Free Web NovelChapter 832: Chapter 341: The Final Trump Card (2)
Seeing the HRT Racing Car closing the gap in the rearview mirror, Vettel moved slightly towards the outer edge of the track. He had a vague premonition in his heart that if Chen Xiangbei wanted to overtake, he would take the risk from the outside rather than choosing the traditional inside line to overtake.
After all, having competed for nearly a year, Vettel knew this Chinese driver very well, his bones filled with aggression and risk, even madness!
However, what puzzled Vettel was that he had already accelerated in a lower gear, making it difficult for Chen Xiangbei to overtake even at full throttle, and the track didn’t have enough space for safe overtaking.
Using the curbs?
The problem is that at such extreme speeds, riding the curbs might cause the car to bounce, any slight deviation by a centimeter could lead to a collision with the wall, and this isn’t an issue that technique can solve, it’s more about the laws of physics!
While Vettel pondered, Chen Xiangbei had already made a decisive move, unsurprisingly choosing a more daring outside path to overtake.
Although this method carried greater risks, if successful, Chen Xiangbei could maintain his exit speed from the corner.
The HRT doesn’t have the race performance of the Red Bull Racing, and unless he can achieve a thorough overtake and block his opponent, Vettel can rely on absolute performance to overtake back in the complex turns, even forcing his way past Chen Xiangbei on the straight after the curve!
Why is the Mars Rover invincible? It’s often because the driver can rely on the formidable car performance to do as they please, providing the driver with more room for error.
After pulling out, Chen Xiangbei quickly merged into the outer lane to take the corner, decisively riding up the curb, with the front wing once again grazing the barrier wall, drawing a dangerous arc.
If there’s any collision damage this time, Chen Xiangbei would not just be dealing with a pit stop replacement, but rather, an immediate withdrawal from the race.
The reason is simple: a small team cannot possibly bring two sets of front wing spare parts for a single race station event!
Realizing he had accurately predicted Chen Xiangbei’s maneuver, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Vettel’s mouth.
Once, facing Chen Xiangbei’s aggressive overtaking, he chose to yield, a move that brought him a lot of controversy and ridicule, leading him to deliberately harden himself in subsequent races to shed the label of being weak.
Now that Chen Xiangbei was once again executing an extremely aggressive overtake, Vettel wouldn’t give the Chinese Kid any chance this time.
Without the slightest hesitation, seeing Chen Xiangbei’s car nose nearing his rear wheel position, Vettel immediately changed lanes with a strong "door-closing" maneuver, giving no room for the opponent to overtake.
Vettel was even prepared, that even if both crashed and withdrew, he wouldn’t let Chen Xiangbei pass!
But the expected crash scene didn’t happen, not even the image of Chen Xiangbei forcibly squeezing through. Just as Vettel changed lanes to shut the door, the HRT Racing Car behind tapped the brakes to slow down and yielded.
Was he chickening out?
This thought flashed in Vettel’s mind, and before he could savor the joy of being a victor, he felt the Red Bull Racing exhibiting abnormal swaying, the steering no longer under his control.
Death swing!
At the moment the Red Bull Racing rode up the curb, the car’s balance was upset, the rear of the car swaying significantly left and right. Though Vettel’s reaction wasn’t slow, immediately attempting to countersteer to save the car.
However, the narrow track didn’t allow much room for maneuvering, and the front end inevitably scraped against the protective wall.
The huge sponsor ad on the wall was scraped apart, the front wing shattering like glass, followed by the rear wheel impacting the protection wall again, tearing down the overhanging ad banner, revealing the stacked tires behind.
Though Vettel losing control was unfortunate, he was also quite lucky, encountering the tire-protection wall section of the Monaco Circuit.
The rubber elasticity and rear-wheel cushioning prevented severe damage to his car, and with F1 cars having braking capabilities at over 200 km/h, they can slow down or even stop at any moment.
But this "lucky" car-saving moment was clearly unacceptable to Vettel.
The reason being he saw the HRT "Black Phantom" overtaking him again and disappearing into the turn.
Was he overtaken again?
At this moment, Vettel’s will seemed shattered; how was it that while riding the curb, Chen Xiangbei could do it unscathed, yet he lost control instantly?
Could it be his talent and skills were genuinely inferior to a Chinese rookie?
Vettel couldn’t accept this fact. If Chen Xiangbei could hear his inner voice, he might provide the answer.
That being tire and car damage!
Cold tires didn’t grip the road like Chen Xiangbei’s hard white tires, which had been running for several laps, meaning the HRT’s cornering limit was higher.
Furthermore, Chen Xiangbei, following behind, also noticed Vettel’s car had slight rear-end sliding while cornering.
While others, possibly even Vettel himself, might attribute this to insufficient tire grip, Chen Xiangbei was keenly aware it was damage to the side pod breaking the aerodynamic balance.
The insufficient high speed at Monaco prevented any adverse outcomes so far.
Once the car speed increased, especially when riding the curb at full throttle around a turn, then the uncontrolled aerodynamic imbalance would become a fatal flaw!
Thus for Chen Xiangbei, the challenge was making Vettel ride the curb full throttle around the turn and exposing this fatal flaw.
The answer lay in leveraging his rigid defensive mentality!
The world knows that Vettel, having been weak once, suffered much criticism and ridicule. Now, as they faced off again, he was bound to be firm to prove himself, or he shouldn’t be driving an F1 car at all.
After all, losing isn’t terrible, being afraid leads to a lifetime of losing.
As a championship contender, being unwilling to face another contender firmly, wouldn’t that naturally make you a loser?
Understanding Vettel’s mindset, Chen Xiangbei boldly chose the curb, pulling out and riding the curb with a posture of wanting to overtake, certain that Vettel would close the door and defend firmly to the end.
Proven right, Chen Xiangbei gambled successfully, Vettel let emotions cloud his judgment, paying the price for his actions.
Though his car didn’t entirely lose control and crash, the damaged front wing necessitates another pit stop replacement, losing the chance for the Monaco crown.
"FUCK, is Vettel having issues with his form? How could he make such a steering mistake at a critical moment?"
"Classic pressure-induced mistake, surprising that a third-year student’s mental composure isn’t better than a first-year student’s!"
"Doesn’t seem like a pressure mistake, at over 200 speed for F1 cars not high, I feel it’s the side pod damage affecting car balance."
"Regardless of the reason, Vettel being overtaken is the reality, he might lose championship contention."
In the stands, spectators buzzed with discussion—anger, ridicule, pity.
The Red Bull Racing Team’s strategy group turned pale, as both their drivers previously held second and third in the overall standings, just behind Alonso of the Ferrari Team. The final round might’ve seen a double-car strategy taking the crown.
Unexpectedly, it all fell apart on the eve of success!
Weber’s retirement cost him the championship chance, now Vettel’s prospects were dim, slipping into the theoretical championship position Chen Xiangbei held before the race.
Even though Horner and Marco felt stifled, they dared not harshly criticize Vettel now.
They were uncertain if the control loss was due to car issues or Vettel’s state of mind.
If it were the latter, questioning him would be the final straw, completely breaking his composure!
As the team exchanged worried glances, Vettel’s voice cracked through the headset.
"Team, aerodynamic imbalance causing the loss of control, requesting a pit stop for front wing replacement, I can still fight back!"
Hearing this, the Red Bull strategy team collectively exhaled in relief.
As long as Vettel still had the fighting spirit, Red Bull Racing would still have hope!
Compared to Red Bull’s dire situation, the HRT Team’s outdoor command deck was nothing short of a celebration.
One lap!
Chen Xiangbei took just one lap to take down Vettel, reclaiming a podium position within the top three.
It meant that even if Alonso won the championship, Chen Xiangbei would still be in the running for the world championship in the final round.
Of course, with Chen Xiangbei’s current momentum, the team’s goal surely wasn’t just limited to the podium, they saw the dawn of the Monaco crown.
At this moment, Briatore pressed the earpiece communication button and simply said to Perez,
"Execute Plan B."
The final trump card long bided was finally time to be played!
