Car Racing without Money-Chapter 518 - 202: Is This a Mini Hexagon? (2)

Chen Xiangbei possesses a historical perspective, knowing that after Schumacher’s motorcycle accident, his body has hidden troubles coupled with age, leading to a significant decline in competitive status.

But others don’t know this.

The name Schumacher, as long as it appears in the F1 Paddock, exerts an invisible pressure on teams and opponents, and no one can ignore the presence of the King of Cars behind them.

Even though Chen Xiangbei knows the direction of history, it’s still the same!

This is the intimidating presence brought by the King of Cars through his achievements and countless records.

If Rosberg can’t hold him off, then Chen Xiangbei will face a situation with Alonso ahead and Schumacher behind.

The "new king" and "old king" within the paddock might form a dimensional reduction strike.

This time, the HRT technician team had no errors in the tire replacement, and in 2.9 seconds, Chen Xiangbei’s car exited the pit and rushed to the main track.

"Master, this time the coordination was flawless."

Ayong watched Chen Xiangbei’s car drive away, letting out a long breath as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

During the tire change just now, he felt his hands were trembling, fearing any mistake would affect Chen Xiangbei’s ranking.

A current fifth place track position is simply a dream!

"Not just this time, every time must be error-free, or it would be unworthy of Xiangbei’s performance."

The previous pit stop error has placed a great psychological pressure on Liang Chi, as the chief technician.

Every position improvement by the driver, and even every second gained, is often fought for with their lives.

To lose at the pit station is the greatest insult to the driver’s risk-taking!

Especially Chen Xiangbei, who has brought a previously unseen hope to Chinese racing.

"Odetto chief, Rosberg of Mercedes Team hasn’t pitted."

Outside on the command platform, Sawano Hiroyuki and Mizutani Sho work together seamlessly, with one person locking onto the screen’s various data while the other watches the moves of the competing teams.

With the virtual safety car deployed, Schumacher from the Mercedes Team pitted for a tire change, while Rosberg continued to race on the track.

Obviously, Mercedes has adopted a different strategy, with Schumacher on three stops and Rosberg on two stops.

Or rather, Rosberg is gambling on the deployment of the real safety car!

It is known that the safety and completion rate of F1 races have continuously improved over time.

In earlier times, under the influence of wild driving and frequent failures, the overall completion rate of F1 drivers was less than half.

Meaning that in a race, at least half the drivers retire for various reasons.

Entering the 21st century, as F1 race regulations improved, wild driving habits were curbed, and the overall completion rate rose to about seventy percent, yet the stability of the cars still falls short.

The most common nickname of this era is various "Cylinder Explosion Kings".

After the 10th season, the overall completion rate and stability of the season improved again, reaching an average of around eighty to ninety percent.

With a high completion rate in later generations, basically only small teams would gamble on the safety car, while even big teams often did in this era. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Rosberg’s long-distance and tire-saving ability are top-notch in the paddock, with his tire wear outperforming even Chen Xiangbei, according to team estimates, his red tires can last around 25 laps, earning him the title of "Tire Preservation Master".

The virtual safety car can save six to seven seconds of pit time, whereas the real safety car can save more than ten seconds.

Considering tire life, Rosberg plans to gamble.

If he wins, he will successfully overtake Chen Xiangbei strategically.

If he loses, he simply switches positions with Schumacher, the Mercedes team wouldn’t suffer much.

Similarly gambling are some lower-ranking drivers, but since they are far behind Chen Xiangbei, even if they win the gamble and save those few seconds, it won’t affect their ranking.

Chen Xiangbei exited the pit lane, and the track ranking instantly refreshed, dropping him from fifth place to tenth place.

However, these are temporary rankings, as some drivers lack one pit stop, their actual position remains ahead.

On the track, Chen Xiangbei began to speed, as drivers in front with used tires showed little resistance to the approaching number 13 HRT car and opted for letting him pass.

Buemi, Kobayashi Kamui, Kovalainen...

These names, every one familiar, that in his previous life Chen Xiangbei could only look up to, are now being easily overtaken.

Chen Xiangbei’s speed is fast, but behind him, there’s a faster silver car closing in.

He is the returning Schumacher from the Mercedes Team!

Schumacher’s qualifying result was very ordinary, not only lagging behind teammate Rosberg but even falling behind Indian Force’s Sutil.

But a King of Cars is still a King of Cars, even after three years away feeling rusty, and under multiple influences like age and injuries, which made his overall competitive status very poor, he still surpassed Sutil and Weber based on his experience.

As the race progressed, Schumacher gradually regained his previous car feel, and his driving speed steadily increased.

Starting similarly on yellow tires, Schumacher was 0.3 seconds faster than Chen Xiangbei in the first lap!

"So fast, Schumacher on yellow tires purpled and got the fastest lap."

"This is the strength and foundation of the King of Cars. Is this a comeback of a champion?"

"A living legend in the paddock, no one can stop Schumacher."

"Schumacher wins another championship, become an eight-time champion!"

The track spectators, facing Schumacher’s burst of speed, were nothing short of euphoric.

Many couldn’t contain their excitement, stood up from their seats, and cheered for Schumacher.

Chen Xiangbei couldn’t hear the thunderous applause, yet he could hear the roar of the engines behind him.

In a few short laps, the real Mercedes "Silver Arrow" appeared in his rearview mirror.

"North, behind you is Schumacher from the Mercedes Team."

Briatore’s voice broke out, offering no instructions, nor announcing any tactics.

It only conveyed the name of the driver behind.

Many things require no extra words, Hua Bu wanted to see how Chen Xiangbei would perform and resist under the pressure of a motorsport legend.

Truth be told, Chen Xiangbei felt the pressure.

It’s not just the name Schumacher, but also the sharp momentum of the rear car pursuing.

"Odetto chief, the last lap Schumacher was 0.7 seconds faster than North-kun, is it that exaggerated?"

Sawano Hiroyuki looked at the data on the screen, feeling somewhat incredible.

Chen Xiangbei wasn’t slow, even achieving his previous red tire cruising lap times.

Yet Schumacher was still able to quickly close in, truly terrifying!

"Don’t forget, he is the record holder for this track."

Odetto, with a complex mood, said this, as someone who witnessed Schumacher establish the Ferrari Dynasty, no one knows the pinnacle strength of the King of Cars better than him.

Auto 0.5 second lead is a hallmark of a GOTA driver.

Schumacher’s truly powerful aspect lies in his study and understanding of the car and extreme desire for victory.

During those championship fights in the past, you could feel in his eyes that cold determination and fierce aggression.

A lion uses full strength against a rabbit, more so when the King of Cars Schumacher appears behind?

Without any hesitation, Chen Xiangbei immediately chose to abandon chasing the car in front, repositioning his goal to fully defend against the car behind.

Mercedes could not continue the glory of the Brawn GP team in the 09 season during the 10 season, even with the strong lineup of Schumacher and Rosberg, the annual points ranking ended only in fourth place on the team leaderboard.

Chen Xiangbei judged that TF110’s performance limit should be above Mercedes.

As long as they couldn’t do top-speed to overtake, in corners, thanks to the additional downforce from the blown diffuser, Mercedes could not surpass in corners.

Even if they are Schumacher standing at the pinnacle!

The two cars thus engaged in an attack and defense on the track, just as Chen Xiangbei expected, the long straight tail speed of Mercedes and TF110 were evenly matched, but the cornering speed was somewhat lacking.

Schumacher indeed had more excellent line selection and ultimate detail control, allowing him several times to let his front slightly pass Chen Xiangbei’s rear wheel, almost completing the overtaking move, only to be overtaken back by the cornering speed of the Chinese Kid.

This occurrence shocked many spectators.

In external perception, Schumacher should be like cutting through butter when overtaking Chen Xiangbei, yet the Chinese Kid blocked him solidly?

The defense is so outstanding, combined with the previous overtaking and tire-saving, one could say there are no obvious shortcomings.

Could it be that Chen Xiangbei can truly stand alongside Kimi Raikkonen, become the next superstar in the paddock?