Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 208 Intensified Internal Team Conflicts
"Do you have any opinion?"

Chen Xiangbei looked at the furious Kovalainen, slowly stood up, and coldly replied.

The statement that he is better than Raikkonen was not made by him, nor does it refer to his performance in the F1 paddock.

Even Chen Xiangbei himself wasn't arrogant enough to think he could challenge Raikkonen.

But so what?
Kovalainen's tone and demeanor were clearly inexplicable, and the other party was obviously full of hostility.

Furthermore, Chen Xiangbei has a historical perspective and is very clear about how Raikkonen helped him. Even the seats in the Lotus and Future Lotus teams can be said to have been obtained with the help of the Finnish team.

As the saying goes, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude, so it's understandable that Kovalainen was angry.

Just as Chen Xiangbei had received help from Staller, he felt compelled to step forward and "take the blame" for Emily at this moment.

It's not about right or wrong, it's just about one's stance.

Chen Xiangbei's action of getting up was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire for Kovalainen.

What gives this Chinese kid the right to be so arrogant in front of me?

Alcohol and anger clouded his judgment, and Kovalainen instinctively charged toward Chen Xiangbei, ready to make a move.

Chen Xiangbei showed no sign of backing down. He had already clenched his fists and was waiting for Kovalainen to come over so he could feel the iron fist from China!
Not seeking trouble, yet not afraid of trouble, has always been Chen Xiangbei's style of doing things.

Before Kovalainen could even get there, Briatore had already led the HRT team members over.

Hua Bu had a background in the mafia in Italy, a place rife with all sorts of people. Today, he's hosting a celebration party, and Kovalenen's attempt to take action against Chen Xiangbei is undoubtedly a slap in the face for him.

At the same time, A Yong and Lei Ge rushed to the front without hesitation. Both of them were auto mechanics and regularly maintained a fitness routine, so they were taller and heavier than Chen Xiangbei.

What is Lotus Racing? If they dare to make a move, let the Finns know today why flowers are so red!

The atmosphere inside the clubhouse became tense, as the HRT crew, with their overwhelming numerical advantage, quickly surrounded the Lotus team members.

After all, HRT really threw a celebration party. Lotus driver Bruno crashed and faced media scrutiny, and Kovalainen himself failed to score any points. They were just a separate team of drivers coming to relax after the race.

Faced with Ah Yong and Lei Ge, who looked like two "iron towers" with fierce and menacing expressions, Kovalen's eyes cleared up considerably.

However, he is now in a dilemma. He provoked trouble on his own initiative. If he backs down, how will he ever be able to hold his head high again?
Just as the two sides were about to start fighting, Lotus team owner Fernandez squeezed into the crowd and stood in the middle, trying to calm them down: "Calm down! Everyone, calm down first. If the two teams fight in the club, do you know how big a media storm it will cause?"

"Don't forget, this is the largest clubhouse in Bahrain, and it's not just us here!"

As Fernandez said, due to Bahrain's national circumstances, there are not many places for foreigners to drink, and high-end clubs are even fewer.

Besides the two racing teams, there were also many F1 fans and tourists, and even media personnel present.

Chen Xiangbei could already see many passersby taking out their phones, ready to record the "exciting" scene.

This scene reminded him of the "bar incident" in history, where a conflict led to Sutil's retirement from the paddock. If he hadn't fled the country overnight, he might have become the first F1 driver to be imprisoned in China.

Even with serious consequences, Kovalainen refused to back down, and Chen Xiangbei was not going to back down either.

At the same time, Odette stood in the middle of the crowd and said to Kovalainen, "You are an F1 driver, not some street thug. Settle any grudges on the track, understand?"

Compared to Fernandez's warning, Odette's words touched on Kovalainen's pride as an F1 driver.

Going into a fight with a newcomer is undoubtedly a "lowering of one's status".

Drivers should prove themselves on the track!

"Driver North, remember this: I'll make you understand just how far you are from Raikkonen."

Kovalenen uttered this menacing remark and then turned and left the club.

Given what had happened, he naturally had no desire to "share a room" with Chen Xiangbei.

Seeing Kovalainen leave, the Lotus owner said nothing more and told the team members to leave.

Watching the other group's backs disappear into the distance, Briatore sneered disdainfully, turned around and stood next to Chen Xiangbei, teasingly saying, "Kid, Kovalainen is definitely not going to let this go. What do you think?"

"He chose the wrong opponent."

Chen Xiangbei replied calmly.

If Raikkonen were to utter such a harsh statement, Chen Xiangbei might take it more seriously.

Does Kovalainen even have the right to threaten me?

"Very tough, I like it!"

Then Briatore gave a mysterious smile and added with a knowing look.

"Women will like it too."

The old rogue lived up to his reputation as a "playboy," as everything he said and did ultimately turned into seducing women.

This minor conflict did not affect the mood of the HRT crew members, who continued their post-race celebration party. However, the footage uploaded to the internet had already begun to spread quietly, and the titles were quite eye-catching.

"Racing driver North and Kovalainen got into a fight at a clubhouse, allegedly insulting Finnish superstar Raikkonen, and also fighting over a woman!"

Chen Xiangbei could grit his teeth and accept the fact that Raikkonen was "insulted".

The idea of ​​fighting over a woman is utter nonsense; at most, one could get a photo of Emily standing behind them.

But that's how the internet works; whether it's true or not doesn't matter, attracting attention is the goal!
The party went on until midnight. When it ended, most of the car crew members were drunk. Even Odeto and Hiroki Sawano, who were usually quite serious, let loose and celebrated Chen Xiangbei's achievement.

Only Chen Xiangbei remained completely teetotal. He was well aware of the effects and numbing effects alcohol had on a driver's reflexes, especially with Kovalainen as a vivid example right before his eyes tonight.

It is clear that this driver, once hailed as a future star of Finland, has lost control of his emotions.

On the drive back to the hotel, Emily's gaze toward Chen Xiangbei changed drastically.

Her first impression of Chen Xiangbei was that he was a somewhat shy and modest traditional Chinese driver.

Her style on the track these past few days, and the events of tonight, have shown her a completely different side of Chen Xiangbei.

Emily thought he was really manly, especially when he stepped forward.

The two didn't talk much in the car until they stopped in front of Emily's hotel.

As Emily unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out of the car, she finally mustered up the courage to say, "Bei, I've always thought that if you had the chance, you could race against Raikkonen in the WRC. Maybe you could actually beat him."

"You can not only rival world champions, but you can also defeat them!"

Emily hadn't forgotten Kovalainen's provocative words: Why did he assume that North was necessarily weaker than Raikkonen?

At least she knew how amazing Chen Xiangbei's rally driving skills were!
"Thank you, get some rest."

Chen Xiangbei smiled and replied that, in some ways, Emily was right.

At his peak in the WRC in his previous life, he had reached the level of contending for the championship, which puts him ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in the rankings.

But that's all in the past. In this life, Chen Xiangbei has entered the F1 paddock, and his goal has become to conquer the pinnacle of the motorsport world.

"Okay, see you next time."

Emily waved her hand, her tone slightly disappointed, and got out of the car, walking towards the hotel entrance.

When she turned around again, Chen Xiangbei's taillights disappeared into the night sky.

The all-night party affected the efficiency of the HRT fleet's relocation. The equipment, which was supposed to be packed up by the second day, had to be delayed until the third day, thus causing it to miss the joint transport fleet.

Moving an F1 team across a track is a massive undertaking. Beyond the personnel, the sheer number of equipment is staggering. Take the team communication system, for example: dozens of radios alone. Then there are hundreds of wireless communication devices, Wi-Fi base stations, and so on, to ensure there are no signal blind spots across the several kilometers of track, allowing drivers to clearly receive team instructions and conduct two-way communication.

Aside from electronic equipment, consumables account for the majority of the cost of vehicle relocation.

For example, dozens of tires, thousands of liters of fuel, and hundreds of liters of engine oil and coolant.

Including food, equipment, and other miscellaneous items, the total quantity could reach tens of tons.

Unified fleet leasing can reduce switching costs; otherwise, individual charter flights are the only option.

It can be said that the cost of this post-match celebration was far greater than imagined, and it further exacerbated the already strained finances of HRT.

The only fortunate thing is that the intercontinental races will be two weeks apart, which means that the HRT team has plenty of time; otherwise, it would have affected the equipment installation for the Australian Grand Prix.

Because of the long interval, Chen Xiangbei did not go to Australia immediately, but returned to the team headquarters in the UK to conduct high-intensity simulated driving training using the equipment there.

Just like the Bahrain Sakir circuit, Chen Xiangbei has never run the Albert Park circuit in Australia!
Furthermore, the Bahrain circuit holds an advantage in the opening race, allowing Chen Xiangbei to utilize the winter break to engage in intensive racing simulator practice as much as possible to compensate for his lack of experience.

With his main focus on the opening race, Chen Xiangbei inevitably had no energy left to prepare for the Albert Park circuit.

The best we can do now is make the most of the time between the two matches!
Trulli and Chen Xiangbei made the same choice and went to the UK headquarters together for intensive training.

To be honest, although Trulli was reluctant to admit it, he had in fact been influenced by Chen Xiangbei.

As an older driver in the F1 paddock, Trulli has not yet reached the point of driving a "retirement car," but he has also lost the fighting spirit and drive of a younger driver and has gradually accepted the fact that he will soon be leaving the paddock.

However, after joining the HRT team, Trulli saw in Chen Xiangbei the ultimate spirit of a driver!

Effort, focus, dedication, passion...

Especially after the crash, Trulli stood in the pit lane watching Chen Xiangbei play, seeing the young Chinese players defend with all their might when they were at a disadvantage, and push forward desperately to catch up when they were behind. All of this reminded Trulli of his own childhood when he was chasing his dream.

Regardless of whether they can ultimately defeat Chen Xiangbei and uphold the pride that belongs to their predecessors.

Trulli at least doesn't want to be left far behind by the newcomers!
While the HRT drivers are practicing hard, the team engineers are also keeping busy.

After months of working overtime, the second-hand wind tunnel from the Ferrari team was finally assembled.

This is not the most advanced wind tunnel of its time, nor can it accommodate a full-size model of a race car to obtain the most realistic simulation data.

With the HRT fleet's availability resolved, the engineers were finally able to test the upgrade kit.

However, what followed triggered an internal crisis within the team!
On the eve of their departure for Australia, a heated argument erupted in the headquarters office, where senior members of the strategy and R&D teams, along with the two drivers, were all gathered.

"The team hasn't officially designated a number one or number two driver, nor has it signed a wingman agreement in the driver's contract. Why is Trulli using the old North kit?"

"This is not only a violation of team fairness, but also a blatant insult to Trulli's status as a driver!"

The race engineer, Soter, was very emotional. He and Trulli had worked together for many years and their relationship was no longer just that of colleagues, but more like friends or even brothers.

Following the Trulli Bahrain crash, the HRT team lacked spare parts, bringing repair work to a standstill.

With the development of the team's new upgrade kit, Briatore made a decisive decision: to remove the old aerodynamic kit from Chen Xiangbei's car and install it on Trulli's No. 14 car.

As for Chen Xiangbei, he was fitted with the latest upgrade kit.

The allocation of resources within F1 teams is a common phenomenon.

Every racing team faces the question of who gets to use upgrade kits first and who gets to use them last. Often, the solution is for the number one driver to have priority, while the number two driver uses the old kits.

Many people might ask, why not just produce two sets? That way, there would be no need to argue and cause internal conflicts within the team.

The reason is simple: upgrade kits are experimental, and often they are not necessarily "positive upgrades" but could also be "negative upgrades".

It's important to know that F1 cars are handcrafted, often produced in small workshops, so the cost of any single component is incredibly high. For example, the front wing in the aerodynamic kit can cost as much as $300,000.

Even the tail fin, though cheaper, costs $150,000.

As for the side cases, they're related to the entire vehicle body, easily exceeding one million US dollars.

Before the upgrade effect is confirmed, producing two sets of upgrade parts would be too expensive even for luxury brands like Ferrari, so they can only do it one at a time.

Upgrading them one by one wouldn't have been a big problem, since there's always a sequence.

The problem lies in dismantling Chen Xiangbei's old kit!
Under normal circumstances, F1 teams will produce enough spare parts, and the "Big Three" teams will even build an extra spare car.

Just like the news that came out 25 years ago, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu drove the Ferrari SF25 race car for the first time to test the new Pirelli rain tires. After the report came out, many fans speculated whether he was driving Hamilton's No. 44 car or Leclerc's No. 16 car.

Actually, that's not the case; he was driving a spare Ferrari.

The HRT fleet doesn't even have spare parts, let alone spare vehicles.

Toyota shut down its racing car development project, halted all production at its headquarters and factory, and sold the entire fleet, not even the HRT team, so there is absolutely no possibility of restarting production.

Without the availability of old spare parts, most teams will use new kits for repairs.

Unfortunately, Briatore had a grudge against Trulli, and he decided to dismantle Chen Xiangbei's old parts for repair.

It's important to understand that using spare parts for repairs is a completely different matter from removing old parts from the car and placing them in the F1 paddock.

The former is a normal repair, while the latter is more like an insult!
This implies that Chen Xiangbei's status and resources completely overwhelm Trulli, leaving Trulli as nothing more than "a nobody on the side of the road."

This situation occurred with the Williams team in the 24 season.

At the same Albert Park circuit, driver Albon crashed into the wall during practice, causing serious damage to his car and requiring a chassis replacement. However, the Williams team did not have a spare chassis to repair it.

So they did something outrageous: they dismantled Sargent's chassis and installed it on Albon's car, causing the American driver to end his journey prematurely.

This behavior caused great controversy both inside and outside the paddock at the time. After all, it was Albon's own mistake that caused the crash, but the second driver had to pay the price. It was as if Sargent was not treated as a human being.

Even if someone is bad at racing, shouldn't they at least have the dignity and pride of a racer?
In fact, in the F1 paddock, being bad is the original sin!

Williams team principal at least made a formal statement, thanking Sargent for his understanding and cooperation, emphasizing the intense competition among mid-table teams, and the importance of points for team finances and performance, etc.

Red Bull's Marko Ryder made no attempt to mince words, stating bluntly that a single point that could affect a team's ranking could be worth tens of millions of dollars, making this sacrifice a logical and correct decision!

From the perspective of the current HRT team management, especially from Briatore's point of view.

Trulli, you crashed your car and there are no parts left to repair it. Plus, you can't outrun the newbie Chen Xiangbei. What's wrong with giving you an old part?
However, from Trulli's perspective, he could not accept this differential treatment and humiliation, as it trampled on a driver's self-esteem and pride.

Faced with Soter's impassioned accusations, Briatore calmly lit a cigar, exhaled the smoke, and replied indifferently.

"The team did not have any spare parts and only produced one set of new upgrades that had not been fully tested."

"Turulli is a driver, but more importantly, he is an adult, and he has to take responsibility for his accident."

Upon hearing Briatore's response, the lead test engineer, Mazzola, frowned. He felt that the manager's remarks were too blatant, as if he were deliberately trying to escalate internal conflicts within the team.

So he said, "We can't confirm how much the new kit will improve things yet, but we can let Trulli equip it first."

"No, the North needs to be faster and have a better opening match result."

Hua Bu acted very tough, which did have an element of settling personal scores, but it was more due to his "results-oriented" personality.

Chen Xiangbei is more likely to bring points to the team than Trulli, which is related to year-end points and ranking bonuses.

He didn't care about exacerbating internal conflicts within the team.

There are countless instances in the F1 paddock where two cars from the same team retire from the race. Did those team management make concessions?
Trulli must recognize his own position; only the strong can control all the resources of the HRT team!
(End of this chapter)