Car Racing without Money-Chapter 532 - 207: Intensifying Intra-Team Conflict (Part 3)
No matter whether he can ultimately defeat Chen Xiangbei, he must defend the pride of his predecessors.
At least Trulli doesn’t want to be left far behind by the newcomers!
The HRT Team drivers are practicing hard, and the team engineers are also busy.
After months of overtime work, the second-hand wind tunnel from the Ferrari Team is finally assembled.
This isn’t the most advanced wind tunnel of the era, nor can it fit a full-sized model of a race car to produce the most realistic simulation data.
But it resolved the issue of availability for the HRT Team, and the engineers can finally test the upgraded components.
However, the ensuing events triggered an internal crisis within the team!
The night before departing for Australia, heated arguments erupted in the headquarters office, involving the entire strategy group, the senior members of the R&D group, and both drivers.
"The team hasn’t clearly designated a first and second driver, nor signed a wingman agreement in the drivers’ contracts. Why should Trulli use Xiangbei’s old components?"
"This isn’t just unfair within the team; it’s a blatant insult to Trulli’s identity as a driver!"
Race engineer Sote was very emotional. He and Trulli have worked together for many years and are more than just colleagues; they are friends, even like brothers.
After Trulli crashed at the Bahrain Circuit, the HRT Team had no spare parts, causing the repair work to come to a halt.
As the team developed new upgraded components, Briatore immediately made a decision to dismantle the old aerodynamic components of Chen Xiangbei’s car and install them on Trulli’s car number 14.
As for Chen Xiangbei, he was given the latest upgraded components.
Resource tilt within F1 teams can be said to be a common phenomenon.
Every team faces the issue of who uses the upgraded components first or last, and often the solution is that the first driver has priority while the second driver uses the old components.
Many might ask why not just produce two sets, avoiding internal conflict and disputes.
The reason is simple: upgraded components are experimental, and sometimes it’s not necessarily an "upgrade" but a "downgrade."
Remember, each component of an F1 car, crafted like "small workshops," is extremely costly, with the front wing of the aerodynamic components reaching as much as 300,000 US dollars each.
The rear wing is a bit cheaper, but also costs 150,000 US dollars.
Regarding the side pods affecting the entire chassis, it easily surpasses a million US dollars.
Without confirming the upgrade effect, producing two sets of upgraded components—even for a big team like Ferrari—can strain the budget, so they can only go one by one.
Normally, upgrading one set at a time isn’t a big issue as there is always a sequence.
The problem arose with the dismantling of Chen Xiangbei’s old components!
Under normal circumstances, F1 teams produce sufficient spare parts, and large teams of "the Big Three" level even manufacture an entire spare car.
Just like the news in 2025 when Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu drove the Ferrari’s SF25 for Pirelli’s new wet tire testing, fans speculated whether he drove Hamilton’s car number 44 or Leclerc’s car number 16.
In fact, neither. He drove a Ferrari spare car.
But the HRT Team not only lacks spare cars but also sufficient spare parts.
Toyota Team directly shut down the racing R&D project, sold the entire headquarters factory, and not to HRT Team, meaning there’s no possibility of restarting production.
Without old spare parts, most teams would use new components for repairs.
However, Briatore, supposedly having a feud with Trulli, decided to dismantle Chen Xiangbei’s old components to fix this.
It’s important to know that using spare parts for repairs is different from dismantling old components from a car, creating two different perceptions in the F1 Paddock.
The former is normal maintenance, while the latter feels more like an insult!
It suggests that Chen Xiangbei’s status and resources completely overshadow Trulli, making him "just a roadside distraction."
This situation has happened before in the 2024 season with the Williams Team.
Similarly, at the Albert Park Circuit, driver Albon crashed into a wall during practice, severely damaging the car, necessitating a chassis replacement, but the Williams Team had no spare chassis to repair.
Thus, they employed a bold tactic by dismantling the second driver Sargent’s chassis and installing it on Albon’s car, causing the American driver’s premature end to the campaign.
This action then sparked huge controversy within and outside the paddock. After all, it was Albon’s own fault that led to the crash, yet Sargent had to pay the price, treating him as if he’s not a real person.
Even if he’s not skilled, there should at least be the dignity and pride of a driver, right?
In fact, within the F1 paddock, lack of skill is the original sin!
The Williams team manager at least came forward with official rhetoric, appreciating Sargent’s understanding and cooperation, emphasizing the fierce competition of mid-tier teams and the significance of points to the team’s financials and performance, etc.
Red Bull’s Marco commented sharply, openly stating that a single point affecting team standings could be worth millions of US dollars, and this sacrificial decision was logical and correct!
In the current situation from the management perspective of the HRT Team, especially from Briatore’s standpoint.
Trulli, you caused the crash resulting in no parts for repairs, and you couldn’t outperform the newcomer Chen Xiangbei, so what if you use old components?
But from Trulli’s perspective, he cannot accept such differential treatment and insult because it tramples on the dignity and pride of a driver.
Facing Sote’s emotional accusation, Briatore slowly lights a cigar, exhaling smoke, and calmly replies.
"The team has no extra spare parts and has produced only one set of untested new upgrades." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
"Trulli is a driver and also an adult; he must bear the consequences of his accident."
Upon hearing Briatore’s response, chief test engineer Mazzola furrows his brow, thinking the manager is too blatantly targeting, as if deliberately fueling internal conflict.
He then speaks, "The extent of improvement from the new components is temporarily unconfirmed, and actually, Trulli can be equipped first."
"No, Xiangbei’s speed is faster, his opening race results are better."
Hua Bu was very adamant, and while there were elements of personal vendetta, it was more about his "results-oriented" personality.
Chen Xiangbei’s potential to bring points to the team is greater than Trulli’s, involving year-end points and ranking bonuses.
As for exacerbating internal conflict, he doesn’t care.
In the F1 paddock, scenes of retiring both cars of the same team are numerous; did those team managements make concessions?
Trulli must recognize his own position; only the strong can claim all resources of the HRT Team!
