Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 306: A Victory of Tactics

A double pit stop refers to two race cars entering the pit lane one after the other on the same lap. The mechanics need to prepare two sets of tires to help the two drivers change tires and exit the pit in turn.

This process, as described in words, seems quite simple.

In fact, it is extremely difficult.

The reason is simple: each fleet has only one outdoor maintenance bay and a shared team of mechanics.

The pit stop tire change process in F1 was already so standardized that each step was streamlined to the extreme, almost like an assembly line operation, which reduced the tire change time to about two seconds.

If two cars enter the station, it means four more new tires will be produced, as well as four old tires that need to be replaced.

Putting aside the complex changes in the process, just figuring out how to place these four tires without affecting the working space of the team of more than twenty technicians is a very delicate matter.

If someone gets blocked by the tires, or slips during the handover, the pit stop will lose at least several seconds, which is an unacceptable mistake in a race like F1 where every second counts.

Even if the technician team cooperated perfectly throughout the process and made no mistakes, they still managed to complete the double-car lap into the station.

Another serious problem remains: who enters the station first and who enters later?
It's important to know that even without mistakes, changing a tire takes more than two seconds. If Chen Xiangbei wanted to be in the Perez's wake zone, he had to keep a following distance of less than one second.

This means that with the two entering the station one after the other, Chen Xiangbei will need to wait at least one second, and considering the temporary startup time, the loss in this process will most likely exceed two seconds.

Two seconds is quite an absurd time in F1. In qualifying, the difference between the first and last place might not even be two seconds. Even in a race with more than fifty laps, there are many memorable moments of a last-lap game-winner.

Unless the Mars rover leads by a wide margin throughout the race, two seconds will determine the champion!

If it's just two seconds, I can actually grit my teeth and accept it.

Another unacceptable point is that when two cars enter the pit lane on the same loop, whether the car in front makes a mistake while changing a tire or the car behind makes a mistake, the car behind will suffer the consequences.

After all, if the car in front has a problem changing its tire, you can't just overtake it to change your own tire, can you? You have to wait patiently.

Furthermore, compared to the car in front, the likelihood of the car behind making a mistake while changing a tire increases exponentially. This has happened countless times in history, and the more tense the situation, the easier it is to make a mistake.

If drivers had a choice, no one would want to be the last one to pit.

"Odeto, aren't you going to consider having North switch positions before entering the station?"

Briatore's voice rang out at the right time, as Chen Xiangbei, as the team's number one driver, should have priority.

This differs from the idea of ​​swapping positions on the track and letting the wingman be cannon fodder; the team has the final say on the tire-changing order. If they don't want to make things look bad, they can even have Chen Xiangbei pit a lap first, followed by Perez a lap later.

However, for every extra lap on the track, Perez will be caught up by the car behind him by almost two seconds. For him, this is actually about the same as the loss of switching positions. It's just a way of "burying one's head in the sand" to make the team and Chen Xiangbei look a little better.

Odeto actually prefers to enter the station out of turn; sometimes it's important for adults to maintain their dignity.

But at that moment, another race car appeared in front of Perez, namely Sutil from Force India.

This driver has a long history of grudges with both Trulli and Chen Xiangbei. Furthermore, the Force India team management is generally unfriendly towards Chinese drivers and frequently stirs up competition, giving Sutil the confidence to cause trouble.

However, this time it wasn't that Sutil ran ahead of Chen Xiangbei and the others, but rather that a starting accident caused damage to the front wing of his car, forcing him to pit and replace parts, which resulted in him being lapped by the two HRT cars in the front row!

According to normal F1 racing rules, a lapped car must unconditionally give way to the car behind it.

If a driver fails to cooperate with an opponent to overtake immediately, race officials will wave a blue flag to warn them to give way.

If a driver waves the blue flag three times in a row and fails to yield, the race organizers will issue a penalty.

Putting aside the process of waiting for the three blue flags to be waved, for a lap car that is almost at the bottom, whether or not it is punished is meaningless to Sutil, unless the degree of malicious obstruction is so serious that a black flag is required.

Without a doubt, Sutil will keep his distance and not go that far.

But in the process of getting to this point, he could disgust the two HRT drivers to death.

In the past, at certain times, Perez or Chen Xiangbei might have chosen to force their way past.

With both players running out of tires, they were unable to get past Sutil ahead. Even if Chen Xiangbei were to pit first to change tires, Perez, who remained on the track, would be blocked for a lap, potentially resulting in a three to five-second time loss.

The simultaneous entry of both trains into the station is imminent, and there is no time left to make a decision.

"Perez, pit for this lap."

"North, this round of stops, you're behind Perez."

Odette issued several instructions in succession. He had not ignored Briatore's opinion, nor was he a rigid team leader who insisted on sportsmanship.

The reason they didn't choose to switch positions was that this wasn't the decisive moment in the championship race.

Rather than forcefully suppressing Perez and treating him unfairly, it's better to maintain team unity as much as possible. Chen Xiangbei's actions and feedback during the race convinced Odette that his decision was correct.

Without Chen Xiangbei's initiative to give way, there would have been no two cars pulling the taillights to the front row, and the situation of two cars entering the station in the same loop would not have occurred.

Everything is interconnected; there is a cause for every effect!
"receive."

After a brief two-sentence response, Perez and Chen Xiangbei drove into the maintenance lane one after the other.

Looking at the HRT race car that had turned around in the rearview mirror, Sutil felt both annoyed and surprised.

The frustration lies in the fact that he has made up his mind to stop the HRT race car, regardless of whether the opponent is Perez or Chen Xiangbei. As long as they are HRT drivers, it is the same. He must avenge the interference and impact he has suffered from the opponent in several consecutive races!

The unexpected thing was that he saw Perez's car in front, while Chen Xiangbei was behind.

Although he was extremely unwilling, he had to admit that Chen Xiangbei's strength had already begun to show in the paddock, and he had even entered the ranks of the top contenders for the championship.

Perez, a substitute driver who joined the team with his own money, how could he possibly be ahead of Chen Xiangbei? The HRT team didn't even let the two switch positions.

Which link in the chain went wrong?

It wasn't just Sutil who thought so; most people in the paddock, including the commentators, thought so too. "The two HRT cars entered the pit lane one after the other, it seems they want to execute a two-car pit stop strategy, but driver North's car is at the back, which will greatly affect his tire change time, and there are many unpredictable risks."

"Is the HRT fleet really that focused on fair competition?"

In response to Reid's question, Park Dong-wook replied, "Perez might be refusing the team's order to switch positions?"

"A substitute driver is unlikely to offend the team."

Red gave a negative answer.

In most cases, drivers are at a disadvantage compared to their teams.

Unless you reach the level of a legendary driver, such as Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton, or Verstappen, you won't have the right to choose a team. Otherwise, whether you can renew your contract depends entirely on other people's opinions.

There are plenty of paid drivers of Perez's caliber. As long as HRT makes the announcement, a whole host of Formula 2, Formula Super, Le Mans, Indy 500, and other Formula racing drivers will rush to their team headquarters overnight to line up and volunteer.

He lacked the power and authority to refuse the team's orders.

"So what do you think is the reason?"

Park Dong-wook countered with a question.

"I think it's highly likely that the North has no intention of exchanging positions."

"He is a very pure driver."

Reid gave Chen Xiangbei a definition.

Through observation of these races, Reid discovered that Chen Xiangbei had engaged in fierce battles and confrontations with both Trulli and now Perez on the track.

Why did the two HRT drivers start fighting each other?

The answer is obvious: no motorcyclists used the political power of their teams to exert pressure; everyone competed based on their own abilities.

It is well known that Chinese capital holds the majority stake in the HRT team, and Chen Xiangbei has been involved in the formation of the entire team. The team leader and manager, the two most important management positions in the team, are closely related to Chen Xiangbei.

If the Chinese kid wants to play paddock politics, the number two driver has no chance to resist.

It's important to understand that this is extremely rare in the paddock. Among the legendary drivers, only Senna and Raikkonen can compete based on their own abilities. Everyone, including Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso, and Verstappen, has relied on team instructions to put pressure on the second driver or wingman.

Schumacher's situation is somewhat different from Verstappen's. Schumacher was the second driver and had already signed a wingman agreement, so it was only natural for the team to put pressure on him.

Once you've taken the money and signed the contract, you're obligated to deliver the service.

The latter simply overwhelmed his teammates with sheer skill and didn't bother to consider the feelings of his wingman, earning him the online nickname "giant baby."

Chen Xiangbei and Perez were unaware of the various discussions from the outside world. At present, the entire HRT team was very focused, their eyes fixed on the two racing cars approaching from a distance.

Especially for the mechanics, there is no room for error. Whether Chen Xiangbei still has any hope of returning to pole position depends on this tire change!
With the roar of the engine, Perez brought the car to a precise stop in the parking space. More than twenty team mechanics surrounded him, each carrying out their respective tasks: turning the lug nuts, changing the tire, and installing the new one...

After a complete process, the Perez car landed and exited the pits, with a time of 2.59 seconds!
Upon seeing this number, the people at the outdoor control station instinctively clenched their fists, wanting to celebrate. However, seeing Chen Xiangbei, who was about to enter the station to change the tire, they forcefully suppressed their excitement to avoid disturbing the technicians who were working.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it took 2.59 seconds, which seems quite different from the team's peak tire change time of under 2 seconds.

However, in reality, a pit stop for tire changes in F1 that takes less than 3 seconds is already considered acceptable or even excellent. Furthermore, this involves two cars pitting, and the team mechanics also need to have an extra set of tires nearby, further reducing their range of motion and demanding even higher precision.

2.59 seconds, that's absolutely top-notch!
However, the real test will be seen with Chen Xiangbei's second car. He went through another complete tire-changing process, with the seconds ticking away rapidly.

When the green light signaling the end of the tire change and departure came on, Chen Xiangbei pressed the accelerator almost simultaneously with the jack being lowered, using his extreme reflexes to seize those fractions of a second of time to leave the station.

2.55 seconds!
The moment this number appeared, the entire HRT crew jumped and cheered, attracting the attention of many other crews in the maintenance lane.

The race may not be over yet, but this successful pit stop by both cars on the same lap is no less than a victory for the team!
But for Chen Xiangbei, the situation he faces remains extremely difficult.

Originally, the difference between him and Perez was less than 1 second, but now, including the more than 1 second spent waiting for the tire change, Chen Xiangbei is about 2.5 seconds slower than Perez.

Furthermore, the twenty-odd seconds of the entry window allowed the first batch of vehicles to overtake him again.

However, the effect of Perez's slipstream push became apparent midway through the race. Chen Xiangbei actually undercut Kubica when he exited the pits, and Perez even managed to get ahead of Schumacher.

If everything goes smoothly in the remaining races, Chen Xiangbei and Perez will instantly enter the top five in the standings, thanks to the advantage of having one less pit stop for tire changes!

Of course, this is only the theoretically ideal scenario; the degree of tire wear and the difference in lap speed cannot be measured.

But at least one thing is certain: Chen Xiangbei has made a comeback to the top group. Whether he can maintain his ranking or even win the championship depends on his performance in the future!
Chen Xiangbei, who entered the main track from the pit lane, did not immediately chase after Schumacher. Instead, he focused his attention on Kubica, who was about to attack from behind.

It's worth noting that Chen Xiangbei switched to hard white tires, which are the hardest material and require the most heat to develop. In contrast, Kubica switched to neutral yellow tires, which are currently at their peak grip.

During the cold tire period, Chen Xiangbei's lap time could not possibly be faster than Schumacher's, so chasing him would be absurd.

On the contrary, theoretically Kubica should be faster than Chen Xiangbei due to his tire advantage.

Maintaining his ranking is Chen Xiangbei's top priority.

Kubica clearly knows where his advantage lies. He must overtake Chen Xiangbei and continuously increase the distance between them in order to gain back a window of opportunity.

Otherwise, when they wait for the next train to enter the station, they will fall far behind Chen Xiangbei.

The two race cars engaged in a fierce battle without any suspense. Kubica acknowledged Chen Xiangbei's strength but was unwilling to accept defeat.

He even attempted to prove his strength by defeating Chen Xiangbei!

The wheel-to-wheel competition was incredibly intense. Kubica and even the Williams team believed that with an absolute tire advantage, they would easily defeat Chen Xiangbei and overtake him.

The result was completely unexpected!
Kubica felt as if he were facing not an HRT race car, but an impenetrable wall, and that no matter what overtaking route he took, Chen Xiangbei would block him.

In an instant, Kubica began to doubt his own abilities. He had never felt this powerless even when facing Hamilton and Alonso. Could driver North possibly be stronger than them?
(End of this chapter)