F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 42 Red Bull's Self-Pounding Dilemma

As the face of a racing team, the team leader's attitude is often judged not by what he says, but by what he does.

Although Albon has shown signs of mental breakdown ever since he was elbowed off the track by Liu Laohan, his consistently excellent performance throughout the year has led the outside world to believe that Albon is fully worthy of a Red Bull official driver seat.

However, even now that the season is over, news of Albon's contract extension has yet to emerge. This attitude has undoubtedly given the outside world a hint of speculation: the unconfirmed spot at Red Bull may belong to someone else.

Looking at the entire paddock, it seems that only someone wearing a Haas jersey with a Red Bull logo could have such a possibility.

The rumor that "Shulong has already reached an agreement with Red Bull Racing and is now weighing the length of the contract" originated from this.

Marco did present several drafts and discuss them with Shulong, but Red Bull is not his sole authority, and Horner's stance was also crucial.

Especially with Mateschitz, the real owner of Red Bull Austria, still around, even if Marco has a close relationship with him, he wouldn't easily do anything that would overshadow the other's authority. The power between him and Horner must be checked and balanced to a certain extent.

This is a power struggle within the team, and it's also where Shulong struggled the most with this signing.

Horner was a very capable manager, and capability often comes with ambition.

As the youngest team principal ever, Horner has led the team since Red Bull officially entered F1. He knows that to compete with Marko, who has both seniority and ability, he must start with the most influential driver in the team; otherwise, any management decisions he makes will be impossible.

During the era when Marko favored Vettel, Horner relied on Mark Webber to stabilize the power struggle within the team, and later he also pried Ricciardo out of Marko's hands to balance the team's discourse power.

Since Ricciardo left Renault, Marko's several arbitrary reshufflings within the team have almost thrown the team's management into chaos.

Young drivers lack the ability and real say, like sitting on a leaf adrift in a rushing torrent, where they could capsize at any moment.

Marko may act recklessly and disregard the consequences for the sake of the team's performance, but Horner, as the actual manager of the team, prefers that everything be stable and controllable.

In the Red Bull team, Verstappen's personality makes him dislike manipulating team politics, which is one of the few things that makes Horner feel at ease. He is also trying to improve his relationship with Max, and the results are not bad.

However, Verstappen and Marko are too closely tied together, with related clauses even in their contracts. In addition, Verstappen has never gotten along well with Horner, who has always hoped to gain more team privileges through Marko. Therefore, this path is not very stable.

Under these circumstances, the next driver signed into the team will be crucial for Horner.

Shu Long bears a strong resemblance to Marco, but signing him might be a brilliant move.

The most pressing issue is performance. To achieve such results with Haas, a car whose racing data alone would make all engineers frown and shake their heads, Shulong is definitely the type of driver who would stay in the team even if they couldn't get a seat.

Even if the contract were sold for a high price, Horner would never consider this a worthwhile deal.

He couldn't imagine how much trouble it would cause if Shu Long went to Mercedes or Ferrari. It could be a completely different story that would change the team's standings. This loss couldn't be made up for by a simple signing bonus, and the aftereffects could last for many years.

Secondly, Shulong is probably one of the few, or even the only one, people in Marco's arsenal who can rival Max in terms of the level of importance he receives.

By signing Shulong, Marco was essentially handing over the power to choose who to offend.

If Marco chooses to side with Shulong, it would be tantamount to completely pushing Verstappen to the opposite side, and Horner could use this to solidify his connection with Max.

If Marco is still unwilling to let go of Max, then Horner can take the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with Shulong in order to counter the increasingly consolidated power of the Marco Group.

This is the advantage of having power; even if you originally had different positions, there are plenty of people who will create new positions for you.

The script was originally set out this way. After a long period of deliberation, Horner's current attitude is that he is only one step away from agreeing to let Shu Long join Red Bull, which is just a matter of signing a document.

If this accident hadn't happened.
After spending two days in a hotel with Gan Mengning, Zhang Xin and Shu Xiong, along with Shu Long's management team, kept negotiating with Red Bull, but they couldn't get a definite result.

This time, even Marco, who had initially been a staunch supporter, has become ambiguous in his stance.

What Horner could think of, Marco, that old fox, could naturally think of as well.

In a moment of impulsiveness, I felt like I had all the cards in my hand, and wondered what little Horner could possibly use to fight me.

But later, Horner stopped opposing him, and after Marco calmed down, he started to have doubts.

Both Max and Shu Long are young riders with considerable ability and potential, and they usually have a fairly good relationship.

Young and promising drivers are every team's dream, but if the two drivers can't distinguish who is the primary and who is the secondary, it may cause big problems.

Hamilton and Rosberg from a few years ago are still fresh in our minds.

In Marko's eyes, Verstappen is tough on the track, principled but gentle off the track.

This is the main reason why he frequently gets into fights with others on the track, but has a good relationship with many teammates off the track; he clearly distinguishes between what's on and off the track.

Shulong also performed very aggressively on the track. However, compared to Verstappen's road-dominating style, Shulong was more like a cunning opportunist who would never put himself in danger unless absolutely necessary, but would never hesitate to overtake and strike decisively when he could.

Whether this guy suddenly starts pressing hard or acts cowardly and yielding on the track, you have to start to think carefully about whether he is laying the groundwork for a remote control tactic later.

Is Shu Long good-tempered off the field?
Anyway, Marco felt that this kid's temper was too good. If you put Max in that Haas car and he drove it around, he would curse every single mechanic. On the other hand, what about Shulong?
Hey! This kid isn't picky! And he can even turn the rotten into the miraculous.

Red Bull needs smart and strong drivers, and as a team, Red Bull allows competition but never internal strife; at least in terms of overall team cohesion, they must maintain consistency.

In Marco's view, Shu Long and Max's personalities complement each other perfectly. Shu Long is the most suitable teammate for Max among all Red Bull-style drivers. Even if there are some frictions on the track, they can talk things out afterwards.

If these two could team up, they might be able to create a super driver lineup that rivals Schumacher and Barrichello's in their prime, making them invincible.

However, there are several variables off the field that Marco must be cautious about.

The first to be affected is Verstappen!
Back then, because Marko indulged himself, Verstappen and Sainz stripped Toro Rosso of their power as team principals. The two fathers acted independently within the team, doing everything they could to seize team resources and even devise their own race strategies for their sons.

Over a dispute about who should get into the pits first for a tire change, veteran Verstappen and veteran Sainz almost came to blows in the Toro Rosso pit lane, each determined not to give the other's son a chance to undercut their own. Toro Rosso is where Red Bull practices their custom games, so letting them mess around is fine, but the main Red Bull team can't handle this kind of chaos.

With Verstappen acting as a troublemaker, perhaps Marko wouldn't even need to step in as the bad cop; the team's resources would naturally tilt towards Max. But the question is, would Shulong be willing to do that?
Shulong's current carefree attitude stems from his position in a smaller racing team. In such teams, teammates don't compete or fight for points; getting points together is considered a celebration.

Compared to the difference of just one or two points between the goalkeepers in the points zone, smaller teams would rather their drivers bring the car back in good condition than risk smashing it to pieces in the process of trying to gain a better ranking.

The small car fleet is very poor; they really don't have the money to repair their cars. If they crash, the sky will fall.

Of course, Magnussen rarely faced Shulong head-on in the grid from qualifying to the race, which may be one of the key reasons why the atmosphere within the Haas team was relatively harmonious. After all, Shulong's ability to join Haas, given his fiery temper, was also a significant factor.

But once they join a big racing team, when the goal of racing changes from a few meaningless points to the podium or even the championship, how many people can be so magnanimous as to pat their chest and say, "I don't care about the championship, please go first."

No one can guarantee that.

Or rather, if Shulong were the kind of spineless coward who would only let the team manipulate him and had no competitive spirit, Marko wouldn't have thought so highly of him back then.

Marco's plan was shrewd. Verstappen was ultimately an unstable factor for Max. If Max chose to leave Red Bull one day, there was still Shulong, whom he had already prepared, who could take over the point guard position.

Moreover, judging from Red Bull's youth training situation in recent years, only Shu Long has the ability to be the leader of Red Bull.

Perhaps because the youth training groups of various teams have gradually developed, young and outstanding drivers have more choices. Under such circumstances, Red Bull's youth training, which is famous for its style and is feared by many, is no longer their first choice.

Although it's hard to admit, Red Bull's reserve of fresh talent has been somewhat lacking since they put Shu Long into F1 in recent years.

Players who have performed slightly better include Kakuta, who was brought in by Honda, and Lawson, who was signed not long ago.

He might be considered excellent by other youth training systems, but by Marco's standards, he is definitely not outstanding. He is not even as good as Shulong, let alone Alben and Gasly.

Some people get a perfect score because they have the ability to do so, while others get a perfect score because their test paper only has the basic format.

Marco wants riders like Shu Long and Max, who stand out from the crowd among their peers; even a blind person could see their exceptional qualities.

People like Alben and Gasley are top-tier; they can pass the exams, but it takes a lot of effort.

Kakuta and Lawson both seem to have a ceiling of around 95, but most of the time they can perform at 91 or 92, and occasionally they can get carried away and go for 70 or 80.

Lawson's performance in Formula 1 is slightly better than Albon's. He's run a lot of races but is always second place. At first glance, it seems alright, right? But you have to consider who you're comparing him to.

Who has Albon been competing with throughout his career?

That includes Red Bull's current star player Verstappen, Mercedes' inspirational youth academy student Ocon, Ferrari's heir Leclerc, and McLaren's current darling Norris.

Alben showed no fear when competing against them; on the contrary, he put up a good fight.

After all, he was a discarded item that Marco had personally kicked out. To be honest, this completely exceeded Marco's expectations of him when he was recycling scrap.

If it weren't for the sudden shift in Taurean interest towards Alben and their willingness to support him, Marco wouldn't have been so keen on going back to his old ways.

In the past few years, the lower-level formula racing was incredibly competitive, with the top drivers being top contenders who could easily be number one drivers in smaller teams.

In recent years, the FIA ​​has merged and managed many lower-level races, reducing the number of selection processes and creating a chaotic situation for drivers. Instead of raising the overall level due to the reduction in seats, it has become a battleground for all sorts of people with connections.

Many talented drivers who lack financial resources or connections have been squeezed out of their positions.

Is it reasonable to not win a championship in such an environment? Marco certainly doesn't think so.

Competitive but not dominant, falling somewhere between a highly regarded player like Gasly and a free-range player like Nico.

Horner thought that Marco had a lot of cards in his hand, but Marco felt that he was almost out of cards. Apart from Max, the only card he could play now was Shulong, who had once been his teammate and had defeated Leclerc head-on.

Anyone who has played cards knows that a royal flush is most powerful when held in pairs. When it becomes a single card, it's basically just a card with a slightly higher value, and a three-point card can easily replace it.

Therefore, Marco cannot afford to be careless in his attitude towards Shulong. Should he play this card now, or hold onto it for a while longer?
This time, with Shu Long injured, it's probably Horner who's more disappointed, while Marco is the one who's greatly relieved.

Whether Shulong will be able to participate in the competition next year is still unknown, but at least before the end of this season, they have a very legitimate excuse to delay for a while longer.

Shu Long's parents, forcing a smile, brought back some not-so-good news, along with a visitor named Horner. Shu Long's already anxious heart sank once again.

Besides confirming Shulong's injuries, Horner's main purpose in coming here was to calm the emotions on the side.

After a lot of polite but meaningless talk, the gist of it is: considering Shu Long's current physical condition, there's no guarantee he'll get a seat, but Red Bull will take good care of him for the time being (don't even think about running away), and the contract is still in Red Bull's hands.

That's why Verstappen was so shrewd. Max could leave Red Bull with almost no cost as long as he met the opt-out clause, while Shulong needed Red Bull's approval to transfer to another team before his contract expired.

During the youth training period, at least a small amount of RMB is spent on training. Unless the contract expires, unilateral termination will require paying a large penalty.

The conditions in Shulong are very attractive to many big teams, but now every team is not short of people. They are not willing to be given only a reserve driver. The current drivers are not having any problems. So, considering the cost of acquiring Shulong, they need to think twice.

　Wow, the first stop is already this exciting! I feel like this year's competition is going to be a real treat.

　　It seems like they've managed to get the real Kimi here. Although there were some mistakes and they benefited greatly from the strategy, they still managed to reach fourth place. Considering it was their first competition and it was in the rain, their performance is truly promising.

　　Ferrari's TR today was truly full of allusions; could this be a curse from an imported world champion?
　　I'm starting to wonder if someone has found out about the red nose from Binotto's old club; that's quite a feat.

　　Sauber actually scored in the first game; it felt worse than swallowing a fly...

　　Thanks to Li Xiaoyao, Doudouzhuanzhuanguofenle, Book Friend 150930223851480, Budongjiuhun, Adoukens, DestinyKey, and Duoladuocu for their monthly ticket donations.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)