F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 261 emphasizes obedience.

People at the level of the hunting grounds will always have their own agenda in whatever they do.

Even if they don't actually have it, as an opponent you should act as if they do, even if their behavior seems very abnormal to you.

Who would have thought that Toto would also show such a tantrum before this?
Horner hadn't expected that the other party, who he thought would always act like a righteous gentleman, might have some deeper purpose in personally stirring up trouble this time.

On the way back to the team's pit garage, Horner kept his brow furrowed. He could deal with a tantrum by throwing a tantrum in a face-to-face discussion like before, but the little schemes and underhanded tactics in everyone's hearts off the track are the most difficult things to guard against.

Is it targeting cars?

Or is it targeting individuals?
Hamilton's recent performance has truly made everyone realize that he is getting old. Russell has talent but no dominance; he can withstand the team's slump but cannot build a new dynasty.

So why did I specifically bring out the dragon's head earlier?
Is it because you think the current leader in the standings has more weight in his opinion on racing, or do you simply want that person?
Shu Long's lead in the annual individual points standings is getting bigger and bigger, and he is becoming more and more comfortable in the Red Bull system. Is this because they are afraid that Shu Long will become too comfortable and they will not be able to poach him?

It's unclear whether it's Horner or not. There haven't been any recent reports of Shulong having any contact with Toto. That guy is too busy spending time with his girlfriend to seem like he has any time for such things.

As Alonso's agent, he can also be cleared of suspicion.

Alonso has been so busy lately that he can barely keep up with his own affairs. Almost all of his movements are predictable. Logically speaking, no one would seek other options for themselves when they have a great advantage, right?
But based on Horner's understanding of Toto, that old fox, all those speculations were not unfounded. At least judging from the other party's secret actions over the past 19 years, this old guy definitely had those kinds of intentions towards Shulong!
Shu Long's continued reluctance to renew his long-term contract with the team for the next phase is ultimately a potential problem, and Horner feels it's necessary to keep a close eye on Toto's movements during this period.
These are all things for later.

At least for now, Toto's most obvious threat is that he wants all the teams to raise the floor height together with them. Whatever their deeper intentions may be, we absolutely cannot let them have their way!

Everyone in the paddock could see that Mercedes' unique zero-sidebox car this year had only one weakness: its ability to handle airflow. Under the right conditions, this W13 could occasionally unleash some astonishing speeds.

Mercedes has dominated for far too many years. Even if they don't want to see Red Bull become the sole dominant force, they also don't want to see Mercedes rise to prominence again.

Only Noto, the guy who's supposed to be technically savvy, is actually just blindly discussing technical stuff. How can someone who can't even grasp these basics be a team leader? No wonder Ferrari hasn't taken off all these years!
Since the main filming crew on set was Netflix's DTS production team, they seemed to intend to use this scene as the bombshell plot for the fifth season of "Drive to Survive" next year. Therefore, they only released a few pieces of information to whet the audience's appetite, while keeping the key details under tighter control than anyone else.

But secrets are meant to be revealed. A true secret should be one that no one, except the person involved, should know exists in the world.

The FIA ​​and the team leaders had not signed any confidentiality agreement with the DTS. After the meeting, each of them wanted to seize the high ground in public opinion. Although none of them mentioned the specific details of the meeting, they all expressed their opinions on the final discussion results.

Basically, the FIA ​​claimed they planned to release new technical regulations to curb dolphin jumping; Binotto insisted that the FIA's current intervention methods did not conform to proper procedures and hoped to discuss a more reasonable solution; Toto repeatedly emphasized that some people in the paddock did not take the drivers' lives and health seriously.

Horner didn't want to comment further, only saying that there was a giant baby in the paddock who wanted to cry in a way that everyone could hear.

The truth will eventually come out, and Shu Long will eventually realize the turbulent currents surrounding him in the paddock. Horner felt that rather than letting him overthink things, it would be better to be frank in advance and discuss how to deal with the media's questions.

So, before the third training session started, Horner went to find Shu Long alone and gave him a heads-up.

Shu Long was taken aback by such a serious attitude. It turned out that it was such a small matter, and his team leader should relax a little. He knew what to do.

Shu Long didn't bother to think about how Toto brought himself up. Toto was one of the team leaders Shu Long knew well in the paddock. He had even been indebted to Toto when they were at Little Red Bull. It wasn't surprising that Toto was the first person Shu Long thought of and casually picked up as a typical example.

Moreover, although Azerbaijan won the match in the end, it is indeed true that they almost lost the game.

The engine power was limited again, and the TR broke down while I was driving it. Any normal person would be full of complaints and want to vent after driving it for a while, right?
However, Shu Long was still clear about what he should and shouldn't say when facing the media. Even if he didn't care about Red Bull's public image, he should at least care about the feelings of his crew members who had worked hard for him all weekend.

It might be fine to vent to these guys in private, but complaining about other people's work as garbage in front of the media changes the nature of the issue.

Moreover, what Horner said would also benefit him. If Toto's plan succeeds, then Red Bull's current performance advantages may all disappear.

Therefore, in any public statements you make, always remember not to say that someone else's car is bad, and never say that your own car is bad, but at the same time, never say that your own car is good.

The former is likely to be exploited by adversaries and may become a key factor in the FIA's decision to implement new technology directives.

The latter is more likely to be attacked from a moral high ground by opponents, who say that he is only concerned with consolidating his own advantage in the championship race and ignoring the lives and health of other drivers on the track.

Tsk~
The filthy adult world!
The third practice session for Shulong didn't go particularly smoothly. During the qualifying simulation, he couldn't avoid a groundhog and smashed it. After checking the car's condition back in the pits, he didn't want to waste the new tires, so he simply tested the red tires on a long race run and only managed to qualify for P6.

However, Shulong firmly held P1 in the first two practice sessions. Even if such a fast car is not easy to drive, it is hard to call it "garbage" in all honesty.

Especially when compared to Ferrari next door.
Last week, Leclerc encountered a similar situation to Shulong, both of which had problems after a completely new power unit was installed.

The difference is that because an engine had just blown up in Spain, Leclerc was actually using the fourth new power unit this week. Regardless of the final qualifying result, he would start from the back of the pack, almost completely losing his ability to pose a direct threat to Red Bull.

This makes Ferrari seem even more of a joke, and to be honest, Shu Long feels a bit sorry for Leclerc.

So, during the post-practice interview, when a reporter provocatively asked Shu Long what his opinion was on Red Bull's race cars, he glanced at the red-clad victim passing by behind him, and, always mindful of his principle of not saying anything bad about the cars, simply gave a very Kimi-esque answer:

"It drives like a car."

But for some reason, Leclerc did not feel relieved by this; instead, he felt as if he had been hit twice as hard.

To be fair, this year's Ferrari is indeed quite easy to drive, at least most of the time much easier than Red Bull's car. It's just that the problem of it always failing at crucial moments is really hard to guard against.

In fact, for both Ferrari and Red Bull, the god of misfortune seemed to have been very fair to all the number one drivers in the black T-tank, as Verstappen and Leclerc both retired from the race twice due to car malfunctions.

If each team's "number 2 driver" were all like Sainz, it would be fine. However, Red Bull's driver in the yellow T race car is Shu Long, which makes Ferrari look like the ultimate clown.

Let alone competing with Shu Long for the annual championship, Leclerc is even very likely to be overtaken by Verstappen in points after this match.

Ferrari is now hoping that the rain predicted in the weather forecast will come true. If the precipitation adds new variables to the track, then this week's race might not be so hopeless.

The weather forecast a few days ago said that the entire race week would be dominated by rain, but now three practice sessions have passed and it feels like there's less residual liquid on the track than the beads of sweat on Noto's forehead!
Perhaps to make things less awkward for the teacher, it actually rained before the afternoon's ranking competition.

Whether it rains or not is basically irrelevant to Leclerc; his only goal in qualifying is to beat Kakuta.

Kakuda also switched to an extra power unit for this race. It seems that the crown prince of Honda did not receive the favor of his own engine, and became the first driver among the four cars in the Honda camp to be penalized and retired due to the engine.

Both Toro Rosso cars were eliminated in Q1. Leclerc didn't waste tires after entering Q2; he jumped out of the car and simply retired early, so he could secure a P19 starting position the next day.

There's not much else to say.

Because of the rain, there were no more Canadian "locals" running around on the track. The strategy for qualifying in the rain is mostly to stay on the track and keep running, hoping to encounter better track conditions every lap and achieve a huge jump in position.

For example, Zhou Guanyu, following his performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, relied on his consistent performance in the rain on the wet track to defeat his teammate Bottas in qualifying for the second consecutive race, reaching Q3 for the first time in his career, with a lead of nearly 0.7 seconds. Another example is Hamilton, who has been tormented by dolphin jumps this season.

The car's performance was significantly limited in the rain, which effectively alleviated Mercedes' bouncing problem at its source. Meanwhile, Victor Hamilton, with his seven championship wins and virtually flawless technical skills, demonstrated to his teammate with a massive 0.666-second lead, proving to the paddock that experience truly matters.

Another example is the legendary driver, Toni, who was once hailed as having the highest pure driving talent in the paddock. With his superb ability to drive in the rain, he secured P3 on the starting grid for the second day's race, outpacing Sainz by 0.152 seconds.

The key point is not that there are differences between the "second driver".

The reason why Alonso can only be considered as having the highest talent "in the past" is because several new generation monsters have unknowingly emerged in the paddock.

Verstappen was virtually unstoppable in the rain. Despite the slippery track conditions that narrowed the gap between cars, he still managed to set a perfect lap 0.645 seconds faster than the car behind him.

What about the dragon knot?

This brings us to why Verstappen is described as "almost" unstoppable.
cough!
Shulong first tested the grip on the red tires in Q3, which tricked Russell off the track, causing him to eat grass and briefly lose the flag.

He took advantage of the break in the race to pit and switch back to his semi-wet tires. After two warm-up laps, he waited for a clear window and then made his first push to a time of 1:21.169, securing pole position with a 0.13-second advantage.

He kept complaining that the rain made the races troublesome, but in reality, he was the one who was most comfortable on the wet track.

As it turned out, the weather this week seemed to be unusually cooperative. Leclerc wanted a rainy match to improve his position, and sure enough, a rainy match came. Just as Shu Long was complaining to reporters about the extra variables brought by the rainy match, the rain outside stopped.

There was no sign of rain even the next day; the sky was so clear it seemed to be defying the Dragon King.

It's a bit too early to say. Compared to matches that are so hot they make you shiver, Shulong actually prefers cool, rainy matches more.

How wonderful it would be to fight in the rain.

Putting aside whether you're good at it or not, the main thing is that the constant battle with grip is exciting, allowing Shulong to feel more interaction with the tires and the track, so that even without a close race, it's not too boring.

So you just don't like playing on sunny days?

Unexpectedly, the car under Shulong's rear end was also a considerate and obedient one. Since the boss didn't like sunbathing, he wouldn't let him suffer. The car got stuck in 5th gear and kept whirring on the 8th lap of the race. He had no choice but to stop in the open space after Turn 8 and retire from the race.

Has your husband ever told you that he is actually a super lazy person and hates walking, even when it's not for exercise?

After nine nerve-wracking driving experiences, Shu Long finally retired from the Villeneuve circuit, the 40th anniversary of the death of legendary Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, for the first time in his entire 2022 season.

Other malfunctions can be somewhat resolved by figuring out solutions, but the stuck block is truly unsolvable.

At first, everything was fine, and the lead over his teammates was stable at 1.4 seconds. Given the extremely difficult overtaking conditions of the Canadian Grand Prix, this championship should have been a sure thing. Without any warning, I don't know why it suddenly turned out like this.

"A beat-up car!"

Um.
Others may not yet know what kind of expression to wear on their faces.

But when Toto heard Shulong's complaint in his headphones, even though he was still suffering from facial paralysis due to the accident at the Nürburgring years ago, the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips on one side added a touch of sarcasm to his expression.

Didn't Horner insist that Shu Long had no objection to Red Bull Racing?

Now everyone has heard it?

Of course, since Shu Long's complaints were unrelated to the dolphin jump, this statement cannot be considered evidence that Toto believed the dolphin jump was a problem that all riders in the paddock urgently needed to solve. However, it did not prevent Toto from feeling a sense of satisfaction at retaliating against Horner.

The director, knowing exactly how to create a stir, split the broadcast in two: on one side, Horner sat silently in front of the Pit Wall with his back to the camera, chin in hand; on the other, Toto's eyebrows started dancing.
What are you laughing at?!
The timing of the Canadian Grand Prix was already unfriendly to Chinese fans. They risked being late for work the next day by staying up all night, only to see their own drivers retire. You can imagine how frustrating that would be.

However, after the commentators explained the recent news from the paddock, Shulong's withdrawal from the competition somehow felt a bit comical.

There's no way around it; the points advantage is too great, which has indeed laid a very solid foundation for domestic car enthusiasts to maintain a good mindset.

The broadcasters, not wanting to miss out on the excitement, added a special frame for Shulong in the upper right corner of the match screen, broadcasting live the process of Shulong traversing mountains and valleys to return to the P room.

The Villeneuve circuit roundabout is closed off, with no direct path to the pit lanes. To get back, you have to slowly circle around the outside of the track.

Unfortunately, the car broke down at Turn 8, which is exactly the diagonal point on the track from the pit lane.

The outer side of Turn 8 is surrounded by dense vegetation resembling a primeval forest. The audience watched as someone, wearing a helmet in a very "Vettel" style on his head, trekked along the narrow path outside the guardrail for almost 10 minutes before finally finding a small motorcycle that could take the dragon back.

There's no need to wait for the game to end.

Shu Long had barely arrived at his own P-room when some busybodies online cut out footage of his arduous journey and thoughtfully added the familiar background music that Soul Game fans love to hear about streamers suffering.
"Three hundred and sixty-five li, from youth to old age."

no problem, no problem.

Whether Shu Long leaves the field or not doesn't really make a big difference, since as long as he's leading the race, he'll likely not get much screen time or presence throughout the entire event.

And even if Shu Long withdraws from the race, isn't there another Chinese driver on the field who can support him?
Previously, everyone was focused on the competitive landscape of the top contenders. Now that Shulong has stepped down and left the stage to others, many new fans seem to have realized that the midfield group can also be fiercely competitive!
Alonso had secured such a front-row starting position after a long absence, and with Shu Long's retirement moving him up to second place, it seemed like a rare and excellent opportunity to challenge for a podium finish.

As a result, Alonso encountered an engine leak problem in the middle of the race, which greatly limited his power output. In the end, he was only able to avoid being overtaken by Bottas thanks to his teammate Ocon's help in dragging the ball out of the water.

They managed to prevent it.

The exasperated old man received a 5-second penalty after the race for his multiple illegal lane changes and defensive maneuvers on the track, which ironically moved Zhou Guanyu, who was originally scheduled to finish in P9, to P8.
Zhou Guanyu's performance throughout the race was commendable. He was just unlucky because his first pit stop coincided with the safety car incident caused by Mike's retirement due to a malfunction at the same spot as Shu Long. However, his last-minute winner against the four-time champion, Uncle Wai Tou, was indeed very impressive.

The main focus of the film is on Leclerc.

The white-yellow stop tactic proved incredibly effective in the final stages, rapidly improving their position by triggering a large number of pit stops due to Kakuta's crash.

Finally, thanks to the performance advantage of the yellow tires, he fought his way through the competition, starting from P19 and returning from P5, earning 10 points. However, this did not change the fact that he was overtaken by Verstappen in the points standings. In the end, he barely managed to get a consolation prize as the best driver.

This is also a rather subtle signal for Shu Long, meaning that his most direct competitor may officially become his teammate after this match.

(End of this chapter)