Many people might think 0.2 seconds is nothing, but when you realize Verstappen is only ranked fifth, and there’s still room for four drivers within this time difference, you can understand how tight the qualifying laps are at the Monaco Circuit!

And at this time, Alonso from the Martin Team delivered a divine lap beyond expectations, surpassing Ferrari’s Leclerc to take the top spot with a car that had weaker performance.

Just when everyone thought there was no doubt about the pole position, Verstappen made a miraculous comeback with his Star Circle lap.

Leading by 0.084 seconds, he clinched the pole position at the Monaco Circuit!

This lap was almost a result of a red-eyed and life-threatening push, especially in the second and third timing sectors where there was no margin between the track and the car.

Only the first timing sector had some flaws, otherwise, the speed would have been more astonishing.

Chen Xiangbei has watched this race and has attempted to drive on the simulator more than once.

Yet even in the simulated drive, Chen Xiangbei never succeeded, which is why he never considered using Verstappen’s line.

Until he was pushed to a point of no return!

This is why, before the start of Q3, Chen Xiangbei would be watching his in-car footage, actually assessing the success rate of a new racing line in his mind.

When the only way to have a chance at victory is to fight to the death, then the risk becomes worthless.

Chen Xiangbei only sees the full-throttle push and victory!

Fortunately, Chen Xiangbei did it. With scalpel-like precision, he completed what seemed like an impossible Verstappen miracle.

As the final countdown for the qualifying race ended, Chen Xiangbei officially claimed the Monaco pole position title.

At the same time, Sawano Hiroyuki’s voice came through the headphones: "Mr. Xiangbei, congratulations on getting pole position; you are the fastest driver on the Monaco Circuit!"

"I did it."

Chen Xiangbei originally intended to respond nonchalantly, but his tone was filled with emotion and sighs.

To be honest, with the HRT Team’s mid-season upgrades falling behind, watching the points drop from the top position to fifth, with only a theoretical chance of winning the world championship remaining, this feeling is truly uncomfortable.

But Chen Xiangbei can understand that this is the gap between a small team and giant teams.

It’s not a gap that can fundamentally be made up by picking a few leaks or having some advanced black technology.

Much like how, even with all their messing around, as long as Ferrari’s foundation and history are thick enough, they perhaps can’t win the world championship, but can still sit at the table with Red Bull and Mercedes, steadily remaining among the "Three Royal Families."

For a small team, even if they create a Mars Rover, they would still be exhausted and done.

At the same time, Chen Xiangbei has a very clear understanding of his own abilities; maybe he has pretty good talent this lifetime, reaching the level of top-rated genius drivers.

But talent can only secure the lower limit; effort determines the upper limit.

When Verstappen won his third world championship in 2023, he was recognized by the world as capable of sitting at a table with Senna and Schumacher, even somewhat overshadowing the seven-time champion Hamilton.

Besides the abnormal talent, he has that discipline and effort of turning work into a hobby.

While Hamilton attends fashion events, Verstappen is racing.

While Hamilton is partying at a nightclub, Verstappen is still racing.

Chen Xiangbei lost at the starting line, inherently being worse-off compared to European and American drivers; even with a God’s-eye view of history, turning it into actual performance requires rigorous practice.

Otherwise, wouldn’t it just be an online joke?

Watch once and you know, play and you become a legend...

Perhaps Chen Xiangbei completing Verstappen-level control is considered a miracle, but essentially it is the result of his effort.

Without "painstaking" level practice, without "abnormal" level discipline, there is no foundation for creating miracles.

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei’s emotion and sighs are not about feeling lucky to run a Star Circle lap, but about affirming his own dedication and effort!

When driving the car back to the paddock, many spectators couldn’t contain their excitement and flocked to the outer side of the guard rail, trying to get close to Chen Xiangbei, showing encouragement and cheers.

The Monaco Circuit has its perks; it’s narrow enough for drivers who are willing to even shake hands with spectators through the guard rail.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xiangbei deliberately slowed down the return lap speed, while opening his helmet visor, waving to the fans on both sides of the track.

"NICE, Bei, you ran an amazing pole position!"

"Bei, this is just the beginning, I want to witness you becoming king of Monaco tomorrow!"

"Go Chen Xiangbei, I’m waiting for you to win the Monaco championship and even the world championship!"

"The strongest driver from the East can definitely become the world’s strongest driver!"

The fans equally understand the importance of the Monaco qualifying race; Chen Xiangbei has more than a fifty percent chance of directly taking the main race champion position, also meaning he will enter the final contention for world champion.

When Hamilton took second place in his rookie season, many in the F1 arena once questioned whether this would become an unprecedented achievement, whether there’d be another driver to break this accomplishment?

Little did they know, just a few years later, a driver would attempt to challenge this feat.

Even more unimaginable, he is a Chinese rookie!

Facing the cheers of the crowd, Alonso, though shocked, could accept it. After all, he has won two world championships and has experienced the despair of losing the world runner-up by one point, having endured highs and lows and can bear defeat.

But Rosberg, looking at Chen Xiangbei celebrating pole position, sat in the Mercedes Team’s motorhome with an extremely grim expression.

No, it should be described as painful.

He originally thought that based on practice and the results from two qualifying sessions, he could confidently take pole position and even win the Monaco championship.

Yet he fell to fourth in Q3.

Rosberg truly cannot imagine how the drivers in the top three could explode with such speed at the last moment.

He can accept Alonso being faster; the strength of the reigning first driver makes any achievement unsurprising.

He can somewhat accept Vettel being faster; the speed of the circuit’s fastest car has a natural advantage.

But he cannot accept Chen Xiangbei taking pole position; clearly he is more familiar with the track and has more driving experience, yet he was outpaced by a rookie’s first time driving?

How can the Chinese Kid be this fast?

How did he manage to go this fast?

He couldn’t possibly be faster than me by this much!

Why? What exactly is wrong with me, I gave my all, why am I still losing to Chen Xiangbei?

Various feelings of unwillingness echoed within Rosberg’s heart, and these doubts repeatedly struck his self-esteem.

It’s known that F1 drivers are proud; they absolutely do not from the bottom of their hearts admit to being inferior to their rivals, otherwise there is no hope of defeating the opponent.

But this time, Rosberg began to doubt his own ability and talent.

Could it be he really is not as good as Chen Xiangbei?

Maybe sensing Rosberg’s psychological pain and understanding the young man’s inability to accept the disparity in results, Mercedes Team leader Ross Brown sat beside him, quietly saying, "Don’t be too downhearted; winning and losing are common in the arena, just win it back next time."

"Leader, is Bei really that talented?"

Rosberg knew the leader was comforting him, but he wanted an answer more.

"Very talented."

This time Ross Brown didn’t offer comforting words; instead, he acknowledged Chen Xiangbei’s racing talent.

He’ll never forget the moment he first watched Chen Xiangbei drive a simulator at the Brawn GP headquarters; this Chinese Kid directly exhibited a level akin to "self-taught mastery."

At that moment, Ross Brown knew this guy is a genius!

"But every F1 driver has talent; today Bei paved an entirely new racing line, meaning he put in unimaginable effort to explore and familiarize himself with the circuit, otherwise he couldn’t have carved it out."

"Rosberg, effort receives rewards; when you can match Bei’s level of effort, that’s when rivalry and skill optimization truly begins!"