F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 229 Successor, Someone?
This pole position was hard-won; Shulong hadn't made such an aggressive attempt all weekend.

Especially at Turn 10, the high curb at the apex of the corner that caused Mike to lose control and crash was the first time Shu Long had ever ridden there. Before that, he had always avoided it, and he was even mentally prepared to finish the ride even if the power steering failed.

Fortunately, we were lucky today; the little one under my bottom withstood this rather rough impact.

"Don't come in, don't come in, your parking spaces are in the departure area."

"Oh, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it."

This matter was specifically discussed at the pre-race driver meeting, but unfortunately, Shu Long is still very narcissistic and immersed in that artistic lap he just completed, almost entirely relying on his subconscious and muscle memory to control the car.

Leclerc and Verstappen were already there, each sitting close to the car, discussing something.

Stop talking! Stop talking!
Shu Long couldn't stand this kind of cloying sweetness, so he ruthlessly cut in between the two and started disassembling his steering wheel as if nothing had happened.

Watching him stand on the roof of the car and tap his helmet twice, then raise a "1" high towards the audience, eliciting cheers, the broadcast signal once again switched to the astonishing circle that Shu Long had just witnessed, and thoughtfully provided a 0.75x slow motion for many key parts.

"Wow, look at this! It's unbelievable! You can see it even more clearly in slow motion; his tires were practically touching the guardrail!"

"To be honest, I really didn't expect this, because Red Bull has been slower than Ferrari all weekend. I even thought that Leclerc's lap was the limit under the current rules."

"To be honest, I never expected Verstappen to be able to cut the deficit by 0.3 in the last round."

"That's what I was thinking too. The ideal situation is when two very energetic young people are on the same team, because they are in close comparison and can push each other to keep improving."

As they chatted, the progress bar for Shulong's final divine circle was once again pulled to the bottom.

Since the drivers were still weighing themselves and chatting, the director felt there wasn't much to film, so instead of showing the replay of Shulong again, he started playing with camera language.

We enjoyed watching Shulong's extreme edge-hugging move, so let's see how other riders fared when they chose to use edge-hugging.

The replay showed both drivers performing in the same spot.

Gasly and O'Connor were notorious rivals in the paddock.
Gasly realized his angle was wrong when he was hugging the wall as he entered the corner and pulled back in time, but this also disrupted the car's aerodynamic balance in the corner, almost causing an accident due to loss of control at the rear.

O'Conn's problem is similar to Gasly's; both lack precise control over the steering point and steering range when drifting into blind corners close to the wall.

It's unclear whether O'Connor misjudged the situation or was simply reckless, but he stubbornly continued to push forward along the wall, only to be knocked away by a left hook from the wall and crash into the inner kerb of Turn 10, almost resulting in the same accident as Mick.

Although it was still a mistake, it must be admitted that Ocon's ability to save such a dangerously dynamic car was truly remarkable.

The judgment of superiority and inferiority belongs to yes.

Sometimes, you don't know how amazing someone is until you make a direct comparison. Previously, less experienced car enthusiasts might have just thought that the Shulong race was indeed quite exciting, but now they have a more intuitive understanding of the level of skill involved in this performance.

The camera finally panned back to the top three drivers, with Johnny Herbert holding the microphone to Shu Long's mouth.

"Congratulations, Shu! You secured pole position when everyone thought Red Bull was in a slump. How does it feel? Surprised?"

"Of course! You know, Jeddah is a very special racetrack, and I might have been indulging in self-admiration for a while if I weren't doing this interview."

Ran Ge dutifully began simultaneous interpretation, repeating Shu Long's answer while simultaneously feeling a sense of unreality.

Before deciding to enter this industry, who would have thought that I would need to repeat and convey the meaning of a Chinese driver?
Although thinking like this might seem like a betrayal of his profession, Ran is already looking forward to the day when he won't have to do post-match interview translation work anymore.

Okay, that's definitely a bit too unrealistic.

What conditions would allow this scene to occur? Three Chinese drivers standing on the podium simultaneously?
Cough cough cough.
Basically, he thanked the team for giving them the opportunity to showcase their skills, and then showered Leclerc and Verstappen with compliments. That was pretty much all there was to the brief interview.

Leclerc could only manage a helpless wry smile, straighten his baseball cap, and take the microphone from Herbert.

There was a large screen by the roadside for spectators in the main stand to watch the game. Before Shu Long parked his car, Leclerc and Verstappen had already discussed the replay.

It just feels so outrageous!
Because the two were driving almost identical cars, Verstappen actually had a fairly clear understanding of where he was going to be slow.

After all, I hadn't made such an aggressive attempt all weekend. Although I pushed myself to the limit with that lap, upon reflection, there were still quite a few flaws.

Especially at the exit of Turn 27, the change in wind direction made him lack confidence in the car, and the bad memories of last year also made him a little more conservative.

This is even more of a headache for Leclerc.

The Red Bull and Ferrari cars this season have fundamentally different characteristics, so comparing them is not very meaningful.

Just as he himself stated in the interview, before Shu Long's lap time came out, he thought he had done quite well on his lap, and he hardly made any extra counter-attacks or corrections throughout the entire run.

His exact words were: "I thought that lap just now was a Ferrari."

Ens was 0.2 seconds faster in a single lap, and to some extent Leclerc does have the right to say that.

What's most frustrating is that Shulong's lap just now wasn't even perfect, because there was an unavoidable mistake at turn 13. If he could still take pole position like that, how fast is he in other places?
Verstappen's next comment was a direct blow to Leclerc's heart: "We made quite a few compromises for the long distance, and of course, Ferrari's speed is indeed amazing."

Dude, you could have chosen not to include that second half of your sentence!
If possible, it's best not to say the first half of the sentence!

There were a few other small activities after the interview. The downside of placing the pole position parking spot on the starting grid is that you have to take a long walk to find the FIA ​​backdrop for a photo.

There's also a little red tire for pole position in Shulong that can be claimed, which is the person in charge of presenting the award today.
Gordon Ramsay, the Hell's Kitchen chef, has so many jokes and memes online that just seeing his face, which looks like it's about to be contaminated with memes, makes me shudder.

"You're not going to put the tire on my head later, are you? 'I can turn on the gas stove faster than you! This tire is still raw!'"

"Haha~ Huh?! Is that how you perceive me? I think you can put this tire on my head."

Chef Ramsey was almost dumbfounded, unsure whether to hand over the small tire or not.

In the end, Shu Long signed his name on the tire and then took it, asking if he would like to try the legendary dishes from Hell's Kitchen sometime.

“Of course you can! In fact, you can anytime. I’m in charge of all the meals at the Paddock Club at this stop.”

"Really?! Then I... never mind. We drivers have to strictly control our weight and resist temptation!"

Halfway through his sentence, Shu Long remembered that there were cameras filming them. He shouted this out righteously and then pulled the head chef away furtively to the side.

"Don't tell anyone about my team, the nutritionist is going to give me trouble soon. I'll go over after I change my clothes."

Shit!

This is probably the thing that Shu Long is most dissatisfied with about being an F1 driver.

He's considered to have a rather unrestrained diet, but compared to Gan Mengning's usual diet, the F1 driver's specially customized menu by the nutritionist can be said to be precise down to the gram.

I often eat until I'm only half full, but I easily get cravings from everything I see. Sometimes I can even see others gagging while eating canned herring and blue cheese and my mouth waters.

So, strict dietary control is not just about controlling weight.

It is also necessary to ensure that it provides sufficient energy while being easy to digest, to ensure that the body's electrolyte balance is kept in optimal condition, and to be able to quickly repair minor damage to muscle fibers after each game, etc.

Last time, the team got sick from eating together to celebrate Lando's birthday and got a beating from the convoy. Out of consideration for his professional ethics, Shulong had to temporarily put aside his plan to sneak a meal.

However, the next race is the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks, so I should be able to relax a bit after tomorrow's race.

The post-race meeting for the main race was relatively simple, since Red Bull had the majority of the strategic initiative since they started from pole position.

The tire strategy can be basically determined to be yellow and white for stopping, but the characteristics of street racing mean that the probability of unexpected situations in the main race is not small. If a situation does occur, you can only adapt to the situation.

The biggest headache for Red Bull's entire strategy team right now is how to improve Verstappen's position without directly interfering with the fair competition between the two drivers.

Undercut?

It's easier said than done. The reduced difficulty of following other cars in ground effect racing means that it will be harder to find a window to enter the pits early. Even if a window is found, theoretically, Shulong will have priority to enter the pits.

There's no such thing as fair or unfair; after all, this is a privilege that they earned through the ranking competition, isn't it?

Unless Verstappen can quickly improve his ranking by getting off to a good start, whoever is in the lead will have strategic priority, which is a rule of the game that was agreed upon last year.

Shulong arrived at the track very early the next day.

Aside from some pre-race driver meetings and team preparations, as well as dealing with sponsor activities from Middle Eastern oil tycoons, the main problem is that I can't sleep.

These past few days, no one in the paddock has been able to sleep soundly. Everyone is worried that they might still be dreaming of a missile falling from the sky. The sense of security is not as strong as when they are sitting in a race car.

Shu Long's last night was roughly like this: He put down his phone early to prepare for sleep—but couldn't sleep, so he picked it up and scrolled through some videos—"No, I really have to sleep!" and then collapsed on the spot—but still couldn't sleep, so he decided to do some ASMR to help him fall asleep.

I tossed and turned until almost 3 a.m., but still woke up right on time at 7 a.m. this morning staring at the ceiling.

Damn, the match is at night! Why get up so early?

But he just couldn't fall asleep. Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to come to the paddock to find something to do and then snuggle into his race car for a nap when he was sleepy enough. While there was still some free time on the track, Shu Long took his bicycle out of the rest area, ready to ride it for a couple of laps.

This is a hobby he picked up last year.

He didn't actually like riding a bike before. He used to ride it a lot when he was a kid because he was lighter. Now that he's taller and heavier, he always feels like it hurts his testicles and his butt hurts.

But ever since he rode a lap around Monza with Verstappen last year to coincide with a Red Bull shoot, he has suddenly come to love the feeling of observing and experiencing the racetrack from a different perspective and in a different way. Riding around such an empty track can even improve one's mood.

Moreover, cycling itself makes you quite sensitive to the grip; every step you take is a struggle against your own weight and the grip of the tires.

Once your buttocks get used to the seat and the soreness is gone, the Shulong, with its "friction control," allows you to rediscover the unique joy of childhood while riding.

The car in Monza last year was borrowed from Red Bull on a temporary basis, and then Shulong went and specially made a Stella.

Except for the crucial period of last year's championship race, Verstappen doesn't really like walking the track, which he sees as a complete waste of time.

Shu Long also finds driving on the track boring, but he doesn't usually like socializing. Driving on the track allows him to have a peaceful break to communicate and work well with his team, which is why he has always insisted on this unwritten tradition.

Now that everyone is familiar with each other, unless absolutely necessary, he usually rides a few laps on Thursdays instead of the previous track days.

Shu Long wasn't the only one who arrived early. He ran into Bottas as he started his second lap, and the two of them agreed to go for another lap together.

This is the real veteran cycling enthusiast.

It's kind of funny, but Shu Long had previously discussed with him the opportunity to get into cycling. Bottas said that the reason he liked cycling so much was because he liked the feeling of being in complete control of the vehicle, without any sense of being unable to control himself.

Look at just how heinous Mercedes really is, and how they've driven us to this state.
Since they were already teaming up, just riding bikes wouldn't be very interesting, so the two chatted about Zhou Guanyu's adaptation and integration into the team, and also complained about the terrible event organizers.

Nothing brings people closer together faster than secretly complaining about the boss together.

As the conversation flowed more freely, Bottas secretly rejoiced at how wise his decision to leave Mercedes had been.

Although everyone knows that with Russell on the team, Bottas will at most sign another year at Mercedes, Shu Long naturally just goes along with what Russell said and enjoys it.

However, Bottas's statement is indeed correct.

Now, Arro's competitiveness is not necessarily much worse than Mercedes'. Staying there would not only mean being tormented by garbage trucks, but also being confined by the team's perpetually inferior status.

Being able to be the big brother is just so awesome! Occasionally, when I'm in a good mood, I can even enjoy the fun of raising my little brothers.

Because there was another competition later, in order not to affect their performance, neither of them rode too fast. They took a short ride and left when it was almost time.

As soon as Shu Long stepped off the bicycle, Marco grabbed him.

"PhD?"

"You've come at the right time. Would you be interested in coming with me to check out F2?"

"I, uh, okay."

There aren't any F2 drivers I want to pay attention to right now, so what's so interesting about driving myself?

Anyway, none of them are as fast as me.

However, the old man's words, though seemingly an inquiry, were essentially a notification, most likely an excuse to have something to talk about.

Indeed, since joining Red Bull, Shu Long and Dr. Marco have been communicating much less frequently than before.

Firstly, there really wasn't that much to talk about.

Secondly, both Shulong and Verstappen are treasures that the old man personally unearthed, so favoring one side over the other would create an awkward situation.

Yesterday, during the team's pole position celebration, the old man was squeezed at the back and didn't get a turn. Today, probably wanting to mend their relationship, they actually started watching F2.
no way.

The child's wings have now hardened. Shu Long handles everything very well, from his racing mentality and driving skills to his relationships with teammates. Marko can only find some common ground with him in F2.

Although Shu Long's first two years in F1 were somewhat unpleasant, his F2 experience was mostly pleasant. Looking at the new generation of young players on the track now, it's quite amusing to reminisce about those sweet memories.

Yes, many of these are a new generation of "youngsters" who are even older than Shulong is now.
What do you think of them?

Shu Long pursed his lips and made a face, without giving a direct evaluation, but his meaning was already quite clear.

In fact, Marko felt the same way. After discovering two gems, Max and Shulong, all other so-called young and talented drivers seemed rather uninteresting.

No one knows the situation within Red Bull better than Marco himself, and he understands Shulong's personality very well after raising him for so many years.

If something like what happened a few years ago were to happen again, I'm afraid no one would be able to keep Shulong and make him choose to leave.

Verstappen has extended his contract until 2028, so the core players are at least temporarily secure. But who can take over Shulong's current position?
Gasly? Or Alben?
not enough!

Tsunoda?

It feels like his ceiling is already visible at a glance. His current performance is far from as impressive as Gasly and Alben were back then, and he can't compare to Shulong at all.

Lawson, the only one with any hope, was completely dominated in the new season. Then, right under the noses of Shu Long and Marco, he had to retire from the race due to a tire change error, which made the old man so worried that he almost forgot how to sigh.

On the contrary, Duhan, who joined the Alpine youth training system this year, has performed quite well. Perhaps it's because he no longer faces the suffocating pressure from above, but he managed to take a pole position from a group of top competitors in last week's opening race.

There's really no one to carry on the legacy.
Shu Long shouldn't make any rash comments on Red Bull's youth training philosophy. Although the process was a bit grueling, you can't deny that Coach Ma's eye for talent is truly sharp, and Red Bull's success rate is genuinely high.

Looking at the current lap times, Shu Long noticed a name that had unexpectedly retired due to a gearbox malfunction. The first two timed periods he was left on the track were actually quite impressive.

"Poshel seems pretty good? I've never heard of that name before."

"It's from 03, so it's just average. It's occasionally eye-catching, but it's far from enough!"

"So you don't even approve of Dr. Drugovich?"

Drugovic is currently ranked second in the field and is about the same age as Shu Long. He was overshadowed by Zhou Guanyu for a whole year when they were teammates last year, so he is obviously not someone that Marco can be compatible with.

Perhaps considering the relationship between Shu Long and Zhou Guanyu, Marco unusually held back his words, but he couldn't hide the look of disgust on his face.

Shu Long had no choice but to shift his gaze upwards to the name of the current leader.

"What about Pia? He was already a championship contender in his first year last year. His potential is high and his consistency is good, but Alpine might not let him go, right?"

Marco finally gave some positive feedback, but it was just a couple of intriguing clicks of his tongue.

Marco had naturally followed Piastelli's growth trajectory. His performance in F4 was only mediocre, but he suddenly became a sensation in F3, completing the game in one year and almost achieving two consecutive leaps like a dragon being bound together.

Of course, Marco knew a little about the reasons behind it all, such as the fact that someone named Shu, who was standing next to him, had been secretly helping Zhou Guanyu gain an unfair advantage off the field.

He was already very good, but Piastrelli, who was born in 01, was only one year younger than Shulong, and in Marco's opinion, he was still far from amazing.

Moreover, she is Alpine's top star, and the effort required to win her over is disproportionate to the benefits. So, I hadn't really considered it before.

But a dragon-slaying event like this only happens once every few years, and there doesn't seem to be a better option right now.
Marco seemed to have finally remembered how to sigh, but he was still somewhat unwilling.

"What about the others? Aren't there any teams that might be limited by the team, but still have untapped potential?"

This time it was Shu Long's turn to sneer.

The FIA's merging of GP2 and F2 racing series may seem to elevate the racing level and intensify competition, but in reality, it has squeezed the living space of many talented but unresourced young drivers.

To put it bluntly, there are a lot of slackers in F2 now. A few years ago, they would have been far superior to Shu Long, and even Gasly, the last GP2 world champion, would have crushed them.

Marco doesn't even think much of Gasly now, so how could he possibly think much of these people?
"Doctor, while I am very grateful to Red Bull's youth training system for giving me so many opportunities, there are reasons why young and talented drivers are unwilling to come now."

"If you've been following the youth training situation, you might have noticed that I've become much more lenient in recent years."

Marco's brow twitched involuntarily as he said this.

We can't be too harsh. If we keep using the old standards, Red Bull's youth training system won't just be lacking successors, it will be completely devoid of talent!
Piastri?

"Okay, you go back and prepare for the competition. I'll consider it."

As a relatively mature and ready-to-fight player, Piastrie is indeed a good choice. In fact, Red Bull seems unable to wait to slowly cultivate another genius like Shulong from scratch.

Regardless of whether Alpine is willing to let go, Red Bull has always had an advantage that no other system has: they have a total of 4 promotion opportunities.

O'Con has a long-term contract. Are you really going to give up Alonso's golden brand?

(End of this chapter)