F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 142 The Enemy of the Enemy

The final race before the summer break will be held at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary.

Because it was a back-to-back tournament week, Shu Long didn't bother going back and forth to his house in Italy; he went straight to a hotel here after the German Grand Prix.

I didn't go to the Red Bull Motorhome; I just found a place to curl up and played games for a few days.

In the past few days, his playmates changed from Zhou Guanyu to Norris, and finally Teng Weifeng jokingly joined in for a couple of games, and Gan Mengning quietly accompanied him as he tried out all the games he had previously planned to recommend.

Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the incident from a few days prior, and each person cautiously probed his emotions.

But aside from his initial resentment, Shu Long's emotions weren't as bad as others thought. In fact, this incident helped him make a decision to some extent.

Although it was said that arrangements had been made with Ferrari, in reality, Shu Long himself was initially reluctant to move.

You can tell from Shu Long's attitude towards the tires on go-karts when he was a child that he is a relatively nostalgic person.

As someone who has risen to prominence alongside Red Bull, he is very familiar with the environment, people, and things here. Unless absolutely necessary, he is not really willing to step out of his comfort zone, and deep down he still harbors some fantasies about Red Bull.

Just as Vettel snatched the number one driver position from Mark Webber and Verstappen from Ricciardo, Shu Long is hoping to have the same story.

Vettel himself didn't have much of a foundation. Although he was fortunate to receive sponsorship from both BMW and Red Bull in his early years, he ultimately earned everything through his strength and talent.

Although Verstappen is a second-generation driver, to be honest, as an F1 driver, his achievements were not particularly outstanding. He had some connections, but his influence was limited. Now he is a typical example of someone who has risen to prominence because of his son.

Ultimately, times have changed, and Shulong happened to arrive at a time when Red Bull's internal situation was at its most turbulent.

The actions of all parties in the German leg have already shown a lot. When it comes to matters of interest, there may be people who feel indignant on his behalf, but no one will stand up to fight for his most practical interests.

?
It wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that Shu Long finally turned on his phone, which he used specifically abroad, thinking he should first check if the team had any preparations for tomorrow's media day.

A whole bunch of information was not read, except for Alonso's.

At this moment, Brother Tou was very considerate. As a fellow racer, he understood how Shu Long felt. So he told Shu Long to find a quiet place to calm down and that he would contact him again when he had calmed down.

Therefore, the first phone call Shu Long made after turning on the camera was to his own agent.

Alonso seemed to be in a good mood after answering the call, and instructed Shulong not to agree to anyone's conditions for the time being, whether it was other teams or Red Bull itself.

Especially Red Bull team manager Horner!

However, Alonso's intention was to subtly hint at Marco's attitude.

As for the last thing, he should quickly get himself ready, as Alonso will take him to meet someone this afternoon.

"Who?"

“Toto.”

Oh~

After putting down his phone, Shu Long pondered for a moment, then swiped the screen twice to find Marco's contact information.

"Hello? Doctor?"

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this call? That old bastard Alonso is absolutely impossible to communicate with! But I don't think it's entirely your fault, so where are you now? I think we might need to have a serious talk!"

"I don't know either. Maybe it's a decent hotel near the track? I don't remember its name. I just picked it randomly after I got off the bus. But the internet speed here is okay."

"So you haven't left the house for the past few days? Hey, listen to me! I hope you've recovered somewhat, how about we talk tomorrow? Right here at Motohome?"

"Of course, a driver can't avoid a race no matter what, and I happen to be free this afternoon."

"Toto?!"

"Oh, you've already heard about it?"

Shu Long's tone wasn't actually unusual, but Marco sensed something sarcastic about it, and he couldn't say anything more at this moment.

Marco rejected Toto's email outright, but he also guessed that with Alonso as a tough nut to crack, Mercedes would eventually find another way to get in touch with Shu Long.

If it were any other team, it would be fine, but Mercedes really does have the ability to buy out the Shulong contract.

If it were just some other ordinary youth training program, Marko would nod without batting an eye. But for Shulong, who has already made his money public, no matter how much money is offered, he would not agree to Shulong appearing in any team that could become a competitor!
What the old man is afraid of now is that Shu Long really agrees, and Mercedes is really willing to pay a heavy enough price to get rid of Shu Long. Then even if Red Bull is unwilling, there is no reason for them to continue to hold onto Shu Long's contract.

The losses incurred then will be far more than a few tens of millions of dollars can make up for.

Losing 50 to 60 million US dollars in season bonuses and revenue sharing every year, the losses will reach hundreds of millions in less than two years!

"I won't stop you from contacting them, and of course, I can't stop you. But as we've discussed countless times before, no matter what conditions they verbally offer you, Mercedes is definitely not your best option right now."

"Doctor! I have only one question."

"what?"

How else can I prove myself?

"Believe me, you've proven enough, and everyone can see that."

"Then what else can I do? I can't even gain control over a small Red Bull. Even if I eventually manage to secure a spot at Red Bull, how can you guarantee I won't become the next Pierre?"

"I can guarantee you at least a level playing field! And I have far more confidence in your abilities than I do in Gasly!"

"I am confident in my abilities, so let's go back to the initial question: Can I get a Red Bull seat? If not, how many more years will I have to wait?"

With just a simple sentence, Shu Long directly killed the game. Marco remained silent on the other side for a long time before finally uttering the weightless words, "I'm trying."

"If I'm not mistaken, you guys have probably had quite a few meetings lately, discussing who would be the most suitable candidate to become the next Red Bull driver, right?"

Marco didn't answer, so Shu Long took it as a tacit agreement. Red Bull had indeed held several crucial meetings internally, and Marco had personally witnessed Horner and Tyneggler putting on a show for several days.

Horner "believes" now is not the best time to change drivers, while the Tyne team says Albon is currently the most suitable teammate for Verstappen in terms of ability, personality, and obedience to team instructions.

Red Bull's car is currently on the rise, and what they need is stability. Since Verstappen has already shown the potential to compete for the championship, wouldn't it be the best choice to prioritize supporting him?
Shu Long has already strongly resisted the orders from the convoy several times. Regardless of whether his judgment is correct or not, he is clearly a troublemaker who is not easy to fool.

Given the capabilities that Shulong has already demonstrated, who in Red Bull can guarantee that they can control the situation?
Countless lessons in motorsport history have shown that teams vying for the championship must distinguish between primary and secondary priorities.

Otherwise, to put it nicely, it's called "free competition," but to put it bluntly, it's using the team's interests as a bargaining chip, handing the team's fate over to two adrenaline-fueled lunatics.

Marco watched quietly as the two sides pushed and shoved each other, then Horner changed the subject, throwing the choice back to Marco himself.

"What if I said I thought binding the dragon would be a better option? We need sharp enough fangs and claws to tear a few pieces of flesh from the now indestructible Mercedes!"

"It seems we won't reach any conclusions today. Why don't we all go back and calm down? We can continue the discussion next time."

That's basically the process.

Given the current situation within Red Bull, Marco has essentially lost the privilege he once had, where he could wield absolute power and arbitrarily make major changes with just a few words.

Unless the Thai side is willing to compromise, any guarantees that Marco can make now are meaningless and insignificant.

Shu Long stopped torturing the old man, put down his phone, took a quick ten-minute shower, and casually styled his hair, which had been sluggish for the past few days, to make it look more energetic.

I took a taxi to Vroom Coffee & Gallery, which Alonso had mentioned. Before I even entered, I saw Alonso and Mercedes' team leader Toto sitting by the window. The two of them had been chatting face to face for a while.

"Hello, Mr. Wolf! This should be our first time meeting outside the paddock. You look very handsome in your shirt today!"

"Really? I wear this to work in the paddock every competition week. Why have you never complimented me before?"

Standing at over 1.9 meters tall, Toto stood up and shook hands with Shu Long, jokingly remarking that the social nicety sounded like something a clumsy young man had just copied from the internet.

"Have a seat first. I heard this shop offers a limited edition Horchata co-branded with Alonso. It's supposedly a Spanish rice milk drink. You can try it for me; my taste buds aren't quite used to it yet."

"Okay, huh?!"

"The aftereffects of a minor accident when I was young are actually starting to heal slowly now."

Toto seemed quite pleased with Shu Long's reaction. Starting with a dry discussion of the contract was not in line with his usual approach of building rapport first, so he proudly and wistfully recounted his glorious past to Shu Long.

It's common knowledge in the paddock that Toto was also a racing driver in his early years, just like Red Bull team principal Horner. Both of them dreamed of becoming F1 drivers when they were young.

However, both were struggling financially at the time. Horner was defeated by Montoya on a corner, while Toto was limited by his towering height of 1.93 meters. Both were forced to give up their F1 racing dreams and returned to their beloved racing careers in a different way.

Horner gave up more completely, while Toto, after recognizing reality, continued to shine in touring car racing for a while.

Back in 09, Toto, driving a Porsche RSR race car, was once the record holder for the Nürburgring Nordschleife's naturally aspirated lap record.

Unfortunately, during his attempt to break his own record, Toto suffered a tire blowout on the right rear tire of his race car. He lost control at Fuchsohre corner and was hit at a speed of over 250 km/h. After recovering, he lost his sense of taste and some of his sense of smell due to a concussion and the rupture of some nerves.

This was not something that could be easily dismissed as a minor accident. Shu Long listened, dumbfounded, biting his spoon, and for a moment even forgot what he had come there for.

"So, you should know what we're here to talk about, right?"

"Huh? Ah! That's right!"

"So, do you think we can reach an agreement?"

"Although we haven't discussed anything specific yet, I feel—it's impossible!"

"Why? Perhaps we can offer you a deal you can't refuse?"

Money? Or the championship?

"Perhaps both?"

Shu Long chuckled as if he had heard a joke, then suddenly realized that it was impolite. He straightened his expression, put the cup back on the table, and pointed to the document on the corner of the table that had been neglected until now.

"I don't think the title of that thing can be translated as 'Andersen'."

Toto smiled, looked up and met Alonso's gaze, then nodded in affirmation of Shulong's answer.

"Yes, no."

Mercedes does have the capability to buy out your contract from Red Bull, but the cost would be too high and would contradict our current strategic objectives.

Unfortunately, no matter who we sign into the team, our current goal is always to ensure that Lewis achieves his seventh championship and that Mercedes team achieves its seventh championship.

But I still insisted on this meeting. Can you guess why?

"To increase the sense of urgency for the drivers?"

"That's true, but not entirely true. The team's performance at their home race in Germany was indeed disappointing, but I'm never worried about Lewis's hunger for victory. However, Valtteri has been in a slump lately, so it's good to give him a good whack."

As a team leader, one certainly cannot speak ill of one's own drivers in front of outsiders. Regardless of how much politeness is involved, Shu Long simply takes it as a joke.

"So, is the plan to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble for Red Bull?"

"Oh, well."

Toto deliberately put on a serious face.

"You know I have some history with Red Bull, and as a fellow Austrian, I shouldn't say anything bad about them, but yes, you can understand it that way."

(End of this chapter)