F1: I was born to be useful, and you are all destined for greatness.

"Good evening, Mr. Wolf," said Townche.

This was definitely not a good night for Toto, but now is not the time to dwell on his bad mood.

"Just call me Toto," Toto said. "Do you remember the terms I offered you last year, Tang?"

Tanger: "Of course I remember, Williams, reserve driver for the 21 season, official driver for the 22 season."

As is well known, Toto Wolff has a significant influence in the Williams team and a considerable say in the Williams driver seats, essentially turning the Williams team into Mercedes' junior training team.

Toto: "Even if you're not a reserve driver for Williams this season, I still have a Williams seat for you."

"Oh?" Toncher asked with interest, "So, which Williams driver does Mr. Wolff intend to have vacate his place?"

Williams Racing has finalized and officially announced its two drivers for the 2022 season: Alexander Albon and Nicolas Latifi.

Toto, without hesitation and with a hint of gritted teeth, said, "Latifi."

It's clear that Toto Wolff was very dissatisfied with the 21-season finale orchestrated by Ralf Ralph.

Tanger: "It seems Mr. Wolf is having a hard time getting over tonight's game."

"We were almost in the trophy... It's hard for anyone to let go of that," Toto said earnestly. "Don't get me wrong, Tom, neither I nor the entire Mercedes team have a single grudge against you. What angers us is the unreasonable handling of the incident, which is the FIA's responsibility and has nothing to do with you. You fought fair and square the whole time, and your performance amazed and impressed everyone."

Toto's true feelings weren't as noble as he claimed.

Toto is now full of regret, deep regret. Damn it, if he had gritted his teeth and given Tom a spot last year, he wouldn't have lost WDC this year.

Towne: "Mr. Wolf, let's get back to business."

"I guarantee that within three years at most, you will be promoted from Williams to Mercedes," Toto said solemnly. "We can put that in the contract."

Tang Che calmly replied, "Mr. Wolff, Ferrari only needs me to stay with the satellite team for two years, at most two years."

Toto calmly said, "Tom, you need to know that Ferrari hasn't been able to compete for the championship for many years. Their R&D is only second-rate, their racing strategy is a mess, and their employees are very lax and have absolutely no ambition to compete for the championship."

"They even appointed an engineer who knew absolutely nothing about team management as team leader, which inevitably led to a laughing stock. Don't you remember how many embarrassing things Ferrari has done over the years?"

"On the other hand, Mercedes... I think that speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

Tang Che didn't need to understand any hidden meanings; he directly gleaned four words from Toto's words—"Worthane."

Tang Che was incredibly, immensely, and furious. His anger was so intense he was practically bursting with rage. He declared on the spot that he had a dream of having a son, and then recited a Bible with his head tilted back. (crossed out)

Just kidding, just kidding. Tang Che isn't WDC yet, he's not ready to awaken his dream.

Negotiate, negotiate, keep negotiating. Toto can present the facts and reason, and so can Tontatta.

"It's true that Mercedes dominated the hybrid era, but next year is the first year of a completely new regulatory cycle. Will Mercedes really be able to reign supreme in the era of ground effect?" Tang Che mimicked Toto's tone. "Red Bull in 14 is still fresh in our minds, Mr. Wolf."

A new rule cycle means new research and development challenges. If you solve the problem wrong, you'll build a car that's not competitive, or even a shitbox. If you solve the problem right, you'll build a competitive car, or even a Mars rover that dominates the present.

In racing, the car comes first; if the car fails, everything else is over.

From season 10 to 13, Red Bull won four consecutive WCC and WDC titles, establishing an absolute dynasty. However, they misunderstood the hybrid era and collapsed in their first season in the hybrid era. They were suppressed by Mercedes for seven consecutive years until they finally snatched a WDC title from Mercedes in the 2021 season.

Before the hybrid era, Mercedes was merely a mid-table team. They solved the hybrid era problem perfectly, achieving a powerful resurgence. Eight years into the hybrid era, Mercedes has won eight consecutive WCC and seven consecutive WDC titles, establishing what is arguably the most glorious dynasty in F1 history.

With another new rule cycle underway, will Red Bull make another mistake? Will Mercedes solve it correctly? Or will other teams follow in Mercedes' footsteps and rise to prominence by solving the puzzles correctly?

For both Tanger and Toto, that was an uncertain future.

"Are you planning to stay at Red Bull for a while, Tom?" Toto asked.

Once Tangcher leaves Red Bull, he will definitely have to sign a long-term contract with any team he joins. Signing a long-term contract before the new regulations take effect is unwise; if the team he signs with turns out to be the one that has the best prospects for advancement, then the contract period for the next few years will be basically ruined.

Therefore, if Tangche leaves Red Bull, the most sensible option would be to sign a short-term contract, but no team would be willing to pay a high penalty for a short-term contract.

A relatively rational and feasible option is to keep the existing contract unchanged, or at least not increase the penalty for breach of contract, and remain with Red Bull to observe the performance of each team in the first year of the new regulations before choosing the team that best fits the bill.

Toto saw through this, which is why he asked Tanger if they should leave Red Bull behind.

Tang Che gave a vague answer: "Maybe, I'm not sure."

Toto: "Staying temporarily is indeed a rational choice, but staying permanently is not."

"Think of Daniel Ricciardo, Daniel Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, Red Bull is not a team with a human touch."

"Furthermore, Christian and Helmut are not as harmonious as they appear—don't forget how you lost your seat before. Even with Dietrich Mateschitz mediating, they still can't always be on the same page, and Dietrich is getting old..."

"I think we need an in-depth, face-to-face conversation to discuss your future..."

Tang Jingqing's phone, which was on the car's phone holder, rang, and the screen displayed "Helmut Marco".

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wolf, I have a phone call I have to take," Toncher said. "We'll talk later."

Was this a negotiation tactic? Or had another convoy offered better terms? Toto thought calmly. Whatever the reason, it was irrational to pester them at this point.

Toto: "I hope you won't keep me waiting too long."

Tang Che: "I'll try my best."

Tang Che hung up the phone, and Tang Jingqing answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

"Good evening, Jingqing. Is Tang with you?" Marco asked. "I've called Tang several times, but the line is always busy, so I'm calling you instead."

Tang Che: "Good evening, Dr. Marco."

"Thank God you're here." Marco seemed relieved. "If our legendary driver had suddenly disappeared, our entire team would have gone crazy."

"Sorry, Dr. Marco." Tanger smiled. "I was just talking to Toto Wolfe for a while, so I didn't answer your call."

Horner's voice cut in: "Are you at the hotel? Tang? Or on your way back? Helmut and I are on our way. We've secured a seat for you and hope to speak with you in person."

Tang Che: "I'll be at the hotel soon. See you there."

The phone hangs up.

"Archer, your negotiation skills are getting more and more refined," Tang Jingqing said with a smile. "It feels like you don't really need me as your agent anymore."

Tang Che said quietly, "I don't know who was it that wanted to slack off and dragged me to a negotiation course as soon as they saw I had free time."

"I'm doing this for your own good," Tang Jingqing said earnestly. "Not to mention that you'll need some negotiation skills to succeed in the hunting grounds, even if you don't make a name for yourself there, you'll still need some negotiation skills to go back and inherit the family business."

As we all know, training an F1 driver is extremely expensive; without considerable wealth, it's simply impossible to sustain such a career. This explains why many F1 drivers are wealthy.

Toncher is also a wealthy man, not as rich as Stroll who can buy a racing team to play around with, nor as rich as Ma Zeping who can spend tens of millions of dollars to buy a seat, but he is still quite wealthy and has more than enough to support his racing career.

"Unless I never get a seat, there's no way I won't make a name for myself," Tang Che said.

Tang Jingqing coaxed the child perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, our Ache is the best."

Tang Che: "Too perfunctory, no comment."

Tang Jingqing: "Still commenting? You should hurry up and think about how to negotiate with Horner and Marco later."

-----------------

Do you remember what legendary driver Ayrton Senna said? F1 is money, it's politics.

Money isn't just for what happens on the racetrack; it also includes things like food, clothing, and accommodation outside the track, such as the five-star hotels where the drivers stay.

To be precise, not only the drivers stayed in five-star hotels, but the entire team stayed in five-star hotels, although the rooms varied in quality.

Generally, reserve drivers are not qualified to live in suites, unless they are reserve drivers who are appointed in a crisis, in which case they will immediately enjoy the same treatment as the main drivers.

Fortunately, the suite has a living room that can be used for conversation.

"Before we begin our conversation, I want to clarify some of the recent rumors," Horner stated firmly. "My signing of Yuki Tsunoda at the end of last season was not to suppress Helmut and Tom, but was a necessary step for the team's overall interests. As you know, in the second half of last year, Honda suddenly decided to withdraw from F1, and we could not lose Honda. We had to do everything we could to keep Honda, and signing a Honda driver was undoubtedly a necessary move."

This argument makes sense, but to say that Horner had absolutely no intention of using the incident to suppress Toncher and Marco would be unbelievable to Toncher, Tang Jingqing, Marco, and even Horner himself.

In the adult world, we shouldn't dwell too much on right and wrong. After all, we can't afford to break ties. Horner has already given a plausible explanation, so it's best for Toncher and Marco to accept it.

Marco smiled slightly: "You're overreacting, Chris. I've never believed those rumors."

"I haven't checked my phone for the past two days, so I don't know anything about these online rumors," Tang Che said. "Let's get right to the meeting."

Having finally gotten a chance to compete in the main event, Tang Jingqing didn't want Tang Che to be disturbed by anything off the field. Not only did he forbid his family from bothering Tang Che, but he also took away Tang Che's phone.

Horner laughed and said, "We've convinced the team's management and Honda's management to get Tom's seat back."

Neither Tang Che nor Tang Jingqing spoke; they just stared at Horner.

Silence speaks louder than words; within that silence lies a message that Horner and Marco could easily understand: "That's it?"

"Ahem." Horner tugged at his collar. "I know that many teams have contacted Tom, and they've certainly offered very good deals, but definitely not as good as Red Bull's."

Marko solemnly stated, "We guarantee that as long as Tom accepts a seat with Alfa Romeo, we will definitely promote him to Red Bull within a year."

"We are all convinced that Tom possesses historic talent, and such a genius deserves extraordinary treatment," Horner said enthusiastically. "After Tom is promoted to the Red Bull team, we will give him far more resources than the average number two driver, to the point of being on par with Max!"

This is indeed a very generous offer, practically making Tanger the crown prince of Red Bull.

"So," Tang Che said, "what is the price?"

Marco slowly said, "We need to sign a new contract, increase the penalty for breach of contract, and extend the contract term..."

Tang Jingqing can let Tang Che handle the other issues himself, but not the contract. If you're not a professional, you'll definitely get ripped off when it comes to this!

Tang Jingqing intervened forcefully: "We do not want to sign a new contract, at least not from now until the end of the 2022 season."

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02:33 "Brother, I'm out.gif" "Brother, are you done with your work?" "Are you still awake? Are you still awake? Are you still awake?"

The message wasn't sent by some internet troll with a fishtail accent, but by Tang Che's cousin and Tang Jingqing's daughter, Jiang Zhiyu.

The girl is usually quite clingy to Tang Che, sending him hundreds or thousands of messages every day, mostly abstract videos. But this weekend she was very quiet, not sending Tang Che a single punctuation mark.

Jiang Zhiyu: I really wanted to send my cousin some good stuff, but I'm afraid of getting punished by my mom (sad).

This morning, after waking up, Jiang Zhiyu saw a message in the family group chat sent by Tang Jingqing at 3 a.m. Beijing time, and only then did she dare to send a message to Tang Che.

Tang Che: "Up so early today?" "I just finished work."

Abu Dhabi is 4 hours ahead of China. 02:33 in Abu Dhabi corresponds to 06:33 in China. For a college student who has just turned 18, this is considered to be getting up very early.

Jiang Zhiyu: "I'm here at 8 AM today." [crying emoji] "I watched the game last night, you're so outrageous! How could you secretly follow the path of a protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel?" "This is worse than killing me!" "Don't come home for Chinese New Year this year, I don't want to spend it with other people's kids!"

Tang Che: "?" "You're finished. I'm going to tell your mother."

Jiang Zhiyu: "Hehehe.jpg" "Brother, I saw Mom say in the group chat that your seat is secure this time, all four major racing teams are vying to sign you." "Brother, have you decided which team to sign with?"