Car Racing without Money

Chapter 792 - 322: You Must Make a Choice (Part 2)

"These practice times aren’t exactly normal. Now Xiangbei’s P1 time is up to third. Are you saying Vettel, Hamilton and the others are rookies too?""The problem is Red Bull and McLaren Team haven’t pushed yet. It’s obvious Xiangbei went PUSH on that last lap he stayed out."

"Whether he pushed or not depends on context. Don’t draw conclusions off practice times!"

A lot of spectators realized that Chen Xiangbei staying out on track was definitely to bang in a good lap. But how much effort he actually used, only Chen Xiangbei himself and the HRT Team knew.

So the ones itching to mock him were afraid of getting slapped in the face and didn’t dare.

The ones itching to hype him up were just as afraid of getting slapped in the face and didn’t dare either.

Both sides could only argue about whether Chen Xiangbei actually pushed or not...

But the atmosphere in the HRT Team garage was much heavier. The strategy group knew very clearly that after Odetto’s order, on that lap Chen Xiangbei, if not at a full hundred percent, had at least unleashed over ninety percent of his potential.

They were very unhappy with that 1:13.885.

At this pace, even if he improves in qualifying, chances are high he’ll bow out in Q2.

As the clock hit zero for FP1, Chen Xiangbei slipped into the pit lane. In the garage, Odetto, Sawano Hiroyuki and the others had already started studying the onboard footage, preparing for FP2 coming up.

"North, you probably need to rethink the setup."

The first thing Odetto said when he saw Chen Xiangbei walking in was about the setup.

Before Chen Xiangbei could answer, Odetto pointed at the onboard on the screen and went on, "Monaco is all about rhythm and flow. It’s never about taking each corner one by one—you need to treat the whole thing as a single piece."

"Every corner exit determines the next corner entry. You have to find a smooth rhythm. There can’t be any interruptions in the whole process."

You have to understand, Odetto hardly ever coaches drivers on driving technique. In his own words, the F1 Driver is already standing at the top of the control pyramid—no one is qualified to teach an F1 Driver how to drive.

The reason he was saying all this today, on one hand, was because he wanted to use a serious attitude to make Chen Xiangbei realize that between adapting to himself and adapting to the track, there had to be some trade‑off.

On the other hand, it was because if the HRT Team wanted to fight for the title, they needed to win both of these last two races!

Back then, for Odetto or the HRT Team, "fighting for the title" was more of a slogan and a target. If Chen Xiangbei could just get into the title fight, everyone would already be over the moon.

If they really couldn’t do it, as long as the results were decent, the team could accept it.

At least, nobody had expected from the very start to hold Chen Xiangbei to a world champion standard.

To put it even more bluntly, a rookie Chinese driver just making the podium in his debut season would already be a success!

Now the situation was totally different. The title fight was no longer a goal or a slogan—it was a concrete honor right within reach.

The desire to win isn’t something only drivers have. Team principals and management have it too.

Odetto wanted to witness the driver he had cultivated with his own hands standing at the top of the racing pyramid, sitting on that throne that looks down on everyone!

"I understand."

Chen Xiangbei nodded.

He knew himself that his lines were strained, nowhere near the usual effortless flow.

"Also, steering inputs have to be decisive, smooth and precise. Any stiff or unnecessary movement will break the car’s balance, costing time or causing a crash."

"This oversteer‑biased medium‑to‑high downforce setup is increasing the car’s sliding frequency, and that just doesn’t suit Monaco Circuit’s characteristics."

"North, you need to think about how to find the balance point."

Odetto phrased it pretty tactfully. What he meant was that Xiangbei was leaning completely toward his familiar oversteer driving style, which just doesn’t work at Monaco Circuit. He had to find a way to dial it back.

Faced with Odetto’s suggestion, Chen Xiangbei didn’t compromise.

After a brief silence, he said, "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the current setup. Oversteer can match Monaco Circuit, and the ceiling is higher than the traditional extreme‑high‑downforce understeer setup."

"What’s the point of a ceiling you can’t control?"

Odetto’s tone turned serious. Chen Xiangbei still hadn’t realized that time waits for no one.

FP2 and FP3 combined are only two hours. How are you supposed to master it?

On other tracks, if you mess up qualifying, there’s still a chance to overtake and turn things around in the race.

On Monaco Circuit, there isn’t!

This is a track where qualifying is more important than the race. Pole or a front‑row start almost means half the victory. Every driver will pour everything into qualifying.

Two short hours mean Xiangbei has no capital or space for trial and error.

Watching Odetto and Chen Xiangbei "argue," the rest of the strategy group stayed silent.

Perez and Trulli’s eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

The paddock often says Chen Xiangbei is emotionally stable, but in reality this old Italian, Odetto, is even more stable. It’s extremely rare to see him "lose his temper," let alone now, when he was clearly a bit anxious.

"Anxious" and "angry" are actually very different. The former means more concern and emphasis.

"I can."

Chen Xiangbei didn’t argue. He just firmly said those three words.

On a brutally tough track, confidence is self‑evidently important—especially as an F1 Driver. You can afford not to believe in anything else, but you must believe in yourself and the car you’re driving.

The essence of the word "driver" is the car and the hands!

The two of them just stared at each other like that, the air in the garage seemingly solidifying.

After a moment, Odetto finally spoke. "Use FP2 to prove you’re right."

Without a doubt, this was Odetto’s compromise.

"Okay."

After saying this, Chen Xiangbei turned and walked straight toward his car, speaking to Liang Chi and the other mechanics.

"Raise the chassis another 5 millimeters. Right now some sections are bottoming out, affecting my choice of lines through the corners."

"Tighten up the gearbox ratios. Forget about taking care of seventh gear—bias the power delivery toward low‑gear response."

"The track is too narrow. A lot of sections need you to ride the kerbs hard through the corners. We can soften the suspension travel a bit to absorb the bumps, and at the same time increase mechanical downforce."

"And also..."

Chen Xiangbei went through his feedback on the track point by point. In a way, he was also making compromises on the mechanical side, not completely sticking to his previous settings.

Seeing this, Odetto’s expression looked much better.

At least it proved one thing: Xiangbei’s insistence wasn’t just youthful stubbornness. He really was thinking about how to master the track—it’s just that the direction he chose was different from Odetto’s.

"Odetto, back when you were on Schumacher’s strategy crew, were you this worried?"

A teasing voice sounded from behind. Clearly, Briatore had noticed the change in Odetto and couldn’t resist ribbing his old rival.

"You’d better lock down Perez and Trulli’s seats first before you start worrying about Schumacher."

Odetto shot back without the slightest politeness.

Now with Trulli’s return, both he and Perez were in an awkward spot. The two of them were a bit unnatural this weekend, barely speaking at all.

Judging by the usual F1 announcement rhythm, at the earliest the new‑season driver lineup is announced right after the summer break, and at the latest by around October there’s an answer.

So far, HRT Team and Briatore still hadn’t decided who would be the team’s official race driver next season.

From the outside, you’d think he was stuck in a dilemma, that both drivers had their pros and cons. In reality, Briatore was just waiting for the best price—deliberately dragging out the signing to put pressure on the drivers and see if he could squeeze a bit more sponsorship money.

Odetto had nothing but contempt for that sort of tactic. But although he carried the title of team principal, in reality he had no say over the drivers. Back when they invited Briatore, the old Italian rogue had made it clear he wanted full control of the team.

"Heh."

Of course Briatore heard the sarcasm in Odetto’s words. He let out a cold laugh and said no more.

On the other side, Chen Xiangbei had finished tweaking the car. He put on his helmet again and climbed back into the cockpit, eyes locked on the starting lights above. There wasn’t a trace of tension on his face—if anything, he looked a bit impatient to get going.

The reason was simple: the more dangerous it is, the more alluring it becomes!

That feeling of dancing on the edge of losing control sends adrenaline surging, bringing a kind of thrill and excitement.

No matter what the result, Chen Xiangbei loved this feeling of high‑difficulty challenge. Only when danger is everywhere can you truly feel the original speed and passion of racing, instead of just completing "tasks" like some emotionless racing machine.

This is why Monaco is called the crown jewel of the racing world.