Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 286 Terrifying Adaptability
Amazing consistency in long-distance lap times is an essential standard for a top driver, meaning that your racing line and handling are almost identical on every lap.

Chen Xiangbei's simulator skills had reached a level that made Hiroki Sawano completely impeccable.

The only thing that worried him was the actual race on the track.

The results of those fifteenth place finishes in the first training session make it impossible to determine how much of the success was due to the racing engine. Sometimes it's better to expect the lowest possible result than to be disappointed by the highest.

Although it's already May, the nights on the Korean beach are still a bit chilly.

Sho Mizutani rubbed his stiff arms, then looked up at his watch; the hands showed 11 p.m.

The fact that Chen Xiangbei finished his second practice session at 4 p.m. meant that he had been sitting on the racing simulator for a full seven hours!

Just as Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani were hesitating about whether to proceed with Chen Xiangbei's simulator training, the door to the drivers' lounge was pushed open from the outside, and Odette strolled in.

"Bei, have you forgotten there are still two games tomorrow?"

Many things are best done in moderation. Odeto was about to go to sleep at the hotel when he realized that Chen Xiangbei and the others hadn't returned from the track yet. He immediately realized that they must still be training on the racing simulator.

Effort is a good thing, but addiction is a bad thing.

Special racing simulators can never replicate the 100% feel of a real racetrack. Developing muscle memory for such a thing could lead to serious problems, like the kind of incredible handling in later generations where you can go full throttle and use DRS to corner.

Of course, Chen Xiangbei wouldn't go to that point, but it would still affect his driving feel.

This is why older generation drivers like Alonso don't use racing simulators much.

On the one hand, it's something I'm not used to.

On the other hand, there's a fear that the simulator might negatively impact oneself.

Upon hearing Oddo's voice, Chen Xiangbei pressed the pause button and took the headphones off his head.

"I didn't realize how fast time had passed."

Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile.

Indeed, immersing yourself in a racing simulator while wearing headphones is similar to playing video games in later times; you don't really notice the passage of time.

"Let's go back."

Odeto didn't say much, and after saying that, he walked out of the drivers' lounge.

Chen Xiangbei also got up from the cockpit and followed them out of the driver's rest room. The "cleanup" was left to Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani, who were also responsible for collecting some key data from the simulator.

The racetrack is not far from the hotel, but due to the development zone, the area is deserted at night.

As the two walked along the wide coastal road, Odette hesitated for a moment before asking, "Aren't you a little too nervous? I feel that you value this race even more than the East China Sea Grand Prix."

"No."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head.

"Then why didn't you perform like this at the Donghai Circuit?"

"Because I have confidence in the Donghai International Circuit, but I don't have confidence in this circuit."

With Odette, Chen Xiangbei could speak his mind without reservation, unlike when facing the outside world where he had to show his tough side.

Chen Xiangbei was very clear about his advantages. To put it bluntly, apart from his car sense and talent in this life, his rapid progress relied more on his God's perspective and experience from his previous life.

In the eyes of the outside world, he is a genius driver who raced a few junior formula races and two F3 races before jumping directly to F1.

In fact, Chen Xiangbei is a standard F2 driver and has even reached a semi-F1 level!

To put it bluntly, Chen Xiangbei could run the Donghai home track with his eyes closed. The entire layout, corners, terrain, road conditions, and so on are deeply imprinted in his memory.

But the Lingyan track can't do that.

He knew nothing about the Lingyan Circuit, and even the team could offer very little help.

Simply put, even on a brand new track, top racing teams have the capability to arrange for engineers to conduct surveys in advance and use the raw track data to feed the central computer to run ideal laps, thereby deriving the optimal solution for each corner.

These are things that the HRT fleet cannot do for the time being!

As the old saying goes, the gap between large and small fleets is often not just about financial resources, but about being lagging behind in every aspect.

The only thing Chen Xiangbei could do was to practice countless times to familiarize himself with the material.

There is no other way.

“Your desire for the Lingyan Circuit goes beyond just winning the championship; it also stems from other competitive motivations.”

"Yes, I don't want to lose."

"why?"

"So that no one will dare to openly insult my country and my compatriots in the paddock."

Perhaps due to the shared roots of East Asian culture, compared to the European or Australian tracks, the simple "FUCK" and "Chinese guys" don't actually pose much of an attack on Chen Xiangbei.

However, Chen Xiangbei could not accept some of the terms used in the Korean paddock.

Given his status as a race car driver and a public figure, Chen Xiangbei couldn't possibly retaliate in a shrewish manner.

So all he can do is respond with results and humiliate others with a championship!

Conversely, Odeto, a European, could not understand why Chen Xiangbei was so angry, which led to this conversation.

However, after he finished speaking, Odeto vaguely understood.

He didn't ask any more questions. When he arrived at the hotel entrance, he gently patted Chen Xiangbei on the shoulder, said "Get some rest," and then turned and left.

……

As the night passed, Saturday's third practice session and qualifying race arrived as scheduled, and the number of spectators at the Lingyan Circuit saw another surge, jumping from just over 100,000 on Friday to 150,000.

On the one hand, Saturday's qualifying rounds can attract more targets.

On the other hand, this is the first Korean F1 Grand Prix, which can also inspire national pride, and more people want to attend the race in person.

The number of spectators had reached the limit of the paddock, and many people were forced to come to the central grass area. But just as Chen Xiangbei entered, he saw a red area in the white of the Taegeukgi flags.

And it's not Ferrari red, it's Chinese red!
Actually, there are quite a few Chinese people living in South Korea, but the vast majority of them have no interest in motorsports.

In addition, this is the first Korean F1 Grand Prix, and the number of participants at the track is strictly limited to 150,000, so it is not easy to get a ticket. The situation is very similar to the 2024 Donghae Circuit, which has Chinese drivers, where tickets are also hard to come by.

This resulted in very few Chinese and ethnic Chinese spectators at the stadium throughout Friday. But the root of the change lay in Sky Sports' Hank's coverage.

Chen Xiangbei originally contacted Hank to put pressure on the Korea Automobile Federation and the organizing committee, but by a twist of fate, many Chinese viewers watching the live broadcast saw it. They never expected that Chen Xiangbei would be subjected to insults and attacks from the entire audience!

It's worth noting that while Chen Xiangbei had experienced similar incidents during previous competitions in Europe, there was a significant difference in the number and severity of such incidents compared to his previous ones.

In addition, Chen Xiangbei was just a small fry at the time, and his influence was more limited to the automotive industry and Europe.

By the time Chen Xiangbei became truly well-known in China, he had already stood on the podium and even won the championship. Countless European and American viewers who had once mocked him were unknowingly conquered by his strength!

This time was completely different. A Chinese champion with sufficient fame and influence was attacked by South Koreans at the scene. This was simply intolerable!

As a result, many Chinese and local spectators rushed to the Lingyan Circuit overnight to buy tickets or high-priced tickets. Even though the number of people was still far less than that of the local South Korean audience, it at least made Chen Xiangbei understand that he was not alone.

The red flags and banners at the scene are the best proof.

"Chen Xiangbei, keep it up!"

"We'll always be there for you, racing legend Bei!"

"A bunch of clowns, do they even have the right to mock the Chinese F1 champion?"

"Chen Xiangbei, let those South Korean bastards see what you're made of!"

These shouts of encouragement were actually not very noticeable amidst the noise and boos of the entire venue; Chen Xiangbei couldn't even hear what they were saying.

But he understands one thing: he will never lack supporters behind him!
Waving his arms, he arrived at the pit lane. Race car number 13 had been fully assembled. Instrument testing showed that the engine performance release problem had been resolved, but the power was still in low-power mode.

In terms of horsepower, Chen Xiangbei's car is about 15 horsepower less than Perez's, and compared to the overpowered mode at the Donghai station, it is a full 30 horsepower less!

It's worth noting that when Alonso later angrily criticized Honda for its GP2 engine, it was only 50 horsepower less than the fastest car in the paddock, which was enough to break the spirit of this legendary driver and render him uncompetitive for the entire season.

A 30-horsepower difference means that Chen Xiangbei's car has fallen from a position of aiming for second place to a mid-to-lower level. On the long straight of the Lingyan Circuit, he will be easily overtaken by Red Bull, McLaren, and even Ferrari!

"Could you turn it up a bit more? A 30-horsepower difference is just too much."

Chen Xiangbei asked Bob Bell a question: This difference in horsepower is beyond the driver's capabilities.

The so-called 0.5-second advantage that top drivers supposedly have is only relative to mid-to-lower-tier drivers in the paddock. In a duel between top drivers, there can't be such a big difference.

Even someone as strong as Verstappen couldn't possibly be 0.5 seconds faster than an older Hamilton or Alonso driving the same car.

Even if we take a step back and consider the core players like Leclerc, Russell, Norris, and Piastri, they are unlikely to be 0.5 seconds slower than Verstappen; at most, they would be about 0.1 or 0.2 seconds slower.

If they're in better form, they might be evenly matched.

"No."

Bob Bell decisively rejected Chen Xiangbei's suggestion.

Actually, I had a similar idea when I was practicing, and at that time I reduced the horsepower by 5 to 10.

As it turns out, what goes around comes around. This adjustment couldn't offset the strain Chen Xiangbei put on the engine in the last race, resulting in non-linear power output, which was, to some extent, a warning sign for the power unit.

Keep in mind that the intensity and duration of practice sessions are far less than those of qualifying and the race itself; increasing the intensity any further would just result in engine failure and retirement from the race.

"understood."

Chen Xiangbei also realized that it would be difficult, so he nodded and said no more.

The third practice session started promptly at 10 a.m. Considering the engine's current performance, Chen Xiangbei realized that he could no longer achieve both qualifying and race results as before, and had to make trade-offs in the tuning direction.

Without a doubt, the answer can only be the main competition.

Throughout the entire third training session, Chen Xiangbei's testing focused entirely on heavy-load, long-distance driving, completely abandoning the pursuit of maximum speed.

However, after a long period of simulator training, coupled with the "rehabilitation" of Chen Xiangbei's driving habits from his previous life, his performance in the third training session was still a significant improvement compared to the first, with his lap time reaching 1 minute and 36 seconds.

Although this is still far behind the fastest simulator time of 1 minute and 35 seconds and the fastest computer ideal circle time of 1 minute and 34 seconds.

However, considering the heavy fuel load and tire maintenance method, this lap time is still very impressive.

At least everyone at the HRT vehicle maintenance depot had a look of excitement on their faces.

They never expected that Chen Xiangbei could adapt to Perez's tuning scheme and driving style in just one night. He was simply a genius among geniuses!
Of course, everyone in the HRT team knew that Chen Xiangbei used a long-distance tire-maintaining driving method, but the outside world didn't know.

In particular, when Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Webber and others broke into the 1 minute 35 second range, it directly caused Chen Xiangbei and Perez, both from the HRT team, to fall out of the top ten.

A difference of just over one second in a single lap would be enough to create a ten-place difference in the F1 paddock.

Even more importantly, Chen Xiangbei's fastest lap in the three training sessions was not faster than Perez's!

This result immediately sent the South Korean audience into a frenzy.

"Can't even beat a substitute driver, is this what they call the strength of Chinese champions?"

"I knew the Chinese guys were cheating at the Donghai Circuit, and now they've been exposed at the Lingyan Circuit!"

"Did they plan to push Perez out and crash into someone this time after Trulli crashed into them last time?"

"Perez is even faster than Chen Xiangbei; I'm afraid the Mexicans won't be content to be second to him!"

"I'm waiting to see the good show of internal strife within the HRT team!"

The jubilation didn't affect Chen Xiangbei's mood this time. He was working with the team's mechanics to inspect his car and prevent any potential malfunctions in the upcoming qualifying session.

As for Perez, he looked at Chen Xiangbei with a very complicated expression. He had already learned about Chen Xiangbei's simulator score last night through the race engineer Bird, and knew that the other party used his tuning scheme and driving style.

One night, just one night!
Chen Xiangbei was only 0.137 seconds slower than his own lap time!
This also takes into account the 15-horsepower difference between the two race cars!
Perez is a newcomer in F1, but that doesn't mean he lacks formula experience.

From karting to Formula BMW, from Britain's youngest F3 champion driver to Asia and Europe's GP2, Perez has seen countless drivers along the way, but none have been able to match Chen Xiangbei's terrifying adaptability.

In particular, Perez had specifically studied Chen Xiangbei's driving style, as this Chinese driver's driving habits were completely different from his own.

And then it changed overnight?

The sarcasm and comparisons from the outside world sounded like a joke to Perez at that moment.

Or perhaps these South Korean viewers are simply frogs in a well, unable to comprehend what Chen Xiangbei's adaptability means.

If it weren't for missing the second practice session and the engine problem, Chen Xiangbei would have focused all his energy on getting familiar with the Lingyan racetrack.

His lap time is at least in the top three!
(End of this chapter)