Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 333 The True Genius Boy

"Bei, keep going! Today I'll witness your coronation as king!"

"Conquering the Monaco circuit is equivalent to winning one of the three crowns in motorsport. Chen Xiangbei, go and create a miracle!"

"Go North! Go HRT!"

"You will become the world's strongest driver, you definitely will become the racing god Bei!"

As soon as Chen Xiangbei stepped into the maintenance passage, deafening cheers and applause erupted.

If you look closely, you'll find that those holding red flags are not only Chinese or international students, but also quite a few older white European men.

Europe was once Chen Xiangbei's "enemy territory." Back then, when he raced in lower-level Formula races there, he was almost always met with cold stares and ridicule. In addition, Chen Xiangbei would often deliberately make outrageous statements to create hype in order to gain more attention, resulting in a very poor image and reputation.

From another perspective, European car enthusiasts are actually the people who know Chen Xiangbei best in the world.

Even earlier than Chinese car enthusiasts.

Just like Zhou Guanyu in later years, many Chinese racing fans only started to pay attention to this Chinese driver after he entered F1, and his popularity began to soar in China.

In fact, many Europeans who follow Formula racing had heard of this Chinese driver during the F2 and even F3 seasons, and he had even received sponsorship from some European brands.

For European car enthusiasts, Chen Xiangbei can be described using a modern internet slang term: "He criticized so much that he ended up developing a fondness for him."

I originally thought he was just a noob who only talked big and drove in a conservative and ugly way.

As a result, this guy drove incredibly aggressively, and the track was full of excitement and passion whenever he was on it. He continued to drive high and high until he was about to compete for the world championship.

In sports events, the largest number of fans are champions. If a pole position isn't enough, they'll use a race win to sway them. If a race win isn't enough, they'll use a world championship to sway them.

If you have enough championships and solid results, even your enemies can become your fans.

Imagine a game called League of Legends in the future. In most cases, Chinese players and Korean teams are at odds, but there is one esports player named Faker who is an exception.

Even when he comes to China or other countries to compete, he can basically win the cheers of the home crowd.

The reason is nothing more than the status brought by six world championship titles.

Chen Xiangbei is exactly like that now. His way of winning the world's respect is simple: to become like Senna or Schumacher, the highest mountain or the longest river in the racing world.

Perhaps we haven't achieved this result yet, but the audience is being changed without us even realizing it!
"Don't be too happy yet, Alonso is the strongest driver, the Chinese can't stop him."

"Remember this, Rosberg will defend home court honor!"

"Vettel will be crowned king, and Red Bull will become the strongest driver!"

"Don't forget Kubica is currently fifth; with a good car, he could also contend for the championship!"

Even before the competition started, there was already a heated debate about who would win the championship.

Chen Xiangbei may have many supporters for securing pole position, but before the race is over, fans of other drivers are equally unwilling to accept defeat.

The Monaco circuit is difficult to overtake, but it doesn't mean it's impossible. Besides, this was more than a decade ago when electric cars were smaller, making overtaking relatively easier.

As long as the checkered flag doesn't appear, the outcome is still uncertain!
Besides the clamor of the audience, many social celebrities were present, and even the Prince of Monaco arrived at the track.

However, the media's cameras were not focused on this group of social celebrities and royalty, but rather on a former F1 driver, Kimi Räikkönen, the Finnish Iceman!
Kimi Räikkönen earned the nickname "The Iceman" because he maintained a cool and aloof attitude throughout his career, whether facing audiences, the media, or his own professional life.

Historically, in the same Monaco Grand Prix during the 06 season, Raikkonen retired due to a car malfunction. Other drivers would either sit on the grass in frustration or return to the rest area dejectedly.

Kimi Räikkönen, however, acted as if nothing had happened, heading straight to a yacht in the harbor next to the racetrack for a "vacation."

This move drew a lot of criticism from him.

Supporters argue that since they've already withdrawn from the competition, and the outcome can't be changed, there's nothing wrong with relaxing. Why should they feel frustrated and upset?
Opponents argue that Kimi Räikkönen lacks professionalism, claiming he has lost his fighting spirit and desire to win, and that he indulges in drinking and yachting during races, showing no semblance of a professional driver.

Whether it's support or opposition, Raikkonen doesn't care.

"Doing things my own way" is perhaps the best way to describe the Finnish Iceman.

Since joining the European Formula professional racing scene, Chen Xiangbei has been essentially associated with Kimi Räikkönen, sharing the same speed of advancement, the same disregard for outside opinions, and the same formidable speed.

However, their careers just happened to diverge. When Chen Xiangbei stepped into the F1 paddock, Raikkonen chose to leave the F1 paddock to compete in the WRC.

Kimi Räikkönen returned to the Monaco circuit today to fulfill his promise to Chen Xiangbei.

To find out who the real prodigy is.

"Kimi, I heard you're going to have a night battle with the North in Monte Carlo, is that true?"

"Raikkonen, North said in a pre-match interview that they would beat you. What do you have to say about that?"

"Kimi, between you and North, who do you think is the most talented driver in history?"

"Kimi, do you think the future of motorsport belongs to the North?"

Reporters from all walks of life rushed to ask Kimi Räikkönen questions, only to receive a blank, expressionless response.

When asked about the future of motorsport, Raikkonen took the microphone and said, "That's right, I've decided to run a rally against North Carolina. This was decided a long time ago."

"As for the result, I would say he couldn't win."

"As for the future, it may belong to the North in the future, but it still belongs to me now!"

Many people know that Kimi Räikkönen is a low-key gentleman. He doesn't resort to any means to win a championship, has no interest in dirty paddock politics, and drives like a Zen-like person who is indifferent to worldly affairs.

But this doesn't mean Raikkonen is weak and easily bullied. He has his own toughness and arrogance. When he first entered the paddock at the age of 20, he dared to declare that he would snatch the championship from Schumacher, the king of racing, and did the most ruthless and arrogant things with a calm and expressionless tone.

Faced with the team's instructions and suggestions, he didn't hold back and uttered that famous quote.

"Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing."

(Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing)
And they decisively won the station championship!

He was willing to run this race with Chen Xiangbei because of his free and unrestrained personality; he often did unexpected things.

But to declare one's victory comes from the honor and pride of being a world champion!
Chen Xiangbei had just arrived at the repair shop and happened to see the interview with Raikkonen on the broadcast screen.

He gave a meaningful smile in response.

Kimi really underestimated himself. Not only does the future belong to me, but the present is as well!
The team's strategy team members were not interested in these "off-track" events. Perhaps in later factory teams like Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, which have stricter regulations on drivers, there might be additional agreements in the contracts prohibiting them from engaging in other racing projects or high-risk sports.

However, HRT, as a new military vehicle fleet, clearly does not have such strong constraints on the behavior of its drivers.

Odette is discussing upcoming tactics and weather conditions with Hiroki Sawano, Sho Mizutani, and others.

There's not much to say about the tactics on the Monaco circuit; it's basically a standard one-stop strategy. After all, overtaking is extremely difficult, and it's hard to achieve undercut (tactical overtaking) by relying on tire limits to push lap times after multiple stops.

It's better to just keep running steadily and avoid all kinds of unexpected situations.

Of course, some people choose to take a different approach.

In the 10th season of the Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso crashed into the wall during the third practice session, causing him to miss Saturday's qualifying session and be penalized by starting from the pit lane, meaning he would be in last place.

Theoretically, starting last in Monaco means there's virtually no chance of even reaching the podium, let alone scoring points.

So Alonso opted for an extremely aggressive tactic: a gamble at the start with a pit stop. He pitted for tires on the very first lap, taking advantage of the cold air, faster lap times, and the absence of cars in front of him. He overtook more than a dozen competitors and moved up to eighth place overall!
And he drove a full seventy-seven laps on his set of neutral yellow tires!
Many people know that Perez is exceptionally good at maintaining a pregnancy, earning him the nickname "Master Perez," but it seems that no world champion has ever been known to have the title of "Master of Pregnancy Maintenance."

The reason is that world champions are natural experts at preventing miscarriage.

They no longer need to use nicknames and praise to emphasize their ability to maintain a pregnancy.

This is an essential ability for a world champion!

There's no need to praise someone for their ability to maintain a pregnancy, but someone who can't will be ridiculed.

Just like how none of the world champions are "landlubbers".

Chen Xiangbei's pole position result didn't require any underhanded tactics. He simply needed to start normally on red tires, then pit once to switch to neutral yellow tires and finish the race.

The team should pay more attention to weather changes and the opponent's strategy.

The weather in Monaco today is excellent, with clear skies. Satellite cloud images from the meteorological bureau also confirm that the probability of rain during the entire tournament is extremely low.

This situation relieved Odette and the others.

It's important to know that rainy matches in Monaco are the biggest variable. There have been countless classic matches in history where teams have turned the tide in the rain, the most recent being the 08 Monaco Grand Prix.

It was Hamilton's rookie season, and his qualifying results weren't great. However, McLaren used perfect strategies and tactics, along with Hamilton's own incredible performance, to help him win the Monaco Grand Prix.

As a rookie driver who was crowned King of Monaco, Hamilton faced just as much criticism and ridicule as Chen Xiangbei, and the racial discrimination he received was even more severe.

It was with this championship that Hamilton proved his absolute control over the car and demonstrated his historic talent.

The cold stares and ridicule of the past have been transformed into cheers and applause, just like Chen Xiangbei's entry into the hunting grounds today.

As for the opposing team's strategy, it's easier to understand. The Monaco circuit is a track that highly values ​​the cooperation between two cars, and teammates deliberately pressing down will reap unexpected benefits.

In extreme cases, drivers from fifth or sixth place onwards can be lapped, meaning that drivers behind them are slowed down by a full lap!

The harder you press down, the safer the front-row driver becomes. They no longer need to worry about track accidents, safety cars, or various variables like tire changes. A one- or two-minute advantage is enough to make them reckless.

But what if a lap car deliberately blocks the way?
The Monaco circuit is so wide that it's practically a one-way street compared to a regular road, with no room for two cars to drive side-by-side.

The car in front doesn't need to deliberately target the vehicle; it only needs to slow down a little to reach the yielding zone to slow down the car behind by a fraction of a second. If the three blue flags are set in time, it's possible to slow down the car by even one second.

The conflict that later occurred between Verstappen and Ocon at the weigh-in was due to Ocon's slow car, which was being lapped, deliberately blocking the way and even knocking the Red Bull off the track and losing the championship, which caused Verstappen to break down.

In this situation, the assistance of teammates is needed.

Trulli used to be dissatisfied with Chen Xiangbei and had a fiery temper, so he wanted to compete for the number one driver position.

But deep down he knew that as a veteran, he was already on the verge of retirement, and there was no point in continuing the malicious competition within the team. It would be better to help the younger generation of players in a dignified way.

Perez, on the other hand, acknowledged Chen Xiangbei's status as the number one driver, but in reality, he was filled with competitive spirit.

Young people in their early twenties are in the most impetuous and reckless stage of their lives. How could they possibly expect Perez to completely accept his fate and become a wingman?
Not to mention facing Chen Xiangbei, even when facing Verstappen in later years, the much more composed Perez, now in his thirties, had tried to resist, but he simply couldn't outrun the Dutch Autobot.

Odeto found it difficult to persuade Perez to prepare to be a wingman in advance.

It's not that he's not ruthless enough. In his decades-long career, he's seen all sorts of ruthless situations. Even a powerful team like Ferrari has to obey Barrichello. Why would he worry about a Mexican rookie?

Odeto's dilemma lies precisely in the fact that if he voices his thoughts, Briatore will take drastic measures once he finds out!
He could even foresee that the contract renewal terms would definitely become a means of blackmailing Perez.

F1 is a commercial sport, but for drivers, it also contains glory and dreams. Odette was unwilling to destroy the innocence and beauty in the hearts of young people.

Just as Odeto was pondering how to communicate, a swarm of reporters rushed into the HRT team's pit garage. Odeto, as the pole position winner of the Monaco Grand Prix and a key figure in the headlines surrounding his duel with Raikkonen, was among them.

Without a doubt, Chen Xiangbei is destined to become the focus of attention!

(End of this chapter)