Car Racing without Money-Chapter 426 - 172: Descent into Madness in the "Bird’s Nest" (Part 2)

Chapter 426: Chapter 172: Descent into Madness in the "Bird’s Nest" (Part 2)

Senna’s era is too distant, and Chen Xiangbei in his past life only witnessed Schumacher’s domination of the Ferrari Dynasty on television.

After the skiing accident, a generation of the King of Cars fell, and could never stand on the racetrack again, nor was it possible to duel with him.

Today, Chen Xiangbei welcomed the opportunity for an early challenge.

No matter win or lose, who wouldn’t want to race with the "God"?

Sensing the fervor in Chen Xiangbei’s eyes, Han Han instantly understood his intention.

"You’re right, so let’s just race openly!"

Only by enjoying the race without distractions can one exhibit one hundred percent of their strength.

Chen Xiangbei had long entered into such a state, and now Han Han was about to cross the threshold of "Enlightenment."

The pit crew members were still dutifully providing the battle plan.

Following Chen Xiangbei’s previous two races with their preference for "head-on" style, Ye Yong completely abandoned the idea of the Tian Ji horse racing strategy, directly letting Chen Xiangbei race against the strongest driver, Schumacher, and Han Han take on the runner-up Vettel.

As for car negotiations, the German Team only exercised "BAN" power, while the "PICK" power was handed over to the Chinese Team.

Since it’s a challenge to the strongest opponent, you have to meet it with your strongest stance.

Han Han chose his strongest Volkswagen Scirocco rally car, while Chen Xiangbei opted for the Solution F touring car, which he had raced against Button.

In terms of the order of battle, Han Han took the lead, while Chen Xiangbei served as the final act.

Watching Han Han drive the Volkswagen Scirocco onto the track, Ye Yong standing before the monitor screen couldn’t help but say, "Xiangbei, although I know you like challenging the strong, adopting the Tian Ji horse racing strategy this time might have unexpected success."

Ye Yong actually thought about taking an unconventional tactic, which would have been letting Chen Xiangbei drive the rally car to face Vettel and Han Han to drive the touring car attempting to stay close to Schumacher.

In the previous race against the Australian V8 world champion, Chen Xiangbei demonstrated drift skills that were nothing short of miraculous, not at all inferior to top WRC rally drivers.

No matter how versatile Vettel may be, he absolutely cannot match Chen Xiangbei’s speed in rallying.

Additionally, Schumacher had lost to a touring car world champion driver in previous events; his technique in driving touring cars on special surfaces is far inferior to his dominating presence in the Formula field.

As long as Chen Xiangbei could widen the gap sufficiently with Vettel, there might be hope for a win!

Facing Ye Yong’s suggestion, Chen Xiangbei responded with a faint smile.

"Manager Ye, this is a Tian Ji horse race."

"What do you mean?"

"Vettel is stronger than the current Schumacher."

In the eyes of the public, Michael Schumacher remains immensely renowned, even the defeat in the "Red vs. Blue Duel" doesn’t harm his status or achievements one bit.

As long as you give him a decent car, he’s still that invincible King of Cars!

But Chen Xiangbei has a god’s perspective, very aware that "God" will eventually age.

In 2006 when Schumacher announced his retirement, he had already shown signs of decline; he no longer had the absolute dominance from the Ferrari Dynasty era.

Moreover, three years have passed, and there’s a stark difference in training intensity and competitive conditions between active drivers and retired ones.

Could Schumacher, relaxed for three years, still maintain his peak professional state?

Let alone a sport that heavily relies on physical strength and peak condition like racing, even seemingly "easy" industries like esports—having a streamer retired for three years compete against active professional players would likely result in a one-sided slaughter!

Additionally, aside from decline in condition, Schumacher has severe old injuries.

In February 2009 at the Cartagena circuit in Spain, driving a motorcycle at near 210 km/h, he crashed, flying into the air and landing head-first into the gravel buffer zone, losing consciousness for several minutes.

Subsequent injury assessments showed a rupture of ligaments and tendons on the left side of his neck, serious injury to the seventh cervical vertebra, and signs of skull base fracture.

And this seventh cervical vertebra is key in supporting the entire head’s weight!

Historically, Schumacher’s comeback performance was not ideal, with old injuries playing a significant role apart from the impact of age.

This is precisely why the Red Bull Racing Team enforced contract constraints to prevent Verstappen from motorcycle riding.

Schumacher’s cautionary tale is laid out here; the Red Bull Racing Team cannot afford the risk!

"Could Vettel be stronger than Schumacher?"

Ye Yong felt somewhat incredulous.

Though Vettel is hailed as Germany’s future star, having achieved world runner-up results in 2009,

he is still far from reaching the status of his predecessor Schumacher.

"Yes, one generation and its gods,"

Chen Xiangbei nodded to confirm this answer again.

In his later years, Vettel’s reputation, even after achieving the feat of being four-time world champion, still bore the title "Water Champion."

There is a belief that his four world titles are filled with water and was entirely due to a fast car!

The Red Bull Dynasty period cars indeed were fast, but that does not mean Vettel was slow.

Among his four world titles, at least two were pressure-laden, and during peak times he indeed possessed world-class levels.

Only, as a four-time champion, naturally, his comparisons cannot be with ordinary drivers.

Similar to a perfect score sheet, Vettel achieving a hundred isn’t enough, as legends like Senna, Schumacher, Alonso, Verstappen, and other historic drivers of the same caliber through slow cars and defeating opponents methods.

Prove themselves capable of achieving a score of a hundred and ten!

Moreover, the precipitous decline in Vettel’s abilities like a flood, without the advancement of the Red Bull Mars Rover, relegated him directly to the ranks of "elderly" survival drivers, further deepening the stereotype of the "Water Champion."