Car Racing without Money-Chapter 469 - 186: The Next Superstar Driver (10K)

The Abu Dhabi track in the UAE joined the F1 calendar only in 09, immediately taking over the finale which was previously held in Brazil and Japan.

Blatantly showing what it means to have money – you can do whatever you want!

Bahrain couldn’t compete with the UAE for the finale, so simply being an opening race wasn’t enough. They spent big to become an F1 testing track, making Sakhir and Catalonia the main venues for F1 winter testing each year.

Since Sakhir Circuit is located in the Middle East, Chen Xiangbei only raced as high as F2 in his previous life. This circuit is completely unfamiliar to him, and he has never been to Bahrain before.

Facing this F1 circuit built out of nowhere in the desert, Chen Xiangbei looked around with curious eyes, and the first impression it gave him was emptiness!

That’s right, aside from the pit lane and the stands, there are hardly any buildings nearby, and there aren’t even many trees. In the distance, you can see rolling sand dunes.

Moreover, it’s important to note that during this time, Europe in the Northern Hemisphere is in winter, even the Catalonia Circuit, which claims to be mild all year round, only has temperatures hovering around ten degrees Celsius.

Just stepping off the Bahrain Circuit, a wave of heat hits you.

This is definitely not good news for Formula racing; drivers need to pay extra attention to tire management and windows.

Due to the opening race, all F1 teams have ample time for equipment transport and preparation.

Key members of the HRT Team arrived at the Bahrain Sakhir Circuit ahead of the drivers and strategy team members to complete the paddock setup.

When Chen Xiangbei and others arrived, all racing equipment had already been assembled and tested. The technician team was applying official car numbers and "an endless stream" of sponsor brand LOGOs to the two race cars.

During this era, F1 drivers didn’t have the freedom to choose numbers. The FIA arranges them according to the previous year’s results; the world champion driver is eligible to use car number 1, and his teammate then uses car number 2. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

This rule continued even in the era of free number selection; for instance, Verstappen in fact owns two numbers, his chosen number 33 and the champion’s bestowed number 1.

"New" teams don’t have historical results to follow the previous year’s team ranking, and by convention, they defer to the last numbers.

Just like many buildings in China skip special numbers like 4, 13 isn’t used in Europe either, skipping directly from 12 to driver number 14.

History shows the 12th driver in the 10th season was Renault Team’s Petrov, and the 14th was Indian Force’s Sutil, with no 13th driver.

With Chen Xiangbei’s arrival, FIA spared the trouble of skipping numbers since these don’t hold much significance in China, and he was already accustomed to his number 13.

Moreover, to some extent, Chen Xiangbei actually gained a little advantage.

The reason is that within the paddock, the driver with the earlier number is considered the first driver of the team.

With Chen Xiangbei taking number 13, it meant Trulli was left with number 14.

Although in their duel at the Catalonia Circuit they encountered a blown engine incident forcing the competition to halt, officially no first or second driver was designated.

However, when this number comes up, the outside world defaults to Chen Xiangbei as the first driver.

As for Trulli himself, he said nothing, leaving it unknown whether he tacitly accepted it or considered the numbering insignificant.

In fact, similar situations have occurred many times in F1 history, especially with the advent of free number selection; it’s harder to differentiate between a team’s first and second driver by numbers. Oftentimes, the HALO system’s T-wing color is used for identification.

The first driver uses red, while the second uses yellow.

But Hamilton doesn’t like using red because he feels it doesn’t match his fashion style, opting mostly for the second driver’s yellow in most years.

"Xiabei, want to walk the track?"

Odetto asked, noticing many drivers were already walking the track.

"Okay."

Seeing Chen Xiangbei agree, Lu Xiaoman quickly called out: "Wait for me."

As she spoke, she pulled out a DSLR camera from her suitcase.

This was a new task given to her by Briatore, to "moonlight" as the team photographer and take as many photos of Chen Xiangbei for promotion.

In Hua Bu’s words, HRT Team doesn’t keep idle people; one must always have something to do.

In another paddock room, Trulli and his race engineer Sote made the same decision as Odetto, taking the opportunity to walk a lap on the track to gather information on the road surface and corners.

Since winter testing ended, Chen Xiangbei and Trulli hadn’t had any contact. Though they are teammates, under Hua Bu the old rogue’s instigation and prodding, their relationship is practically akin to strangers.

The Bahrain Sakhir Circuit is 5.412 kilometers long, featuring 15 corners and three long straights.

The whole track layout is relatively balanced, offering numerous overtaking points, and is considered by most fans as one of the most exciting tracks.

In terms of track features, there isn’t much particular to note; a balanced and comprehensive track requires drivers to have no weaknesses, with more focus on climate factors and road conditions.

"Xiabei, you’re probably unfamiliar with Sakhir Circuit, right?"

Odetto asked noticing Chen Xiangbei’s exploratory gestures, sensing his state of novelty since getting off the car.