F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 15 Rebirth
The wrecked car body resembled Hephaestus' anvil, hammering mortal bodies into the furnace of disaster.

I used the scythe that Death had slashed down as a blank, and then forged it anew in the flames.

The paramedics, busy putting out the fire, stared at the body that had struggled to crawl out of hell, as if it had just undergone a rebirth. They stood there stunned for a moment before remembering to aim the fire hose at this miraculous man.

It's hard to imagine that anyone could survive such an accident, and it's also hard to imagine that this guy could jump off the building so casually as if nothing had happened, and walk to the ambulance on his own without even needing help or a stretcher.

"How did the game go?"

"The red flag is obvious."

"I've quit?"

"."

"That's obvious, what am I even saying, shit!"

Looking back at the mess beyond the guardrail, which didn't look like it could be repaired and rejoined the competition, Shu Long slapped himself hard through his helmet.

I messed everything up myself!
“I need to see my team leader. Where is Mr. Steiner? And my family, I need to tell them I’m alright!”

"No, you need to come with us now to have your wound treated and to have a full physical examination."

Having just escaped death from a major accident that would go down in F1 history, Shu Long is still deeply affected by the disaster.

All he could think about was that he had to do something, whether it was to make up for the mistakes he had just made in the game or something else!
But the medical staff were quite resolute. After putting him in the car, they slammed the door shut, blocking out the media from their long guns and short sticks, which were already moving like hyenas smelling blood. Then they called over a few colleagues to firmly press the obviously agitated Shulong into his seat.

"I'm not hurt! Really! Look!"

As if to prove his words were true, Shu Long waved his hands vigorously, but as the adrenaline slowly subsided, a sharp pain that was hard to ignore made him gasp.

The bread sellers in this truck were professionals after all. Even though they couldn't see the expressions under the helmets, they quickly noticed Shulong's unusual behavior and immediately began to carefully help him remove the complicated protective gear and equipment.

Racing suits are not completely sealed structures. Apart from the main body parts, areas such as the gaps between the pant legs, cuffs and gloves, as well as the area around the collar, are relatively weak in terms of protection. These are the areas where Shulong was injured.

The area under the gloves was the most severely damaged, having been exposed to the open flame for the longest time in an attempt to save themselves; the gloves are now almost melted to the touch.

There is also a fireproof suit inside the racing suit, but its main function is to retard flames. It is difficult to isolate all the heat when a large area is on fire, and its ability is limited to preventing the melted fibers and flesh from sticking together.

When the fabric was torn apart with scissors, what was revealed was blistering, festering flesh, blackened by smoke, with a sizzling sheen of what appeared to be fat or tissue fluid.

Shu Long looked a little nervous, not because of the pain this time, but because he was more worried about whether he would be able to play in the next few matches.

Then he saw the doctor in front of him frown and sigh heavily.
"This shouldn't be considered serious, right?"

"Not serious? Of course not! I'm glad I'm not going to rub salt into a medium-rare steak, I just need to put some medicine on your wound."

Shu Long grinned awkwardly and obediently let them do as they pleased.

These people are really inconsiderate. They were just pulled out of an accident themselves. Shouldn't doctors be more considerate of the injured person's feelings in situations like this? Why are they being so sarcastic?
You can't blame people for being harsh; that scene, which was absolutely worthy of being painted on an oil painting and spread as a myth, had a considerable impact on everyone who experienced it.

Madam Pomfrey in Harry Potter often lashed out at Quidditch players who didn't take care of their bodies. In the eyes of these doctors who were dedicated to saving lives, these race car drivers were the most insane people in the world who didn't value their own lives.

And don't be fooled by the fact that Shu Long is still alive and kicking. Most medical staff would probably never encounter such a serious accident in their careers. The doctors in the car right now are still a little dazed.

We first performed some simple treatments on the wound to prevent infection. Now, we need to go to a medical center for further treatment of the wound, and then we will definitely need to transfer to a nearby hospital for a comprehensive physical examination.

The human brain actually has some self-protection mechanisms. When the injury is too severe, the brain will automatically block out pain signals transmitted from all parts of the body. There have been many cases where people were hit by cars and didn't take it seriously, even walking home on their own, only to die from internal bleeding not long afterward.

Even if Shulong hadn't been turned into a "familiar face" by the fire, the impact between the race car and the guardrail at the time of the accident was undeniable. Even though the data hasn't been transmitted back yet due to the damage to the car, no one would naively believe that the driver would be completely unaffected by such a collision.
"No."

"Are you sure? I need to make sure my driver is absolutely safe!"

"Yes, yes, I know it's incredible, but apart from the burns on his skin, Long's other physical indicators are exactly the same as or even better than any healthy race car driver!"
Of course, if you are still worried, you can take him for other, more detailed and professional assessments.

Because both his hands were now wrapped up like Doraemon's, Shulong rolled out of bed with his hands raised as if surrendering. His ankles were in much the same condition, so wearing shoes was out of the question; he could only make do with the slippers the tour leader had brought for now.

The area around his neck wasn't much better; Shu Long didn't dare move his head too much, as even a slight tilt would aggravate the huge wound on his skin.

His physical condition is quite good right now, and because the race ended early, he even has more energy than when he had run the entire main race in the past.

The X-ray showed no abnormalities, but the doctor still reasonably suspected that Shu Long might have a mild concussion, because during the examination, the young Asian man seemed to occasionally lose focus.

The man arguing with the doctor outside is Mr. Steiner, his team leader at Haas. Don't let his wrinkled face and fierce expression fool you; he's not a good person. But during Shu Long's time with the team, Steiner has certainly taken good care of him.

Overall, he's a pretty good person, but sometimes he can be a bit short-tempered when expressing himself. Speaking of which, there's something quite interesting: Nick Fury from "The Avengers" was nicknamed "Damn it, Fury" in China because of his very distinctive way of speaking.

But in Shu Long's opinion, Mr. Steiner's skill in word choice and sentence construction is no less than that of the one-eyed bald-headed man. In just a few short sentences in his conversation with the doctor, he managed to smoothly cramm six or seven "fucks," which is simply amazing.

"Boss? Head?"

Upon hearing the call, Steiner tucked the medical reports, which he himself didn't quite understand, back under his arm and rushed into the room, looking Shulong up and down at his pitiful state.

"How are you feeling now? The doctor said your coordination and balance tests were all normal. Do you need to have any cognitive function assessments done later?"

"No, no! I'm sure everything's fine except for the wrapped-up areas! I meant to say I'm sorry, this was supposed to be..."

Before Shu Long could finish speaking, Steiner rudely waved his hand to interrupt him: "This should all have been the team's responsibility! We should have paid more attention to your feedback. Such a mistake shouldn't have happened during the pre-race checks of the car!"

"But if I hadn't been so eager to try such aggressive driving techniques, perhaps this malfunction could have been avoided?"

"There aren't that many 'buts' kids. It's not just you who's overly aggressive; we're all too eager to prove ourselves. The truth is, even if we don't get any points in the last few games, it's not like we'll lose anything, is it?"

Objectively speaking, we may not lose much, but isn't it a loss to let go of something we had a chance to obtain and let it slip through our fingers?
Haas is currently 7th in the team standings, only a dozen points behind Alfa Toli. Given Haas's strong and consistent performance in the past, it may not be entirely impossible for them to overtake Alfa Toli by the end of the season.

Although the overall revenue of the event was not as good as in previous years due to the mask controversy, the difference between the top and bottom places still meant a difference of up to six million US dollars in revenue sharing.

But from the team's perspective, it's really hard for Steiner to put all that criticism on the shoulders of this young man.

Regardless of how many halos of genius he possesses, it is undeniable that he has only just turned twenty and it has been less than half a year since then. Many Formula One drivers at this age are still struggling in lower categories.

Haas's cars this year are terrible, really terrible!

Judging solely from the car's specifications, Haas should have been on par with Williams this year, and might even have ended up with a humiliating year-end without a single point.

Without a doubt, just look at the struggles of another Haas driver who has made great contributions to the team this season – Magnussen.

Like Shu Long, as a miraculous genius who could reach the podium in his first race, the team was well aware that Magnussen's driving ability was not declining rapidly as the outside world said. On the contrary, he had received a lot of training under the weight of this extremely unbalanced car.

Magnussen is often described as a driver who starts strong but then goes off on tangents, but he is a driver with a very high speed ceiling and follows the team's instructions very firmly. There is no doubt that if he had a competitive car, he could have been a contender for the podium.

Yet this once-prodigy, tormented by his current race car that can only linger at the back of the pack, has aged so much in just a few years that at only 28 years old, he looks so weathered that he could sit at the same table as Alonso.
Shu Long's salary, apart from bonuses, is not borne by the Haas team. It can be said that the team's current dividend income is almost like getting something for nothing, and the whole team is eager to worship him.

Even if Haas retires from every race, Arro would need to score at least 20 points in each race to have any impact on the team rankings. However, it's clear that with less than a quarter of Haas's points this year, their car doesn't have that potential.

"So now you know what our situation is. Given your injury, we may need to field a substitute driver in the next few races."

"How could that be? I think I can still compete, boss! At least give me a chance to try!"

Shu Long was unwilling to give up and wanted to try again, but when he saw his hands wrapped up like two balls, even he himself found it hard to believe that he had any persuasive power.
Steiner naturally noticed Shulong's predicament, and the already complex terrain deepened the wrinkles on his face. After holding back for a long time, he finally couldn't hold back and completely broke down.

"Believe me, son, you're still young. There will always be a time in the future when you need these hands more than you do now." Steiner patted Shulong's strong shoulder with a rare hint of genuine emotion on his usually fierce face. "Besides, I think Grosjean also needs an opportunity, otherwise he will most likely choose to retire at the end of this year."

But I really need these opportunities!

This season, he replaced Grosjean, who had internal conflicts with his teammates and frequently clashed with them. Now, after inexplicably taking the blame for him, is he going to hand the position back to Grosjean?

Shu Long stood there dejectedly, feeling quite sad. But that's how cruel the world of F1 is. There are only twenty seats in total, and if you're not in one, there are plenty of people who will stop at nothing to get there.

To put it bluntly, even a tractor team ranked at the bottom is not something that ordinary people can aspire to.

Seats are something that can't be forced. Shu Long knew that Mr. Steiner had made a lot of efforts for him, but the interests involved were too complicated. As a mercenary on loan, he was actually not in control of his own destiny.

"Oh, right!" Steiner slammed on the brakes halfway through, almost forgetting something important. "There's a young man waiting for you outside. He arrived almost right after you. I remember he's from your hometown, his name is—Zoo?"

“It’s Zhou! His name is Zhou Guanyu! Come on~ We’ve been working together for so long, I thought you were almost used to how we pronounce our names.”

Steiner gave an awkward laugh, and the wrinkles on his face immediately deepened.

Shu Long was just making a casual remark. Most of the people in the team are quite casual in their interactions, and as long as it's not too excessive, they generally don't feel offended.

Not everyone has the "Language Proficiency" skill on their profile. Let alone trying to make things difficult for foreigners by arguing about Chinese pronunciation, Steiner even had a strong Italian accent when he spoke English.

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(End of this chapter)