Chapter 722: Chapter 290: I Can Go Even Faster (2)

Senna, however, risked his life just for a few tenths of a second improvement on the clock.

"Is it Chen Xiangbei’s gambler spirit?"

Hearing Park Dongxu’s rhetorical question, Red immediately closed his mouth and stopped talking.

It’s just like how you can’t discuss the cold with a summer insect; when you look at someone with prejudice, nothing they do seems right.

Red disagreed with Park Dongxu’s view that Chen Xiangbei’s adventurous spirit was gambler spirit, but the Korean audience on site resonated with that statement immediately.

That’s right, isn’t that Chinese guy just gambling?

This is a track without any historical data, meaning that after rain, how slippery the track becomes is entirely unknown.

Winning the gamble is awesome, and even losing the gamble doesn’t feel like much of a loss.

Anyway, it’s already the last position in Q3, can it drop ten more positions?

As for the so-called risks, who can specifically measure how big they are; maybe it’s this British host blowing things out of proportion after getting some benefits.

In the 2010s, for a country with almost no racing foundation, you should never overestimate the ordinary Korean audience’s understanding of racing; they are more influenced by emotional value rather than rational thinking.

"Bei, you can pit early."

Odetto’s command came through the headset. The current lap time is probably the limit the HRT Racing Car can achieve on a wet track, far exceeding the team’s expectations.

Moreover, calculating the remaining time for the qualifying, there is roughly only one flying lap window left, and Chen Xiangbei has no need to change tires and run again.

"Okay."

While on the in-lap, Chen Xiangbei heard the team’s command and simply replied before driving the car towards the pit lane entrance.

From a distance, he saw several racing cars parked in the pit station, with team mechanics holding tire warmers for preheating the tires.

It’s known that teams ending qualifying would directly push racing cars into the garage for post-race inspection rather than parking them at the pit station, and definitely wouldn’t cover tires with warmers.

The appearance of this scene has only one reason: the other teams entering Q3 have not given up either, and they also plan to use soft red tires for one last flying lap!

"Odetto, I feel something is wrong. The qualifying is not over yet."

Chen Xiangbei immediately pressed the voice communication button on the steering wheel. His intuition told him that the top position couldn’t be maintained.

"I know, there’s still a flying lap window, and other teams won’t give up the competition early."

Odetto frankly admitted. If Chen Xiangbei could see the mechanics warming the tires, how could he not?

"Change tires, I want to run another lap."

[Another lap?]

Hearing Chen Xiangbei’s request, the team’s strategy group in the pitstop looked at each other.

From the onboard footage of Chen Xiangbei’s last lap, to be honest, it had already reached a hair-raising level.

Often, the distance between the car body and the concrete guard wall could be described in millimeters, and if you looked closely, you could even see some white marks on the front wing, dust scraped off from brushing against the guard wall.

As a member of the team strategy group, they naturally wished for Chen Xiangbei to achieve a faster, better lap.

Especially Odetto, the team leader, who inherently belongs to the aggressive camp and has fueled Chen Xiangbei to take risks for better results, rather than choosing to be conservative and cautious.

But this time, Odetto understood that the current speed was already the limit of both Chen Xiangbei and the car’s grip.

Wet tracks and dry surfaces are fundamentally different; exceeding the limits of tire grip and mechanical downforce will result in sliding, no matter if you’re the reincarnation of a Car God.

If you keep pushing, the risk and reward are not proportional, and the danger factor escalates exponentially.

Even as a gambler, nobody bets on a sure loss!

"Bei, you might be a little overexcited, you need to control your emotions."

Odetto calmly reminded him. Suddenly appearing in first place would naturally excite anyone, unwilling to be overtaken.

However, lap time changes in the paddock are common; different car models, different time points, different track conditions, and even different weather and driver states can all result in different speeds.

Changes in qualifying positions are perfectly normal. Chen Xiangbei must get used to and accept it.

"I can go a bit faster."

Without explanation, Chen Xiangbei directly gave the answer.

That is, he can still be faster!

In the absence of rain, track conditions are not static, especially Lingyan Circuit, built in the port area, where the sea wind is stronger than typical inland circuits.

As time passes, even if the track’s drainage facilities are subpar, they will dry somewhat under the sea breeze.

Additionally, if other racers choose to run another flying lap, it means the racing line will be drier, and more rubber marbles will drop, providing a grip advantage to the later racers.

The HRT Team strategy has already prepared for a single stop, which means that Chen Xiangbei doesn’t need to save multiple sets of soft red tires for the race; he can use a new set of soft tires to push for a flying lap!

"Your previous lines were already dangerous, bordering on losing control."

Odetto once again warned, not because he didn’t believe Chen Xiangbei could go faster,

but because the current speed risk could truly be life-threatening.

Honestly, a scenario prompting Odetto to advise twice is rare; he is usually the one urging drivers to go faster.

This also indirectly shows that indeed, Chen Xiangbei has reached his limits, making another flying lap extremely dangerous.

"What right does an F1 Driver have to compete for the championship if they aren’t willing to take risks?"

Chen Xiangbei defiantly questioned. As a small team with a slow car, they’ve already lost at the starting line.

To win, one is destined to go to extremes!

The wet and slippery track is currently the only factor that can level the car performance, with opportunity and victory just in sight, and having reached the top position himself, why give up now?

Deep down, Chen Xiangbei had a sense of pride; since those Korean guys have mocked for two days, it should be slapped back hard, making them understand who the true top Asian driver is, one that’s too strong for any comparison!

Those European dudes at least had luxurious ancestors, virtually monopolizing the F1 world championships.

With South Korea’s racing achievements, is it worthy to mock me?

"Extreme danger can lead to death!"

Odetto, with decades of career experience, has witnessed many professional drivers’ fatal accidents, including Senna.

Chen Xiangbei hasn’t encountered a major accident, but he somewhat underestimates the danger of F1.

"I’d rather be smashed to pieces than slow down."

Hearing this response from Chen Xiangbei, the usually assertive Odetto fell silent.

Seeing the No. 13 car driven by Chen Xiangbei getting closer to the P room, and all members of the team’s technician group turning their eyes toward him, Odetto knew he had no time to hesitate any longer.

"Prepare a new set of soft tires, Bei will run one more flying lap."

In the end, Odetto made the decision.

Almost the moment he finished speaking, one by one, cars from other teams drove onto the pit lane, also seizing the last moments of qualifying to achieve a flying lap score on soft red tires.

As time ticked away, pitting, changing tires, warming tires, full speed PUSH...

Every process followed the established procedure, while the situation on the track unfolded just as Chen Xiangbei had anticipated.

With soft red tires fitted, the slippery Lingyan Circuit posed no problem for top-tier F1 professional drivers, especially for that group of ultimate rain-battle experts!

Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Weber, Button—all within a minute overtook Chen Xiangbei’s fastest lap time, with the fastest lap posted being an astonishing 1 minute 35 seconds 659.

Ultimately, Chen Xiangbei did not affect the course of history; even with rain during qualifying, top drivers still posted top speeds, and the pole position record for Lingyan Circuit entered the 1 minute 35 second domain.

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, and the pole at Lingyan Circuit was about to be claimed by McLaren Team’s Hamilton, a black and orange car dynamically started off and crossed the starting line.

Chen Xiangbei hasn’t given up; he is about to post the final flying lap score of the qualifying!