F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 160 Has's Russian Father Has Arrived

"Well, I didn't expect this day to come so suddenly."

The podium, devoid of spectators, appeared somewhat deserted, with colorful ribbons from the salutes fluttering in the air.

Shu Long watched quietly as Gasley raised the trophy and dedicated the championship to Huber in heaven. The promise he made jokingly last year had been fulfilled so quickly.

However, not long after, Shu Long couldn't stand the intense atmosphere on stage and slammed the champagne glass on the ground, using the spray to wake the star of the day from his reverie.

It was really not easy. Although there was a lot of luck involved, winning the Earth Group championship was indeed very meaningful for Gasly.

The brief awards ceremony quickly came to an end. Old Lai reluctantly took another sip of champagne before hugging Shu Long and Gasly one last time and then staggering back home.

There were already quite a few people on the podium in Shulong, so he didn't really have much thought about this P2 who seemed to have been picked up. He quickly composed himself, patted Gasly on the shoulder, and started to retreat with the trophy in his arms.

Only Gasly remained, sitting on his own, now ravaged, highest podium in the slanting, golden sunlight before dusk, unwilling to leave.

Toro Rosso's car this year is actually just so-so; let alone winning the championship, even scoring points is not easy.

As for Kvyat, who took the lead in the competition, he not only failed to score points, but also struggled at the back of the pack like Magnussen most of the time.

In the first half of the season, Gasly often hovered on the edge of the points zone, unlike Shu Long who consistently scored points in every game last season. After the same number of games last year, Shu Long alone had more than twice the points of Toro Rosso this year.

Even though Gasly has won the championship, Toro Rosso is still more than ten points behind Haas in the standings.

Meanwhile, Kimi, who is in third place on the podium, has also struggled to score points this season. It can only be said that all three of them who made it to the podium in this competition are fellow sufferers.

If it weren't for the final efforts of Shu Long and Kimi, Ferrari would have been utterly defeated on their home turf.

Fortunately, Ferrari has more than just this one home game this year.

The next back-to-back Tuscan Grand Prix will be held at the Mugello International Circuit, marking the first time in the circuit's history that it will host an F1 race.

Mugello International Circuit first opened in 1974, initially for local racing events, but was acquired by Ferrari in 1991 and upgraded to an international standard track. It is now an important venue for Ferrari to test F1 and other road cars.

The Tuscan Grand Prix also holds special significance for Ferrari, as they will be racing on their home circuit to complete their 1000th Grand Prix.

This year has indeed been tough for everyone. With many circuits on the original calendar announcing the cancellation of today's race, even a little-known circuit like Mugello has been dug out of the FIA's backlog.

Shulong certainly had a lot of homework to do beforehand on a completely unfamiliar track, but it seemed that many people didn't want him to have a moment's peace during these short three days.

After a complete failure at the Monza Grand Prix, Vettel seemed to have finally let go of the heavy burden he carried with Ferrari, and became much more cheerful and relaxed.

When reporters asked Vettel about his opinion on Ferrari during the first half of the season, he often expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's current situation and his deep discontent with the SF1000 this year.

However, Vettel has now begun to reminisce about the heartwarming moments at Ferrari, expressing regret for not being able to achieve his dream of becoming a world champion with his dream team and for not being able to help his idol Schumacher retain his seven-time world championship record. He also expressed his gratitude for the years he spent with the team.

Doesn't that sound a little ominous?

That's right, it's cough suppressant!
Just four days after the Monza race, on the media day of the Tuscan Grand Prix, Racing Point officially announced that Vettel would join the Aston Martin team for the 2021 season.

Ferrari, on the other hand, congratulated Vettel on finding a new future in its official media while simultaneously increasing its efforts to engage with drivers in the paddock.

The main focus was on Shu Long's side. First, they drafted a contract for him, and then they made contact with Red Bull and Marco.

But now, let alone Marco himself, even after Alben's disastrous performances in several games, it's impossible for Taini to release Shulong at this time.

To be fair, Ferrari's performance this year has been quite disappointing, so Shulong itself is still in a wait-and-see mode. Instead, Ferrari and Red Bull have started a tug-of-war.

Moreover, judging from the treatment offered by Ferrari, it is actually not as good as that offered by Red Bull.

Leclerc's annual salary last year was less than four million dollars. Excluding sponsorship and endorsement income, his salary from the team alone was actually less than that of Shu Long.

He signed a three-year contract at the beginning of this year, and without a major breakthrough in his performance, his income will not exceed eight million US dollars in the short term.

After Vettel leaves next year, the first year will definitely see Leclerc confirmed as the number one driver. Even if Ferrari signs Shu Long, who is new to the team, and his annual salary exceeds that of Leclerc, it would not be appropriate for Ferrari.

So Ferrari offered an annual salary of $650 million, along with performance bonuses for race wins, pole positions, and fastest laps, but unlike Red Bull, they didn't offer the generous points rewards.

Moreover, with the double blow of the pandemic and engine violations, everyone's business is not doing too well right now, and Ferrari seems to be hesitant about spending a lot of money to buy Shulong.

I have to hesitate.

Now, Binotto and Ferrari CEO Camilleri are both in a noose, and could be hanged at any moment by the board of directors, so they have to be extremely cautious with every decision they make.

The subsequent Tuscan Grand Prix was another less than satisfactory result, and Ferrari's current spokesperson's hands trembled even more.

The Mugello International Circuit has a lap length of 5.245 km and a total of 15 corners.

The track itself is very narrow, but its overall characteristics are very similar to Silverstone, with a lot of high-speed corners. Turns 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14 can be taken with full throttle. The tuning is naturally more inclined to ensure high downforce performance in high-speed corners.

Hearing this, many people should understand that this is another track that puts Haas racing cars and Haas' rear suspension system to an extremely tough test.

Leclerc miraculously qualified in P5. According to him, this was because he had recently done testing work on an older car on this track, so unlike other teams, he didn't need to learn the new track on-site.

However, Vettel's final qualifying result was only P15, almost failing to even qualify for Q2.

In the final race, Leclerc dropped to P8, while Vettel barely made it into the points zone.

The narrow track means it's difficult to overtake, but at the same time, it's not that difficult to overtake.

There is only one DRS zone on the entire track, but because the tuning scheme is more inclined to high downforce, the DRS here can actually provide a top speed increase of about 20 km/h.

Given Ferrari's current engine performance, any other team that gets close to DRS can easily overtake them, much like how Leclerc achieved his P8.

Shu Long barely made it into Q3 in the qualifying rounds, which will be his last time in Q3 this season.

If it weren't for Shulong's superior track learning ability and the experience gained from Silverstone, he probably wouldn't have even made it into Q2, let alone Q3. Looking at Magnussen's current position, you can see what level Haas's car is at—definitely at the bottom of the paddock, because Magnussen only managed a P20 in this qualifying session.

After finally making it to Q3, Shulong was knocked out of the match at the very beginning by his former comrade-in-arms, Gasly, who had teamed up with him in the previous round, with a flying shovel.
In short, the Tuscan Grand Prix was incredibly chaotic, with two red flags, three starts, and eight cars retiring.

Shortly after the start, Gasly was battling Kimi in the corner when he was hit by Lay's tire, which sent him flying and smashed a large hole in the side box of the car.

Shulong's balance in the corner was completely disrupted by this heavy blow of friendship, causing him to slide sideways and send Verstappen, who had lost his starting position, into the gravel area.

Based on the previous races' developments, and given the current situation of the Tuscan Grand Prix, if Shulong hadn't been caught up in this incident, he might have been able to score another big point.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs." Haas now faces an additional $800,000 in repair costs, and their team standings have been overtaken by Kvyat, who secured P7 at this race, by 6 points.

It can only be said that the way of heaven is good for reincarnation, no one will be spared by heaven.

Sometimes good luck comes too suddenly, so you should consider whether there has been any price to pay in secret.

Besides the unexpected withdrawal from this match, there is another thing that is actually a bit unfavorable to Shulong.

Because of Verstappen's withdrawal, Albon finished in P3 and made it to the podium. According to information that Horner revealed to Shu Long, the Thai Bulls seem to be wavering in their attitude towards Albon again.

The current situation in Shulong is that negotiations with Ferrari are stalled, and now negotiations with Red Bull are also stalled, which inevitably makes people feel a bit frustrated.

Unfortunately, getting impatient was useless; all he could do now was wait.

The Russian Grand Prix two weeks later didn't have much to offer.

Shulong failed to reach Q3, starting from P13, and in the final stage overtook Albon to reach P10 and bring back a point.

On the contrary, Kvyat and Gasly brought back P8 and P9, bringing the points back by five points, and now they are almost on par with Haas.

If this trend continues, it's only a matter of time before Haas is overtaken by Toro Rosso, because it seems that only Shu Long is capable of scoring for Haas, and Magnussen is getting used to finishing at the back of the pack.

Haas's situation hasn't been too smooth, but Zhou Guanyu in F2 had a pretty good week, winning a point at the Russian Grand Prix.

However, his F1 journey is still unclear. As a Renault youth academy player, it seems that he will never be able to get a Renault seat. Ocon is on a long-term contract, and recently they have signed Alonso on a two-year contract.

Following Ferrari, Zhou Guanyu is once again on the same team as his idol Alonso. It's hard to say whether this is a stroke of luck or misfortune for him.

Several key changes occurred after this match.

After Gasly's successful championship win, Toro Rosso quickly announced the renewal of his contract. The other position is still undecided, but there are rumors that Honda will provide signing support for Kakuta, who is currently racing in F2.

That's Kakuta, the guy whose racing dream was almost shattered by Shulong at the youth training headquarters in Austria.

If the goal is simply to promote Kakuta, it's impossible to just move him directly to Red Bull. Clearly, the second spot at Toro Rosso is currently reserved for this Honda prince.

The harsh reality is that even though Kvyat has delivered some very good performances for the team in several consecutive races, his seat is now once again in jeopardy.

If even Albon, who is supported by Tayniu, can't hold onto the other spot, then it's pretty much certain that it will belong to Shulong. Kvyat doesn't even have the qualifications to compete for it right now.

So, besides trying to stay with Toro Rosso, he had no choice but to try to find a way out by joining other teams.

However, the driver market in the paddock is now oversaturated. If a driver like Kvyat, who is neither particularly good nor bad, doesn't have a team interested in him unless he has very convincing results.

If the Kvyat's driving style weren't so torpedo-like, Haas might be one of the options.

Unfortunately, that's impossible, because there's another thing that's related to Haas.

Although the Russian Grand Prix did not yield great results, Shulong's long-standing performance seems to have finally attracted a potentially powerful sponsor to Haas.

This is a Russian fertilizer company called Uralspotash, which is no small entity. In Russia, it is definitely an oligarch, and not just any ordinary oligarch.

The owner behind this company is Dmitri Mazepin, who is the father of Nikita Mazepin, who is currently competing in F2.

Ma Zeping's performance in the lower-level formulas was actually quite poor, even worse than Latifi, who finally got to drive a Williams car this year thanks to his father's influence.

The key issue is that his reputation among lower-level formula drivers is also quite bad. Even the good-natured Zhou Guanyu said that he couldn't get along with him at all, second only to Mick Schumacher.

Of course, the purpose of Ural Potash Company's contact with Haas was quite clear: they were willing to provide a substantial sponsorship to help the team overcome its current difficulties. The only condition was that Haas needed to reserve a seat for Nikita Mazepin.

An American company and a Russian company—the two seem completely unrelated—but Gene Haas himself appears very interested.

It's not just about intention.

In fact, not long after, funds flowed into Haas's account, directly alleviating the team's predicament of not even having enough spare parts.

This incident didn't have much impact on Shulong, but Magnussen, who had struggled quite a bit this season, started to have some doubts.

The arrival of the convoy at the Ma family's main residence seems like a good thing, but if this young master, whose father is quite powerful, were to take his place, things might not be so wonderful.

Because at the Nürburgring circuit, which they haven't been to in a long time, Mick will represent Alfa Romeo in the first practice session, while for Haas, Zhou Guanyu's good friend from Ferrari's youth academy, Eloute, will replace Magnussen in the first practice session.

There is now confirmed news that Mick will officially obtain an F1 seat next year with the support of Ferrari, but whether he will go to Arro to replace Giovinazzi or come to Haas is still undecided.

Ferrari seems to prefer Kimi as the tutor, but the old man (Lai Tou) doesn't seem too happy about it.

Old Raeto has not yet renewed Arro's contract, and Kimi himself seems to prefer his current teammate Giovinazzi. Ferrari and Arro do not want to lose such a golden brand as Kimi, so they will definitely take Kimi's opinions and ideas into consideration to a large extent.

At the same time, although Giovinazzi himself is a bit weak and doesn't seem to have much presence in the paddock, he is also a product of Ferrari's youth academy and has an Italian national identity.

If Ralf Rangnick is really unwilling to accept a new teammate, Ferrari might not necessarily have to make things difficult for Giovinazzi.

If Mike can go to Arrow, then Magnussen's first choice as a mentor to the newcomers is naturally secure. However, if Arrow cannot accept Mike, then the second spot on Haas's side may be reserved specifically for that young master of the paddock.

(End of this chapter)