CHAPTER 197: CHAPTER 111: THE COLLISION OF IDEALS AND EMOTIONS (DOUBLE-LENGTH)

"Team leader, find a way to get from the Super Dream Team members the fastest lap time of the Chinese driver Xiangbei."

Tod immediately conveyed his opinion to the ART team leader via radio. Practice lap times are not team secrets; as long as someone has a good relationship with the opponent’s team members, they can easily find out just by asking.

"Tod, is there a problem?"

The ART team leader asked back, having arrived a little later and not experienced Chen Xiangbei’s speed in the last lap.

"Driver Xiangbei ran a time of 1 minute 08 seconds. I suspect he not only surpassed last year’s pole position but might have approached Ricardo’s pole record."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

Tod gave a definite response, trusting the accuracy of his intuition.

"OK, I’ll send someone to inquire."

A saying circulates on the internet: "There are no secrets within the paddock."

Once someone pays attention, almost within a short period, Chen Xiangbei’s fastest lap time has already spread among more than a dozen teams.

Regarding the time of 1 minute 08.296 seconds, most people reacted first with disbelief!

The reason is simple: this lap time is too exaggerated, 0.2 seconds faster than the pole record.

If Chen Xiangbei’s time were 1 minute 08.5 seconds, maybe everyone would have accepted it. The absurdity leads to a sense of unreality, plus the Chinese Kid didn’t appear in the paddock practice, it’s almost like making up stories.

But the pole position and victory at the Silverstone opening race have forced teams to take it seriously, throwing them into a dilemma.

Among them, only Magnussen and Vergne showed "respect" for Chen Xiangbei’s lap time.

Both were escort drivers to the previous race’s champion. Compared to other drivers, they experienced Chen Xiangbei’s strength more intuitively, knowing this Chinese Kid could truly clock a stunning lap time.

Additionally, there’s a more important point: Chen Xiangbei’s bold words during the post-race interview.

He wants to win this race’s championship, and not even Jesus can stop him!

This frontal declaration cannot be tolerated by Magnussen and Vergne; in any case, the championship at Donington Park Circuit cannot again fall into Chen Xiangbei’s hands.

They must defend the honor belonging to European drivers!

...

Compared to the swirling rumors outside, during these two last rest days, Chen Xiangbei seemed to lead a "retired" life.

Due to a muscle strain, he paused all physical training, plus the Super Dream Base had no racing simulators, so he could only look at track data and watch other drivers’ race videos, seemingly giving himself a relaxing and stress-relieving break.

Moreover, Chen Xiangbei noticed an F1 news report stating that, according to former Honda sports department staff, team manager Ross Brown found new investors and would soon complete the full acquisition of the Honda F1 Team.

If nothing unexpected happens, this new investor is likely Staler.

It seems the old British gentleman investigated Honda Team’s operations and the leading performance of the RA109 prototype car, making a decisive investment decision.

At the same time, insiders revealed that the former Honda F1 Team has already submitted an application to the FIA, not missing the opening race of the new 09 season. The driver lineup will maintain Jenson Button and Barrichello’s partnership, with the two veterans confident in achieving better results in the new year!

It’s well known that not only are there no secrets in the paddock, but also no "rumors."

The Honda F1 Team captured the last life-saving straw, poised to magnificently revive under a new identity within the paddock.

March 7, Saturday, the qualification day at Donington Park Circuit.

Compared to the previous Silverstone Circuit, this race involved staying at a nearby hotel, so team members had a relatively leisurely departure time, not needing to rush to arrive early.

While sitting in the car, Liang Chi still worriedly asked, "Kid, how does your shoulder feel now?"

"Uncle Liang, no problem."

Chen Xiangbei waved his arms twice, indicating that he was fine.

"No problem, my foot. It’s just improving, not completely healed."

"Moreover, muscle strains have a high recurrence rate. The high G-force lateral pressure in the upcoming qualifying race will still overwhelm your shoulder and neck muscles."

Lu Xiaoman unceremoniously exposed Chen Xiangbei’s guise; hoping to completely recover in two days, was he pretending to be Superman?

"It’s okay, as long as it’s not both sides strained; the other hand can exert more force when needed."

Chen Xiangbei remained relaxed, not wanting to let the team fall into a worrying atmosphere because of himself even before the race began.

"If you say it’s fine, then it’s fine."

Lu Xiaoman replied somewhat helplessly.

In a certain sense, she could understand Chen Xiangbei; after all, racing is never just about the driver; a team of more than a dozen people supports him.

Chen Xiangbei also has to be responsible to the entire team.

After driving for under ten minutes, Chen Xiangbei and others arrived at the team’s designated parking lot at Donington Park Circuit.

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a few red national flags waving at the edge of the parking lot.

"Chen Xiangbei, we are here to cheer for you!"

"Chen Xiangbei, you are never alone fighting!"

"Go Chen Xiangbei, win another championship!"

The cheers entered Chen Xiangbei’s ears, leaving him somewhat surprised and frozen on the spot.

Honestly, battling alone on foreign tracks and suddenly hearing someone cheer for you in your native language while waving that familiar red flag stirs indescribable emotions and a sense of touching.