F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 282 Breaking!s!
"You scored a point? That's great, congratulations! Did you get the new blade from Aro yet?"

"It's been changed—but shouldn't it still be considered a change?"

Shu Long frowned, revealing a somewhat surprised expression.

What kind of nonsense is this?
If it's changed, it's changed; if it's not changed, it's not changed. Is there some abstract thing on your mind if you changed it?
"So, was it changed or not?"

"It's been changed, but Bottas's blade has been upgraded again for this race, so I'll use his old blade for now and get the new ones after the summer break."

Well.
Shu Long was genuinely at a loss for words. Even with his tumultuous career in the past few years, he had never encountered such a frustrating situation.

Toro Rosso simply didn't favor Shulong in terms of car upgrades and development direction. Uncle Tost didn't shortchange him on any upgrades or logistical support. In fact, after Albon and Gasly swapped teams in the second half of the season, he even got to decide the development direction.

Haas didn't have the money for any decent research and development at the time. Shu Long, who was on the podium from the start and scored consistently in every race, was definitely the key player. The few upgrades were prioritized for Shu Long first, and Magnussen was only given a chance when there was some spare money.

This year is similar; Haas underwent a major upgrade at this race, transforming the entire car into something resembling a Ferrari. In addition to the red car, a white car was added to the paddock.

Why is there only one?
That's because only Magnussen gets promoted in this match, duh!

This is actually a common dilemma faced by mid-to-lower tier teams in the paddock. Teams like Red Bull are always considering how to save money, because they are afraid of accidentally overspending.

Haas also has to think about saving money all the time. It has nothing to do with whether or not they are on the budget cap, because they simply don't have any money!

We don't even have enough flowers to spend, so what's there to worry about exceeding the limit? You guys are so rich, why don't you give us a little something in return?

Oh, Ferrari has already given them a handout.
That’s okay!

Steiner still misses the days when Shu Long was still in the team, and he regrets every moment that he was so cowardly to kick Ma Zeping out.

Zhou Guanyu's current situation is somewhat similar to Mike's; he receives no resources and can only accept his fate.

However, as a rookie, Guan Yu is quite self-aware. He knows that he is still behind Bottas in terms of ability, and he is also a slow starter. The most important thing is to learn something and improve himself in his first season. In any case, his situation should not be as bad as Mike's.

Let's not talk about these unpleasant topics. It's something to celebrate that he was able to get back into form so quickly after the Silverstone incident. As they were talking, he was about to invite Lao Zhou and his female companion, who rarely came to watch the game, out for a meal that night, but Zhou Guanyu, who was full of embarrassment, waved his hand to stop him.

It's a bit strange that someone who just barely scraped by with a P10 and got a point, would be invited to dinner by someone who won the championship for this reason.
Not to mention that he was able to get this point largely thanks to the farce that Shu Long created at the start of the race.

At the start, they eliminated a large number of drivers who were highly competitive for points, and gave the Arro duo, who had both fainted at the start, a second chance. From that point on, Zhou Guanyu and Bottas were actually in the points zone.

Drivers like Ocon and Norris are fast soloers, but struggle to break away from slower cars. This has little to do with the drivers' abilities; it's mainly because their cars aren't very competitive.

In the end, only Russell managed to break through and reach P7 by the end of the match. Most of the others who were affected by Shu Long's sabotage failed to return to the points zone.

Fortunately, Arro didn't make any major mistakes throughout the match, though his execution wasn't particularly perfect or outstanding either.

Zhou Guanyu followed the expected strategy of issuing yellow, red, and yellow suspensions, but Vettel took advantage of the chaos to use tactics to gain position, allowing Zhou Guanyu to score another point after Bottas retired due to another mechanical failure.

Although it wasn't easy, comparing the two, there really wasn't anything to congratulate or be proud of. Zhou Guanyu waved his hand to nip his friend's smug expression in the bud, and then remembered what the important matter was.

It's unclear what information they exchanged during their brief conversation, and Zhou Guanyu didn't have time for a long chat. After the race, he had to rush back to the factory with the team, as there was still a lot of work to be done before the summer break officially ended.

Shu Long also had a lot of things going on at Red Bull, but Horner wasn't so heartless as to force someone to work overtime right after winning the championship. So that night, he had dinner with Gan Mengning and Alonso, who had secured P6 and brought back 8 points, and also exchanged some information with his agent.

The next morning, when Shulong boarded the plane and pulled down his blindfold, the continuous, massive tremors in the hunting grounds shook the earth violently.

Both McLaren players have multi-year contracts, with the shortest being Ricciardo's contract expiring at the end of next year, so there's not much they can do to join the fray.

Mercedes acknowledged Russell's abilities, seemingly to soothe the young man's psychological trauma in Hungary, and confirmed in advance that the current driver lineup would continue next year.

Williams is also confirmed to continue using this year's lineup next year. Both Albon and Perez are very capable drivers with substantial sponsorships, making them the most suitable choice for Williams, which is ambitious and determined to achieve great results.

as well as--

"Breaking! Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu has confirmed a contract extension with Alfa Romeo, reportedly for several years."

"The Alfa Romeo team principal told the media today that he decided to renew Zhou Guanyu's contract because he was very satisfied with the Chinese driver's performance, and it had nothing to do with other off-track factors. He believes that signing Zhou will be the right choice."

“We hoped he could score a point this season, and he did in the very first race. We hoped he could make it into Q3, as you can see from his performance in the previous races. Yesterday, he successfully brought points back for the team again, and I'm very happy that he was able to quickly regain his form after such a major accident.”

It's clear from the text that Vasser admires Zhou Guanyu; in fact, the accompanying picture in this news article is of Vasser ambushing Zhou with a water gun.

They are capable, steadily improving in every game, work efficiently and get along well with their team, and most importantly, the probability of them making mistakes that cause damage to the car is extremely low. It's hard not to like them.

While he is indeed not quite on par with a monster rookie like Shu Long who constantly surprises people, it's only been a short time since a rider like Shu Long has emerged in the paddock. For a team like Aro, Zhou Guanyu is undoubtedly the most suitable choice for them at present.

As for why Vassell emphasized that his contract extension with Zhou Guanyu had nothing to do with off-field factors.
That was, of course, because another extremely explosive piece of news had emerged from the paddock.

Following the stalemate in negotiations between Porsche and Red Bull, Audi also announced that they would need to wait until the new engine regulations in 26 were clarified before considering entering F1. Meanwhile, Geely officially announced that they would enter the F1 project in 25.

Shu Long has been obsessed with making money lately, and with all the unexpected big news happening in the hunting grounds, he hasn't been paying attention to the progress of this matter for a while. He never expected that the good news would come so suddenly.

However, on his way to Red Bull headquarters after getting off the plane, he still learned a lot of general information from his mother.

It's actually connected to the affair between Red Bull and Porsche.

Around the time of the British Grand Prix, Audi and Geely engaged in a bidding war against Sauber.

Geely initially offered a tentative $5 million bid, but Sauber Sport Group's actual controlling shareholder, Chang Gong Group, insisted on holding out for a higher price, leading Audi to offer $6 million. In business, no company is foolish enough to reveal all its cards.

Both sides kept adding a little bit, and in the end Audi gave a bid of 1 billion dollars, while Geely's own budget limit was actually only around 1 billion dollars.

It's unclear whether Audi has any other trump cards up its sleeve. In any case, Geely has already reached its limit on its own. Given that the offers are similar, Changgong Group is more inclined to hand over the equity to Audi.

No reason.

Audi's global brand recognition and motorsport achievements are still more impressive. Coupled with some preconceived notions and implicit benefits, it's not surprising that people tend to favor Audi.

Aside from being ripped off by a cunning financial investment company, Audi seemed to have the victory in hand. However, Geely's determination to enter F1 was too firm, and it also had a wealthy backer with money to burn.

There's no way to be undeterred; this is Geely's closest chance to getting into F1.

As a brand that still insists on traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, Geely is showing signs of gradual decline in the current domestic environment where electric vehicles are being widely promoted.

The F1 project is becoming increasingly prosperous, and the price will not be the same in the future. However, Geely may not be able to come up with such a large budget.

This is the best opportunity to break into the high-end racing market. Standing at the forefront of this trend, with a phenomenal driver like Shu Long leading the way, whether we can turn the tide and reach the forefront of the times depends on this move.

Although the new engine regulations for 26 years have not yet been fully finalized, the general direction is already quite clear. Whether it is clean fuels or a larger proportion of electric vehicle hybrids, these could be opportunities for Geely to stand out from the crowd of electric vehicles.

Otherwise, even without this move, Geely would simply be slowly dying amidst the onslaught of emerging electric vehicles offering low prices and good value for money.

最后吉利决定与米哈游以2：1的比例提出共计12亿刀的报价，并且还承诺后续会以五五的比例追加投入2-3亿刀建成独立动力单元部门，争取在下下个规则周期成为厂队中的一员。

However, Shufu's budget has reached its limit. This almost bottomless pit of funds will be initially covered by Lao Mi, and compensation will be made gradually from other sources later.

Fortunately, Sauber has a very complete, even top-of-the-line, wind tunnel system. This is the advantage of acquiring an existing team; after the acquisition, a large amount of subsequent investment expenses can be saved.

Fortunately, the US has incredibly deep financial resources. Its current annual profit is even higher than that of Red Bull. The key is that their expenditure direction is very simple. The amount of liquid funds they can readily provide in the short term is probably more than that of Red Bull, whose power structure is already chaotic and cumbersome.

The power of money instantly left Audi battered and bruised. And since the Volkswagen Group has more than just its own subsidiaries, internal support quickly faded away.

Geely is not the only car brand affected by the impact of electric vehicles on the market. Traditional European car brands have also been significantly impacted. Apart from some high-end luxury models that prey on the wealthy, brands like Audi, which tend to take a more mid-to-high-end and affordable approach, have been particularly hard hit.

Even the richest family doesn't have surplus grain. The investment in car manufacturing is incomparable to that of the virtual game industry. Audi's budget is actually far less than what people perceive from its brand's stereotypical image.

Compared to his biological son, who shares the same roots, Audi, the adopted son, despite his great contributions to the development of the Volkswagen family, still finds it difficult to receive as much affection as the young master.

With negotiations with Audi faltering, the Volkswagen Group naturally shifted its focus to the Porsche-Red Bull partnership.

However, the original plan that Horner and Porsche had agreed upon was a 50/50 split. After the Audi project failed, Porsche changed its mind and decided to take 70% of the team's equity, intending to completely remove Red Bull from the existing management structure.

Although they are willing to pay more than before, this is clearly not the outcome Horner hoped for.

He hoped that Porsche's intervention would disrupt the current Red Bull management structure, but his real purpose was to take advantage of the chaos to acquire a stake in the team and become its own owner, like Toto, instead of changing owners and continuing to be someone else's slave.

Even after the team became Porsche's property, team managers like Horner and Marko were definitely among the first to be dealt with, being old guard members of the old regime.

He also became his own boss
Whether they can hold onto their current power is another matter. If they don't lose their jobs, they'll be lucky to survive. They might not even be able to work as slaves!
The series of setbacks left Horner in a slump since the Silverstone Grand Prix. Even Toto, his usual rival in the paddock, didn't seem to have the energy to compete, and Horner looked much older and more haggard.

Not only his hair, but even his once golden eyebrows started to have a few white hairs mixed in.

Shu Long had just returned to Milton Keynes, and the first thing he did wasn't rush to complete the final testing before the summer break. Instead, Horner called him into his office to discuss the renewal of his contract.

While some teams have officially announced that they will maintain their current lineups for next year, others have experienced personnel changes.

The first example is Aston Martin, which had just officially announced Vettel's retirement and then immediately brought in the next world champion-level coach for its young master Stroll, announcing a pleasant multi-year contract with Alonso.

Alpine, somewhat flustered by the sneak attack from the leader, quickly responded by decisively initiating negotiations with Toro Rosso regarding the exchange of Piastrie and Gasly. This was the very matter that Marco hadn't returned to headquarters in England to attend to.

At this point, the lineups for the other nine teams in the paddock for next year are basically set, except for Haas, which has yet to decide whether to renew Mick's contract.

But this is only next year's lineup. Porsche's high-stakes negotiations, which are on the verge of collapse, have pushed Horner to the brink of disaster. This veteran team leader, who built Red Bull from scratch, is now desperately trying to grab onto a lifeline.

The person sitting across from Horner at that moment, staring with dead fish eyes, was clearly the thickest and strongest rope in Horner's eyes.

Shulong's absolutely dominant performance this year has already spoken volumes and convinced many people, whether it's Thai or Austrian cattle.

Red Bull's 7% stake in fuel-rich beverages is undoubtedly the best proof of this.

As long as Horner can hold onto the Shulong contract, he will have a trump card to maneuver endlessly with the group's top management within the team.

Isn't that ridiculous?

Shu Long, who was once powerless to act, was forced to become a pawn in the power struggle among the team's top management. Now, as a driver, he still seems to have no intention of interfering in the team's power, but every move he makes may affect the future power structure of the entire team.

Can--

Shu Long glanced lazily at the newly drafted terms of treatment in front of him, looking rather troubled as he fiddled with a strand of hair at his temple.

"Do we have to make a decision now? The season is still long. You know Alonso is busy right now; he's still arguing with Alpine."

(End of this chapter)