F1: In Ferrari, Schumacher at the start.

Sunlight shines on the harbor of Monte Carlo.

Lin Feng lay comfortably on the sofa in the Hermitage Hotel suite, holding a phone in his hand. On the other end of the line, his agent Zhou Kai sounded like he was about to break down.

"Lin Feng, say that again? What do you want me to do?!"

"Go to my apartment in Oxfordshire, pack up all my clothes, shoes, and that racing simulator, and ship them all to the new address in the Fontevier district of Monaco." Lin Feng said casually, picking up a grape from the table and popping it into his mouth. "Antonio will leave the key at the front desk."

Zhou Kai took two deep breaths on the other end of the line, trying to calm himself down.

"I'm your agent! I just landed you a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with a domestic sportswear brand! I should be negotiating contracts with capitalists, not working as a foreman for your moving company!"

"Don't get excited, Brother Zhou." Lin Feng slowly swallowed a grape. "Is the down payment for that new endorsement deal coming in soon? I'll talk to the finance department and give you a big bonus this month, double the payout."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Should we unpack the simulator or ship it as a whole by air? Should we pack your clothes by color?" Zhou Kai's voice instantly became professional and enthusiastic. "Don't worry, boss, I promise you won't forget a single pair of socks!"

"Well done, it's up to you now."

Lin Feng hung up the phone with a clear conscience.

I will never do things myself if I can solve a problem with money.

"Finished your call? Hurry up and change your shoes, we're going to be late."

Gu Ailing came out of the bedroom. Today she was wearing a white tennis dress, paired with a white sports sun hat, looking youthful and energetic. She was also carrying two tennis rackets.

"I'm here." Lin Feng jumped up from the sofa and changed into a pair of comfortable sneakers.

The two had arranged to play tennis at the Monte Carlo Country Club this morning with Russell, Alben, and Norris.

These drivers had nowhere to expend their energy before the race, so they could only burn off the extra calories through various other sports.

As Lin Feng walked into the hotel's underground parking garage, he immediately spotted the car parked in the VIP parking space.

It was a deep blue sports car with an exaggerated and avant-garde design and sharp lines. The most eye-catching feature was the logo on the front of the car, which was in oracle bone script and read "electricity".

This is another new energy vehicle sponsorship that Lin Feng signed in China. The latest pure electric supercar was airlifted to Monaco overnight by a cargo plane. The brand's original words were that Lin Feng could drive it around in Europe's high-end circles at will, just like a walking GG brand.

"This car is really cool." Gu Ailing walked around the car and pressed the car key in her hand.

Two enormous butterfly doors lifted upwards.

"It's a pity someone doesn't have a driver's license, so he can only sit in the passenger seat and act like a king." Gu Ailing mocked mercilessly before getting into the driver's seat.

Lin Feng was disappointed and obediently sat in the passenger seat, pulling over and fastening his seatbelt.

"I'll be back in China to take the exam in August, and then you won't even be able to touch the steering wheel of this car," Lin Feng retorted defiantly.

Gu Ailing ignored him and stepped on the electric switch.

With the four motors unleashing powerful thrust, accompanied by a soft buzzing sound, the sports car silently drove out of the underground parking garage.

The streets of Monaco are filled with supercars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, and Koenigseggs. But today, this uniquely styled blue supercar, with no exhaust note whatsoever, attracted an unusually high number of attention as it drove down the street. Many passersby raised their phones to take pictures, trying to identify the logo on the front of the car.

Fifteen minutes later, the car came to a smooth stop in the open-air parking lot of the Monte Carlo Country Club.

George Russell, Alexander Alben, and Lando Norris were already waiting at the parking lot entrance. All three were wearing tennis outfits of different colors and carrying rackets.

As soon as the sports car drove up, all three of them were drawn to it.

"What brand is this?" Norris leaned closer, staring at the logo on the front of the car for a long time. "McLaren released a new model? Wait, I don't recognize this logo."

The butterfly door opened, and Gu Ailing and Lin Feng got out of the car.

"Stop looking at Lando, this is a Chinese brand." Lin Feng closed the car door and walked up to the three people.

"All-electric?" Albon circled the rear of the car. "The design is really extravagant, it looks expensive."

Russell, arms crossed, commented with feigned seriousness, "The aerodynamic design of this car is quite interesting, the angle of the rear wing..."

"Stop!" Lin Feng interrupted Russell. "Don't mention those technical terms that give me a headache. Today, it's just tennis."

"Okay, I won't say anymore." Russell smiled and raised his hands in surrender. "But Lin, trams don't have souls; they don't have that feeling of engine vibration."

"George, you're so out of touch." Lin Feng turned to Gu Ailing. "Ailing, show these British bumpkins some mysterious Eastern power."

Gu Ailing smiled knowingly and pressed a button on the mobile app.

The next second, something happened that left the three F1 drivers speechless.

This dark blue sports car suddenly started bouncing around on the spot!

The four wheels lifted in turn, and the vehicle body rose and fell in rhythm with the shaking of the phone. It even completed the action of the entire vehicle being lifted into the air under the command of voice.

"What the f..." Norris dropped his tennis racket on the ground, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a tennis ball.

Alben took two steps back, pointing at the car, speechless for a long time.

Russell's eyes widened in disbelief, completely unable to comprehend what was happening before his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Ailing pressed another button.

The sports car stopped and bounced, with all four wheels turning in opposite directions. This sports car, which is more than five meters long, actually completed a 360-degree U-turn on the spot!

The entire process was smooth and seamless, without any interruptions.

Everyone was stunned.

"How...how did this work?" Norris ran over and squatted down next to the tire to examine it closely. "The wheels can be controlled in reverse on their own?"

"Four-motor independent drive plus the Cloud Chassis system." Lin Feng patted the hood of the car proudly. "How about it, George? Do you still want to talk about your internal combustion engine soul? When you encounter a narrow road U-turn, this car can rub your Mercedes into the ground."

Russell was speechless and could only nod silently in acknowledgment that he was indeed naive.

Norris grabbed Lin Feng's arm and yelled, "Lin! Sell it to me! How much?! I want to drive it back to England and show it off in front of McLaren's headquarters!"

"Not for sale. It was given to me by the sponsor. There's only one in all of Europe." Lin Feng refused ruthlessly, prying Norris's hands away. "Let's go play ball. If you don't exercise, you'll all gain weight."

The five people walked into the club chatting and laughing.

On the clay court of the country club, the players' tennis skills were quickly revealed.

Russell played solidly, with very standard form; it was clear he had a coach.

Alben was running around aimlessly, relying entirely on his physical strength to catch the balls.

The worst off was Norris, whose coordination on the tennis court was appalling. Eight out of ten times he swung his racket, the tennis ball either flew out of bounds or hit the net directly.

Lin Feng and Gu Ailing teamed up, and their victory over these amateur players was a complete game-changer. Lin Feng didn't even need to go all out; he could just stand at the baseline and casually return the ball a few times, and Norris would easily knock it away.

Half an hour later, Norris, panting heavily, threw his racket on the ground and plopped down on a bench by the court.

"I'm not playing anymore! This sport is not suitable for me at all!" Norris picked up a towel to wipe his face, which was covered in sweat.

Lin Feng pulled Gu Ailing to sit down on the sidelines, opened a sports drink and handed it to her, and opened one for himself as well.

"Lando, you really need to practice your accuracy. Your serve just now almost hit the umpire on the other court," Alben said with a smile as he sat down next to Norris.

Russell walked over and pulled over two chairs.

Everyone sat together to rest.

As the conversation went on, the topic naturally circled back to the competition.

"The match here is next week." Norris took a big gulp of water and began to pour out his grievances. "Tell me, what are we even fighting for? That Max guy isn't even human!"

Norris became more and more agitated as he spoke, waving his hands wildly in the air.

"He stays up all night playing iRacing simulator, until 3 or 4 in the morning. Then the next afternoon, he drives that damn Red Bull and leaves us twenty seconds behind! Doesn't he sleep? Doesn't his body need to recover? Why does he always come in first place?!"

Everyone laughed when they heard Norris's complaint.

This is the sentiment of all drivers; Verstappen's dominance over the past few seasons has been simply too strong.

"Rando, don't get excited," Russell reassured him. "Max is indeed very strong, but we're not without a chance. As long as we play better defensively and don't give him any easy space to overtake us."

"Defense? Can you even stop him?" Norris rolled his eyes. "Once he activates DRS, he's like a rocket on the straights."

Norris turned to look at Lin Feng.

"Lin, next week you'll block Max for me. If you can keep him off five laps, I promise I'll treat you to meals for a whole year!"

Lin Feng leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"It depends on my mood. If there's no Ferrari blocking my way, I might consider circling around in front of the Red Bull a couple of times."

Just as the group was chatting enthusiastically...

A tall figure came into their view.

The man was dressed in a well-fitting black tracksuit and was holding a high-end custom tennis racket. He was in excellent shape and did not look like a middle-aged man over fifty.

Beside him was a man also dressed in sportswear, whose hair was somewhat disheveled by the sea breeze.

Lin Feng took a closer look and laughed.

It turned out to be Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, and his own team principal James Wols.

These two team leaders used to be in a superior-subordinate relationship at Mercedes. James was Toto's chief strategist. Although they now work for different teams, they still have a good relationship in private, so it's normal for them to arrange to play tennis together.

"Good afternoon, lads." Toto walked over with a sweet smile on his face.

"Good afternoon, boss." Russell immediately sat up straight and greeted his team owner.

The others nodded in agreement.

Toto's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Lin Feng.

"Lin, we only met briefly in Shanghai last time and didn't have a chance to chat much. It's really fate that we meet here today." Toto walked up to Lin Feng.

James stood next to Toto, watching this scene, silently unscrewed the water bottle in his hand, took a sip, and rolled his eyes.

He knew his former boss too well; whenever Toto showed that expression, he was definitely up to no good.

Lin Feng stood up and shook hands with Toto.

"Mr. Wolf, you're here to play too? If I'd known you were here, I wouldn't have wasted my time with Lando and the others," Lin Feng joked casually.

Toto has always been a straightforward person.

"Lin, I'll be blunt." Toto ignored James, who was chugging water next to him, and poached the driver in front of everyone. "Lewis will be wearing the red jersey next year, and we at Mercedes will have a vacancy next year. You need a car that can compete for the championship, and we need a driver who dares to challenge everyone on the track and has personality."

Toto patted Lin Feng on the shoulder.

"Come to Mercedes, we can provide you with the best engine, the best team, and your salary can be several times higher than it is now."

The entire rest area suddenly became as quiet as a chicken's nest.

Russell stared wide-eyed at his boss, Norris, and Alben, exchanging bewildered glances.

No one expected that the Mercedes team principal would openly poach players on the tennis court, and right in front of the current team principal!

"Ahem!"

James Walls coughed loudly twice, squeezing the empty water bottle in his hand so hard it made a creaking sound.

"Toto, have you forgotten? He's still in my team." James said helplessly. "Can you stop blatantly poaching my players right in front of me? Give me some face, okay?"

Toto turned to look at James and gave him a completely unapology-free smile.

"James, my old friend, we all know Williams can't keep him. He should be a lion hunting on the plains, not stuck in the stable."

James was completely numb and too lazy to say anything more, so he turned his head to look elsewhere.

All eyes turned to Lin Feng again, awaiting his answer.

Gu Ailing stood beside Lin Feng and gently tugged at his sleeve.

Lin Feng looked at Toto.

It has to be said that this is a huge temptation.

Mercedes-AMG, once the absolute ruler of the paddock, possesses its own engines, massive financial resources, and technological reserves.

If he could sit in that Silver Arrow race car, he wouldn't need to push himself to the limit in every race to compensate for the car's shortcomings.

Although he was tempted, Lin Feng's expression did not betray his feelings at all.

He smiled, his tone sincere.

"Mr. Wolff, thank you very much for your invitation and recognition. Mercedes is a great team, and that seat is very attractive to anyone."

Lin Feng changed the subject and glanced at James beside him.

"However, I am still a Williams driver. James trusted me at the beginning of the season, and the whole team has been working day and night to improve my performance. Until the end of the season, all my energy will be focused on how to drive this car faster."

Lin Feng's answer was tactful and avoided making any definitive statements.

"As for next year... I will seriously consider your suggestion. When the season is almost over, my agent might be happy to go to Brackley for a coffee."

Hearing this answer, Toto nodded in satisfaction.

"I look forward to that day." Toto shook hands with Lin Feng again.

He turned to look at James.

"James, let's go, our court is cleared out. Let me see if your backhand has deteriorated." Toto smiled and put his arm around James's shoulder, and the two walked towards the court in the distance.

Even after walking a distance, you could still hear James complaining, "Toto, if you do that again, don't blame me for being ruthless."

After watching the two big shots leave, everyone in the rest area breathed a sigh of relief.

Norris immediately jumped up and hugged Lin Feng's neck.

"Brother! You're going to Mercedes? God, if you go there, with George on your side, how are the rest of us supposed to survive?"

Russell also came over and patted Lin Feng on the back.

"It's a little awkward, but if you really come, I'd love to welcome you. We could form the noisiest duo in the whole paddock."

Lin Feng pried Norris's hands away and straightened his clothes.

"Don't get too excited. It's still far from over." Lin Feng picked up his tennis racket. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Who said I couldn't play tennis? Lando, come here and let me teach you what a forehand is."

Under the sunlight, the sound of balls being struck and Norris's screams echoed once again on the clay court of the country club.