Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 336 The Treatment of Racing King Schumacher
While some are saddened, others are happy. A series of accidents and malfunctions forced the safety car to lead the way, meaning the Ferrari team couldn't hold back their cars, and all the cars had to form a long line and drive at a limited speed.

This relieved Vettel, who was positioned between Alonso and Massa, as well as Kubica and Rosberg, who were following behind.

Chen Xiangbei, who is in the lead, is in a less than optimistic situation.

The reason is simple: no matter how much the Ferrari team tries to slow down the cars, it doesn't affect Chen Xiangbei in the lead car.

Conversely, by creating distance from the back row of cars, Chen Xiangbei only needs to deal with Alonso's attack. If they line up in a long, single file, even if the cars behind cannot directly attack the lead car, both sides will always be in a tire-changing window.

HRT team averaged 2.9 seconds for tire changes throughout the race, which is quite an excellent result for a new team.

The problem is that no one can guarantee that there will never be a mistake during a tire change at the station.

The tighter the car formation, the greater the damage to the lead car from a tire-changing mistake. Theoretically, Chen Xiangbei's best scenario is to leave the cars behind far behind, until he has a tire-changing window time of more than 20 seconds ahead.

This way, Chen Xiangbei doesn't have to worry about being blocked by slow trains when he enters the station.

The safety car led the way for the sixth lap, and all obstacles on the track had been cleared. As the race control center relayed instructions, Odette pressed the call button on his headset.

"North, the safety car is about to leave the field. Pay attention to the pace of the race, and use dynamic starts to prevent Alonso from seizing any opportunities."

If Alonso doesn't launch an attack towards Chen or north when starting statically, the likelihood of him launching an attack when starting dynamically will greatly increase.

Odeto must remind Chen Xiangbei not to be complacent. The world's strongest active driver has not yet exerted his full strength. Never mistake Ferrari's "weakness" for admitting defeat. They are merely accumulating strength and waiting for the fatal blow!
“COPY.”

Chen Xiangbei gave a brief reply, and even without Odeto's prompting, his gaze never left the rearview mirror.

No one knew better than him how threatening Alonso was.

Perhaps this Spaniard is not the highest mountain in the world of F1, but he deserves the longest river!
Right after the conversation ended, the safety car drove into the maintenance lane and exited. However, Chen Xiangbei did not start moving immediately. Instead, he kept swerving left and right, hoping to distract Alonso and make a surprise acceleration.

In fact, Chen Xiangbei's little trick was useless. Alonso had experienced countless times in his career with a simple dynamic start, and his opponents in the past were top drivers like Schumacher, Häkkinen, and Raikkonen.

You, a mere newbie, trying to outsmart people is no different from showing off your skills in front of Guan Yu.
The moment Chen Xiangbei stepped on the gas and started moving dynamically, Alonso quickly caught up. Just as Odette had predicted, Ferrari's "weakness" was simply a concession to the team's tactical priorities.

Chen Xiangbei alone is not enough to make Alonso back down!
The two race cars accelerated extremely quickly, speeding across the track like arrows. This time, Alonso came on strong, and even though the Monaco circuit had a lot of curves and the airflow at the rear of the car was extremely turbulent, he was still able to accurately catch Chen Xiangbei's slipstream to accelerate.

This is Alonso's terrifying talent for slipstream perception. He is also one of the few F1 drivers in the DRS era who still maintains a strong slipstream pull, a traditional overtaking method.

Of course, this doesn't mean that other drivers won't slip overtake.

Instead, drivers in the DRS era have basically made overtaking on the straights their primary overtaking method, thus neglecting slipstream overtaking techniques, resulting in a significant decrease in wheel-to-wheel offensive and defensive capabilities.

In short, if the cars are roughly equal in performance, once you get caught in Alonso's slipstream, you're unlikely to shake him off!

T2, T3, T4...

As they sped past a bend, the race car reached an astonishing speed of 200 km/h.

This might not be much in a traditional F1 standard circuit, but in a street circuit like Monaco, it's like speeding on a country road, with the guardrails and buildings on both sides flashing by like a slideshow.

After exiting the corner at Monaco T4, there is a downhill section. If you don't slow down, the speed can reach a terrifying 250 km/h due to gravity.

Furthermore, this downhill section is not long, requiring drivers to have extremely precise judgment of braking points. The conventional late braking and heavy braking technique, when applied to the Monaco circuit, would not simply result in running into the run-off area, but rather a high-speed crash into the guardrail, resulting in a fatal accident!
Monaco's relative safety refers to collisions occurring under normal circumstances after a driver has braked sharply.

It doesn't mean you can crash into a wall at hundreds of kilometers per hour and still be unharmed!

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei had already pushed himself to the limit with his acceleration, but as the T5 got closer to the corner, he found that the distance between him and Alonso was closing in tandem, returning to about five meters before the dynamic start.

Five meters may seem long, but it's actually the length of an F1 race car.

At a speed of 250 km/h, the car behind you may have already overtaken you in the blink of an eye.

[Is Alonso really that good at sucking in the wake?]

Chen Xiangbei was shocked to see this. The Monaco circuit has a bend every few dozen meters, and many seemingly straight sections are also winding. In addition, Chen Xiangbei deliberately swayed the car to create turbulence.

In theory, if two race cars are roughly equal in performance, the car behind cannot catch up to the car in front.

Then there is only one answer.

Alonso is faster!

Before Chen Xiangbei could figure out a solution, Alonso suddenly changed lanes and appeared on Chen Xiangbei's right side from behind, as if he was about to overtake him on the curve.

According to normal defensive logic and reaction, Chen Xiangbei should have immediately changed lanes to block the car. On a narrow track like Monaco, there is no need for the car in front to make any extreme defensive maneuvers. With just a slight movement of the car, the car behind would not be able to overtake.

It's like driving on a two-lane road; if the car in front simply straddles the center line and blocks the two cars behind, it can completely block them.

But Chen Xiangbei didn't move!

He continued to follow his own pace, taking the corners and cutting lanes normally instead of changing lanes to go defensively, as if he hadn't noticed Alonso's intention to cut in from behind.

"Damn it, Chen Xiangbei didn't react in time!"

"Alonso's attack was too quick; experience really pays off."

"Can't even the narrow track of Monaco stop Alonso?"

"What kind of nobody do you think Alonso is? Isn't it normal that he can't stop him?"

A chorus of groans erupted from the stands; fans knew the pressure of containing Alonso was immense.

However, considering the unique terrain of the Monaco circuit and Chen Xiangbei's amazing speed in qualifying, it's possible that he can continue his miracle run.

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

Without the safety car leading the way, if Chen Xiangbei were to be overtaken, he wouldn't even be able to stop for one lap.

The gap is so large that it is truly hard to accept.

But what happened next was even more "unacceptable": Alonso didn't take advantage of the opening at T5 to overtake. Instead, he changed lanes back at the braking point before the corner and continued to follow Chen Xiangbei through the corner. If it was understandable that Chen Xiangbei couldn't stop him, Alonso wasted a great opportunity to overtake, but the audience couldn't understand it.

"SHIT, what's going on? Why isn't Fernando overtaking?"

"Is Alonso letting the Chinese kid off the hook?"

"Fuck, is F1 racing being manipulated by outsiders? Why aren't they overtaking in this situation?"

"Alonso, don't give driver North a chance, take him down as quickly as possible!"

Alonso's fans and Chen Xiangbei's haters were making a huge fuss, and this kind of bizarre behavior is really hard to accept.

Surely Alonso wouldn't be so arrogant as to play some cat-and-mouse game during this crucial period of the title race?

"The driver was very serious about going north on the track."

Amidst the various opinions circulating outside, Henry, the local commentator in the studio, said something in an approving tone.

"What do you mean?"

Red, who was standing next to him, immediately asked, as he was also completely confused.

“There is a bump on the ground in the overtaking section of T5. Driving over it at high speed will directly shatter the chassis. This is a change that cannot be felt on the track simulator. You have to drive on the track in person and carefully observe the ground to know about this potential hazard.”

"Alonso was actually feinting, but North didn't fall for it."

The characteristic of street racing lies in the subtle changes in the road surface environment. In particular, after a layer of black asphalt is laid, the undulating road surface features are not actually obvious. It is necessary to observe from different angles to find the abnormalities.

Alonso knew there were bumps in that area and he couldn't run there.

Chen Xiangbei knew this as well.

Besides competing in driving skills, the two were also engaging in an intellectual battle.

Hunter has never really liked Chen Xiangbei, mainly because this Chinese principal has posed a threat to Rosberg in practice and qualifying.

But at this moment he had to admit that there was a reason why Chen Xiangbei was able to get pole position. At least in terms of observing the details of the track, the Chinese kid did not slack off at all!

Not only the commentator Hunter, but even Alonso, who was following behind Chen Xiangbei, showed a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

Throughout the season, Alonso was ahead of Chen Xiangbei in qualifying for the vast majority of the time, with only a few instances where he was far behind. This is related to Ferrari's somewhat unbalanced approach to racing and its chaotic strategy.

Today was the first time that Alonso happened to be right behind Chen Xiangbei, allowing him to observe the young Chinese maneuvering and response from the closest possible distance.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei's performance so far is no less than that of any top driver in the paddock.

The handling is flawless and requires no correction; the cable routing is incredibly precise and smooth, with a very fast response and speed.

To use a popular internet phrase from later generations, this kid is no less than me!

If the previous examples were things that could be achieved through talent, then Chen Xiangbei's insistence on using standard cornering lines was purely a demonstration of hard work. The young Chinese man has a very thorough understanding of the characteristics of the track.

I can't fool him.

Realizing this, Alonso pressed the headset call button without hesitation and said to Domenicali, "Execute Plan B."

"Received, Plan B activated."

After seeing Alonso fail to overtake Chen Xiangbei during the broadcast, Domenicali had already put Plan B into action.

After saying that, Alonso stopped trying to catch up with Chen Xiangbei and instead took a defensive approach, slowing down slightly to block Vettel who was following behind.

At the same time, Massa stepped on the gas and accelerated, launching a fierce attack on Vettel, instantly creating a two-car pincer attack tactic for Ferrari!

Upon seeing this, Red Bull team manager Horner's face was ashen. Webber and Vettel were originally ranked second and third in the overall standings, and the situation seemed very promising.

Whether it's the Monaco Grand Prix or the final race, if they can successfully sandwich Alonso even once, they'll basically secure the WDC (World Championship), and the WCC (Constructors' Championship) is already in Red Bull's hands.

Now the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse. Webber's retirement due to a malfunction not only cost him the championship but also put Vettel in a double bind. How can one Red Bull car compete with two Ferraris?
Not everyone is called Verstappen!
“Vettel, hold your position. Alonso won’t hold the car for long.”

Horner sent Vettel a message via voice, as a way of encouraging him.

With Webber's withdrawal, if Chen Xiangbei successfully wins the race, he will at least be in the top three of the overall standings, reducing the gap between him and Alonso to single digits.

The exact amount will depend on Alonso and Vettel's post-match results.

A single-digit points gap means that a comeback is within reach, and this is how the F1 world championship title has been won by newcomers in recent years.

Horner doesn't believe that Alonso abandoned his suppression of Chen Xiangbei in order to stop Vettel, leaving the potential threat until the final battle.

Ten laps! At most ten laps. If Massa fails to overtake him, Alonso will give up blocking him and instead chase Chen Xiangbei to put pressure on him. Otherwise, they will be left with a pit stop window.

Vettel must persevere; the world championship is always awarded to the player with the most consistent performance!
"receive."

Vettel understood his situation and knew he had to stop Massa no matter what, preventing Red Bull from completing their two-car convergence.

However, the opponent came prepared, while they were fighting an unprepared battle. Many things cannot be changed by willpower alone. Ferrari practiced this two-car tactic many times in the racing simulator and would not give Vettel any chance at all!
Three laps later, on the tenth lap, Massa seized the opportunity created by Alonso's obstruction to overtake.

This scene left the Red Bull pit lane in complete silence, with the strategy team members at a loss for words.

They also understood that it wasn't Vettel's fault; he had done his best.

However, just when everyone thought Alonso would catch up with Chen Xiangbei, an unexpected scene unfolded on the track.

Alonso then swapped positions with Massa, with the second driver pushing hard to catch up, while the first driver followed behind, sucking in the slipstream to conserve tire energy.

Everyone in the paddock knew that Ferrari was preparing a two-car strategy to deal with Chen Xiangbei, but none of them expected that this young Chinese guy was such a threat in the eyes of the Ferrari team that it was worth sacrificing a wingman.

This is exactly how Alonso treated Schumacher when he was with the Renault team. Has driver North grown to this level without us even realizing it?
(End of this chapter)