[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 177
Right after the qualifying session of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
In the conference room at Ferrari Headquarters, someone was repeatedly playing back the dramatic moment of Yooihyun’s late comeback and the chilling scene where she overtook her rivals.
“Gather all the executives immediately, especially those related to F1, without exception.”
From the head of the long table prepared as grand as the size of the company, the heavy voice of an elderly man with white hair flowed out. His hand, which had paused while operating the remote control, looked firm and resolute as if he had made a decision.
“Yes, Chairman.”
Leaving only a brief reply to the old man’s words, a man began contacting through the direct hotline of Ferrari. The secretary standing beside him, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, immediately carried out the order without wasting any time.
“Hmm…”
After giving the order, he watched Yooihyun’s comeback on the giant screen again. He was Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Ferrari, the chairman of the colossal company Ferrari and a legendary driver who embodied the glory of F1 Ferrari.
Known simply as “Enzo Ferrari,” he was a figure who achieved tremendous feats both as a businessman and as an F1 driver.
As a businessman, he was at the forefront of automobile design and engineering, making numerous series successful, and as an F1 driver, he clinched the championship five times while driving a race car he had personally created. He played a significant role in elevating Ferrari’s reputation and building trust in the mass-produced sports car ‘Ferrari,’ thereby reviving the brand.
In other words, achieving even one of these was incredibly challenging, but Enzo Ferrari succeeded as both a businessman and a driver. He was a towering figure in the realm of humanity, not just limited to corporate achievements.
In the automotive industry, he was indeed a god-like figure.
How long had it been since he had become so desensitized by his own accomplishments and status that he was now engrossed in something other than himself, incessantly replaying the same thing?
Enzo Ferrari stared at the screen with his eyes brightened, as if the past and history he had built meant nothing.
[Yooihyun! Yooihyun of Ferrari writes a narrative of comeback with perfect slipstream and timing!]
[Super play! A super play saves Ferrari from the hands of a rookie driver!]
On the screen, the excited voices of commentators praising—or rather, almost worshiping—Yooihyun kept erupting. No one at the recorded site failed to cheer, and no one was indifferent to her driving.
And that included Enzo Ferrari, who spent his driver days as a champion.
“Hmm…”
A barely audible groan escaped him, unable to suppress his excitement. It was a habitual sound that came out whenever he felt something desirable or when he wanted to conquer and break through.
He may no longer be on the front lines as a driver, having long since retired, but in this context, the sound clearly pertained to the former.
Once he had finished making the contacts, the secretary general returned to his shadowy position behind him, smiling faintly.
“It seems like you are pleased.”
To that, the old man responded.
“Of course I am.”
“It feels reminiscent of your days as a driver. The determination to race forward towards victory without thinking about your own position resembles that. The driving technique is similar too.”
The elderly secretary, as seasoned as Enzo Ferrari himself, sincerely said this. It was precisely because he was the one who had been Enzo Ferrari’s race engineer during the time when the chairman was making a name for himself as a driver.
Enzo Ferrari, after hardening his expression at the sincerity in his words, replied genuinely.
“Driving technique… While the determination may be similar, I don’t think that’s the case. Times have changed, and that young friend is on a level I can hardly reach. It’s a different dimension; her talent is extraordinary.”
If I were younger, I would want to return to the circuit immediately…
Enzo Ferrari swallowed the words that nearly sprang forth like a spring and looked at the secretary general.
“What do you think? If that young friend and I had met on the circuit in our prime, who do you think would have won?”
“……”
The secretary general answered with a smile, then turned his gaze toward the screen displaying Yooihyun.
“You plan to support Yooihyun as the first driver, don’t you?”
“……”
Could it be that a person who had spent a lifetime in the shadow could express his inner thoughts so accurately? This time, it was the chairman who had no answer.
It was probably a positive implication.
The secretary general continued to speak in place of him.
“There will be a lot of backlash.”
“Indeed.”
“And there may also be divisions.”
“That too.”
Even though they had spent a lifetime together, the secretary general’s words, earnest as they were, received a mechanical reply from the chairman, which filled him with worried anger.
“What do you know, Chairman? I’m not talking about the company. I am talking about F1 Ferrari.”
Not the company, but F1 Ferrari.
“The company may accept your words with one statement, but F1 Ferrari is not that simple.”
Contradictory words.
If one were to scrutinize, F1 Ferrari was just one of the many departments under the umbrella of the company, so one could not separate the two in thought. Thus, the chairman’s influence over F1 Ferrari was inevitable.
However, just because one could do something does not mean that dissatisfaction would be quelled. This especially held true for issues related to F1 Ferrari.
The company had grown this much thanks to F1 Ferrari, and F1 Ferrari had been born because of the company. F1 Ferrari had, over time, become a symbol and philosophy of the company, turning into something independent.
So, regardless of whether it was the chairman or Enzo Ferrari, he could not arbitrarily decide the treatment of the most significant department that determined the company’s existence and the spirit of Ferrari.
Being the first driver of Ferrari wasn’t simply about the driver’s skill; the position required a certain legitimacy.
Placing Yooihyun in that position would undoubtedly shake the foundation of the company and would be akin to damaging the spirit of Ferrari that had been maintained until now.
“Yooihyun has not yet qualified in any regard. Moreover, all the talented drivers considered have failed in this role. Whether she can succeed is uncertain.”
As the secretary general said, the position of Ferrari’s first driver was indeed awarded under very stringent conditions.
One: Achieve the championship at least once with Ferrari.
Two: Serve at F1 Ferrari for more than three years.
Three: Have the dignity to become a Ferrari man.
The latter two, not related to performance, might be easy. However, many talented drivers had lost the title of first driver because of the most difficult first condition.
It could be said that the fact that Ferrari’s first driver had been vacant for nearly a decade proved its difficulty.
But thinking of that in reverse…
“Despite having such drivers, it means that we have not had a first driver in our Ferrari for such a long time. Do you know what the problem is?”
Despite having ‘talented drivers,’ not one of them had managed to achieve the first condition, leading to the failure of Ferrari’s race cars.
The chairman was acknowledging the disgraceful truth that he had been avoiding.
“Yooihyun is a driver with the potential to win, even while driving such race cars. She might fail as the secretary said. But there are times when we must shake up the system to bring about change. The evidence, I see it right there.”
The hands of the aged man, covered in calluses from working on engines, pointed unwaveringly at the screen. There, without fail, was Yooihyun.
“Chairman…”
Glory does not come on its own. Sometimes, one must reject conventions, break traditions, and pay the exorbitant price of revolution to finally attain glory.
The chairman had a reason for wanting to place Yooihyun as the first driver, even if it meant taking drastic measures to exclude Leclerc and push just her.
Enzo Ferrari firmly believed that the glory of Ferrari was within that young girl on the screen.
“We no longer shine. While the company Ferrari may shine, F1 Ferrari has long lost its light. We must… find the light again. That is the true ‘Ferrari.'”
The true Ferrari.
That statement meant that it was essential to find the spirit of Ferrari; it was a fundamental and primal declaration. Even the stubborn secretary general could no longer oppose such a powerful expression.
“So, help me. In my last moments as chairman, I want to see the true Ferrari.”
You feel the same, right?
To this addition from Enzo Ferrari, the secretary general found himself speechless.
He simply stood by his side.