Car Racing without Money-Chapter 173 - 106: A Rookie Can’t Be That Strong (Double-Length)
"Actually, there’s not much to say; victory and defeat are commonplace. They’ll gradually get used to it."
Chen Xiangbei answered the question with a calm expression and tone, without any intention of mocking his opponents.
Since ancient times, there’s no first place in literature, and no second place in martial arts. In competitive events, there will always be losers.
As long as one adheres to the spirit of sportsmanship, wins gracefully, and loses candidly, there’s no problem at all.
But maybe it was a failure in translation or the Europeans didn’t understand the meaning of "victory and defeat are commonplace".
Once Chen Xiangbei said this, many reporters showed a surprised expression, and Hank immediately seized the key point to pursue further.
"Xiangbei, do you mean that the opponents on the track will get used to being in the role of losers?"
Hearing Hank’s retort, Chen Xiangbei was momentarily stunned.
Compared to peers in Formula racing, he has a foundation from his previous life, thus having richer interview experience and knowing what it means to be cautious and avoid falling into a reporter’s trap.
But this is just relative, as Chinese drivers have never been the focus of media on the track.
If Chen Xiangbei hadn’t taken pole position and won the championship, no media would have interviewed him at all. Not even in these novice Formula events, even later when Zhou Guanyu entered the F1 Paddock, exposure sometimes wasn’t very high.
Most pre-race or post-race interviews, the cameras always focused on Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, and those WDC or star drivers.
Chen Xiangbei realized the question was somewhat ambiguous, but since he was already at this point, as the Renault European Cup first race champion, he must exhibit a victorious king’s momentum!
He nodded expressionlessly and replied, "If you want to interpret it that way, there’s no problem."
Chen Xiangbei didn’t care how the reporters interpreted it; victory is the goal every driver pursues.
Since he didn’t want to become a loser, opponents like Magnussen must get used to being losers!
Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei say this, Vergne and Magnussen, waiting for interviews, looked utterly displeased.
They were already upset about losing, and now they have to face being overshadowed by a Chinese rookie; it’s uncomfortable no matter who experiences it.
Especially the impulsive and aggressive Magnussen, who immediately retorted, "Xiangbei, remember there’s no eternal winner on the track. I’ll let you taste defeat in the next race!"
Truth be told, Magnussen was unsatisfied with losing this race.
If it wasn’t for Costa squeezing in and nearly causing a track accident, he wouldn’t have braked at the T1 corner, allowing the Chinese driver Xiangbei to run far ahead.
It could be said Costa failed in his attempt and both sides faced severe tire wear in the subsequent battle, illustrating the saying of fisherman reaping the benefits while the clam and snipe fight!
Once Magnussen said this, it instantly ignited the somewhat subdued atmosphere at the Silverstone Circuit.
"That’s a great response, don’t let the Chinese rookie overshadow us."
"Today was just Magnussen being careless and underestimating, Xiangbei won’t have such luck next time."
"Magnussen, don’t forget your F1 family background, defend the glory of European drivers!"
"Go, Magnussen, beat driver Xiangbei in the next race!"
The cheers and shouts from the audience were even more lively than they were when Chen Xiangbei won the championship.
Although Magnussen isn’t exactly the home driver at Silverstone Circuit, compared to Chen Xiangbei, who isn’t even a guest driver, the audience undoubtedly leaned towards supporting him.
Upon this, Chen Xiangbei showed a hint of a smile, choosing not to engage in a war of words with Magnussen.
Instead, he found the camera broadcasting the race and indicated to the photographer for a close-up.
This time the camera’s focus was on the sign with the number "1" before Chen Xiangbei’s car.
Only the champion’s car is worthy of stopping behind this sign!
Many times, silence speaks louder than words, and through this gesture, Chen Xiangbei was telling Magnussen and the audience.
Don’t flaunt a "borrowed" championship, wait until you’ve genuinely won the title to speak out. Until then, if you’re dissatisfied, hold it in, and recognize the identity of a loser. Standing in front of you is the champion driver Chen Xiangbei!
Sure enough, when this deep-meaning shot appeared on the big screen, the track’s clamor instantly fell silent.
Not only was Magnussen feeling bad, but even the audience present experienced an unspoken grudge.
A loss, indeed, renders the inability to taunt!
Just as the venue fell into a strange silence, a crisp female voice rang out from the crowd.
"Xiangbei, you’re so bad, but I really like it."
The one who said this wasn’t anyone else; it was Lu Xiaoman, who was walking over with the crew from the paddock. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
In F1 events, after a driver wins and reaches the podium, team members should have already been waiting to celebrate the victory together.
Due to insufficient personnel in lower-level Formula events, team members had to finish tidying up the control desk, thus arriving a bit late.
Just as Lu Xiaoman saw Chen Xiangbei’s gesture pointing at the sign, she, of course, had to voice her support loudly!
"Xiangbei, well done, champion."
Liang Chi followed closely behind, shouting to Chen Xiangbei, and you could clearly sense his voice was trembling slightly.
He was honestly too excited, as the moment of reaching the top he’d never dared to imagine before was now vividly appearing in front of him. This day came much sooner than expected.
