On the track, Jenson Button saw the number 13 HRT Racing Car appearing in his rearview mirror, and the heaviness in his heart was no less than that of the McLaren Team management.

He had competed with Chen Xiangbei before in the ROC International Cup, and as a former Brown GP Driver, Jenson Button had seen the training data of this Chinese newcomer, clearly aware of the racing talent and potential that Chen had shown.

Early on, when Chen Xiangbei was just a Renault rookie, team leader Ross Brown had considered signing him, but due to Brown GP Team being in a crucial period of championship contention at the time, they ultimately had to give up.

Perhaps other people's judgment could be flawed, but not Ross Brown!

A member of the Ferrari Yue Ma Dynasty's iron triangle, Ross Brown personally built the legendary team of Brown GP that won the championship in its rookie season. Who could have a more long-term vision than Ross Brown?

By observing Chen Xiangbei and facing off in the opening race, Jenson Button realized that the Chinese newcomer's driving style was actually very restrained!

The reason is quite simple: the steady are afraid of the aggressive, and the aggressive fear those who are reckless.

Many times, Chen Xiangbei's cornering style is truly about pushing it to the limit.

Furthermore, his wheel-to-wheel combat is exceedingly tough and experienced, naturally suppressing risk-averse drivers who lack absolute speed in offensive and defensive battles.

Jenson Button's advantage lies in the long run of the main race, through stable lap times and tire preservation, dragging the race to the middle and late stage, then relying on his rich experience and tire grip to defeat his opponents.

To put it simply, as predicted by the McLaren Team management, it would take at least ten laps for Jenson Button to reach his comfort zone.

Yet it only took five laps for Chen Xiangbei to come charging in!

Before Jenson Button could recover from his shock, Chen Xiangbei's car quickly closed the gap using the slipstream.

This move undoubtedly sent a strong signal that he was ready to overtake.

"Mr. Xiang Bei is truly unstoppable this race."

Mizutani Sho couldn't help but sigh as he witnessed this scene.

According to the rhythm of ordinary drivers, having just fiercely overtaken Barrichello with tire lock-ups, one would at least take a breather before launching another attack.

Chen Xiangbei didn't plan to pause for even a moment!

"Momentum, Bei has developed his own momentum."

Odetto responded silently, and this situation was all too familiar in his career.

Historically, many drivers who charged from the back of the grid would showcase unstoppable momentum in the race, surpassing one opponent after another at unbelievable speeds, creating miracles.

If it were any other sport, the opposing coach might call a timeout at such a critical moment to interrupt the player's momentum.

But there are no timeouts in F1 racing; the momentum must be allowed to ferment.

As this trend continues, the further it goes, the more unstoppable Chen Xiangbei becomes!

With the roar of engines, the race reached the sixth lap.

After tailing Jenson Button in the previous lap, Chen Xiangbei immediately attempted an overtaking maneuver.

Of course, such a hasty and probing attack, trying to overtake a world champion driver, is almost like dreaming.

No matter how lacking in absolute speed, a world champion is still a world champion.

And the strongest F1 world champion on this planet, no less.

Therefore, Chen Xiangbei switched to a second approach, similar to how he overtook Barrichello earlier, using hard braking into a long straight to outmuscle the opponent.

In reality, Chen Xiangbei somewhat overestimated the upgraded performance of the HRT Racing Car. Even with full throttle on the long straight plus the slipstream slingshot effect, he still couldn't manage to get ahead of the McLaren car in front. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

In this situation, unable to switch lanes to force an overtake, he had to abandon the attempt.

If he couldn't win with the performance of the car, only technique was left.

It's quite absurd to say, an F1 rookie driver intended to rely on driving skills to beat a world champion. It sounds almost magical.

Yet, this world is indeed magical. Chen Xiangbei's cornering skills at East Sea International Circuit could be said to stand on the shoulders of generations of legendary drivers, while Jenson Button, no matter how strong, is just a world champion gatekeeper.

Compared to those legendary drivers, he always falls short by a step.

Without much hesitation, Chen Xiangbei immediately decided to make his overtaking move at the T7 and T8 combination corners on the track.

Chen Xiangbei knows that as time passes and tire grip declines past its peak, it will enter Jenson Button's comfort zone, and overtaking will become increasingly difficult then.

"Fast, accurate, ruthless"—these three words are the key to dealing with steady drivers!

The T7 and T8 corners at East Sea International Circuit form a typical right-left hairpin combination.

The difficulty lies in taking a late apex at the T7 corner, using a delayed apex line to hug the left side as much as possible to prepare for the T8 entry, then straightening the car and accelerating out of the corner as fast as possible.

The car's angle will directly determine the acceleration out of the corner and is crucial for overtaking and lap times.

Many drivers find it difficult to achieve perfection even during qualifying free runs, let alone fitting another opponent's car into the corner, which makes executing an extremely perfect line very challenging.

Chen Xiangbei knows Jenson Button's fundamental skills are solid. The more difficult the cornering line, the less likely he is to make mistakes.

But this habit and characteristic will also give him a downside!