After all, this German kid showed explosive talent as early as the junior Formula stage, securing eighteen wins out of twenty races in a BMW Formula series similar to Renault's.

Even more terrifying, he took pole position in all twenty races.

The German drivers of that era could only dream of catching up to Vettel.

The award presenter when he won that year was equally famous—his name was Michael Schumacher.

Someone predicted back then that this was the first German F1 World Champion presenting an award to the second, and how prophetic that turned out to be!

However, in the 2009 F1 winter testing for the new cars, another driver also had an outstanding performance, and that was Sato Takuma, who had withdrawn from the Super Aguri Team and became a test driver for the Red Bull Junior Team.

Sato Takuma, using the Red Bull Junior car, clocked the second fastest lap overall.

At that time, the Red Bull Junior Team had available seats, and theoretically, Sato Takuma's test performance was sufficient to earn a permanent spot.

After all, driving a Red Bull Junior to second place, even outperforming a full Red Bull car, what more did Sato Takuma need to prove?

The truth is, implicit discrimination in the paddock was severe. Without Honda backing him, Sato Takuma became a discard, and the Red Bull Junior team seat was given to Buemi, a driver from Switzerland.

This Swiss driver only ranked sixth in the GP2 series; in later years, many F2 champions couldn't even enter the F1 paddock. Placing sixth, failing to compete for a test driving seat, but still securing a spot only highlights how advantageous it is to be European.

Coincidentally, history repeats itself.

A decade later, a Japanese driver named Kakida Yuuki found himself in a similar predicament after Honda's impending exit, competing for a Red Bull seat, almost mirroring his predecessor Sato Takuma's situation.

No matter his performance, in the eyes of Red Bull's lead, Marco, he still needed to prove himself.

They would rather promote a newcomer who was outperformed by Kakida Yuuki into the main Red Bull team than offer the Japanese driver a chance, with even the threat of losing his seat by the end of the year looming.

Even with factory team backing, Japanese drivers faced such hardships. Chen Xiangbei, in his position of "having nothing," knew that even with Staler having no opinions against Chinese drivers, convincing the team and board was no easy task.

Chen Xiangbei was very aware of his situation and knew it was impossible to discuss the test driver seat with Staler without securing a purchase first.

His reason for sharing Honda's "black technology" car information was merely a gamble, an attempt to curry favor with Staler.

Historical precedent showed Ross Brown ultimately benefited alone. Letting Staler in on it maintained their relationship and, due to historical ties with Huasai, might yield future benefits.

Chen Xiangbei did not expect that the reward would arrive so soon!

"Who would have thought Old Man Staler holds such an affection for China?"

Liang Chi sighed, recalling his confusion when Staler invested in Huasai in the past.

After all, for a Brit to invest in Chinese racing from afar, even considering its future potential, the investment risks were significantly high.

Now that Staler was supporting Chen Xiangbei, "affection" seemed the only explanation Liang Chi could think of.

"Xiangbei, prepare to start. Test the new setup first."

Odetto's command interrupted the conversation between Chen Xiangbei and Liang Chi.

The chassis and suspension were changed before the qualifying session, so Chen Xiangbei needed to quickly adapt.

If it wasn't suitable, there was still time to return to the pit for adjustments.

This aspect of the Renault junior formula differed from F1, where once a setup is determined in practice, it must be reported to the FIA for record and cannot be changed for qualifying and the race.

Any unauthorized changes would result in penalties or a pit lane start.

"Understood."

Chen Xiangbei nodded, released the clutch, and moved towards the pit lane.

With a standard half-hour qualifying session and ample time, unless they, like Chen Xiangbei, needed to test setups, drivers weren't in a rush to head out.

They waited for enough rubber to drop on the racing line and grip to peak before starting.

Donington Park is a short circuit, with just over a minute needed per lap, so there was plenty of time to find an optimal two-lap full push window.

As the first on the track and a popular driver today, Chen Xiangbei naturally became the focus of broadcast cameras.

"Following our camera, you can see driver number 13 from the Super Dream Team, Xiangbei, choosing to head out first in qualifying to warm up the tires."

"He is the pole position and reigning champion from the last race at Silverstone Circuit, and has just been announced as a test driver for Brown GP Team this race. Can he defend his title to prove his strength?"

James introduced Chen Xiangbei in the usual fashion, and just as he finished speaking, an unexpected situation unfolded in the pit lane.

Mansell, driver number 9 from the DAMS Team, rudely accelerated from the pit box, completely ignoring the normal lane travel of Chen Xiangbei in the pit lane, with the two cars on a collision course.

"Shit!"

Seeing such an aggressive exit, Chen Xiangbei instinctively cursed and immediately braked and swerved defensively.

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