"Hmm, Perez will become an official driver after completing GP2."

Chen Xiangbei didn’t hide the truth and told Trulli the reality.

Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Trulli’s face.

But he quickly regained his composure and said decisively, "North, I am a driver, I will never resign to my fate."

"The race is still on, the game isn’t over, it might not be me who leaves."

The pride of a driver made Trulli unwilling to bow to reality, even though he knew his fate.

"Whatever the game, I will be the ultimate winner."

Chen Xiangbei responded equally forcefully to Trulli, not offering any subtle comfort.

Indeed, there was no explicit agreement stating Perez must replace Trulli.

But based on the current team share ratio, even with Trulli having an Italian residency and Ferrari Team’s support, he couldn’t defy the "hostility" from the major shareholder and Briatore.

The South American sponsor’s funding, Hua Bu, that old scoundrel simply said.

The greatest respect you can give a competitor is to defeat them with full force.

Rather than saying sentimental words, it’s better to treat them as competitors.

"Alright then, let me see just how strong you really are."

Trulli answered with a smile, no longer a bitter one.

On the contrary, he understood Chen Xiangbei’s meaning and the respect given by this young Chinese.

Having gone through the Australian rain battle, Trulli was clear about Chen Xiangbei’s talent and potential.

Ultimately, he has reached the end of his professional career, and HRT Team’s future will be led by young people!

After saying this, Trulli extinguished the cigarette in his hand and turned to walk to his room.

Seeing this, Chen Xiangbei felt some regret, a career that can be foreseen to end is likely not a pleasant feeling.

...

As night passed, with the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix journey, although this time HRT Team successfully broke onto the podium, there was no team-wide celebration as with the opening race.

On one hand, the team management needed to handle contracts, secure funding quickly, and gain technical support from the Ferrari engine department.

According to data compiled overnight by test engineer Mazzola, this station’s HRT Racing Car ranked third in absolute speed within the paddock, almost equally with Ferrari’s cars, surpassing last year’s championship team Mercedes and the former powerhouse Renault.

Seizing the two-week gap between races, if the full potential of the upgrade packages can be extracted through wind tunnel testing and the stability of engine power output solved, the next station could see HRT Racing Car challenge the fastest Red Bull in the paddock!

It’s worth noting that historically, the 10th season never saw an absolute "Mars Rover".

Post-race team total points, Red Bull and McLaren were both in the 450 to 500 points range, while Ferrari Team ranked third with 396 points.

Among them, Alonso obtained 252 points, just 4 points shy compared to champion Vettel’s 256!

This shows how strong peak-season Alonso was in the 10th season, driving the third-fastest car in the paddock and almost toppling the championship car, truly a man with a true 0.5-second advantage.

If everything progresses smoothly, the fully unlocked performance of the TF110 Racing Car will support Chen Xiangbei in competing for the next race’s station championship!

With such tempting results in sight, HRT Team management certainly didn’t have leisure time to be HAPPY.

On the other hand, the team equipment would be undergoing another intercontinental transfer, needing to catch up with FIA’s official charter flights, otherwise, the team’s independent transfer costs would be very exaggerated.

This means the technician group and ordinary engineers similarly had no time for post-race celebrations, as they needed to dismantle and pack the racing cars and various equipment.

As for Chen Xiangbei, he did not return to the British headquarters as usual to maintain feel and competitive condition through racing simulator training, but instead, went ahead to the next substation event country.

The reason is simple, the next race is the Chinese Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei’s home race!

Although at the end of last year, Chen Xiangbei arrived in Yanjing to participate in the ROC National Cup.

But frankly, that trip was rushed, and there wasn’t even time to go home.

This time with a two-week gap between races, Chen Xiangbei plans to give himself a break, relieve about half a year of tension and emotions, and return home to see old friends, and visit his mother.

Furthermore, at the Chinese Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei hopes his mother and friends can reach East Sea to watch his race.

Odetto drove Chen Xiangbei to Melbourne International Airport, where Chen Xiangbei boarded the flight to Hong Kong Island alone. Given that he didn’t accompany the team, thus keeping his journey undisclosed, and wearing a mask and baseball cap, almost no one recognized him as the driver North who recently stood on the podium.

But speaking of which, to most non-Chinese fans, a substation third place is indeed not enough to be remembered by the world, not to mention a stranger, a Chinese newcomer.

In the eyes of many foreigners, Asians all look alike, world champions might create enough memory points, but what’s the big deal about a substation third place?

In competitive sports, even the runner-up is only worthy of being the backdrop for the champion!

Therefore, Chen Xiangbei was quite relaxed, as the experience of being famous often isn’t pleasant.

Feeling the plane’s slight turbulence upon takeoff, during the long flight, a flight attendant offered him some drinks and snacks, as well as prepared newspapers to pass the time.

Chen Xiangbei casually flipped through them, seeing that the Australian Grand Prix news appeared on the front page, with a photo of Schumacher winning the trophy being particularly eye-catching, indirectly proving his global influence.

Holding a smidge of vanity, Chen Xiangbei turned the pages over and over, hoping to see how the local media highly praised his excellent performance in the rain from ninth place to the podium.

Unexpectedly, the subtitle of the side report about himself not only lacked praise but carried a tone of disparagement!

"The arrogance of the Chinese racer, provoking the strongest newcomer of all time Hamilton after the race!"

Arrogant, Chen Xiangbei accepted, but where did the provocation come from?

Was it just because he said he would definitely surpass Hamilton?

As a driver, faced with such questions from reporters, let alone surpassing Hamilton, even if it were Senna or Schumacher, Chen Xiangbei would still unhesitatingly give the same answer.

If this kind of conviction is absent, how could one be an F1 Driver?

Carefully looking at the report, it’s more about describing the process of overtaking Weber, concluding that the V-shaped overtaking was sheer luck for Chen Xiangbei, otherwise, how could there be an F1 drift cornering?

Seeing this, Chen Xiangbei understood, didn’t the headline and content feel off because he stepped over local driver Weber to climb up, how could Australian media speak well of him?

As if by coincidence, the passenger next to Chen Xiangbei also happened to see the side report.

He commented approvingly, "The Chinese rookie is as arrogant as ever, daring to provoke Hamilton, do they really think a substation third place is so valuable?"

"He probably didn’t think so."

Chen Xiangbei replied in passing, causing the passenger next to him to look at him rather confusedly.

Then he continued looking at the newspaper, saying, "I must say, the Chinese rookie was truly lucky, to execute an F1 drift cornering without losing control and still manage to overtake Weber, it’s like he was blessed by God."

Hearing this, Chen Xiangbei nodded and replied, "The Chinese rookie indeed has good luck, but he doesn’t believe in God, theoretically, it’s hard to be blessed."

Once was an incidental reply, but continuing two or three times, it made the passenger next to him a bit dissatisfied.

Instinctively he questioned, "How do you know?"

"I am guessing."

"I was at the scene watching, how can you be more knowledgeable about Driver North than I am?"

"I..."

Originally, Chen Xiangbei was speaking in a bored and mischievous mindset, but when the other party said this, he instantly became speechless.

It seems "experts" are everywhere...

The small ripples of the journey soon calmed down, and after almost ten hours of flying, Chen Xiangbei landed at Hong Kong Island International Airport, where the nearby passenger went with him to the reception area.

As Chen Xiangbei walked into the lobby, he was stunned by the scene before him.

The lobby was practically lined with human barricades, holding banners and chanting names, clearly indicating they were there to welcome him.

Chen Xiangbei never expected that he would create such a sensation coming back home one day.

Nor did he think that a "quiet" outing could be discovered.

The passenger next to him shared the same shock as him.

This guy realized something, looking at Chen Xiangbei with eyes full of disbelief.

It couldn’t be that coincidental, right?