Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 249 Raikkonen's Challenge
The technicians and team engineers were fine-tuning the car settings. Chen Xiangbei and Trulli did not take a break during the break; instead, they joined the tuning team to ensure that their feedback was implemented as accurately as possible.

Even the third driver, Perez, was squatting down beside him, observing and learning.

Compared to European drivers who have a head start, drivers from weaker racing nations, such as Chen Xiangbei and Perez, understand the importance of hard work and seize every opportunity to climb the ladder.

The second practice session in the afternoon arrived as scheduled. Chen Xiangbei and Trulli had a general understanding of the TF110's limits, so they stopped pushing themselves so frantically during the first practice session and instead focused on matching their cars with the vehicles.

Chen Xiangbei is trying to find a balance between qualifying setups and race setups, while Trulli is simply adapting to a low-pressure setup.

It's important to understand that car tuning isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.

Depending on the track, there may be schemes that favor qualifying and schemes that favor the race.

The Donghai International Circuit has a full range of corner types, and the difficulty of overtaking is considered moderate within the F1 calendar, with no particular bias in its performance.

But it is often in this kind of track that balance and choice become especially important!
Chen Xiangbei hopes to find the perfect balance to achieve his first F1 victory and the championship, which requires extremely precise fine-tuning.

As for Trulli, his adaptation process was quite difficult, with several instances of slipping and running off the track during the second practice session.

Trulli may have once been a child prodigy, but with the passage of time, his performance inevitably declined, especially in terms of learning and adaptability.

Moreover, the challenge is compounded by his need to change his instincts!
Fortunately, the advantage of the newly built track after 2000 is that the track itself and the run-off area are wide enough to provide drivers with room for error.

If this had happened on a historic racetrack or street circuit, Trulli's number 14 car would probably have been wrecked.

Compared to the lackluster performance of the HRT team, the other riders were noticeably more aggressive in the second practice session.

Among them, the four major teams, including Red Bull and Ferrari, are developing towards extreme speed settings, and they are unwilling to "give up" this race championship!

It's worth noting that in the previous two races, Red Bull and Mercedes each won a race, while McLaren and Ferrari took second place, meaning that the four teams are extremely close in both the team and driver standings.

Even the HRT team, with its two car points and Chen Xiangbei's podium finish, is already ranked fifth, theoretically fully capable of challenging the top four teams and winning the championship title.

This undoubtedly continued the chaotic scene from the end of last season, with no team demonstrating absolute dominance.

In this battle for supremacy, anyone has a chance to become king!

In situations like these, every point is especially important; otherwise, we risk a repeat of the final match being reversed or a one-point defeat.

"Kubica, maintain your line at Turn 2, you can go a little faster."

"Rosberg, find a way to take more kerbs and utilize the track width!"

"Hamilton, that was a very nice lap, you're almost as fast as North."

"Barton, get yourself together, you should be able to go faster."

"Schumacher, don't forget that you are the ruler of this track, not the rookie!"

Various team announcements were continuously transmitted to each driver's ears via radio waves.

In such high-stakes competitions, the team's strategy group or race engineers can only provide track and car data, as well as encouragement, but they cannot "teach" the drivers how to drive.

Whether for the sake of results or profit, other teams do not want HRT to emerge and challenge their position.

After all, this era also has points and ranking bonuses. If HRT gets more money, it means that the teams that are knocked out will get less money. In this era of the aftermath of the financial crisis, it will directly reduce the competitiveness of the teams and trigger a vicious cycle.

Unlike later generations, even the worst teams could still live comfortably thanks to FIA bonuses and budget caps.

The second practice session passed quickly, and Chen Xiangbei's lap time remained firmly in first place, but he no longer had the same commanding lead as before, with the other drivers closing the gap to a fraction of a second.

This timeframe suggests that it's not insurmountable, but rather a strategy of conserving strength.

After finishing practice, Chen Xiangbei took a shuttle bus back to his hotel. At the entrance, he saw an unexpected figure: Emily, Staller's granddaughter.

Today, Emily wasn't dressed in her usual androgynous style; instead, she was wearing a sexy and alluring outfit with high heels and a short skirt. Since they hadn't seen each other for a while, Chen Xiangbei didn't recognize her at first glance.

"HELLO, all-around racer Bei~~!"

When Emily saw Chen Xiangbei get off the shuttle bus, she waved her arms excitedly to greet him.

Upon seeing this, the team members wisely went into the hotel on their own, leaving Chen Xiangbei to speak with her alone.

"Emily, what are you doing here?"

Chen Xiangbei invited many people to watch the match, but he did not inform Emily, and the time was set for the main match on Sunday.

One reason is the tight schedule, as only weekends are considered general holidays.

On the other hand, Chen Xiangbei and Emily weren't that close, so he felt a little embarrassed to have someone come from across the country to watch the game.

"I'm here on behalf of my grandfather to witness your home debut."

Emily replied with a smile.

Actually, back in Australia, Stale had talked to Chen Xiangbei about going to China to witness his home debut, but he declined.

The reason for the refusal was simple: Staller's body couldn't withstand the fatigue of the journey.

Aging can happen in an instant, especially after Staller gave up his career to enjoy his retirement. Chen Xiangbei could clearly feel that Staller's energy and spirit were not as good as before.

I don't want to bother the old man with many things anymore, and I don't want him to travel back and forth due to jet lag. It's good enough for him to sit in front of the TV and cheer himself up at nearly eighty years old.

Staller understood Chen Xiangbei's good intentions, but he still wanted to feel involved in such an important moment as his home debut, so he had his granddaughter Emily attend in his place.

Because she was not notified in advance, Emily was unable to enter the repair station's work area and had to wait at the hotel entrance.

Before Chen Xiangbei could answer, Emily revealed a mysterious smile and added, "I was also commissioned by someone else."

"Whose commission?"

Kimi Räikkönen.

[Raikkonen?]

Upon hearing this name, Chen Xiangbei was taken aback.

Although Chen Xiangbei is extremely familiar with Raikkonen and has repeatedly promoted the "leapfrog twins" IP to the outside world.

But in reality, this was purely Chen Xiangbei's attempt to extort money...

Raikkonen didn't know him at all, and the two had no connection whatsoever. The whole "twin stars" thing was just nonsense.

Emily's claim that she was commissioned by Raikkonen seems like a complete fantasy.

"Are you surprised?"

"Hmm, what did he ask you to do?"

Chen Xiangbei countered with a question, his curiosity piqued. "I want to run a couple of laps of a rally race with you."

If Chen Xiangbei was merely curious before, now he can only be described as shocked.

Is Raikkonen going to race against himself in a rally?
How could he have such an idea?

"Of course it's because of me."

Emily smiled smugly and explained, "I've graduated from the Ford Junior Academy and joined the Citroën Women's Team, so I'm now a rally teammate of Raikkonen."

"It's surprising, but actually, Raikkonen had already noticed you back in last year's F3 support race, and he even watched your V-shaped drift cornering at the Australian Grand Prix."

"He was convinced that you had a background in professional rally training, and knowing about the media coverage and your grandfather's investment relationship with the HRT team, he said he wanted to meet you and race a race."

The top professional racing circle only has a few dozen people. Raikkonen and Chen Xiangbei may not have much interaction, but that doesn't mean they don't know each other at all.

On the contrary, the F3 support race that Chen Xiangbei ran left a deep impression on Raikkonen.

As the only driver in the industry who has experience in both F1 and WRC, Raikkonen was able to assess Chen Xiangbei's true rally racing level. Coupled with Emily's introduction, he became very curious about this new Chinese driver.

Despite their cool exteriors, Finnish drivers often possess a passionate heart; rally racing is the foundation and tradition of Finnish drivers.

For Raikkonen, the later stages of his career had become a formula for work, and a rally for life.

This can be seen from the fact that he drives a "health-preserving car" but devotes his energy to building a rally team.

With this newcomer born in the F1 paddock but possessing top-notch rally skills, coupled with his publicity stunts targeting the "Twin Stars," it's hard not to attract Raikkonen's attention.

He was genuinely curious about Chen Xiangbei's rally racing skills.

"Sure, I'd like to run one if I get the chance."

A meaningful smile appeared on Chen Xiangbei's lips.

To be honest, while such behavior of extorting money can indeed generate buzz and attention in the early stages, it can easily become a dark chapter in one's history as one's fame and power grow.

The best way to clear one's name is to gain the approval of the person who staged the accident.

If Raikkonen acknowledges Chen Xiangbei as an equally matched pair, then what else can the media and fans say?
Novices can be reckless, but masters cherish their reputation; this has become a historical law.

Chen Xiangbei's goal is no longer to be a rookie who is content with just crossing the F1 threshold; he has become ambitious, or rather, full of aspirations.

Chen Xiangbei wants to become a champion, he wants to become a world champion!

After exchanging a few words, the two entered the hotel. Chen Xiangbei's original intention was to book a room for Emily, since she was Staller's granddaughter, and he should at least give her some face.

But he soon regretted his decision.

Although Chen Xiangbei is only twenty years old, as a reborn person, he has memories of two lifetimes. He often acts like a man of advanced age and likes to be simple, direct, and not talkative.

Emily, however, was completely different. At less than twenty years old, she exuded the vivacity of a foreign girl, which was the complete opposite of Dong Yuanxi and Hu Lingfei, whom Chen Xiangbei had met before. They were all Chinese girls who tended to be introverted and conservative.

To put it simply, they talk a lot...

He spoke of some of Staller's instructions, shared his observations from professional training, and was filled with curiosity about F1 racing.

Chen Xiangbei was too lazy to answer too many questions, so he entrusted her to Lu Xiaoman, thinking that women should get along better.

Compared to Chen Xiangbei's unexpected situation, Trulli followed his "old path," sitting alone in front of the projector in a small conference room, watching the first-person video recording of himself and Chen Xiangbei, looking for mistakes and areas for improvement.

Currently, Trulli's lap time difference with Chen Xiangbei is over 1 second.

And these are just practice match results; the results in qualifying could be vastly different.

The reason is that Chen Xiangbei is likely to be able to drive even faster, while Trulli will exceed his limits and lose control!

Trulli hadn't felt this kind of pressure from teammates in a long time, and he never expected that the other teammate was a rookie.

The veteran's pride made him unwilling to lose too badly, and he wanted to at least keep his final time under 0.5 seconds.

It's hard to pinpoint when exactly Trulli's goal shifted from defeating Chen Xiangbei to simply avoiding a crushing defeat, which is truly quite disheartening...

The night passed, and it was Saturday, the third training session.

The main focus of this practice session is the simulation of the race, where the two drivers will test different tire compounds with heavy loads of oil, and collect data on tire wear, heat dissipation, and stability of the car under race conditions.

Considering Trulli's progress and pressure in adapting to the new car setup, Odeto assigned Chen Xiangbei more testing tasks, giving Trulli more time to adapt.

That's why Briatore insisted on establishing a number one and number two driver status.

Once the conflict of interest is eliminated, internal friction is reduced, allowing the two to divide the work and cooperate, and even the second driver can benefit from it.

Otherwise, given the previous internal team struggles, the lack of data sharing would force both players to repeat their work, wasting time and resources.

The number of spectators inside the enclosure has increased from around 150,000 yesterday to nearly 200,000, which is close to full capacity. As far as the eye can see, there are not only dense crowds of people, but also various Chinese red flags waving.

With everything ready, after the safety car finished its track inspection, each team started their car from the pit garage one by one, according to the track traffic conditions, to avoid any accidents before the start of qualifying.

For F1 teams, as long as spare parts are available, even if an F1 car is completely wrecked, it can be repaired overnight.

However, with only half a day on Saturday, the difficulty of fixing the issue before the qualifying rounds increases dramatically, meaning there is no room for error.

Trulli started first, while Chen Xiangbei filled up the tank, changed to medium tires, and then went out of the pits to test a long distance.

Due to the high intensity of braking in the Donghai Grand Prix, tire wear is very high. Under normal circumstances, a two-stop strategy of yellow-white-white or one-stop yellow-white tires is adopted.

Soft red tires are only used for starting if the qualifying round is late or if the safety car is expected to be deployed.

As the green light for the maintenance lane turned on, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the gas, and the TF110 race car sped out of the maintenance station and into the maintenance lane.

As the black and orange No. 13 car pulled out of the pits, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the stadium. The Chinese spectators were incredibly excited, eager to witness Chen Xiangbei's racing miracle!

The heavy-duty, long-distance fuel test went relatively smoothly; the main focus was on tire wear and heat dissipation.

With neutral tires and the stiffest suspension, the TF110 race car had almost no shock absorption effect on rough roads. In some rough areas with high and low elevation differences, Chen Xiangbei even felt the tremors of the "dolphin jump" in later generations.

Fortunately, the young man has a good back. If it were Hamilton's older back in the future, the team would probably have to be notified to adjust the springs and suspension height.

Just as Chen Xiangbei was driving at a leisurely pace, Odette suddenly came through his earpiece with a reminder.

"North, watch out for the Mercedes race car behind you."

what?
Upon hearing Odette's voice, Chen Xiangbei subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror.

He noticed a silver Mercedes behind him hurtling towards him like a torpedo.

(End of this chapter)