Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 299 Unexpected Internal Strife

"North is back on the track, but his position has dropped significantly, from pole position at the start to eighth place, with even his rookie teammate Perez behind him."

"Such a large drop in ranking can easily affect a driver's mentality and race rhythm, and even the team's pre-race tactics and strategies."

"Bei has shown excellent mental fortitude in the previous competitions, but this is only his rookie season. No one knows what the limit of his ability to withstand pressure is. Can he adjust his form in a short period of time?"

Red asked a thought-provoking question, the answer that everyone in the paddock wanted to know.

There are countless examples of major mistakes at the start of an F1 race. Once a driver drops out of position, they are practically invisible for the rest of the race, making it very difficult for them to turn the tide and catch up.

On the one hand, the drivers' mentality collapsed. What was originally a championship race became a struggle to even score points, and the huge gap made it extremely easy for them to give up on themselves.

On the other hand, the huge changes in the rankings will cause the teams to completely overhaul their strategies, disrupting the entire race rhythm and making it impossible to recover.

In the infamous Hungarian start incident during the 23 season, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who was originally in fifth place in qualifying, dropped ten places, turning what was originally a high-scoring situation into a sixteenth-place finish, including several drivers who retired from the race.

In other words, they actually dropped from fifth place to the very end!
Chen Xiangbei's situation is not so dire, but the chances of the eighth-placed player returning to pole position are equally slim.

Listening to Reid's explanation and analysis, the fans at the scene, who were originally overjoyed that Chen Xiangbei had successfully saved the car, instantly became worried.

Indeed, returning to the track is just the beginning. Chen Xiangbei's ranking and results have plummeted, and it is still unknown whether the car has been damaged. Can the Chinese boy create another miracle?

During the double yellow flag phase of the race, all drivers slowed down, and damaged vehicles moved as far as possible toward the buffer zone and escape routes to facilitate the handling of accidents by race rescue personnel.

The moment Chen Xiangbei stabilized the race car, he pressed the communication button on the steering wheel and asked the team.

"Sho Mizutani, is the race car damaged?"

"Currently, there are no obvious abnormalities in the data, but the tire wear is severe. It will be very difficult to maintain the tires according to the original plan, and we may have to change the pre-race strategy."

The gravel buffer zone provided Chen Xiangbei's race car with good deceleration and protection, but compared with the smooth asphalt track, it is obvious that gravel and fine sand cause greater wear and tear on the rubber.

Chen Xiangbei originally needed to drive at least twenty laps with his neutral yellow tires before he could stop and pit to switch to hard white tires.

With the current level of wear and tear, it would be difficult to drive more than twenty laps. Even if it were possible, the speed would drop dramatically, and the advantage of the pit stop window saved by stopping would be completely lost.

"No changes are needed; I can save the tire."

The most taboo principle in military strategy is changing generals on the eve of battle, and the same applies to convoy tactics and strategies.

If he had pitted earlier, why would Chen Xiangbei have started on the neutral yellow tires? If he had gone straight for the soft red tires, the scene of Hamilton taking over at Turn 1 would never have happened!
"Bei, I want to emphasize again that maintaining the pregnancy is very difficult, and the scene at T1 corner might happen again."

Sho Mizutani emphasized his words in an unusually strong tone.

After nearly two years of getting to know each other, he became very familiar with Chen Xiangbei's personality.

After the tire grip drops significantly, other drivers will do what Hamilton did: try to overtake Chen Xiangbei by force in the corners.

Will Chen Xiangbei still plan to launch another strong counterattack then?

This time, he dropped seven places on his return to the track, and if he does it again, he probably won't be able to get back on the track.

"I'm strong, no problem."

Am I very strong?

The convoy strategy team at the outdoor command post never expected Chen Xiangbei's response at this moment would be, "I'm very strong..."

They had previously worried that the accident might affect Chen Xiangbei's mental state, but now it seems that they were just worrying unnecessarily.

This kid is still full of confidence!

"GOOD, then let me see just how strong you really are!"

Briatore interrupted Mizutani Sho's voice and directly expressed his approval of Chen Xiangbei's attitude.

He's increasingly finding this Chinese kid to his liking; he's a born madman!
Meanwhile, in the VIP box on the second floor of the pit stop, Will Smith said jokingly, "Jackie, it seems that driver North isn't as strong as you described. He made a mistake on the first corner."

Cheng Long himself is a racing enthusiast. During filming, he mentioned Chen Xiangbei's driving skills to Will Smith more than once, believing that this young man would definitely become a milestone figure in Chinese and even world racing.

Furthermore, during their promotional period in South Korea, they even made a special trip to the Yeongam Circuit to watch the race.

Will Smith is not very familiar with Formula 1 racing. Before Liberty Media took over the promotion of motorsports in the United States, the locals were more enthusiastic about Formula Indy.

This is a Formula One racing car, similar to F1, but with an average speed exceeding that of F1. However, its races take place on an oval track, requiring relatively less skill and handling, and thus are less visually appealing.

But in the world of motorsport, the Indy 500, the WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 are the three crown jewels of motorsport. Whoever collects all three honors undoubtedly belongs to the pinnacle of the motorsport world.

After retiring in 18, Alonso teamed up with Kazuki Nakajima to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He then switched to Formula Indy, hoping to win the Indy 500 and achieve the "triple crown" in motorsport.

Unfortunately, he fell short of his goal and returned to the F1 paddock after being called back by his former team, Renault. It is now virtually impossible for him to achieve the "Triple Crown" (F1 championship).

From Will Smith's perspective, Chen Xiangbei is nothing special, and Jackie Chan really overhyped him.

“Smith, I’ve watched every game North has played, and he’s done the impossible.”

"Since you don't think he's that strong, how about we make a bet?"

Cheng Long replied with a smile, saying that no one knew better than him how exaggerated Chen Xiangbei's journey had been.

A small mistake is nothing; the one who laughs last is the winner.

"OK, what do you want to bet?"

"That Audi RSQ you own."

The movie "I, Robot" features a very cool Audi concept car, model RSQ. Only four were ever made in the world, one of which was destroyed during filming, and two of the remaining three were models.

In other words, the car Will Smith owns is a rare, discontinued concept car.

Cheng Long also has a passion for collecting cars, and Mitsubishi Group once created a custom EVO for him.

The reason he proposed these conditions was partly due to his trust in Chen Xiangbei.

On the other hand, filming "The Karate Kid" was a huge favor to Will Smith, who was the film's producer and even put his son in the lead role. "I have no problem with that, but you're destined not to win this Audi RSQ."

"Then let's wait and see."

Cheng Long shrugged, maintaining his confident demeanor.

However, Chen Xiangbei's situation on the track was not as optimistic as Cheng Long's.

When the race reached the third lap, the waving double yellow flag turned into a green flag, meaning the race had restarted.

After the safety car left the field, Hamilton, the lead car, started with a slow start, giving Vettel, who was following behind, no chance to overtake. Then, one car after another accelerated and sprinted.

Perez, who had moved up a place in the rankings amidst the chaos, now looked at Chen Xiangbei's race car ahead with extremely complex emotions.

He also started on neutral yellow tires and didn't go off the track, meaning his tires were in better condition than his teammate's. Meanwhile, the safety car led for three laps, allowing the tires to reach their optimal operating temperature.

Under normal circumstances, Perez would definitely try to attack the car in front.

But now the car in front is his teammate, who has also helped him with track data sharing and simulator training.

At this point, trying to attack and overtake would be no different from taking advantage of a teammate's illness to kill them.

At this point, it wasn't just Perez who faced a dilemma; his game engineer, Bird, also realized the problem.

As the driver's newest and closest partner, Bird undoubtedly hopes Perez can overtake and achieve a better position. Don't forget that he's currently a reserve driver; his race performance and ranking will determine whether Perez can secure a permanent driver's seat.

However, the status of a substitute driver and the number two driver also became a constraint at this moment.

Will the team management favor Chen Xiangbei, forcefully stop Perez's attack, or even sacrifice this rookie to block the car?

With this hesitation and uncertainty, Bird turned his gaze to Odette.

Odette's roles as team leader and chief race engineer gave him the final decision-making authority.

Odette noticed Bird's gaze, and even though the other man didn't speak, he knew what to say.

The most biased decision was, of course, to have Perez act as a wingman to block the car, allowing Chen Xiangbei to focus on attacking Kubica ahead without distraction, and once again stage a spectacular scene of overtaking all the way in the Chinese Grand Prix.

However, from a rational point of view, Chen Xiangbei's tires are severely worn and his engine output power is limited. Even if Perez sacrifices his position to block the car, it would be difficult for him to overtake the car in front, and even if he did, he would not be able to hold his position.

Furthermore, having been exposed to "gravel roads," the team was unaware of whether the chassis had been damaged, as these potential hazards could not be detected by the sensors.

It would be better to gamble on Perez, who is in better condition in the car. After all, this Mexican rookie has shown excellent long-distance tire-holding ability in practice, which is no less than that of the top drivers in the paddock!
Just as Odette hesitated, the situation in the paddock was urgent.

The moment Chen Xiangbei started accelerating, Perez simultaneously floored the accelerator and accelerated to change lanes, attempting to gain time to overtake!

At this moment, all thoughts and hesitations were put aside by Perez; his mind was only occupied with the conversation he had with Chen Xiangbei the night before.

Perez, you and I are actually the same kind of person.

That's right, whether it's Chen Xiangbei or Perez, they both need to earn opportunities through their performance in the F1 paddock.

Chen Xiangbei succeeded; he became an official driver for the HRT team, essentially shedding the label of being a paid sponsor.

But Perez hasn't yet; he's just a substitute.

Since the opportunity to change your destiny is right in front of you, to give it up would be to betray yourself!

Chen Xiangbei, who had been keeping some attention on the rearview mirror, smiled with amusement and appreciation when he saw Perez change lanes.

Chen Xiangbei is never afraid of competition; on the contrary, he believes that the sense of crisis brought about by competition makes it easier for drivers to attack.

If you're afraid of competing with your teammates, how are you going to face the other 22 opponents in the paddock?
Furthermore, if you want Perez to honestly become the number two driver, team constraints and contracts alone are far from enough. You need a direct confrontation to make him understand the gap before he will admit defeat.

Just like the duel between Chen Xiangbei and Trulli.

Only when you truly lose will you admit defeat!

However, Perez's performance was quite remarkable in the eyes of outsiders.

Especially the spectators in the stands, the HRT team showed a spirit of teamwork in the previous race, with Trulli even sacrificing himself by crashing to allow Chen Xiangbei to win the championship.

Just one week later, the HRT team was embroiled in internal strife.
"No, what is Perez doing? Doesn't he know his role as the number two driver?"

"Aren't the Mexicans a bit too eager to take power? Isn't this just kicking someone when they're down?"

"Why isn't the HRT team management stopping it? This internal strife is only giving other teams an advantage!"

Compared to the eagerness of Chen Xiangbei's fans, the Korean audience at the scene, after their initial surprise, immediately became gloating.

"Haha, I didn't expect Perez to be the first to stab me in the back."

"Chinese guys, haven't you heard that the biggest rival in the F1 paddock is your own teammate?"

"Perez did a great job! Without the team's favoritism and resource allocation, he simply exposed Chen Xiangbei!"

The audience erupted in uproar. It can only be said that Chen Xiangbei truly deserves to be the focus and center of public opinion in the hunting grounds. After starting with a big stunt, he immediately staged a good show of internal strife.

The two HRT race cars raced one after the other. Although Chen Xiangbei's tires were worn out, they were still far from reaching their peak grip. Perez did not have an advantage in timing his attack.

With a quick press of the accelerator, Chen Xiangbei changed lanes and blocked Perez's path, and the two began a battle of offense and defense.

Chen Xiangbei's biggest disadvantage is that his engine output is 15 horsepower less than Perez's, which means it is very difficult for him to suppress Perez on straightaways. As long as Perez catches up with his wake and creates a slingshot effect, his tail speed can be more than 10 kilometers per hour higher.

In F1, this would be considered an unstoppable speed difference.

To avoid being overtaken by Perez on the straights, all Chen Xiangbei could do was to create as much distance as possible in the corners. He no longer followed the tire-protection method when cornering, but instead used the fastest cornering line by cutting off the kerb. The whole trajectory was very smooth and perfect.

However, after the bend, Chen Xiangbei could still see the same black and orange HRT race car in his rearview mirror, which meant that Perez's cornering speed was no slower than his own.

Perez perfectly replicated Chen Xiangbei's cornering line. His many nights of imitation and learning paid off. To beat your teammate, you must first understand your teammate!

(End of this chapter)