Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 1029 Acquiring an F1 Team
The following day, after following up on the progress of Beyond Motors, Chen Mo appeared uninvited in Lei Jun's office at Xiaomi headquarters.

"Inviting me to watch F1?" Lei Jun shook his head vigorously upon hearing Chen Mo's purpose. "No, no, no, next month is our annual showdown with Apple. I don't have time for that."

"Tell me, is it more time-consuming to watch F1 races or to build cars?"

"I'm not building cars, why would I waste my time?"

Chen Mo took a leisurely sip of tea, looked up and asked, "If I had firmly refused to build cars back then, who do you think the higher-ups would have assigned this task to?"

"Uh..." Lei Jun's expression froze as he recalled a scene he had encountered before.

Seeing this, Chen Mo's previous guess was confirmed. "Goodness, the higher-ups really did contact you?"

Lei Jun immediately changed the subject, "When do we set off?"

Early September, Monza Circuit, Italy.

Inside the racetrack, known as the "temple of speed," engines roar like thunder, and F1 cars of all colors cut through the track like lightning.

The stands were buzzing with excitement, and adrenaline surged with the car's speed.

The moment the Ferrari crossed the finish line first, Chen Mo made his decision.

He pointed towards the racetrack: "That's it. I want to acquire this F1 team. What do you two think?"

Lei Jun and Jia Yueting, who were standing next to each other, were both stunned. They looked at each other with shock in their eyes.

Didn't we agree that we were just here to discuss naming rights?

Acquisition?! And—

The two looked in the direction Chen Mo pointed.

Lei Jun stared at him like he was a madman: "Chen Mo, it's not that I'm underestimating you, but are you sure you want to acquire Ferrari?"

Jia Yueting quickly reminded him: "Boss, think it over! This isn't about money, it's that Ferrari is simply not for sale."

"Who said we were going to acquire Ferrari?" Chen Mo said calmly. "What I want to acquire is the Racing Point team, which just crossed the finish line."

"Racing Point? Why not Williams? After all, that team has nine Constructors' Championships and seven Drivers' Championships, although now..."

Jia Yueting quickly searched his mind for relevant information.

There are only ten Formula 1 teams in the world, of which Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are traditional giants, while Red Bull is a rising force in recent years.

Racing Point's seventh-place finish in this race was a normal performance, as they have consistently hovered in the lower half of the standings for years, making their results rather unremarkable.

Two years ago, this team was called Force India.

Back in late 07, Vijay Mallya, an Indian businessman who owned the famous Kingfisher Airlines and United Wines Group, acquired the team from Spyker Motors for €8800 million and officially renamed it Force India F1 Team in the 08 season, becoming the first truly Indian team in F1 history.

Last year, Vijay Mallya's wealth shrank dramatically, plunging him into a financial crisis. As a result, the Force India team was forced into bankruptcy proceedings due to its inability to repay its debts, and the team's assets were subsequently acquired by a consortium led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll.

The latter has little interest in racing and reportedly only got involved because his son likes it; it's purely a hobby.

After taking over, how could the young master's entrepreneurial team perform well? This not only caused Lawrence Stroll to lose face, but also made him regretful because the high operating costs of hundreds of millions of euros per year were only coming in and not out.

Jia Yueting originally thought that his boss's visit was simply to talk to a top racing team about sponsorship, and incidentally put the Beyond Auto logo on the car to advertise and increase brand awareness.

Although it's not uncommon for wealthy Chinese to invest in the sports industry these days—Alibaba's Joseph Tsai acquired the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, and Suning's Zhang Jindong bought Serie A's Inter Milan, some have made money and some have lost money.
But to his utter surprise, his boss wanted to acquire an even more prestigious F1 team.

It's important to understand that even a fleet of low-ranking cars can be a deal worth billions, even with the current assets of the other side...
It really does seem like just a matter of lifting a finger.
Moreover, according to his thinking, even if an acquisition were to be made, it should be a team like Williams.

If I remember correctly, in the information he gave Chen Mo before, the team that seemed more suitable for acquisition to a normal person was the Williams team, which was currently mired in a debt crisis.

Williams, as an independently operated, publicly traded family team, has seen its performance decline since the hybrid era began in 2014, and has been at the bottom of the standings for the past two seasons.

This led to a sharp decline in its sponsorship revenue and ranking bonuses, resulting in serious financial losses.

In addition, the founder, Sir Frank Williams, is getting old and has handed over the management of the team to his daughter, Claire Williams.

Persistent financial pressure and dismal results have led the Williams family to consider selling the team and finding a new, powerful owner to save the legendary team from its predicament.

For a powerful buyer like the other side, buying Williams is no longer a question of "whether or not they can buy it," but rather a question of "whether they are willing to buy it" and "at what price."

From a cost-performance perspective, Williams seems to be a more reasonable choice for Match Point.

But Chen Mo seemed to see through his thoughts and said calmly, "It is precisely because Williams was once glorious that his historical burden is even heavier."

Poor performance leads to a lack of funds, which in turn leads to outdated facilities and technological gaps. To turn things around, companies need to invest heavily in filling the gaps and upgrading their hardware, which in turn further weakens their competitiveness, creating a vicious cycle.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Williams may have a 30% cheaper match point advantage; they're stuck in a 'death spiral' and won't recover for at least three to five years.

I didn't buy the team to simply name it and leave it to its own devices; I want to lead it to the top. Therefore, in the long run, Williams' overall investment will likely be more than double what it was in races.

"As for Match Point, although they are currently in the lower middle of the table, they still have the potential to break into the points zone and do not need to start from scratch."

In addition, they have a long-term technology partnership with Mercedes, giving them a high starting point and relatively healthy finances, allowing subsequent funds to be directly used for performance improvements.

Most importantly—Match Point had only been renamed a year ago, and the brand was like a blank canvas, perfect for branding with the name 'The Other Shore'.

Chen Mo paused, then said with a hint of teasing, "Let me give you an analogy—Williams is like you when LeEco collapsed in 2016, and Match Point is like you now."

“Boss…” Jia Yueting felt a dull pain in his chest and said in a low voice, “This last sentence… actually doesn’t need to be added.”

"Strohl probably won't give in so easily, will he?" Lei Jun asked softly, watching the drivers spraying champagne on the podium.

He had just reviewed the motorcade's information on the private plane that brought him here, and it was still fresh in his memory.

"Before we came here, I had my team make initial contact with the investors behind the Racing Point team. The valuation premium was 10%, so they had no reason to refuse. We've almost finished negotiating with Wu Dan, and now we should go and witness the results."

Chen Mo turned around, the hem of his clothes fluttering lightly in the hot wind of Monza.

Just as the Italian Grand Prix Monza event came to a close.

Chen Mo's team has reached a preliminary acquisition agreement with representatives of Lawrence Stroll's consortium regarding the acquisition of the Racing Point team.

The final negotiated acquisition price was set at 3 million euros. This price packaged all of the team's assets, including the cars, drivers, technology, factories, and most importantly, the F1 seats.

Formula 1 operates on a "team membership system," where owning a seat means permanently sharing in the sport's enormous television broadcast revenue and prize money.

This seat itself is a scarce asset that appreciates in value.

Once the acquisition of Racing Point is completed by the end of the year, the team will be renamed "BA Racing". The racing committee will then officially recognize a Chinese team to compete in F1.

On the same day, under Chen Mo's personal supervision, a strategic plan entitled "BA Racing Three-Year Racing Plan" was released within the team. The plan was clear in its outline and had well-defined objectives:
I. Stabilizing the foundation and continuing the bloodline

Chen Mo knows that in the ever-changing world of F1 racing, stability is the prerequisite for radical change.

Therefore, the management team and core technical team, led by former technical director Andy Green, were retained to ensure a smooth transition in team culture, technical expertise, and operational experience.

II. Performance Leap Forward, Driven by Technology

They pledged to continue investing significant resources in race car research and development and operations beyond the existing budget, with a focus on optimizing aerodynamic components and chassis mechanical grip.

Regarding the powertrain, we will fully inherit and deepen our valuable technical cooperation with Mercedes-Benz to ensure that our performance is not inferior to that of top teams, and we will begin to establish a long-term technical team for developing our own powertrain.

III. Breaking the Talent Bottleneck and Looking to the Future

The team adopted a two-step strategy for its driver lineup: on the one hand, it actively contacted and recruited experienced and capable drivers from other teams to quickly improve its immediate competitiveness.

After several rounds of screening, a number of potential drivers, including Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen, have been included in the contact list.

On the other hand, the "China Star" program was launched, targeting promising young Chinese drivers, with plans to recruit Zhou Guanyu, who has made a name for himself in F2, and Cao Zhuo, who shows potential in European Formula.

Providing them with opportunities for simulator training, testing, and even future official seats lays a localized foundation for the long-term development of the fleet.

On the last page of the plan, a goal that seemed almost arrogant to outsiders was written in bold:
"Within three years, the team will rank among the top three in the team standings in the annual total points."

To achieve this goal, the other side needs to invest 2 million euros annually.

Jia Yueting was involved in the entire acquisition and planning process.

This is also why Chen Mo insisted on bringing him along despite knowing he was busy:

First, it allows him to break free from his original car manufacturing mindset, witness firsthand the arena of the world's top automotive industry, and broaden his horizons;
Secondly, it allows him to personally participate in the process of acquiring top-tier IPs, experiencing the strength of the Other Shore system and Chen Mo's style of doing things.

This "insight" and "sense of participation" are more effective than any equity incentive in winning over this ambitious but repeatedly frustrated individual.

Only now did Jia Yueting finally understand that what Chen Mo wanted to build was never just a car, but a complete ecosystem from core technology, supply chain, capital to top brand influence.

Lei Jun, as an observer, also offered professional advice.

He can see something deeper:

New energy vehicle manufacturing is a long-term project, and F1 is the world's most advanced testing ground for automotive technology.

The F1 acquisition, serving as a technological springboard rather than an isolated investment, means that Beyond Motors directly gained access to a top-tier, experienced technical team and an extreme R&D environment unrestricted by civilian regulations.

At the same time, the technology accumulated here, especially in aerodynamics, energy efficiency, materials science and power units, directly benefits the car manufacturing industry on the other side, and improves the performance, range and safety of future mass-produced vehicles.

Despite seeing it, Lei Jun, who knew Chen Mo's character well, always felt that the kid must have had some ulterior motive for inviting him to watch the game.

It wasn't until that evening, when Lei Jun entered Chen Mo's hotel room, that he realized his true "role".

"This is a red ocean market with nearly 500 registered manufacturers, but only about 50 active players, and the leading group has already begun to take shape."

This is a time when the capital frenzy has subsided, numerous "PPT car manufacturing" scams have been exposed, and the industry has entered a brutal elimination phase. The outside world generally holds a skeptical and pessimistic attitude towards new entrants.

Before deciding to build cars, I received at least twenty reports from top consulting firms, all concluding with the same conclusion: 'The market is red ocean; we do not recommend entering.'

Actually, these people are talking nonsense. They've overlooked one problem: these judgments are all derived from the thought patterns of 'normal people'.

If Musk had listened to the advice of so-called expert advisors and hadn't built a factory in China, Tesla would have died last year.

On the other side, from the very first day of its inception, it never intended to be a 'normal' company.

The small step forward taken by Beyond Auto will be a giant leap forward for domestically produced new energy vehicles.
It's not for anyone else. It's not about winning or losing; it's simply about doing things seriously.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel suite, the night view unfolds like a galaxy.

Lei Jun put down his speech, tapped his fingertips lightly on the sofa armrest, and frowned slightly.

"These remarks are a bit too radical and radical, unlike your usual style."

"Written by Lao Luo." Chen Mo sat on the opposite sofa, swirling the whiskey glass in his hand.

"Luo Yonghao?" Lei Jun suddenly realized, then chuckled, "No wonder, 'redefining industry standards' and 'beauty is productivity'—these ambitious, even somewhat biased, statements are indeed eye-catching, very much in Luo Yonghao's style."

But show me, this is…

“If you were me,” Chen Mo leaned forward, his gaze intense, “what would you say when you hold a press conference in ten days to announce that you’re making cars? Write a draft for me in your style.”

"You, a master of public speaking, still need to ask me? It seems you really value this press conference." Lei Jun raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing.

"Then don't worry about it, just tell me whether you'll help or not."

"Help, help, help." Lei Jun shook his head with a helpless smile. "I knew you weren't being kind enough to invite me to watch the game. Turns out you were waiting for me here."

But you're in my way, I can't act freely."

"Alright, then take your time to develop it."

After Chen Mo finished speaking, he kindly picked up the wine bottle next to him and refilled Lei Jun's glass, saying, "A couple of sips might just put you in the zone."

Before Lei Jun could reply, he quickly slipped away, thoughtfully closing the door behind him before heading off to have a heart-to-heart talk with Jia Yueting.
Lei Jun shook his head and chuckled, then picked up his wine glass and walked to the window.

The rich aroma of whiskey lingered on his lips and teeth as he gazed out the window at the night view, his mind gradually drifting away.

If I build a car
Chen Mo's words were like the devil's whisper, stirring up waves in Lei Jun's heart.

He seemed to see a completely different trajectory for Xiaomi's future—not smartphones, not smart homes, but a "people, car, and home" smart ecosystem full of infinite possibilities.

My thoughts drifted further.

He seemed to be standing on the stage of the press conference, facing countless expectant eyes.
He seemed to see the design sketches of Xiaomi cars—a streamlined exterior and luxurious paint.
He could even picture the scene when the first batch of users picked up their cars, just like the excitement of the first Mi Fans ten years ago when they received their Xiaomi phones.
The warmth of the whiskey spread from my stomach throughout my body.

"This will be the last major entrepreneurial project of my life."

The sentence slowly surfaced in his mind.

Lei Jun suddenly snapped out of his daze, an inspiration struck him, and fueled by his emotions, he quickly walked to his desk, put down his wine glass, and picked up the paper and pen on the table.

The pen tip danced rapidly across the paper, the writing becoming faster and more powerful.

A declaration on car manufacturing belonging to Chen Mo, yet bearing the imprint of Lei Jun throughout.

It was quietly born in this quiet room in Italy.
(End of this chapter)