Car Racing without Money-Chapter 568 - 222: The Chinese Kid Has Gone Crazy_2
Feeling Chen Xiangbei accelerating to prepare for an overtaking, Trulli immediately executed the same extreme gear-shifting acceleration maneuver.
Honestly, for top F1 drivers, the coordination of throttle, gear, and engine speed is not a high-difficulty operation. More often, it is about extreme control of details.
Trulli’s gear-switching was done perfectly, always keeping the engine speed in the optimal power output range.
With two identical Toyota engines, naturally, there couldn’t be any significant performance disparity. Chen Xiangbei wanting to overtake Trulli by speeding up became an impossible task.
The alternative plan was to execute a late brake overtaking at the T1 corner extremity!
To be honest, Chen Xiangbei was unwilling to use such extreme control. Missing the brake point means having to hard brake, which causes significant tire wear and might even result in a lock-up, contradictory to the one-stop tire conservation strategy.
But Chen Xiangbei had no choice. If he didn’t quickly take down Trulli, he would face a frantic attack from Kubica or Kovalainen.
Purely attacking is fine; Chen Xiangbei is not worried about his defensive capabilities.
He worries that the opponents might ruthlessly use torpedo tactics, which are defenseless!
The two HRT Racing Cars sped wildly forward, reaching the regular braking point of the T1 corner, with neither slowing down.
Having been teammates for a few months, Trulli may not know much else about Chen Xiangbei, but he is quite familiar with the Chinese rookie’s racing style.
This guy is filled with aggression and recklessness in his bones, he will definitely choose late brake overtaking!
Trulli’s guess proved to be correct, but also caused him to miss the braking point.
Seeing the cars ahead slowing down for the turn, both Chen Xiangbei and Trulli had to stomp on the brakes hard; otherwise, they would directly tailgate like torpedoes.
However, high-speed cars, tires not fully reaching operational temperature, coupled with track grip not reaching its peak value, made both cars unable to brake, continuing to charge forward.
No choice was left, and simultaneously they increased the brake pressure once more, instantly locking the tires, producing smoke from burnt rubber on the track, narrowly regaining steering control at the critical point of entering the buffer zone, painfully maneuvering into the T1 corner. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
The only piece of luck was that Chen Xiangbei and Trulli operated synchronously, horizontally blocking the entire T1 corner, making it impossible for Kubica and others behind to overtake, accidentally preserving their ranking.
Of course, this also caused the cars ahead to widen the gap, directly forming two camps among the twenty-four cars on the track.
"OH~~! What’s happening, HRT Racing Cars both locked tires simultaneously to fight for the corner line; it’s only the second race of the new season, is the internal competition already this intense?"
Red witnessed this and marveled; in-team fights in F1 are not uncommon, definitely not something new.
But for a new team, racing just the second match and making such competition "public," is indeed a rare spectacle.
Most in-team rivalry heats up usually at championship moments, or when fighting for a main driver seat for the next season.
"Mid-tier teams have tight resources, it’s challenging to maintain the competitiveness of two drivers simultaneously."
"Nobody likes becoming the second driver, so naturally, they must prove themselves through strength."
Prost, experienced in infighting, had fiercely battled Senna to the darkest days.
Before the race, there was a rumor that Trulli used Chen Xiangbei’s old kit, yet the HRT Team did not publicly respond.
In Prost’s view, such behavior is a form of humiliation; if Trulli does not show his strong stance, he might not only fall to the second driver but may further degrade into a "wingman."
"Professor, who do you think between Xiangbei and Trulli can emerge as the winner in this inner-team battle?"
Facing the difficult question tossed again by Raymond, Prost was a bit speechless.
After a moment of thought, he still offered his response.
"The future belongs to Xiangbei."
"But the present belongs to Trulli."
This answer is not completely objective, but rather from the angle Prost experienced.
Back then, Senna, similar to Chen Xiangbei in front of him, was a rookie eagerly challenging the veteran’s status.
Prost and Senna battled evenly matched, yet deep inside he knew the future would belong to Senna, the young man.
Unfortunately, everything ended on the Imola Circuit in ’94.
"Indeed, Xiangbei is hard-pressed to surpass Trulli; he will also have to face Kubica’s attack."
Red nodded in agreement, judging from the earlier scene when the HRT dual cars locked tires, Trulli was well-prepared for Chen Xiangbei’s attack and was very familiar with his rookie teammate’s driving style.
If it were a one-on-one match, who would be stronger or weaker isn’t clear.
Currently, it’s a race with other competitors interfering, such as Kubica who couldn’t hold back anymore.
After passing through the T1 corner, due to Chen Xiangbei’s tire lock-up slowing him down, Kubica immediately attempted an overtaking down the straight before entering the T2 corner.
Looking at the Renault car’s front wing passing his rear wheel in the rearview mirror, Chen Xiangbei could no longer execute a lane change to block, only watching helplessly as the opponent seized the inside line.
This is the consequence brought by "internal strife," when Chen Xiangbei and Trulli are competing against each other, someone is inevitably waiting to reap the spoils.
Simultaneously, at that moment, Chen Xiangbei further understood Briatore’s words.
A mediocre team may accept fair competition between two drivers.
A championship争战车队,必须明确划分一二号车手!
Large teams clarify driver status to avoid such situations.
"Senior Sawano, Xiangbei-kun is having a tough time this race."
Mizutani Sho, on the outdoor command platform, stared at the live cockpit footage nervously and solemnly.
Failing to overtake Trulli at the start not only caused additional tire wear but also triggered a series of chain reactions.
Although Kubica lost twice to Chen Xiangbei, he is definitely not a rookie driver; with wolves in front and tigers behind making breakthroughs difficult, not to mention fighting for podium positions.
"The higher the difficulty, the higher the value."
"Xiangbei-kun needs to break the deadlock with this race, gain the status and respect he desires!"
It’s like an unmocked dream without realized value.
A victory without challenges similarly fails to earn outside recognition.
[Xiangbei, are you unable to block anymore?]
11th car Kubica, seeing Chen Xiangbei with no blocking intention, felt a ripple in his calm heart.
The strength of the two previous confrontations brought enormous psychological pressure to Kubica; being a championship争战车手 while driving a nominally stronger Renault, but failing to outrun a Chinese rookie caused him much criticism and doubt.
Kubica similarly needed a race victory to prove himself.
Chen Xiangbei started without overtaking Trulli, encountered a tire lock-up, and now lost the best entry line.
Consecutive defeats and blows seemed to make him recognize reality, losing the previously invincible fighting spirit.
Poor stress resistance has always been a common issue among rookie drivers.
Clearly, Chen Xiangbei made a pressure-induced mistake under heavy pressure!
The scene that followed quickly shattered Kubica’s perception.
Although Chen Xiangbei had no intention to switch lanes to block, he likewise did not slow down.
On the brief straight before the corner, using F1 racing’s robust acceleration capability, Chen Xiangbei’s speed already reached an astonishing 260 km/h, and he missed the regular braking zone again!
"OH MY GOD, driver Xiangbei did not accelerate in the regular braking zone, could he be experiencing a tire lock-up situation again?"
Red noticed Xiangbei’s speed anomaly; the scenario seemed identical to T1 corner.
Despite China’s rookie performing excellently in practice and qualifying, why is he so reckless and charged in the race, as if a different person’s taken over, is the Chinese rookie’s pressure resistance indeed so weak?
In fact, Red misunderstood.
There isn’t only braking reducing speed for cornering; another method is full throttle cornering.
If you can’t block Kubica, then be faster than him!
The Albert Park Circuit’s T2 corner is a medium-speed corner, generally requiring slight adjustment and throttle easing.
Chen Xiangbei intends to utilize the grip peak of the soft red tires, his precise line capability, coupled with a risky mindset, eliminating any overtaking notions of Kubica!
The race car roared through a perfect curve; Chen Xiangbei used extremely smooth control, full throttle rushed through the T2 corner, leaving the chasing cars behind.
Kubica, witnessing this, had a shocked expression; the Chinese kid’s aggression and recklessness completely exceeded his expectations.
This wasn’t lacking pressure resistance, it was sheer madness!
