Car Racing without Money-Chapter 400 - 164: Official F1 Driver Contract
For this reason, Chen Xiangbei even abandoned the idea of private control. As long as United Capital can control fifty percent of the team’s shares, there’s no need to intervene in management matters.
Drivers acting as investors and managers often lead to more harm than good; F1 has countless failed precedents.
Currently, China only has Chen Xiangbei as an F1 driver, and it’s foreseeable that there won’t be a second Chinese F1 driver in the next decade.
Once domestic investments enter the scene, as long as he doesn’t perform terribly, Chen Xiangbei remains the unique choice, with no need to worry about his seat.
After arranging investment-related matters, Chen Xiangbei spent his subsequent time almost "living" in the Blakeley Factory’s racing simulator.
Commercial activities distracted him a lot, and Chen Xiangbei needed intense simulator training to maintain his condition and improve his familiarity with F1 racing.
The opponents next season will no longer be the rookies from lower-tier Formula races.
They will be the nineteen strongest drivers on the planet!
Time passed day by day, and soon it was mid-October in 2009.
Regarding the requirements for selling shares, the HRT Team boss Kalanbant agreed very readily.
He stated that as long as the money is in place, there’s nothing he can’t sell.
It’s worth noting that obtaining this spot was equivalent to catching a break, just in time for the F1 expansion plan, and the Campos Team was lucky enough to get a participation slot.
If it were ten-plus years later, the HRT Team wouldn’t even have the qualifications to apply for entry.
On Chen Xiangbei’s side, Staler, together with the domestic team, conducted negotiations and ultimately acquired sixty-seven percent of HRT Team’s shares for sixty million US Dollars, obtaining absolute control of the team.
Although Chen Xiangbei’s "United Capital" had absolute control, the management of the team didn’t undergo a major reshuffle, and Kalanbant still held the CEO position.
Many things adhere to the principle of haste making waste, as domestically there is no experience in operating high-level Formula teams, so learning needs to start from scratch slowly.
With the sixty million acquisition funds in hand, Kalanbant fulfilled his initial promise. He bought the Lifield Technology Center, the former headquarters for the Arrow Team and Super Aguri, located in the UK Oxfordshire Motorsport Valley, as the new headquarters for HRT Team.
At the same time, he absorbed over five hundred original Super Aguri and Toyota F1 R&D personnel, and transported two TF110 prototypes from Cologne, Germany to the United Kingdom.
It can be said that HRT has completed its transformation into a thoroughly authentic F1 team!
Now, all that’s missing is the arrival of the team manager "Hua Bu."
The Lifield Technology Center and Blakeley Factory both stand within the Motorsport Valley, separated by less than twenty kilometers in a straight line.
On the day HRT Team’s headquarters was relocated, Chen Xiangbei and the Dream Team members transferred simultaneously.
Sitting on the bus heading to Lifield Technology Center, Odetto continually kept his face turned towards the window, experiencing a complex mix of emotions.
To be honest, when Super Aguri Team went bankrupt, Odetto thought his career was over. With his age and credentials, he couldn’t compete for a position in any F1 team; a life of glory had quietly come to an end.
But then Chen Xiangbei appeared; the Chinese kid convinced Suzuki Aguri and preserved the skeleton of the Dream Team.
At that time, Odetto never imagined he would return to F1 one day. He was willing to stay simply not to see the complete disbandment of his former team.
As time passed, now not only could he lead the team back to the F1 Paddock, but he would also return to the former headquarters of Super Aguri that he once sold.
What a twist of fate!
In just over ten minutes, the bus stopped at the entrance of Lifield Technology Center.
At this moment, the yard in front of the headquarters was packed with numerous R&D personnel who previously came from Campos, Super Aguri, and Toyota.
Now they have a common name—HRT!
When Chen Xiangbei led Odetto and other core members off the bus, applause erupted from the crowd like thunder.
This group of R&D personnel was acutely aware that the reason they could stay in the F1 Paddock and return to their former workplaces was because this Chinese driver turned the tide, bringing Chinese capital in to "rescue" them.
Without Chen Xiangbei, there would be no HRT as it currently stands.
Hearing the applause nearby and seeing many familiar faces ahead, many members of the Super Dream Team were in tears.
Even the consistently tough-looking Odetto had red eyes at that moment.
"Odetto, are most of your former colleagues still around?"
Chen Xiangbei intended to tease the Italian old man.
But Odetto replied earnestly, "Xiangbei, thank you."
Facing such a serious Odetto, Chen Xiangbei felt somewhat uncomfortable and instinctively turned to look.
He saw Odetto tearfully, and Chen Xiangbei realized that this seemingly carefree Italian old man actually harbored deep emotions, never having let go of the Super Aguri team he once had.
"Xiangbei, on behalf of the new HRT, welcome you all!"
Kalanbant opened his arms, welcoming Chen Xiangbei.
"I think using the word ’return’ is more appropriate."
Chen Xiangbei smiled as he replied, warmly embracing Kalanbant.
This Spanish CEO seemed greedy for money on the surface, as long as one paid, anything could be discussed.
But he maintained excellent business credibility, never engaging in the dishonorable act of cashing out without taking action.
The Lifield Technology Center in front, along with these hundreds of top F1 R&D personnel, estimated he must have spent most of the sixty million US dollars he received.
