Car Racing without Money-Chapter 404 - 165: The Elite Team I Want

As the owner of the HRT Team, occupying one-third of the shares means getting one-third of the profits.

The involvement of Chinese sponsorship has already allowed him to taste the sweetness; the more grand the ceremony, the hotter the fame, the higher the chances and amount of sponsorship.

Businessman, that’s the essence of being a team owner.

As for Chen Xiangbei, what he’s more focused on now isn’t the commercial gains but how to fill the last gap in the HRT Team.

And that would be the team manager, Briatore!

"BOSS, have you contacted Briatore?"

Chen Xiangbei asked a question, after all, he’s a driver, and this "recruitment" of a manager belongs to the management layer.

"Of course, but he hasn’t replied."

Kalanbant shrugged, Briatore’s extreme personality is a mix of genius and madman.

The driver he values, he will support at all costs.

Conversely, if Briatore doesn’t approve of you, even if you’re a star of tomorrow, it won’t help.

Years ago, when Briatore was the manager of the Benetton Renault Team, he took a fancy to the Spanish young talent, Alonso.

However, the team had already signed two official drivers, the future world champion Jenson Button and the Italian driver Trulli.

What to do with no seats?

The solution was simple, kick one out.

According to a normal person’s logic, if someone must be kicked, it should be the weaker driver of the team.

Hua Bu was not a normal person; he did things completely based on personal preference and immediately kicked out the better-performing Briton, Jenson Button...

This dismissal at the time caused great controversy, but it had no effect on the old rogue Hua Bu in the paddock, who confidently stated that time would prove him right.

Indeed, facts proved such; Alonso ended Schumacher’s Ferrari Dynasty and became a superstar-level driver in the F1 paddock.

An evil genius with ability, that was Hua Bu’s roaming capital in the paddock.

HRT, a small team like this, likely hasn’t caught Hua Bu’s eye; he was too lazy to bother with Kalanbant.

"BOSS, do you know where Briatore is?"

Initially, Chen Xiangbei wanted the team management to invite formally, making it appear more official and professional.

Now that there’s no reply, indicating that reasoning won’t work, the strategy suggested by Ross Brown must be followed, attempting to move Briatore emotionally with sincerity.

"Briatore might be busy with appeals in France, or he could be dating some supermodel or actress; who knows?"

Kalanbant pouted; he couldn’t trace Briatore’s whereabouts.

The reason this Italian old man’s nickname is "Hua Bu" is due to his fame as a playboy in the paddock.

His love life is exceptionally rich, with countless girlfriends changed; even the Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman had a fling with him.

Honestly, in Kalanbant’s subconsciousness, he doesn’t hope for Hua Bu to take on the role of team manager.

The reason is simple: Hua Bu belongs to the standard "dictatorial" kind of leader; he would invade the management layer and even the board’s power, making it difficult to harmonize with such an old rogue.

But for a starting emerging team, strong leadership wrist is needed to lead it onto the right track!

"BOSS, I plan to personally invite Briatore."

Chen Xiangbei expressed his intention.

"No problem, but I need to remind you, this guy is absolutely a double-edged sword."

Kalanbant warned Chen Xiangbei, many people outside only see Hua Bu’s ability.

Only insiders in the racing industry and his drivers under his wing can feel this guy’s ruthless, result-oriented philosophy.

Management with poorer reputations later, like Red Bull’s Marco and Haas’s English teacher Steiner.

Compared to Briatore, they are as pure as saints...

"I understand."

Chen Xiangbei nodded; he knew very well what kind of person Hua Bu was.

"Since you’ve made the decision, then go ahead."

Kalanbant said no more; since Chen Xiangbei, as a driver, didn’t mind, he could at most not command the Italian old rogue.

With the signing of the F1 Driver contract, it meant Chen Xiangbei officially had a belonging.

In the following few days, he stayed at the Lifield Technology Center to adapt to the new environment and witness the revitalization of this abandoned headquarters.

Various equipment was continuously transported to the team’s headquarters, hundreds of engineers took their positions, involved in final developing and tuning of the TF110, a half-finished prototype car.

The most important wind tunnel equipment, Kalanbant was negotiating with the Toyota Team for hopes of accepting their entire legacy from Cologne, Germany.

Unfortunately, in terms of bidding, the HRT Team lost to the Serbian financial group forming the Stefan GP Team.

The most important factor among them was that the Stefan GP Team promised to provide a formal driver seat to the Toyota faction’s driver, Nakajima Ikki.

Essentially, transactions involve human relations; although Toyota withdrew from the paddock, they still hope the Japanese driver developed within their system can race on the track.

In this aspect, HRT Team had a huge disadvantage; after all, Kalanbant plans to use the another driver seat to earn back 20 million US dollars; how could he possibly give it for free to a Toyota faction driver?

However, luckily the racing simulator was assembled in record time, not delaying Chen Xiangbei’s training progress.

Kalanbant also returned to Spain with a curious mindset and specially watched Chen Xiangbei’s simulator training.

At this moment, he finally understood why the Chinese Kid could complete a level jump.

Fast, damn fast!

Chen Xiangbei’s simulator training speed and proficiency did not lose to any F1 formal driver he had seen, showing almost no rookie trace.

Kalanbant had previously followed manager Campos to meet Chen Xiangbei, seeing him more for the Chinese sponsorship behind him, hoping to solve the urgent needs of the HRT Team.

Now he saw the competitiveness of a top-tier driver!

Only after a few days of training, Chen Xiangbei received a return call from Ross Brown.

"Xiangbei, I’ve communicated with Briatore. He’s currently at Renault Headquarters in Enston Town, United Kingdom."

"The persuasion work following is up to you."