Car Racing without Money

Chapter 763 - 310: Racing Against Time (Part 2)

This kind of atmosphere in the HRT Team must absolutely not be indulged, otherwise the second driver in the paddock won’t be called an assistant but will earn the name "killer" in the future!The team politics outside the track can’t affect Chen Xiangbei, and his all-out effort pushed his speed to a new high, with a lap time of 1 minute 37 seconds 075!

Faced with the visibly shortening distance, the Chinese audience and fans, who had been silenced by the collision time, finally had the confidence to cheer and shout for Chen Xiangbei again.

"Did you see that? Chen Xiangbei doesn’t need any collision tactics; his speed is fast enough!"

"Go, Chen Xiangbei, use your strength to fiercely counter the criticism!"

"Undercut Alonso, then take down both the Red Bull cars!"

"Bei, I will never doubt your strength, remember, never!"

Chen Xiangbei’s speed in catching up far exceeded the expectations of many teams’ strategy groups, disrupting the overall rhythm in the paddock.

Rival teams have realized that HRT changed its strategy for the day, and at this speed, even with two stops, he could undercut Alonso and chase up to the third spot.

In contrast, Alonso and others like Schumacher were so sure Chen Xiangbei would be taken out by Schumacher that they fought each other relentlessly.

"Alonso, find a way to speed up quickly and stop getting entangled with Hamilton."

Ferrari team manager Domenicali gave a reminder via radio, keeping a close eye on Chen Xiangbei’s lap time changes.

"Why? My tire condition is very poor right now."

Compared to typical teams with strong drivers and weak cars, Alonso, at the peak of his career, would not mindlessly follow team orders, even with a prestigious team like Ferrari.

Currently, there are sixteen laps left, and the peak life of the soft red tires after pitting is eight laps, meaning there’s another eight-lap tire management period in between.

Choosing to push now, not to mention achieving good speed, even if he catches up to Weber, he wouldn’t be able to pass. It’s better to maintain the current gap and preserve the tires as much as possible until the last eight laps of the race.

By then, Alonso is confident that the peak state of the red tires can be at least three seconds faster per lap than other cars with used tires!

Even if he can’t reverse and take the race win or runner-up, at least there will be no problem maintaining his current podium position, without needing to risk the unknown.

"Bei is catching up."

Domenicali knew Alonso’s character, so he didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated the reason.

"How far is he from me?"

"27.88 seconds."

Upon hearing this number, Alonso’s expression finally showed some change.

If he remembers correctly, a few laps ago the race engineer had reported the gap, and Driver Bei was over thirty seconds behind him.

Is he lapping two seconds faster than me?

Alonso couldn’t quite believe this speed gap. Even though Chen Xiangbei’s hard white tires were more durable, given the reduced performance of the HRT Racing Car at this station, he shouldn’t be this much faster than himself.

"What’s Bei’s lap time now?"

Listening to Alonso’s inquiry, Domenicali glanced at the track data.

Just then, the latest lap time result came out, and Chen Xiangbei’s lap time was 1 minute 36 seconds 93.

With the consumption of fuel and the reduction in car weight, theoretically, each lap should get faster and faster.

"1 minute 36 seconds 93, 2.16 seconds faster than you."

"WHAT?"

Upon hearing this number, Alonso’s expression wasn’t just changing; it was filled with incredulity.

He couldn’t believe that Chen Xiangbei could lap two seconds faster than him, yet it has happened. Is the Chinese Kid pushing to the limit?

Domenicali is a strict and conservative team leader, and he would never make a joke or deliberately provoke; Alonso trusts that this lap time is absolutely real.

If this pace continues, the pit window time of 24 seconds will be eliminated after just three more laps, and by then, when he changes tires and returns to the track, he will fall behind Chen Xiangbei.

At this moment, Alonso understood why there was an urgent reminder for him to speed up; Driver Bei is just too fast!

"Received, I will accelerate immediately."

Without any hesitation, Alonso hit the accelerator to PUSH.

Hamilton, following behind, felt Alonso’s change in speed. He didn’t know immediately what had happened; he just instinctively stuck close to the tailwind of the car ahead to speed up, and then asked the team via radio.

Undoubtedly, the McLaren Team also informed him about Chen Xiangbei’s approaching position.

At that moment, Hamilton was shocked.

As a professional F1 Driver, his primary goal is, of course, to win the race; the secondary goal is to thoroughly defeat Chen Xiangbei and prove his own strength.

However, after the Red Bull upgrade at the Korea Station, it became an absolute Mars Rover, and the McLaren car with the old setup was too far behind to block anyone. Even Alonso managed to overtake him with his cunning, pushing Hamilton down to fourth place.

Since the primary goal was hard to achieve, the secondary goal became Hamilton’s top priority.

Now the team is telling him, the massive 34-second lead in the early stages will be undercut by Chen Xiangbei?

Bear in mind, at the China Station, Hamilton had already experienced one pit stop undercut, and is he going to go through it again continuously?

For Hamilton, this result was truly unacceptable.

He had done everything right, taking out Chen Xiangbei at the start and forcing him off the track, yet in two races, he didn’t even have the chance for a direct wheel-to-wheel battle, just being tactically defeated by the opponent.