F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 195 I Want to Change the Cover

Tons, tons, tons.
While gulping down water, Shu Long glanced at the other two podiums that came in one after the other.

Then Verstappen turned left into the starting grid at P2, while Johan turned towards the sign for P3. In other words, did Verstappen manage to defend against such a large lap time difference at the last moment?
To reveal a little of his darker side, Shu Long actually hoped that the old man would win, otherwise Verstappen's recent competition with Hamilton would seem to be going a bit too smoothly.

Normally, he wouldn't mind pulling back the flow to help his teammates with some coordinated defense, but not today!
It wasn't just because he was in a bad mood after a long drought; since Verstappen considered him an opponent from the start, Shu Long had no choice but to place the other Red Bull in the same position.

You can't expect fair competition while simultaneously demanding that your teammates constantly consider your position, and then treat them like mules to be used.

These are essential cooperation guidelines that must be clearly defined. If we don't clearly express our attitude and stance, we will inevitably be manipulated by the team in the future.

In countries like Russia and Türkiye, if the non-competitive relationship between the two is clearly defined from the beginning, then Shu Long certainly wouldn't mind doing his best to create some favorable conditions for his teammate.

However, in situations like this week and the Dutch Grand Prix, as an opponent, one should naturally adopt the attitude of an opponent.

Verstappen lingered by his car, slowly putting the steering wheel back on, while Hamilton quickly tidied up, gestured to the team, and then headed towards Shulong.

Although it seems like he's been beaten up by two Red Bulls working together again, Hamilton is still quite optimistic.

He was all too familiar with the idea of ​​a championship-contending team accommodating two top talents; from the body language of Shu Long and Verstappen's on-track battle, he had already seen a hint of the former Mercedes duo.

Although he is now 15 points behind, if Red Bull's two cars have a few more skirmishes, a comeback in the last five races is not impossible.

So, keep it up!
"What a fantastic match!"

"You were alright? You were really impressive that day too, managing to keep the tire in such polluted air. I had to put in a lot of effort to beat you on the fastest lap in the end!"

"You boy!"

Hamilton smiled and pointed at Shu Long twice. Even a single point, which was insignificant yet extremely important, was being fought over by him, yet there was no grounds to criticize him.

Regardless of your relationship off the field, you are opponents on the field. Do you expect them to go easy on you because of your age?
"It wasn't as easy as it looked; I had a tough time driving it too."

"Yes, it's too difficult."

Shu Long glanced helplessly at the water bottle in his hand. He had become severely dehydrated during the competition, which was even more obvious after he took off his helmet and fireproof hood. His once smooth cheeks had sunken in.

My stomach is almost full, but I still feel very thirsty, so I can only hold a mouthful in my mouth to moisten it.

Then Verstappen arrived.

Congratulations, you ran beautifully.

"Uh-huh--"

Unexpectedly, the other party remained so calm. Shu Long quickly swallowed a mouthful of water, and immediately felt his stomach bloated.

"Your tactical execution was also excellent. How did you manage to defend Lewis in the end?"

"I caught the slipstream of the lapping car and risked using DRS to block a few laps. Luckily, I had good luck today."

"Not bad luck, huh?"

"Don't dwell on the beginning. We all wanted to win, and then I lost, and I paid the price—it's that simple. And in the end, the result wasn't bad, was it?"

"You're quite open-minded."

Shu Long raised an eyebrow, grasped the hand that Verstappen offered, and leaned their shoulders together.

In terms of frankness, he was at a disadvantage, so can we temporarily put today's incident behind us?

Just as he was about to grab his hat to put on for the interview, Shu Long noticed that Verstappen's gaze seemed to freeze for a moment before he casually looked away.

Looking down where his gaze had been directed, I only saw a drop of pale yellow liquid, slightly cloudy from mixing with sweat, dripping from my trouser leg.
"Ah, this isn't! I can explain! This is Red Bull!"

"Oh, of course! What else could it be?"

Oh no! It would have been better if I hadn't said anything; now I'm really in deep trouble!
The interviewer was puzzled by the slightly distorted expression on Shu Long's face. He had just greeted him when he noticed the young man blink and suddenly stare at him intently.

Shu Long was a little distracted and didn't listen carefully to who was in charge of the interview today.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized him – wasn't this the legendary "button" guru, affectionately known as "Jane the Beauty"?!

"Oh my god! Please sign this for me later! My mom used to love you. She always thought you were the coolest driver of all the time!"

"Oh, okay, thank you for your support."

Wait a minute! It's the Reversal of Heavenly Ranks, who's the main character today?

"Ahem! We learned that you faced problems with the hydration system from the very beginning of the competition. It's truly remarkable that you were able to maintain your performance and bring home a championship under such circumstances. How are you feeling now?"

"It was definitely a tough race. My pants enthusiastically drank up most of the water in my tank. I feel like I could just take off my shoes and be a shoey right now, without even needing champagne."

As Shu Long spoke, he kept staring at Verstappen, whose eyes seemed to be wide open with laughter, when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Ricciardo, who had just finished weighing himself in the crowd.

Ricardo finished fifth in this match and was clearly in a good mood. He was winking and making a "pick it up and drink it!" gesture at Shu Long.

"In short, drivers always need to learn to deal with and handle various troubles during the race, and of course, they are very happy to win the championship in the end!"

"Thank you for sharing! Also, if I may ask out of curiosity, has your mother ever said which driver she thinks is the most handsome right now?"

"Perhaps..." Shu Long hesitated slightly, "Me?"

"Haha! Of course, all parents only think their own child is the most perfect!"

No, no, no, Chinese parents probably only think that other people's children are the most perfect.

Shu Long pursed his lips and muttered to himself, feeling weary as he thought about how his mother was always nagging him, "Look at Leclerc!"

To be fair, in what way is your son's equipment inferior to others?

"right?"

"Woo-"

Gan Mengning couldn't even speak. Her pair of slender, white feet swayed gently beside their heads, and soft sobs escaped her throat one after another.

She struggled to turn to the side, cupped her boyfriend's face and examined it for a moment, then clung to him pleadingly.

Only after Shu Long lowered his head and kissed away the beads of sweat on his girlfriend's nose did her small hands, which were tightly gripping the bed sheet, quietly loosen their grip.

As her SAN value gradually returned, the girl's eyes narrowed as she carefully examined the face before her—a face that would drive other girls mad with envy. Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, Gan Mengning chuckled a few times, like a villainous character.

She pinched her boyfriend's nose hard in retaliation.

The man wasn't angry. He pulled his girlfriend into his arms, buried his nose in her hair, and inhaled her scent, peacefully enjoying this moment of tranquility that belonged only to the two of them.

Due to the special location of the upcoming Grand Prix races, the team did not plan to return to the Milton Keynes headquarters to work overtime. Shu Long finally had a real sense of vacation and could make up for the regret that he and Gan Mengning were always separated more often than together.

Aside from a few additional scenes filmed in Miami, he spent the rest of the time meaninglessly wasting his life by his girlfriend's side, and only reluctantly saw her off on the plane a full week later.

The girl took time out of her schedule to cheer him on. There were fewer classes at school this semester, which was good, but she had been preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam at the end of the year, and even reduced the frequency of her live streams to once every two weeks.

She has no worries about food and clothing, has a relatively clear career plan for the future, and can also support her in pursuing her hobbies.

However, Gan Mengning still wanted to broaden her knowledge. She could be a little willful when she was young, but she couldn't abandon her family affairs in the future.

Goodness, she's already eyeing the housekeeper before they're even married.
As for the other three resentful brothers, Lao Li also had things to take care of at the school here, while Teng Weifeng said that he also had plans to take the postgraduate entrance examination, and whether he could pass it or not was another matter.

Although he is currently enjoying great success in the self-media field, relying on his unique video style and taking advantage of the popularity of Shulong in recent years, he has accumulated nearly 150 million fans, which can be considered as riding the wave of the times.

But you can't be lucky enough to catch the wave of development forever, so it's always good to enrich yourself.

Besides, making money and studying don't conflict, do they?
Fortunately, he had seen all his friends off in advance. From Thursday's media day, Shu Long had a very obvious feeling that the fans' attitude towards him was slightly subtle.

It's hard to describe what that feeling was like.

Whether it was just his imagination or the local accent, Shu Long felt that their cheering tone was a bit off, as if they were egging him on and hoping he would embarrass himself.

While opinions may vary in other places, the overall public sentiment in this region is quite unfriendly towards Shulong.

Even if it were true, it would be understandable.

After all, many Mexican commentators on foreign websites believe that Shu Long's current success is due to him taking away resources that originally belonged to Perez.

Lauper had toiled for so many years in mid-table teams, and finally had the chance to join a championship team to prove himself. But just as his career was starting to take off, someone interfered and ruined it.

Of course, having experienced the ordeal in the Netherlands, Shu Long is now quite used to this kind of passive-aggressive noise.

The key point is that Shulong himself has hope, so he naturally won't deliberately "fear inequality".

Finally, some good news came before this racing week: the F1 Chinese Grand Prix officially announced its contract extension until 2025. Shu Long, who has been struggling alone in the foreign community, felt much more confident.

In recent years, due to various off-track factors, Shulong has not had the opportunity to make up for its regret in the previous home race. There are even many rumors that China may no longer host F1 races.

What do I say now? I have my home turf too!

Are we missing just these two cheers from you guys?

Of course, the awkward part wasn't interacting with the Mexican fans at the event, but rather seeing Laupe's son, who was watching longingly from the sidelines, during the Red Bull organization's event at Perez's home stadium.
The last time I had this feeling was when Shu Long squeezed out Grosjean's seat, but the children of the big flag are relatively young and easy to fool.

Perez's eldest son is already at the age where he is sensible and most stubborn. In his eyes, Shulong is undoubtedly a sinner.

The little brat even knows how to form cliques to support himself, constantly whispering in Verstappen's ear, "You could win championships all the time when my dad was still around, but you haven't won a single one since your teammates changed!"

At the time, it could be taken as children joking around and not taken seriously, but as the team principal, Horner had to take the issue seriously.

The paddock is full of cautionary tales. Vettel's four-time champions may look glorious, but only Horner knows what a difficult situation it was back then. No one would want to go through that again unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, Horner did not choose to avoid this issue at the pre-match meeting, but brought it up directly.

Shu Long and Vestapan remained relatively calm, but their answers were remarkably consistent.

"I will know what to do in the game."

No one can guarantee they won't make the same mistake again, because when the passion of the game gets high, no one knows if they can resist the urge to knock someone away.

But everyone present was intelligent. The foolish things that happened at the American Grand Prix should have made people more sober. Some situations should be avoided before they happen.

Based on this year's match situation, it all depends on Verstappen's attitude.

Because he's the one who needs to compete for the championship, the team can't find a way to control Shu Long. As for the so-called seat issue from before...
Now, teams are begging riders to renew their contracts, while other teams are hoping Red Bull won't offer them contracts. At this crucial juncture of transition between the old and new rules, a rider like Shu Long is a formidable weapon that cannot be ignored, no matter where he is placed.

Fortunately, Max is different from his super-strong father; he is calmer and more clear-headed.

Especially after he was with Kelly and had P, his role as a father in the family made him more mature and he learned to reflect on himself, and he also became clearer about his own goals.

From this perspective, the new generation of drivers is much easier to manage than the older generation of troublemakers.

Young drivers are mostly friends off the track, while the older generation of drivers often said, "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win the race."

Currently, Ma Zeping may be the one who has inherited the most of the old-fashioned spirit. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that he knows he has very poor interpersonal relationships, so he is just finding an excuse to alleviate his embarrassment.

His bizarre and outrageous actions offended every single driver in the paddock; there wasn't a single driver in the paddock who had a good relationship with him.

For example.
"Where did this idiot come from?! I suspect there's nothing underneath his helmet!"

Just before the end of the second practice session, Shu Long was preparing to do his last flying lap when he was suddenly blocked by Ma Zeping's brakes and lane change before turn 4.

If that were all, one could say that the team's engineers didn't notify them in time, or that the driver simply forgot to check the rearview mirror and didn't notice the flag signals.

But instead of obediently pulling over to the side after turn 4, he deliberately rode in the middle of the road, blocking the entire route into the series of turns 5. If this wasn't intentional, then it would be truly bizarre!
He can't compete with others in the main race, so he tries to show off in practice when he should be letting others pass? He's insane!

Ordinary people may find it difficult to understand Ma Zeping's thought process, and in fact, it is indeed very difficult to understand Ma Zeping's thought process.

However, considering the current public opinion environment, it might not be surprising why he would engage in such seemingly deliberate retaliatory behavior.

Shu Long's recent rise to prominence has offended not only Perez and even some of Verstappen's fans, but also the eccentric and unpredictable Ma Zeping.

With Dmitry Mazeping, the financial backer, speaking up, Haas naturally allocated what Mazeping considered to be the best resources to his son. In other words, Mazeping actually inherited the same crew that Shu Long had worked with at Haas.

However, before and after Shu Long left the team, Haas's performance was completely at two extremes. This made it difficult for some fanatics to speak ill of their own master, so they began to attack the team and Ma Zeping in various ways.

No need to guess, they're just a bunch of lunatics who treat the name "Schumacher" as a religion.

The very arguments these Schumacher fans use to attack Ma Zeping, besides accusing him of maliciously wasting team resources and failing to achieve good results, are about "what Shu Long did when he was still with the team."

(End of this chapter)