Car Racing without Money

Chapter 780 318: Being Mediocre Is the Original Sin

Chen Xiangbei turned around and walked downstairs into a spacious basement, where two racing simulators were set up. Perez was sitting in front of one of them, practicing on the Monte Carlo circuit of Monaco.Because the Monaco Station track is perfectly integrated into the streets, spectators can almost stand on the balconies of the surrounding houses to watch the race. This time, the HRT Team strategy group members did not stay in a hotel, but rented a villa right next to the track, and placed the racing simulator in the basement.

This reduces the time spent traveling back and forth between the hotel and the pit, allowing drivers to choose freely to train at any time.

Nowadays, the HRT Team's funding issue has been largely resolved. They no longer need to consider the transportation costs of the racing simulator, nor will there be scenarios where two drivers share a single racing simulator.

Additionally, influenced by Chen Xiangbei, Perez's efforts in this period can be said to be at the maximum; he also believes in the saying "heaven rewards diligence."

Besides Perez, who was training, there was another familiar face in the basement, which was the HRT Team's official driver, Trulli.

After a few months of recuperation, Trulli's injury has healed, and he is currently more in a physical rehabilitation phase.

One must know that F1 drivers require very high muscle strength; otherwise, they cannot precisely control the throttle or brake, and a mere one percent speed error in any bend will exponentially increase the risk of going off the track.

After all, in the F1 track, there's never a surplus concept; every turn is like dancing on the tip of a knife, challenging the limit of speed, requiring drivers to have absolute control over the car.

No one can escape the erosion of time; even someone as strong as Schumacher, after a major injury in a motorcycle accident, currently shows a cliff-like decline in competitive state, let alone Trulli?

At the same time, Trulli's return also puts the team in an awkward decision-making position: who should be allowed to race?

And even, who can renew the contract for the next season?

The declining competitiveness of the HRT Racing Car somewhat benefits Perez.

He is not inherently a driver who aggressively pushes limits, and when the team adjusts the car towards long-distance scoring for the race, Perez's tire management and long-distance stability are vividly demonstrated.

While the HRT Racing Car's absolute performance is relatively weak, it doesn't have significant shortcomings, in short, it's easy to drive.

One must know that if a car is easy to drive, it means it's easier to master and reach its performance limit!

Take future Red Bull Racing as an example, in terms of absolute performance, Red Bull RB20 and RB21 are not weak, otherwise, Verstappen wouldn't have been able to take poles or even win races with them.

If it's really a weak-performing tractor, even if Verstappen's skills lead by a margin, he couldn't possibly top the McLaren duo.

Was Alonso at his peak in the '10s not strong?

Driving a GP2-level Honda engine car, he was overtaken in various fancy ways on the straights, even if he stomped the throttle through the engine, it was useless!

The reason why Verstappen could take pole positions while drivers like Perez, Lawson, Kakida Yuuki got eliminated in Q1 is largely because the car was too difficult to drive, showcasing the adaptation gap of drivers to the car.

In terms of development design or track settings, the HRT Racing Car is now very in line with Perez's driving habits. He is currently ranked tenth in total points, surpassing the veteran Williams Team driver Barrichello!

This performance can definitely be considered an excellent result for a new substitute driver. Considering the age growth potential and future prospects, it's visibly clear that Perez will surpass Trulli.

Not to mention Perez also has top-tier sponsors like Mexican Telecommunications behind him, with tens of millions of US Dollar sponsorships from the American Consortium every year, which is an irresistible temptation for any team.

The choice of who becomes the official driver of the HRT Team at least has a clear answer with Briatore.

But the problem is Trulli's season contract hasn't ended yet, terminating it early might seem like kicking someone out once they've served their purpose, making the team management appear somewhat cold and heartless.

Of course, this is nothing out of the ordinary in the F1 Paddock.

Competitive sports are about survival of the fittest; there are countless examples of drivers being axed and replaced mid-season in the F1 Paddock. At most, audiences and fans might feel some regret, but no one finds it problematic.

What truly makes Briatore and the team bosses hesitate is the significant compensation required for early contract termination. Furthermore, Trulli's connections with Ferrari Team need to be considered, as HRT, being a customer team, often needs to look after the emotions of its engine suppliers.

Just as the Ferrari Team later had actual control over customer teams like Sauber and Haas. They could even reverse roles, for example, like Sauber's team principal Vassell directly promoting to being Ferrari's team principal.

"Perez, how's the training on the Monaco Circuit going?"

Odetto also walked in at this moment, asking a question.

"No problem."

Perez nodded confidently, his tone even carrying a hint of excitement.

Currently, he has raced nearly ten matches as a substitute, and although his overall performance is very good, he hasn't shown that kind of visibly great absolute speed talent, relying more on long-distance stability in races.

In the F1 Paddock's rules, absolute speed represents a driver's ceiling, with long-distance stability merely guaranteeing the floor.

Middle teams usually choose drivers with the latter long-distance stability when selecting drivers.