Car Racing without Money

Chapter 728 - 293: Complete Suppression of a Teammate (Part 2)

Additionally, Chen Xiangbei is also concerned that driving a simulator might affect his feel in real-world practice.This is why many top drivers do not transport their racing simulators during race weeks. If Chen Xiangbei weren’t trying to familiarize himself with this unfamiliar circuit, he wouldn’t need to use the simulator during breaks between races either.

Faced with Chen Xiangbei’s "modesty," Perez’s expression became instantly complicated.

After a few seconds of eye contact, he spoke: "Aren’t you afraid that I’ll surpass you?"

[Surpass me?]

Hearing this phrase, the corners of Chen Xiangbei’s mouth lifted slightly.

"The word fear isn’t in my dictionary, and besides, you won’t surpass me."

Chen Xiangbei never showed any sense of superiority in front of a second driver, but he would use absolute confidence to make the other person understand why he was the number one driver.

For the next ten years, Perez belonged to the top echelon of drivers in the paddock.

Don’t be fooled by his being blown away by Verstappen, in a sense, it’s like Barrichello being teammates with Schumacher.

Being beaten by Schumacher doesn’t mean being a poor driver, does it?

Probably not.

Perez is the same; he started from Sauber, beat teammates like Kobayashi Kamui, Hockenheim, Ocon, and Stroll, only losing to world champion Jenson Button while at McLaren.

It’s because of such results that Perez managed to transition from a pay driver to a top team in the paddock like Red Bull, partnering with Verstappen.

It’s just an inevitability that during the Red Bull Dynasty, any of Verstappen’s teammates would face being crushed.

No matter how good you are, you’re just not stronger than Verstappen.

It’s the same fate as those who were Schumacher’s teammates during the Ferrari Dynasty.

World runners-up like Barrichello and Masa only met the fate of being crushed.

But even with Perez being a skilled driver, Chen Xiangbei still had absolute confidence to dominate him. Even if history changed, the fate of a second driver was hard to alter.

Chen Xiangbei would become Perez’s "Verstappen" teammate!

Of course, Perez didn’t know his future fate. Hearing such confident declarations from Chen Xiangbei piqued his pride.

"Bei, you’re indeed strong, but I’m not weak either. Don’t be so overconfident."

When Perez said this, his face turned pale and then flushed; he felt a sense of disdain, as Chen Xiangbei was too arrogant!

"It’s not me being overconfident; it’s you being afraid."

"Perez, this is why you can’t surpass me. I never use phrases like my opponent is strong, and I’m not weak."

"This kind of mindset puts yourself in the position of the weaker one, understand?"

Chen Xiangbei maintained that faint smile. Perez wasn’t much different from most historically known second drivers, which was a lack of the confidence to dominate everyone.

Barrichello would often subtly mock Schumacher after races, venting his dissatisfaction and frustration like a grumbling spouse.

But on the track, he still had to obediently follow team orders without any defiance.

When Perez had good results, he also had ambitions to challenge Verstappen yet lacked the strength and determination to shake him.

Because from start to finish, he positioned himself as the weaker one.

Chen Xiangbei, on the other hand, was different. Now all he was thinking about was how to "defeat the gods"!

Hearing Chen Xiangbei’s words, Perez was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

Indeed, being an interim substitute entering the F1 paddock and being a rookie who relied on paying for his seat, Perez didn’t have enough confidence and self-assurance, resulting in a sense of powerlessness in his words.

Chen Xiangbei didn’t continue; he didn’t want to mock or humiliate Perez, only to clarify his position.

Anyone aspiring to be a king doesn’t tolerate provocation!

"Train then, I’ll sit by and watch."

With that, Chen Xiangbei sat on the sofa next to him.

In this situation, Perez took deep breaths to calm his emotions as much as possible and sat into the simulator cockpit.

To fight back against Chen Xiangbei, he had to prove he was faster and stronger!

Pride spawned a strong desire to win, never before had Perez been so eager to defeat another driver!

The simulator car sped on the screen, with the lap count in the upper right corner incrementing from single digits to double and then three-digit numbers.

Perez no longer paid attention to how many laps he had run, only knowing that the clock on the wall silently turned for many laps.

To beat a powerful opponent, you have to work harder and fight more desperately than them.

Unfortunately, Perez picked the wrong opponent; just through hard work alone, he couldn’t beat Chen Xiangbei.

Even without driving the racing simulator, Chen Xiangbei didn’t rest or leave; he sat beside watching Perez’s lines and memorizing each cornering route and braking point on the complex first half street circuit.

A performance-weak car would undoubtedly fall short on the high-speed track in the latter part, determined by physics.

The only section for Chen Xiangbei to reclaim time was the street circuit in the first half of the Lingyan Circuit.

Time passed into the night, and when the exhausted Perez turned around, looking at Chen Xiangbei sitting behind watching, an indescribable impact and shock filled his heart.

"Did you just watch for several hours like this?"

"Yes."

Chen Xiangbei nodded.

"Are you always this hardworking?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Perez asked.

"Back in the Renault Formula, I trained longer and harder than all the other drivers."

"Because I knew when losing to my opponent at the starting line, the only way to win is to fight tirelessly; rest becomes a luxury."

After saying this, Chen Xiangbei gazed meaningfully at Perez.

"Perez, you’re actually the same kind of person as me."

Indeed, Perez’s experience was similar to Chen Xiangbei’s, both crossing oceans to race in Europe without prominent family funds or national support, having only themselves to seize every opportunity!

"I understand."

This time, Perez solemnly nodded, finally understanding his teammate.

As the night passed, it came to Sunday for the main race.

Pre-race media hype, coupled with Chen Xiangbei’s provocation towards the entire South Korea, made this Korean F1 Grand Prix exceptionally popular. Even with the temporary addition of grass tickets, it couldn’t accommodate the surging crowd, with people packed densely around the circuit.

Many were holding banners and waving Taegukgi, hoping to suppress Chen Xiangbei’s momentum!

At nine in the morning, members of the HRT Team arrived at the pit stop to prepare. Although Chen Xiangbei and Perez stayed in the drivers’ lounge until midnight last night, not a trace of fatigue could be seen on their faces. Instead, both were filled with a fervent fighting spirit.

Chen Xiangbei was here to win the championship; he wanted to permanently mark his name in the history of the first Korean F1 Grand Prix, becoming an immovable mountain for future South Korean drivers.

As for Perez, it was simple; he just wanted to beat Chen Xiangbei.

It wasn’t for the resources and status of the number one driver, just purely to prove himself.

Before the main race, there was a warm-up race and various opening performances. The F1 Grand Prix has never been just a sporting event; it’s also a national window for external promotion.

Much like the Olympics.

In 2010, it was the pinnacle era of the Hallyu sweeping through Asia, undoubtedly with girl groups like Girls’ Generation and boy bands like TVXQ as opening performance guests to promote K-pop culture.

Chen Xiangbei wasn’t interested in these boy band or girl group cultures, although he did recognize a few members. However, now he was nearly becoming a "public enemy in South Korea," even if he was curious and wanted to greet them, they would probably avoid him.

As he helped with the final check of the car in the pit, he saw a group of reporters in the maintenance channel rush to interview a certain guest.

"Brother Bei, what South Korean star is so famous that all the on-site reporters are gathering around?"

Ah Yong also saw the scene and asked Chen Xiangbei curiously.

"South Korean stars aren’t that famous, not them."

Chen Xiangbei casually replied.

"Then who?"

"Jackie Chan and Will Smith."