Free Web NovelChapter 779: Chapter 317: The Triple Crown Circuit (Part 2)
If he can continue this performance, he will be the next superstar in the paddock!
However, the competitiveness of the F1 paddock is, more often than not, not as overwhelmingly leading as imagined, especially for a small team.
At the start of the season, relying on the foresight of the Toyota Team, and Chen Xiangbei’s God-perspective in guiding the team’s upgrade and development direction, they depended on the two black technologies of the exhaust diffuser and the stalled rear wing, closely pursuing the Red Bull Racing Team to firmly hold the second position within the paddock.
Especially when they launched the super-powered engine at the China Station, achieving the feat of being the fastest car in the paddock.
The problem is, just like the widespread copying of literary work, when you stand out too much, the paddock is full of imitators.
Moreover, large teams and even factory teams can rely on their solid research foundations and multiple times the financial investment to achieve a result where the student surpasses the teacher.
Ultimately, it leads to a scenario where you walk the path of the opponent, leaving the opponent with no path to walk.
The HRT Team was just like this. Even with the Huali Group’s "good and cheap" engineers supplementing manpower and saving research funds, coupled with the Toyota Group contributing part of their strength for upgrades and replacement.
The mid-term upgrade speed is still far less than the true top four teams in the paddock!
In the upcoming series of back-to-back races in America, Chen Xiangbei had a very tough time as the overall performance of the cars was completely crushed by the Red Bull Racing Team, with even Ferrari and McLaren surpassing them, directly falling to the level of sitting with Mercedes.
Facing such adverse conditions, Odetto and others were mentally prepared, directly changing the previously aggressive qualifying tactics to focus on long-distance consistency to secure points and stay close to the opponents.
They might not look so good in terms of rankings and poles, but the total points can always ensure they stay in the first tier.
However, even with these efforts, after the summer break, Chen Xiangbei’s points dropped from the top position to third, behind Red Bull Racing Team’s Vettel and Ferrari Team’s Alonso.
The former has the absolute performance of the Mars Rover, and the latter possesses the absolute driving skills in the paddock.
As for Hamilton and Weber, they’re also closely behind. The top few belong to the ones where whoever wins a Grand Prix can make a comeback to the top of the standings, continuing the recent tradition of F1 championships keeping the suspense until the end.
After the summer break, the performance gap in the cars continued to widen, even though the engineers at the HRT Team Lifield Research Center worked tirelessly, some gaps in strength and funding remained difficult to bridge.
Furthermore, the team also needs to allocate part of its technical strength to invest in the development of next year’s new car.
It should be known that for the 11th season, the HRT Team’s next-generation car will completely abandon Toyota’s technical route, using a self-developed chassis paired with a Ferrari power unit, equivalent to building a new car from scratch!
However, the actions of self-developing the chassis and aerodynamic kit benefited the Huali Group engineers greatly, as this is F1-level chassis technology, where numerous black technologies have been relegated to the civilian market!
And there is an even more important point: the FIA has clearly stated that the new hybrid mode will be introduced in the 14th season, also to abandon the current flywheel mechanical storage working method, which means standing at the forefront of technology once again.
Previously, the civilianization of F1 black technology was too distant for Chinese car companies. Now the next automotive hybrid technology revolution is right at the doorstep, and this is truly top-level hybridization that is far ahead and whoever can control it first can seize the civilian car market.
In this era, the F1 season only has a dozen or so Grand Prix races, far less than the scale of over twenty races in later years.
When it came to the penultimate race at Monaco Station, Chen Xiangbei’s points had dropped to fifth place, but very close to the four drivers ahead, meaning anyone could have a chance at winning the world championship.
The competition in the historical 10th season was so intense that even at the final station, there was still suspense, with the result allowing Vettel, who was in third place, to make a comeback and take the final Grand Prix victory, ascending to become the new world champion.
Alonso regrettably missed out on a third championship, Weber lost the chance to change the fate of being a number two driver, and the blessing of Lady Luck did not visit Hamilton again, who ended the season in fourth place.
On a Gothic-style building balcony in Monte Carlo, Chen Xiangbei and Odetto sat face to face, sipping coffee, gazing at the streets below that were about to become an F1 track, with their expressions appearing very relaxed, without the tension before a big race.
"Xiangbei, now the outside media think you are just a flash in the pan. Without the absolute performance boost of the car, it’s impossible for you to break Hamilton’s rookie season record."
"What do you think about this?"
In the remaining last two races, usually, a team’s management would rush to consult with the driver, trying to alleviate pressure for a light-hearted approach. But Odetto, on the contrary, directly confronted the external negative comments.
Odetto’s approach is precisely what he did, and after getting to know Chen Xiangbei for nearly the whole season, he understands that Chen has shed the awkwardness of a rookie, with mental composure as hard and steady as a rock, unbothered by outside evaluations at all.
"Pretty good."
"Pretty good?"
Even though Odetto knew Chen Xiangbei might not care, it still surprised him when he heard him say "pretty good".
"It only underscores the value of winning a championship and prevents people from labeling it as inferior in the future."
Chen Xiangbei calmly explained, knowing well what the Mars Rover can bring to a driver, and equally, what it can take away.
Just like Verstappen, who only won four world championships, yet is almost universally acknowledged as the third god-level driver after Senna and Schumacher, with evaluations of his abilities even rated above Alonso and Hamilton, while Vettel is slightly less regarded.
The reason lies in Red Bull having a Mars Rover and an Earth Car. freёweɓnovel.com
The world knows Verstappen’s championship wins are not solely attributed to having a fast car.
Give him a slow car, and he can still drive it to its potential.
If Verstappen can make a comeback against McLaren in the 25th season, he will have the qualification to vie for the title of the greatest driver of all time after retiring.
There will then be the titles of Car God, King of Cars, and simply Car in the racing world.
"Highlighting the championship’s value premise is to win it. But winning Monaco is hard, you should be aware of this track’s historical significance."
Monaco Circuit belongs to one of the three crowns of car racing tracks, with a status and value likely above all F1 tracks, having a separate "King of Monaco" title, just like the Le Mans champion’s significance in WEC.
Because of this, the pursuit of this track’s honor is incredibly intense, with its extremely narrow street circuit layout posing unimaginable challenges to drivers.
Right now, Chen Xiangbei has no advantage on this track.
"That’s exactly why I need to win it."
"Besides, street circuits don’t rely on the car’s extreme capabilities. The gap between us and the big teams will narrow, making it purely a showdown of skill and courage."
Hearing Chen Xiangbei’s answer, Odetto said no more.
Nodding, he said, "Very well, I admire your courage."
He then changed the topic, "Since you’re clear about this, what about your agreement with Raikkonen, do you still plan to fulfill it?"
Before the summer break, Emily had conveyed to Kimi Raikkonen that he wanted to have a race to see whether this Chinese young man who was seemingly challenging his "twin star" title possesses the talent of equal caliber.
Of course, the most important point was Raikkonen’s curiosity about Chen Xiangbei’s rallying skills.
"Of course."
Without a moment’s hesitation, Chen Xiangbei nodded in agreement.
"Why?"
Odetto asked, as the difficulty of the Monaco Circuit was so great that it elevated the demands on a driver’s preparation.
If Chen Xiangbei were to race against Raikkonen, it would be hard to focus on both.
"No reason, to give Raikkonen an answer, and to give myself one too."
With that, Chen Xiangbei stood up and walked towards the inside.
In this place besides the world-famous F1 Monaco street circuit, there’s also the most famous night race in WRC.
Just as F1 drivers aspire to earn the "King of Monaco" title, in the past life, when Chen Xiangbei transitioned to rallying, he hoped countless times to win the Monte Carlo night race.
This lifetime has already fulfilled the regret of not being able to enter the F1 paddock in the past life.
Now, Chen Xiangbei wants to challenge the Monte Carlo night race once again!
