Car Racing without Money-Chapter 347 - 150: You Need to Prove Yourself

Ross Brown had met with Chen Xiangbei. Although they weren’t very familiar, the presence of Staler as a "bridge" made their relationship quite good.

As for Barrichello and Button, to Chen Xiangbei, they were more like senior "stars."

There’s no need to say much about Barrichello; he assisted Schumacher, the King of Cars, to win five world championships, making him undoubtedly the strongest number two driver in history.

If you add Jenson Button’s world championship, Barrichello’s rating would rise another level.

However, to be fair, during his time with the Brown GP Team, Barrichello couldn’t be considered a pure number two driver; he even enjoyed the treatment of being the team’s number one driver during the early days with the Honda Team.

It was only during the first seven races of the Brown GP team’s championship pursuit that Button won five race victories, showing a crushing advantage over Barrichello. The team then adjusted, establishing Button as the official number one driver.

To some extent, F1 teams are very realistic and cruel; no one’s position is guaranteed.

When you’re performing well, you enjoy the team’s resources.

When you’re underperforming, you will be mercilessly abandoned!

For drivers, F1 is a competitive sport, while for teams it’s more like a commercial game.

Barrichello and Button both greeted Chen Xiangbei cordially, maintaining a polite courtesy.

The friendliness between drivers was more based on the fact that Chen Xiangbei posed no threat to them yet, and they weren’t in a competitive relationship.

At least, in Button or Barrichello’s eyes, the Chinese Kid wasn’t worthy of being their opponent.

After a simple greeting, Ross Brown took Chen Xiangbei and Odetto to his office for a private conversation.

"Bei, I’ve been following your test results at the Catalonia Circuit; you ran very well!"

Ross Brown first gave a compliment.

You could say the "skipping levels" plan for Chen Xiangbei was proposed and designed by Ross Brown.

Now the rookie he picked has started to deliver on talent and potential; this sense of not having misjudged made Ross Brown quite happy!

"Thank you, I still need to work hard."

Chen Xiangbei replied very humbly.

Indeed, in terms of speed, he still needs to be a bit faster.

"Bei, Odetto mentioned to me that you’re planning to use members of the Dream Team for the F3 event?"

"Yes."

"You need to think carefully; publicly using a quasi-F1 team for an F3 event will greatly diminish the credibility of your results."

"If you win, the public will think it’s expected, but if you lose..."

Ross Brown didn’t finish his sentence, but losing could possibly lead to Chen Xiangbei’s reputation being ruined.

Even his previous Renault championship and Grand Prix F3 victory could be questioned by various specialized cars.

Even though Chen Xiangbei was to some extent a "victim" of weak team power on the East Ocean Circuit in Australia.

"No matter, this F3 competition system will vindicate me."

Chen Xiangbei’s tone was firm, comparing it to the standard system of the Australian Grand Prix F3.

The main race of Spa F3 has special rules, which include two main races!

The first race is the regular race. Drivers start according to the qualifying order, and each car must complete at least one pit stop and use different tire specifications.

The second race is a sprint race, where the starting order is determined by the results of the first race, with the top ten drivers reversing the grid.

That means the winner of the first race will start in the tenth position for the second race.

Conversely, the driver who finishes tenth in the first race will start from the front row in pole position for the second race!

The reverse grid will significantly enhance the occurrence of overtaking maneuvers, allowing the audience to see more exciting battles. It will also re-test the credibility of the champion driver. If one can overtake from the tenth position to first, their strength will be indisputable.

This display of raw ability can’t be achieved just by tuning the car!

"Bei, are you that confident?"

Ross Brown realized Chen Xiangbei’s intentions; he plans to win both main races to vindicate himself.

And to declare to the outside world that he is the undisputed winner!

"How can you drive F1 without confidence?"

Hearing this answer, Ross Brown was taken aback.

To be honest, in the two times he had interacted with Chen Xiangbei, the other had given him a pretty steady and modest impression.

Even with the previous compliments, Chen Xiangbei hadn’t shown any arrogance.

At times, Ross Brown even wondered if the arrogant and confident Chinese Kid that Staler talked about was really Chen Xiangbei?

Now he understood, this guy has an unruly spirit deep inside!

"Great, you definitely need these two victories to clear your name, or you won’t get next year’s Super Driver’s License."

[What?]

This time, it was Chen Xiangbei who was stunned. What does running F3 have to do with the Super Driver’s License?

"The team’s application for the Super Driver’s License has been rejected by the FIA."

Ross Brown added.

"Why?"

Before Chen Xiangbei could open his mouth, Odetto could not hold back and asked.

"The FIA believes that merely having 300 kilometers of testing mileage isn’t enough, and the performance isn’t sufficient to apply for the Super Driver’s License."

"SHIT! Even Raikkonen could get special approval, why can’t Bei?"

Odetto raised his own concerns.

During this time, the application for a Super Driver’s License wasn’t particularly strict; there was only one hard rule, which was no less than 300 kilometers of testing mileage.

If considering results, Chen Xiangbei’s consecutive wins in the Renault Formula and Grand Prix F3 championship really aren’t inferior in weight to Raikkonen’s Renault champion title.

And with 2000 kilometers of testing mileage and a lap time only 0.2 seconds slower than the official F1 top-tier drivers, all data prove that Chen Xiangbei deserves a Super Driver’s License.

How could this be rejected?

"Odetto, you should know that Raikkonen got a recommendation from the Finnish champion Hakkinen, and behind him is also McLaren Team manager Ron Dennis’ guarantee."

"I’m sorry, I did my best."

Ross Brown used to have the backing of the Honda Group, but now he’s just a manager of a private team, and the difference is obvious.

The FIA has always been a place that talks politics. In its early years, Prost had pushed Senna down in conjunction with the French president, and later Masa and Barrichello both complained about injustice.

Just because they were part of the Brazilian gang, not European mainland drivers.

Chen Xiangbei, a Chinese kid with no backing, is even less qualified to negotiate.

"Understood, I can understand."

Compared to Odetto’s agitation, Chen Xiangbei was quite calm.

"Bei, I will apply to the FIA again to ensure the Super Driver’s License is issued before next year’s F1 winter test."

"Don’t worry, no one can bury a pearl!"

Ross Brown comforted Chen Xiangbei, believing the young Chinese man would surely feel disappointed.

Unexpectedly, a smile appeared on Chen Xiangbei’s face.

"Once I take down all the F3 level opponents, the FIA will find no excuses."

Chen Xiangbei’s mindset was calm; in fact, he was mentally prepared for this.

The less clear the rules, the more prone it is to dark operations.

But so what?

For this match, Chen Xiangbei made comprehensive preparations; no one can stop him from vindicating himself!