Car Racing without Money

Chapter 734 - 296: Hesitation Leads to Defeat (2)

Chen Xiangbei gives the impression of being a brash, arrogant kid who talks big.Besides, his driving style is aggressive and likes to gamble, always teetering on the edge of losing control, meaning he’s only a step away from failure.

Once someone with his mentality gets angry and loses reasoning, his control over the car will sharply decline, exponentially increasing mistakes.

Hamilton indeed has an aggressiveness similar to Verstappen, but he’s tough without being reckless; he’s very clear-headed and astute, steering everything in a direction that benefits him.

In some sense, compared to a conventional F1 world champion’s "whatever it takes," Hamilton is better described as having "meticulous self-interest."

That’s one of the reasons why he’s not that well-received domestically.

A driver who’s too smart indeed seems too calculative...

Just as Odetto agreed with Mizutani Sho’s speculation and prepared to remind Chen Xiangbei to remain calm via team radio.

Briatore sitting beside him beat him to it, pressing the talk button and said: "North, Hamilton is trying to humiliate you like Schumacher did, how does it feel?"

Upon hearing this, everyone at the outdoor command station focused their attention on Briatore.

This old Italian rogue hides in the P room with the air conditioning on during hot weather, and when it’s raining and cool at the Korea Station, he comes to the outdoor command station but immediately stirs trouble.

Such hype in front of the media is one thing, but now it’s on the track.

If Chen Xiangbei really gets heated and acts rashly, it would endanger life safety!

"Very unpleasant."

"Then play with him."

"What do you mean?"

Briatore’s words left Chen Xiangbei momentarily unresponsive.

"Hamilton is starting on ultra-soft tires, and you’re on medium yellow tires. If he doesn’t fear tire wear in the warm-up lap, why should you?"

"Change lanes in front of him and slam the brakes hard to see if he dares to rear-end!"

As the words came to an end, Briatore’s tone revealed a hint of fierceness.

No joke, the old Italian rogue is known as one of the notorious tough guys in the paddock, not even caring for drivers’ lives, Hamilton plays mind games with him?

As the saying goes, the weak fear the strong, the strong fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear those who don’t care for their lives.

Briatore, being Alonso’s agent, had specifically studied this black kid during the 07 McLaren Team in-fighting and was deceived by Hamilton’s appearance and comments.

Causing Alonso team politics to lose to Hamilton.

Now in another round, Briatore has long seen through Hamilton.

Chen Xiangbei is the kind of guy who doesn’t care for his life, specialized in countering the cunning ones!

"Alright, then I’ll play with him."

Accompanied by releasing the talk button on the steering wheel, Chen Xiangbei hit the accelerator, widened the gap with Hamilton, changed lanes to block the front of the McLaren car, and slammed the brakes again.

This step on the brake was hard enough to lock the tires, causing a cloud of blue smoke to instantly appear on the track.

Faced with Chen Xiangbei’s strong and decisive sudden brake, turning the steering wheel to change lanes without enough tire temperature would inevitably lead to sliding SPIN, akin to the principle of losing control when turning the steering wheel suddenly at high speed in civilian cars.

No choice, he must reduce speed first.

As it turns out, Hamilton didn’t have the guts to rear-end crash and perish with Chen Xiangbei; he was forced to slam the brakes and lock the tires, triggering friction smoke on the track as well.

As the distance to Chen Xiangbei’s car drew closer, just about to touch, Chen Xiangbei hit the accelerator again to widen the gap.

"Did North just suddenly brake to lure Hamilton into rear-ending?"

Seeing this scene on the track, Park Dongxu asked in surprise.

"That’s right, North is responding to Hamilton’s provocative moves!"

Red confirmed and continued explaining: "North remains as aggressive as ever, fighting back against Hamilton in his own way; both locked the tires during the warm-up lap, which is extremely detrimental for tire preservation for the long distance race."

"But from this point, it’s clear that North’s toughness and boldness far exceed external perceptions. This race might be filled with tension and the passionate duel of two young drivers!"

Red’s words instinctively ignited the passion of the on-site audience, especially Chen Xiangbei’s fans, who boldly launched a public opinion counterattack at this moment!

"Hamilton, did you think North is a docile pushover?"

"This is the bloodiness of the Chinese driver; Hamilton, you picked the wrong opponent!"

"If you have the guts, go one-for-one with Chen Xiangbei, otherwise just stay behind and eat dust!"

"Whoever brakes first is a coward, don’t hold back, just go for it!"

Compared to the fervent excitement of the audience’s spectator mentality, HRT Team’s strategy group members remained much more composed.

Odetto even blandly asked Briatore: "Isn’t the wear from sudden braking with ultra-soft tires indeed higher than medium yellow tires?"

"But have you considered that North is using a one-stop strategy?"

Indeed, whether it’s a loss or not, the team’s overall strategy must be considered.

Even though the lifespan of medium yellow tires is strong than soft red tires, it’s hard to reach twice that extent.

Hamilton can completely rely on two-stop or even three-stop to recover the wear, if Chen Xiangbei temporarily switches to a two-stop strategy, then he will suffer greatly starting on medium yellow tires.

"Pitting for tire change is a mid-race matter; it’s still the warm-up lap now."

"I won’t let future matters influence current decisions."

Briatore nonchalantly replied.

Seeing his irrational attitude, Odetto also got a bit angered.

After all, the two have consistently clashed in terms of ideas.

But this time, before Odetto could speak, Briatore interjected with a question: "Odetto, do you know why in the past red-blue battle, my Renault could defeat Ferrari?"

Faced with this inquiry, Odetto didn’t reply; it’s just Briatore’s usual bragging tactic.

"I know what you think, considering me more unscrupulous."

"But was Schumacher any benevolent person?"

"The reason Alonso could defeat Schumacher was that often top drivers’ duels aren’t about skill level but more about that sharpness!"

"Ferrari imposed too many constraints on Schumacher while I could choose to fight uninhibited, just like today’s battle between Hamilton and North."

"In the black-orange battle, I too will be the victor!"

Briatore’s tone was calm as he recounted this, without the arrogance of past bragging, it felt more like a peaceful explanation to Odetto.

Hamilton resembles the former Schumacher, the championship brought him glory, but also shackles.

Chen Xiangbei is like the emerging Alonso; he can recklessly fight, even if both retire, so what? Would the world champion really want to go one-for-one with a rookie?

In Briatore’s eyes, Hamilton’s toughness is a bogus deception, only meant to intimidate Chen Xiangbei to suppress him in spirit.

In terms of psychological warfare, Briatore is a living fossil in the paddock, supporting Chen Xiangbei firmly to ensure the Chinese kid doesn’t lose in spirit to Hamilton.

Many times, psychological advantage overshadows technical performance!

Odetto understood Briatore’s intention, and despite being unwilling to acknowledge this old Italian rogue, he had to admit Briatore had a point.

Briatore not only boosts Chen Xiangbei’s momentum but also provides firm support from the team management, preventing Chen Xiangbei from hesitating over results and damage.

Hesitation will lead to defeat!

"You’re right."

Odetto quietly responded.

Upon seeing this, a smug smile appeared on Briatore’s face.

Getting this old Italian to yield is no easy task.

Meanwhile on the track, Hamilton’s face was dark enough to drip water; he never expected his psychological tactic to be shattered by Chen Xiangbei’s brute force approach.

The Chinese kid displayed a "mutual harm" driving attitude, truly making Hamilton feel an unspeakable frustration; provoking further would just be self-humiliation.