Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 287 The Ups and Downs of Life

"Perez, your tuning is excellent; the tire temperature and tire wear are maintained very well."

Facing Perez staring at him, Chen Xiangbei didn't understand the shock in the other's heart, so he gave him a friendly compliment.

To be honest, in terms of prenatal care alone, Chen Xiangbei is indeed inferior to Perez.

He had previously suffered from overheating of the braking system, which was certainly influenced by his driving style and the car's tuning, but it could not erase Perez's talent for a "smooth" driving style.

No wonder he's the strongest of all Verstappen's teammates!

"Bei, you are very strong."

Perez uttered these words with mixed feelings.

Everyone has their own tuning options; whether they can adapt to them depends entirely on their individual abilities.

It's clear that Chen Xiangbei possesses this capability.

"fine"

Chen Xiangbei simply smiled in response to Perez's praise.

Now his comparison target is no longer these newcomers to the paddock, but the legends within the paddock!

In contrast to Chen Xiangbei and Perez's restrained mutual praise, McLaren boss Dennis bluntly shouted, "Hamilton, you ran brilliantly!"

Hamilton surpassed Vettel's lap time in the third practice session, taking the top spot.

Dennis has always regarded Hamilton as the next leader in F1. However, the only shortcoming of this young man is that he is not disciplined and hardworking enough, and he is not focused enough on racing. His mind is easily distracted.

Vettel's appearance briefly ignited Hamilton's competitive spirit.

However, Germans are relatively mild-mannered and lack sufficient pressure.

The appearance of Chen Xiangbei, this young Chinese man, completely ignited Hamilton's anger, making him extremely eager to teach his opponent a lesson.

Dennis is happy to see this situation; top drivers should always be in a fighting state!
Hamilton did not bask in the praise from Dennis, but instead went straight to the point about the problems with the car.

"The exhaust diffuser that was upgraded for MP4-25 has some problems. It is easy to overheat under high pressure. The engineers need to find a way to solve this problem before qualifying."

The dual-layer exhaust diffuser, a cutting-edge technology introduced at the beginning of the season, has now been adopted by mid-to-upper-tier teams, including McLaren, after several races.

However, as McLaren increased its use of the exhaust diffuser, the McLaren team also encountered the same problem that the HRT team had: the engine exhaust gases carried high temperatures, which made it extremely easy for the tire temperature and braking system temperature to become too high.

The problem with the HRT fleet has never been solved, but through long experience, Chen Xiangbei has figured out certain patterns and can find ways to keep the temperature on the edge of the critical point.

It's clear that Hamilton hasn't fully adapted yet. During the third practice session, in his attempt to achieve the fastest lap time, he encountered a problem with the exhaust diffuser overheating. It remains to be seen whether McLaren's engineers have a more perfect solution.

"OK, I'll leave it to Whitmarsh to handle."

Dennis nodded and immediately instructed team leader Whitmarsh to organize the engineering team to make improvements.

"Hamilton, the points are very close in the early stages. Whoever wins this race will become the leader. I look forward to you reaching the top again."

"I will."

Hamilton replied with complete confidence.

He will show Chen Xiangbei, this newcomer to China, what happens when you anger a world champion!
In fact, not only the team members, but even the two commentators were still discussing the third practice session with great enthusiasm.

“Red, it seems my prediction was correct. Lingyan Circuit driver Bei is far inferior to Hamilton.”

Park Dong-wook's tone was somewhat arrogant; the level of British commentary was nothing special.

“Park, I think it’s too early to draw conclusions. The qualifying rounds haven’t even started yet, let alone the main race.”

"You should know that Bei has never missed a single Q3. He has created too many miracles in F1 and subverted the perceptions of countless people."

Reid retorted.

This doesn't mean he particularly supports Chen Xiangbei; in fact, during the Australian leg of the tournament, he was one of those who mocked Chinese rookies.

But Reid was proven wrong by Chen Xiangbei's strength, and this underestimation of him was completely overturned after the China leg.

He has realized that this Chinese driver has the potential to become a miracle in the world of F1!
"Chen Xiangbei didn't even make the top ten once in the three practice matches. I don't think he can create any miracles in the qualifying matches."

"A miracle is called a miracle because no one thought it was possible before it happened."

"Right? Hehe."

Park Dong-wook smiled dismissively at Reid's insistence, not wanting to argue any further.

The Yeongam Circuit in South Korea will definitely become a place of heartbreak for Chinese drivers!
After the practice session, there was a brief period of quiet in the paddock as spectators and teams awaited the afternoon qualifying session.

Just then, the Korea Meteorological Administration released a new radar cloud image, showing that a cumulonimbus cloud was drifting towards the race track, with a 30% to 50% chance of rain, and the rainfall would be light rain of less than 10mm.

The teams glanced at the satellite cloud image data but didn't pay much attention to it.

The reason is simple: the probability of this rainfall is not high; in fact, the likelihood of it actually raining is lower than predicted.

Another point is that rainfall of less than 10mm is actually the standard for light drizzle.

Unless it happens at the very beginning of qualifying, teams won't even consider switching to rain tires, relying on road surface drainage and evaporation to last until the end of qualifying.

After all, rain tires are significantly slower than slick tires.

Only Chen Xiangbei, after seeing the radar cloud image data, reminded Liang Chi to use a tire warmer blanket to preheat a set of half-rain tires.

Because only he knows how outrageous the Lingyan Circuit was in rushing to meet the construction schedule; never trust the circuit's drainage capacity!
In the past 10 seasons, the Korean Grand Prix race has changed from a car race to a boat race, making the normal race extremely chaotic. There were even instances where Massa, who is not good at swimming, managed to get on the podium.

Of course, history has changed now, and even the season schedule for the Korean Grand Prix has changed accordingly.

Chen Xiangbei wasn't sure if another rain-soaked battle would occur; he was simply being prepared.

Time quickly passed to 3 p.m., and the Saturday qualifying session for the Korean Grand Prix officially began!
The sky over the Lingyan Circuit was overcast, and no rain came. All the teams changed to soft red tires as planned.

The HRT team did not leave the pits first, but waited for enough rubber granules to accumulate on the track.

It's important to know that Lingyan is a brand new track, which means that the grip of the new asphalt surface is relatively low. Now that the HRT cars no longer have the advantage of high power output from the previous race, they can only compete in qualifying according to the strategy of small and medium-sized teams.

The later you leave the station, the better the grip!

However, all the teams seemed to have the same idea, hoping that their opponents would come out of the pits first to "warm up" the crowd, so much so that three minutes into the first qualifying session, everyone was still waiting in the pit lane.

"Red, what's going on? Are they not leaving the game for ranked matches?"

Park Dong-wook was baffled; he had never seen anything like it before and could only ask the experienced British commentator, Reid. "Everyone is waiting for their chance, trying to preserve their tires as much as possible; nobody wants to be the pioneer."

As expected of a veteran commentator, Reid immediately understood the intentions of each team.

Leaving the pits later not only offers the advantage of better grip, but also the advantage of less tire wear!
After three practice sessions, the team's data analysts knew that tire wear at the Lingyan Circuit was very high. Coupled with the layout of the first half of the street circuit, there was no doubt that the soft red tires could provide the fastest speed and the best grip.

The problem is that the allocation of soft red tires is limited. If the drivers make it to Q3, then according to the strategy of two or even three stoppages in the race, there will definitely not be enough soft red tires in the end.

The best solution is to plan ahead and save as many soft red tires as possible during qualifying.

For example, in the less competitive first and second qualifying sessions, you can just push one lap on soft red tires, and then switch to a completely new set of soft red tires in the third qualifying session.

This way, compared to the opponent using three sets of soft red tires, you can save one set in terms of quantity, making your strategy for the race more flexible and advantageous!

Everyone wants to be the mantis that gets caught in the crossfire, but who will be the "mantis"?

However, this deadlock was quickly broken when McLaren's Hamilton took to the pits.

Large teams naturally have the strength and confidence of a large team. Even if the objective environment of the track ahead is a little weaker, they can still make it into Q3 by relying on the performance of the car and their personal skills.

"NICE, Hamilton!"

"This is the confidence of a world champion and the strongest newcomer!"

"His debut was his peak; who can rival Hamilton?"

"If the Chinese don't resort to staged accidents, they won't even see Hamilton's taillights!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd, some simply cheering for Hamilton, others trying to put him down.

Either way, it proves Hamilton's popularity and ability.

With someone taking the lead, the four teams quickly set off one after another, completing their own racing laps.

The engine roared into the sky as the McLaren race car sped forward at full speed, and Hamilton's first flying lap time was soon announced.

1 minutes 37 seconds 551!

This lap time might not seem impressive, but in fact, because refueling is not allowed during qualifying, the weight of the cars is much greater than in some extreme light-load fuel test scenarios during practice.

Only as fuel is consumed and the track accumulates enough rubber granules to increase grip can the fastest lap time be achieved.

This is why, under normal circumstances, the results of the third qualifying session will be faster than those of the first qualifying session.

With Hamilton's lap time released, Massa, Button, Alonso, Webber, and others quickly followed with their own lap times.

The top ten rankings were refreshed instantly. History remained unchanged, with Vettel still taking the top spot in the first qualifying session thanks to the absolute performance advantage of the Red Bull car!
1 minutes 37 seconds 123!

This result is exactly the same as his historical lap times.

"North, Perez, prepare to leave the station, you only have one lap left!"

Although the HRT team did not plan to make a second or third stop, there was no need to specifically reserve an extra set of brand new red tires.

However, both cars were tuned for the race, and both drivers finished around 15th in practice, putting them on the verge of elimination in the first qualifying session.

To be on the safe side, we have to postpone the start time and wait for the best track grip conditions.

Of course, this choice has its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that the time can only run one speed lap!

Theoretically speaking, for the two HRT drivers, the risk of only being able to complete one flying lap at the Lingyan Circuit is extremely high.

Running a new track once more is like having another round of adaptation time.

In addition, Perez is also a slow starter. When he was teammates with Verstappen, he would often fall far behind in the first flying lap, and it was only on the second flying lap that he slowly caught up.

This is similar to Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who couldn't achieve good results on his first flying lap and needed two or more to adapt.

Unfortunately, being in a small team means you either have to give up the best track conditions or go all in, often without a second chance.

For Odette and other strategy team members, they were not familiar with Perez's slow start, so they formulated track strategy in the most conventional way, leaving it up to the driver to decide whether he could make it into Q2.

After the usual warm-up lap, the two HRT race cars sped off one after the other.

Compared to the Chinese Grand Prix, the current car tuning and performance are not within Chen Xiangbei's comfort zone, so it can be said that he struggled a lot while driving.

As for Perez, he wasn't much better off. It was a challenge in itself for a complete rookie to run his first qualifying session in his professional career!
Just one minute later, the results for the two HRT race cars were announced.

Chen Xiangbei's lap time is 1 minute 38.257 seconds, currently ranking twelfth on the leaderboard.

Perez's lap time was 1 minute 38.429 seconds, a very close second.

Upon hearing this result, cheers and boos immediately erupted in the paddock.

Although these two words seem to have opposite meanings, they actually lead to the same conclusion.

Cheers to Chen Xiangbei for failing to make the top ten again! Booing to Chen Xiangbei for being too slow!

Keep in mind that the first qualifying session is not over yet, and there are still mid-to-lower-ranked drivers performing flying laps. The results of HRT's two drivers could very well push them out of the cutoff line!
"Red, do you think Chen Xiangbei can still make it into Q2?"

Park Dong-wook asked smugly, "So far, Barrichello, Hulkenberg, Glock, Sutil and other drivers have not finished the race, but their lap times in practice were all very good."

Furthermore, a veteran is returning to this race: Sauber's third driver, Heidfeld, is replacing the underperforming de la Rosa.

None of these names are easy targets; Chen Xiangbei's position as number twelve is doomed!

"I think so."

Sensing Park Dong-wook's undisguised prejudice and hostility, Reid's tone also hardened in response.

Chen Xiangbei is a driver who creates miracles; he won't give up easily!

As the race unfolded as Reid had predicted, with the countdown for the first qualifying session ending, the final driver's flying lap time was revealed.

Chen Xiangbei dropped to fourteenth place, while Perez narrowly missed the goal line.

Upon seeing this result, all the members of the HRT team breathed a sigh of relief, and then enthusiastic applause rang out in the pit lane.

This result may seem mediocre to outsiders, even worse than Chen Xiangbei's debut, and coupled with his previous victory in a race, it gives the impression of a dramatic rise and fall in life.

However, the crew members were very clear about what this achievement meant.

A brand new track, reduced power output, race setup, missed practice sessions, changed style...

Chen Xiangbei was covered in negative buffs, but he still made it into Q2. He did not disappoint his crew members!
(End of this chapter)