F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 151, ending with 200 points.

Because of the yellow flag caused by the two Ferraris, Shu Long was still engrossed in chasing the Red Bull ahead.

Although he said before the competition that it was almost impossible to win the championship, when the opportunity was actually presented to him, his mind could no longer hold any other random thoughts.

There was only one thought left—to fuck him!
Unfortunately, the second yellow flag left Shulong with less than three laps of attack time. Just when Shulong had finally built up enough advantage to launch an attack using DRS, it was ruthlessly interrupted by the brief yellow flag caused by Albon and Hamilton.

He swore in the chat at the time, but when he heard that Gasly had actually won a podium because of it, he was surprised by the miraculous result and his frustration subsided a lot.

God knows he was just joking before the match.
Given the current competitive state of racing, even Shu Long himself would have to rely on luck to get on stage, so to be honest, he didn't have much hope.

Is my mouth blessed or something? I should have recited it a few more times before the competition.
It's true that he wanted to stand on the podium with his teammates before leaving Toro Rosso, but his main goal was to help Gasly completely move on from the shadow of Huber's departure.

Gasly even prepared a special edition helmet for this race, with elements not only to commemorate his longtime friend Huber, but also to pay tribute to the talented driver Bianchi, who sacrificed his young life for racing.

Even without Shu Long's pre-match jest, Gasly, though he didn't say it, clearly wanted to push himself one last time in the final few games of the season.

As the progress of the [Core of Synergy] gradually increased, Shu Long could sometimes even feel that ever since he was demoted back by Red Bull like a defeated dog, his teammate Gasly's fighting spirit was almost entirely supported by his obsession with Huber.

He seems to have recovered quickly in the short term, but one cannot live for the wishes of others for a lifetime. Gasly first needs to understand what he truly wants to be a race car driver.

Otherwise, if he fails to meet the expectations of "others," those obsessions that once supported Gasley as a psychological force will eventually turn into self-destructive internal conflict and self-doubt a hundredfold.

After parking his car in front of his second starting grid, Shu Long weighed himself first, and then hugged Verstappen, who had already celebrated with the Red Bull team.

"Congratulations!"

"You too! Oh, by the way, I'm sorry about your decision to leave the team."

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"Here's the thing, my dad's been staying with the team for a while now, and I've heard him talking badly about you everywhere. If that's why you chose to leave the team, then..."

"It has nothing to do with that. Just think of me as someone who just wanted to go out and clear my head. It's not like I'm not coming back, there's really no need for that!"

It seems Red Bull is really protecting Verstappen. Considering the questions the media in the paddock raised about him recently, it seems even he thinks it's because of him that Shu Long couldn't get into Red Bull.

However, the matter was too complicated, and Shu Long didn't want to explain it too clearly to Max, nor was it necessary to make things too difficult for Albon in the team.

These guys are just driving around in the paddock. They're all decent people, so it's better not to be so kind as to pick up the pieces of the conflict stirred up by capital and take the blame themselves.

To change the subject, Shu Long specifically mentioned that their three Red Bull cars had dominated the podium that day, which finally managed to draw Verstappen's attention away.

However, Max has always been quite sensitive, and sometimes he likes to pretend to be confused even when he knows the truth. Shu Long felt that he must have already vaguely sensed something.

Especially given his consecutive retirements from the previous races, it was hard not to notice the strange undercurrents within the team.

No one continued the topic for a while, which was rather unsettling.

The two stood aside for a while, waiting for Gasly, who was still reluctant to leave the track. They chatted casually about their driving experiences before Gasly's yellow Toro slowly swayed in.

"We don't need to carry you out this time, right?"

"What? No, no, of course not."

Recalling his performance at Spa, where he was so limp in the car that he needed Shu Long and Albon to pull him out, Gasly felt a little embarrassed.

But after taking off his helmet, he stared at the commemorative paint on it for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

He finished the interview in a daze, then went up to the podium. It wasn't until the cool, slightly sticky champagne sprayed on his face that Gasly seemed to wake up from a dream and released a long-suppressed laugh, forcefully retaliating against his two teammates.

Seeing that Gasly seemed to have finally improved somewhat, Shu Long cautiously spoke up to remind him:

"No need for greetings?"

"Of course I want it! But let's talk about it when I win the championship myself, this isn't enough!"

It's unclear whether he has reconciled with his obsession yet, but it seems that Gasley's own soul is finally beginning to awaken.

Riding the wave of victory, the final match in Abu Dhabi will take place in two weeks.

As the final moment approached, even though he had initially had a very unpleasant experience with the team and Red Bull, Shu Long couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

When we actually sat on the front wheel of our own car in front of the pit lane and took the year-end group photo, the heavy feeling of saying goodbye finally enveloped our hearts.

As the final battle of the year, in addition to Grandpa Shu, Gan Mengning and her parents also came to the hunting grounds once again to cheer for Shu Long.

However, Shu Long didn't interact much with his family. Instead, he spent all his time with his crew, as if he wanted to cherish this last chance to spend time together this year.

【Core of Collaboration】While greatly improving the coordination between Shulong and the team, it also made him appear particularly sentimental at such times.

In qualifying, both Toro Rosso cars once again made it into Q3. The Abu Dhabi section has 21 corners, many of which are slow right-angle corners. This not only greatly limits the cars' top speed performance on the subsequent straights, but also puts the tires to a severe test and poses a high challenge to the drivers' skills.

I heard that there are plans to change the layout of the Abu Dhabi circuit in two years, but the current characteristics of the circuit give Shu Long a lot of room to maneuver. He once again exerted his strength to eliminate Albon, who was 0.5 seconds slower than his teammate on the lap, and squeezed his starting grid for tomorrow into the middle of the three top teams.

As for what kind of results we want to achieve in the final stages...
Actually, he hadn't really thought about it much. As long as he could live up to his efforts, he would naturally take any position he could get.

Before the start of the race, the organizers gathered all the drivers for their last group photo of the year in front of the starting lights.

It's not just a farewell to the team; next year, several of the people in this photo will also no longer be involved in the racing for which they dedicated their youth and passion.

Kubica, who earned the team's only point of the year, Hulkenberg, whose consecutive races without a podium finish may be over, and Grosjean, whose seat will be taken by Shulong. Unfortunately, this driver loan is not a simple exchange; there is no place for Grosjean within Red Bull's system. Kvyat, who has been waiting for a long time, has finally gotten the F1 seat he has been longing for.

This time it wasn't his father-in-law, Piquet, who was a world champion, who was driving the team. It's just that Red Bull's youth academy has been facing a talent shortage lately, and Marko can't find any other suitable drivers for the time being.

Kvyat can be a bit reckless at times, and sometimes even more aggressive than Verstappen on the track, but to be fair, he does have ability, and there's no problem keeping him in the reserve team as a temporary enforcer.

Probably.
When the internal struggle within Red Bull temporarily subsided, Marko looked around at the drivers he could still use and realized just how painful it was to lend out Shulong.

Unfortunately, it's too late to regret it now.

Even without considering the results of this final race, Shu Long has already accumulated 188 points in his rookie season this year, which means the team will have to pay at least $1045844 more in entry fees for him next year.

Now the money has been paid, but the person who was supposed to get the points is gone. It's a complete loss!
Don't rush, there will be times when you regret it.

The season's final match kicked off at dusk in Abu Dhabi.

Gasly was a bit unlucky this round, as if he was trying to make up for all the luck he had in the previous game, as he was attacked from the start by two Match Point cars.

First, the young master Stroll hit Gasly's left rear wheel, causing his car to spin. Then, the front wing swept against Perez in front of him, causing him to fall off completely. He was taken down by this exciting and gorgeous combination of moves.

Shu Long, on the other hand, had no luck. At the start, he overtook Bottas with his improved reaction time. Then, due to Ferrari's long-awaited tire-changing circus act, Vettel, who had no power advantage, was taken out. Shu Long was sent to P4 halfway through the race.

Due to Abu Dhabi's unique two-stage continuous DRS design, Shulong and Bottas were locked in a close battle throughout the race. One lap I overtook you, and the next lap you overtook me again.

Finally, on the last lap of fireworks after nightfall, Shu Long, who had deliberately built up his strength for five laps, made a comeback and ended his 19 season with a P4 finish.

"P4! 200 points! This is absolutely legendary rookie season, man! I..."

"Don't get so excited. This is an honor for all of us, and thank you for taking care of us this past year."

"It's nothing. It's an honor to have the chance to work with you through such a historic rookie season."

After this race, Shu Long will take off his Toro Rosso racing suit and walk over to Haas on the other side to complete the season-end tire test in Abu Dhabi.

Hamelin is now filled with both regret and nostalgia.

The departure was inevitable. If Thai Niu hadn't stirred things up here, according to Red Bull's usual script, Shulong would have left Little Red Bull for Big Red Bull at the latest after this stop.

I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to meet a driver like Shu Long again in my lifetime.

What does 200 points mean?
He is sixth in the drivers' championship standings. Ahead of him, from Vettel to Verstappen, are all drivers with between 200 and 300 points. Gasly, who is behind him, doesn't even have three digits in the championship standings, with only a little over 90 points.

It's a difference in magnitude.

Looking at the entire history of F1, apart from the legendary figures of the inaugural year of F1, perhaps only Lewis Hamilton, who competed for the championship in his rookie year, can be compared to them in recent times.

Hamilton's rookie year was before the points system was reformed, so he only had 109 points, about half of what Shu Long has this year.

If you do the math, that's a lot more. Even if there were only 17 Grand Prix events in 07, using this year's points system, it should still give you 263 points.

But Hamilton was driving a McLaren that was vying for the championship back then, while Shu Long is driving a Toro Rosso this year. Not only is it a car from the bottom tier, but for a period of time, the car's overall competitiveness was not even among the top in the bottom tier, and it almost fell to the back of the pack.

The reason why Shulong's points acquisition efficiency is so high is that even though he is not a regular on the podium throughout the year, the key lies in his extremely high completion rate of 21 races with only two withdrawals due to malfunctions, and the stability of earning points as soon as he finishes the race.

Shu Long didn't feel anything about his achievements, but the thought that Red Bull would have to pay nearly $70,000 in registration fees for him again made him want to laugh.

And then thinking about the five million dollars in points bonuses that Red Bull will be spending on itself this year makes it even more laughable.

After the race, Shu Long treated everyone in the team to a meal. While inviting Max and Albon, he also sent invitations to Horner and Marko.

Originally, the plan was to do them a favor and then torture them, but Shu Long didn't expect that Dr. Marco wouldn't come. Instead, Horner and his wife showed up at the party on time.

With family members acting as shields, Shu Long and his group were unable to organize their planned heckling.

Old fox.

On the contrary, Horner did not put on airs at the party. He was approachable and down-to-earth, and there was nothing wrong with his demeanor.

They didn't seem to be taking the opportunity to make any statements or discuss anything serious; it was as if they were simply trying to gain favor.

After that meal, Shu Long was truly leaving Little Red Bull. He spent two days with his family and girlfriend, then put on the clothes that Haas had sent him in advance and entered the new team's pit lane on time.

There will be a two-day tire test at the Abu Dhabi round at the end of the season. Haas's plan is to give the first day to Shulong and the second day to Grosjean, who will be staying on as a reserve driver.

Shu Long's side was to find an opportunity for him to get used to Haas's racing cars in advance, while Grosjean's side might be some kind of strange compensation.

The team doesn't want you anymore, but they're giving you one last chance to be a beast of burden.
It might seem unreasonable to customize a luxury streetlight for the team's owner, but for these drivers who love the racetrack the most, having an extra opportunity to enjoy the feeling of racing might actually be considered a kind of perk.

Then, upon arriving at Has's P room, Shu Long encountered the most embarrassing scene of his life.

A little girl still being held in someone's arms, and two slightly older little boys—the three children all looked up at him from the corner of the pit room, as if they were looking at some strange creature.

Then the little boy inside, who looked to be only about five years old, hesitated for a moment before letting go of his mother's trouser leg and approaching Shu Long. He then mustered his courage and spoke in broken French:

"Did you...did you steal Dad's job?"

(End of this chapter)