Car Racing without Money

"Look here, look here!"

"China!"

Chen Xiangbei pointed to the national flag embroidery at his waist and shouted fiercely at the camera.

If before, some of his flamboyant words and actions were mostly to cooperate with Odetto for hype and acting, now it was a heartfelt roar.

Winning the Renault European Cup's first race wasn't exactly a high-caliber championship.

But for Chinese drivers, it was a breakthrough from zero!

Neither Chen Xiangbei in his previous life nor any Chinese driver in this world had ever achieved this feat.

"OH MY GOD, I can hardly believe my eyes. Vergne used his tactics to the fullest yet still couldn't overtake Xiangbei at the last moment."

"The rookie driver from China has won the championship in his first European formula race, securing pole position at the Renault European Cup Silverstone Circuit with a lap time of 1:57.613!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of the warmest applause for North. Perhaps we are all witnessing a new chapter in history!"

James narrates passionately during the post-race commentary; during the final half lap at Woodfield Bend, he once thought ART Team's Vergne would laugh till the end as the champion and had already voiced his congratulations.

But who could have expected Chen Xiangbei, with his tires slipping and pedal-empty spinning, to stubbornly rely on cross-tracking to overtake, defending his championship glory with less than a 0.1-second gap.

This race's strategy and responses by driver Xiangbei were near-perfect, evidently having done a lot of groundwork, thoroughly understanding his opponents' driving styles and tracking habits.

Had there been any slight negligence, Chen Xiangbei might have been taken out by his opponents right at the start!

At this moment, James can't help but feel a bit regretful; if Chen Xiangbei were a European driver, or if he were two years younger, we could witness another prodigy rising in the formula field.

Unfortunately, Chen Xiangbei being a Chinese driver at nineteen significantly lowers his championship's "weight."

A two-year age gap is a significant advantage in entry-level formulas.

Compared to James's excited commentary, the onsite audience, looking at the bright red flag on the big screen, showed more of an incredulous expression.

"FUCK, is this Chinese guy called North really so strong? He even won the Renault first race championship!"

"The pre-race driver profile showed the Chinese newcomer only raced karts for one year. It's absolutely impossible!"

"The Chinese guy is backed by the Honda Racing Group; he must have hidden training records in Japan."

"But the problem is, at his age, what benefit is there in hiding his professional experience?"

A spectator voiced the key point: Chen Xiangbei was already older in the entry-level formula field, and hiding his kart training experience was essentially closing the professional door on himself.

"Who knows what the benefit is; anyway, a rookie can't have such driving skills!"

Logically, the concerns from the spectators at the racetrack were quite reasonable.

There's an element of chance in pole position; one might suddenly explode with a "god-like lap."

In the main race, without accidents, to win the championship requires tangible hard skills.

Compared to opponents who started karting at two, the eighteen-year-old "freshman" with just one year of kart experience wasn't on the same level in terms of experience and driving skills.

Even Sato Takuma wasn't that exaggerated; at least he won his entry-level formula champion beating Asian drivers.

Chen Xiangbei won in the strongest European region on Earth!

Not only were the spectators in the stands filled with confusion, the journalists already waiting at the podium were impatiently eager to pose questions to Chen Xiangbei.

"North, you made bold claims to win the championship before the race. Now that you've achieved your goal, do you have anything to say?"

"Driver North, many of your tactics in the race were unexpected; was this a team strategy or a sudden idea?"

"North, now that you've vanquished your opponent, what do you plan to say to this group of losers?"

The last questioning journalist happened to be Hank from Sky Sports.

Regarding Chen Xiangbei's victory in this race, Hank maintained absolute neutrality throughout.

The reason is simple: if the Chinese kid won, he could expand on his previous interview basis and dig out a news article.

If he lost, it wouldn't matter either; the Sky Sports editor could immediately write a satirical article, and the title was already prepared.

"Pre-race boasts turned into a track clown; the Chinese genius turned out to be a rookie!"

For media, regardless of the result, it's a win-win.

Now, Hank throws out this leading question because Vergne, who finished second, and Magnussen, who finished third, were moving towards the interview area below the podium.

If Chen Xiangbei makes some outrageous remarks, it could prompt dissatisfaction and retaliation from the two drivers. Ideally, the young men would clash on the spot, which would be perfect and definitely become the headline news for tomorrow.

Hank sometimes misses the paddock atmosphere of the nineties when drivers were wild and uninhibited, highlighting authenticity. Even when celebrity reaches Senna and Schumacher's levels, it didn't stop them from contributing memorable moments through conflicts.

With their passing or retirement, the next world champion driver dare to act publicly within the paddock, and we had to wait until 2021 when Verstappen rushed to the weigh-in area to brawl with Ocon.