Car Racing without Money

When Odetto said this, the smile faded from his face, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Every step of the Chinese kid's growth had been witnessed by him, and he could say that he had endured a lot of cold eyes and ridicule.

He even purposely fueled the fire to create more controversy around Chen Xiangbei, making him the center of public attention.

This operation had its pros and cons.

The "pro" was obvious. Compared to the same-year rookies from Renault, Chen Xiangbei had the highest heat, and there was no comparison.

Those opponents who once had the halo of European prodigies have now been overshadowed by Chen Xiangbei, becoming the anonymous "nobody," even stars like Magnussen and Costa were no exception.

The "con" was that Chen Xiangbei had to withstand the pressure, the kind of "target of many" level of doubt and online violence.

The difference between one or two people doubting and thousands of insults on the track is fundamental. Drivers with poor mental fortitude can easily underperform in races, collapsing under pressure like a falling "meteor."

Yet Chen Xiangbei braved it all and can now talk about the subject with ease.

At that moment, Odetto felt that Chen Xiangbei had truly grown, no longer the boy who needed guidance, gradually moving towards becoming a qualified F1 driver, and even thinking more comprehensively than himself.

Doubt and criticism aren't actually important.

Winning is the essence of competitive sports!

Campos Team is currently focusing all its efforts on building the F1 team, with the F3 level events just placed at the bottom, and it remains a question whether they will maintain this tier tomorrow. Can they offer new parts and achieve perfect car tuning?

The answer is obviously no!

Mick Schumacher is questioned and ridiculed because he failed to meet the expectations and even caused severe car damages like "two Haas cars" (note: splitting an F1 car in two).

If he could consistently achieve mid-tier results around the tenth position, the issue of a "specialized car" wouldn't even matter, and the paddock would only praise him as "a tiger father with no dog son."

Ferrari and Mercedes, teams associated with the King of Cars Schumacher, might even promote Mick Schumacher to be their second driver, keeping the "Schumacher" name alive in the paddock!

Sadly, there are no ifs. If you can't achieve good results, you can't stand firm.

If Chen Xiangbei worried about external criticism and opted for technical support from Campos Team, that would be a sign of weakness.

European drivers can rely on sponsorships and family backgrounds with peace of mind.

Why can't Chinese drivers utilize existing resources?

Just because they're concerned about being called "cheaters"?

If you have the skills to get support from a quasi-F1 team, do it if you can.

If not, don't whine!

With a heart full of emotions, Audel said nothing but merely patted Chen Xiangbei on the shoulder.

Half a day later, members of the Dream Team arrived at the Blackley Factory Headquarters in the United Kingdom.

Compared to the high spirits when leaving the base, the atmosphere was obviously much more subdued upon returning.

"Layoffs" as an action not only decrease numbers or reduce research power, but they also greatly affect the morale of the remaining technical engineers.

Who knows whether they'll become the next to be laid off as the team's performance declines and the Daimler Group is about to take charge?

Compared to regular investments, Mercedes is a top-tier factory team indeed.

They possess a full suite from research to manufacturing and engine supply, not needing this group of former "old relics" of the Honda camp at all.

The future is unknown, thus the atmosphere can't be upbeat.

Additionally, the mood among Dream Team members was somewhat low, with most of those laid off being former Super Aguri R&D engineers. They were "Honda's second team" members and not direct subordinates of Ross Brown.

In less than two years, this batch of Super Aguri engineers wandered around, but still couldn't escape the fate of being laid off; it's truly lamentable.

Nevertheless, the R&D staff at the headquarters base welcomed and celebrated Chen Xiangbei's return.

The test results from Catalonia Circuit were almost simultaneously transmitted back to Brawn GP Research and Development Headquarters, and the team members were aware of Chen Xiangbei's excellent performance.

To be honest, for a new team, the odds of pulling an S-grade card among rookies aren't high, and Chen Xiangbei's appearance completely filled the team's reserve strength.

Button is currently still in his prime, while Barrichello at 37 years old, is considered "old" for a Formula driver.

If the BGP001 car hadn't reached championship standards, based on Barrichello's performance last year, he could have retired, leaving opportunities for upcoming rookies.

Even if there's a great chance of winning the championship this year, if Barrichello doesn't win it, he could still step down honorably, leaving the perfect combination of veteran and rookie with Button and Chen Xiangbei as official driver pairing.

However, "technocrats" and "management factions" naturally have conflicting logic in thinking, and no one knows what the team management truly thinks. Chen Xiangbei also cannot wait for a "charity" official driver seat to be handed out.