The reason is simple, he has never raced on the Suzuka Circuit. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝
In his previous life, after Chen Xiangbei finished karting in China, he received sponsorship from the team’s youth training program and went to Europe for formula racing training.
For races like F3 and F2, considering transportation and operating costs, they don’t travel globally like F1 does and mostly choose to hold races on European tracks.
This means that all of Chen Xiangbei’s familiarity with the Suzuka Circuit comes from the racing simulator.
Using a racing simulator is an essential part for formula drivers, but despite the most advanced simulator technology, it can only simulate the real state of racing cars to about seventy to eighty percent.
For formula racing, a one percent error can result in nearly a hundred percent accident.
To avoid such scenarios, the remaining twenty to thirty percent of the discrepancy must be compensated by the driver’s personal ability!
Although Chen Xiangbei has never raced there in person, the entire map of the Suzuka Circuit is etched in his mind like a carving.
And not just the Suzuka Circuit; for any track that has hosted an F1 Grand Prix, Chen Xiangbei relentlessly practiced on the racing simulator and memorized them one by one.
The reason Chen Xiangbei did this is because he wants to seize the last possibility of entering F1, which is an unexpected "substitute" opportunity.
If an official F1 driver is involved in an accident, falls ill, or faces other unexpected events, the team will let the substitute driver take the place. At that time, you must conquer everyone with a single race to prove you have the strength to drive the car.
Kobayashi Kamui in this era and De Vries in the future both won points through their first "substitute" race, winning an official driver contract for the next year.
Opportunities are for those who are prepared. Chen Xiangbei was always prepared!
In addition, Chen Xiangbei dared to challenge the 5 seconds because the rain battle gave him courage.
The more adverse and complex the track environment, the easier it is to magnify the skill gap between drivers.
Facts have proved that Chen Xiangbei’s judgment was correct. Matsuboto Brown couldn’t handle the limits of the car and eventually drove off the track.
But the strength of this guy was a bit beyond Chen Xiangbei’s expectations. He didn’t expect him to really have a chance to run under 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
However, not having absolute confidence doesn’t mean having no confidence.
As long as he sits in the driver’s seat, Chen Xiangbei will discard distractions. Even if Matsuboto Brown clocks in at 2 minutes and 25 seconds, he will use an even more crazily aggressive driving style to surpass the calculated track record, until he leads by 5 seconds!
To become an F1 driver, you must not regard karting or entry-level formula track records as insurmountable; they are numbers meant to be broken.
Or in other words, every F1 driver has swept through karting or entry-level formula events to become someone who crushes the competition.
Drivers who can’t achieve this are destined not to open the door to the F1 hall!
With his helmet fitted, sitting in the driver’s seat, a familiar feeling welled up in Chen Xiangbei, having driven this same model of Renault car for a full year.
Compared to the HuaSai CFR2000, this Renault car actually has 10 fewer horsepower in terms of sheer horsepower.
But the speed and limit of a car are determined by more than just horsepower.
Thanks to its global popularity, the Renault car had countless driver data that provided room for improvements and optimization.
In terms of weight reduction, top speed, chassis tuning, power response, and more, it can be said to outclass the hand-crafted model of the CFR2000 car.
With the ignition and start of the Renault car, the roar of the engine went straight to Chen Xiangbei’s brain, giving him an indescribable pleasure and excitement, feeling this passionate sensation once again.
"Xiangbei, are you ready?"
Sawano Hiroyuki asked a question.
Chen Xiangbei nodded, then lowered the visor of his helmet.
Releasing the clutch and engaging the gear, the Renault car slowly drove toward the direction of the track, stopping at the same starting grid as Matsuboto Brown before.
At this moment, Chen Xiangbei locked his gaze on the starting lights above the track, while his left hand pressed the clutch paddle to engage first gear, and his right foot lightly revved the engine to increase its RPM.
In the P-room, Sawano Hiroyuki and Mizutani Sho closely monitored changes in various car data, almost simultaneously discovering a peculiar point.
That is, Chen Xiangbei’s starting RPM was a full one thousand higher than Matsuboto Brown’s before, with the RPM holding extremely stable, the numerical fluctuation range just in two digits!
"This Chinese newcomer Chen Xiangbei controls the throttle with precision, but with such a high starting RPM, I think he will definitely slip."
Mizutani Sho was straightforward, giving his judgment!
Formula cars have an exaggerated power-to-weight ratio, and even if RPM exceeds the critical value by one or two hundred, there’s a significant possibility of spinning out at the start.
Matsuboto Brown previously experienced slight slipping at the start, so why should Chen Xiangbei, who is a thousand RPM higher, be able to control it?
Sawano Hiroyuki didn’t reply but inwardly agreed with Mizutani Sho.
Chen Xiangbei’s starting RPM was too high. His guess for the probable factor was that the bet similarly affected Chen Xiangbei’s mentality.
Matsuboto Brown, wanting to win, opted for an extremely conservative stance since he held a 5-second advantage.
For Chen Xiangbei to win, he must take aggressive risks, otherwise, there’s no chance of winning with a conventional approach.
They just happen to be on opposite sides, so it’s up to who has the superior skill.
As one by one the track lights lit up, Matsuboto Brown, who had returned to the P-room, stared at the track screen, subconsciously holding his breath.
At the moment the red lights went out, the roar of the Renault car sounded, and Chen Xiangbei shot out like an arrow leaving the string, showing no hint of slipping in the torque curve.
Members of the Honda Team and the racing trainees in the P-room had two completely different thoughts emerge in their minds.
One side was amazed by the car data, finding it unbelievable, while the other could visually see on the screen that Chen Xiangbei’s start was far ahead of Matsuboto Brown.
It could even be said that, counting the acceleration from shifting up, just this start could make the Chinese guy 0.5 seconds faster!
Even the experienced Sawano Hiroyuki was a bit stunned by this scene. If Chen Xiangbei wasn’t still racing, he would really want to go to the track to see if there was any difference in that starting position.
But what shocked them even more was yet to come. On the same first lap, Chen Xiangbei, when entering Turns 1 and 2, directly took the conventional racing line and hit the curb, seemingly not even considering the wetness caused by the rain.
Is this a demonstration of skill, or is it a fearless lack of knowledge?
"Mizutani, pull up Matsuboto’s split-sector times for comparison!"
To find this answer, the best way is to compare the track data between the two.
Sawano Hiroyuki already had a vague premonition in his heart that just with this start and the speed in Turns 1 and 2, Chen Xiangbei might already be more than 1 second ahead of Matsuboto Brown.
Could it be that the driver data transmitted from HuaSai had absolutely no falsification?