F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 145: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers
Shu Long didn't feel that he had anything to celebrate recently, so Gasley's sudden, out-of-the-box remark left him completely bewildered.

"What do you mean by 'congratulations'? You don't actually believe that, do you? Even if they offered me a job, I wouldn't go!"

This time it was Gasley's turn to be confused.

If you're not going, why am I here?
"So you went to see Dr. Marco just to refuse this offer?"

"Refuse? Refuse what? Wait a minute! Are we talking about the same thing?"

Shu Long and Gasly looked at each other across the table, finally realizing that their conversation seemed to have gone wrong.

"You go first!" x2
"Okay, I'll go first." X2
The scene was quite chaotic at one point, and the two eventually had an arm wrestling match, which ended with Shu Long winning decisively. So it was decided that he would sort things out properly.

"I thought you knew it was impossible, and that I wouldn't be going to the Mercedes next year."

"Do you even need to tell me? Red Bull would have to be crazy to let you go to Mercedes; they wouldn't even let me go!"

"Huh? So what exactly are you congratulating me on?"

"Congratulations, you really don't know why I came to Italy?"

Shu Long had already vaguely realized something, and slowly sat up straight, raising his eyebrows.

"I was wondering why you were still on vacation in Italy at this hour. Did you get switched back to Red Bull's place?"

Gasly finally understood what was going on. He glared at Shulong with such intensity that his hairline receded two centimeters down his scalp.

"So those bags I saw at your house earlier weren't actually what you were planning to take? I thought you were just passing through and came back to pack some things!"

"Of course not! I just got home with my bag and put my things down when you knocked on the door."

"So it's Alex? That's impossible! Has Red Bull gone mad?!"

Shu Long remained silent, only shrugging with a strange expression. He hadn't expected that Red Bull would abandon the deal so abruptly after he had just finalized the loan agreement with Haas.

The two abandoned people looked at each other in silence, then simultaneously let out a heavy sigh.

Gan Mengning was holding a small fork, unsure whether to put it in her mouth. She was about to comfort the big boy next to her when Gasley's girlfriend coughed lightly, quietly interrupting her.

"You look so cute! Are you not wearing makeup?"

"No, thank you! You're very beautiful too. We were in such a rush today that we weren't prepared."

"It's nothing. I've always envied your skin. If I had skin like that, I wouldn't wear makeup when I go out."

Gasly's girlfriend had a slight Italian accent and was a model of Italian and Argentinian descent who now lived in Italy. This was why Shu Long didn't suspect anything when he first saw Gasly.

She seems to have a good personality, and her grasp of social etiquette is much more skillful than that of Shu Long and Gan Mengning.

They guided Gan Mengning to talk about topics that girls should discuss, while giving the men on the side plenty of space to talk freely.

Fortunately, Gan Mengning had good grades in the past and a solid foundation in English, so she had no problem having some basic daily conversations.

However, whenever Kate Sanini talks about perfumes and cosmetics, all that unfamiliar and incomprehensible terminology leaves Gan Mengning with only a blank and polite smile.

Sanini's judgment was correct; these two men, both experiencing varying degrees of disappointment, were precisely the ones who needed comfort the least.

It's not that they don't feel frustrated, it's just that sometimes they don't allow themselves to show weakness.

Gasly is probably more frustrated than Shu Long right now.

In fact, he had been mentally prepared for being demoted since the beginning of the season. Even though he had been teammates with Shu Long in the Brazilian Grand Prix, Gasly had always been very clear about Shu Long's talent.

This season is even worse. He only scored a little over 60 points in the first twelve games while driving a Red Bull, while Shu Long scored a whopping 114 points while driving a small Red Bull.

If Shu Long hadn't had his engine fail and retired at the Austrian Grand Prix, the points difference between the two would have been roughly double.

There's really no comparison. Sometimes the difference is so great that it's easy for people to let go of their obsessions.

So from the start of the season, Gasly didn't want to finish behind the two Toro Rosso cars, and gradually it turned into not wanting to finish behind Albon.

Anyway, it was only a matter of time before he was replaced by Shulong. At least Gasly didn't want to be seen as someone who was demoted because he couldn't even drive a Toro Rosso.

To everyone's surprise, after a summer break, Gasly returned, Shulong was still there, and then, incredibly, Alben was promoted!

What exactly makes Albon better than him that led to his mid-season promotion to the Mavericks?
But when he thought about how even Shulong had been abandoned in this remote corner, Gasly couldn't stay angry anymore; instead, he felt a little amused.

For a moment, it was hard to tell whether he should feel indignant for himself or relieved about Red Bull's current situation.
"When did you find out?"

"Know what? About Alben? Just now, you told me."

"No, I'm asking if you know that you can't get Red Bull."

"Around May, I knew before that my entry into Red Bull might not be so smooth, but I didn't expect to be eliminated so quickly."

Shu Long had already put his hand in his pocket a few minutes ago, eager to call Marco and ask what was going on.

How come the sky seems to have fallen as soon as I came down from my trip to the Alps?

"So what exactly is the reason?"

"Albon, Thailand, and Thai bull, you know them. To be honest, I didn't expect you to be released so quickly. Didn't Horner repeatedly say that they wouldn't make a decision to change drivers before the end of the season?"

“I don’t know either. I received a call from Dr. Marco less than a week ago, informing me that I would be transferred back to Toro Rosso for the second half of the season.”

"So, Dr. Marco made this decision?"

Gasly shrugged. He felt that Marco had made the decision to replace him, and with Toro's team manager Tost saying that Shulong was still in Austria, he naturally assumed that Shulong had taken his place.

On the other hand, although Horner is not a very likable person either, he has been speaking well of Gasly since the beginning of this season as the team manager, and he doesn't seem like the kind of person who is in a hurry to make a seat change.

The dinner ended on a sour note, and Shu Long walked along the road, still puzzled, and couldn't help but call Marco.

If Marco can't explain himself clearly, then Shu Long has reason to suspect that he's been set up in this internal political struggle within Red Bull.

He thought he had found a way out for himself, but it turned out to be just a way to make way for certain people to promote Alben.
"PhD?"

"Hmm? Oh, so you've already seen Gasly, haven't you?"

"So, why?"

“It’s impossible to keep your loan to Haas a secret from Red Bull, so after you left that day, Xu sent someone to me, saying he hoped to give Albon a chance to test the waters ahead of time.”

"You agree?"

“I agreed. Their condition is that I will retain the power I should have, and if Alben struggles to adapt after joining Red Bull, they will no longer interfere with my promotion of you to Red Bull.”

No further explanation was needed. After understanding the ins and outs of the matter, Shu Long silently put down his phone.

Did the Tai Niu people only come after he left?

That's probably not the case. It's likely that when Marco was drastically increasing the benefits for Shulong in the contract, he had already succumbed to the pressure from Thai Bulls. Indeed, since he'd already secured a new club for next year, there was no need for Marco to continue fighting a losing battle.

As for whether Alben's poor performance will lead to Shulong's turn next year...
Whether someone performs well or poorly is ultimately up to others to decide. Shu Long has been driving like this all year, but they still say they won't let him drive Red Bull.

Moreover, having been teammates for half a season, Alben's abilities are crystal clear.

He may not be as amazing as Verstappen, but he's more than capable of being Red Bull's number two driver. Even if Marko wants to switch, Albon's seat is probably not something the old man can just move at will.

Gan Mengning tentatively reached out her hand half a step behind Shu Long, but then, remembering what Sanini had just taught her about how men sometimes don't need comfort, she froze in mid-air, unsure whether she should take his hand.

The next second, her small hands, which had been chilled by the night wind, were warmly enveloped.

"Shall I send you some cosmetics later?"

"No, no need, right? I'm not really good at it anyway, and you don't really like me wearing makeup, do you?"

"Well, I do think you look best when you don't wear makeup, but having makeup and not having makeup are two different things. Learn to do your makeup so you won't be awkwardly speechless next time you encounter a similar situation."

"Wow! So you were actually paying attention to me just now? I was worried about your feelings, and you noticed but didn't even try to help me out!"

Enraged, the girl pulled her hand back, took two quick steps, and leaped onto the dragon's back, her slender arms tightly gripping her boyfriend's neck, which was as strong as a cement pillar.

While pretending to surrender, Shu Long made strange "waaaah" noises, and then reached back to hug Gan Mengning's little bottom, so that she wouldn't accidentally fall down later.

After finally getting her to calm down for a while, Shu Long would flip his fingers over and pinch her, instantly reigniting the girl's fighting spirit.

They laughed and joked all the way, and when they were almost home, Gan Mengning finally leaned limply on Shu Long's shoulder.

They were both quiet for a while, and then Shu Long felt a ticklish, warm, and moist sensation in his ear again.

"Tell me, did I embarrass you a bit today? I don't understand fashion or social etiquette, and compared to your model girlfriend, I'm nothing."

"Since your boyfriend is so much better than others, don't you feel incredibly proud sitting next to me?"

"Um, I don't think so."

"Isn't that it? Why worry so much sometimes? Think about 'Heidi and Grandpa'. Sometimes don't make yourself so tired. Just do what makes you comfortable."

"Heh~ I didn't realize you could talk so well now after a few years of racing!"

Shu Long bounced the girl up a bit, freeing one hand to reach for the house key.

Gan Mengning, who had been lounging on her boyfriend's back the whole way, wanted to get off and walk by herself. She twisted her body a couple of times and suddenly remembered what Shu Long had said earlier, "Do whatever makes you comfortable." So she leaned close to Shu Long's ear and whispered something else.

The key trembled as it was inserted into the lock, and the person who had been filled with respect suddenly became unusually determined.

The alarm clock rang precisely at eight o'clock the next morning.

Shu Long squinted, checked the time on his phone, tore off the warm, humanoid kitten that was practically glued to his body, and yawned as he walked into the bathroom.

A short while later, Gan Mengning, clutching her bottom and groaning, walked in and sat directly on the toilet, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.

"Hiss—whoosh~ Why am I up so early today? Is it time to start work?"

"Hmm, summer break is almost over, I need to hurry up and check on how the team's upgrades are going."

The reason why he was passively resisting earlier was because Shu Long knew that no matter what upgrade suggestions he made, the team would not adopt his ideas as long as Albon was there.

But now that Gasly and Alben have switched places, Shulong should take this opportunity to farm the heavyweight entry "Core of Synergy".

I don't know how things are going at Haas, but all of its employees combined don't even have as many as Mercedes-Benz's employees on holiday. You can imagine what kind of heavyweight challenges Shulong will face next year.

Placing all his hopes on others is not Shu Long's style. If he doesn't want to be dragged down by Has next year, he'll have to rely on himself in the end.

Gasly also got up quite early; he arrived at the team about two days in advance to be on standby.

However, Gasly is not as eager as Albon to compete with Shu Long for the number one driver position. He is more willing to work with Shu Long to promote Toro Rosso and then drive the car to slap the Red Bull executives in the face.

There was one thing he needed to discuss with Shu Long.
"Please, I'm begging you, don't follow Max's example! At least a race car should be something a human can drive!"

"No problem, let's discuss it together and then combine the opinions from both sides, okay?"

"OK!"

The two, whose interests were highly aligned, quickly reached a consensus.

Unfortunately, the current upgrade plan for the summer break is still largely based on the plan before Albon left. The small team's resources do not allow them to experiment on a large scale. In other words, Shu Long and his team can only make modifications to this plan, which is heavily influenced by Albon.

While Shu Long and Gasly were racking their brains over upgrading and tuning the Toro Rosso race car, Albon was also struggling to adapt to the Red Bull racing style.

Gasly wasn't lying; the Red Bull race car, which has been modified into the shape of Verstappen, is not something an ordinary person can drive.

If I had to describe it, it would be like having your mouse sensitivity set to maximum when playing an FPS game.

After finally making it to lunch break, Albon, covered in sweat, received another notification that the team leader, Mr. Horner, wanted to meet with him in his office that afternoon.

"How's the adjustment going?"

"It's alright. The race car is very fast and has a high ceiling. I think it won't be long before I can catch up with the team's pace."

"Don't rush. Just like I said the day you arrived, Red Bull will give you plenty of time to improve yourself. Gasly has left us with a lot of experience. Sometimes, the more pressure you put on yourself, the more counterproductive it can be."

"Ok."

"The Belgian Grand Prix is ​​just around the corner, so make sure you get some rest during this period."

This was essentially a dismissal, and Alben, understanding the situation, stood up, nodded to Horner, and turned to leave.

The difference between having all the resources of an entire racing team revolve around you and having to passively adapt to other people's cars is enormous.

The more this happened, the more Alben felt the Red Bull seat beneath him burning hot, and his apology to Shu Long deepened.

But regardless of how this opportunity came about, it now belongs to him, and Alben must seize this hard-won opportunity.

Horner called him in and said just a few words, which made him seem like a caring leader, but then he mentioned Gasly. Was he warning him?
As he watched Alben disappear from sight, Horner maintained his formulaic smile behind his desk, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened slightly.

In fact, just as he has always stated publicly, Horner did not want the Red Bull team's lineup to change in such a short period of time, and Albon's arrival was not entirely a good thing for him.

He really needs to be on the same side as Taurean to counter Marco's influence, or rather, Horner needs to make himself look like he's on the same side as Taurean.

But like Marco, he didn't want Tycoon's influence to go too far, because that would only result in Horner's own power being gradually diluted by Tycoon's people.

Now that Horner has made Tai Niu feel like he's one of their own, he's given the choice to Marco, creating discord between him and Shu Long.

So next, Horner should figure out how to sign Shulong, poaching Marco's key player while simultaneously using Shulong to cut off Tainiu's tentacles.

(End of this chapter)