"Going off the track at Turn 1 in practice, is that only slightly more outrageous than skidding into the wall at the pit lane?"

"Chinese Kid, don’t get too cocky. Your home turf doesn’t mean you’re the champion!"

"Still dreaming of surpassing Hamilton? Your talent is far inferior to his!"

Listening to the jeers and taunts coming from the stands, the complexions of everyone in the HRT Team’s pit box turned grim.

Especially Odetto, he never expected Chen Xiangbei to go off the track at Turn 1.

You should know that along the way, Chen Xiangbei created so many miracles that made Odetto, even if he didn’t verbally praise the kid, internally acknowledge that he could surely do it.

This is why, feeling the passion of the home Chinese audience and Chen Xiangbei’s inner desire, he chose the most aggressive setup tuning.

Odetto believes in Chen Xiangbei!

"Xiangbei-kun, are you okay?"

Sawano Hiroyuki immediately pressed the headset communication button to inquire about Chen Xiangbei’s current situation.

"I’m fine, the car didn’t stall."

Chen Xiangbei replied, then gently tapped the accelerator to drive the TF110 back onto the track.

F1 cars are equipped with an automatic fuel cutoff system to prevent fuel leaks that could ignite in the event of a severe accident and cause more severe secondary damage.

However, the automatic fuel cutoff system can easily be triggered accidentally, and if the car stalls, it would need an external starter to ignite the engine, which in a race means retiring, and even in practice, a significant amount of time would be wasted. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Chen Xiangbei indeed got a bit complacent. He knew the East Sea International Circuit very well, but underestimated the impact of changes in car characteristics and setup tuning, leading to the off-track mistake.

"Sawano, are the car parameters normal? Is the chassis sensor damaged?"

Chen Xiangbei followed up with another question. Going into the buffer zone is actually a common sight in F1, but the concern is about the gravel in the buffer zone causing damage to many of the car’s high-precision components.

Especially the chassis, which is troublesome to repair and replace.

But in this era with aerodynamic cars, the impact on chassis aerodynamics isn’t significant. However, in the future, ground effect cars use the chassis for major airflow guidance, and even minor damage can impact the entire car’s aerodynamic balance.

"The sensors are normal."

After reporting the situation, Sawano Hiroyuki then asked:

"Xiangbei-kun, do you want to pit and readjust the car settings? It’s too risky to keep running like this!"

Actually, apart from Odetto and Briatore, Sawano Hiroyuki, Mizutani Sho, Sote, and Mazzola were all internally against overly aggressive tuning.

Because there’s no need to take unnecessary risks!

In three practice sessions, Chen Xiangbei could progressively challenge the difficulty instead of lowering it like this.

But before Chen Xiangbei could respond, Odetto’s voice came over the team radio.

"Is this what you meant by not making rookie mistakes?"

Facing Odetto’s questioning, Chen Xiangbei was momentarily speechless.

"If this is your level, then come back in and readjust the settings."

"If you want to compete for the championship, then drive faster to prove you have the ability to handle the car."

Odetto’s tone was cold, even ruthless.

He also had to prove his trust was not misplaced, that Chen Xiangbei’s brilliant performance wasn’t just a flash in the pan and that he had the strength to become a real championship driver.

And a championship contender must challenge the limits of speed to reflect the value and greatness of a champion.

Just like how Senna was not the best driver by results, but he dared to challenge the gods with his speed, which is why he achieved greatness!

"I will become a champion."

Chen Xiangbei replied firmly.

He did make a mistake, but that didn’t mean he would choose to slow down.

In his past life, Chen Xiangbei truly embodied the saying ’rather be shattered to pieces than slow down.’

This time at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix home circuit, with a championship-contending car, he had no reason to chicken out!

The roaring of the engine resounded again, this lap of Chen Xiangbei was equivalent to being scrapped, and he would dynamically restart to cross the start line again, to test the setup tuning and his speed through practice.

In the Mercedes pit box, Whitmarsh sported a teasing smile and said to Ross Brown, "Ross, I wasn’t wrong. Xiangbei couldn’t control his mindset and got a bit carried away."

"In the first lap of practice, he treated it like a qualifying run."

This time, it was Ross Brown’s turn to remain silent. After all, being in a different team from Chen Xiangbei, he couldn’t know the other’s real thoughts.

To some extent, Whitmarsh’s words carried some truth. With over a hundred thousand home fans cheering, not to mention the youthful Chen Xiangbei, even some experienced drivers could easily lose themselves in such an atmosphere.

Not everyone can keep a calm heart, unaffected by changing environments.

"I believe Xiangbei can control his mindset."

After a moment, Ross Brown reaffirmed his belief. Chen Xiangbei had always been terrifyingly steady in his emotions!

"Whether he can maintain his mindset depends on his upcoming speed."

"Hamilton clocked a lap time of 1:33.557, do you think Xiangbei can catch up?"

When saying this, Whitmarsh’s tone was full of pride.

Hamilton’s absolute speed was already recognized in the paddock; he matched the strongest driver Alonso in qualifying during his rookie season.

After the last race’s interview, Chen Xiangbei’s remarks had undoubtedly provoked Hamilton, and he had decided to make his move in this race.

Defeating Chen Xiangbei on his home turf would surely leave an indelible impression on this Chinese Kid, making him realize he picked the wrong opponent!

Feeling Whitmarsh’s confidence, Ross Brown did not answer this time.

The circuit record was a mere 1:32.238, and without refined car tuning, Hamilton managed to run just less than 1.5 seconds slower, without a doubt nearing his full PUSH.

Bear in mind Schumacher’s circuit record was only broken for the first time ten years later, with average pole times slower by about 0.5 to 1 second each year. Running a time close to historical poles in the first practice session is astonishing.

During their conversation, Chen Xiangbei had already roared past the starting line.

In this era, practice sessions had no dynamic sector timing, and only the total time would be visible at the end.

Again on the same long straight, Chen Xiangbei accelerated to full speed, with the numbers on the speed monitoring sensor once again reaching a staggering 320km/h.

"Is driver Xiangbei still planning to go into the corner at high speed?"

"He really hasn’t learned his lesson. If he goes off the track again, he might not be so lucky to drive back."

"This Chinese Kid is really arrogant to the extreme!"

"This is Xiangbei’s home circuit, it’s really hoped it doesn’t become his place of tears."

"Many times, people have to pay the price for their actions. Xiangbei drove too smoothly in the first two races."

Members of various teams commented on Chen Xiangbei’s actions with different mindsets.

Clearly, with this speed, he went off the track in the last lap, yet stubbornly refusing to change this time, it seems he’s never tasted the pain of failure!

Especially Ferrari Team’s Masa, listening to the chatter among teammates, felt a mix of emotions.

No one knows better than him what it feels like to fail at your home circuit—that 10-second world championship made a billion Brazilians experience the agony of falling from heaven to hell.

But this time, the anticipated scenario didn’t happen, Chen Xiangbei smoothly passed the corner!

And this was just the beginning; on the subsequent East Sea International Circuit, Chen Xiangbei demonstrated an incredible level of proficiency, using extremely precise and flawless control to swiftly navigate through every corner on the track.

Even the strategy group members of HRT Team, their expressions changed from initial surprise to delight, finally each with a slightly agape mouth, as if they were witnessing something inexplicable.

On the other side, McLaren’s team leader Whitmarsh, upon seeing Chen Xiangbei’s final lap time, found his professional perspective completely overturned.

He really couldn’t imagine a rookie driver’s control over the track reaching such an outrageous level. Especially at those most challenging T1 to T3 spiral complexes, where Chen Xiangbei had gone off the track the previous lap, he nailed the full curve trail braking on the next one.

A lap time of 1:32.799 not only surpassed Hamilton by an astonishing 0.7 seconds but also directly outstripped last year’s pole sitter Vettel.

It’s just a fucking miracle!