Car Racing without Money-Chapter 409 - 167: Proclaiming to the World with Flair (Part 2)
While the two were catching up, Kalanbant had already completed the contract signing with Hua Bu.
Kalanbant, stepping out of the room, was very excited and gave Chen Xiangbei a warm hug on the spot.
To be honest, the initial intention of this Spanish businessman to attract Chen Xiangbei was very simple—he wanted to get sponsorship money from the Chinese Kid. Regarding skills and strength, those were secondary; money was the primary consideration.
As a result, not only did the money come through, but Chen Xiangbei also brought Honda’s technology and Renault’s talent entirely to the HRT Team.
Kalanbant, who previously only thought to "survive" in the F1 paddock, started envisioning podium moments and even team championship victories from the moment he signed Briatore.
Truly, "Don’t underestimate the poor youth!"
"Boss, is everything settled?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Chen Xiangbei was uncomfortable with Kalanbant’s enthusiasm.
He gently pushed away to maintain distance and then asked in return.
"Of course, once Briatore finishes handling matters with Renault, he will head to the Lifield Technology Center immediately."
"Bei, I can already foresee the glory of the HRT Team!"
Seeing Kalanbant in a state of "madness," Chen Xiangbei didn’t have time to stick around.
Since the recruitment was already settled, he exchanged greetings with Dong Hebin and returned to the HRT Team headquarters.
...
The days of training with the racing simulator always seemed a bit dull. However, as November 1st arrived and the final F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended, public opinion once again surged.
The 2009 F1 season was filled with chaos and surprises, yet it became a carnival for the small and medium-sized teams!
Brawn GP Team barely managed to hold their position, and Jenson Button from the United Kingdom ultimately claimed the world championship title, becoming the new king of the F1 paddock.
However, the Brawn GP Team that had just created a miracle soon faced a disintegration crisis.
New champion Jenson Button announced after the race that he was transferring to the McLaren Team; the allure of the traditional "big three" eventually surpassed the "newcomer" Mercedes.
As for the second driver Barrichello, he followed suit by announcing his joining the Williams Team.
Barrichello didn’t have any further ambitions as he was approaching the age of 38, already at the twilight of his career.
Even if Mercedes couldn’t temporarily match the "big three," it was still much stronger than the declining Williams, making it clear his transfer was a "downgrade."
The reason Barrichello made this decision was not to pursue better results but to stay away from Schumacher.
Yes, after being Schumacher’s wingman for many years, Barrichello did not want to be subordinate to anyone in the final years of his career!
It can only be said that many things are unpredictable. If Ross Brown could have foreseen the collective departure of both official drivers from the team, he would have signed Chen Xiangbei for an official driver position early on, forming a new and old pairing with King of Cars Schumacher.
However, if that were the case, Chen Xiangbei would probably refuse to sign.
The reason is simple: any rookie driver before Schumacher is destined to become a wingman.
Chen Xiangbei is unwilling to be subordinated, even if the opponent is a legend in the racing world!
Red Bull, securing driver and team runner-up positions, had already shown its sharpness in ’09. The title of the strong team within the paddock will undergo a shift.
McLaren secured the third team championship, preserving the last dignity of the old "big three."
As for the fourth team, it was the Toyota Team, which announced its exit from the paddock at the end of the season.
In fact, the point gap between Toyota and McLaren was negligible, and it was not lost on the car but rather on the drivers.
The second-rate combination of Trulli and Gagelock could hardly compete with Hamilton and Kovalainen.
If only Toyota’s drivers were a bit stronger, perhaps McLaren could have been defeated.
In a way, Toyota, like Honda, fell in the darkness before dawn.
They knew the strength of the TF109 car but didn’t dare to gamble on the TF110’s speed.
Yet this time, the TF110 car hasn’t completely sunk; it still has the chance to prove itself!
Additionally, to implement FIA’s expansion plan, during the news conference at the season’s final race, the current FIA president Tod announced that the paddock would expand to twelve teams in the 2010 season.
Although the Toyota Team exited the paddock, Lotus, HRT, and Virgin, three "newcomers," filled the vacancies.
Yet this Lotus isn’t the "Divine Lotus" formed in collaboration between LOTUS and Renault but the "Green Lotus" from Malaysia.
The ownership of the Lotus trademark has been changed multiple times and is quite chaotic, which led the Geely Group to suffer a loss when acquiring LOTUS, unexpectedly finding they couldn’t use the Lotus trademark but only the transliteration "LUOTESI."
After five years of litigation, in 2025, the Geely Group finally retrieved the "Lotus" trademark, and from then on, LOTUS and Lotus officially merged as one.
This phenomenon of LOTUS and Lotus coexisting didn’t just exist domestically; in the 2011 F1 paddock, the spectacle of two "Lotus" teams had already played out.
A battle of legitimacy opened between the "Divine Lotus" and "Green Lotus!"
Of course, these matters have little to do with Chen Xiangbei; he’s attending a grand news conference!
Kalanbant planned to leverage the conference for publicity and the fame of China’s first F1 driver to attract more capital interest in Chen Xiangbei and thus gain more advertising sponsorship funds.
