Car Racing without Money-Chapter 550 - 214: Odetto’s Self-Interest

"Damn, second fastest lap in practice three, has Chen Xiangbei erupted?"

"No way, does that mean his fifth place in the opening race’s qualifying isn’t his limit?"

"Could it be that a Chinese racing god is really about to be born?"

A chorus of exclamations erupted at the scene. You have to know that in the first two practice sessions, Chen Xiangbei was outside the top ten, but unexpectedly, in the third practice, when everyone thought there was no hope, he suddenly emerged to take second place.

Chen Xiangbei is truly full of surprises!

However, this cheer did not last long. Soon, the Australian and European fans at the scene started to voice their objections.

"These Chinese guys, do they even understand racing? Can practice session results even count?"

"Others are doing long runs on heavy fuel in practice three, but only Xiangbei pushes for the fastest lap. Chinese newcomer is really vain!"

"Looks like Xiangbei realized he can’t get a result, so he’s trying to make a spectacle during practice to grab attention."

"Whatever, let the driver Xiangbei enjoy himself. In this race, none of the other drivers will give him any chance to overtake!"

This spectator’s tone was full of disdain, and he also pointed out a fact.

That is, regardless of Chen Xiangbei’s actions and behavior causing hostility among some drivers in the paddock,

or his performance in the opening race attracting attention from other drivers,

at least one thing is certain: In the Australian Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei will face tougher defense and offense, the race will become fiercer, and it won’t be easy to improve his position!

"Professor, Xiangbei posted the second fastest lap towards the end of practice three. What do you think about that?"

Commentator Red immediately asked Prost the question.

It’s better to leave professional matters to professionals for explanation compared to spouting off himself.

"I actually think this is a bad signal."

"WHY?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Red was surprised by Prost’s response.

From earlier conversations, you could sense that the professor quite admired this Chinese newcomer, without any intention of belittling him.

Now, with driver Xiangbei posting a remarkable time in practice three, why does he think it’s not a good sign?

"In practice three, teams were carrying out long runs on heavy fuel or testing different tires. Their focus wasn’t on lap speed."

"However, Xiangbei made several pit stops and ultimately posted a time of 1:25.314, clearly indicating he couldn’t handle long-distance testing simultaneously."

"According to rumors, both drivers of the HRT Team have a competitive relationship and won’t share car setup data. Xiangbei essentially gave up on the race, focusing his setup extremely towards qualifying. Is this a good signal?"

Prost provided his reasons, highlighting that the race is the true test of performance and ranking, which qualifying can’t compare to.

Moreover, Chen Xiangbei’s current lap time doesn’t necessarily reflect his qualifying performance.

Keep in mind that during practice sessions, several major teams haven’t yet pushed their limits.

While Chen Xiangbei pushed for this lap, Prost could sense he was using all his effort.

Prost’s commentary was relayed to the HRT Team’s pit station, and Lu Xiaoman, upon hearing this, pouted with some dissatisfaction and said, "Isn’t the professor underestimating Xiangbei a bit? Based on the current lap time, it should be enough to make it into Q3 in qualifying, right?"

"Not necessarily."

Sho Mizutani, standing beside her, shook his head, showing no sign of joy on his face.

Or rather, faced with Chen Xiangbei’s second-fastest lap time in practice, the team’s strategy group members were all very calm.

"Why?"

"The full-power engine can’t hold up; the monitoring data shows cylinder pressure exceeds the redline."

"This way of driving can only be used for testing; in qualifying, the engine will blow."

Data analyst Sho Mizutani explained, this is why the team’s strategy group didn’t celebrate.

Even if, stepping back, the HRT Team could run full power in qualifying, other teams could do the same; even the big teams could afford to change power units, enabling them to run in overdrive to compete for ’the lap of the gods.’

The performance gained by squeezing out engine life won’t last.

"Sho Mizutani, does this mean Xiangbei’s qualifying performance will worsen?"

Lu Xiaoman experienced a roller coaster of emotions, thinking that Chen Xiangbei had achieved a breakthrough, only to find out from Sho Mizutani’s explanation that making it into Q3 remained a tough challenge.

"Not necessarily."

Sho Mizutani shook his head again.

"While the car speed can’t break through, Xiangbei’s control in this lap has improved—you can’t predict where his limit is!"

While saying this, Sho Mizutani’s tone was filled with amazement.

Faced with completely different upgraded car features, it was obvious that Chen Xiangbei was adapting rapidly.

Many people once thought Chen Xiangbei’s model was akin to Sato Takuma, possessing astonishing talent yet thwarted by reality, unable to receive comprehensive racing training early on.

Now, it seems that Chen Xiangbei’s talent far surpasses that of Sato Takuma.

This speed of adaptation and learning can truly be called monstrous talent.

After finishing his return lap and heading back to the team’s P-room, the crew immediately surrounded him to assist Chen Xiangbei out of the cockpit.

Taking off his helmet, his face was drenched in sweat, revealing the pressure Chen Xiangbei endured during this lap.

"Xiangbei, good speed."

Odetto came over, patted Chen Xiangbei’s shoulder, and praised him.

But then he immediately changed his tone and added, "But it’s not enough."

"The improvements brought by engine power won’t come into play in the qualifying stage. Based on the comparative data, you haven’t pulled ahead of Trulli at many corners."