Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 239 An Unexpected Homecoming in Glory

“Heading north, one hundred million US dollars is a lot of money, enough to even buy an F1 team.”

“Carlos has shown great sincerity, so we actually didn’t lose out on this deal.”

Compared to Chen Xiangbei, who is a race car driver, Peng Sheng is a businessman who has earned an MBA in sports marketing.

The current transaction price can be described as a win-win deal, with all parties getting what they wanted, and the team's strength being significantly enhanced through investment.

Asking for an exorbitant amount might backfire!

“Mr. Peng, F1 is currently in a slump. Carlos’s willingness to invest 100 million means that he sees the future value of the HRT team.”

"Furthermore, both Huali and Jiuli are only experiencing temporary financial difficulties. External investors are unaware of the specific situation. We can take a more assertive stance and try to negotiate."

Chen Xiangbei could understand Peng Sheng's thoughts. In this era, F1 teams could not be sold for very high prices, unlike a dozen years later when the entry fee alone would cost hundreds of millions of US dollars, and the overall investment would start at least a billion dollars to even be considered.

At the same time, limited by the times and national strength, Chinese car companies are honestly unable to support F1 teams. Even Huali, which has racing genes and ambitions, is only making a hard-earned investment. Other car companies are even less able to come up with the money and technology.

Even if we look at the hybrid era more than a decade from now, domestic car companies still won't be able to afford to play F1.

But as long as you can get through these few years, whether you actually participate or not is another matter; at least you can secure a ticket to a top-level motorsport event.

Telemex is currently at the peak of its market value, which simply means it has plenty of money, and Chen Xiangbei believes there is a basis for negotiation.

"Heading north, if we want the other side to compromise, we'll have to see what we're willing to give up."

Peng Sheng speaks very directly; this is simply business.

"A performance-based agreement!"

Chen Xiangbei gritted his teeth and presented his solution.

"Since Carlos values ​​future potential, he promises HRT that it can at least be among the top three teams in the championship."

"If that's not possible, compensate him double the amount of the extra funds."

Hearing Chen Xiangbei's suggestion, Peng Sheng nodded subconsciously.

Indeed, both Huali and Jiuli are currently facing a temporary shortage of funds. As long as they can weather the storm, they can breathe a sigh of relief.

For example, the difficulty for Jiuli Sports lies in purchasing the F1 hosting rights and paying the track fees.

However, if the F1 Chinese Grand Prix is ​​successfully held, the company can recoup its investment and make a profit through ticket sales, advertising, tourism, and various other related revenues.

And without a doubt, with the hype surrounding China's first F1 driver, tickets for the Donghai Circuit will be extremely difficult to obtain this year, just like when Zhou Guanyu made his first home appearance more than a decade later.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Peng Sheng nodded and turned to discuss the matter with Carlos as a shareholder.

As for Briatore, he somehow produced a bottle of champagne, preparing for the upcoming celebration. From his perspective, it was a win-win deal, and there was no reason for the negotiations to fall apart.

Of course, the biggest winner is Briatore himself, as he has signed Perez as his agent.

After a brief negotiation, Carlos, representing Telemex, agreed to the betting agreement and reached a consensus with owner Carabande that the team's equity ratio would be 3:3:4 in the future, with the Chinese capital remaining the majority shareholder.

Meanwhile, Mexican telecommunications company Telemex is willing to invest an additional $50 million to strengthen the team's research and development capabilities at its headquarters, ensuring competitiveness this season.

However, Carlos also made his own demands, namely that the HRT team must guarantee Perez a full-time driver's seat after he finishes the GP2 season.

As for who gets kicked out, that's not within Carlos's consideration.

In any case, we absolutely must have this official seat!
The shareholders had no objection to this; it was perfectly normal for others to spend a lot of money to buy a spot.

Once the cooperation was agreed upon, the hotel conference room was immediately filled with clinking glasses and a harmonious atmosphere.

As for Chen Xiangbei, he doesn't drink and has no interest in business networking. After saying goodbye, he left the meeting room.

After taking the elevator upstairs to his room, Chen Xiangbei saw a familiar figure at the end of the corridor: Trulli was standing in front of the window, smoking a cigarette.

In Chen Xiangbei's memory, Trulli didn't seem to have a smoking habit.

Sensing something was amiss, Chen Xiangbei approached with curiosity. Before he could speak, Trulli interjected, "Perez got a seat?"

"you know?"

Chen Xiangbei was somewhat surprised. Under normal circumstances, it's not unusual for drivers not to know about commercial activities in advance.

Let alone matters involving investment, even when signing a contract with a team in advance, agents often won't proactively tell drivers too much before the progress and results are confirmed, because this could easily affect their competitive state.

Imagine if the contract renewal goes through, that would be great. But if you're told you're leaving next year, even the most composed driver would probably struggle to remain calm in the face of news that his career is coming to an end.
So when Chen Xiangbei reached a consensus with everyone in the hotel conference room, he wasn't very surprised. He could only say that Briatore had kept it well hidden.

It's somewhat unusual that Trulli knew in advance; he's also a driver, and Briatore would never have proactively informed him.

"Of course, don't forget, I also had a management contract with Briatore, and it was through this secret decision that I was kicked out of the team."

When it comes to the matter of being kicked out after discussing it behind closed doors, Trulli is a veteran.

"Yes, Perez will become a full-fledged driver after completing GP2."

Chen Xiangbei did not hide anything and told Trulli the truth.

Upon hearing this, Trulli gave a wry smile.

However, he quickly regained his composure and said in a firm tone, "Bei, I am a racer, and I will never accept my fate."

"The competition is still going on, the game isn't over yet, and it's not certain that I'll be the one eliminated."

Trulli's pride prevented him from bowing to reality, even though he knew his fate.

"No matter what game it is, I will always be the final winner."

Without offering any tactful comfort, Chen Xiangbei responded to Trulli with equal force.

Indeed, the agreement did not explicitly state that Perez would replace Trulli.

However, given the current ownership structure of the team, even if Trulli has Italian citizenship and the support of the Ferrari team, he cannot overcome the "hostility" of the major shareholders and Briatore.

South American sponsors' funds, that old rogue Huabu only has one sentence.

The greatest respect you can show your competitor is to defeat them with all your might.

Instead of saying sentimental things, treat them as opponents.

"Alright, then let me see just how strong you really are."

Trulli replied with a smile, this time not a wry smile.

On the contrary, he understood Chen Xiangbei's meaning and the respect this young Chinese man showed him. Having also experienced the rainy match in Australia, Trulli clearly recognized Chen Xiangbei's talent and potential.

I've finally reached the end of my career, and the future of the HRT team will be led by younger players!

After saying this, Trulli stubbed out his cigarette and turned to walk towards his room.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xiangbei felt a little sad. A career that could be seen to have no end must be quite unpleasant.

……

As the night passed and the Australian Grand Prix came to an end, although the HRT team successfully achieved a podium finish, there was no team celebration like in the opening race.

On one hand, the team management needs to handle contract issues and secure funding as quickly as possible, and on the other hand, they need technical support from Ferrari's engine division.

According to data compiled overnight by test engineer Mazzola, the HRT car ranked third in absolute speed in this race, almost on par with Ferrari, surpassing last year's champion team Mercedes and the former powerhouse Renault.

If they can fully explore the potential of the upgrade kit through wind tunnel testing and solve the stability problem of engine power output by taking advantage of the two-week interval between races, the HRT car might be able to challenge the fastest Red Bull in the paddock in the next race!

It's worth noting that in the 10 seasons in history, there has never been a truly "marvelous" team.

In the post-race team standings, Red Bull and McLaren are both in the 450-500 point range, while Ferrari is in third place with 396 points.

Alonso scored 252 points, only 4 points less than Vettel's 256 points!
This shows just how strong Alonso was at his peak in the 10 season. He almost overturned the championship car while driving the third fastest car in the paddock. He can be said to be a man who truly has a 0.5-second advantage.

If all goes well, the TF110 race car, with its performance fully unleashed, will support Chen Xiangbei in competing for the stage championship in the next race!

With such enticing results in sight, the HRT team management certainly didn't have time to celebrate.

On the other hand, there is the issue of the vehicle's equipment, which will be transported intercontinentally again. It is necessary to catch up with the charter flights organized by the FIA ​​as soon as possible, otherwise the cost of transporting the vehicle separately would be exorbitant.

This means that the mechanics and regular engineers also don't have time to celebrate after the race; they need to dismantle and pack up the race car and all its equipment.

As for Chen Xiangbei, instead of returning to the UK headquarters for racing simulator training to maintain his feel and competitive form as usual, he went to the country for the next race ahead of schedule.

The reason is simple: the next race is the Chinese Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei's home track!

Although Chen Xiangbei arrived in Yanjing at the end of last year to participate in the ROC National Cup.

But to be honest, that trip was very rushed, and I didn't even have time to go home.

This time, there will be a two-week break between races, and Chen Xiangbei plans to take a break to relax his tense state and emotions that have been building up for almost half a year. He also plans to go back to China to see old friends and visit his mother.

Furthermore, for the Chinese Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei hopes that his mother and friends can come to Donghai to watch his race.

Odeto drove Chen Xiangbei to Melbourne International Airport, where Chen boarded a flight to Hong Kong Island alone. Because he didn't travel with the team and was wearing a mask and baseball cap, almost no one recognized him as the driver who had stood on the podium a few days prior.

However, for the vast majority of non-Chinese fans, a third-place finish in a race is indeed not enough to be remembered by the world, especially for a completely unfamiliar Chinese newcomer.

In the eyes of many foreigners, all Asians look the same. A world champion might be memorable enough, but what is a mere third place finisher in a regional tournament?

In competitive sports, the runner-up is only fit to be the backdrop for the champion!

Chen Xiangbei was happy to take it easy, as the experience of being a celebrity is often not pleasant.

As the plane took off amidst slight turbulence, the flight attendants offered drinks and snacks during the long flight, and even provided newspapers to help pass the time.

Chen Xiangbei casually flipped through the news, which appeared on the front page. The photo of Schumacher winning the championship and holding the trophy was extremely eye-catching, which also proved his global influence.

Driven by a tiny bit of vanity, Chen Xiangbei flipped through the newspaper in his hand, wanting to see how the local media would highly praise his outstanding performance in the rain, overtaking his way from ninth to the podium.

To my utter surprise, the side article's subheading about myself not only lacked praise but also carried a subtle sense of belittling!
"The arrogance of a Chinese driver: Post-race provocation of Lewis Hamilton, arguably the greatest rookie of all time!"

The arrogant Chen Xiangbei has admitted it, so where did the provocation come from?

Is it just because he said he would definitely surpass Hamilton?

As a driver, in that situation, when faced with a reporter's question, let alone overtaking Hamilton, even if the opponent was Senna or Schumacher, Chen Xiangbei would still give the same answer without hesitation.

If you don't even have this belief, how can you be an F1 driver?

A closer look at the report revealed that it focused more on the overtaking maneuver of Webber and concluded that Chen Xiangbei's V-shaped overtaking was simply due to luck; otherwise, there would be no such thing as an F1 drift cornering maneuver.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xiangbei understood. Was the headline and content off? He was climbing up by stepping on local driver Webber, so how could the Australian media say anything good about him?

As luck would have it, the passenger sitting next to Chen Xiangbei also happened to see the side page report.

He commented with great agreement: "The Chinese rookie is as arrogant as ever, daring to provoke Hamilton. Does he think that finishing third in a race is worth a lot?"

"He probably doesn't think so."

Chen Xiangbei casually chimed in, and the passenger next to him glanced at him with some confusion.

Then, continuing to read the newspaper, he said, "I have to say, the Chinese rookie was really lucky. He drifted through a corner in F1 without losing control and even overtook Webber. He must have been blessed by God."

Hearing this, Chen Xiangbei nodded and replied, "The Chinese newbie is indeed lucky, but he doesn't believe in God, so theoretically it's difficult for him to receive blessings."

One response was fine, but repeated interruptions made the passenger next to him somewhat annoyed.

He instinctively asked, "How did you know?"

"My guess."

"I was there watching the race live. Do you think you know more about driver Bei than I do?"

"I……"

Chen Xiangbei had started the conversation out of boredom and a mischievous impulse, but after the other person said those words, he was instantly speechless.

It seems that "know-it-alls" are everywhere...

The slight disturbances during the journey quickly subsided. After a flight of nearly ten hours, Chen Xiangbei landed at Hong Kong Island International Airport, where the passengers next to him walked with him to the arrival gate.

The moment Chen Xiangbei stepped into the hall, he was stunned by the scene before him.

The hall was practically a wall of people, and from the banners they held and the names they were calling out, it was clear that they were there to greet me.

Chen Xiangbei never imagined that his return to China would cause such a sensation.

Even more unexpectedly, their "quiet" trip was discovered.

His seatmate on the plane shared the same shock.

The guy realized something and was looking at Chen Xiangbei with an incredulous expression.

Not so coincidental, right?
(End of this chapter)