Car Racing without Money

Chapter 738 - 298: An Unexpected Intra-team Battle (Part 2)

After Alonso retired in 18, he teamed up with Nakajima Ikki, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours and then moved to IndyCar, hoping to achieve the Indy500 victory for the "Three Crowns" in racing.Unfortunately, he missed it by a small margin, and after receiving a call from his old team Renault, Alonso returned to the F1 Paddock, essentially giving up hope of achieving the "Three Crowns".

From Will Smith’s perspective, Chen Xiangbei seemed not so exceptional, and Cheng Long was really exaggerating.

"Smith, I’ve watched every race of Xiangbei, he always creates impossible miracles."

"If you don’t think he’s that strong, how about we make a bet?"

Cheng Long chuckled in response, knowing better than anyone how extraordinary Chen Xiangbei’s journey has been.

A minor mistake doesn’t count for much; the one who laughs last is the true victor.

"OK, what do you want to bet?"

"Your Audi RSQ collection car."

In the movie "I, Robot" there is a very cool Audi concept car, model RSQ, only four were made globally, one was destroyed during filming, and two are models.

That means the Audi RSQ collected by Will Smith is a limited edition concept car.

Cheng Long also has a hobby of collecting cars, Mitsubishi Group once made a custom EVO just for him.

The reason he proposed these terms is partly due to trust in Chen Xiangbei,

and partly because filming "The Karate Kid" built great goodwill with Will Smith, the producer of the movie, who also launched his son as the lead actor.

"I have no problem, but you’re destined not to win that Audi RSQ."

"Then let’s wait and see."

Cheng Long shrugged, maintaining an exceedingly confident demeanor.

However, on the track, Chen Xiangbei’s situation was not nearly as optimistic as Cheng Long portrayed.

As the race reached the third lap, the waving double yellow flags changed to green, indicating the race was restarting.

Once the safety car exited, Hamilton controlled the pace sharply, not giving Vettel behind any chance to overtake, followed by one car speeding up after another.

Perez who ascended a rank amidst the confusion, now gazed complexly at Chen Xiangbei’s car ahead.

He also started with neutral yellow tires without going off the track, meaning his tire longevity outperformed his teammate’s. Additionally, the safety car led for three laps, allowing the tires to reach optimal working temperature.

Under normal circumstances, Perez would try to attack the car ahead.

But now the car ahead is his teammate, and Chen Xiangbei had helped him with shared track data and simulator training.

If he attacks now, it’s akin to taking advantage of a teammate’s weakness, trying to eliminate them.

Not only Perez faced a tough decision; his race engineer Bard also sensed the dilemma.

As the closest associate to the driver, Bard undoubtedly wishes Perez could overtake and secure a better rank. Don’t forget, he’s still in a substitute driver role; his performance and ranking determine whether Perez can vie for a regular driver seat.

But being both a substitute driver and a second-tier driver now is also a constraint at this moment.

The team management may favor Chen Xiangbei, coercively preventing Perez’s attack, or even sacrifice the newbie to block cars?

With this hesitation and doubt, Bard looked towards Odetto.

The identity of the team leader and chief race engineer granted Odetto the final decision-making power.

Odetto noticed Bard’s gaze, even if Bard hadn’t spoken, Odetto knew what must be said.

The most biased decision would be to let Perez play the wingman role to block cars, enabling Chen Xiangbei to focus entirely on attacking Kubica ahead, reenacting the thrilling overtakes from China Station.

However, from a rational standpoint, with Chen Xiangbei’s tires worn out and engine power limited, even if Perez sacrifices to block, surpassing the front car may be difficult; even if surpassed, holding the position is questionable.

Moreover, having experienced the "Gravel Pit" ordeal, whether the chassis suffered damage is unknown, these risks cannot be shown by sensors.

It’s better to let Perez, with better car condition, gamble, after all this Mexican rookie displayed a very strong long-distance tire conservation ability in practice, comparable to top-tier drivers in the paddock!

As Odetto hesitated, the paddock’s situation wouldn’t wait.

As Chen Xiangbei accelerated at the start, Perez simultaneously floored the pedal and switched lanes, trying to grab the time advantage for an overtake!

At this moment, all doubt and hesitation were set aside by Perez, with only last night’s conversation with Chen Xiangbei in his mind.

[Perez, actually, you and I are the same kind of people.]

Indeed, whether Chen Xiangbei or Perez, they both need to leverage results for opportunities in the F1 paddock.

Chen Xiangbei succeeded; he became an official HRT Team driver, breaking free from the paid sponsorship label.

However, Perez hasn’t; he’s just a substitute.

With destiny-changing opportunities right in front, giving up equates to self-betrayal!

Always keeping a part of his attention on the rearview mirror, when Chen Xiangbei saw Perez’s lane change maneuver, he revealed a wry and appreciative smile.

Chen Xiangbei never fears competition; he believes the crisis from competition far more easily inspires drivers to attack.

If you fear rivalry even from teammates, how would you confront the other twenty-two paddock opponents?

Moreover, to make Perez honestly assume the second-tier driver role, merely relying on team rules and contracts isn’t enough; a direct confrontation is necessary to show him the gap, to acknowledge his defeat.

Just like the showdown between Chen Xiangbei and Trulli.

Only true defeat leads to conceding!

However, from an outsider’s view, Perez’s action looked rather spectacular.

Especially spectators on the stands, just last station HRT Team displayed a spirit of team collaboration, even Trulli sacrificed himself by crashing, helping Chen Xiangbei secure the championship.

Yet, only a week later, HRT Team starts in-fighting?

"No way, what’s Perez doing; doesn’t he know his second-tier driver position?"

"The Mexican’s ambition seems too hurried, isn’t this kicking someone when they’re down?"

"Why doesn’t the HRT Team management intervene, this in-fighting purely benefits other teams!"

Compared to the eager Chen Xiangbei fans, once the initial surprise faded, the Korean spectators reacted by gloating.

"Haha, unexpected is Perez’s first strike."

"Chinese folks, haven’t you heard the greatest rival in the F1 paddock is your own teammate?"

"Perez did great; without team bias and resource tilt, directly strip off Chen Xiangbei’s backing!"

A clamorous uproar filled the stands, proving Chen Xiangbei indeed deserved as the paddock’s focal point and center of discussion, staging a big show upon starting and quickly followed by another in-fighting drama.

The two HRT Racing Cars sprinting one following the other, despite Chen Xiangbei’s tires losing significant longevity, still far from losing the peak grip moment, Perez’s attack timing holds no practical advantage.

One swift pedal change and lane switch, Chen Xiangbei shielded before Perez, launching an offense-defense battle between the two.

Chen Xiangbei’s biggest disadvantage at present, his engine power output was 15 less than Perez’s, signifying that suppression on the straights was highly challenging; should Perez tailgate and slipstream, causing a slingshot effect, the tail speed would be over 10 kilometers faster.

This, in F1, essentially equates to an unstoppable speed disparity.

To avoid being consumed by Perez on the straights, Chen Xiangbei

This, in F1, essentially equates to an unstoppable speed disparity.

To avoid being consumed by Perez on the straights, Chen Xiangbei This, in F1, essentially equates to an unstoppable speed disparity.

To avoid being consumed by Perez on the straights, Chen Xiangbei