At the HRT Team’s pit, having completed all the testing tasks, Trulli stood in front of the monitor screen, watching Chen Xiangbei’s racing data and the first-person perspective footage from the onboard cara.
In this era of F1 practice sessions, due to limitations in network bandwidth and track operating costs, many third-party perspective caras are not fully turned on.
For example, aerial helicopter caras and high-speed caras above the track.
However, for top F1 drivers, the first-person perspective cara is enough to judge the precision of control and racing lines.
Just by seeing Chen Xiangbei take the T1 corner, deliberately extending the cornering route’s width, Trulli knew that this Chinese kid had already grasped the essence of his racing videos in a short ti.
Because normally, a rookie who hasn’t raced on the Bahrain Sakhir Circuit would only take the textbook conventional cornering route, which is the safest and "correct" way.
Conversely, taking a wide corner has the risk of the tires slipping on the shoulder sand.
But taking a wide route at T1 corner achieves higher exit speed, allowing the terminal straight line speed to be 3 to 5 km/h faster than the conventional route.
The closer one gets to the pinnacle of racing, the more drivers’ skills beco indistinguishable.
To stand out and beco the fastest requires courage and ticulous control of every tiny detail.
Without a doubt, this lap by Chen Xiangbei has an experintal nature; he is exploring the boundary between the simulator and reality!
Following the long straight, Chen Xiangbei released the power stored in the flywheel, allowing the TF110’s top speed to exceed 300 km/h.
This setup is the precursor to the hybrid systems and energy recovery of later years, similarly relying on the braking system for energy storage, except one uses battery chemical storage and the other uses flywheel chanical storage.
And this system was once used in civilian cars, such as the Porsche 911GT3, McLaren P1, and so Ferrari models.
However, limited by cost factors, mid-to-low-end civilian cars other than supercars couldn’t afford it, destined to be replaced by battery hybrid systems in later years and unable to be widely popularized.
With ultra-high terminal speed, Chen Xiangbei charged into the T2 corner, delaying braking until he reached 80 ters before the corner.
The reason he dared to go to such extres without fear of going off track is that the Bahrain Circuit’s T2 corner has a very spacious exit, giving the car ample line buffer space, needing only to ensure the four wheels don’t go beyond the track limit white lines.
Compared to Europe’s often decades-old historic tracks, new tracks like Bahrain Sakhir are characterized by track width, ample buffer space, and good asphalt surface conditions.
If the Sakhir Circuit weren’t built in the desert, its safety could be a level higher.
After exiting the corner and accelerating past the short straight, the T3 corner requires riding the curb as much as possible to the left. As soon as Chen Xiangbei drove onto it, he felt the car start jumping, similar to when a regular car drives over a manhole cover pit.
Instantly, sparks flew from the rear of Chen Xiangbei’s car, confirming that the special material "wood" on the chassis had hit the curb hard.
Whether the chassis received any damage will only be known after a pit inspection.
The Bahrain Circuit’s T4 and T5 are a combination of obtuse angles, with significant lateral G-forces, earning it the nickna "Neck Crusher."
Every year, rookie F1 drivers drive this combination of corners at a slower pace; their necks and body status struggle to withstand lateral G-forces as high as several Gs, and the only choice to avoid slight steering wheel shifts and loss of control is to reduce speed.
When testing the car earlier, Chen Xiangbei felt the pressure even at low speeds, yet this ti he increased the speed considerably, but didn’t blindly challenge the cornering limits.
Even so, he still felt like his head was being forced to one side, his neck muscles all tightened, with veins bulging out!
Compared to the "one-ti enlightennt" of driving skill, physical fitness, even after more than a year of intense training, is still hard to keep up with the advancent speed of professional events. The Grand Prix’s continuous high-temperature tests for several hours are indeed a significant challenge to Chen Xiangbei’s physical condition!
Resisting the pressure brought by the G-value, Chen Xiangbei precisely navigated the corner line, and as he exited, he floored the gas pedal to accelerate, then furiously shifted gears onto the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Until approaching T6 corner, he hit the brakes hard to slow down and corner, reducing speed to around 180 km/h in 4th gear.
"Whitmarsh, the Chinese rookie does have so stuff, seems like his lap tis are faster than during winter testing."
McLaren’s CEO Ron Dennis remarked a bit surprised to team principal Whitmarsh beside him, as Chen Xiangbei’s performance exceeded his expectations.
Ron Dennis is considered a legendary figure in McLaren. His success in the position of team leader is in no way inferior to Briatore, and even from the number of championships alone, he stands stronger.
Senna and Hamilton were crafted by him single-handedly.
Moreover, if Briatore is an unabashed rogue, Dennis could entirely live up to the title of a hypocrite, equally regarded as the "big rogue" of the racing world.
Stealing technology, issuing orders, filing lawsuits, poaching talent – Briatore has done it all, and Dennis could match him tit for tat.
The only difference between the two is that Hua Bu’s manner of handling things is just too blatant...
But to bring it back, in the F1 paddock, whether drivers or managers, succeeding by any ans necessary is considered standard.
After all, competitive sports are all about performance, not morality.
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