F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 176 Killing each other
"The weather is clear and the track conditions are perfect. The tire strategy remains the same as before: try to keep the red and white tires in place. The first stint should be around lap 25 to 30. Anything else to add?"

Red Bull's current strategy director, Will Courtney, sat at the head of the stage and routinely read out the pre-game instructions from the beginning. Unexpectedly, Shu Long, sitting next to him, actually raised his hand like a primary school student answering a question.

"if."

"If you fight too intensely in the early stages, it is indeed very likely that you will switch your strategy to a two-stop strategy of red-yellow-red, and I think the possibility of that is not low."

The person who answered Shu Long was Hannah Schmitz. She is the one who has developed the strategy for almost every Red Bull race. She is gentle but also tough and decisive. Shu Long had already given her the nickname "Mom" when chatting with Max in private after she had only been in Red Bull for two Grand Prix races.

Now that his little secret had been exposed by the "patriarch," Shu Long couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He raised his hand and used his little finger to smooth the corner of his right eyebrow.

"What I mean is that Mercedes is very likely to make changes on their own initiative. Their starting red tires are almost twice as old as ours. If we insist on switching to white tires after every stop, we may not be able to keep up with their pace, and there is a possibility that we will be undercut."

Hannah didn't refute, but just looked at Verstappen, who was wearing headphones and not saying a word, nodding slowly in a fixed rhythm as if he were lost in thought.

"Max?"

"Ok?"

Verstappen took a deep breath, raised his face, glanced at Shu Long, who was struggling with his scalp, made a face, and shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. We have the advantage of being in the lead, so no matter what Mercedes does, we have the initiative to respond."

"uh-huh."

Hannah then turned to look at Shulong, who still seemed hesitant to speak. She then glanced at Horner's elbow, indicating that it was time for him to take the stage.

As colleagues who have worked together for so many years, regardless of how much tacit understanding they have developed, Horner knew without Hannah's prompting that he really needed to make a clear statement.

"The team encourages you to compete freely, but now is a crucial moment to fight for the team championship and the driver championship. Malicious infighting is absolutely not allowed, and this applies to both of you."

After he said that, old Verstappen, who was sitting in the corner listening, snorted, but Horner didn't bother to pay him any attention for the time being.

Previously, Verstappen was the only pillar of the team. Even though Joss was always pointing fingers at him in the team, Horner, not wanting to strain their relationship too much, managed to greet him with a smile.

But now, a dragon has arrived that is clearly no less impressive than, and perhaps even surpasses, Max.
As long as Verstappen wants to secure more benefits for his son within the team, the other party will naturally learn to back down and compromise after careful consideration.

Compared to the past when he often had to be overly eager to please, Horner feels that now, in addition to maintaining a good working relationship with Max, he can try a different approach to dealing with Verstappen.

"Direct collisions and contact are not allowed. Give your teammates enough space. You all have a certain amount of time to compete in each race. When we feel that the situation is settled or we have to make compromises because of our opponents, I hope that you will also obediently follow the team's instructions."

As soon as Horner finished speaking, Verstappen raised his hand, mimicking Shu Long's earlier gesture.

"for how long?"

“Uhh?”

"It's that 'limited time' of competition opportunity. How long is this 'limited time'?"

"This is to be decided by the team and strategy group. To prevent you from rushing to win and increasing the probability of mistakes and accidents, we will not give a specific answer, but will make appropriate adjustments depending on the specific situation."

This time it was Shu Long's turn to ask: "If the team has complete control, how can we ensure fairness?"

"Well—regarding this, we can't guarantee that it will be absolutely correct every time, or that it will satisfy both of you, but we will try our best to ensure that the interests of both parties are taken into account in every game."

"that's it?"

"If you still have objections after calming down after the race, the team can accept your protests and review. If it is confirmed that the strategy at the time was not appropriate, then I will deduct Hannah and Will's wages and give it to you as a bonus!"

Horner, sitting in the middle, was simultaneously elbowed by both strategists on either side.

"Ouch! Okay, okay, I'll add my own salary too."

The lighthearted banter immediately eased the tense atmosphere in the meeting room. The drivers and engineers laughed gleefully as they watched Horner's unpretentious and embarrassed reaction after suffering in pain.

Horner was laughing along too; in fact, he was the one who started laughing earlier.

"Please don't make things too ugly, considering how sincere we are."

Shu Long glanced at Verstappen across the table and saw that he had already straightened up and was looking serious.

"Don't worry, Max still owes me a meal, and I'm afraid he won't honor it later."

"Wait! Does that game that was canceled by the heavy rain count too? If I win today, can we cancel each other out?"

"Don't even think about it, we'll split the bill! At most, if I win this time, I'll give you half a meal, and I won't invite my girlfriend. Besides, you have Little P on your side, so strictly speaking, you still owe me half a meal!"

"Are you serious?! Are you sure our bet is going to be calculated per head?"

As they chatted, the topic suddenly veered off course, and Horner showed no intention of bringing the two back on track. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and announced the meeting was adjourned.

Managing teams vying for the championship without prioritizing them is truly exhausting, but given Red Bull's current internal structure, promoting Shu Long is almost a necessary step.

Perez is a decent second driver, but ultimately his ability doesn't reach the level of Bottas at Mercedes, and he can't be relied upon to influence the power distribution within the team.

Fortunately, Horner also has the experience of leading Vettel and Mark Webber to victory. Those two fought even more fiercely and were more stubborn, and at one point they completely broke off relations. So now, facing two more approachable younger players, he is not completely clueless.

After a brief morning meeting, Verstappen got up and went to the Paddock Club to interact with his enthusiastic fans and sponsors, while Shu Long stayed in his chair to exhaust himself with his Mijia two-piece suit.

There was no way around it; Verstappen's proper Dutch home ground returned to the calendar for the first time in 36 years, and the fervor of Dutch sports fans can be seen in their football performances. This spectacle was even more exaggerated than when Shu Long played at the Shanghai International Stadium.

It was precisely for this reason that Shu Long deliberately tried to induce Red Bull to make a relatively clear public statement before such a special match.

This can be attributed to the small suggestions that Alonso, who was once jokingly referred to as a "political head," gave to Shu Long. Otherwise, why didn't Shu Long bring it up in the meeting after he secured pole position at Spa in the last race?
Perhaps the price of growing up is gradually becoming the person you hate the most.
However, Shu Long didn't have such grand ambitions. He just wanted to ensure that he wouldn't have to worry about all the messy things within the team after the competition started.

However, just as Shu Long finished his work and was about to chat with Gan Mengning online for a while, he was suddenly startled by Alben, who had quietly moved to sit down next to him without him noticing.

"Long?"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Was that sentence in Chinese? I think I've heard you say it several times before?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly interested in this? Kids shouldn't learn this!"

"What? Well, a friend of mine wanted to ask you something."

Upon hearing this, Shu Long narrowed his eyes, a strong sense of contempt surging from them.

"Let me guess, is the friend you're talking about Thai and British, about my height, and with some kind of weird sense of humor?"

These words should have been ignored, because Shu Long never expected that he would one day see such a strong sense of shyness on Alben's face.

"You're not in love, are you?"

Alben lowered his head and fidgeted for a while. After glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, he nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

Why does this atmosphere feel a little strange?

"Let me guess again, is the person you like Chinese?"

Now that he had started talking, Alben stopped trying to hide anything and nodded quite frankly.

But something felt even more wrong on the Shulong side!
[Hiss—] "Before I hear your final answer, I must first state one thing: although my hometown is in Sichuan, I really don't like this kind of food! And your British blood shouldn't be this pure!"

"What."

Alben was clearly taken aback; he had no idea what was so special about that region in Sichuan, China.

But considering the unique characteristics of the UK, he suddenly understood without needing any further explanation!
"No, no, no! It's a girl! I recently met a Chinese girl on social media!"

"Oh~"

Alben felt deeply hurt by Shulong's relieved expression, but to avoid further misunderstanding, he gestured to the video call that hadn't been made yet on Shulong's phone screen and chose to get straight to the point.

“Look, you’re Chinese, and your girlfriend is Chinese. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the paddock who can help me with this.”

"Uh-huh!"

Shu Long seemed to agree quite readily, roughly guessing what Alben wanted to ask him, but in reality, he wasn't very sure.

His relationship with Gan Mengning was a natural, childhood romance that blossomed naturally; he didn't have much experience to share.

"That's right, we got to know each other through social media platforms and had a very pleasant chat."

"uh-huh?"

"But I know almost nothing about China except you! I can feel myself becoming the boring one in this conversation, please help me!"

"But you haven't told me how to help you yet. Have you introduced me to some of our country's traditional customs? I suggest you ask Google for that."

"No, no, no, it's not that complicated! Let's start with something more basic and simple, like what young Chinese girls are usually more interested in these days?"

Are you sure this is a more basic and simpler one?
Shu Long's expression twitched, and he remained silent for a long time. He decided to start tutoring Alben with traditional Chinese proverbs, the very first one being—"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea!"

"What topics are Chinese girls interested in now? Are they interested in learning about racing?"

"I don't know, maybe? She knows I'm an F1 driver, a former F1 driver."

"Then why don't you talk to her? Me?"

Alben's face immediately returned three question marks. Although their native languages ​​were different, expressions were universally understood. Translated, it roughly meant, "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What's wrong?! Among all the girls in China who are interested in racing, I'm the hottest guy right now! You can definitely find common ground with her!"

For a moment, Alben couldn't find a reason to refute it, and even thought that what Shu Long said made a lot of sense. When he and the girl named He Muni first met, they did start talking about Shu Long.

Seeing that Alben was getting a little impatient, Shulong simply stopped teasing him.

After asking a few questions, I learned that this beautiful girl named He Muni was from the same hometown as me in Shulong in some respects. Not only was she a girl from Sichuan, but she was also a professional golfer.

"What do you think she does?"

"A professional golfer, what's wrong?"

Nothing much, Shu Long just curiously tilted Alben's chin and examined him for a while.

A boyfriend who's a race car driver and a girlfriend who plays golf—what a powerful dynamic!

I didn't realize that after confirming his contract with Williams, Alben actually picked up a script by Takumi Fujiwara and started having romantic luck.

As for how to become a master of romance, Shu Long suggested that Alben consult his agent, Alonso.

The only advice he could offer was either for Alben to learn about golf himself, or for the two of them to watch Initial D together. He believed that once Mogi Natsuki was gone, the two of them would understand his good intentions.

They chatted about the topic for a while longer, and not long after, Horner returned to the conference room, giving him a wink as he prepared for the drivers' parade later.

Previously, he had been focused on the track and hadn't really felt it, but now, riding in a truck and slowly observing the scene, he truly understood just how passionate these fans, who fought guerrilla warfare all over Europe for Verstappen, were in their own home stadium.

At least 90% of the audience?

Perhaps that's an understatement; a quick glance around revealed that almost every audience seat was entirely filled with orange.

"Free competition, right?"

After officially sitting in the race car that afternoon, Shu Long couldn't help but ask this question in the TR.

“That’s right, I think we discussed it very clearly in our meeting this morning. We just need to be careful about the degree of leniency.”

"Don't you think there are a bit too many McLaren fans at the event?"

Horner couldn't help but chuckle and pressed the call button to join the chat group.

"So this morning I thought you didn't care at all. Don't worry too much. After all, this is a competitive sport. If you're really scared, you can hide in my arms after the game!"

Shu Long made a face under his helmet. The Shanghai International Championship has been removed from the schedule due to the pandemic, and it is unknown when his next home game will arrive.

After exiting the race, I parked my car in my designated P2 starting grid for the day, then jumped out and jogged to the toilet. Not long after I returned, the race officially entered the start phase.

As the green light turned on in front, Shulong followed Verstappen and entered the tire warming phase.

Along with the launch of the Red Bull One race car, the fervor of all the Dutch fans at the scene was also palpable, with many stands already igniting the first round of orange smoke bombs.

And perhaps Verstappen was also stirred up by the crowd, because he shot off far ahead as soon as the warm-up lap started, seemingly eager to show all the fans his speed.

"Isn't Max in a bit too much of a hurry?"

"Maybe so, the GP has already been reminding him."

Knowing that his good intentions were limited, Shu Long glanced at Hamilton in his rearview mirror, who was starting to deliberately slow down, and then slowed down his own pace a little.

After completing one lap and returning to the starting straight, the area was filled with pungent orange smoke, and visibility was so poor that even the starting signal lights were difficult to see.

However, what happened in the back row was none of Shu Long's business. He had a very clear view from the front row and only took the opportunity of burning tires to test the grip on the dirty side of the track.

The first corner at Zandvoort is a right-hand corner. The starting positions are arranged with P1 Verstappen leading the odd-numbered grid on the clean left line, while the even-numbered grid, where the dragon starts, is located on the right grid where there is more rubber debris.

This is arguably a completely disadvantageous starting position, even worse than Hamilton's P3 position, in Shu Long's opinion.

Because the right turn of Turn 1 has an inward sloping angle, the travel distance on the outside of the turn is shorter than that on the inside compared to a turn without a sloping angle, but the turning speed is much higher than that on the slightly shorter inside.

In other words, Shulong cannot rely solely on his reaction speed at the start today. He also has to overcome the worse grip on the dirty side of the track and force his way into the inside. We'll have to figure out how to handle this. Adaptability is the most important thing.

After what could be described as a rather long wait amidst the adrenaline-pumping sensations of Shulong, the two Haas vehicles and the medical pursuit vehicle at the rear of the convoy finally took their positions.

The flag bearer waved the green flag as he crossed the back of the track. When the third red light ahead lit up, Shu Long and Verstappen almost simultaneously squeezed the clutch, engaged first gear, and slowly increased the engine speed to around 8500 rpm.

Even without that morning meeting, there was one thing that both of them were very clear about.

Their biggest opponent in this match is not Mercedes, but rather each other, who are Red Bull teammates!

(End of this chapter)