Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 248 The Real Number One Driver

"North, you can enter the station now."

Odeto gave Chen Xiangbei instructions, although Chen Xiangbei only pushed the timer laps twice.

But in reality, including mistakes, warm-up laps, cool-down laps, and return laps, he had already run seven or eight laps on the track. His tires had passed their peak grip, and his braking system was under a lot of pressure. There was no need for him to stay on the track and waste time.

For Chen Xiangbei, the first training session was practically over.

"Odette, what was my lap time?"

Chen Xiangbei asked a question, saying that drivers can often sense their own speed, and he knew he couldn't be going much slower.

"1 minutes, 32 seconds, 422."

Odeto readily gave the answer.

"Barely okay."

[Is this just barely passable?]

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's answer, everyone in the convoy couldn't help but think, "How can this kid be so pretentious?"

No wonder other teams consider him a public enemy on the track. I didn't think it was that bad when I was on their side, but other people would definitely find it unbearable.

"Senior Liang Chi, was Xiang Beijun already very skilled when he raced on the Donghai International Circuit in China?"

Mizutani Sho quietly asked Liang Chi, who was waiting to enter the station.

He met Chen Xiangbei at Honda Suzuka Gymnasium. He had no contact with Chen Xiangbei regarding his experiences in China and could only learn about him through materials.

However, the information shows that Chen Xiangbei only had basic Formula training at Huasai Sports and did not mention anything related to the Donghai International Circuit. This level of proficiency is completely beyond the scope of simulators and even breaks through some logical cognition!

It's important to know that the most advanced simulators of that era were only three-axis with three screens, which couldn't compare to the realism of later five-axis and circular screen simulators.

Sho Mizutani is almost certain that Xiangbei Chen ran on the Donghai International Circuit before, and more than once!
"do not know."

Liang Chi shook his head.

"do not know?"

Sensing Mizutani Sho's confusion, Liang Chi understood the crux of the matter.

With a wry smile, he added, "Xiang Bei has only been training at the Donghai Huasai for a month or so, and he may have visited the Donghai International Circuit in between."

"The problem is that China doesn't even have F4-level racing cars, so how can it compete?"

I don't know that Sho Mizutani is Japanese, but the backwardness of China's Formula One racing system is far beyond what I realize.

The FIA ​​F4 racing league was officially established in 15, and the F3 series didn't even exist until 25.

How did Chen Xiangbei manage to run F1 at the Donghai International Circuit?

Upon hearing this answer, Mizutani Sho was stunned.

Indeed, he didn't react for a moment; whether Chen Xiangbei had run or not was no longer a hidden issue.

China has no way to escape, so where would it get any foundation?

As the TF110 race car entered the pit lane, Chen Xiangbei sensed something unusual about the atmosphere. Almost all the staff from the various racing teams came out of their pit lanes and were looking at him.

Some of these people were observing the race car, trying to figure out what improvements the TF110 had made to achieve the speed required to challenge track records.

Of course, most people are observing Chen Xiangbei.

The Chinese newcomer is amazing! He ran at the speed of a practice session that would have secured pole position, which has completely overturned the world's perception!
Especially at the pit lane with the red Ferrari, the team leader, Domenicali, looked somewhat serious.

He asked the technical director, Costa, "Has there been a reply from Maranello?"

Maranello is the location of Ferrari's F1 headquarters. When Chen Xiangbei achieved his first flying lap at an astonishing speed, Domenicali realized that something was wrong and immediately had someone contact the chief designer, Tumbass.

Tombas was once the deputy of Ferrari's legendary designer Roy Byrne, who became Ferrari's chief designer after his retirement. He was a participant and leader in the championship cars of the Prancing Horse dynasty, as well as the two championship contenders, the F2007 and F2008.

Thanks to the Italian identities of Briatore and Trulli, the HRT team's technical direction has shifted from the Toyota Group to being supported by the Ferrari team.

In particular, after participating in engine tuning this time, the Ferrari technical team has gained a better understanding of the core parameters of the HRT race car.

To be honest, the Ferrari team was shocked. They never expected that a Toyota prototype would have such excellent design skills, almost like a replica of last year's Brawn GP race car.

Both of Japan's top automotive giants completed their final dance before leaving the F1 paddock!
Excellent design is one thing, but practical application is another.

Subsequent racing simulator tests showed that the HRT race car was indeed very fast, almost reaching the level of a championship contender in terms of theoretical performance.

But it's still within the acceptable range for Ferrari's technical team.

Chen Xiangbei's speed is not just at the championship level; it's the speed of a true champion car.

Domenicali wanted to know whether Ferrari's technical team had failed to grasp the core aerodynamic parameters of the HRT race car, or whether Chen Xiangbei was truly an unparalleled super genius.
"There's still no reply; time is of the essence."

Costa replied.

Tombasis isn't a god; how could he possibly figure out the reason in just ten minutes? The team leader was too impatient.

Domenicali's serious expression did not lessen in the face of this answer.

His intuition told him that Ferrari's management was short-sighted and might have created a formidable competitor for themselves!

Formula 1 racing is extremely expensive, especially given the lingering effects of the current financial crisis and the poor management of FIA commercial racing events, which has left almost every team struggling to operate.

Even a well-known brand like Ferrari barely manages to stay profitable.

To share operating costs, the best way is undoubtedly to find your own customer fleet.

Provide technical support to the other party for engines, transmissions, and even chassis.

The more customer teams there are, the less the various R&D costs are spread out. This is why the Ferrari team actively helps HRT. Trulli and the boss Carabent don't actually have that much influence; they play more of a connecting role.

The core factor is that HRT will become a Ferrari customer fleet.

Just like the Ferrari team in later years, which has two customer teams, Haas and Sauber, even the Cadillac team, which has not yet entered the F1 paddock, will be equipped with Ferrari's power unit.

Under normal circumstances, customer fleets cannot outrun home fleets, since the power unit needs to be matched and tuned with the transmission and chassis, which gives the home fleet a natural advantage.

However, there are exceptions. For example, Red Bull Racing, equipped with Renault engines, completely outplayed their home team, Renault...

According to Ferrari's management, HRT, as a new team, has at least two or three years of growth potential to threaten the main Ferrari team, or perhaps it will never be able to threaten them at all.

Who would have thought that Chen Xiangbei's speed at this station had already subtly surpassed that of others?

Ferrari's engine technology team personally helped the HRT team fill the last gap in their engine technology!
On the other side, at the HRT team's pit stop, Chen Xiangbei's team members were very excited after he entered the station.

Of course, they all tried their best to control their emotions. This was only the first practice match, and they hadn't even reached the standard of opening champagne halfway through. It would be like declaring victory at the start and ruining their reputation.

After removing his helmet and leaving the cockpit, Hiroki Sawano leaned over and asked, "Makita-kun, what's the racing feedback like?"

Chen Xiangbei's high speed does not mean that the tuning plan is perfect.

Often, F1 car setup requires fine-tuning every little bit during practice sessions to achieve true driver-machine integration.

"High top speed and heavy braking into corners put a lot of pressure on the braking system. In practice and qualifying, there are cooling laps that can barely maintain heat dissipation balance, but in the race, it won't last more than 56 laps."

"In addition, the brake balance has been adjusted to 6 in the front and 4 in the rear, and I need to maintain deceleration stability when entering corners on two long straights."

Chen Xiangbei's full-curve tracking braking method in the spiral combination bend is completely different from that of drivers of this era who use the brakes to dominate; he uses the throttle to dominate.

This means he must brake hard before entering a corner to reduce the speed to a suitable range to perfectly match his cornering style. "The front braking system can't handle the heat dissipation pressure, and you're adjusting the brake balance?"

Hiroki Sawano found Chen Xiangbei's feedback very troublesome, as it was a self-contradictory solution.

"Give it a try, adjust it first and then find the balance point."

Chen Xiangbei also knew that his demands were difficult to meet, so he could only explore and improve through practice matches.

After saying that, Chen Xiangbei took the water bottle and came to Odette's side, looking at the monitor screen.

The data includes not only HRT racing car data, but also practice lap times from other teams, and Chen Xiangbei has maintained a significant lead so far.

"What, want to admire your results?"

Odeto crossed his arms and asked a question without turning his head.

"It's not that bad, this isn't a qualifying race."

"Very good, you have self-awareness."

A hint of satisfaction finally crept into Odette's voice.

Chen Xiangbei was indeed not overwhelmed by the home crowd atmosphere and cheers; he had underestimated the mentality of the young Chinese player.

Just then, Trulli's car crossed the finish line, and his lap time was displayed on the screen.

With a time of 1 minute 33.544 seconds, Trulli improved by as much as 1.8 seconds compared to his previous lap. It is clear that with the fuel level dropping and stimulated by Chen Xiangbei's lap time, Trulli made a significant improvement in this lap.

"Odetto, what's my speed on this lap?"

The moment Trulli crossed the finish line, he asked Odeto a question through the team's voice chat.

"1 minutes, 33 seconds, 541."

How much does it cost to travel north?

"1 minutes, 32 seconds, 422."

Trulli was completely stunned when he heard the number.

To be honest, he pushed like he was in qualifying, aiming to catch up with or even surpass Chen Xiangbei and prove that he could also handle the new upgrade kit and the Donghai International Circuit.

It was still 1.1 seconds slower?
According to F1 team standards, a qualifying time difference of about 0.2 seconds between two drivers can be considered a very close match in terms of skill level.

0.5 seconds means there is a significant difference in strength.

If it's more than 1 second, then it's practically F1 crushing GP2!

Trulli could never have imagined that one day he would be 1.1 seconds slower than a newcomer.

How exactly did Chen Xiangbei escape? Did he push desperately?

Not to mention Trulli, even Perez, who was watching the game, didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment.

Trulli is known for his lap times, but he's now on a completely different level from Chen Xiangbei.

After securing a full driver's seat, do I really have the ability to challenge?
"Trulli, training session is almost over, get ready to go to the station."

Odeto understood how much of a shock this was, so he took the initiative to remind Trulli to come to the station.

There was still no response. Odette didn't say anything more and silently took off the listening headphones she was wearing.

Not long after, Trulli's car returned to the pit lane, where race engineer Sott went to meet him and helped him unbuckle his seatbelt.

"Trullie, what tuning needs to be improved?"

As is customary, the race engineer asked the driver for feedback on the track.

This time, Trulli didn't answer immediately; instead, he focused his attention on Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 race car, which was undergoing adjustments.

After struggling internally for a long time, he said, "I will change my car settings according to Bei's tuning plan."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone in the repair shop, including Chen Xiangbei, turned their attention to Trulli.

With the identities of the first and second drivers confirmed, both sides will share vehicle shunting data for this station.

However, asking a veteran who has been on the track for over a decade to learn from a rookie is definitely an "unspeakable" thing.

This is especially true for drivers like Trulli, who have a fiery and aloof personality.

But this time Trulli compromised.

Compared to a driver's pride and dignity, he would rather stay in the F1 paddock!

Years of working together had given Trulli an intimate understanding of Briatore. He knew that if he were to fall far behind Chen Xiangbei, this manager, who only cared about interests and results, would inexplicably launch a "kill" and promote Perez to the top.

They might even use this plan to "extort" some more funds from Mexican telecommunications companies.

"Trulli..."

Faced with this request, Soter instinctively called out his name, wanting to stop him.

Because of tests conducted using racing simulators, it was shown that Trulli was very ill-suited to the oversteer racing style.

If the calibration scheme is changed, the chances of an accident will skyrocket.

It's important to understand that the difficulty for drivers to improve their skills often lies not in learning from scratch, but in changing their habits!

A veteran driver with over a decade of experience has developed a deeply ingrained driving style; trying to change it now would be tantamount to overcoming one's instincts.

How easy is it?

But Soter didn't say the words of dissuasion.

He knew that Trulli had placed himself in a rather "humble" position by making such a decision.

To say that he's no good would be to crush his last shred of pride.

The tacit understanding between them, built over many years, prevented Soter from making such a cruel decision.

Compared to accidents, drivers are more afraid of having their self-esteem shattered!
"OK, I'll change the settings."

Sote nodded and gestured to the engineering team to tune the race car.

Chen Xiangbei saw all of this, but he felt no pride, nor did he have any intention of belittling Trulli.

In his view, it is a respectable act for a driver to risk danger and overcome more than a decade of driving instinct in pursuit of speed.

Why does Alonso have countless fans, and even in his forties when he is no longer at his peak, many people still regard him as one of the strongest drivers?

Throughout his more than 20-year career, Alonso has repeatedly changed his driving style to adapt to the changes in the F1 era and regulations.

Even the most basic overtaking method has changed from sucking in the wake and tapping to DRS overtaking.

From beginning to end, Alonso has always stood at the top!

Everyone grows old. Those who climb the mountain should never mock those who descend, even though Trulli's strength is far inferior to that of a god in the paddock.

But to some extent, Chen Xiangbei has already earned Trulli's full recognition with his strength, proving his status as the number one driver!

(End of this chapter)