[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 207
The night deepened towards dawn, but the heat of the party showed no signs of cooling down. Everyone gathered around Ferrari, eating and drinking, fully immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere. In this banquet hall assigned to Ferrari, they were genuinely congratulating Ferrari to the point where distinctions between rival teams were indistinguishable.
There were many reasons why they flocked to us.
Lower-ranked teams simply came to congratulate; teams with similar rankings were trying to gauge Ferrari’s movements as they created a competitive landscape; the rest came to delight in the sight of Mercedes, who monopolized the podium, and to see them get annoyed.
‘This power struggle will never end, even in ten years.’
Am I merely guessing?
Absolutely not.
I’ve seen numerous top teams like Renyo, McLaren, and Red Bull, sipping drinks while casting sidelong glances at Mercedes, clearly irritated.
Thank goodness for mere glances. When the alcohol began to take effect, they started saying anything.
Having finished an interaction with the Blue Bull duo, I sat next to Leclerc, eavesdropping on others’ conversations.
“d*mn… I don’t know why this wine tastes so bitter.”
“Mercedes probably has some good alcohol today, huh?”
“Why?”
“Dummy. They have both 1st and 2nd place, and we’re all here, so shouldn’t we be more bitter than the wine!”
“Is Mercedes really that pathetic of a team…?”
“Yep.”
“……”
They say that even the highest officials curse when there aren’t any witnesses, but alcohol is a scary thing; it gives them the courage to slander even in the presence of authority. No matter how you look at it, it wasn’t far enough away to be considered safe, nor close enough to not be overheard.
Since it wasn’t just one or two people occasionally cursing, it seemed impossible for anyone not to hear.
And even if they were from different teams, a common enemy emerged, and when they poured curses towards that enemy together, a strange camaraderie formed.
It was like the unbreakable bonds felt by Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei during the Oath of the Peach Garden; even if they couldn’t reach that level, a peculiar sense of unity arose from cursing.
This is a truth that applies to humanity everywhere.
An engineer wearing a Renyo name tag spoke to a McLaren engineer.
“Those bastards… no, I really can’t stand Mercedes. Acting all high and mighty? I get it on the circuit; there, skill is everything.”
“Right!”
The intoxicated McLaren engineer agreed.
“But what’s with behaving like that outside the circuit? They’ve got their shoulders all tense, looking down at everyone like they’re squashing bugs.”
“Right! Right!”
If they were placed among an Indian tribe out there, they might fit in without any issue…
The lively Renyo engineer delivered the final blow.
“Do they think they’re kings?!”
“That’s… correct.”
“……”
“Well, it’s true.”
The Renyo engineer could not deny the McLaren engineer’s rebuttal. Mercedes indeed wields more power than even a king, both on and off the track.
Lewis Hamilton has set the champion record with Mercedes seven times. Max Verstappen competed closely, finishing 2nd each season by the narrowest of margins.
Thanks to this, Mercedes earned a reputation that reverberated throughout the world. It was already a profoundly known premium car brand before, but the difference between its reputation before and after winning championships was monumental.
Even an Indian tribe living in some corner would know the names Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. No, there’s no way they wouldn’t!
‘If they know, how could the Indians not know!’
I looked at the McLaren engineer… no, an Indian tribesman, responding mindlessly.
“Ahem…”
I veered off track, but anyway.
Winning in F1, where engine limits and technical skills are fiercely contested, is akin to proving that a manufacturer creates engines superior to any in the world. The fame gained from victory translates directly into trust for the manufacturer.
Mercedes has maintained this for years, establishing itself as unrivaled in glory. Just consider the sales figures of Mercedes during that time. How many giant corporations and wealthy families would want to align themselves with a brand showing such absurd growth?
It’s likely beyond what one could imagine.
‘It’s no wonder they’re spending billions just to win this once.’
What’s a few billion? People are pouring trillions into F1 on this planet.
Thus, the tenseness in Mercedes’ posture could simply be a natural result. Under the name ‘Mercedes,’ they’ve become a powerful entity unmatched even against competitors in the corporate world.
Countless engineers and mechanics don’t mistakenly set their ultimate goal as working for F1 Mercedes. Just being associated with them can bring honor, money, and pride; who would refuse Mercedes?
Despite the different implications of those results, the dominance that Ferrari once had now belongs to Mercedes.
‘That said, there’s no need to go around puffing up like that.’
It’s undeniable that Mercedes is an exceptional team. However, that doesn’t mean they can look down on others or ignore them. That behaves only like thugs.
So, initially, I suspected that the engineers talking at the party were not really speaking for Mercedes. The Mercedes they described seemed too brutal and independent.
For me, such suspicion was inevitable. The only Mercedes personnel I’ve interacted with were drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who treated me with respect fitting drivers and fellow humans.
My first encounter with the two was at the awards ceremony following the Kiwi Tournament final, where they expressed their hopes to see me in F1, leaving encouraging words behind.
Thanks to them, I had a favorable impression of Mercedes—polite and gentlemanly, embodying the feel of a “premium brand.” They represented the brand itself.
However, my expectations were completely overturned.
“I’m getting tired of catering to those guys all the time…”
One person.
“Remember last season when they laughed at us because our gearbox broke? Those bastards.”
Two people.
“That’s lucky then. We had to give up racing the moment it started because of Max’s push off the grid, and those bastards came out even more brash!”
Three people.
“At least it’s Mercedes’s fault, so that’s better. When we had a DNF due to a pit stop mistake, they publicly mocked us as idiots. Just thinking about it keeps me awake at night. We should have made a ruckus.”
Four people…
As the alcohol flowed, victims continued to emerge without limit. “I experienced this, and you experienced that, etc…”
You’d think even the neighbor’s dog wouldn’t be disrespected to that degree.
But just like rumors and gossip, it’s always mixed with lies and exaggerations, so I didn’t believe them. Even the same event leads to different accounts from person A and person B.
Although it was only a part of it, the Mercedes driver I had encountered was someone far removed from these stories, and since I hadn’t yet interacted with the others, trusting only their words would be against my values and common decency.
Yet…
‘Why does the story have consistency?’
‘Are they crying?’
‘The same name, repeating the same words?!’
Those countless victims were pleading with tears, making consistent statements.
Tears and consistent statements… This is nearly an unbeatable cheat code in Korea.
While the roots of suspicion were sprouting, a significant ripple occurred in the calm lake of my mind.
“Minoto, you seem to be in a good mood?”
Tall and well-built, with a fierce look like a wolf, Toto Wolff, the director of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, stepped into Ferrari’s domain.
Minoto, engaged in conversation with other team directors, immediately reached out for a handshake.
“It’s just the first step, but it feels good to have a satisfying first step.”
With his flushed face from the alcohol and curly hair, Minoto looked like a ticking bomb, about to burst.
Still, he answered with utmost respect to Toto Wolff, the winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix,
“Haha! So Ferrari has become a team content with just that level. I’m disappointed.”
“……”
“……”
A sudden silence fell at the table like cold water had been poured over it.
Did I just hear that correctly?
It was a moment when the gossip about Mercedes transformed into a shocking truth.
‘Isn’t that the person who begged in their past life to just come to Mercedes!’
The biting nature didn’t change.
But how dare he poke at Ferrari?
Minoto could be poked, but touching Ferrari was unacceptable!
I gritted my teeth and stood up from the table.
“Lee Hyun.”
The moment I got up, Leclerc gently grabbed my wrist. His touch and expression subtly urged me to sit back down.
“Trust the director.”
That statement was filled with faith, making it impossible for me to get up.