exhaust gases actively provide downforce through the wake, which is equivalent to having an "external cheat".

"Full throttle, block the car on the right and force the car behind to change lanes!"

The Mercedes strategy team's voice came through the headphones. They had a third-party "God's-eye view" of the track, which allowed them to better observe Chen Xiangbei's speed and line before entering the corner and predict his overtaking route in advance.

Of course, there is an even more important point: Chen Xiangbei was once a test driver for the Brawn GP team, and his driving habits and data are stored in the team's database. The strategy team engineers have already analyzed him.

It's fair to say that of the eleven rival teams in the paddock, only Mercedes places the greatest importance on Chen Xiangbei.

They have truly witnessed the speed and talent of China's new generation!
Upon receiving the instruction, Rosberg immediately changed lanes to block Chen Xiangbei's overtaking route out of the bend.

To avoid a collision, Chen Xiangbei had to abandon his overtaking maneuver, and the two cars sped along a short straight road.

Compared to cornering speed, the TF110 race car doesn't have much of an advantage on straightaways. Its reduced engine power makes it at best on par with the Mercedes race car, so it's impossible for it to have any straightaway dominance.

Meanwhile, the increasingly sophisticated and precise aerodynamic components, along with the increased size and volume of fuel tanks due to the elimination of refueling, have made overtaking in F1 cars increasingly difficult.

This is why hybrid systems and DRS were introduced in later generations.

By using charging strategies and setting up DRS zones, the reliance on the slingshot effect of the preceding vehicle is reduced, allowing overtaking points not only to be limited to curves, but also to emerge on long straights at various speeds to overtake opponents.

Rosberg, who was on full defensive endeavors, finally demonstrated his top-level driving skills, blocking Chen Xiangbei's lines in several consecutive corners.

As time and laps progressed, the grip of the two cars' tires shifted, and if the delay continued, even if the TF110 had a faster cornering speed, its tires would eventually lose grip on the ground.

Moreover, Schumacher is also watching Chen Xiangbei closely behind him!
The racing champion is also waiting for the best opportunity to overtake.

"Go for it, Chen Xiangbei!"

"If we surpass them, we can reclaim fifth place."

"Chen Xiangbei, you surpassed Kimi Räikkönen's debut performance with a fifth-place finish, proving that you can rival him!"

Many Chinese fans on the track could no longer contain their excitement and cheered for Chen Xiangbei.

Before the match, countless people mocked Chen Xiangbei, saying he was not worthy of being compared to Raikkonen.

It's no longer a matter of being on equal footing; Chen Xiangbei aims to surpass this Finnish historical genius.

The only obstacle is Rosberg in front of us.

In the eyes of the outside world, Rosberg in this era was just a second-generation driver, not the world champion who would later defeat Hamilton at his peak.

Chen Xiangbei can even stop Schumacher, so why can't he surpass him?

Many people underestimated Rosberg's speed, but only Chen Xiangbei knew how stable this second-generation driver was over long distances and how solid his fundamentals were.

Even though his close combat skills weren't great, he still managed to completely block his own path!
Just as things were at a stalemate, Chen Xiangbei heard Briatore's voice through his earphones.

"Kid, are you afraid of dying?"

【What's the meaning? 】

Chen Xiangbei was highly focused at the moment and had no time to think about what the floral cloth was trying to express.

"Speak directly!"

"If you're not afraid of dying, then go ahead and crash into a car. If you don't even dare to crash into a car, what makes you think you can overtake?"

The advice given by Huabu was simple: go all out against Rosberg.

Just like Verstappen's rookie season, overtaking is simply throwing the car into the corner; if the other car lets it pass, it's a success; if not, it's like a "torpedo."

"If you hesitate any longer, Schumacher won't give you a chance to defend."

Briatore added that he had discovered Schumacher himself and knew the German's style all too well.

Once Chen Xiangbei's tire grip decreases, he will overtake both the Chinese kid and his teammate!

"understood."

When Chen Xiangbei saw this, he replied that he had died on the racetrack in his past life, so how could he be afraid?
Ahead was the T12 high-speed corner of the Bahrain circuit. Chen Xiangbei floored the accelerator and plunged straight into the apex of the corner. This time, facing Rosberg's blocking action, he did not slow down or change lanes. He was like a torpedo!
Faced with Chen Xiangbei's reckless and desperate stance, Rosberg hesitated to change lanes, not daring to gamble on whether the Chinese rookie would crash into him.

Being afraid means losing!

Even a fraction of a second of hesitation on the track is enough for an opponent to overtake you.

The black and orange TF110 roared past the Mercedes Silver Arrow, and Chen Xiangbei once again reclaimed his fifth place.

This time, he won't give Rosberg a chance to catch up. He used a combination of corners to forcefully grab the kerb and completely leave his opponent out of the slipstream!
(End of this chapter)