F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 277 Pixiu
"Hi George~"

Shu Long, who was chatting with his teammates and Leclerc on the side, pursed his lips tightly and quietly added in a voice just loud enough for the person next to him to hear: "I am Paige."

The two boring guys didn't react at all, but Norris, who was eavesdropping on the side, chuckled.

At first, I just chuckled a couple of times, but then somehow I tickled my own funny bone and covered my face, letting out a ghostly, wailing sound.

The laughter was so loud it was almost jarring; it made Russell's ears turn red.

Aside from native Britons, perhaps only Zhou Guanyu could find the humor in the recent resurgence of the pink pig in China, as he was sucking his teeth and vigorously pinching his Qingming acupoint.

Unlike the female host, who is much more professional.

Although he laughed out loud, considering the subsequent pat on the shoulder, wave, and smooth hair, it all looked like a normal social etiquette smile.

"Say hello to the fans who are supporting you here!"

Russell seemed to want to swallow his Adam's apple, his polite smile like a wax mask, and he waved to the passing audience with his back straight.

Norris seemed to have finally found a topic to join in, shoving his head between the three of them and starting to complain that Russell had become a completely different person.

Although Russell used to seem reserved, anyone who knew him knew he was a secretly sassy guy who could crack jokes in private and was no less humorous than Albon.

Otherwise, these two wouldn't get along, right?

But ever since he entered the paddock, especially after joining Mercedes, there have always been people, including Russell himself, who have been deliberately trying to create a certain persona for him.

Verstappen has always been known for doing things his own way.

Aside from being overly lenient with Ferrari, Leclerc is also the most natural and normal person to get along with, sometimes even a bit nonsensical.

Norris still has the mindset of a child. Neither his agent nor his parents have deliberately guided him in any particular direction. In fact, the reason why Norris has such high popularity and a large number of fans is related to his pure personality with little brain.

Shulong still carried a heavy burden when he was with Little Red Bull. When he went to Has, he was always in a heavy mood and couldn't let go. A car accident in Bahrain loosened his seal, and now he often has an "I don't care" attitude.

It's tiring to keep putting on a show all the time; let whoever wants to care care.

After the female host had Russell make some polite remarks about the Hungaroring circuit and then gave a formulaic compliment to the enthusiasm of the fans, the topic finally turned back to Russell himself.

"We saw you take pole position with an excellent lap yesterday, which is your first pole position in your career. I wonder what your expectations are for the main race later?"

"Emm—you know, our car really did make some very encouraging progress this weekend. To be honest, even I didn't expect to get pole position under such complicated conditions yesterday. It was a real surprise!"

As for the main competition...
As he was talking, Russell suddenly glanced at Shulong behind him. He didn't know what Norris had said earlier, but Shulong was laughing so hard he was almost rolling on the floor. His intuition told him that it was probably related to him.

"I think this is common knowledge in the paddock; everyone knows that you need to keep a close eye on Long in the early stages."

The female host laughed even more heartily.

This person really knows how to throw out a topic, saving her the trouble of reorganizing her thoughts. She just grabbed the microphone and moved closer to Shu Long.

"George just said that he will keep a close eye on you at the start. Will you feel any pressure starting on the dirty side of P2?"

"pressure?"

Shu Long glanced back at Russell from above the frame of his sunglasses, wondering if telling the truth would hurt Russell's pride.

If you wanted to compare other things, that would be fine, but comparing starting distances? Tsk! Aren't you just making yourself miserable?!
Not only do they make themselves uncomfortable, but they also make others uncomfortable.

"Overtaking on the Hungaroring track is not easy, so the start is just as important as qualifying. If I remember correctly, this is probably the first time I've faced off against Giorgio at the start. So, of course, I was under some pressure."

Norris shrank back in disgust.

He was allergic to this kind of clichéd politeness, and felt goosebumps instantly spread all over his body. He especially disliked Russell's increasingly aloof behavior and immediately put his head in front of the microphone to stir up trouble.

What they say is that pressure and respect are earned through ability.

The implication is that they've never seen you start the car from the front before, and if you want to create pressure, you have to put some pressure on yourself. Just talking and mutual flattery is meaningless, isn't it?
Then he immediately got a kick to the butt.

Who gives you the right to speak here, you brat!
The meaning expressed seems to be correct, and even Shu Long himself occasionally has the same thought.

But for a driver like Russell who hasn't had many opportunities for direct combat before and is eager to prove himself, Shu Long has always been 110% on guard during races.

There's a saying in street fights: you can kick a primary school student with a knife away, but you'll usually only give a polite ending to a high school student with a knife.

The former is because the value is too low to be worth paying attention to, while the latter is because people are reasonable and know a little about boundaries.

But if a middle school student with a knife stands in front of you, don't hesitate, turn around and run!
This guy is really daring to stab people with a knife, and the law doesn't really do much to him. The key is that his stats are not to be underestimated. No matter how tall or strong a person is, they might be forcibly taken down and traded one for one if they're not careful.

In Shu Long's general classification of his colleagues in the paddock, Leclerc was typically the high school student with a knife.

They look intimidating and can indeed be deadly if provoked, but the degree of conflict is relatively easy to control, so overall they are not that troublesome.

Russell is clearly the kind of fearless, high school student with a knife.

The abilities and stats are indeed there, and the knife called Mercedes in his hand is not without its advantages. Just like in yesterday's ranked match, it sneaks up and stabs you out of nowhere.

Russell is clearly quite confident now, inspired by yesterday's pole position, but he also feels a bit inferior, as well as a bit envious and jealous, when faced with Shu Long's outstanding performance.

Both were F3 and F2 champions, and both were promoted to F1 as the top draft picks.

Both teams had been struggling at the bottom for years, both had repeatedly shown Martian potential while carrying their cars, and both were very close to the championship trophy when they needed to prove themselves the most, but both missed the mark by a twist of fate.

In the end, they were all promoted to real elite racing teams around the same time.

As a result, Red Bull took off, while Mercedes nearly plummeted to the bottom.

In some ways, the two men's experiences are too similar. If it weren't for bad luck, the script that should have been written for Shu Long would have been his!
Hamilton had the ability to compete for the world championship last year, how could he have regressed so much this year?

Having managed to consistently suppress the former seven-time champions in his first year at Mercedes, Russell believes he is absolutely no less capable than anyone else. How could anyone accept that?!
Norris just mentioned previewing?

No, no, no, Russell felt that what he needed was never any preparation, or rather, he had been fully prepared for this moment from the moment he entered the paddock!

Before the start of the afternoon race, Shu Long, who was calmly putting on gloves, suddenly had a premonition and looked up at the Mercedes parked diagonally in front of him.

Russell quickly lowered his head, using his helmet to hide the complex look in his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.

Just wait!
Unfortunately, Shu Long himself didn't care much at all.

Paying too much attention to his opponent before the match does not have much of a positive effect on him. On the contrary, it may make him hesitant and his mind may be cluttered with random thoughts, which may affect his concentration during the match.

No matter how arrogant or reckless the middle school student wielding the knife may be, he is still just a middle school student. These immature teenagers suddenly gain power that doesn't belong to them, and they have many ways to manipulate it.

In contrast, Shu Long was more interested in Verstappen's situation. Although there was a Mercedes ahead that could easily take pole position, and two Ferraris closely following behind that should theoretically have a faster lap time than Red Bull.

But yes! That's right!

Shu Long's most wary opponent in this match was actually his own teammate.

Russell started in old red because he used more tires than Shulong yesterday in his bid for pole position, but he also wanted to go head-to-head with Shulong from the start.

I admire that courage.

But the truck is equipped with a brand new set of red tires that have just been unsealed. The grip performance at the start may be about the same, but what about the mileage?

Even if, by any chance, Shulong failed to improve his position at the start, he already had the initiative in terms of pit stop strategy alone. Even if Russell's car had a higher ceiling, he could only play a passive defensive role throughout the race.

A wiser approach might be to follow the strategy of the two Ferraris, using yellow tires to completely separate themselves from Red Bull, and find an opportunity to overcut by compressing the opponent's window.

After all, the Hungaroring circuit is really too difficult to overtake.

Unless there are extreme differences in performance between cars and ability between drivers, as Alonso wrote in "Hamilton's Defense" last year, even a car that is much, much slower is not entirely without a fighting chance.

Clearly, Ferrari themselves don't feel they have much of a performance advantage. They might have thought so during practice, but after qualifying, they've lost all confidence.

It wasn't just Leclerc; even Sainz compromised his setup towards a wet track before qualifying, otherwise Shulong might not have had a chance to get P2 on this disadvantageous track.

Clearly, no one guessed right. Just like Saturday, the weather forecast for Sunday of the main event showed that rain was possible at any time. The clouds were still so gloomy, but the weather stubbornly refused to come down.

The rain stopped during qualifying on Saturday, but it started raining as soon as the race ended, and it rained on and off until this morning.

The track conditions were almost identical for both days. Due to the lower-group formula race, the track surface was nearly completely dry, but the temperature on the track surface was also relatively lower.

It's possible that today's rainfall will be just as unpleasant as yesterday's, so strategically, Ferrari can only consider itself at a disadvantage, especially with those yellow tires.
Red Bull discussed this issue at a last-minute tactical meeting before the match, mainly because Verstappen, starting on P10 tires, needed to consider more factors. However, after discussion within the team, it was ultimately decided that both players would start on red tires.

The fact that both Ferraris opted for yellow tires means that they pose no threat to Shulong, at least in the initial stages. Putting all their eggs in one basket seems unwise, and it's likely a result of the team's resources becoming increasingly indecisive after Leclerc's mistake and retirement in the last race.

But this doesn't mean Ferrari is a bunch of brainless idiots. Their choice of yellow tires is actually quite intriguing. The most obvious indication is that they had no intention of forming a tactical encirclement of Shulong with Russell.

Regardless, Mercedes' speed in qualifying should not be underestimated. Instead of wasting time and effort on an extremely difficult track to overtake, it would be better to let their two formidable rivals on red tires get their heads knocked out first, and then they can reap the benefits at the end.

The final outcome is still unknown, but this is certainly a clever plan.

The cars starting from the front are all exposed, and Shu Long can see them clearly, while Red Bull can see them even more clearly. While it's not a sure thing, their chances of winning are certainly very high.

Just like in martial arts novels where masters can discern each other's strength with just a glance, Shulong gave the team the same feeling. Even before the race started, they knew they wouldn't lose.

From any perspective, it doesn't look like they're going to lose!

But Shu Long doesn't think so. He hasn't finished talking about his impressions of the drivers in the paddock yet. What does Verstappen resemble in Shu Long's mind?

It's more like a Joker wielding a knife.

It's not that he's mocking his teammate for being like a clown, but rather that his teammate is like the clown who keeps brandishing a knife at his mouth, the clown that gives Bruce Wayne, dressed in bat skin, the biggest headache.

He's crazy and ruthless on the track, but you'd be sorely mistaken if you thought he was just a brainless brute. If you underestimate him, his extremely calm and shrewd judgment will definitely leave a deep impression on you.

Because the tactics were discussed together, even though Verstappen could only start from P10, Shu Long knew that the success rate of breaking through would be very high, given the opponent's ability and the car's advantages.

With the team's race strategy excluding white tires, it will almost certainly develop into a two-stop or even multi-stop tactic, and anything can happen.

Shulong's desire for victory has little to do with the championship race itself, but a lot to do with the points standings, which to some extent is indeed closely related to the championship race.

The champion represents points, and points represent prize money!

Having just spent such a large sum of money to support his future life, and having overdrawn his annual salary, Shu Long is still working in debt. If anyone tries to take his bonus at this time, he'll be furious!

The difference in points between P1 and P2 is at least 8 points. The points bonus plus the extra bonus for winning the championship is close to 70 euros. You don't know how big the loss is until you quantify it.

Talking about honors is too abstract. Every time Shulong lifts a trophy, he is making history. It would be more motivating to have some tangible incentives.

俗？
What's wrong with being a little vulgar?
Talking about money is indeed a bit vulgar, but isn't talking about honor just another kind of vulgarity?
Or, to put it more noblely, one can bind one's own aspirations with one's feelings for one's country and people.

Indeed, Shulong's achievements represent part of the country's soft power. He has made more people around the world accept the strength of their motherland and are willing to learn about this country that has been distorted and smeared by countless Western media.

but.
A nation is strong because it was strong to begin with. It is the result of generations of hard work and dedication from elite talents in countless industries, not from someone shouting and clamoring outside the country.

He was nothing more than an actor standing in the arena, catering to the audience's demands. His efforts only allowed him to seize opportunities and reap some benefits from the era. No matter how many honors he received, it didn't really change anything.

As I said before, years of experience in the paddock had taught Shulong a lesson: don't take yourself too seriously.

True purity should be about enjoying the thrill of driving, just like Kimi did in the later stages of his career, regardless of his results!

The problem is that audiences don't like this kind of story, the racing teams don't like it, and the sponsors especially don't like it!

A well-known online writer once said: "The things men pursue in their lives can be boiled down to two things—money and women."

If we consider them as less specific images, the two lines represent profit and desire respectively. Human nature is to pursue profit and satisfy desire, and there's nothing shameful about admitting it.

Shu Long enjoys the spiritual satisfaction brought by speed, and he does not deliberately avoid the greedy part of his human nature that pursues profit. The so-called desire for victory is a product of the combination of various desires.

Everywhere he looked, there were stumbling blocks blocking his path. Whether they were opponents or teammates, Shu Long would spare no effort to trample them under his feet.

Ferrari's choices in this race were like a microcosm of the entire season, making Red Bull and Shulong unable to completely ignore the threat from them, while also constantly crippling themselves.

He makes himself look like a ruthless person by getting covered in blood, and his bright red outfit seems to foreshadow something, yet he often leaves his opponents both amused and exasperated.

After a series of bizarre actions, Binotto was forced to have a red nose slapped on him by the long-resentful Iron Buddha Temple, and the cauliflower-like curly hair on his head inexplicably matched the image of the clown.

This is the real Joker, not the intimidating Gotham Joker.

Even though Leclerc made such a serious, basic mistake in the last race, many fans believed it was the result of his mental breakdown caused by being tormented by the Prancing Horse circus for so long.

But they are a long-established powerhouse with a place in the history of the paddock. Is it really a waste of resources to just use them as a prop to showcase the strength of others?

As a rival, Shu Long didn't want Ferrari to become easy prey and make the race too boring.

As a "teammate".
"The match will start in thirty seconds."

“Copy.”

Shu Long hoped that the other party would put in a little more effort while acting as a troublemaker.

(End of this chapter)