Car Racing without Money

Chapter 833: Chapter 342: Fear Means Defeat

"COPY."

This time, Perez chose not to remain silent; his response came through the headset.

Although he was extremely reluctant to sacrifice his position and speed to help Chen Xiangbei as a wingman holding back competitors.

But this team order was issued by Briatore from the start, not communicated by Odetto, which explained the situation clearly.

This wasn’t a choice between YES or NO, it was the only option.

Choosing NO, unless Mexican oil can explode with a sky-high fortune, otherwise, given Briatore’s "self-righteous" personality, Perez was bound to miss out on the driver seat for the next season.

Moreover, Perez took advantage of the tire protection phase to continually communicate with his race engineer Bard, and observed the driver rankings on the broadcast screen above the track through the corner of his eye.

That Chen Xiangbei could reclaim third place again truly overturned his perception!

Among more than twenty drivers in the entire paddock, no one knew Chen Xiangbei better than his teammate.

Perez could say he’s watched Chen Xiangbei gradually take control of the track, and even outperforming Trulli in teaching, this talent and learning speed were unparalleled.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Perez was actually quite clear that he didn’t have the qualification or strength to compete with Chen Xiangbei.

The result of resistance and internal conflict would only lead to mutual injury, with Chen Xiangbei losing the championship and Perez losing his seat.

Perez might have his own pride and dignity, but he well understood the principle that wise men adapt to circumstances, and in a weaker position relative to his teammate, he should be patient and wait for his opportunity to burst forth.

In fact, Perez’s entire career could be encapsulated by the four characters "厚积薄发" (gradually accumulated and suddenly emerged).

After a decade of honing, he reached the position of world runner-up, which many drivers couldn’t manage to do!

Alonso was enjoying his drive forward, exiting the pit with a lead of five to six seconds over Chen Xiangbei, and with Kubica trailing behind, considering Monaco Circuit’s overtaking difficulty and his tire advantage once up to temperature.

Theoretically, the Chinese rookie already posed no threat to him.

But at that moment, a car with the same black-orange HRT Racing Car colors appeared in front of him.

Although he couldn’t see the number on the car’s nose, this car could only be Perez, not Chen Xiangbei, as the latter was the only other driver in an HRT.

"Team, is Perez the lapped slower car ahead?"

Alonso immediately asked his team, instinctively assuming the Mexican rookie had been lapped.

"No, Perez is currently the lead car; he hasn’t pitted yet."

"Hasn’t pitted?"

Alonso was a bit surprised upon hearing this response.

Bear in mind the race has reached the thirty-fifth lap, even though Monaco Circuit’s tire wear is relatively low, running over thirty laps on a set of soft red tires is still quite challenging.

Alonso knew the Mexican rookie’s tire management was impressive; throughout the season, Perez often employed a strategy of fewer pit stops to target points over long distances.

Alonso simply didn’t expect Perez to stay on track without pitting.

Since the opponent hadn’t pitted and appeared ahead of him, the answer was clear.

If the Ferrari Team can execute a double-car strategy, the HRT Team can too!

Perhaps Perez doesn’t have Massa’s strength to get into the leading group before qualifying to directly cooperate with Alonso, but he has his own strengths and advantages and can still achieve the team’s goals.

"Alonso, don’t get too tangled up with Perez; Xiangbei has once again set the fastest lap, catching up rapidly."

Domenicali seized the opportunity to remind.

At present, these few laps Chen Xiangbei had a significant tire advantage, along with a temporary gap emerging up ahead, allowing him to aggressively chase speed.

If Alonso was obstructed by Perez, not to mention whether Kubica would seize a chance to attack, Chen Xiangbei could at minimum catch up to the train tail of the leading group within ten laps.

According to Ferrari’s strategy team predictions, Kubica couldn’t hold off a Chen Xiangbei in this state.

As the Chinese kid became more familiar with the track, his overall lines and control visibly improved, with the most evident evidence being a stable increase in lap times, overall linearly very standard!

"I understand."

Alonso responded lightly.

Honestly, he didn’t take Perez seriously.

Even HRT’s top driver, Chen Xiangbei couldn’t block him, so why would the second rookie driver stand a chance?

Moreover, a set of soft red tires over thirty laps, even with excellent tire management, couldn’t compete with new yellow tires; if Alonso pushed forward, he could be a second faster per lap than Perez.

"OH, Alonso launched an attack on the Mexican rookie ahead; it’s clear the HRT Team wants to replicate Ferrari’s double-car strategy, only adopting a different strategic path."

"Perez entered the paddock as a substitute driver for Trulli; his performance has been very stable throughout half a season, consistently hovering around the points zone in every race, especially in long distances with tire management, truly standing out in the paddock."

"If I recall correctly, Perez is facing Alonso head-on in a race for the first time; I wonder if this Mexican rookie can deliver on defense—every lap of defense will claw back time for Xiangbei’s pursuit!"

Red provided a brief introduction to Perez, with a tone of anticipation.