Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 256 The Glory of Asian Drivers

"Pole position! Brother Bei has secured pole position at the Donghai Circuit!"

"The Donghai International Circuit finally has a Chinese driver at pole position; it's no longer someone else's home ground!"

"Xiang Beijun is truly the pride of Asian drivers!"

"Bei really did it; he has the potential to rival all the legendary drivers!"

The entire team at the HRT vehicle depot was now in a frenzy of celebration.

Liang Chi, in particular, had slightly reddened eyes as he couldn't help but recall the dream he had when he and Zhang Zhicong founded Huasai Sports.

That is to cultivate a Chinese F1 driver and build a formula racing system that belongs to China.

Although the latter was unsuccessful, the former exceeded expectations.

This not only means we have a Chinese F1 driver, but also the first Chinese pole position driver!
All my hard work and dedication to racing throughout my life has finally paid off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, pole position!"

"You read that right. With the countdown to the qualifying session over, Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei secured pole position for the 10 F1 Chinese Grand Prix and broke the track record that Schumacher had held for six years."

"I don't know how to describe the emotions in my heart. Let's cheer and applaud for Chen Xiangbei. He has made history for Chinese motorsport, he has made history for Asian motorsport, and he may even make history for world motorsport in the future!"

In the studio, commentator Li Bing was so excited when the qualifying countdown ended and Chen Xiangbei secured pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix that he stood up from his seat.

No one in the Chinese motorsport industry wouldn't look forward to seeing such a scene on home soil.

However, in the past, the hope was too slim, practically zero!
Even though Chen Xiangbei's performance in the practice match ignited a glimmer of hope, Li Bing still dared not show absolute trust.

After all, F1 is different from the Australian Grand Prix F3. This is a venue where the strongest drivers and top talents gather. Chen Xiangbei had not previously demonstrated his ability to dominate the Donghai Circuit.

But the results proved that Chen Xiangbei became the master of the Donghai International Circuit!
"They're incredible! They maintained their lead from pole position the entire time. They're amazing!"

Overwhelmed by the emotional shock, Sha Tong was at a loss for words, only able to repeatedly gasp in amazement.

Since the start of the practice matches, Chen Xiangbei's name has consistently been at the top of the leaderboard.

However, neither the people inside nor outside the paddock paid much attention to it, as practice race results are not the same as qualifying results, let alone the results of the main race.

Who doesn't know what trump cards the other teams will pull out when the real showdown arrives?

It's a done deal now. No matter how much the other drivers are hiding, they can't outrun Chen Xiangbei!
Hamilton, on his return lap, was unaware of his final qualifying lap time and ranking, but the sight of the red flags waving across the track gave him a sense of foreboding.

The Donghai International Circuit used to have only one shade of red: Ferrari red, which belonged to Schumacher.

At this moment, the audience erupted in cheers, but the flags that were being waved were no longer those of the Prancing Horse, which meant that there was only one possibility left: Chen Xiangbei had achieved a very good result.

What kind of full speed did the Chinese newcomers actually achieve?
"LS, report on the rankings."

Hamilton asked his race engineer a question.

You are ranked seventh.

【seventh?】

Hamilton could hardly believe his ears when he heard the ranking.

To be honest, he always thought he was fast in qualifying, and even if he couldn't get pole position, he should at least be in the top three. But now he has fallen to seventh. What happened in the last lap?
"Are you sure the data is correct?"

"That's right, many drivers improved their times before the countdown ended."

"So who's in pole position?"

"HRT's driver North".

[It was indeed him. ]

Upon hearing this term, Hamilton felt a mix of emotions.

He had a premonition, but when the truth came, it was still extremely difficult to accept.

"LS, report the overall rankings."

"Vettel is second, Alonso is third, Webber is fourth, Rosberg is fifth, and Button is sixth."

"Behind you are Barrichello, who is in eighth place, Kubica, who is in ninth place, and Schumacher, who is in last place in Q3."

Race engineer Larsal gave a full report on the Q3 driver standings. Apart from Chen Xiangbei being an anomaly and Rosberg's impressive comeback after a setback, the rest were in reasonable positions.

The reason is simple: when the driver is in good condition, it's all about the absolute performance of the race car.

Red Bull's fastest lap in the paddock finally showed its speed, even taking Webber up with it.

As for Kubica, Barrichello, and others who performed very well before, they were limited by the speed of their cars and could not compete with the big teams. They also could not provide a 0.5-second speed boost.

With an extra 0.5 seconds, this is a privilege reserved for historical GOTA-level drivers!

Was Schumacher ranked last?

If Chen Xiangbei was in pole position, Hamilton already had a premonition from the performance of the paddock spectators.

Schumacher's Q3 finishing last was something he never expected.

It's worth noting that Schumacher had a strong showing at the previous Australian Grand Prix, winning the race, and his teammate Rosberg also finished fifth in this race.

How did the racing legend lose to his German junior in qualifying again?
"Ah."

LS confirmed this again.

What many people don't know is that Schumacher's outstanding performance at the Australian Grand Prix, with its high-intensity driving and the challenge of the slippery surface, actually caused his old injury to flare up.

Schumacher was in very poor physical condition at this race, and his reaction time had dropped significantly. Any other driver would have been doing well in Q1, let alone making it into Q3.

Mercedes' data analysts even discovered that Schumacher forcibly changed his driving habits in order to adapt to his physical decline.

The approach is no longer about precisely adjusting the brakes upon entering a corner and controlling the entire curve in one go to create a beautiful arc. Instead, it involves braking later and more aggressively, relying on mid-corner corrections to handle the car's dynamic changes.

To put it bluntly, this is the tactic Chen Xiangbei is currently using.

The problem is that Chen Xiangbei has no choice. In his previous life, he only had the skills of an F2 driver. In addition, due to the lack of a racing system in China, he has not been exposed to many F1 tracks. Relying solely on high-intensity training with simulators, he still finds it difficult to achieve the perfect cornering accuracy with a single steering wheel in actual racing.

I can only rely on my natural talent for driving to correct minor flaws in my cornering line.

Trulli also pointed this out, saying that it would take time and experience to completely change Chen Xiangbei. However, the racing king is still the racing king. He did something similar to Trulli, driving a Mercedes W01 with performance that was not as good as the TF110, and despite the impact of old injuries on his condition, he still tenaciously made it to the third qualifying session.

It can be described as a glorious defeat.

Unfortunately, apart from Chen Xiangbei, who had a god-like perspective, and a few members of the Mercedes team's management, Schumacher's physical condition was considered unacceptable by outsiders, as his tenth place in qualifying was not something he could achieve.

A legend, it seems, is truly growing old...

As qualifying results were relayed to the drivers via radio, the atmosphere was one of mixed emotions, with some celebrating and others lamenting.

Many members of the HRT team had already rushed out of the pit lane and stood at the pit stop, ready to welcome Chen Xiangbei as soon as possible. However, they were puzzled as they watched the other drivers entering the pits one after another on the return lap and did not see Chen Xiangbei for a long time.

Odette was still standing in front of the monitor screen. He began to realize that Chen Xiangbei was slowing down. He thought that Chen Xiangbei was deliberately slowing down on his return to the track to interact with the home crowd, such as waving or something.

But then he realized something was wrong; the speed was too slow.

Even if they want to interact with the home crowd, a pole position in qualifying is enough; for a real celebration, they should wait for the race winner.

It wasn't until Chen Xiangbei's race car stopped in the escape route that Odeto realized there was a real problem, so he pressed the headset call button to ask.

"North, what happened?"

There was no response from the listening headset. The on-site director realized something was wrong and zoomed in on Chen Xiangbei, who was pressing buttons in the cockpit, as if the racing car's radio system was malfunctioning.

"Liang, is the vehicle not filled with enough fuel?"

Odette's first thought was that the race car was out of gas.

It's important to know that there's no weigh-in process in qualifying, which means there's no minimum fuel requirement.

If you can complete the flying lap precisely, even if you stop on the track just after crossing the line, that counts as your team's ultimate lightweighting ability.

To secure pole position, Chen Xiangbei undoubtedly pushed the weight of the vehicle's fuel tank to its absolute limit this time.

However, the amount of fuel carried is carefully calculated by data engineers, and theoretically it's enough to drive back to the repair shop. Unless the refueling team makes a mistake, or they deliberately fill the tank less to reduce the vehicle's weight.

"The strategy for the three qualifying races was very precise. Everything went according to plan, and there were absolutely no problems."

Liang Chi immediately gave an affirmative answer.

It's important to know that the entire qualifying process at the Donghai Circuit was planned by the team's strategy group, and there were no unexpected changes from beginning to end. The team members were full of confidence in Chen Xiangbei's advancement.

If there was anything unexpected, it was underestimating Chen Xiangbei's lap time.

None of the team members expected that Chen Xiangbei could maintain a commanding lead throughout the entire process!

Just as Odeto was speculating about the reason, track staff arrived at the location where Chen Xiangbei had parked.

They helped Chen Xiangbei unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the cockpit, while also providing a walkie-talkie to contact the convoy via the paddock's public channel to inform them of the current situation.

"Odette, the race car engine is overheating and malfunctioning, and it seems the radio system is also having problems."

Upon hearing the reason for the parking, Odeto did not inquire on the public channel, but instead gave a very simple reply.

"Received, come back first."

Although the cause of the car malfunction will eventually be reported, discussing it too much on public voice channels will allow opponents to understand the performance details of the HRT car and make targeted predictions.

Never underestimate the technical skills and professionalism of F1 engineers. Their methods for probing the performance of rival cars are extremely sophisticated, and many can sketch out the aerodynamic features by hand with just a glance.

Or, in order to verify the heat dissipation capabilities and airflow of the opponent's race car, they might secretly use any thermal imaging device.

"clear."

Chen Xiangbei understood what Odeto meant, replied, and then walked towards the repair station.

However, the conversation on the public channel did not go through the FIA's announcement process and was broadcast almost instantly throughout the entire paddock, including to the two commentators in the studio.

"From the conversation just now, it was confirmed that Chen Xiangbei's race car engine is overheating. I wonder if this will affect his race tomorrow."

Sha Tong said in a voice message with concern, which basically confirmed some rumors at the beginning of the season, namely that the HRT team had limited the power of the Toyota engine and that the TF110 prototype was not as perfect as last year's GP001.

While the FIA ​​regulations of this era did not restrict the number of power units that could be used, they did stipulate the timing of their use: modifications to the car could not be made after qualifying.

There is no doubt that if a major problem arises, Chen Xiangbei will inevitably break the rules.

Sha Tong's unintentional words of concern, when broadcast to the audience via the FM radio, sparked a heated discussion.

Chinese fans naturally share the same concerns, but fans of other countries or other drivers are not so forgiving.

"What engine overheating? To put it bluntly, the HRT race car's engine just exploded!"

"No wonder driver North's speed improved dramatically in this race; it turns out the HRT team squeezed out the engine's power."

"Other teams might only go up to super power, but the HRT race car probably went up to 'Mars rover' power and blew the engine off."

"If qualifying can be played like this, I wonder how the drivers will maintain this engine output for 56 laps in the North American race!"

"It seems that the results of the qualifying rounds were ultimately just a flash in the pan."

Many people, both inside and outside the paddock, couldn't understand why Chen Xiangbei could run at such an astonishing speed.

The fact that the driver is from the home field alone is indeed inexplicable.

After all, even the HRT team members were filled with surprises and unexpected events.

Now we've found the reason: the HRT team is really drinking poison to quench their thirst. In pursuit of qualifying results, they completely disregard the lifespan and stability of the car's engine, desperately squeezing out performance to increase speed.

This kind of gameplay means you're destined to never finish the main race!

Of course, this is just a discussion among spectators and fans. Team members and professional racing personnel would not think of the issue so simply.

Squeezing the engine to its maximum performance might make Chen Xiangbei run faster, but it can't guarantee him pole position.

Even the fastest race car requires a driver with equal skill to drive it; otherwise, what's the point if you can't reach the top speed?

But whatever happened, the HRT race car's problems are good news for its competitors.

There's no problem with Chen Xiangbei being in pole position, but if the engine malfunctions and can't be repaired, the starting position on the front row might not be Chen Xiangbei's. According to FIA rules, changing the power unit midway through the race will result in a penalty of being relegated ten places!

With such unstable engine performance and without the advantage of rain in Australia, can Chen Xiangbei still achieve an amazing comeback?
(End of this chapter)