Car Racing without Money-Chapter 551 - 214: Odetto’s Self-Interest

"To get into Q3, we need to be even faster!"

Hearing Odetto’s words, the expression on the faces of the team’s strategy group in the pit box showed some surprise.

Indeed, there were some corners where Chen Xiangbei didn’t pull away from Trulli, but overall, Chen Xiangbei was already completely ahead of Trulli in speed on most corners. Otherwise, relying solely on the full-power engine to increase straight-line speed could not have achieved the second-fastest time overall.

The qualifying session is about to begin this afternoon. Isn’t Odetto worried that exerting pressure at this point might lead to Chen Xiangbei making a track error?

In fact, if Chen Xiangbei hadn’t produced this second-place lap, Odetto wouldn’t have said this.

The reason is simple: not being able to produce speed indicates not being able to control the car, making pressure meaningless.

Only drivers with potential can convert pressure into action.

As for whether Chen Xiangbei can withstand it, that’s not within Odetto’s scope of concern.

The "conservative" approach he shows in front of Briatore is just a means to protect Chen Xiangbei, not expecting this profit-driven businessman to over-exploit.

But if making it into Q3 requires a final push, even if ahead is a deep abyss, Odetto would unhesitatingly push Chen Xiangbei.

Driver results, to put it bluntly, are fought for with their lives; those who can’t bear the pressure should be eliminated.

"I will."

Chen Xiangbei didn’t question it, nodding in agreement.

"Stay for a video review of this lap at noon."

"Noon?"

Hearing Odetto’s words, test engineer Mazzola standing nearby voiced an objection.

"Odetto, continuous high-intensity practice and qualifying mean the driver needs some relaxation space to adjust their condition."

"Doing this would be overkill."

Indeed, there’s just a lunch break between Saturday’s practice and qualifying.

If Chen Xiangbei uses this time for a video review, there’s no time for relaxation or rest, not even for lunch.

Mazzola could understand Odetto’s desire for Chen Xiangbei to make it into Q3, but he felt this was obviously somewhat rushed.

Faced with Mazzola’s opposition, Odetto didn’t respond, just turned his gaze to Chen Xiangbei.

"Mazzola, I’m fine."

Understanding the hint, Chen Xiangbei gave his answer, preferring to seize the time for a review rather than a rest.

Meanwhile, Briatore also approached, placing a hand on Mazzola’s shoulder and saying, "You’ve greatly underestimated the Chinese Kid’s endurance and effort; he might not need any rest at all."

These words from Hua Bu were half-joking, half-serious.

Having interacted with many drivers over the years in the paddock, Briatore once considered Schumacher the most hardworking one.

No matter the achievements, Schumacher never missed a single training or test session; he was a driver who realized his talent through hard work.

Until Hua Bu met Chen Xiangbei, he changed this perception.

The effort from the Chinese Kid has reached a level that could be described as "cruel" to himself.

Once he gets into the car, he’s a "racing machine"!

With even the team manager saying this, Mazzola naturally couldn’t say much more.

As the team members dispersed, Chen Xiangbei, together with Odetto and Sawano Hiroyuki, went to the driver’s lounge, turned on the projector, and reviewed the footage of Trulli and historical drivers’ qualifying laps, analyzing Chen Xiangbei’s control and lines.

"Xiangbei, the apex point of the T3 corner is not in the center; you need to turn the steering wheel 4 degrees left to cut out a line closer to a straight path."

"T5 and T6 are a continuous right combination; you corrected too many times in your line, losing at least 0.1 seconds of speed overall. It requires perfect trail braking."

"The corner speed at T9 is too slow. Schumacher’s speed here in 2004 was 209 km/h, while you’re only driving at 193 km/h, a full 16 km/h slower. I want to know what happened?"

Odetto was serious this time. Compared to new tracks that joined in recent years like the Bahrain Circuit, he had richer experience and understanding of older tracks like the Albert Park Circuit that had been raced for over a decade.

Often, whether it’s a race engineer or a strategy group member, they usually don’t directly instruct drivers on how to drive.

At most, they provide general tactical directions or adjustment plans based on various car data changes, but specific control is up to the driver’s independent judgment.

The reason is simple: who in this world can teach an F1 driver how to drive?

To obtain a Super Driver’s License and become an F1 driver, apart from "miraculous" figures like Ino Yuji who got in through sheer force, it already means standing at the pinnacle of driving skills among six billion people.

Even those as strong as Schumacher or Senna wouldn’t dare to instruct their peers, at most politely saying they learn from each other.

Odetto too, during Chen Xiangbei’s F3 competitions and the opening race, no longer guided him in detail.

However, this time, Odetto had to scrutinize the details.

Because he had already noticed that Chen Xiangbei was too "unfamiliar" with the Albert Park Circuit. His proficiency couldn’t compare to the Bahrain Circuit, and he was in a state of exploration and learning.

In the past, many times Chen Xiangbei gave Odetto and the strategy group members a sense of being self-taught.

Now, in the Australian Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei was showing more of a normal driver’s side; he too is "human" and needs time to learn and improve.

"The slide at this corner is severe; going any faster would mean going off the track."

Chen Xiangbei provided his explanation.

"That reason is not sufficient. With the more advanced aerodynamic downforce in today’s cars, you need to understand why Schumacher could drive so fast."

Odetto shook his head. Sliding wasn’t an excuse; an F1 car is always teetering on the edge of control.

He could understand a one or two-kilometer difference, but a 16 km/h speed gap meant Chen Xiangbei was performing poorly in this corner.

"I’ll do my best."

With a solemn expression, Chen Xiangbei replied. Compared to car performance, experience is the hardest thing to acquire.

An F1 race is typically over 300 kilometers in length; including practice and qualifying runs, it almost amounts to 500 kilometers. Schumacher, having driven at Albert Park Circuit for at least ten years, means Chen Xiangbei has a race distance disadvantage of 5000 kilometers compared to him.

kilometers are enough to turn a novice who just got their driver’s license into a competent road driver.

How could Chen Xiangbei, within just a hundred or two hundred kilometers of practice, fully understand why Schumacher could drive so fast?

"If you really can’t figure out why Schumacher is so fast, then go and imitate him."

This time, Odetto didn’t "make it difficult," stepping back and providing Chen Xiangbei with a solution.

Imitating and learning is a necessary phase for an up-and-coming driver, but forming a habit can easily create misconceptions and build an unbreakable ceiling over oneself.

As a saying from China goes, "Those who learn from me live, those who resemble me die!"

Odetto had witnessed too many newcomers blindly mimicking Senna or Schumacher’s driving methods, gradually losing their uniqueness.

Such "clones" are destined not to become top F1 drivers.

This is also why Odetto usually used theoretical data to have Chen Xiangbei learn rather than focus on a specific driver, worrying that newcomers to racing might enter a misconception before developing their style.

Today he made an exception. With qualifying set to start in an hour, there wasn’t time for Chen Xiangbei to fully comprehend and understand.

The difficulty of overtaking at Albert Park Circuit means qualifying results often determine race results, and Chen Xiangbei must enter Q3 to have a chance to defeat Trulli and score points.

Odetto’s previous opposition to internal competition gradually gave way to an understanding of Briatore’s intentions and philosophy, stepping back to accept the status quo.

Since the team policy couldn’t be changed, and considering HRT indeed showed competitiveness, people’s inherent selfishness meant Odetto had to ensure Chen Xiangbei won this competition to gain the position and resources of the number one driver.

The better the team’s results, the more important position and resources become.

If the HRT Team could truly become a championship contender, Odetto hoped to see Chen Xiangbei on the top podium, not Trulli!