Chapter 720: Chapter 289: The Weak Must Take Risks (Part 2)

It’s not surprising for young people to have impulsive ideas, but why would the HRT Team’s strategy group agree to such a risky decision?

Even Hamilton couldn’t understand it, and neither could the Ferrari Team, who were relatively familiar with Odetto’s style. Although Odetto is Italian, he often resembles a meticulous German in character.

He’s not lacking in the courage to make decisions, but when the risk outweighs the benefits, Odetto is very rational in opposing it.

"Byrne, you’ve worked with Odetto before; do you think he’s gambling or are the track conditions objectively suitable for using soft tires?"

The Ferrari team leader, Domenicali, asked the legendary designer beside him, Roy Byrne, a question.

Domenicali took over from Jean Todt as Ferrari’s team leader in 2006, so he wasn’t familiar with Odetto, who was a strategy group member during the Yue Ma Dynasty. In contrast, Roy Byrne had some interaction and friendship with him.

The Ferrari Team’s engineers were also closely monitoring track surface data, and their conclusion was that it was not suitable for flying on soft tires.

However, since Lingyan is a brand new track with no precedent to reference, everyone knows that the speed of soft tires far exceeds that of semi-wet tires. Domenicali wanted to know if the HRT Team had more confidential information.

Or could it be that this was Odetto’s personal adventurous command?

"Odetto is not a gambler."

Roy Byrne first defined Odetto’s character.

During Ferrari’s Yue Ma Dynasty’s five years, as long as Schumacher’s car didn’t malfunction, he could win the championship by running steadily. There was strictly no need for extravagant risks or for the strategy group to gamble or take risks.

"But he would accept recommendations for All In."

Listening to Byrne’s supplement, Domenicali immediately realized something.

So he asked, "Are you saying this is Bei’s suggestion?"

"Yes, if the driver didn’t have this idea, no team leader would give a suicidal command."

Byrne pointed out the key point, which is that even a number two driver or wingman, at worst, doesn’t need personal performance but certainly wouldn’t be sold out for a life.

Additionally, if there were significant injuries or deaths of drivers, it would also have a huge negative impact on the team’s commercial value and brand influence, and it would also be subject to FIA investigation.

If it gets exposed, the team might be directly destroyed.

"Briatore might."

Domenicali replied meaningfully.

Indeed, normally there isn’t such a directive, but there’s always an abnormal situation.

That’s when a team leader like Briatore, who prioritizes benefits above all, wouldn’t care much about the drivers’ life safety, such as giving a "Crash Gate" directive.

Of course, he did end up ruining the Renault Team.

At this, Roy Byrne was speechless; indeed, the Italian old rogue was capable of such things.

If Briatore could hear their conversation, he might feel terribly wronged.

So far, he has rarely interfered with the team’s strategy group’s directives, not because Hua Bu is so broad-minded, but because of extreme trust in people like Odetto.

Besides, the team’s performance has met Briatore’s expectations; his interference wouldn’t improve things, so he might as well enjoy his leisure.

Amidst the curious and skeptical gazes of the crowd, Chen Xiangbei drove his car back to the pit for the tire change, and the technicians helped him fit the soft red tires.

"Brother Bei, take it easy."

During the tire change, Ah Yong reminded Chen Xiangbei.

Now he’s been in the F1 team for almost a year and is no longer the naïve youngster from China.

Ah Yong knows the risks of the soft red tires. Compared to performance and benefits, he cares more about Chen Xiangbei’s safety.

"Xiangbei, don’t force it."

Liang Chi also advised with a very solemn expression on his face.

Through the visor of his helmet, Chen Xiangbei didn’t say anything, just lightly nodded to the two.

Everything was understood without words.

After the tires were changed, Chen Xiangbei’s car number 13 roared out of the pit, once again performing a warm-up lap while testing the tire grip.

The track broadcast cameras were already focused on Chen Xiangbei’s HRT Racing Car, and the director knew very well that the soft red tires would either achieve remarkable speed or crash and cause an accident.

Either way, it’s the focus of the entire audience!

The result was not optimistic; during the warm-up lap, Chen Xiangbei’s car slipped once, directly plunging into the buffer zone and then returning to the track.

The occurrence of this scene made the on-site fans even more anxious.

"Chen Xiangbei switching to soft tires is too extreme; there’s no need to push like this."

"The HRT Racing Car’s speed isn’t up to par for this race, so he can only push this hard."

"I’m afraid something’s gone wrong; I have a bad feeling about this."

"Trust Chen Xiangbei, he’s a miracle!"

The short warm-up lap of just over a minute quickly concluded. When Chen Xiangbei returned to the starting line, he floored the accelerator for a dynamic start for his second flying lap in Q3.

The black-orange colored HRT Racing Car appeared on the center of the track’s big screen like a black lightning.

The damp air after the rain, coupled with the still somewhat slippery track, meant Chen Xiangbei didn’t have to worry about any heat dissipation issues; he just needed to push the track speed to the limit with all his might.

The deafening engine roar, accompanied by a virtually zero-distance line brushing the concrete wall guards, stirred the hearts of the audience and team members alike.

If Chen Xiangbei’s flying lap in the second qualifying session was already dancing on the tip of a knife, constantly teetering on the edge of losing control,

then this lap can completely be called a gamble with the Grim Reaper!

There’s no need for even the slightest steering mistake; even a few milliliters of water on a certain part of the track affecting the tire grip’s utmost dynamic balance could cause the entire car to immediately skid out of control.

Such a fine line at the edge of losing control would be difficult to achieve even in a racing simulator, yet Chen Xiangbei did it in real-life racing.

To put it bluntly, it’s almost as challenging as taking a corner on full throttle with DRS on in the future.

"Isn’t Mr. Xiangbei mentally prepared already? Last night he crashed numerous times while practicing with a racing simulator,"

Mizutani Sho whispered to Sawano Hiroyuki while watching the broadcast.

Chen Xiangbei’s simulator training, as he needed to record data, had made him very familiar with the content long ago.

Most of the time, even in simulator training, Chen Xiangbei’s line is very precise, so there wouldn’t be reckless replays of crashes often; after all, it isn’t a game but an exercise that needs to be applied in real competitions.

An overly outrageous way of driving couldn’t be realistically achieved!

Yet last night, Chen Xiangbei had numerous ’mistakes,’ crashing his car multiple times, making it evident that he was testing the track’s edge limits.

At that time, Mizutani Sho didn’t think much, assuming it was just Chen Xiangbei being unfamiliar with the track, hence more mistakes were normal.

In retrospect, those weren’t mistakes, but prepared training by Chen Xiangbei!

"Being mentally prepared doesn’t mean being able to do it; life doesn’t have a replay,"

Sawano Hiroyuki replied quietly, instinctively clenching his fists due to nervousness.

Just think about how cautious the viewers are, and you can imagine how dangerous Chen Xiangbei’s current situation is.

In fact, Chen Xiangbei’s mindset might be much better than that of Sawano Hiroyuki and others.

The reason is simple: with his level of concentration, he didn’t even have the mind to be nervous or scared.

Instead, his mind was filled with only one thought: to complete this lap at maximum speed!

Ordinarily, a minute or so passes quickly, but at this moment, a minute seems infinitely long.

Every turn makes the just-relaxed heart leap, and only after passing it, can it breathe a sigh of relief,

and this cycle repeats over and over.

When the final corner was behind him, normally a breath of relief could be taken, but the pit crowd remained silent; every pair of eyes was still fixed on the TV broadcast on the wall, eagerly waiting for the final lap time to appear.

The car roared past; the stopwatch came to a simultaneous halt.

The time of 1 minute 36 seconds 311 appeared, causing a brief silence before a clamor erupted across the scene.

This result was faster by a full 1.5 seconds than Hamilton’s previous fastest lap, propelling Chen Xiangbei’s name to the top of the qualifying rankings!