Car Racing without Money-Chapter 331 - 146: The Most Powerful Race Car on Blue Star
This can’t be described as below average; it’s completely at the level of a backmarker driver.
For this reason, Dong Hebin switched to the emerging A1 Grand Prix and teamed up with Cheng Congfu to represent the Chinese team in the competition.
Historically, at the beginning of the ’10s, the Renault F1 Team announced in Spain that Dong Hebin joined the team as the third driver.
Right now, it’s the exact time when Dong Hebin was undergoing team testing.
"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
Although Chen Xiangbei knew Dong Hebin’s background, he couldn’t act too familiar, so he just exchanged a couple of traditional Chinese pleasantries.
"Xiangbei, are you also here at the Catalonia Circuit for testing?"
Dong Hebin didn’t notice anything unusual; instead, his tone was somewhat excited.
Seeing a "compatriot" in the F1 Paddock was indeed something to be happy about.
"Yes, I’m here to test the RA108 car, to accumulate kilometers for applying for the Super Driver’s License."
Chen Xiangbei didn’t mention his skipping levels; some things have a tendency to seem boastful before they are achieved.
In front of "one of his own," Chen Xiangbei remained relatively modest.
"I heard you won the Grand Prix championship, really impressive!"
Dong Hebin gave a thumbs-up in praise; he became aware of Chen Xiangbei through his attention to the Grand Prix.
He himself competed in the 2004 Grand Prix but only finished in sixteenth place, so he knew well what winning the Grand Prix meant—it signified an absolutely top-tier talented driver!
Just as Chen Xiangbei felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to say a couple of modest words.
A McLaren car, silver and red, roared closer from the distance and then screeched to a halt in the pit area ahead.
Chen Xiangbei’s eyes were instantly drawn to this McLaren F1 car, its model MP4-23, last year’s champion car driven by Hamilton.
It also has another renowned nickname, "Silver Arrow!"
The silver of Mercedes paired with the red of Marlboro created what was then the most powerful car in the world.
The McLaren Team’s technicians were professional; they swarmed the car the instant it stopped to assist the driver in performing kill switches, removing the steering wheel, releasing the safety belt, and other operations, all possibly within one or two seconds.
It’s the heritage of a championship team; even when accommodating rookie driver tests, they still showcased top-notch teamwork abilities.
The McLaren driver emerged from the cockpit, lifted his helmet visor, and noticed Dong Hebin and Chen Xiangbei "watching," with Paffett showing a clear hint of disdain.
He snorted, "Another Asian rookie."
What?
Hearing this, Chen Xiangbei was taken aback.
Among lower-level formula drivers, such "straightforward" mockery is quite common.
After all, with teenagers, being brash and blunt with words is normal at times.
But at higher-level formula races, with the increase in exposure and recognition, drivers became relatively cautious in their statements; at least, they wouldn’t bluntly demean a "peer" without any grudges.
"Dong Hebin, what does he mean?"
Chen Xiangbei asked Dong Hebin, feeling puzzled.
Hearing Chen Xiangbei’s inquiry, Dong Hebin looked a bit awkward.
And then replied, "Yesterday during testing, I made an error that nearly resulted in a crash with him."
This "initial high, later low" performance from Dong Hebin was quite exaggerated; historically, when he was training with the Renault car, his lap times were a full three seconds slower than the top-ranked Paffett!
F1 cars are not any ordinary cars; each team’s car performance varies due to different development capabilities.
Also, during this era without budget caps, the speed gap between large and small teams was significant, and coupled with variances in driver skills, it wasn’t uncommon to lag two to three seconds per lap.
But for Renault, one of the "Big Three," to lag three seconds behind McLaren, was extremely unusual.
This implied a quantum leap in the disparity between the two drivers!
Being incredibly slow and nearly causing an accident with a peer, Paffett was very dissatisfied, thinking this Chinese rookie only got in by throwing money, as a pay driver.
Paffett had a strong "dislike" for pay drivers; early in his career, he won the F3 championship, but his seat was taken by someone with "financial capabilities" during his progression to F3000 and had to switch to the DTM touring car series.
However, his talent was undeniable; within two years, Paffett secured a first and second place!
Dong Hebin being slow and nearly crashing into him made Paffett naturally unhappy.
Now another Asian driver has shown up, and he suspected that this one was surely another pay driver rookie.
In a sense, Paffett wasn’t wrong in his guess; Chen Xiangbei indeed was self-funded...
Just then, Sawano Hiroyuki came out of the pit and called out to Chen Xiangbei next door, "Xiangbei-kun, the RA108 car has almost been adjusted, change into your racing suit and get ready."
Upon hearing this call, Chen Xiangbei lost the desire to chat leisurely, said goodbye to Dong Hebin, and returned to the Super Dream pit.
Odetto saw Chen Xiangbei return, and holding a data board, said to him, "You haven’t dealt with F1 cars before, so let me first introduce the performance data of the RA108 car to prevent any mishaps during handling later."
"The RA108 engine has a horsepower of 750, plus the 60 horsepower provided by the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), reaching a maximum horsepower of 810 when fully throttled."
"The gearbox is a seamless sequential gearbox, with no power interruption between gears; you need to be aware of these subtle differences during shifts, coordinating with the throttle to prevent tire lockup or slipping."
After saying these two points, Odetto directly picked up a steering wheel from the table.
"This is the detachable steering wheel of the F1 car, which incorporates many more functional buttons than the F3 car. I’ve handwritten each function on the data board, memorize them as you change into your racing suit."
"Kid, remember, F1 cars are expensive, and the Brawn GP Team only has this one spare car."
"I don’t want to see any mistakes during your testing!"
Odetto once encouraged Chen Xiangbei to crash, to overcome mental fear and weakness; only then could one know where the limits of the car and the track were.
But now, he revealed a "cautious" side; this RA108 car, is truly a car one cannot afford to crash!
