Car Racing without Money-Chapter 445 - 177: F1 Difficulty Beyond Comprehension (Part 3)
"Newey, did you notice that the aerodynamic package and design approach of the TF110 are very similar to our new RB6?"
F1 legendary aerodynamic master Newey was not staying at the team’s research headquarters during winter testing; he came to the Catalonia Circuit to collect data.
Last year, Red Bull Racing made a strong push in the latter half of the season, almost overturning Brawn GP to clinch the drivers’ championship.
If it weren’t for Ross Brown’s decisive action to sell the team’s equity to the Daimler Group, gaining Mercedes’ full support in funding and technology, the late-stage car upgrades stabilized the situation.
Perhaps Red Bull Racing would have started their championship journey a year earlier.
The successful mid-season upgrade of the RB5 confirmed Newey’s design direction and research focus.
This year’s RB6 will be Red Bull’s first championship car!
With such ambition and determination, Newey personally came to the Catalonia Circuit to gather data.
"Not only very similar, almost identical."
The TF110 car’s aerodynamic package was somewhat camouflaged, but to a true master like him, these small "tricks" were as ineffective as covering one’s ears and pretending not to hear, and he easily saw through the design approach.
The high nose cone design paired with a double diffuser, the extremely complex front wing structure and endplates, especially the adjustment of the engine position forward to allow airflow through the exhaust to increase downforce via the rear wing.
All signs indicate that the TF110 and RB6 are on the same technical path.
"What do you think of Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei’s abilities?"
"I don’t know."
Newey replied bluntly; he is a design engineer, not a race engineer.
He cannot give an accurate estimate of a driver’s abilities.
"Vettel, what do you think?"
At this moment, Horner turned and asked Vettel, who was preparing to get in the car.
Having partnered with Schumacher, he had encountered Chen Xiangbei at the ROC National Cup and was somewhat familiar with him.
"His fundamentals are very solid, at least his lower limit is reliable."
To be honest, Chen Xiangbei left a deep impression on Vettel at the Bird’s Nest.
It’s not just that he defeated Schumacher; it’s more about this Chinese driver reaching almost world-class standards, whether it’s touring car lines or rally car drifting.
Formula drivers don’t naturally handle other cars well, and having such abilities relies heavily on fundamentals and car sense.
At least in Vettel’s eyes, Chen Xiangbei’s four "level-jumps" are not entirely pushed by Chinese capital; perhaps his abilities might amaze the outside world.
"Push a lap later; I need comparative data."
Horner initially didn’t plan to have the driver push on the first day of winter testing; he wanted to test the fundamental performance and stability.
Now, with the appearance of Chen Xiangbei and the TF110’s similar design approach, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
The RB6 might not be the only "Mars Rover."
"OK."
Vettel nodded, his tone very relaxed.
He does not underestimate Chen Xiangbei, which doesn’t necessarily mean he holds him in high regard.
Schumacher is ultimately a god in decline; he went undefeated in eight matches at the ROC National Cup, leading Han Han from the Chinese team by more than three seconds per lap, even in a rally car he wasn’t adept at.
He felt confident leading by 5 seconds in a touring car and 8 seconds in a Formula car!
"Water" is just superficial.
Perhaps expressed another way, the appearance of "water" is because no contemporaries could pressure Vettel, removing suspense from the championship process.
It’s similarly true for Hamilton.
The car does hold a significant factor, but the same "Mars Rover" driven by someone else may not necessarily secure the championship.
Just like Red Bull cars, people believed they were strong, until McLaren rose and it became clear that the driver was strong.
During the conversation between Horner and Newey, Chen Xiangbei on the track had already crossed the finish line.
On the pit room monitor screens of various teams, lap times appeared almost in real-time.
minute 20.766 seconds!
"OH, the rookie from China is so fast, reaching the top position."
"Rosberg is 0.2 seconds slower than Xiangbei; Mercedes Team might have bet wrong."
"Test results don’t mean much; perhaps Rosberg didn’t even push."
"But Di Grassi from Virgin Racing, another rookie, was more than two seconds slower than Chen Xiangbei; no matter how unpushed, he shouldn’t be this slow, right?"
"Indeed, achieving a level-jump isn’t without reason."
Since many drivers hadn’t yet tested on the track, the engineers and technicians in the repair station were relatively idle and discussed with interest after seeing this result.
Rookies entering F1 always catch attention easily, especially a rookie from China!
"Briatore, what was my lap time?"
"1 minute 21.766 seconds."
"What? Am I this slow?"
Hearing Hua Bu’s answer, Chen Xiangbei felt very surprised.
He’d done over 2000 kilometers of rookie testing at the Catalonia Circuit; it was next to Suzuka Circuit, the F1 track he drove on the most, even more than Silverstone Circuit beside the British Headquarters Base.
Though the cars were different, drivers are sensitive to their speed.
Chen Xiangbei specifically paid attention to cornering speed and straight-line repair, generally surpassing the RA108 overall, how could it still be more than a second slow?
"Manager, are you sure no mistake in the lap time?"
"Are you questioning my eyesight?"
"No, I..."
Chen Xiangbei was about to explain when Briatore rudely interrupted, "Xiangbei, stop acting like a rookie, driving slow doesn’t mean you should find external excuses; search for reasons within yourself!"
With words spoken to this extent, no matter Chen Xiangbei’s full of questions, continuing would seem like making excuses for himself.
He could only hold back his questions and say, "I’ll try to PUSH in the next lap to see if I can go faster."
"Great, I look forward to your performance."
Finishing, Briatore switched the voice channel, ordering to Trulli, "Man, do you want to know Xiangbei’s lap time?"
"Say it."
Trulli replied coldly and simply; he didn’t want to talk much with Hua Bu.
"1 minute 20.266 seconds."
What?
Hearing this lap time, Trulli was also greatly surprised.
A rookie driving the new car for the first time, can they achieve such a lap time?
Know that the overall pole position time at the Catalonia Circuit is only 1 minute 19.511 seconds.
Though last year, Catalonia Circuit’s weather was poor, plus immature power recovery systems, the pole lap time was slower than previous years.
But it’s not that Chen Xiangbei pushed a lap with "tail Palladium" to achieve close results.
"Is it really that fast?"
Trulli also raised his doubts, feeling it hard to believe.
"What, could you be slower than the Chinese rookie?"
Briatore’s mocking tone appeared in his earphones.
At this moment, Trulli also knew that saying more is unhelpful; asking would only let the Italian rogue seize the chance to annoy.
Furthermore, all non-Renault crew members of HRT Team P were dumbfounded looking at Briatore; it was already unreasonable to incite before the test.
After actually reporting lap times, can fake information be played like this?
