F1: In Ferrari, Schumacher at the start.

March 24, 2024, Sunday, the main day of the Australian Grand Prix.

The sky above the Albert Park circuit was cloudless, and the Southern Hemisphere sun relentlessly baked the road surface.

Today saw the highest number of visitors of the entire weekend, with more than 130,000 fans from all over the world flooding into the paddock. The stands were packed, filled with enthusiastic faces waving flags of their respective teams and wearing commemorative T-shirts for their home teams.

However, the surrounding noise seemed irrelevant to the Williams team, which was in a slump.

Because the race car was found to be using non-standard software during qualifying, Lin Feng and Albon's qualifying results were both cancelled, and they could only start the race from the pit lane.

At 10:00 a.m., the pre-match press conference was held as scheduled in the media center.

As the current focus of attention and the unluckiest figures in the paddock, Lin Feng and Alben, these two unfortunate brothers, were naturally placed in the center position, facing a barrage of questions from dozens of media outlets from various countries.

"Alex, how does your team view the FIA's penalty decision? How will starting from the pit lane affect your strategy?"

A Sky Sports reporter was the first to ask a question.

Albon picked up the microphone, a wry smile on his face: "This situation is certainly very frustrating. We showed great competitiveness in yesterday's qualifying, but rules are rules. We accept the FIA's decision and will focus on today's race. Starting from the pit lane means we'll face more turbulence, but long-run testing shows our car still has the potential to score points under these conditions..."

As expected of a seasoned veteran of the hunting grounds, his answer was flawless.

While Alben was speaking eloquently to the media, Lin Feng, sitting next to him, was behaving in a very strange manner.

Lin Feng stood with his hands crossed on his lap, leaning slightly forward. His eyes were fixed on the bald head of a reporter in front of him, his gaze empty and unfocused, a faint, vacant smile playing on his lips.

He looks exactly like someone with intellectual disability or cerebral palsy, he's practically drooling.

The flashbulbs of the cameras were flashing wildly across her face, but Lin Feng didn't even blink.

The reporters below exchanged bewildered glances, their minds filled with unease.

"My God, has this poor Chinese rookie been driven insane by the FIA's punishment?"

"The psychological impact of dropping from fifth to last place is too great; it's as if he's lost his soul."

"Quick, take a picture! This is definitely the most sought-after headline image of the day—'The Heartbroken Paddock Genius'!"

However, the reality was that Lin Feng wasn't listening to the press conference at all.

His consciousness was currently immersed in the system interface.

During this boring press conference, Lin Feng discovered that he had accumulated 800 fragmented system points by completing some small tasks.

Given the hellish difficulty of overtaking from the pit lane in the main race, he decided to try his luck in the system's [Random Roulette] to see if he could draw some useful temporary buff cards or skills.

"System, how many points does one single draw cost?" Lin Feng asked in his mind.

[Ding! A single draw from the random roulette wheel costs 200 points.]

"Alright, give me a four-draw. I'll go all in on all 800 points!" Lin Feng declared with boundless confidence.

The enormous golden roulette wheel began to spin wildly.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: 'Thank you for participating'!]

Lin Feng's blank smile froze for a second.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: One box of sugar-free mints specially supplied by the fleet (already stored in system space)!]

Lin Feng's eye began to twitch slightly.

Is this broken system causing problems with his diet?

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: 'Thank you for participating'!]

Lin Feng's breathing became heavy. His 800 points were about to go down the drain—points he had painstakingly accumulated!

"This is the last round, give me gold!" Lin Feng roared in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a consumable item: 'Basic Dynamic Vision Enhancement Potion' x1! (Note: After consumption, the host's dynamic detection ability will be increased by 15% for the next two hours, which is particularly effective when overtaking at high speeds and avoiding danger.)]

"call……"

Seeing that the last shot finally produced something useful, Lin Feng breathed a long sigh of relief, and his tense nerves relaxed.

As his consciousness returned to reality, he took a deep breath, then leaned heavily against the back of his chair, rolling his eyes dramatically.

This series of incredibly varied facial expressions—from a blank, smiling stare at the bald man, to twitching at the corner of his eye, and then to a long sigh and rolling his eyes—was captured in high definition by dozens of cameras on site.

Alben, who was sitting next to Lin Feng, had just finished answering a question. He turned around, saw Lin Feng's expression, and subtly kicked him, whispering, "Lin! Wake up! Look at the camera!"

Lin Feng snapped back to his senses, coughed lightly, and quickly adjusted his expression, adopting a serious and solemn poker face, as if the person who had just been possessed by that meme was not him at all.

"Uh... next question." The media officer on site was also a little confused by Lin Feng, and pointed to a reporter in the back row.

"Lin, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans about starting from the pit lane this afternoon?" the reporter asked cautiously, afraid of upsetting the young man who seemed to be in an unstable mental state.

Lin Feng picked up the microphone: "I don't have much to say. The pit lane is just the starting point, the finish line is the end. I can't wait to see what the rear wings of those race cars look like."

As soon as these words were spoken, the reporters in the audience excitedly started taking notes.

This is the arrogant super rookie they know!

Seeing Lin Feng grinning foolishly at the reporters, Alben couldn't help but sigh and facepalm.

……

At 12:30 p.m., an hour and a half before the start of the race, the traditional driver parade began.

Twenty F1 drivers stood on a huge open-air flatbed trailer towed by a heavy truck and slowly circled the Albert Park circuit, waving to the fans in the stands.

The racetrack is right next to a beautiful lake, bathed in sunshine and with a gentle breeze.

This was supposed to be a relaxing moment for the drivers to unwind and chat, but for Lin Feng, his mood wasn't exactly pleasant.

He had already lost 600 points in the system lottery, but the thought of having to watch others start their cars in the narrow repair area made him furious.

Lin Feng, with his hands in his pockets and wearing sunglasses, leaned against the edge of the trailer railing, chatting casually with Zhou Guanyu, occasionally waving to the Chinese fans in the stands who were holding up the five-star red flag.

Just then, a figure wearing a red Ferrari uniform strolled over unsteadily.

It's Carlos Sainz.

The Spanish driver had just recovered from appendicitis surgery and qualified fourth yesterday. Since Lin Feng's result was disqualified, he naturally moved up to third place and can start from the second row today.

Sainz was already unhappy because Lin Feng stole the spotlight at the Jeddah Grand Prix, and yesterday's qualifying session saw him outshone by Lin Feng, causing Ferrari to lose face.

Now that Lin Feng has been penalized, Sainz clearly sees this as a good opportunity to get revenge.

"Hey, isn't this our P5 from qualifying?" Sainz, holding a sponsor's drink, walked up to Lin Feng and said sarcastically, "I heard the Williams team's programmers aren't very good at their job? They couldn't even write a simple cheat code, and the FIA ​​caught them red-handed. What a shame."

Lin Feng turned his head and looked coldly at Sainz through his sunglasses.

Seeing this, Zhou Guanyu frowned and took half a step forward without making a sound: "Carlos, we're all in the same industry. The team's technical aspects have nothing to do with the driver, right?"

"What do you mean it's okay? If you enjoy the benefits of illegal software, you have to bear the consequences, right?" Sainz raised an eyebrow smugly, raised the glass in his hand to Lin Feng, "Lin, enjoy the view from the pit area this afternoon. There's no turbulence there, which is perfect for a rookie like you who likes peace and quiet. I hope you'll be quick to give up the blue flag when I try to lap you later."

Sainz's voice was quite loud, and several drivers around him heard it.

Everyone turned to look at them, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Lin Feng was already seething with anger, and now, looking at Sainz's face, which was full of mockery, the taut string in his mind suddenly snapped.

He decided to teach this Spaniard a lesson.

Lin Feng suddenly took off his sunglasses, his eyes turning extremely fierce in an instant. He shoved Zhou Guanyu, who was blocking his way, and strode towards Sainz. At the same time, he suddenly pulled up his left sleeve with his right hand, assuming a stance as if he was about to start a fight on the track.

"You think you can outsmart me? Carlos, have you forgotten who drove your piece of junk onto the podium in Jeddah?!" Lin Feng deliberately raised his voice and roared, pouncing like an enraged cheetah.

This sudden incident startled everyone on the bus.

Although F1 drivers are racing against time on the track, they are all gentlemen off the track. At most, they just talk back to the media. Who has ever seen a scene where a fight breaks out on a parade car over a mere disagreement?

Russell, who was closest, reacted the fastest.

"Good heavens! Lin! Calm down! Calm down!" the racing emperor exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing Lin Feng's left arm tightly.

On the other side, Frenchman Pierre Gasly was also startled. He instinctively dropped his water bottle and rushed over, grabbing Lin Feng's right arm tightly: "Brother! Let's talk this out! There are live cameras here! You'll get suspended!"

Lance Stroll, the heir to Aston Martin, happened to be standing between Lin Feng and Sainz.

He was usually a beat slow to react, and at this moment he was completely stunned. He could only spread his arms and awkwardly stand between the two like a wall, stammering, "Uh... peace, we want peace..."

Blocked by three burly men with necks thicker than their legs, Lin Feng didn't actually struggle much; he just wanted to scare Sainz on purpose.

But Sainz was clearly terrified by Lin Feng's ferocious expression that looked like he was about to devour someone.

The arrogant Spaniard, who had been so haughty just moments before, turned deathly pale at the sight of Lin Feng struggling to break free from Russell and Gasly's obstruction. He stumbled, spilling his drink on the ground, and instinctively took several steps back.

As he backed away, Sainz felt his back bump into someone. Without thinking, like a startled quail, he scurried behind the person, peeking out only half his head to look at Lin Feng in fear.

The person he used as a human shield was none other than his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc was holding a hat and had just turned around to respond to the cheers from the Iron Buddha Temple in the stands when he suddenly felt a weight on his back. When he turned around, he found his teammate, who was 1.78 meters tall, huddled behind him, trembling.

"Carlos? What are you doing?" Leclerc stared wide-eyed at Sainz, then at Lin Feng, who was being held tightly by Russell and Gasly, completely dumbfounded.

"Charles, stop him! This guy's gone mad, he's going to hit me!" Sainz grabbed Leclerc's shoulders with both hands, his voice trembling.

At that moment, a camera broadcasting the official F1 broadcast signal was filming the flatbed truck in close-up.

This chaotic and extremely comical scene was broadcast live, without missing a single second, via satellite to tens of millions of car enthusiasts in hundreds of countries and regions around the world!

In the live broadcast room of Five Star Sports, Li Bing and Fei Ge were preparing to do a preview analysis of the upcoming main competition when they saw the screen switch over and they immediately froze.

"Pfft—" Fei Ge burst out laughing in the live stream, "Bing Ge! Did you see that?! My God! Lin Feng is going to beat up Sainz on the patrol car!"

"This...this is truly an unprecedented scene!" Li Bing couldn't hold back any longer. "Lin Feng's temper is so explosive, it's like he's about to explode at the slightest provocation! Russell and Gasly are acting like neighborhood committee aunties trying to break up a fight! But! Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention to Sainz's reaction!"

"Hahaha! Sainz was so scared he hid behind Leclerc!" Fei slammed his fist on the table, laughing hysterically. "That's amazing! That's so Ferrari! Look at Leclerc's bewildered expression, it's meme-worthy!"

The screen was filled with comments like "hahahaha" and "funny guy".

"Lin Shen is awesome! He can handle anyone who dares to challenge him!"

Sainz: Don't come any closer! Back off! Back off! Back off!

Lock & Lock: Who am I? Where am I? Why am I taking the hits for my teammates?

Russell: I'm so tired. Not only do I have to play, but I also have to maintain order.

On the parade vehicle.

Lin Feng looked at Sainz, who was trembling behind Leclerc, and at Leclerc's confused and helpless expression, and finally couldn't hold back anymore.

The ferocity in his eyes vanished instantly, and he chuckled.

"Hahahaha..." Lin Feng laughed so hard his shoulders shook. He gently shook off Russell and Gasly's hands. "Alright, alright, George, Pierre, let go. I didn't mean to hit him."

Russell, panting heavily, looked at Lin Feng with suspicion: "Are you sure? The way you looked at him just now was like you wanted to devour him whole."

"I swear, I just stretched my muscles before the race." Lin Feng shrugged innocently, then raised his chin provocatively at Sainz, who was still hiding in the back. "Carlos, is that all the guts you have? You think you can outrun me? Don't let your legs give way and you step on the wrong pedal when we start the race."

After saying that, Lin Feng straightened his clothes, turned around and walked back to Zhou Guanyu's side, leaving a group of drivers looking at each other in bewilderment.

Sainz then realized that he had been tricked by Lin Feng. His face instantly turned from pale to liver-colored, filled with shame and indignation, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.