Car Racing without Money-Chapter 562 - 219: Fulfilling Past Boasts

Team leader Blair wanted Kubica to get back his momentum, having thought of countless methods and possibilities, but never considered losing!

Kubica was poached from Saub Team by Renault Team at great expense, intended to be nurtured as the core of the team, becoming the next Alonso.

For this goal, the team management at that time did not hesitate to give up Chen Xiangbei, only willing to offer him a third-driver contract.

In the end, reality tells Blair that the carefully selected team core couldn’t outperform the abandoned Chinese rookie?

To be honest, up until now, Blair hasn’t recovered from the shock!

"Leader, we need to give Kubica some comfort, let him adjust his mindset to finish this qualifying race."

Seeing Blair silent, the sports manager Nelson reminded.

Now is not the time to discuss winning or losing, it’s more important to recover "loss" from the qualifying race.

Upon hearing Nelson’s reminder, Blair took a deep breath and then pressed the voice call button on his headset.

"Kubica, it was just an accident, adjust your state and run the qualifying race."

"A driver’s career was never seen in one overtaking, but rather in who can laugh at the last."

What Blair said made sense, even Senna, Schumacher had moments of stumble, Verstappen was suppressed by Hamilton for several years.

Let alone a provocative overtake during a qualifying race?

However, facing the leader’s comfort, Kubica did not respond, only visible on the monitor screen as he slowed down for the cooling lap.

In this situation, Nelson said gravely, "It seems this setback hit Kubica harder than expected."

"Perhaps."

"But I believe Kubica can adjust quickly."

Blair appeared cold, Kubica is not some rookie beginner, nor is he fragile-hearted.

As a driver with championship potential, naturally includes the psychological quality for the championship, if a small setback can hit him, then he is not fit to vie for the world’s top-tier championship title!

The fact is just as Blair comprehends, shortly after several turns, Kubica adjusted from the dejection of failure, only left with an echo of shock inside.

He couldn’t understand, from a nation without racing foundation, nor drivers with years of lower-tier formula experience, how could someone like Chen Xiangbei, a top-tier formula driver, emerge?

Could talent truly transcend the gap of years of professional training?

No one can inform Kubica of the answer, while on Chen Xiangbei’s side, he’s again conducting his flying lap.

At this moment, traffic conditions on the track are becoming more tense, all ten cars are out of the pits, hoping to take advantage of the best ground grip conditions before the end of the qualifying race to achieve a forward starting position.

The lap-time leaderboard on the track’s large screen refreshes almost every few seconds, spectators’ attention no longer rests on Chen Xiangbei and Kubica, their eyes are fixated on the lap-time rankings, to see who can become the pole position of the Australian Grand Prix!

Suddenly, the paddock rang with thunderous applause, as Vettel from Red Bull Racing Team, with a lap time of 1:23.919, broke Schumacher’s six-year-old track record, earning the fastest lap at the Albert Park Circuit.

If no one surpasses Vettel, this would mark his second pole position of the new season, achieving consecutive pole positions!

Soon, the biggest rival Alonso appears, Ferrari racing speed is mediocre at this event, ranking only fourth in qualifying.

Vettel’s teammate Weber’s name jumped up, directly to second.

Ferrari Masa’s qualifying speed is not as good as the opening race, remaining in sixth place after the last flying lap.

Mercedes King of Cars Schumacher defended his honor this round, defeating rival Rosberg, reaching fifth, with Rosberg ranked seventh.

Now in the top ten list, Hamilton, Trulli, Kubica, and Chen Xiangbei have not yet outperformed.

The first to cross the line is Trulli, ranking eighth, basically tied with his best practice performance.

Even without using upgraded kits, in the face of opponent teams mostly having minor upgrades, achieving an improvement in result compared to the opening race is enough to prove Trulli’s excellent performance, fully extracting the car’s performance!

Hamilton is next to cross the line ahead of Chen Xiangbei, as the TF110 car crosses the starting line, Chen Xiangbei sees the fans in the stands rising, waving frantically towards the track.

[Is my ranking good?]

Chen Xiangbei doesn’t know whether this awe-inspiring scene is because of himself or because of Hamilton.

With this puzzlement, he pressed the voice call button on the steering wheel.

"Odetto, what’s the qualifying position for me and Hamilton?"

"Hamilton ran a time of 1:23.883, breaking the track record to take pole position."

"As for you, a time of 1:25.115, ranked ninth."

Odetto calmly replied with the results, neither disappointed nor thrilled.

He knows well that having engaged in attack and defense with Kubica for half the time, Chen Xiangbei’s tire wear and various indicators surely cannot achieve the vehicle’s optimal state, it is normal to not run a very good result.

In relative terms, the ninth place in Q3 can be accepted by the team.

Pole position for Hamilton?

Upon hearing Odetto’s reply, Chen Xiangbei was quite surprised.

Not surprised by his own qualifying results, an excessively oversteering car is always a double-edged sword, once the tires suffer excessive wear or brake thermal degradation, corrections in turns become steep, thus affecting overall lap time.

However, if Chen Xiangbei had to choose again, he would still confront Kubica’s provocation!

What truly surprises Chen Xiangbei is, if his memory serves right, the pole position of the Australian Grand Prix in history should still be with Vettel from Red Bull Racing Team, now it transforms into Hamilton.

Although Chen Xiangbei entered the F1 Paddock, it has already become an inducement for changing history, yet he still didn’t impact the top rankings in the opening race.

This change in pole position has thoroughly deviated the Australian Grand Prix from its historical trajectory.

While Chen Xiangbei was in a daze, Odetto’s voice came through the headphones again.

"Kubica ranked tenth."

[Tenth?]

According to Kubica’s strength and performance, driving the Renault car falling behind the two HRT drivers, undoubtedly indicates his status and performance were impacted.

Absolute confidence is very important for a driver!

As Kubica sprinted across the line, the countdown for the third qualifying session coincidentally concluded.

Looking at the complete lap-time rankings on the leaderboard, Red says the closing remarks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let’s congratulate McLaren driver Hamilton, not only did he secure pole position in the qualifying race, but he also broke the record kept by Schumacher at the Albert Park Circuit."

"Could history’s youngest world champion be engaging in a crown’s legacy with the returning Schumacher?"

"Additionally, the Chinese driver Xiangbei, who surprised and delighted everyone during the qualifying race, although the final performance seems somewhat lackluster. Though ranking ninth as a rookie is quite good, would his qualifying result be better without battling Kubica?"

"Honestly, I’m really curious, can driver Xiangbei replicate his stunning debut performance in the official race?"

Commentator Red especially mentioned Chen Xiangbei, indeed this Chinese rookie has brought much freshness to the paddock.

"Chen Xiangbei is sure to replicate the miracle!"

"Yes, I believe in Chen Xiangbei, he has this strength!"

"Go, driver Xiangbei, ninth place in qualifying will definitely not be your obstacle!"

"Sprint for the podium tomorrow, let the world witness the strength of Chinese drivers!"

In the past, facing suspenseful askings from track commentators, often the Chinese fans in the stands, or Chen Xiangbei’s fans, dared not reply.

They lacked confidence that Chen Xiangbei could create miracles, prematurely speaking grandiose claims appeared to be boasting.

Because for ordinary spectators, they don’t need to boost hype.

But today is different, determined replies resounded from the stands, even though Chen Xiangbei’s qualifying results are not as good as the opening race, they still believe this Chinese rookie can deliver a stunning performance in the official race.

The reason is simple, "double kill" of Kubica is a turning point in the wind direction!