Car Racing without Money-Chapter 246 - 123: Hat Trick in Racing (Double-Length)
"Let’s use the warmest applause and cheers to congratulate the driver from China, Bei, for defending the championship!"
Accompanied by James announcing the result, the paddock erupted with applause like a tidal wave.
Setting aside personal preferences, Chen Xiangbei displayed an almost indisputably perfect driving skill in this race.
Whether it was overtaking William’s car number 17 at the start, or overtaking three cars in four laps, or exploiting Costa’s line flaw, and finally never giving up surpassing Magnussen.
This is the spirit of a racer who never gives up!
And before the audience’s applause subsided, James’s voice rang out again.
"Audience, I have another announcement for you. The race control center has confirmed that driver Bei’s last lap time was 1 minute 08.983 seconds, which means he broke the Donington Park Renault Formula track record!"
"That’s right, pole position, championship, track record, all controlled by Bei; he completed the miraculous hat-trick."
"If we add the pole position record, he has become the milestone driver of the Donington Park Circuit!"
By the end of the commentary, James was spitting droplets, unable to contain the surging emotions within him.
For a track, only the fastest lap in the race can be called a track record.
The 1 minute 08.131 "Star Circle" run by Chen Xiangbei before could only be called a pole position record!
The same driver, to win pole position and the championship, and also break the pole position and track records, is an extremely rare occurrence even for European prodigy drivers.
Not to mention, Chen Xiangbei is a Chinese driver; it was unimaginable before today.
"Is this true? Did Bei complete the hat-trick?"
The audience murmured to themselves, feeling as if they were dreaming.
"Yes, Bei broke all the records at the Donington Park Circuit; he is the absolute king!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Chen Xiangbei, champion!"
"Chen Xiangbei, you are the strongest driver at Donington Park!"
"Driver Bei, GOOD!"
Various frenzied screams rang out; now, not only Chinese spectators in the paddock but also foreign viewers stood up to praise and gave a thumbs-up to Chen Xiangbei on the cooldown lap.
In any competitive camp, the silent ones always form the majority.
Perhaps during quarrels about records, many people waver like fencesitters.
But when Chen Xiangbei showcased his dominating power and his performance reached an impeccable level, the majority of silent ones spoke up for him.
"Xiangbei-kun, results confirmed, you are the champion!"
Sawano Hiroyuki was the first to inform Chen Xiangbei of the victory.
Although there was an early celebration led by Odetto within the team, receiving race committee confirmation and achieving the hat-trick accomplishment still made Sawano Hiroyuki feel overwhelmed with joy.
He once thought the best result in Chen Xiangbei’s career would be to become the next Sato Takuma.
Now it seems he indeed underestimated this guy by a long shot.
He’s not going to become the second Sato Takuma, but the first Chen Xiangbei!
"Received, thank you."
Chen Xiangbei’s emotions remained stable; it was because if it weren’t for Mansell causing trouble in qualifying, this race wouldn’t have been so turbulent.
Moreover, there was a more important point. Chen Xiangbei knew his preparation exceeded any other competitor present.
Winning the championship was not a coincidence but an inevitable outcome!
The car stopped at the podium area; compared to before the race where Magnus and Mansell were the protagonists in interviews, this time the reporters flocked to Chen Xiangbei.
He used his performance to prove that he was the absolute main character, with no one able to overshadow his brilliance.
"Bei, what are your thoughts on defending the championship?"
A reporter quickly asked the question.
"Not too many thoughts, it’s something that should be expected."
This time, Chen Xiangbei did not downplay his achievement; champions deserved to be high-profile!
"After the last race, you announced that you wanted to win the championship. Was that just a ranting or did you foresee today’s result?"
"Neither, I just had absolute confidence in myself."
"Where does this confidence come from?"
"Talent can’t be quantified, but effort can be. I prepared for everything for this race."
This time, Chen Xiangbei did not use emotional language; instead, he gave a real answer.
The phone records show that Chen Xiangbei watched Senna’s "Circle of God" video more than two hundred times, only then observing the small changes of a dozen centimeters in the track’s corners from fifteen years ago to the present.
It should be noted that no matter how wonderful the video is, watching it hundreds of times will become tedious and boring.
Just like professional careers, when a hobby turns into a job, few people can find pleasure in repetitive mechanical training; the ability to improve more depends on perseverance and persistence.
Many later on know Verstappen’s terrifying talent, but in this era, there was also a driver from Finland who was not inferior to him, named Kimi Raikkonen.
He also had a history of getting FIA’s special permission to enter Formula One, with a triple jump experience that’s more legendary in a way.
Moreover, compared to Verstappen’s background from an F1 racing family, Raikkonen’s father was just a road construction worker, with starting points and resources far fewer.
Two people with almost equal talent, Verstappen achieved four world championships and there’s a high probability you can expect him to challenge the record of seven championships.
