Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 314 Awaiting the Moment of the Decisive Strike
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

Watching Chen Xiangbei pass by his car, Weber momentarily lost his composure.

If the team had allowed him to pit first, this overtaking maneuver would never have happened, and Vettel would still have been ahead, resulting in a win-win situation.

As a result, the team "biased" Vettel, allowing him to pit first, while Chen Xiangbei successfully undercut Vettel himself.

This feeling of powerlessness—being able to foresee the course of events but being unable to change them—is truly distressing and frustrating.

Hamilton went through this in the last leg, and now it's Webber's turn.

"Why? Why won't you let me enter the station first? Bei Mingming could have been blocked at the back!"

Captain Webber was not known for his good temper. He did not choose to remain silent in the face of unfair treatment from the team, but instead questioned them directly over the radio.

The Red Bull team's management looked somewhat serious in response to Webber's questioning. Although this result was not what they wanted, it was, in a sense, within an acceptable range.

After all, the value of the champion is far greater than that of other rankings.

In that case, whether Webber came in second or third is actually irrelevant to the Red Bull team.

It's just that Weber himself couldn't accept it.

"We'll discuss the instructions after the match."

Horner responded coldly.

It's understandable that Webber had opinions, but his open questioning in the team's voice chat was a challenge to the authority of the strategy team and management.

Some drivers can do that, but not Webber!
Sensing the change in team leader Horner's tone, Webber, though still indignant, could only swallow his anger for the time being.

The arm can't twist the thigh; drivers are ultimately the weaker party when facing the team.

In fact, Red Bull's bias was already set in stone. In the 10 season in Turkey, Webber was in excellent form. With two consecutive wins in Spain and Monaco, he caught up with his teammate Vettel in the standings, and the two were tied for the lead.

Webber was also in the lead at this race, with Vettel in second place.

Faced with this situation, the young German driver's competitive spirit made him more aggressive, directly engaging in wheel-to-wheel combat with his teammate, and then knocking Webber off the track, allowing McLaren to take the lead.

After the race, Marko and Horner did not criticize the incident. Instead, at the next British Grand Prix, they removed Webber's new front wing and gave it to Vettel.

This directly led to the infamous scene at the subsequent pre-game press conference where Webber smashed a water glass, which also definitively revealed the fact that Red Bull had chosen sides in its internal power struggle.

Of course, these are all things to follow.

As for Chen Xiangbei's fans and followers at the scene, they had already stood up from their seats, freely venting their emotions and celebrating.

"Chen Xiangbei is awesome, he won the championship in the Korean leg!"

"A two-time champion, you will become the strongest newcomer in history!"

"Winning the championship was a hat trick in two games, it's a real miracle!"

"Car God Bei~~! Car God Bei~~! Car God Bei~~!"

Although there was a hint of champagne being popped halfway through the event, Chen Xiangbei's performance did indeed make the audience unable to contain their excitement.

Chen Xiangbei achieved a hat trick of fastest lap, pole position, and victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Korean Grand Prix is ​​a brand new track, and pole position is equivalent to setting a new track record. This means that if Chen Xiangbei can win the race, he will once again achieve the feat of "triple success".

In the 60-year history of F1, even including the chaotic early days, no driver has ever achieved a hat trick in two consecutive races during their rookie season.

If Chen Xiangbei and Kimi Räikkönen were previously referred to as the "newcomer duo," that would be a case of trying to gain attention by associating themselves with each other.

Now, fans and enthusiasts have the confidence to declare that Chen Xiangbei is the brightest new star in the F1 paddock!
After this stop, Chen Xiangbei's status and position will be completely different!
“Even sitting in the studio, I could hear the shouts of some of the audience. It’s true that Bei Neng has come from a bad start, ninth place, to their current second place. Their normal performance is enough to amaze people and drive fans crazy.”

"However, it is too early to celebrate driver North's victory. He did not defeat several strong opponents head-on, but relied more on his consistency and the team's tactics to win."

"Red Bull has an absolute performance advantage in this race, and Vettel is hailed as Schumacher's successor and one of the strongest drivers of the new generation."

"It won't be easy for the North to cross the last mountain."

Red, who had previously been very optimistic about Chen Xiangbei's commentary, poured cold water on the cheers and jubilation of the audience.

With less than ten laps remaining in the race, drivers Nürburgring and Vettel have the same tire life, but their cars are vastly different in performance. Catching up with Vettel would be difficult enough, let alone overtaking him in the final moments.

At present, being able to achieve similar lap times is already considered a very excellent and outstanding performance by Chen Xiangbei.

The ugliness is far greater than imagined.

Sometimes motorsport is like that: seven cars and three drivers. Performance gaps can't be bridged just by being in good form and having the will to win.

Besides, Vettel is no novice.

"Chen Xiangbei's ranking in this competition should stop here."

The Korean commentator Park Dong-wook chimed in.

For a long stretch of the middle of the match, facing Chen Xiangbei's extreme defense and overtaking, Park Dong-wook was speechless for a long time.

Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As a South Korean, he absolutely did not want to see Chen Xiangbei win the championship at the Lingyan Circuit. The bright red flag that would appear on the podium and the triumphant national anthem would be played throughout the stadium, which would be an insult to the South Korean audience.

Furthermore, the introduction to the Yeongam Circuit in South Korea will forever commemorate Chen Xiangbei's records and name, and he will be regarded as the ruler of the circuit.

Although the runner-up result was somewhat upsetting for Park Dong-wook, as the saying goes, the runner-up is the biggest loser, and it was a situation that he could barely accept under duress.

Let everything end prematurely!
"Park, do you believe in miracles?"

Instead of answering directly, Red asked a question in return.

"Do not believe!"

Park Dong-wook understood what Red wanted to say and immediately gave a negative answer.

"I didn't really believe it before, but I've seen too many miracles in Bei."

"Maybe we'll see each other again."

Reid smiled, when reason and emotion were at odds.

He chose to believe in miracles!

Two race cars sped along the track, and Chen Xiangbei's face had a strange flush beneath his helmet visor.

The continuous high-intensity chase and battles took a far greater toll on his physical strength than he had imagined. In particular, the intense concentration and heightened emotions he had been driven to muster meant that Chen Xiangbei had given it his all.

Fighting spirit, fighting will, desire to win, thirst for victory...

All his thoughts reached a peak, and even his adrenaline surged; he felt all the blood rushing to his head. 1.47 seconds, 1.33 seconds, 1.02 seconds!
As the number of laps decreased, the distance between Chen Xiangbei and Vettel also gradually closed.

No one expected that, under almost identical objective conditions, Chen Xiangbei would rely on his subjective will to completely eliminate the performance gap in the race cars, and his absolute lap speed was indeed faster than Vettel's!
Although Vettel is not known for his absolute speed, he is definitely among the top drivers in history. It's just that the performance of the Mars rover overshadowed many of his driving skills.

Or to put it more directly, compared to drivers of Schumacher and Verstappen's caliber, Vettel's weakness isn't in driving skills, but rather in his mentality and emotional stability.

"Go for it, Xiangbei-kun!"

Mizutani Sho and the others on the outdoor command post couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

At this moment, tactics and instructions have become meaningless; it's purely a matter of the driver's own perseverance and performance. Only this last opponent remains.

On a patch of grass outside the fence, Perez sat watching Chen Xiangbei and Vettel's final showdown. He hadn't returned to the pit lane since the crash, but instead sat here alone to calm down.

Many drivers, after an accident, especially one caused by their own control problems, will choose to sit alone outside the track barrier or return to the drivers' lounge to calm down.

Perez chose the former.

He knew very well that this mistake did not mean the end of his career. He had to learn from the experience and improve his driving skills in order to earn that precious ticket to the official driver's seat.

Sitting on the outside of the guardrail, feeling the cars whizzing by at the closest distance, and watching the exquisite handling of his opponents in the paddock, Perez believed he could learn something from them.

However, the only person who could truly make him feel a qualitative change was Chen Xiangbei!
This teammate's speed and consistency have, to some extent, surpassed the training of racing simulators. Chen Xiangbei has truly improved at every moment, getting faster with each lap.

At this rate, Vettel won't be able to stop Chen Xiangbei!

To be honest, Perez couldn't understand why he was so far behind Chen Xiangbei, despite the same effort, the same training on the racing simulator, and the same setup and pit stop strategies.

Even without the crash, he would still be far behind in the race by now.

Is this what you call talent?

Perez wasn't the only one who noticed it; the Red Bull team, watching the monitoring data gradually close in, also felt a sense of foreboding.

How can this Chinese kid drive an HRT race car so fast?

At this moment, Horner felt a mix of emotions. He couldn't help but think about letting Weber enter the station first and then blocking Chen Xiangbei again.

Even if we can't stop it in the end, as long as we can buy some time, the current situation won't be so dangerous.

But there are no "what ifs" in life, and Horner is well aware that it is precisely at such crucial moments that it is even more important to strengthen the confidence of the drivers and the team.

So he pressed the call button and reminded Vettel: "Vettel, the slipstream will be entering your lane on the next lap. There are only five laps left in the race. Don't give your opponents any chance to overtake."

"Remember this, you are the driver who has made countless historical records."

Indeed, before Chen Xiangbei entered the F1 paddock, countless records for the youngest driver in history were set by Vettel, a feat that even Hamilton could not match.

Moreover, compared to the average "ragtag team", Vettel's entire career was in the spotlight, enjoying the best training and support.

He lived up to expectations and steadfastly marched toward becoming a world champion.

Chen Xiangbei is just another stumbling block!

[Wake zone?]

Upon hearing Horner's reminder, Vettel was startled.

Top drivers have a top-notch sense of distance. To be honest, seeing the black and orange No. 13 race car getting closer and closer in the rearview mirror, he already knew that Chen Xiangbei was closing the distance between the two cars.

Vettel just didn't expect his opponent to close the gap so quickly, within a second!
"copy".

With a simple, calm reply, Vettel responded.

He is now a third-year player in the paddock and has already competed against countless top drivers. He understands that losing is acceptable, but fear is not.

Even if you lose, there's always a chance to turn things around.

Fear will lead to endless output.

Moreover, what makes Chen Xiangbei afraid of him?
They compare basic skills, academic performance, experience, and even driving skills.

Vettel believed that his opponent was inferior to him in every way!

But some things can't be won with confidence alone. By lap 53, Chen Xiangbei was already 0.5 seconds behind Vettel, which is practically within arm's reach in F1 racing.

This time, however, Chen Xiangbei, who was in the wake of the attack, did not launch a fierce attack on the car in front as usual. He simply stayed close behind the car in front, as if engaging in a psychological game of trying to put pressure on it.

The problem is that to put pressure on the car in front and force the opponent to make a threatening mistake, you need to build up pressure over many laps.

With only two laps left in the race, there's no time to put pressure on Chen Xiangbei.

Furthermore, Vettel is no novice. His mentality is relatively weak compared to the steely will of Schumacher and Alonso, placing him roughly in the same tier as Russell and Leclerc.

Other nobodies and riffraff are not even worthy of being compared to him.

"Why isn't the North attacking?"

Williams team principal Pal, utterly puzzled, turned to the boss beside him and asked a question. Pal had far more racing experience than Pal and might understand North's intentions.

"Pal, do you know what an assassin does before taking action?"

Sir Williams countered with a question.

"do not know."

Pal shook his head. What did this have to do with assassins?

"Wait, wait for the opportune moment to strike and kill."

"wait?"

"Even if North is waiting for time, what makes him think he can kill Vettel with a single blow?"

Parr disagreed with the comments made by owner Sir Williams.

Bei is not an assassin, much less capable of taking down Vettel in one blow!

"There's only one lap left, and you'll soon know the answer."

As the two were talking, the race had reached lap 55, which was also the final lap of the F1 Korean Grand Prix.

Some impatient South Korean spectators even stood up to cheer for Vettel's victory, refusing to believe that Chen Xiangbei could defeat the German superstar, Schumacher's future successor, on the final lap.

Looking through his goggles at the crowd of eagerly celebrating spectators, Chen Xiangbei quickly downshifted and floored the accelerator. He knew the time had come!
(End of this chapter)