F1: In Ferrari, Schumacher at the start.

2:00 AM, Jeddah Hilton Hotel.

The banquet hall, booked by Ferrari, was still filled with deafening music and cheers as champagne bottles were opened.

Using exhaustion as an excuse, Lin Feng left the task of dealing with sponsors and executives to Vasser and slipped out alone through the employee entrance.

He is indeed very tired, but he is more anxious.

He needed to return to his room immediately to examine the huge amount of points and mission rewards that the system had just distributed.

The lights in the hotel lobby were dimmed, and several security personnel were smoking outside the main entrance.

Lin Feng pressed the elevator up button and watched the floor indicator lights descend one by one.

"A cup of black coffee, no sugar, right?"

A voice with a London accent came from the rest area at the back.

Lin Feng was startled and turned around alertly.

A person was sitting on a leather sofa in the rest area behind him.

He was wearing a sharp suit, black-rimmed glasses, and his hair was neatly combed. On the glass coffee table in front of him were two cups of steaming coffee.

It was James Walls, the team principal of the Williams team.

"Mr. Walls?" Lin Feng was somewhat surprised.

Just hours earlier, the team's number two driver, Logan Sargent, had wrecked his car. As the team principal, he should be in the pit lane frantically calculating the damage, not sitting in the lobby of his rivals' hotel drinking coffee.

"Have a seat, Lin." James gestured to the empty seat opposite him. "The elevator won't be ready for a while. Besides, there are some things we can't say in the paddock."

Lin Feng walked over, not touching the coffee on the table, but sitting directly on the sofa: "If you're here to congratulate me on winning the championship, a text message would have sufficed. Williams suffered a significant loss tonight; I thought you were still in a technical meeting."

"The loss is huge." James made no attempt to hide his discomfort, wearily adjusting his glasses. "Logan's mistake directly destroyed our only spare chassis. This isn't just a hardware loss of a few million dollars; under the current budget cap rules, it means Williams' aerodynamic upgrade plan for the second half of the season must be completely postponed. Now we're even having trouble assembling two cars for the next game in Melbourne."

"It was indeed a terrible weekend," Lin Feng said politely, "but that doesn't seem to have anything to do with Ferrari, or with me directly."

"No, it's directly related to you." James leaned forward, crossed his hands on his knees, and got straight to the point. "Lin, you had a near-perfect race today. Your tire management, your line when defending Verstappen at the first corner, and even your decisiveness in defying Ferrari's strategy team's instructions to pit in the final stages of the race—I saw it all. You're a rare talent."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"But even geniuses need a seat in F1." James stared intently into Lin Feng's eyes. "Tell me, do you think you have a future at Ferrari?"

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes, not responding immediately.

James leaned back on the sofa, his tone steady yet sharp: "Fred definitely painted a very rosy picture for you tonight. He'll tell you you're the future of Ferrari, he'll give you a raise, more simulator time, and even promise to put you in their future plans, to let you race the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But it's all just stalling tactics."

"Lin, we're all in the same industry, so let's speak frankly. Carlos's appendectomy was a success; he'll miss at most two races, and by the Japanese Grand Prix, or even the next one, he'll be back in the cockpit. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has a long-term contract with Ferrari; he's Maranello's handpicked core player."

James paused for a moment, then dropped a bombshell: "What's more, Lewis Hamilton is going to Ferrari next year. John Elkann personally negotiated the contract. There's no place for you at Ferrari. Even if you win the championship today, you'll still be a substitute tomorrow. You'll spend at least two years grinding stats in the dark simulator, occasionally getting 60 minutes of driving time on a Friday practice session at some race. And then what? Your driving instincts will rust, and the paddock will slowly forget your victory today."

Lin Feng frowned slightly.

James's words were harsh, but they hit the nail on the head.

This was precisely Lin Feng's most hidden worry after winning the championship.

He possesses a system, and its upgrades, skill unlocks, and point accumulation all depend on participating in F1 races and completing tasks. If he remains a substitute at Ferrari, not racing a single race for months at a time, the system will become completely useless.

So he couldn't wait; he had to stay on the track.

"So, what's Williams' plan?" Lin Feng looked up, staring directly at Walls. "You want me to drive that car that can't even get into Q2 in qualifying?"

"Yes," James admitted without hesitation. "I'm firing Logan Sargent. Neither I nor the team can tolerate his endless mistakes and crashes. I need a driver who can consistently bring the car back and score points in chaotic situations. Alexander is an excellent driver, but I need both cars to score points so we can beat Haas and Sauber in the constructors' championship."

James took out a folded document and pushed it in front of Lin Feng.

"This is a formal driver contract. As soon as you agree, I will contact your agent immediately to buy out your current short-term contract with Ferrari. You will start the next Australian Grand Prix wearing Williams' racing suit. Not only that, I guarantee you the same treatment as the team's number one driver, and you will have priority in choosing all upgrade kits."

Lin Feng looked at the documents on the table, and his heart involuntarily quickened.

A formal F1 driver contract.

This is something countless racing drivers around the world dream of. Once he signs the papers, he can completely shed his role as a substitute driver and become the second official Chinese F1 driver in the paddock.

But he was also aware of Williams' current predicament.

"The FW46 has good top speed on the straights, but it lacks downforce significantly, especially in slow corners. The understeer problem is fatal." Lin Feng tapped his fingers lightly on the table. With his expertise in chassis tuning provided by the system, he pointed out the Williams' fatal flaw. "Switching from a Ferrari that can compete for the championship to a Williams that struggles at the back of the pack, people will think I'm crazy. Moreover, this car makes it difficult to showcase the driver's true abilities."

"That's what distinguishes an average driver from a genius," James said sternly. "Lin, George Russell spent three years at Williams, but he still proved himself and eventually went to Mercedes. Fernando Alonso also started from a bottom-ranked team like Minardi. If you win a championship today driving a Ferrari, people will say it's because the Ferrari is good. But if you can drive a Williams into the points, or even stand on the podium, that's a real championship."

"More importantly, we have the Mercedes engine, we have new capital injection. I'm restructuring the entire team's technical architecture. Give me some time, and this car will get faster." James looked directly at Lin Feng. "Would you rather be a glamorous spectator at Ferrari, or a true fighter behind the wheel at Williams? The choice is yours."

The lobby was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of staff moving around in the distance.

Lin Feng remained silent for a long time.

Reason told him that James's analysis was absolutely correct.

Moreover, with the support of the system, he was confident that he could tune this Williams race car, which was suffering from downforce issues, to a whole new level.

As long as he's still on the track, he can earn points and keep getting stronger.

"I will seriously consider it, Mr. Worth." Lin Feng neither agreed nor refused on the spot. He pushed the paper back. "But I still have a contract with Ferrari. Sainz hasn't confirmed when he will return, and I will remain a Ferrari driver for the foreseeable future. I hope this matter will remain completely confidential until we officially make contact."

"Of course, I understand." James stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "My phone is on 24/7. You can take this offer to Vassell and see what he can give you. But I trust you'll make the smart choice."

James took a business card out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and turned to walk towards the door.

Lin Feng watched James's figure disappear through the revolving door, then reached out and picked up the business card on the table.

Just as he picked up the business card, a faint white light flashed outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window on one side of the hotel lobby.

As a professional race car driver, Lin Feng reacted extremely quickly, turning his head sharply to look at the palm tree shadows outside the glass window.

Although it was dark, he still managed to capture a lens reflection as the camera quickly retreated behind a tree.

"Paparazzi..."

Lin Feng frowned.

At a race of Jeddah's caliber, the paddock is teeming with media reporters and freelance writers. James, openly dressed in his team uniform, sat in the lobby chatting with him for over ten minutes; clearly, someone had taken photos of them.

However, Lin Feng did not chase after him.

Taking photos is nothing new in the F1 paddock. It's common for teams to have private contact with drivers, which is also a way to increase their own value.

If these photos make headlines in the racing media tomorrow morning, the person most anxious will definitely not be him, but Vassell, who is currently having a victory celebration upstairs.

"Perfect, saves me the trouble of testing Ferrari's limits myself."

Lin Feng casually stuffed James's business card into his pocket, got up, and headed for the elevator.

The system's voice sounded in my mind at just the right moment.

[Host detected facing a critical career decision; long-term side quest initiated: The Road to the Paddock.]

Option A: Stay with Ferrari. Mission Requirements: Help Ferrari secure first place in the constructors' championship before Sainz returns. Reward: Ferrari Mystery Legend passive skill.

Option B: Switch to Williams. Mission Requirements: Accumulate 100 points while driving a Williams car during the remaining season. Rewards: Mercedes Power Unit In-Depth Analysis Blueprints (usable for car development), and a large amount of system points.

The host does not need to make a choice immediately; the system will automatically determine the route based on the contracts subsequently signed by the host.

"100 points?" Lin Feng stepped into the elevator, pressed the floor button, and watched the elevator doors slowly close. "Getting 100 points while driving a Williams car, system, you really think highly of me."

However, that's something to consider later.