Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 282, Section 281: Simply Provoking the Entire Audience
In the 10s, China's economy was relatively backward, while South Korea was at the peak of its economic development. The Korean wave swept across East Asia, giving them a strong sense of superiority.

Now, the home circuit is hosting its first F1 Grand Prix, but a Chinese driver has openly challenged them. This is unacceptable to their fragile self-esteem, so they are determined to come to Lingyan Circuit to get revenge.

If Chen Xiangbei saw a sea of ​​red flags at the Donghai International Circuit, then at the Yeongam Circuit in South Korea, all he could see was a sea of ​​white Taegeukgi (South Korean flags), interspersed with banners protesting and insulting him.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei has suffered a lot of cold looks and ridicule along the way.

This was the first time Chen Xiangbei had ever witnessed such a public display of banners and attacks, and it certainly opened his eyes to a whole new world.

"Sister Xiaoman, is this the scenario you described where someone can't stand me but can't get rid of me?"

The banner did not affect Chen Xiangbei's mindset at all; on the contrary, he even joked with Lu Xiaoman with great interest.

It's really satisfying to watch someone else rage helplessly!
"almost."

"But don't get too cocky, if you don't get a good result, you'll be ridiculed to death by the Koreans after the race."

Lu Xiaoman also made a lighthearted joke.

"It doesn't matter, I don't care."

Chen Xiangbei shrugged. His mental fortitude towards public opinion had now reached a level of "immunity to all poisons."

Foreigners' thoughts and attitudes have absolutely no effect on his emotions.

The two arrived at the team's pit garage, where Briatore was sitting with his legs crossed, smoking a cigar.

Upon seeing Chen Xiangbei approach, he said in an exaggerated tone, "Oh, Bei, it seems that the public opinion you discussed last night has angered the home crowd."

"Well, then what?"

"Then kick their asses hard with your track times!"

If Chen Xiangbei is the type who neither causes trouble nor is afraid of trouble.

Briatore could be considered someone who enjoys watching the drama unfold.

Drivers are never afraid of controversy; what they fear is the absence of controversy.

As long as the discussion focuses on Chen Xiangbei, this kid will become more and more popular, and his commercial value will increase.

This might not be so obvious in Formula 1, but in the world of combat sports, where public hype is allowed, the highest-paid players are often those controversial troublemakers.

For example, boxer Floyd Mayweather, or UFC's "The Notorious" Conor McGregor.

Chen Xiangbei wasn't particularly interested in Briatore's instigation. He turned to Odette and asked, "Has the car tuning plan been finalized?"

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei's question, Odeto nodded in response.

"Lingyan Circuit is a typical mixed circuit. The first half is similar to a slow street circuit, while from Turn 7 onwards it is similar to a high-speed circuit like Spa. It requires a high level of downforce from the car."

"In addition, the Lingyan Circuit has a rough surface and very high tire wear, which means there is a race setup that is more focused on tire protection, and a qualifying setup that is more focused on speed."

"There are a total of four different tuning schemes, and it is difficult to find a completely centered option. Considering that the engine release of this car is relatively weak and the overall overtaking difficulty of the track is not too high, I decided to tune the car to be more geared towards the low downforce of the race."

As the saying goes, even a clever cook can't cook without rice. Chen Xiangbei's engine was over-powered at the previous station, which forced him to reduce the engine output at this station, making it impossible to have the best of both worlds.

Qualifying results ultimately serve the purpose of the race. Unless it's a track where overtaking is extremely difficult, qualifying results can determine the race results in advance, so the setup for the race will definitely take priority!

"OK."

After listening to Odeto's proposal, Chen Xiangbei nodded.

"Don't you have any ideas?"

"No, you only know the specific conditions of the track after running it in practice."

Since Chen Xiangbei had already said that, Odeto didn't say anything more and gave the technician team the adjustment instructions.

Meanwhile, McLaren team boss Dennis was walking with Hamilton in the pit lane. In contrast to the attacks and insults directed at Chen Xiangbei by the spectators in the stands, the local South Korean fans cheered and encouraged Hamilton when he appeared.

The reason is simple: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Last night, Yonhap News Agency interviewed not only Chen Xiangbei, but also Hamilton!
The crash at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix greatly displeased the proud Lewis Hamilton, who made accusatory remarks to the media after the race and implied that the HRT team had given instructions to deliberately crash the car.

However, domestic media naturally sided with Chen Xiangbei, and Hamilton's remarks did not cause much of a stir.

Now that the old story has resurfaced in South Korea, coupled with Chen Xiangbei's brawl and racist remarks, Hamilton's accusations have naturally been thrust into the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Rosberg, a close friend of HRT, also stepped up to support them, believing that crashing had become a tradition of the HRT team, resorting to dirty tactics such as dangerous driving whenever they could not overtake or stop their opponents.

If Chen Xiangbei and the HRT team are allowed to run rampant, who in the paddock will be the next victim?
These remarks were echoed by many drivers in the paddock.

Whether it's an aggressive driving style or malicious and dangerous driving, the fact remains that the HRT fleet has experienced a series of crashes.

In addition, Chen Xiangbei and Trulli are both quite unpopular, one arrogant and the other hot-tempered.

As a result, the HRT fleet is now facing a bit of a collective attack.

"Hamilton, do you see this? So many people are looking forward to you and encouraging you. You are the brightest new star in the F1 paddock, the strongest king of the future!"

Dennis listened to the shouts from the crowd and patted Hamilton heavily on the shoulder.

To be honest, losing to Chen Xiangbei in the last race was a huge blow to Hamilton, far more so than expected.

No matter how well Chen Xiangbei performed before, Hamilton never considered this Chinese newcomer as his opponent.

After all, I'm a world champion, what champion are you, a rookie?
Is he the champion of the Formula Renault Grand Prix?

However, Hamilton was undercut during a pit stop for tire changes at the Chinese Grand Prix. He teamed up with Rosberg for a two-on-one fight, but was ultimately defeated by Chen Xiangbei and Trulli, which was quite a shock to Hamilton's understanding.

The intense back-and-forth battles in the middle of the game fully demonstrated Chen Xiangbei's absolute strength.

Any newcomer would be unable to withstand the combined attack of Hamilton and Rosberg.

Even Vettel, who rose to prominence last year and won the world runner-up title!

Dennis could be considered Hamilton's "godfather," as he believed he understood the young man's personality and psychology.

Proud, arrogant, and extremely unwilling to admit defeat.

Dennis didn't want Hamilton to be discouraged in any way; he needed to be absolutely confident in himself at all times—that's the mindset of a young world champion.

Hamilton has only won one title so far, but his potential is definitely more than just one!
"Of course, I'm a world champion."

In response to Dennis's encouragement, Hamilton smiled and replied.

Dennis certainly knew Hamilton well, but he also underestimated Hamilton.

The impact of Chen Xiangbei was merely an unexpected shock, rather than something that shattered Hamilton's fighting spirit.

If Chen Xiangbei entered European racing amidst scorn and ridicule as he stepped into the F1 paddock, then Hamilton has faced at least ten times the skepticism he has endured since childhood!
Hamilton's entire career was almost entirely spent in a white world, where he stood out as a black man.

Anyone with even a slightly weaker mentality would probably have become so depressed that they couldn't stay there any longer.

It was in this environment that Hamilton developed his strong competitive spirit, and he would not hesitate to knock aside even his friends and brothers who stood in his way of success.

Hamilton understood that only by forcing himself to become strong could he earn respect.

"GOOD, we've won this battle!"

Dennis was quite satisfied with Hamilton's answer; it seemed he had been a bit too sensitive.

Hamilton wasn't the only one with the same goal in the paddock; both Red Bull drivers were equally prepared in their pit garage.

With Chen Xiangbei winning the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, he has risen to fourth in the overall standings, surpassing Red Bull's Webber and trailing Vettel by a very small margin.

If Chen Xiangbei performs better than Vettel at this stop, he is very likely to reach the top of the standings.

Of course, this is on the premise of surpassing Alonso and Schumacher.

It is generally accepted that Red Bull Racing has the fastest car in the paddock.

Furthermore, having last year's runner-up driver and veterans in the lineup, yet losing to a newcomer from the HRT team, is clearly unacceptable for Red Bull Racing.

They must maintain their top positions in the driver and team standings, as this is crucial for team honor and commercial value!
“Vettel, you need to be tough. You can’t give the Chinese kid another chance.”

Red Bull team manager Horner gave a word of advice.

Vettel is a good driver, even a good person, but not a good leader.

In contrast, Hamilton's arduous journey to the throne forged his unyielding character.

Vettel's career was too smooth. He did not experience any major setbacks or painful failures. He was regarded as the successor to Schumacher from a young age. Then he encountered the peak of Red Bull Racing and together they created the first Red Bull dynasty.

If life is too smooth and one has never experienced setbacks, it is easy for a fragile psychological defense to develop.

Under pressure, Vettel made various blunders, including multiple spins at crucial moments, which negatively impacted his reputation towards the end of his career and diminished the value of his four World Cup titles.

Meanwhile, Vettel's status as a "shoe-wearing" prodigy made him lack the courage to go all in wheel-to-wheel competition, unwilling to go down with those "barefoot" rookies.

Over time, it began to appear somewhat weak.

His lack of leadership qualities is also related to his personality. A low-key and humble good person is destined to find it difficult to become a leader like Schumacher.

Leaders must be decisive and unwavering.

Although Horner was very young in the 10 season, there was a reason why he became one of the most successful team principals in F1 history.

He easily saw Vettel's character flaws, knowing that the young man lacked the decisiveness to clash with the Chinese lad at crucial moments.

When the two sides compete in turn, the weaker side is destined to suffer!
"I'll try."

"What I want is not just to try my best, but to definitely do it, understand?"

Horner was very dissatisfied with Vettel's answer and emphasized it again.

"Yes, got it."

Horner felt somewhat helpless seeing that Vettel still looked calm.

Perhaps it's just a matter of personality; not every champion-level driver has to be aggressive and ruthless.

After all, there's someone like Kimi Räikkönen in the paddock.

Time ticked by, and soon it was 11:00 AM, the start of the practice match.

One after another, racing cars roared out of the pit lane, including Chen Xiangbei of the HRT team.

Before the start, Odette emphasized again that Chen Xiangbei should collect as much track data as possible and provide feedback, as this was especially important for determining the car tuning plan.

After all, the current tuning scheme is more based on experience-based decisions than on the actual conditions of the track.

At the same time, regardless of whether the two drivers are willing or not, the test data for this race will be fully shared, and the interests of the team will take precedence over the interests of the drivers.

This is definitely good news for Perez. As a complete novice driving an F1 car for the first time, it would be almost impossible to fine-tune a car without data sharing.

As the No. 13 HRT race car drove into the pit lane, a commotion immediately erupted in the stands.

"Chen Xiangbei, get out of the Korean racetrack!"

"Chinese shopkeeper, you'll never win this game!"

"Chen Xiangbei is disqualified from the competition. South Korea does not welcome drivers like him!"

"Drivers who commit violence and racial discrimination should be arrested and tried!"

The audience was outraged, and shouts and boos filled the air.

Even when Chen Xiangbei was driving at low speed, he could still faintly hear some sounds through his helmet visor.

Although he couldn't hear what was being said clearly, and he didn't understand Korean, he could roughly guess what it meant from the Korean audience's exaggerated gestures.

Just when everyone thought that the roar of the race cars would quiet the noise as Chen Xiangbei drove onto the main track, the scene was completely quiet.

The result was something that no one present could have predicted!

Chen Xiangbei stretched out his right hand high and made an internationally recognized gesture towards the audience.

That's the middle finger!
"Fuck, are Chinese guys this tough?"

"I knew Bei was arrogant before, but I didn't expect him to be this arrogant."

Has such a thing ever happened in F1 history—openly provoking the audience?

"No, after all, drivers can't hear the jeers from the crowd, but basketball and football have seen it quite often."

Members of several teams inside the repair shop started discussing it with great interest.

The HRT team members, however, all had different expressions.

There were surprises, shocks, excitement, worries, and expressionless faces.

Briatore, however, let out a long sigh. His concern wasn't about how much of a commotion Chen Xiangbei's middle finger gesture would cause.

The real question is how much fine this action will result in for the team!
Under normal circumstances, the standard for swearing is $10,000, but in severe cases it can reach $40,000.

Chen Xiangbei has actually made a move; it'll start at least at $50,000!
If he could, Briatore would rather the audience were cursing him; at least that would save him tens of thousands of dollars!
(End of this chapter)