Car Racing without Money-Chapter 484 - 190: The Oppressive Atmosphere of the F1 Paddock (Part 2)

Chapter 484: Chapter 190: The Oppressive Atmosphere of the F1 Paddock (Part 2)

At the same time, it also brought him unbearable pressure!

The aura of a superstar uncle isn’t that easy to bear.

The racing legend Senna is already considered the ceiling of F1. Driving well can’t surpass him.

Driving poorly would be seen as tarnishing the family name.

Particularly since Little Senna is already twenty-seven this year, in the F1 paddock, he’s considered older than both rookies and even veteran drivers; to some extent, his potential is already defined.

But this doesn’t mean Little Senna lacks talent; on the contrary, his talent was delayed!

There were voices from various media early on hoping Little Senna could carry on his uncle’s legacy and become the next Brazilian flag-bearing F1 driver.

However, his mother didn’t want Little Senna to repeat the same fate; his father and uncle both died in racing accidents, almost like a family curse.

It wasn’t until he was twenty-one that Bruno Senna returned to the track, taking six years to achieve titles like the UK F3 champion and GP2 runner-up, earning a ticket into the F1 paddock.

One could say, Little Senna is the Brazilian version of Sato Takuma!

The Lotus Team leader Tony recruited Little Senna into the team, like Briatore, seeing the sponsorship funds behind the second-generation Brazilian driver.

The tens of millions of US dollars in sponsorship joining the team have been mostly spent by Lotus.

Tony now needs Little Senna to use his results to stimulate South American sponsors, to gain more advertisements and revenues, or else relying solely on past glories won’t satisfy the appetite of the F1 team’s financial beast.

The rookie spotlight can’t be grabbed solely by Chen Xiangbei; Bruno needs to make an effort.

"I understand."

Bruno, with his age, is relatively steady in character, without much emotional fluctuation.

"OK, then let’s go for it."

Tony patted Bruno on the shoulder, hinting that he could get up and head to the P room.

With the practice session starting at eleven in the morning, the roar of engines echoed through the track as the cars left the pits one by one.

"I wonder if Driver Bei can still achieve the fastest lap in practice three."

"Yesterday Bei was so fast, I think there’s hope!"

Amidst the voices of a few Chen Xiangbei fans discussing, nearby, a few mocking voices interrupted.

"Do you even understand F1 rules? A practice three lap time is much faster than a practice two. The Chinese rookie has no chance!"

"Yesterday, many drivers didn’t exert themselves. Today will make Driver Bei feel his own insignificance."

"A rookie is ultimately a rookie, and will soon reveal their true colors."

This world is such that when you have some strength, but are not strong enough, it’s often when half-full barrels attract the most hate and criticism.

The current tension is evidently stronger than yesterday.

"Bei, test the speed in low-speed corners."

"Trulli, you focus on high-speed corners."

In the HRT Team’s P room, Odetto issued testing instructions to the two drivers.

He knows well the adventurous and aggressive nature within Chen Xiangbei, and the unpredictable risks of a rookie testing high-speed corner limits.

Trulli is skilled in single-lap qualifying and the only driver to ever defeat Alonso twice; his experience and track familiarity make him better suited to test high-speed corners.

"OK."

Chen Xiangbei had no objection to the team’s instructions; it was merely a different division of work.

After setting up the test projects, the two drivers sat in the car cockpits, and as the startup light turned green, they left the P room one after another.

Chen Xiangbei’s car number 13 appeared, immediately attracting the attention of the audience in the stands and numerous team engineers.

It’s not just because this young man from China posted the fastest lap in practice two, but also because his chosen car number was eye-catching; F1 paddocks haven’t seen car number 13 in years.

After completing a brief tire warm-up lap, Chen Xiangbei accelerated for practice three to simulate a qualifying test, braking as late as possible in low-speed corners to challenge the limit of cornering speed and using long straights and high-speed corners to cool the brakes and tires.

The TF110, after two rounds of qualifying adjustments, now drove more comfortably for Chen Xiangbei.

Combined with the light fuel load strategy, there was a sort of agility in control.

The lap was quickly completed, and Chen Xiangbei couldn’t wait to ask Odetto for his lap time over the team radio.

In lower-tier formulas, Chen Xiangbei rarely inquired about lap times from the team.

Because, like lower-tier track records, they are destined to be broken.

Lower-tier formula opponents are equally there to be crushed.

Laptimes don’t matter; you just need to overtake all opponents in the race and leave them behind to stare at your rear lights!

Only those who "slaughter" opponents in lower-tier formulas have the qualification to cross the F1 paddocks’ entrance.

But now the scenario is entirely different. Chen Xiangbei is already standing at the pinnacle of motorsport, with opponents being the strongest drivers on Earth.

No one would dare to say they’re unconcerned about lap times in F1 and can leave other drivers far behind.

Neither Senna, Schumacher, nor Verstappen could do that!

Naturally, Chen Xiangbei could do it far less.

He must clearly understand his and his opponents’ lap times to have an accurate awareness and make preemptive strategies for the next steps.

"1 minute 32 seconds 633."

Upon hearing this laptime, Chen Xiangbei felt fairly satisfied.

After all, testing extreme speeds in low-speed corners will naturally lag behind high-speed corners.

Now, the lap time has already surpassed the fastest lap in practice two, the improvement margin is quite decent.