Last year at Brawn GP, Jenson Button relied on better adaptability and speed to directly monopolize the first five races' wins, locking himself in as the team's clear number one driver.

Without a doubt, Barrichello was shoved back into his number-two spot again.

He was very unhappy about this arrangement deep down; being slower than Schumacher and playing number two, that he could swallow.

Who the hell is Jenson Button supposed to be, why should I be your wingman?

But the performance gap was right there in black and white; aside from grumbling in his heart and bitching with his mouth, Barrichello could only obediently follow team orders and watch the team's resources tilt heavily toward Jenson Button.

But plans never keep up with change. Mid-season, Brawn GP's competitiveness dropped, Jenson Button's form fell off a cliff, while Barrichello began to come on strong from behind, picking up several race wins here and there, and their total points became very close.

He could tolerate being number two when he was "trash," but now that he'd flipped the script and they still wanted him as a wingman, of course Barrichello couldn't stomach it!

However, the team's strategic direction wasn't going to change easily; they still firmly backed Jenson Button's status as number one, which led to the breakdown of relations within the team and between the two drivers.

After the season ended, both drivers left, and Brawn GP went through a complete overhaul.

Now that the "old teammates" meet again, compared to blocking Chen Xiangbei, Barrichello wants even more to get past Jenson Button.

If Hamilton can breeze past this "fraud" defending champion at the start, then Barrichello can do it too, not to mention he's the very first champion at the East Sea International Circuit.

Barrichello doesn't want to be stuck doing pure defense; he intends to look for attacking chances while keeping Chen Xiangbei behind.

In a word: I want it all!

It has to be admitted, the surging "revenge" battle lust has completely activated Barrichello's race mode.

He's clinging right onto Jenson Button's slipstream to avoid being dropped, while doing everything he can to block Chen Xiangbei's overtakes, even resorting to "drawing dragons" on track.

"Come on, Barrichello's driving is disgusting, weaving all over the track?"

"If you can't defend, then don't. Using this borderline 'drawing dragons' crap to block, does he even want his face?"

"He's a well-known driver after all, is it really necessary to go this extreme defending against a rookie?"

"Multiple moves under braking, the FIA has to log that and investigate, right?"

The Chinese fans at the track had been fired up watching Chen Xiangbei's overtakes, but once he got to Barrichello, this Brazilian old-timer started using every dirty trick in the book like a crafty old fox, using borderline moves to deadlock Chen Xiangbei behind, forcing him to be stuck in the midfield train "running a locomotive."

And the lead car is Alonso in the Ferrari Team; he'd just pulled an overtake on Red Bull Racing Team's Vettel in T1 with huge momentum, his pace is also terrifyingly quick. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

If no one puts him under pressure and ties him down, his free single-lap pace can drop the midfield group by nearly a second.

If this trend continues, how is Chen Xiangbei supposed to catch up to the leading pack?

Unfortunately, the spectators' dissatisfaction and curses can't affect the drivers in the race.

Plus, limited by imperfect regulations and Barrichello's wealth of "borderline" experience, it's hard for the FIA to conclusively nail him for double-move blocking; Chen Xiangbei has to rely on himself to get past.

Lap two, lap three…

Spending two consecutive laps behind Barrichello makes Chen Xiangbei's expression grow colder and colder.

To be honest, it's not like he hasn't had chances to overtake, but forcing it carries a huge risk of contact.

Chen Xiangbei suppresses his own impulses not out of fear or cowardice, but out of ambition!

For this race, his goal goes far beyond overtaking Barrichello for seventh; what Chen Xiangbei wants is the home win, to create history for Chinese drivers, to make sure the ruler of the East Sea International Circuit is no longer a foreigner!

Precisely because of that, Chen Xiangbei can hold himself back right on the edge of a crash, playing "drawing dragons" with Barrichello lap after lap, the two of them locked in a weird equilibrium.

Of course, Chen Xiangbei has to admit as well that Barrichello is strong—stronger than he'd expected!

A man widely considered an over-the-hill number-two can attack and defend at the same time; that alone is proof of his strength.

Right now Barrichello actually has the same thought running through his head as Chen Xiangbei.

That is: this Chinese rookie is fucking strong!

Barrichello originally had zero intention of "drawing dragons" to defend on track, it's not even his usual defensive style.

The only reason he's doing it is because the defensive pressure is too great; he has no choice but to use these shady tactics.

Now Barrichello starts to understand how, after T1 on the opening lap, Chen Xiangbei was able to overtake a bunch of drivers including Schumacher and end up right behind him.

This isn't some picking-a-wallet kind of luck; the midfield guys really can't hold him.

The HRT Racing Car already has a pace advantage; add in the new upgrade package plus Ferrari engineers' engine tuning, and in reality it's reached the level of a joint second-fastest car in the paddock.

Only slower than Red Bull, on par with McLaren, and a touch quicker than Ferrari.

On top of that, Chen Xiangbei has the ability to fully exploit this car, which is why we're seeing this runaway charge up the field.

Given the current intensity of his attacks, Barrichello is already starting to doubt whether he can really stick to this "want both" strategy.

Should he follow team orders and fully commit to defending against Chen Xiangbei, or should he obey his own heart and go for revenge on Jenson Button?

Just as Barrichello is stuck in this dilemma, Chen Xiangbei hears Odetto's voice over the radio.

"We're about to start lap four, and you still haven't got past?"

"I don't want to crash."

Chen Xiangbei answers very bluntly; it's not that he can't get by, it's that the risk might outweigh the gain.

"And an old-timer like Barrichello, doing two things at once, is enough to create a crash risk?"

"North, are you kidding me?"

Odetto scoffs at Chen Xiangbei's answer.

He used to be on Barrichello's strategy crew, so no one knows this driver's true level better than he does.

Without question, Barrichello did possess near-WDC-level raw pace.

But that was in the past!

Before Brawn GP's late-season revival, Barrichello's form at the Honda Team was a complete disaster, including a season where he scored zero points.

If Barrichello were fully committed to defending Chen Xiangbei and he couldn't get past in three laps, Odetto could understand.

But right now the guy is still trying to attack Jenson Button, relying entirely on "mutual destruction" threats to force Chen Xiangbei to back off on his own; that's something Odetto can't accept.

Back in the Renault days, Odetto stressed that Chen Xiangbei must not be conservative, that he had to take risks.

The reason is simple: he's an Asian driver, and specifically a Chinese driver!

This isn't just about driving skill; it's also that European and American white drivers have a natural psychological edge over Asian drivers of color, and they're more inclined to leverage their dominance for gain.

Like Barrichello's crash-threat tactic right now.

The old Chen Xiangbei, under Odetto's guidance, overcame his instinctive conservatism from his previous life of lacking money, lacking skills, and even lacking a household registration.

And through Odetto's PR and media work, he built up a hard-edged, blood-and-fire persona, making others afraid to dive-bomb him or stage "fraud crashes" in front of him—the Chinese Kid would always be nastier and more aggressive than you!

But as a Chinese saying goes: "One who desires nothing is truly fearless."

Back then, Chen Xiangbei was a barefoot man unafraid of those in shoes, charging headlong at the F1 Paddock, ready to be shattered to pieces rather than lift off.

Now he has achieved that initial goal and is pursuing something higher: he's desperate to prove himself at this home circuit in the East Sea, to return in glory and create a championship miracle for Chinese drivers.

Once you have desire, you have a soft spot.

Once that soft spot is seen through and gripped by others, it becomes a form of weakness.

Weakness means you can be bullied.

In his bones, Chen Xiangbei has no intention of backing down, but his race management choices have gotten timid, which is why Barrichello can use this "drawing dragons" defense to shut him out again and again.

Those involved are lost in it; bystanders see clearly.

Odetto has seen through Chen Xiangbei's misgivings, and that extreme hunger for the East Sea round win.

He can understand Chen Xiangbei, but he can't accept it.

Odetto wants a forceful, aggressive, razor-sharp Chen Xiangbei.

The hunger for a home victory should never become the shackles on a true racing driver!