Chapter 714: Chapter 287: The Terrifying Strength of a Teammate

"Is this what they call the Chinese champion?"

"Didn’t East Sea take pole position and break the track record? Now it’s so difficult to advance to Q2?"

"The champion shares a table with newcomer Perez, and the so-called first person from Asia is just so-so!"

"Get eliminated in Q3 and roll out; I don’t want to see the Chinese guy on the track again!"

The on-site Korean audience was unaware of the situation with the HRT Racing Car, and such internal team secrets certainly couldn’t be made public, hence the commotion in the stands.

The best comparison in F1 is your teammate.

Although Perez had good results in GP2, currently ranked second only to the Venezuelan driver Maldonado.

But the problem is that both of these brothers are "money-powered" drivers, and with the current trend of jumping from F3, the value of a second place in GP2 is much less than that of a future F2 champion.

To go further, among those F2 champions in the future, aside from Russell, Leclerc, and Piastri, there are actually a bunch of duds, many never even getting the chance to drive in F1.

Chen Xiangbei’s performance decline like falling off a cliff indeed gave people something to talk about.

"Ross, North’s condition doesn’t seem to be very good in this round."

Mercedes engineer Field muttered to team leader Ross Brown beside him.

They had always been paying attention to Chen Xiangbei’s development, after all, Schumacher’s age was there, and there would be a second retirement one day; maybe then they could "rekindle old ties."

Compared to other teams, Mercedes is much closer to Chen Xiangbei.

"The lack of experience is still exposed; it’s very tough for North to adapt to the new track, and the driving style is completely conservative."

Ross Brown nodded in response.

He knows this Chinese kid’s driving style very well, fond of challenging the track’s limits, flirting on the edge of losing control.

This qualifying round, it was obvious that Chen Xiangbei’s racing line was much more conservative, and he hardly made use of the curbs.

Such a situation was likely due to unfamiliarity with the track or a lack of confidence in his control.

But on the flip side, this is actually normal behavior for a young driver; the incredible track adaptability that Chen Xiangbei displayed in the previous rounds was somewhat illogical instead.

"Schumacher’s condition is also struggling."

Field sighed; Schumacher’s performance in the first qualifying session was tenth, not as good as his old teammate Barrichello driving for Williams, with also a newcomer, Hockenheim, behind him.

The performance of the Mercedes car may not compare to Red Bull and McLaren now, but beating Williams should not be a problem.

The desperate push in the Australia Station took a too heavy physical toll on him, and the aftereffects have lasted until now, uncertain of how long it will take to adjust back.

"Never mind, Schumacher’s strength is not just his driving skills but also his leadership abilities; our car’s competitiveness is getting stronger and stronger."

Ross Brown was not concerned about this; he understood Schumacher’s physical condition better than anyone.

Mercedes spent a tremendous effort to bring Schumacher out of retirement, not in hopes of making him an eight-time champion; the team shareholders also knew that was unrealistic.

Mercedes senior management valued Schumacher’s German identity and his incredibly strong leadership ability, which could direct the team’s future development direction.

This is like how HRT needed Briatore to integrate, unexpectedly having a similar effect.

The competitiveness of the Mercedes car is increasing, with Rosberg running to fifth place in the first qualifying session, surpassing the two drivers from Ferrari and McLaren.

As a top-world car manufacturer entering the F1 Paddock, Mercedes’ goal is far beyond a few race victories; they aim to establish a dynasty akin to Ferrari!

"Indeed, the entire team is becoming more united now."

Field very much agreed with this point; the acquisition of Brawn GP by Mercedes had stirred integration issues between Japanese and German personnel.

Schumacher’s personal charisma and leadership ability united everyone.

"Team leader, do you think North can enter Q3?"

"I don’t know."

Ross Brown shook his head.

With Chen Xiangbei’s current performance, making it into Q3 was definitely impossible.

But the Chinese Kid had created so many miracles, making Ross Brown hesitant to make a rash conclusion.

"We will soon find out."

Fidel glanced at the clock on the wall and murmured to himself.

The countdown for the second qualifying session had quietly begun.

Each team became busy once again, with drivers sitting back in their car cockpits, preparing for the race.

Odetto stood before the screen, looking at the meteorological radar’s cloud image; cumulonimbus clouds were already over Lingyan Circuit, and the sky was becoming increasingly overcast, with the possibility of rain at any moment.

"Team leader, should we start with soft red tires or switch to intermediates and wait?"

Chief engineer Liang Chi asked Odetto.

The current situation had a high probability of rain; starting with soft red tires might lead to rain even before a fast lap, necessitating a pit stop for a tire change, effectively wasting qualifying time.

Moreover, the newly paved Lingyan Circuit was already slippery, and with added rain, it would become an ice rink, significantly increasing the risk of crash.

Given this, it might be better to wait a few minutes to see the situation.

One could only say that the performance of meteorological radar of this era couldn’t meet future standards of accuracy down to the minute for rainfall; otherwise, there would be no need for consideration and decision-making.

"Start."

Without much hesitation, Odetto made his choice.

After the first qualifying session, there was already considerable rubber residue on the track, making the grip much better than during the initial phase, and there’s no need to delay the start to bet on the luck of a flying lap.