Actor: Thank you.

To be a stranger in a foreign country alone, think of love every time during the festive season.

Everyone knows this poem.

The reason for missing one's family so much is not only because one is alone in a foreign land, but also because one is a stranger in a strange land.

Just like some women who have no status in their husband's family, even after living together for decades, they still feel like outsiders.

If this is the case after decades of experience, then what about Zhang Yuan, who has just arrived in the world of F1?

He was a complete stranger in a strange land.

His current situation is somewhat similar to that of the Han people in the early Qing Dynasty, which is very difficult.

You're surrounded by the "Manchu bannermen" of old Europe, and none of them would give you a second glance.

You stinking out-of-towner, trying to beg for food in our F1!

Even though half of the car teams are so poor due to the financial crisis that they're practically living on empty tea, it doesn't stop others from looking down on you.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the Manchu bannermen were poor, so when they went out, they would wipe their lips with a piece of pigskin to make them look oily, as if they ate meat every day.

Both old Europe and old imperialism value face.

What Zhang Yuan needs to do now is figure out how to gain the support of these arrogant foreigners.

Being adept at diplomacy and skillful in navigating complex situations is essential for a small country's diplomacy.

Now, he is just like these small countries.

The question we should consider is how to find a way to survive among these old landlords.

“We need the support of half of the team…” Zhang Yuan pondered.

It's certainly difficult, but it's much simpler than needing the support of the entire team.

It is no easy task to strive for every possible force.

Soon, the various teams spotted a young Chinese man, all alone, wandering around the P-rooms of each team.

He asked Brown to make arrangements with several racing teams for him; the guy had a good reputation and connections in the industry.

But when it comes to actually getting things done, he has to do it himself.

Actually, everyone had someone keep an eye on him, wanting to know how he would play.

Zhang Yuan was the first to break into the red garage of Ferrari, the most prestigious and oldest F1 team.

If we're talking about the most arrogant car brand in the world, Ferrari is undoubtedly the top contender.

This arrogance was created and passed down by the founder, Enzo Ferrari.

To give you an example, in the later era of the hybrid trio, the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, and Ferrari LaFerrari were the three most powerful hybrid supercars.

It's inevitable that some people will want to compare these three cars.

The three companies' attitudes are as follows.

Porsche will just throw a car at you, and you can test drive it however you like, anywhere and whoever wants to.

McLaren can also test drive the cars and set lap times, but it must be under McLaren's supervision. They will send a team of engineers to accompany the media to ensure that the cars are always in optimal condition and can achieve the best results.

Ferrari, on the other hand, is incredibly prestigious.

No individual or media outlet is allowed to measure speed!

Whether it's the media or individuals, anyone who dares to compete, especially against 918 and P1 in laps and speed races, I'll blacklist them!

I will never let you buy my car in my lifetime, and I will permanently blacklist you from the media.

In the end, someone actually tested it and found that the Ferrari LaFerrari was the slowest of the three cars.

The fastest Porsche is the one you can drive casually, and the coolest McLaren is the one you can drive casually.

The performance of these three companies is very consistent with the actual situation of the vehicles.

Ferrari may be slow and arrogant, but that doesn't stop the LaFerrari from being the most expensive and best-retaining of the three cars.

Just like luxury brands, the higher the brand image, the more people will flock to it.

The more arrogant you are, the more powerful you seem.

And Ferrari certainly has the right to be arrogant.

The year-end prize money for Formula 1 Grand Prix is ​​distributed in order of ranking, and there is also prize money for past participation.

A series of subsidies will be provided based on the team's historical performance.

However, Ferrari has a separate participation allowance, the amount of which is almost equivalent to the prize money of the champion team.

This money is separate and given only to Ferrari. Every year, as long as they participate in a race, even if they come in last place, they will receive this money in full.

This single transaction amounts to $7000 million, or even more!

The annual prize money for the champion team is only a little over 100 million, while Ferrari's "perfect attendance bonus" alone is over 70 million.

This is Ferrari, the world's number one racing car and sports car brand.

So Zhang Yuan was "kicked out" less than 15 minutes after he entered.

After the "major purge," the three original key contributors were removed from the team, including the owner of the Brawn team, which he was going to invest in.

Your former employer is unlikely to treat you well.

All of this was within Zhang Yuan's expectations.

But he wasn't looking for trouble; he was doing it on purpose to show the other teams what was going on.

He turned around and went into the McLaren team's garage.

McLaren team principal Ron watched him walk over from Ferrari.

"Hi, hello." She greeted Zhang Yuan proactively upon seeing him.

“Hello Mr. Ron, I’d like to talk to you… phew.”

Do you have any water here?

"I might need to calm down a bit before we start chatting," Zhang Yuan said, feigning exhaustion and anxiety.

Ron asked his men to get him a bottle of water, and asked them what was wrong.

"Did something unpleasant happen with Ferrari?"

"Perhaps it's a difference in customs, but at least we Chinese don't treat guests like this."

"I'm nowhere near as kind as you," Zhang Yuan praised.

After a short while, Zhang Yuan talked with the other party for a while.

The content is nothing more than opinions on sports competitions and visions for the future.

The other side was also using this to probe his and the Brawn team's knowledge, wanting to know how much he knew about the race.

McLaren is the most technology-focused sports car brand in the paddock, and even in the world. The team's style is also completely opposite to Ferrari's, with a strong emphasis on efficiency.

McLaren sports cars are so popular and famous worldwide because the team has a history of great success in Formula 1.

It remains one of the top racing teams to this day.

"Zhang, actually I don't care whether you join F1 or not." After a long while, team leader Ron said seemingly frankly.

This guy is actually a control freak and a perfectionist.

The people in their convoy had to wear uniforms, and they couldn't wear the wrong season's uniform.

Even the music the mechanics listen to while repairing cars has to be approved by him, so as not to violate the image of the team and the sponsors.

I'm a high-tech car company; you can't listen to death metal in your garage.

Because of this habit, Renault team principal, the notorious motorsport villain Briatore, once made fun of him.

The team was asked to prepare a large speaker, the kind with very poor sound quality but a very loud volume, similar to a square dance speaker.

When their garage was next to his, he deliberately played rock music at full volume.

I put it in my own garage, it's none of your business, it'll make you furious.

This is real business warfare: psychological harassment that drives obsessive-compulsive disorder to its knees.

Therefore, many teams harbor naked hatred towards each other, which gradually turns from a struggle for profit into personal grudges.

"Brown has contacted me. I like him a lot, and I like Todd too."

“And I hope more teams will participate in this competition.” “So I will vote in favor.”

Ron nodded and said, "Also, I like your suit; it's very neat."

He added one last thing.

Before arriving, Zhang Yuan specially asked his assistant to iron his suit without a single wrinkle, and he didn't sit down at all during the entire trip, just in case it got wrinkled.

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Ron."

"I was originally a Ferrari fan, but because of you, I became a McLaren fan."

That's how I finally got one company settled.

However, he knew in his heart that being able to get things done had little to do with who he was.

First, McLaren had a long-term partnership with Mercedes-Benz at the time, and their race cars used Mercedes-Benz engines.

The Brawn FC team also uses Mercedes engines.

So Brown asked Mercedes to put in a good word, assuring everyone that they were on the same side.

If I have the chance in the future, I'll help McLaren hold off Ferrari.

Cliques and factions are everywhere.

Another very important point is that McLaren and Ferrari have a blood feud!
Two years ago, in 07, F1 was rocked by a scandal that shocked the European sports world, known as "Spygate".

The incident stemmed from Ferrari's new technical director's dissatisfaction with the management's "massacre of meritorious employees" after Brawn, Todt, and Schumacher were forced out.

Therefore, during a private conversation with McLaren's chief designer, Coughlan, this guy named Stephen decided to secretly hand over the design drawings and technical data of the Ferrari race car to him.

Ultimately, the problem arose from the act of "secretly".

Countless events in this world have repeatedly proven that the society we live in is a huge makeshift operation.

Stephen thought that if he sent an email to the other party, firstly, the file would be too large and too bulky, and secondly, it would easily leave a trace that could be investigated.

I'll stick to the traditional methods.

So I decided to print it out and compile it into a written document for the other party.

If suspected, just burn it; there will be no way to prove it, and there will be no trace of it online.

To avoid suspicion, he didn't do it himself and had his wife print it.

Then this unlucky woman just randomly picked a print shop on the roadside to handle this important matter!
Are you going to be a "spy"? Is it really okay to print your documents at a roadside print shop?
Why not just buy a printer?

Unfortunately, the print shop owner happens to be a die-hard Ferrari fan!
The more I looked at it, the more suspicious it seemed, so I called the police.

Many important and crucial things can be completely ruined because of an idiot or a coincidence.

The incident was exposed by the media and quickly caused a sensation.

In 07, Ferrari and McLaren were vying for the Constructors' Championship!
Ferrari used the threat of a lawsuit to persuade McLaren's chief designer, Coughlin, who was receiving the data, to become a witness against his own team.

Ultimately, McLaren was stripped of all points for the year and fined 100 million euros!
The most crucial point is that someone at McLaren had seen this information, but due to different racing philosophies, it was completely useless.

If you try to steal a chicken, you will lose the rice; you will lose both the wife and the army.

So Ron always suspected that Ferrari might have set a trap for him.

Who would be stupid enough to print such an important document at a roadside print shop?

And even more coincidentally, Ferrari was the team that ultimately won both the team and driver championships in 07.

Kimi Räikkönen, who won the Drivers' Championship, had just been poached from McLaren to Ferrari the previous year.

All these coincidences nearly made Ron faint with anger.

The audience can only see the cars running lap after lap on the track, but the real bloodshed is in the fighting off the track.

So Zhang Yuan made a point of going to Ferrari first, and then to McLaren.

Ron immediately grimaced when he saw that Zhang Yuan had been mistreated by Ferrari.

One of our own!
They are all victims of Ferrari, not our own people.

No matter who is attacking Ping'an County, my 358th Regiment will definitely lend a hand... that's pretty much the mentality.

If you get upset with Ferrari, you'll definitely become their enemy.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and he is worth winning over.

Zhang Yuan understood that he couldn't provide what the other party wanted from such a large convoy.

The only option is to let the other side "unify" you.

After leaving, Zhang Yuan visited the other racing teams one by one.

Renault's attitude wasn't great.

Toyota completely ignored him, and the team leader didn't even show up.

He had absolutely no connection with the BMW Sauber team and was only moderately interested in them, though his attitude was alright.

The Force India team... is named after its country because its owner is Vijay Mallya, an Indian tycoon.

My brother was a notorious playboy in Bollywood, a rich second-generation heir who spent countless amounts of money... Of course, he eventually went bankrupt.

Because of their national alliances, the Europeans preferred to let the Indians into the paddock rather than look down on Zhang Yuan, who came from China.

He has no experience with cars, no support from major car brands, and doesn't know much about management.

Ultimately, the team's poor performance forced them to step in.

Zhang Yuan knew very well that if he were to lead a racing team, he would end up in the same situation.

Therefore, he only needs to hold shares and receive dividends. He should avoid getting involved in things he doesn't understand and instead guide the experts.

Just like the children of wealthy families, they would rather entrust their assets to professional managers so they can live off the interest for a lifetime.

If you start your own business, you'll be finished in three years.

Coincidentally, starting this year, the Force India team switched from Ferrari engines to Mercedes engines.

With Mercedes backing them up, the people in this convoy were relatively easy to talk to.

The owner, Maya, even showed up, hugged and chatted with him, and even bought him a drink.

Drinking cocktails at a racetrack, and smelling of curry on himself... that tells you how absurd this person is.

He casually stated that since all the teams use Mercedes engines, they must help each other, and he would definitely vote in favor.

"Alright, that makes two votes, plus my own team, that's three votes."

"Next, we need to secure the support of at least two more teams."

As he walked along, he saw various sponsors on the signs in front of the various racing teams.

Rolex, HP, Puma, FedEx, Adidas, TAG Heuer, Longines, Oracle, Heineken, LVMH Group, Infiniti, Amazon, and even Lenovo.

These world-class companies, which would make artists scramble for them in China, are all lying here quietly.

Waiting for its own training... no, development.

If you can successfully join, you will be very close to these brands.

With just a few long-term endorsement deals, they can recoup their investment.

In any circle, what's the hardest thing to do if you want to get ahead?
Getting started is the hardest part!
Why are there so many big shots in the imperial circle? Because before the internet age, it was so easy for these children of high-ranking officials to climb the social ladder.

The experts who set the rules in the industry are probably the neighbors we called "Uncle" and "Aunt" when we were kids, and the ones we visited during Chinese New Year.

They have easy access to the top resources in the industry.

After the internet age, a capital frenzy arrived, and even these big players couldn't compete with the big players.

Therefore, before these old brothers in the imperial circle fall from grace, I need to find more ways out in advance.

When they realize what's going on later, let them see who the "real boss" is.

Zhang Yuan turned his gaze to the far corner, to the once glorious but now somewhat down-on-their-luck Williams team.

The team leader of this team is the same guy who would later lead the Mercedes team to its peak.

The current Brawn FC team will later become the Mercedes FC team.

Therefore, we must gain their support no matter what! (End of Chapter)