Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 207 Surpassing Raikkonen's Talent

Briatore is trying to capitalize on the hype, but this also reflects his true feelings.

If complaining were effective, would Schumacher have become a seven-time world champion?

Alonso has been able to compete in the paddock for 20 years without falling behind.
Can Verstappen become the next GOAT-level driver contender?
Briatore scoffed at the reporter's comment that the HRT team's driving style was problematic.

He disliked many things about Trulli, but he never criticized Trulli for the collision with Sutil, nor did he deliberately escalate the incident to find a pretext to kick him out of the team.

The reason is that Trulli is very clear about his grudges, which suits Huabu's taste very well.

A driver who doesn't even dare to fight back on the track will never become the next world champion. Is it shameful for such a coward to stay with the HRT team?
"Mr. Briatore, are you implying that Rosberg is the weaker party?"

One reporter seized on the key point and asked the floral fabric a question in return.

"Is not it?"

"He was overtaken twice by the North in a Mercedes race car, so he had to find some excuse for his defeat."

Briatore shrugged; as an old Italian rogue, he didn't care about Rosberg's influence in the F1 paddock.

What about the Mercedes camp?
To put it bluntly, they are just like the HRT team, a "new force" that only entered the paddock this year.

They're all new racing teams; who's more prestigious than whom?

When Briatore uttered those words, a murmur of surprise rippled through the room.

Last year, Floral Cloth offended former F1 world champion Piquet, ordering his son to crash his car and then kicking him after he had served his purpose.

This year he made another outrageous statement. Isn't he afraid of being pressured by the FIA ​​to launch an investigation, be banned again, and be expelled from the paddock?
Seeing the reporters' excited and eager expressions, they all turned their cameras, which had been pointed at Chen Xiangbei, to Briatore.

Odeto knew he couldn't continue like this, otherwise Chen Xiangbei would have to pay for all the hatred this old rogue had stirred up!
Soon, dozens of HRT crew members moved out and formed a human wall to separate Briatore from the reporters, which is one of the common methods to avoid being photographed in the F1 paddock.

On the other side, Odette pulled Hua Bu and Chen Xiangbei back to the drivers' rest area, speechless at the scene.

Chen Xiangbei is one thing; at twenty years old, he can still be described as young and impetuous.

Briatore's move was nothing compared to my youthful exuberance.
"Briatoli, before you answer the question, don't you consider the impact on the driver and the team?"

Odeto has never liked Florentino's performative personality, but he has always refrained from saying anything because of Florentino's position as a senior manager and the need for team unity. Today, however, he simply couldn't hold back any longer.

What are the consequences?

"The North will be targeted within the paddock."

"If I don't say that, will North not be targeted?"

Briatore countered with a question that left Odette somewhat speechless.

Seeing that Oddo didn't speak, Huabu turned to Chen Xiangbei and asked.

"Bei, what are your own thoughts?"

"I don't think there's any problem."

Chen Xiangbei had a faint smile on his face.

Briatore was right; choosing to back down in the face of Rosberg's accusations was ultimately pointless.

Those who need to be targeted will still be targeted.

The situation in the Japanese automotive industry has remained unchanged for thirty years. Do you really think you can change it by just swallowing your anger?
Compared to being suppressed and cowardly, Chen Xiangbei would rather be arrogant and defiant!

To some extent, the reason why Briatore was able to be persuaded by Chen Xiangbei to become the HRT team manager lies in the fact that the two share a kind of unspoken commonality.

That is an untamed spirit that runs deep in one's bones!
In addition, Chen Xiangbei is very clear about one other thing: car enthusiasts all "admire the strong".

We don't need to talk about Schumacher in the past or Verstappen in the future; let's take Alonso, the best driver of this era, as an example.

He is surrounded by many accolades and has created numerous F1 historical records. If it weren't for Hamilton's sudden emergence and the internal chaos within the Renault team, he could have at least achieved the feat of winning four world championships.

In reality, the early Alonso was a sarcastic and toxic driver who was willing to engage in paddock politics in order to win.

He was implicated in the political scandals of almost every famous F1 team.

Of course, the other driver involved is named Hamilton.

Logically speaking, a driver who likes to play dirty tricks behind the scenes should be despised both inside and outside the paddock.

Indeed, there was a period when Alonso was referred to as "political Alonso."

But as time went by and his performance improved, the flaws were gradually forgotten. In the hearts of fans, he was a superstar driver with top-notch driving skills, calm and collected, and almost never made a mistake on the track.

There are plenty of drivers with "black marks" in the F1 paddock, but only results can eternally "whitewash" them.

Chen Xiangbei's current provocations against Briatore might turn into "telling the truth" in the future.

“Odetto, do you hear me? I am right.”

With Chen Xiangbei's support, Briatore wore a smug expression.

Having said all he could say, Odette could say nothing more and could only shake his head as he prepared to leave the drivers' lounge.

However, at this moment, Chen Xiangbei opened his arms and gently hugged Odeto.

Then he whispered in his ear, "Odetto, I'm not a fragile driver, and I know what I'm doing. Don't worry."

In fact, Chen Xiangbei was very clear about why Odeto, who once seemed radical, now appeared "conservative".

The reason is that Odeto had stood against Briatore and knew very well what kind of person the old Italian rogue was. Trulli was also his favorite back then, and he was the one who discovered Renault and promoted him in various ways, and even served as his manager.

You could say that Chen Xiangbei today is a carbon copy of Trulli.

The ultimate goal of all Huabu's actions and behaviors is to extract the remaining value from the driver.

He doesn't really care whether the drivers are alive or dead; he only cares about whether he can achieve his goal.

Odeto worried that Chen Xiangbei would not be able to resist the "temptation" and would step by step walk into the abyss woven by Briatore. Today he could ask him to use the "torpedo" method to overtake, and tomorrow he could issue more extreme orders, or even play political tricks such as the "crash gate".

To put it bluntly, Odeto wanted to "protect" Chen Xiangbei and truly treat him as a junior.

Chen Xiangbei's whispered remark also showed that he was very clear-headed and had not been blinded by Shengli and Huabu's words.

"Ah."

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's words, Odeto's serious expression relaxed, and he patted Chen Xiangbei's arm before walking out.

After a short break, an awards ceremony was held inside the paddock.

Chen Xiangbei stood in the pit lane watching Vettel stand on the highest podium as the German national anthem resounded throughout the stadium.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei felt a little envious.

This is not just about a driver standing on the champion's podium; it's about a Chinese driver hoping to hear the national anthem played at the pinnacle of motorsport. May those who initially looked down on him and mocked him eventually become those who stand in the stands looking up in awe!

The end of the awards ceremony marked the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Chen Xiangbei and the strategy team returned to the hotel, where the technicians and engineers conducted post-race maintenance and packed up various equipment.

The next Grand Prix will be held in Australia in the Southern Hemisphere.

After all, it's still early spring in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year, and the track temperature is too low to be suitable for holding the race. The race calendar prioritizes the Southern Hemisphere and locations closer to the equator.

After washing up and changing into casual clothes, Briatore led the strategy team to a club. Due to the special circumstances in Bahrain, the clientele here was almost entirely foreign tourists, mainly from Europe and America.

Compared to the last time they went to the bar to celebrate, only Lu Xiaoman was present.

This time, the celebration party, hosted by Briatore, was filled with women of different styles, making the European and American members of the team's eyes light up!
It can only be said that Hua Bu lived up to his reputation as a "playboy," as he was far more adept at dealing with women than as a team manager.

"North, do you see that blonde beauty over there? She's the female companion I specially invited for you."

"Go ahead, don't be shy, you can let loose tonight!"

Following Briatore's pointing finger, a stunningly beautiful woman with an exceptional figure and appearance sat at the bar.

If Chen Xiangbei's guess is correct, her profession should be a supermodel.

After all, Hua Bu's ex-girlfriend is none other than world-class Victoria's Secret supermodel Heidi Klum.

Faced with Briatore's encouragement, Chen Xiangbei didn't respond or try to strike up a conversation. He simply smiled and walked towards the sofa.

The F1 paddock is never short of playboys, but the truly top drivers have an iron will.

Take Schumacher, for example. He was incredibly devoted to his wife Corinna, and this loyalty was rewarded.

Even after the skiing accident, his wife, who had been bedridden for many years, remained devoted to him.

Another example is Max Verstappen, the "Autobot".

This guy is extraordinary; he's reached a point where he's completely focused on racing.

Briatore stood there completely bewildered by Chen Xiangbei's actions.

Is it that the female companion he introduced is not to his liking, or does this guy have some hidden illness?
Fortunately, at that moment, Hua Bu saw a cute and slender beauty sit down next to Chen Xiangbei, and the two seemed to be getting along very well, which dispelled his second doubt.

It seems Bei doesn't like this supermodel style; she'll definitely try a different look next time!
"Emily, what are you doing here?"

Chen Xiangbei sounded extremely surprised. The beautiful woman sitting next to him was none other than Emily, Staller's granddaughter.

“Grandpa really wanted to come and watch the game live, but his health couldn’t handle the long journey, so I came in his place.”

"Then why didn't you contact us sooner? And how did you know we were coming to this club?"

"I'll give you a surprise."

Emily replied quirkily, actually saying that Stagler had specifically instructed her not to disturb Chen Xiangbei before the match to avoid distracting him.

"Well, it was quite a 'surprise' indeed."

Chen Xiangbei shrugged and then picked up the juice on the table and drank it.

"North, congratulations on scoring in your debut."

"Also, may I ask one more question?"

After Emily finished speaking, she moved closer to Chen Xiangbei, her big eyes filled with pleading.

"Go ahead."

"Bei, are you really just an amateur when it comes to rally racing?"

The rally running style that Chen Xiangbei displayed that day still frequently appeared in Emily's mind, even a year later.

At the time, she was more surprised than anything else, thinking that Chen Xiangbei was a hidden rally genius!

Now, with Emily's improved rally racing skills and exposure to higher-level coaches and drivers, especially this year's F1 world champion Kimi Räikkönen, she has transitioned to the WRC and joined the Citroën Junior Team.

This made her realize a reality: Chen Xiangbei's rally driving skills could no longer be described as genius.

It's simply a "miracle"!
Emily thought it over carefully and felt that Chen Xiangbei's proficiency and control precision were in no way inferior to Raikkonen's performance on the WRC track.

Only through comparison can we see the truth.

How could a Formula 1 test driver like Bei possibly possess WRC-level rally driving skills? Did he have the time to practice rally racing while training for Formula 1 cars?
Emily couldn't understand this question. She felt that Chen Xiangbei must be hiding something, which was why she readily agreed to her grandfather Staller's request to fly to Bahrain to witness Chen Xiangbei's debut and to answer her doubts.

"Ah."

Chen Xiangbei simply responded, saying that the more you explain something, the more loopholes there are.

"Impossible! I think you're even better than Raikkonen!"

Faced with Chen Xiangbei's denial, Emily became somewhat agitated and subconsciously raised her voice.

Just then, a sarcastic voice rang out.

"After finishing fifth in his debut, does he really think he can rival the world champions?"

The sudden sound drew the attention of everyone in the hall.

Chen Xiangbei also looked over and saw a group of people entering the venue, led by Finnish driver Kovalainen of the Lotus team.

Kovalainen's entire career can be described in two ways.

The first type is the common scenario of a strong opening followed by a decline.

The second type is a scene between a god and a ghost.

When it's at its best, its speed is astonishing; it even won second place in a race during its rookie season. When it's at its worst, it's like a torpedo on the track.

The reason why he has such a high ceiling and a high floor is that he has a common problem among Finnish drivers: alcoholism!

Finland, constrained by its icy and snowy geography, has produced countless world-class drivers, especially in rally racing. However, many things have their opposites; ironically, due to its harsh climate, Finland, like Russia, has a high rate of alcoholism.

Kimi Räikkönen is a prime example.

If it weren't for his alcoholism and lack of self-discipline, with Räikkönen's talent and speed, he would definitely have more than just one world championship title.

The same is true for Kovalainen. He was seen as the next Raikkonen when he debuted, but he started strong and then faded into obscurity, eventually fading into obscurity and having to leave the F1 paddock.

However, the Finnish drivers are very united. He was able to enter the F1 paddock thanks to the help of his predecessors Häkkinen and Raikkonen. Kovalainen remembers this friendship and regards the two as his idols.

Chen Xiangbei's various attempts to "provoke" Raikkonen have made him the most hated figure in the F1 paddock.

Today, the Lotus team came to the clubhouse to relax after the race, and then they heard Chen Xiangbei and others "belittling" Raikkonen. He just couldn't swallow this insult!

(End of this chapter)