The Catalonia Circuit is just over thirty kiloters from Barcelona Airport, and the bus ride took about half an hour before the entire team of over twenty people arrived at the circuit.
Since the Catalonia Circuit has long been tasked with testing race cars and rookie trials, the various supporting facilities here are very complete, with large hotels and hostays nearby to accommodate team mbers.
In terms of the environnt and facilities alone, Chen Xiangbei’s first impression of the Catalonia Circuit was that it was very similar to the United Kingdom’s Silverstone Circuit.
The twenty or so people from the Super Dream Team first checked into the hotel, had a simple lunch and rested for a while. They only gathered around two in the afternoon to officially head to the Catalonia Circuit’s garage and pit area.
Just as they reached the entrance, Chen Xiangbei heard a deafening roar coming from the direction of the circuit.
Compared to the F1 engine roars that Chen Xiangbei had heard in his past life, the current sound was even more magnificent and fierce.
Undoubtedly, the Formula One cars of this era, with their 2.4L V8 engines revving up to 19,000 RPM, were the only vehicles capable of producing such a roar!
After F1 entered the hybrid era, engine sizes shrank to 1.6L V6 turbocharged, with RPMs limited to within 15,000 per minute.
Thus, the engine roars beca sharper, lacking the deep and shocking resonance of a V8.
"Field, are there other F1 teams testing too?"
Chen Xiangbei asked a question to the people around him.
The white man nad Field was the reception and coordination officer sent by the Brawn GP Team.
Field would arrange all the work, including team hospitality, track coordination, and even race car logistics.
After all, Chen Xiangbei was relatively unfamiliar with the place, and the Super Dream Team mbers were mainly technicians unfamiliar with logistics, so without Field’s assistance, a lot of ti would be wasted.
"Yes, McLaren’s junior driver Paffett is testing."
Field replied casually, then seed to rember sothing and added: "Oh right, there’s also a Chinese driver nad Tung undergoing testing with the Renault Team."
"Tung?"
Hearing this inexplicable na, Chen Xiangbei was puzzled.
He didn’t know whether it was Field’s accent or a foreign translation issue, but he couldn’t figure out who it was.
Just like how his na, Xiangbei, often got translated to "Bei" in foreign mouths.
In this era, among Chinese drivers competing in Europe’s Formula races, Chen Xiangbei could only think of Ma Qingye and Cheng Congfu, and neither t Renault’s testing standard.
In the formula racing field, there’s often a term known as the "Big Three."
The composition of these top three teams varies with ti and era.
In the early stages, the recognized "Big Three" were Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams.
In later generations, without dispute, the Big Three were generally Ferrari, Red Bull, and rcedes.
As for the Big Three in this era, they haven’t shown absolute dominance yet, but most would consider Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault as those three.
This also shows why Ferrari is seen as the spiritual totem of F1, as many drivers have a "Childhood Dream of Ferrari," as it has never slipped out of the Big Three.
To receive a test from the Renault Team, one must either be highly skilled or extrely well-funded, and Chen Xiangbei couldn’t imdiately think of any Chinese driver with this qualification.
However, since he would soon see for himself, Chen Xiangbei wasn’t in a rush.
He switched topics to ask: "Field, why are there two teams testing at this ti?"
Normally, F1 rookie testing ti is scheduled for the end of the season, directly testing the team’s current race cars after retirent, also known as end-of-season testing.
These race cars’ data is supported by an entire year of official driver testing, allowing better comparison of rookie drivers’ speed and potential.
Also, since the team mbers haven’t gone into winter break yet, and the current race cars generally have spare parts, the team’s testing costs can significantly be reduced.
Only unless encountering a ’super rookie’ cultivated by the team, often called the team’s ’Crown Prince,’ testing would be conducted even mid-season to accumulate driving mileage for their Super Driver’s License.
For example, rcedes’ "Crown Prince" Antonelli had already gained 9,000 kiloters of F1 driving experience before reaching adulthood, a treatnt unique among rookies.
anwhile, Sauber’s super rookie Bottolito, who completed a year-one championship in both F3 and F2, only had just over a thousand kiloters of private mileage before the formal Bahrain collective winter test, a significant difference between the two.
If you are not a team’s crown prince and want to gain more F1 driving experience, then you must bear the expensive cost of private testing, just like Chen Xiangbei self-funding his current test.
But typically, rookies don’t have such substantial capital. Could it be that F2 drivers of this era are financially endowed?
Perhaps realizing Chen Xiangbei’s confusion, Field spoke up to clarify: "Due to last year’s financial crisis, the end-of-season collective winter test was not held, so many teams postponed their testing to this year with staggered schedules."
"Oh, I see."
Chen Xiangbei nodded, recognizing that the 2008 financial crisis was one of the most turbulent years for the F1 paddock.
User Comments
0 comments from readers