Free Web NovelChapter 830: Chapter 340: A Miraculous Chase (Part 2)
Rookie season, first time fighting for the title, facing Alonso’s crushing pressure and defending on the limit until he hit the wall, then a pit stop close to ten seconds that dropped him to the bottom; on a track like Monaco where overtaking is almost impossible, that’s basically an early death sentence.
If it were any other mentally fragile rookie, their mentality would’ve completely collapsed by now, and just finishing in the points would already be considered decent.
Chen Xiangbei is different; he still wants to overtake back and go for the win!
"Rosberg is still two seconds ahead of him, on what basis can he undercut?"
Commentator Henry beside him was clearly unconvinced. At this moment, the car right in front of Chen Xiangbei on track was exactly Rosberg.
If Driver Bei’s undercut works, that means Rosberg has failed yet again.
Henry really didn’t want to admit it, but he also knew that a smooth-sailing rich second-generation like Rosberg just couldn’t have the same mental toughness as a "bottom-feeder street brawler" like Chen Xiangbei.
Being beaten repeatedly by the same opponent, it really could shatter his racing heart.
Rosberg isn’t exactly born-and-bred Monaco, but he’s already the driver who best represents Monaco. Both emotionally and rationally, Henry had to show his support.
If Henry had a god’s-eye view, he’d realize he was only half right.
Rosberg’s mental fortitude indeed isn’t that strong, but it’s far from the point of having his heart completely shattered.
A truly fragile driver could never survive being crushed by Hamilton for several years and still seize a tiny chance to turn it around with a comeback from the brink.
He’s just not on the level of those GOAT-tier historic greats, that’s all.
On track, Chen Xiangbei was pushing like mad, while in the pit lane, mechanics from all teams were also giving everything to speed up their tire changes, trying to use their pit speed to jump their rivals.
At the very least, they couldn’t allow themselves to be undercut.
But there’s no absolute certainty in the paddock; the more you try to claw back time under the stopwatch, the easier it is to make mistakes under high pressure—just like Ferrari Team’s double-stack pit stop.
According to the original team plan, Alonso was supposed to pit first for tires while Masa stayed out on track for another lap.
However, because of his earlier attacks on Chen Xiangbei, Masa’s tires were also heavily worn. If it weren’t for the need to shield Alonso and the fact that overtaking on the Monaco Circuit is ridiculously hard, he would’ve lost his position long ago.
Now, with the cars behind all diving into the pits for fresh rubber, if Masa stayed out on track, being passed one after another would be inevitable; he couldn’t even hold for a single lap.
No choice—considering that Masa at least "did the dirty work" if not the glory, and Ferrari Team didn’t want to give up on a potential 1-2 finish, they decided to gamble on a risky double car same-lap pit stop, just like what Chen Xiangbei and Trulli did back then.
Alonso pitted first; the risk wasn’t on him, and he still maintained the lead after rejoining.
When it was Masa’s turn to pit, Ferrari Team showcased their traditional habit of choking at critical moments: a mistake during the tire change resulted in a total stop time of 5.81 seconds.
The extra two-plus seconds in the pit stop gave Red Bull Racing Team’s Vettel the chance to get away first, aiming to complete the overtake in the pit lane!
Facing the prospect of being overtaken, Ferrari Team’s strategy group completely panicked; they released Masa’s car before the pit light turned green, hoping to just squeeze in front of Vettel at the last moment.
Without a doubt, Vettel also had no intention of giving up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The two cars fought for the lane and collided, Red Bull Racing smashed Ferrari’s front wing to pieces, and at the same time left a gash on its own sidepod.
"OH MY GOD, what on earth is Ferrari Team doing?"
"Is Ferrari’s pit crew a bunch of clowns? Not only did they botch the double same-lap stop at the key moment, they even pulled an unsafe release!"
"Masa has to pit again to change the front wing, and there might even be a time penalty coming!"
"No idea how that sidepod damage will affect the aerodynamics of the Red Bull Racing; if it’s serious, this one stop is a massive loss for Vettel."
"Weber’s already out in front, now Vettel’s car is damaged—today’s Monaco Grand Prix is turning into a nightmare for Red Bull Racing Team!"
The grandstands and pit lane burst into a roar. The crowd that had mostly been "united in hatred" against Chen Xiangbei suddenly turned into Ferrari and Red Bull fans hurling insults at each other.
One side is the "old king," the other the "new upstart"; the two had long been sick of each other, it’s just that Chen Xiangbei attracted so much hatred that their fans had managed to coexist in peace for a while.
Now this unsafe release finally shattered that fragile balance.
"FUCK!"
Red Bull’s head of aerodynamics, White, exploded with a curse the moment he saw this.
Damage to the sidepod will wreck the car’s aero balance; it’s just like when Chen Xiangbei’s front wing got damaged earlier, and in some situations it’s even worse.
After all, on a low-speed track the front wing’s role in guiding airflow is diminished, but a damaged sidepod—even on a high-speed track—creates massive drag and slows the car down.
Put simply, it’s like driving a road car on the highway with the windows open.
At around 100 km/h, open windows produce insane wind resistance and noise; even if Monaco’s average speed is "slow," it’s still 161 km/h. The impact of a damaged sidepod is almost unimaginable.
And unlike a front nose, a sidepod can’t just be swapped out; it’s part of the whole monocoque structure. With Red Bull Racing already having Weber retire early due to a car failure, if Vettel also retires from car damage, the whole team would be on the verge of collapse!
The only thing they could hope for now was that Masa’s front wing had only cut a small slit on the sidepod instead of punching a big hole; theoretically, the impact on airflow would be much smaller.
As for how much exactly, the team had no idea; they could only watch Vettel’s lap times.
While everyone’s attention was locked on Masa and Vettel’s collision, there was another car tearing toward the pit exit at blistering speed on track—HRT Team’s Chen Xiangbei.
On this lap, Chen Xiangbei didn’t have to think about tire management or a car in front blocking him; he could unleash all his speed and skill.
After experiencing that Star Circle lap in qualifying, Chen Xiangbei’s understanding of the Monaco Circuit had gone up another level; he’d completely shed his earlier unfamiliar caution and lack of confidence in the track’s characteristics.
If during practice he and the team were still tangled between the car’s characteristics and the driver’s style,
then now Chen Xiangbei could declare that his driving style was enough to conquer the track’s characteristics!
That’s why he dared to attack through the tunnel section almost blindly, riding the curbs to find the most precise line to pass Heide Heidfeld.
This is the power that confidence brings!
The black-and-orange HRT Racing Car, separated from the pit lane by the barrier, was rapidly closing in on the silver Mercedes.
The breathing of the entire crowd and all the team members seemed to pause at this moment.
All eyes were nailed to the big screens, waiting to see which car would emerge ahead at the pit exit merge.
Black lightning vs the Mercedes Silver Arrow—victory and defeat could be decided in just 0.1 seconds!
As the two cars drew closer, both Chen Xiangbei and Rosberg instinctively turned their heads, looking at each other through their black visors.
They couldn’t see each other’s expressions, but they could feel the surging desire to win and fighting spirit.
They drove like this all the way to the pit exit, and by exploiting the tiny advantage that Rosberg had to merge back onto the main straight, Chen Xiangbei pulled off a razor’s edge overtake; at the same time, a purple marker lit up next to his name on the timing tower.
"1:13.442!"
"With a heavy fuel load, Driver Bei has once again produced his own Star Circle in the race, clawing back 2.173 seconds in a single lap and completing the overtake on the Mercedes driver Rosberg in front."
"Counting the delayed Masa who changed his front wing, Driver Bei has used just under ten laps of racing to fight back up to fourth place."
"To mount a chase like this on the Monaco Circuit—I’m willing to call it a miracle. Driver Bei will be the brightest star in Monte Carlo tonight!"
