Car Racing without Money-Chapter 521 - 203: You Must Be More Ruthless Than Your Opponent (Part 3)
Chen Xiangbei drove past the accident site in his TF110 and saw the deeply frustrated stance of Bruno.
He could truly understand this kind of feeling, as in many ways he too was often under the heavy pressure of representing China’s racing hopes.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most fans of this era, including Chinese fans, are a bunch of "champion followers".
Praising when winning, criticizing when losing.
Liu Xiang is the best example.
If not for his two lifetimes of racing experience and the influence of the internet era in his past life, Chen Xiangbei isn’t sure if he could withstand such pressure.
Fortunately, he does.
The speed of lifting the cars was slower than expected. When the staff waved the green flag signaling the resumption of the race, it was already lap thirty-seven!
The safety car gave Rosberg room to warm up the tires, and combined with the high temperatures at the Bahrain Sakhir Circuit, it can be said that the hard white tires have reached working temperature.
For Chen Xiangbei, attempting an overtake became increasingly difficult.
The safety car withdrew, and the cars accelerated one by one; Chen Xiangbei reacted quickly, not allowing Rosberg to pull away, sticking to the tail of Rosberg’s car and attempting to attack.
Peering into the rear-view mirror at the 13th car attempting to overtake, Rosberg’s expression beneath his helmet visor was very indifferent.
During the starting phase, because he was slow to heat up and underestimated his opponent, Rosberg had already been overtaken by Chen Xiangbei once.
Now, relying on the long-distance stability and tactical overtaking, he was back in front of the Chinese newcomer.
Rosberg believed that he would absolutely not make the same mistake twice!
He floored the throttle and shifted gears, the car’s speed began to surge crazily, the engine’s revs pushed to an ultimate 18,000 plus revs, this was already the limit of the Toyota engine.
Accompanied by both cars entering the corner simultaneously, the TF110’s better downforce and cornering speed came into play, Chen Xiangbei gradually closed in, attempting to use the faster exit speed to complete the overtake.
[TF110 is this fast?]
Facing such an offensive from Chen Xiangbei, Rosberg was surprised.
During the starting phase, he hadn’t had much combat and defense with Chen Xiangbei, naturally not experiencing the TF110’s racing performance.
Now he somewhat understood why Schumacher followed for seven to eight laps but couldn’t overtake Chen Xiangbei; the cornering grip of the TF110 is terribly strong!
After all, under normal circumstances, cars rely more on mechanical grip for cornering, while exhaust flow through slipstream provides downforce, equating to having a "cheat".
"Full throttle acceleration, force the car on the right to block the trailing car’s line!"
The voice of the Mercedes strategy group came through his headphones, with the third party "God" view of the track, they could better observe Chen Xiangbei’s speed and line before entering the corner, and judge in advance what overtaking line Chen Xiangbei intended to take.
Of course, another important point is that Chen Xiangbei was once a test driver for the Brawn GP Team, his driving habits and data are stored in the team’s database, strategy group engineers have long analyzed him.
It can be said that among the eleven rival teams in the paddock, Mercedes places the greatest importance on Chen Xiangbei.
They have truly witnessed the speed and talent of the Chinese newcomer!
Receiving the instructions, Rosberg had no hesitation in changing lane to block the car, seizing Chen Xiangbei’s exit overtaking line.
To avoid a collision accident, Chen Xiangbei could only abandon the overtaking maneuver, both cars entering a short straight in a sprint.
Compared to cornering speed, the TF110 race car lacks any particular advantage on straightaways, with reduced engine power, at most it can be neck and neck with the Mercedes car, making a straight-line dominance scene impossible.
Simultaneously, as aerodynamic kits become more high-end and precise, and with the increased size due to the removal of refueling, overtaking in F1 becomes increasingly difficult.
This is why, in later years, hybrid systems and DRS would be introduced.
By using charging strategies and configuring DRS zones, reliance on the slipstream slingshot effect of the front car is reduced, allowing overtaking points to not only be limited to corners, but also allowing speed dominance over opponents on long straights.
Rosberg, in full defense, finally showcased his top driver skills, repeatedly blocking Chen Xiangbei’s line in several corners.
As time and laps progressed, the tire grip between the two cars could be said to be a matter of trade-offs, if delayed further, even if the TF110 is faster in corners, the tires won’t grip the ground.
What’s more, behind Chen Xiangbei stands Schumacher eyeing a chance! 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
The King of Cars is also waiting for the perfect overtaking opportunity.
"Come on, Chen Xiangbei!"
"Overtake him, and you can reclaim fifth position."
"Chen Xiangbei, fifth would surpass Kimi Raikkonen’s debut results, proving you are comparable to him!"
Many Chinese fans trackside couldn’t suppress their excited emotions anymore, cheering and encouraging Chen Xiangbei one after another.
Before the race, countless people mocked Chen Xiangbei as not deserving to be mentioned alongside Raikkonen.
Now it’s not about being mentioned alongside; Chen Xiangbei is set to surpass this Finnish historic talent.
The only obstruction is Rosberg ahead.
This era’s Rosberg was viewed externally as merely a second-generation racer, not the future world champion who defeated peak Hamilton.
Chen Xiangbei could even hold back Schumacher, why couldn’t he overtake him?
Many underestimated Rosberg’s speed; only Chen Xiangbei knew how stable this second-generation racer was over long distances and how solid his fundamentals were.
Even if his fighting isn’t top-notch, he still blocks his line completely!
During this stalemate, a voice came through Chen Xiangbei’s headphones from Briatore.
"Kid, scared of dying?"
[What do you mean?]
At this moment, Chen Xiangbei was in a state of high concentration, without any time to ponder what Hua Bu wanted to express.
"Be straightforward!"
"If you’re not scared of dying, go for a crash; if you can’t even dare to crash, on what basis can you overtake?"
The suggestion from Hua Bu was simple: play it dangerous with Rosberg.
Just like in later years during Verstappen’s rookie phase, overtaking meant throwing the car into the corner, if the opponent yielded then success, if not it would be a "torpedo".
"If you hesitate any longer, Schumacher won’t give you a chance to defend."
Briatore added another sentence; he had unearthed Schumacher himself, understanding too well this German’s way of operating.
Once Chen Xiangbei’s tire grip declined, he would overtake the Chinese kid and his teammate simultaneously!
"Understood."
Chen Xiangbei responded with a single word, considering he had perished on the circuit in his past life, how could he fear?
The next section up ahead is the Bahrain Circuit T12 high-speed corner, Chen Xiangbei floored the accelerator and headed straight for the corner apex, this time faced with Rosberg’s blocking move, he showed no signs of slowing down or changing lanes.
Unyieldingly, he was like a torpedo!
