Car Racing without Money-Chapter 522 - 204: Winning the Crowd’s Cheers
"China’s rookie driver Xiangbei overtakes Rosberg once again. This speed and performance were unimaginable before the race. Moreover, Xiangbei’s overtaking is very aggressive and decisive. I can even feel his determination through the big screen!"
"Xiangbei’s race engineer used to be a member of Ferrari’s strategy group, Odetto. I wonder if Schumacher, watching from behind, sees a hint of his unstoppable past self?"
James can see Chen Xiangbei’s determination of "succeed or perish". The overtaking maneuver wasn’t to intimidate Rosberg; he truly has the courage to risk a collision.
This is quite rare for a rookie, especially one from Asian China!
In the past, Asian drivers were labeled as timid, conservative, and hesitant.
Even if Ino Yuji and Sato Takuma tried to change this, Europeans often saw them as reckless and inexperienced, rather than brave and fearless.
The reason is simple: successful overtaking is considered brave.
Unsucceeded collisions are considered clumsy!
Whether it’s seizing the opportunity to overtake or flawlessly widening the gap afterward, Chen Xiangbei demonstrates that he’s aggressively yet not blindly. His control over the car and choice of racing lines rival Rosberg’s.
Plus, James has heard about Chen Xiangbei’s intense dedication, which is quite like Schumacher.
Many know Verstappen is a "car person," who almost cut off personal hobbies, dedicating his entire mind and body to racing.
In fact, Schumacher is also a representative of persistence within the paddock.
During his years at Ferrari, creating the Prancing Horse Dynasty, he never missed team meetings, training, testing, or car tuning.
Because of this, Schumacher suppressed Ferrari’s inherent "clown" nature, transforming it into an efficient, professional team.
After Schumacher left, Ferrari, leveraging inertia and peak Raikkonen’s performance, secured another drivers’ championship but mostly ranked third among the "big three" teams over nearly twenty years.
Red Bull and Mercedes often alternated in championship contention.
Schumacher not only influenced Ferrari but also helped Mercedes find the right direction and get through the acquisition and restructuring transition.
It’s fair to say, without Schumacher joining, the Mercedes Dynasty might have been delayed by several years.
"Honestly, I think it’s more the influence of Briatore."
Emil offered a different perspective, questioning whether Chen Xiangbei’s aggressive attitude was suitable, but does this overtaking strategy make scientific sense?
Rosberg’s calm and steady disposition, reminiscent of Prost and Senna during his team days with Hamilton, meant avoiding a crash was a bit surprising.
If it were a more hot-tempered driver, colliding wouldn’t be unexpected!
A rookie pulling off such "rogue" overtaking must have some guidance from Briatore; otherwise, just considering car damage would give one pause.
James did not rebut Emil’s skepticism and agreed there might be Hua Bu driving this behind the scenes.
In the HRT Team’s pit room and command center, team members excitedly shouted at the screen as it displayed the latest rankings.
"Xiangbei, the overtaking was beautiful!"
"Good job!"
"The first overtaking might have a stroke of luck, but the second proved his strength!"
"Xiangbei doesn’t lose to any European driver, and after this race, he’ll firmly establish himself in the F1 paddock."
Various compliments poured in as the rookie entering the top ten meant scoring in his debut, with the top six fulfilling the wild claims from the pre-race press conference, equating Chen Xiangbei with or even surpassing Raikkonen.
If he can finish fifth, Chen Xiangbei will achieve not just a breakthrough for Chinese racing but a historical breakthrough in Asian Formula racing.
Japan, with thirty years in the Formula racing framework, hasn’t cultivated a top driver debuting in the top six!
Moreover, the overtaking and defending in this race were substantial; it wasn’t a matter of "picking up wallets" to reach the top five, even with Trulli’s crash causing Chen Xiangbei to lose some pit stop time.
This performance not only showcased excellent driving skills but also revealed Chen Xiangbei’s remarkably strong psychological resilience, living up to being China’s first F1 prodigy driver!
Amid the cheers from the HRT Team’s direction, Mercedes crew members felt quite dejected. Their strategy group originally planned for Rosberg to hold back Chen Xiangbei’s tires and use a two-car tactic to let Schumacher overtake smoothly.
Unexpectedly, Rosberg couldn’t stop Chen Xiangbei!
"Brown, the team leader, Xiangbei is really somewhat beyond expectation."
Mercedes’ data engineer, Field, said this with a complex expression.
Last year during Chen Xiangbei’s rookie testing phase, Field accompanied him for nearly a month, witnessing the rookie surpass McLaren and Renault’s test drivers.
Field thought back then that Chen Xiangbei could become a competent F1 driver.
Time moved on, and Chen Xiangbei’s growth rate has been too fast. Now, he’s not just competent but challenges Rosberg!
Rosberg, from a racing family with an F1 world champion father, has professional training far ahead of Chen Xiangbei.
It’s no exaggeration to say that when Rosberg was karting, Chen Xiangbei was still playing with baby rattles.
