F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 21 First Encounter with the Tower Cannon
The match was exciting.

Objectively speaking, the skill level of the drivers here is indeed much higher than that in China. In addition, there is a lot of close combat in go-karting, making the process truly exciting.

According to Shu Long's observation, the track here has ridiculously good grip.

I don't know if it's because of the different tire compound or because there are so many races held here, but there was a lot of tire rubber on the track.

In China, it's considered quite aggressive for a driver to only have three tires on the ground when cornering, but here you often see drivers taking the kerb so hard they're practically flying, yet the car still manages to corner steadily with only two wheels on the ground.

However, the fervent atmosphere at the scene could not dispel the gloom hanging over the Shulong family.

Supporting racing costs far more than they anticipated. Based on the race schedules of most teams, the average annual racing expenses alone are at least around two million RMB.

Shu Long's family is relatively well-off, but that's only in comparison to a small, remote place; they're nowhere near the top in the country.

It's manageable in the short term, but the problem is that a large part of the family's wealth is in fixed assets. If all the cash flow is poured into completely unrelated things, how can the company survive?
Investing so much in a sport with no future is no less than lighting a fire and dumping your money into it. Even people who spend all their time in casinos would give a thumbs up and exclaim, "What a spendthrift!"

Shu Long is not usually a big spender, and he knows exactly what such a price means. It can be said that a year's worth of racing here is almost enough to buy half of Shu Xiong's collection.

He spent so much money in just one year, something even Shu Xiong wouldn't have dared to do before. He had been saving up those treasures little by little for who knows how long.

The father, Shu Xiong, sensed that the atmosphere was a bit dull, so he suggested that they treat it as a summer vacation trip and have some fun as a family.

Since we're already here, why not take advantage of the fact that our visas haven't expired and travel around these neighboring countries? Maybe we can find a few affordable clubs that are short of people and you can give them a try?
I overheard Zhou Guanyu complaining on the phone that the Strawberry Racing Team initially looked down on his domestic experience, but he convinced them with his results after participating in several regional races locally.

I rented a BMW X3 from a car rental company when I landed, but now that I'm in an unfamiliar place, I can't understand the procedures they ask for when I call them, which are full of unfamiliar terms. If I want to extend the rental, I have to go back to their store.

Before going back, I had to fill up the gas tank for them.

After following the navigation for ages, I finally found a gas station by the roadside, but before I could even drive in, I heard a heated argument erupting from a small truck parked on the side of the road.

Shulong couldn't understand what they were saying; it wasn't a language he had encountered before.

However, based on their body language, gestures, and facial expressions, the son in the passenger seat seemed to be trying to defend himself, while the father in the driver's seat looked very angry and impatient. In the end, he yelled a few times and kicked his son out of the car before speeding away.

For a moment, no one in the car dared to breathe. They sat there in a daze for a while before realizing that the middle-aged man was serious and had no intention of turning around.

The boy stood stubbornly by the roadside, stomping his foot on the innocent weeds as if indignant, before noticing the Shulong family of three, who were standing dumbfounded at the entrance of the gas station.

When people are embarrassed, they often appear very busy, trying desperately to force back the tears welling up in their eyes with a smile, futilely trying to straighten the grass they just kicked askew, and finally giving up and squatting down, leaving others to nag them for a lifetime.
"."

Shu Xiong felt that the gazes of the mother and son beside him were somewhat piercing.

"Why are you looking at me? Do I look like the kind of grumpy old man?"

"No, no! I'm just glad my dad isn't such a terrible person."

I don't know how many issues of "Yilin" magazine have touted the open and happy educational methods abroad, saying that foreign parents almost always treat their children as friends. But now it seems that's not really the case!
Shu Long himself had read quite a few Yilin magazines, mostly while squatting on the toilet. However, his main target was usually the joke page in the middle, and he would just flip through the others casually. In reality, they were about as important as the toilet paper next to him used to wipe his butt.

Zhang Xin patted her chest with lingering fear. Looking at the pitiful foreign child outside the car window, she felt a little sorry for him and asked Shu Long to get out of the car and call the child over.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hello?"

The other person seemed a little confused, but still politely replied in Italian, though their hoarse, phlegmy voice was rather unpleasant to hear.

Seeing that Shu Long was still considering how to say it in Italy without sounding too offensive in this context, the boy seemed to have noticed Shu Long's dilemma and took the initiative to speak up to help him out.

"You can actually speak English directly. Do you know English?"

Why didn't you say so sooner?
But now that he's up close, Shu Long felt that the other person's appearance, which was neither ugly nor simple-minded, looked somewhat familiar.

"Oh, I remember you! Weren't you in the KZ2 race just now?"

Shu Long noticed that this sentence seemed to have hit a sore spot for the other person. The boy, who was a head taller than him, twitched his eye noticeably when he heard this.

He withdrew from that match.

As a fellow racer, Shu Long could really understand the other person's feelings.

Because he watched the entire race from the stands, Shu Long could clearly remember that the tall young man in front of him led the race for almost the entire first half.

However, in the middle of the race, after being overtaken by the second-place finisher, he made a very irrational attempt to overtake from the same position on the second lap, but was still blocked by the equally aggressive second-place finisher.

The result was somewhat disastrous; unable to avoid the grenade, he crashed headfirst into his opponent's chassis, veered off the track, and was eliminated.

Such actions may elicit different opinions from different perspectives, and the basis for judgment is generally quite flexible. It is basically ignored when no accident occurs, and when an accident occurs, the basis for judgment is mostly based on who has more subjective malice.

The car that enters the curve first certainly has the right of way, and of course it has a right to be assertive – why should I give way to you when I got the line first?
The car behind certainly has its own reasons—damn it! I've already gotten in, why are you still pushing? Can't you handle this?!

When you're caught up in the heat of the moment, you don't care about anything else. Once you give up your position, who knows if you can overtake it back before the game ends? Regardless of who was in the right at the time, during the game, you'll only think the other person is the idiot.

Shu Long himself might weigh the options before making his choice, but he can't guarantee he won't make the same decision as the young driver in front of him. Everyone knows the cruelty of the racing world; everyone gives their all, but only the champion deserves to be seen.

It's clear that this guy is one of the most talented drivers. Rather than blaming his opponent, he's probably more annoyed by the stupid thing he just did.

The argument between the father and son just now might be related to this matter. Shu Long had no intention of provoking the other party further. What if he angered the other party and got beaten up?
"Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name. I heard the commentator call you Max, is that your nickname here?"

“No, no, no, Max is my name. Max Verstappen, my father’s expectation, you know.”

Having realized that the family in front of him meant no harm, Verstappen finally relaxed a bit and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Shu in the car.

Zhang Xin can communicate in simple English, but when she asked someone if they needed to call the police, she almost stumped Verstappen.

After a series of gesticulating explanations, it became clear that the family had misinterpreted what had just happened as domestic violence, though the essence of the two was not far off. Nevertheless, Verstappen declined Zhang Xin's offer and simply borrowed a phone to call his mother.

"That's just my dad's personality. He actually loves me very much and has given me almost everything. It's just that sometimes he's prone to losing control of his emotions, but he'll be fine after a few days."

Having witnessed this scene, the Shulong family was no longer in a hurry to leave. They invited Vestapan to get in the car and sit with them while they waited for his mother to pick him up.

After getting to know each other a little better, and being fellow racing enthusiasts, Shu Long and Verstappen started chatting away.

The two shared their subtle feelings and handling methods while driving. Seeing that Shu Long was obviously still young, Verstappen was particularly enthusiastic in giving him a detailed introduction to the competition rules of various races and also shared a lot of his unique driving experience with the KZ2 class geared go-karts he drove in the race.

The two chatterboxes were exchanging barbs in the back seat, making Shu Xiong and Zhang Xin, who were sitting in the front row, buzz in their heads.

The couple exchanged a glance. Although they couldn't understand most of what the other was saying, they could clearly see a hint of relief in each other's helpless eyes.

After their conversation cooled down a bit, and it was getting dark, Shu Long remembered to ask Verstappen how much longer it would take for his mother to arrive.

The answer is no. If his mother were to travel all the way from Belgium to here, even if she traveled by air and then rented a car, it would probably take her until midnight at the earliest.

Verstappen felt bad for wasting half a day of the family's time due to a momentary oversight. He originally wanted to get off the car and not trouble the family anymore, but he couldn't resist the enthusiastic parents' insistence on having him stay for a meal. They even planned to help him book a room at a nearby motel.

Shu Long felt extremely embarrassed.

It didn't feel right to support his own parents. Putting himself in Max's shoes, he felt that he might as well find a corner to squat in for a while rather than continue to bear this overly heavy goodwill.

Not supporting them seems a bit impolite, as if they think the other person is a nuisance and should just leave.

Fortunately, fate made the choice for them in advance: Verstappen's mother arrived.

Not only that, the same old man who had previously thrown a tantrum at the gas station also followed suit, making the atmosphere somewhat tense for a moment.

Pan's mother was a tall, slender, and gentle woman. She immediately began to thank Shu Xiong and Zhang Xin profusely, but after a while, she realized that the couple, who were clearly Asian, didn't seem to understand a word she said. They looked at their son somewhat awkwardly.

Old Pan, who was clearly still upset, was in a somewhat ambiguous mood. He seemed annoyed that his son had brought him a lot of unnecessary trouble, but he also seemed to be considering how to express his gratitude.

But after standing there for a while and finding that no one paid any attention to him, he deliberately let out a very heavy sigh, trying to make his presence known.

Still, nobody paid him any attention.

Shu Xiong and Zhang Xin were still a little wary of this man, feeling that he wasn't easy to get along with. As for Pan's mother, she rolled her eyes, not wanting to engage with him, but also afraid of angering him and making things awkward for everyone.

Father Pan didn't even glance at Mother Pan. He only stepped forward because he felt the atmosphere had eased somewhat, and tried his best to speak in the gentlest tone.

"Is English okay? Can we communicate in English?"

Several pairs of eyes darted around, but finally all turned to look at Shu Long, who was about to go out for some fresh air.

I absolutely hate the term "language proficiency"!

【real! 】

Old Verstappen rambled on and on, first defending his actions at the gas station for a long time, saying that it was his unique way of educating his son, and that he just wanted Max to calm down and reflect on his mistake, and that he did not really abandon his son.

He then explained that his anger was entirely justified, as Max had completely forgotten what he had taught him on the track, thus losing his chance to compete for the world championship.

At this point, Verstappen paused noticeably, clearly indicating that the memory had caused him great distress.

In order to train Max to become a racing driver far better than himself, Verstappen truly gave his all in every sense of the word.

If it were the young, powerful man he once was, he would have easily settled such a small favor with a simple check. But now, he barely has any money left. With no hope of competing for the world championship this year, finding a sponsor for next year's racing is a real headache.

Actually, the original sponsor was still willing to continue supporting Max, but unfortunately Verstappen recently got into a fight with them, and now the sponsorship might be canceled.
This dead mouth!
Old Verstappen was quite friendly to children other than his own son. As they chatted, he learned that the Shu Long family had come to Europe to look for competition opportunities, so he volunteered to help them make some decisions.

Having once been one of the world's top twenty drivers, Verstappen's pride wouldn't allow him to owe such a huge favor to a stranger for no reason.

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(End of this chapter)