Car Racing without Money

Chapter 799 - 326: Demonstrating Qualitative Progress

The two sat in the driver’s rest room discussing track details, and halfway through, Perez came in and silently stood aside to listen.Trulli didn’t "drive him away" despite them being competitors.

To be honest, he could very much understand Perez’s mentality of wanting to seize every opportunity, as Trulli himself was once like that.

Especially comparing his own background from Italy, Perez coming from a developing country like Mexico in America makes it even harder, just like a young man from a small town arriving in a big city, striving to establish himself.

Even if the methods used in the process aren’t always so honorable.

There is a similar example in later years, that is Ocon, who is called "Shoes" by many.

The reputation of Ocon in the paddock is very bad, he is even regarded as one of the most unpopular drivers.

But many don’t understand why he drives so aggressively, competes so extremely, and exhibits such ungentlemanly behaviors.

The root lies in him being a driver whose parents sold everything to support him, Ocon bears far heavier family pressures than any other driver in the paddock, and the result of failure doesn’t just mean he leaves the paddock, but that the entire family would collapse.

Kids from poorer families in the racing arena of this expensive F1 game strive for victory in every race, whether the opponent is a rival or a teammate!

And compared to opponents, teammates who drive the same car often gather together, frequent intra-team competition wheel-to-wheel naturally tarnishes their reputation.

Young people wanting to secure an upper position is understandable, how much they can "learn from others" depends on Perez’s capabilities.

After the theoretical data explanation was completed, Chen Xiangbei went crazy with simulator driving training in the room’s basement that night.

Of course, Perez did the same.

However, after experiencing nearly two practice sessions, Chen Xiangbei already had a certain understanding of the gap between the simulator and the real track.

Honestly, the realism is poor.

On one hand, it’s limited by the technological constraints of this era, the simulator’s maximum limit is just like that.

On the other hand, the real track is mixed with too many uncontrollable factors, making lap time not very referential.

This point Perez would likely agree with as well, though he managed to achieve an astonishing lap time of 1 minute 12 seconds on the simulator, achieving even 1 minute 13 seconds in practice was very difficult.

There is a whole second gap in between!

Time elapsed amidst laps of driving until midnight came and Odetto personally came to the practice room to halt them, only then did Chen Xiangbei and Perez press the end button to avoid being too tired and affecting tomorrow’s qualifying race.

Ascending the stairs back to the room, Odetto and Chen Xiangbei walked side by side, the stars were sparkling outside the window.

"Did you grasp what Trulli taught?"

Odetto asked casually, he had also noticed Trulli sharing experiences with Chen Xiangbei in the driver’s rest room.

The team leader is unable to teach an F1 driver how to drive.

But fellow F1 drivers can.

Trulli might not be as strong as Chen Xiangbei now, but he still holds experiences and insights on the Monaco Circuit, otherwise, he wouldn’t have achieved the title of circuit champion.

"Pretty much."

"If Trulli is willing to teach you those things, he must be considering retirement."

[What?]

Upon hearing Odetto’s words, Chen Xiangbei stopped in his tracks and looked at him with a face full of surprise.

Trulli doesn’t seem to be exhibiting signs of wanting to compete actively for a seat, why would he think of retirement.

"Has he mentioned it to the team?"

"No."

Odetto shook his head.

"But I can feel it. He actually no longer has the desire for victory that a driver should have."

"Perhaps he also realizes the future is no longer his."

Listening to Odetto’s reply, Chen Xiangbei fell silent.

In fact, he also sensed Trulli’s change, no longer having that explosive and aloof nature from before, the whole person became peaceful and calm.

To be honest, looking at it objectively, Trulli indeed doesn’t have much competitiveness.

Whether it’s age, potential, or sponsorship funds, he can’t compete with Perez in any aspect.

Yet making a driver calmly accept being eliminated is still a very cruel thing, perhaps Trulli unwittingly completed his psychological construction, he no longer regards Perez or Chen Xiangbei as competitors, which is why he actively shared his experience about the Monaco Circuit.

"Get some rest early."

Odetto wasn’t someone who drags things out, plus he didn’t have a deep connection with Trulli, so after saying that, he patted Chen Xiangbei’s shoulder and then walked into his own room.

...

Time passed quickly overnight as Saturday’s third practice and qualifying races arrived, the entire Monaco Circuit could be described as teeming with life.

The spectator count at Monaco Circuit, mere tens of thousands, actually ranks nowhere near the top in F1, with the United States Austin Circuit having a single-event limit reaching an astonishing four hundred thousand.

But the visual impact brought by Monaco’s spectator count is incomparable to many other circuit events.

The reason is simple, the spectators are close enough to the track!

The sight of a dense crowd just a few meters away creates a completely different visual impact than spectators tens of meters, even hundreds of meters away.

This way, as long as the driver stands outdoors, they can always hear the cheers from the stands.