Car Racing without Money-Chapter 419 - 170: Chinese Racers Are Not Weak! (Part 3)

Chapter 419: Chapter 170: Chinese Racers Are Not Weak! (Part 3)

The main sponsor of the Mercedes Team is Petronas, with an equally high amount of seventy million US dollars.

If you take a closer look at the F1 Grand Prix billboards, you will notice the logos of giants like UBS (Swiss Bank), VISA (credit card), Citibank, and Tanzande among others.

Also, HSBC is Zhou Guanyu’s personal sponsor.

On the East Sea International Circuit, you would also see overwhelming billboards of UnionPay and Sinopec.

Many people might not understand why the financial and oil industries favor F1, even to the extent of investing heavily every year. It seems like spending tens of millions of US dollars in advertising constantly doesn’t have a sufficient profit return.

In fact, having thoughts like this is completely wrong. Never doubt the investment vision of financial and oil giants; they are the real "capitalists"!

The financial industry sponsors F1 to attract high-net-worth clients. To put it bluntly, those who have the leisure to follow Formula racing and even attend live matches are likely rich people.

They are the clientele for wealth management and private banking!

The oil industry is easier to understand. Vehicles and oil are closely related. The giants need F1’s global influence for brand promotion.

As for the domestic oil groups, they also have business in extending overseas crude oil refining projects, facing competition from international giants like ExxonMobil, Shell, etc.

This is when they rely on external publicity to showcase their brand and strength!

Previously, domestic finance and oil companies’ sponsorship of Formula racing was more limited to the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, as they lacked a reliable platform and medium, resulting in relatively low international influence.

Now the situation has changed with the appearance of Chen Xiangbei and the domestically-controlled HRT Team, giving the giants a "target" for sponsorship and publicity.

Chen Xiangbei’s performance in the ROC National Cup will determine his investment value!

For these special attentions from outside, Peng Sheng only hinted at them without revealing specific enterprises, so Chen Xiangbei naturally didn’t know.

However, even if he knew, his mindset during the competition would not be heavily affected.

Only by being 100% focused without any distractions can he strive for a 100% winning chance!

After the opening ceremony, the drivers returned to the makeshift pit stop at the Bird’s Nest, where five different types of race cars were placed, along with the teams that provided logistics and technical support.

When he arrived at the pit stop to interact with Han Han’s team members, Chen Xiangbei saw some familiar faces. They were the Volkswagen 222 Team’s Manager Ye Yong and race engineer Wang Xiao, whom he had met at the Haizhu International Circuit.

Seeing the surprise on Chen Xiangbei’s face, Han Han guessed his thoughts.

So he smiled and said, "Manager Ye and Engineer Wang have now joined my personal team, along with the technical director Evans recruited from Subaru."

"They might not match your F1 team, but they are definitely not lacking!"

When Han Han said this, his tone was full of trust and support for his team members. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Hmm, I believe that."

Chen Xiangbei nodded in agreement.

He knew very well internally that even the top domestic team could not compare with an F1 team.

But this is not a matter of comparison; Chen Xiangbei’s "arrogance" and "pride" will only be displayed when necessary.

"Xiangbei, what are your thoughts on car types and opponents?"

At this moment, Ye Yong inquired.

Normally, the team manager has absolute authority, but the fact that Chen Xiangbei is an F1 Driver means he is destined to be the one in charge.

"Manager Ye, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Xiangbei did not answer directly, instead giving Ye Yong enough respect.

"I think having Han Han drive the Volkswagen Scirocco against Button, and you drive the ROC-specific car against Andy."

The ROC National Cup adopts a best-of-three, two-lap system. If it ends in a one-to-one tie, the winning drivers from the two teams will play the final match.

Ye Yong’s strategy was simple, using the strategy of ’Tian Ji’s Horse Racing’, letting the inferior Han Han challenge the unbeatable F1 world champion Button.

Chen Xiangbei would drive the familiar modified go-kart, utilizing the advantage of a Formula driver to face the king of touring cars, Andy.

No matter the final result, at least one victory could be secured.

Just like the on-site audience shouting, Ye Yong also placed the China team in the underdog position, hoping not to have a situation of zero wins in the first round.

"Manager Ye, my thoughts are somewhat different from yours."

"Xiangbei, speak your mind."

"I’ll drive the touring car against Button, and Han Han will drive his familiar modified rally car, the Volkswagen Scirocco, against Andy."

If Ye Yong placed himself in the weaker position, Chen Xiangbei did not see it that way.

The reason is simple. Historically, the combination of Han Han and Dong Hebin reached the semifinals in the 2009 ROC National Cup.

Han Han is still the same Han Han, and Chen Xiangbei does not think he is weaker than Dong Hebin.

Although the first round draw has changed and is not the historically weaker Australian team,

even facing the newly crowned F1 champion Button, Chen Xiangbei still has the courage to wield his sword!

Han Han has an advantage driving a rally car against a touring car driver, and Chen Xiangbei believes that as long as he’s not driving a super go-kart against Button, the touring car on a special circuit is not inferior.

As Chen Xiangbei expressed his thoughts, everyone in the pit was speechless.

Whoa, is Chen Xiangbei planning to confront the F1 world champion Button head-on?