F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 33 The Crown Prince's Preparation
Intending to invite and already inviting are two different concepts.

At least during the busiest months of the month, Shu Xiong's phone never received a call from a group claiming to be the Carlin Racing Team.

However, it wasn't entirely baseless speculation. Before the end of this year's karting season, the Karin couple did indeed try to contact the Recar Tech Club.

However, after learning that the Shulong family could only selectively participate in a very small number of events due to financial constraints, the Karin couple quickly abandoned the idea.

They didn't even participate in the WSK series, which is more prestigious than the Rotax Max series. In many people's eyes, Shulong's performance is not very convincing, so it is very rare for someone like Marco to be willing to personally recruit players.

That being said, lower-level Formula teams aren't just doing it out of passion; they also need to make a profit, and skill level is often just one factor in determining a seat.

The categories below F2 are essentially larger regional events with limited commercial value; the financial resources represented by these drivers are what they value most.

Firstly, the Carlin team has long-term partnerships with several youth training systems, meaning they don't lack excellent drivers to drive their cars, and the youth training systems behind these drivers pay them enough.

As for the other unregistered seats, those are channels for these clubs to make money and earn extra income. They are not considered the three officially registered drivers for the team and are generally called wildcards.

There are many fast drivers. Since the youth training program can guarantee the team's performance, why not choose those who are not too bad at driving and can also rake in a lot of coins?
Now that Shulong has aligned himself with Red Bull's youth academy, the previous barriers between them have naturally disappeared, and it's a win-win situation for everyone to have him under their wing.

"We happen to have vacancies in our F4 driver lineup for next year, and we are honored to be able to recruit such a young driver."

In fact, the driver lineups for the regional formulas of F4 have already been finalized, but if they can find such a gem, kicking out an unimportant person to make room is not a particularly difficult thing for them.

Marco gave a cold laugh and, to make matters worse, added, "Who told you I wanted him to join F4?"

The Karin couple's minds went blank for a moment, but they almost immediately realized Marco's plan.

"You want him to recreate Max?"

"But it's probably impossible now that the rules have changed, isn't it a bit too hasty?"

This year, Verstappen, at under 18 years old, broke Jermaine Algersurari's previous record of becoming an F1 driver at 19, both times orchestrated by Red Bull.

However, unlike the much-loved Verstappen, Jermaine was never really liked by Marco, and was later kicked out of the game with a single phone call to make way for the new favorite, Daniel Ricardo.

Perhaps to curb Red Bull's madness and prevent other teams from imitating it, after Verstappen made a series of youthful and irrational moves this year, the FIA ​​decided to fill the gap in this rule, requiring drivers to be at least 18 years old and have obtained a driver's license of their own country before they are allowed to apply for a super license.

Shu Long will only be 16 years old next year, the same age Verstappen was when he was running F3, but it will be absolutely impossible for him to ignore the rules and skip a level again.

Marco was naturally aware of this, but even if he couldn't break Verstappen's record, the earlier a genius develops, the better.

As for whether it will hinder the growth of a promising seedling and ruin it?

Now that he has Verstappen as an ace in his hand, Marco feels he can afford to gamble.

"Let's stop at the next station on the next loop, don't waste time there!"

Shulong obediently followed TR's instructions, initially thinking it might be some kind of station-entry debugging practice. However, as soon as he returned, Marco told him to quickly get off the car and drive the car next to him.

"F3?!"

"What? You're afraid to drive?"

Shu Long quickly shook his head; he simply hadn't expected the surprise to come so soon.

While he was lapping the track, he had a strange feeling that there was a huge gap between the limits of the car itself and the power it could provide. It felt like there was still a lot of room for maneuver, but it just wouldn't give him a chance to unleash his full potential.

That's too reliable.

It lacks the thrill of walking on a tightrope like go-karting. At first glance, it may seem like you're walking on a tightrope, but the tightrope is placed directly on the ground, so what's the point?

"If I may ask, is there an F1 car in that truck?"

"F1? You're even more audacious than me! Go and figure out F3 first! I have a mouth too, don't just talk the talk, show me with your actions!"

Shu Long slunk away.

However, in actual operation, the difference between F3 and F4 is not that big. The horsepower is slightly more, by about 100, and the aerodynamic kit has a slightly more obvious effect on the race car. Other than that, there is nothing particularly special.

Marco, who heard that line from TR, didn't know whether he should laugh out loud.

Every year, countless young drivers fail to adapt to the increased power of 100 horsepower, and after rising from the top ranks in F4 to F3, they simply fade into obscurity.

Having practiced with the F4 equipped with aerodynamic kits, Shulong adapted to the F3 very quickly.

After spending a few laps to warm up the tires, Shu Long, feeling that they were almost ready, began to test the limits of the race car.

才经过第一圈的T1、T2慢速“之”字弯，T3的中低速弯，T4的回头弯以及T5这个典型的高速弯之后，屁股下面的这台F3到底极限在哪里就已经差不多被束龙给摸得清清楚楚了。

On the first lap of the official start, Shu Long made a mistake and went off the white line once, but on the second lap he immediately equaled the F3 lap record set by Gasly on this track, and on the next lap he was 0.6 seconds faster.

Fortunately, the subsequent lap times did not widen the gap to an even more despairing degree, which made Marco's aging heart feel a little better.

Perhaps the only thing that might be comforting for Marko is that this record wasn't set by Verstappen either, because Verstappen's first test after signing with Red Bull was in F1 at the Adria International Circuit in Italy.

The difference in power, besides higher top speed and faster cornering speed, also further compresses the range in which the car maintains neutral steering, which Shu Long believes is largely due to the car's aerodynamic components.

The car's posture must be kept in a very ambiguous position. The balance of the race car itself has changed from being just a private matter between tire grip and traction to now suddenly having a third party called aerodynamics inserted into the equation.

A triangle is indeed more stable, but if any one of its links fails, its collapse can happen in an instant. But despite all that, for Shulong, this car still feels awkward!

In terms of power, the F3's power unit should have been able to push the previous F4 to its limits, but the F3's aerodynamic kit has also been upgraded to some extent.

It just feels weird, like a kid driving a big car.

Marco, who was in the P room, wasn't in a hurry to call Shu Long back. He was negotiating with the Karin couple, and he had them completely flustered.

If F4 is considered the initial threshold to becoming a professional driver, and there are many drivers who are just dabbling in it at their own expense, then F3 is already a testing ground that is deeply tied to various youth training programs.

There's a GP3 series that's half a level higher, but it's more strictly managed, and each team only has two officially registered drivers.

Marco was well aware of the ins and outs here. It's fair to say that most GP3 ​​drivers have powerful connections, and the factors to consider when trying to free up a seat are quite complex, so he didn't insist on it.

The old man didn't ask for much; he just wanted to give Shulong an F3 seat. The fact that each team could have three officially registered drivers meant there was more room for maneuver.

But with the conditions laid out so clearly, the Karin couple were still dodging the issue, and Marco could tell at a glance that they were trying to lower the price or had some other conditions.

"Enter the station! Come back and change to F2!"

People in the Red Bull group all have a bit of a crazy streak in them. Marco didn't send F1 today, but if things don't work out later, he might actually get angry and have someone bring over the hard-working RB7.

The Karin couple were completely exasperated. They knew this was the old Austrian man's final ultimatum, but they still needed to make some arrangements regarding the F3 seat. They could only assure the old man that they would have a result by tomorrow at the latest before leaving in a hurry.

Shu Long returned in his F3, which he wasn't entirely satisfied with. This time, Marco didn't even need to say anything; as soon as the engineers pushed him back into the garage, he jumped out and started asking around where the car was.

Marco then grabbed a large, still-warm, printed data report from his hand and smacked it on the head, saying, "You haven't even figured out F3 yet, what are you thinking about F2 for?"

Shu Long was unconvinced and immediately complained to the old man about the various shortcomings he felt in the racing car during the driving process, saying that even if aliens were invited, they would never be able to drive the car faster.

That statement is correct; at least until someone else breaks this record, Marco has no way to find fault with him.

Judging from the data brought back by the sensors, this kid is simply a wild beast. His braking point is both late and precise, making it almost impossible for Marco to tell whether he is just bold or confident.

The key is Shulong's braking curve. Aside from the first few laps when he was exploring the limits of the car, his braking and throttle curves after the lap times stabilized did not seem to be produced by stepping on the pedal.

When the document was first printed out, Marco hadn't even had a chance to put on his reading glasses to take a look. At first glance, the old man thought the curve was drawn directly on the paper by hand. If it weren't for the slight fluctuations caused by uneven pressure that could be seen on the curve, he might have really suspected that Shulong was an alien robot.

This is something truly beyond human capability. What should this thing be called? A Transformer?
Can humans in this world control their muscles with such precision?
Even someone as stressed as Marco couldn't bring up Verstappen as a universal shield at this moment.

Because he knew perfectly well that even the four-time champion Vettel would never be able to apply the brakes like that, let alone Max!

the first time!
This was the first time Marco had felt doubtful before he had even fully won the huge bet he had just placed.

In the past, in order to protect "my boy" Vettel, Marko did not hesitate to berate Mark Webber, a key player of Red Bull who had won the race, after an internal conflict among Red Bull drivers. Afterwards, he showed unilateral favoritism and resource allocation without any restraint.

The reason is simply that Mark Webber pushed Vettel too hard during the match.
Marco really likes Max, even more than he used to like Vettel.

In his view, Max is good in every way and deserves all the resources and attention he would give to every other "Red Bull boy" in the past. However, there is one flaw: Max is not a product of the Red Bull system. He comes from the "Old Verstappen Youth Training" system.

For most children, youth training is definitely a hope for pursuing their dreams, but capitalists are not philanthropists. Signing into the youth training system means that the driver has almost no bargaining power with the original company in the process of realizing his value.

Take Sebastian Vettel, the former four-time Red Bull champion, for example. During the years he won the championship with Red Bull, his salary and market value were almost equivalent to being paid for for free compared to his achievements.

As a veteran, Verstappen is so shrewd in this regard that even Marko has a bit of a headache, and he's just as tough as he used to be when he drove an F1 car.

Red Bull can say that it has almost no leverage over the Verstappen family. The contract is long and the conditions are quite harsh, but if certain preconditions are met, Max, whom they have painstakingly cultivated, might just pack up and leave.

Based on Marco's understanding of Max, the boy is very sentimental and exceptionally sensible, which is one of the few sources of confidence Marco can use to counterbalance Verstappen. That's why he has such blatant favoritism that he doesn't even bother to pretend.

But no one can guarantee that Verstappen won't cause any trouble.

Company and family—this decision might be particularly painful for Max, but given Max's personality, he will most likely side with his unreasonable father.

And now?

A genius who officially signed a youth training contract a few months ago and whose talent is second to none is now right in front of him. If Marco can't seize this opportunity, he feels he might as well go find a block of tofu in China and kill himself!
A year ago, Marco didn't even consider a Chinese person, let alone an Asian.

Before Georg called, even though he had heard that Ferrari had signed a Chinese driver, and even though Shu Long's file was already on his desk, he hadn't originally planned to take it seriously.

Marko was active as a racing driver in the 1960s and 70s. In his mind, it was a joke that a backward place like Asia could produce drivers. The arrogance of a pioneer was fully reflected in him.

But there is one thing about Marco that is pure.

When it comes to training race car drivers, he doesn't care about any of that nonsense like commercial value. As long as you have the ability, you have special privileges with him.

And Shulong really suited his taste.

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(End of this chapter)