[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 178

The prolonged 10-minute speech by Chairman Enzo Ferrari, filled with his noble and grand ambition of the ‘Restoration of the Past Legacy’ project, truly swept through the meeting room like a storm.

To summarize that long speech in one sentence:

“Support and invest everything in a promising driver to regain Ferrari’s glory.”

Of course, everyone present at the meeting knew that the promising driver referred to was Yooihyun.

While Leclerc was undoubtedly a promising driver as well, based on the ‘now’, Yooihyun was indeed the one who fit that description the most.

If the chairman had intended to name Leclerc, something would have happened before the season opened. No, that opportunity wouldn’t only be limited to this season.

As the executives thought about the elements that kept coming to mind, they could no longer deny that Yooihyun had been selected as the first driver.

It was a privilege that was so outrageous it was an understatement to call it ‘too much’, and considering Ferrari’s authenticity and unwavering spirit, it was simply impossible. Some executives instinctively felt a sense of rejection, daring to frown even in front of the chairman.

However, they could not voice their concerns and could only pray that they were wrong, but unfortunately, the chairman’s remarks only reinforced their conviction.

“A few hours ago, I saw the potential.”

The potential the chairman was talking about clearly referred to Yooihyun, who became the main star of qualifying without even securing pole position.

The chairman said that Yooihyun, driving a lousy car, had shown performance that was at par or better than higher-tier teams. Her final lap was so beautiful that even someone with no expertise in racing would be thrilled just by watching it.

Enzo Ferrari displayed that artwork-like lap on the screen once again.

“Hmm…”

“Ahem…”

“……”

Despite having seen the scene several times, it drew admiration each time.

Everyone present felt a sense of rejection about Yooihyun becoming the first driver, but they acknowledged her impressive skills during qualifying. The reason they felt this rejection was not because of any lack of capability on Yooihyun’s part, but because their long-standing tradition had been challenged, which representing Ferrari’s unwavering law and identity.

In reality, a considerable number of executives felt regret that Yooihyun did not meet the criteria to become a Ferrari man.

In their minds, they wondered, “Chairman, if she can’t be a Ferrari man, can’t we make her a Ferrari woman?” They considered this absurd thought.

Yes. It would have been nice if everyone thought that way, but the reality was different.

“Still, this is…”

“Chairman, please reconsider…”

Executives who believed they could not so easily throw away the spirit of Ferrari, which had been preserved for over a hundred years, spoke out profusely under the pretext of maintaining the unchanging law. This was normal, universal, and common sense, and they felt no hesitation in saying so.

Chairman Enzo Ferrari, knowing this, quietly listened to the flowing opposition. He understood that excessive suppression, to the extent of not allowing them to speak, would only provoke fierce backlash.

“…So, rather than selecting a first driver, I believe it’s right to maintain the current free competition system.”

With the summary of one senior executive with the most experience and rank, the complaints of the executives that had swept through the room came to an end.

“…….”

The executives were savoring a peculiar sense of victory as they looked at the silent chairman with closed eyes.

It was also a hurried progression by the chairman, and since no one was unaware of this, the executives thought that the situation would conclude like this.

However, that was only their thought and wish.

“So, is the result of maintaining that so-called free competition system for years this? The method that kept Ferrari in a miserable ranking, practically the last, despite being backed by a colossal corporation and vast capital—that’s what you consider the right method?”

Like a blade honed by a master craftsman, each of the chairman’s sharp words was deadly. No one dared to rebut any of them, realizing that they had struck the core.

Who would dare to argue against it? Not because of the stubborn chairman, Enzo Ferrari, but because the method thought to be correct had led to a history marked by defeat, how could anyone dare to contest that glaring truth?

The atmosphere in the meeting room shifted profoundly with that remark. The words that had seemed unreasonable from the chairman no longer appeared to be unreasonable, and the insistence on tradition from the executives turned instead into obstinacy and an obstacle to the revolution.

The meeting room abruptly fell silent as the chairman cast his final stone.

“There will be no reversal of my words. You can either comply or reject it and leave the company. If you wish to reject it but still want to stay at the company, then bring a better way to revive the damned F1 Ferrari. The choice is yours.”

It was a choice that hardly constituted a real choice. They could not defy the chairman’s words by bringing up tradition, as many of them had their own shortcomings.

No further dissension arose. Deep within their hearts, they had already accepted a profound change.

The meeting without counterargument came to a close, and the results of the meeting began to spread to Ferrari headquarters in various countries. The transmission took only 10 minutes, and that included F1 Ferrari, which was busily preparing for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

A significant upheaval was underway.

*

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“Team F1 Ferrari will be in jeopardy.”

In an abnormally grandiose and spacious chairman’s office, where five race cars that had lifted championship trophies alongside Chairman Enzo Ferrari during his driving days were arranged, the calm voice of the Secretary General echoed.

“Looking at everyone’s expressions, I thought so.”

The chairman sighed heavily, filled with concern, imagining the faces of the executives who still could not accept this decision.

Those faces did not belong to the headquarters executives but rather to the team leaders of F1 Ferrari. Their twisted expressions without a word made one feel guilt just by looking at them.

“The problem is… the problem…”

In truth, the only individuals in Enzo Ferrari’s mind were the F1 Ferrari team members.

That was because he did not worry about complaints from headquarters personnel who had no direct influence or authority over F1 Ferrari. They would not be able to exert any direct or indirect influence anyway.

The problem was F1 Ferrari itself. It had been several years since Leclerc had signed an exclusive contract and shared those years with Ferrari, and there were still many years ahead. The chairman’s words to make Yooihyun the first driver felt like a betrayal of the trust and camaraderie that had been built by the F1 Ferrari team and Leclerc.

Moreover, to a rookie driver who had just joined Ferrari?

“That’s a very big problem.”

Despite being a choice backed by justification and aimed at results, there could be no command as harsh as this.

The chairman probably anticipated that a significant rift would form within F1 Ferrari. However, whether that would end at a rift was an unknown area.

In fact, the performance of Ferrari this season, compared to past seasons, was indeed insufficient for the name but could be considered exceptional. They had brought in new engineers and created a competitive race car, V-1, yielding significant results with qualifying ranks of 6th and 10th.

Yeah. F1 Ferrari was doing well. However, because they were doing so well, the impending shock was bound to be more significant.

Many employees would likely struggle to accept the chairman’s decision. The more troubling aspect was that the director, Mattia Binotto, who held even greater influence in F1 Ferrari than the chairman, would ultimately follow the chairman’s orders.

It was Enzo Ferrari who appointed Mattia Binotto as the director of F1 Ferrari back when he just took office as chairman.

If speaking in simple numerical terms, the time Mattia Binotto had shared with Leclerc was several multiples longer than that of Enzo Ferrari.

“It seems the problem has already left our hands.”

To put it harshly, this could be perceived as inhumane conduct, and F1 Ferrari team members, along with Yooihyun and Leclerc themselves—even the very identity of F1 Ferrari—risked entrapment in feelings of betrayal and guilt imposed by a command.

Even the chairman, who had commanded everything under the name of Ferrari, faced an uncertain future like never before.

Yet, he could not yield. Although he knew it, he did not back down, believing it was a necessary choice even if it meant facing the end.

With an unwavering gaze but lacking confidence, the chairman said.

“We must trust Binotto and F1 Ferrari…”

The command had already been given.

It was a command that could not be reversed, an order that could not be undone.

*

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At that moment, at the Ferrari laboratory located near the Bahrain International Circuit, an unusual message, rarely received, from the chairman buzzed in.

Checking his phone, Binotto left the meeting room, feeling as though ‘the inevitable has come’, and read the message. Today, the message felt foreboding.

[Starting today with the Bahrain Grand Prix, we will use Yooihyun as Ferrari’s first driver.]

“……”

Not able to refuse the command, Binotto’s expression turned somber. Seeing his team members in the meeting room enduring an all-nighter while passionately debating made him feel choked up.

Honestly, this time he could not defy it. He had already exhausted all opportunities to counter Enzo Ferrari’s unyielding resolve to completely revamp F1 Ferrari at the start of the year, January 1st. Having prevented such a disaster, he had expected that something difficult would return in some form.

“Ha, how on earth do I…”

It was not good. If they had been reformed, at least the unity of the F1 Ferrari team would have remained a good memory, he thought fleetingly. Now even that seemed impossible.

Why was he the one who had to throw cold water on this cheerful atmosphere? It was the first time Binotto felt a hint of resentment towards the role of director.

Yet he was the director, and the director was the one who took on those responsibilities.

Gathering his composure, Binotto kicked open the meeting room door and declared.

“I am completely revamping the plan.”

At his thunderous announcement, everyone closed their mouths and stared at him. There was no trace of playfulness on Binotto’s face; only his anger was palpable.

“From now on, Yooihyun will be… Ferrari’s first driver.”