Car Racing without Money-Chapter 481 - 189: The Rising Racer Bei

In fact, as early as when Chen Xiangbei was doing rookie testing at the Catalonia Circuit, Dennis had already noticed this Chinese kid.

At that time, the McLaren Team was also conducting tests, and Chen Xiangbei, in reality driving what was likened to a Honda tractor, eliminated the invincible McLaren "Silver Arrow."

Such a stunning performance, even the Renault Team noticed.

Could McLaren, of the same "Big Three" level, really ignore it completely?

The answer is of course no. McLaren’s engineers evaluated Chen Xiangbei’s level and believed he met the standard of an F1 driver.

However, meeting the standard of an F1 driver did not mean he met McLaren’s standards!

The "Big Three" still have their hierarchies; Ferrari holds the leading position, unshakable, with McLaren closely following, its foundation solid, while Renault disintegrated under the "Crashgate" scandal.

McLaren’s goal is to win the driver and team championships, aiming to become the strongest team in the F1 Paddock.

With this in mind, Dennis poached the newly crowned world champion, Button, to partner with their own driver, Hamilton, creating the current strongest driver lineup in the paddock.

No matter how good Chen Xiangbei’s test performance was, could he touch these two?

From beginning to end, McLaren Team’s goal was never focused on newcomers; even when encountering potential talent, they chose to turn a blind eye. But the Chinese newcomer’s subsequent performance in the ROC National Cup and the F1 new season’s winter testing slowly challenged Dennis’s perception.

"The driving line is very precise and beautiful, and with Brown’s endorsement, he does have the potential to become the next star in the paddock."

The current team leader, Whitmarsh, nodded in agreement.

He wasn’t very familiar with Chen Xiangbei but had a great relationship with the current Mercedes team leader, Ross Brown.

It could even be said that Brawn GP Team’s achievement of double championships last year owed at least thirty percent to Whitmarsh’s efforts.

The Mercedes engine was provided to Brawn GP Team thanks to Whitmarsh’s connections.

Many know F1 teams, but often they only pay attention to the name of the chassis manufacturer, rarely noticing their full names.

For example, the McLaren Team is usually referred to as such, but in reality, its full name should be McLaren-Mercedes Team.

There are others like the Red Bull Renault Team, Williams Honda Team, etc.

Before Mercedes officially acquired Brawn GP Team, McLaren Team could actually be considered a joint team with Mercedes, to the extent that other teams in the paddock wanting to use Mercedes engines needed McLaren Team’s permission to supply them.

However, the relationship between the two companies, with the entry of the Mercedes factory team, turned competitive, eventually parting ways in 2014, and McLaren became a customer team for Honda.

"What do you think, how fast was his lap?"

Dennis immediately asked another question.

"About 1 minute 34 seconds."

The Paris Circuit record is 1 minute 30.252 seconds; even running 1 minute 34 seconds is still over 4 seconds slower, which seems like a very exaggerated gap.

In fact, the F1 track record is not like those in lower-level formulas, where track records are meant to be broken, let alone achieved by the King of Cars, Schumacher, driving the Ferrari Mars Rover.

Under normal circumstances, it’s very difficult for drivers to break track records, so a rookie like Chen Xiangbei has no hope.

Plus, considering the reservations during the testing phase, 1 minute 34 seconds is a reasonable range.

"Not bad, it basically confirms the title of the top rookie is well-deserved."

Dennis nodded in agreement, now seeing that Chen Xiangbei showcased his leapfrog talent, the winter test results were not just a fluke.

At least this year, several rookies couldn’t outpace Chen Xiangbei.

"BOSS, isn’t it a bit early to draw conclusions now?"

Whitmarsh did not completely agree, questioning if Chen Xiangbei running only half a timed lap could really affirm him as the top rookie?

"Well, let’s wait and see."

Dennis replied with a smile, then glanced towards the direction of the HRT Team’s pit box.

Briatore stood there with a tilted stance, looking smug and relaxed.

A rogue understands a rogue the best; only when finding treasure would Hua Bu be this happy.

Compared to the team manager acting as a "hands-off" leader, Odetto was still diligently fulfilling his duties as the chief race engineer.

"Xiangbei, the brakes and tire temperatures are too high; you can’t brake heavily anymore. Try to brake earlier and use energy recovery as much as possible."

Odetto noticed the abnormal data from the car sensors and reminded Chen Xiangbei.

Originally, the Bahrain Circuit was already hot and high-temperature; Chen Xiangbei, in pursuit of lap time speed, adopted delayed heavy braking maneuvers in most corners, which put great stress on the brake system’s heat dissipation.

Current sensor data showed that the brake discs had exceeded 1,000 degrees, and visible flames could appear soon.

Relying solely on the air cooling system was no longer enough to cool the brakes, instead, other methods had to be used to reduce temperature, otherwise, Chen Xiangbei would soon face brake failure.

Experienced drivers who have driven long downhill mountain roads in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan know that on long downhill sections over ten kilometers, you can’t just rely on the brakes for deceleration; you need to use engine downshifting to brake and assist the brakes in reducing speed.

If necessary, they even had to stop and pour water on the brake discs to cool them down.

Because with the rapid increase in temperature of the brake discs, even strong carbon ceramic ones would experience thermal degradation, resulting in a substantial decrease in braking effectiveness.

Although F1 cars theoretically also have the potential for engine braking through downshifting, it isn’t feasible in actual operation.

After all, in a single lap of less than six kilometers, drivers perform around a hundred upshifts and downshifts, forcing a constant low gear to slow down would make lap times comparable to driving a tractor.