[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 209
“I hope the day comes when Benz and Ferrari compete on the circuit. This is sincere, Mr. Minoto.”
Toto Wolff, with a hardened face, seemed to suppress some anger as he issued a warning that was more of a warning than a warning. He then turned and exited the party venue. The Benz employees, who had been glancing back and forth between the exit he used and this side, soon hurriedly followed their leader.
Like defeated soldiers fleeing after losing their captain.
“…”
Even Minoto, who had been smug until now, could only watch Toto Wolff’s back with a deep and serious expression, as if he contained profound emotions.
‘Is there some story between them?’
Looking at the two, the atmosphere felt unusual, and if there was a story, it must be significant. Otherwise, Minoto and Toto Wolff wouldn’t have expressed their emotions so openly.
In that moment, I caught two gazes directed at me.
‘Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen…’
The two drivers from Benz, who were the last to leave the party, turned to me with serious expressions.
“…”
When their eyes met mine, they nodded solemnly. I also nodded in return, and only then did they vanish from view.
At that moment, their courteous demeanor overlapping with Toto Wolff’s rude behavior left me in great confusion.
‘Is toto Wolff’s behavior the entirety of Benz or just a part of it?’
I couldn’t be sure. Whether such a nature existed within Benz or whether Benz’s nature had made a person like him change.
It would be a relief if it were the former, but considering the complaints at today’s party, the likelihood of the latter seemed high. Not just Toto Wolff, but the entire Benz team seemed, if I put it negatively, to lack common decency, or positively…
‘Ah, there’s no way to put it positively.’
In any case, they seemed to have a sense of superiority. Their behavior suggested they wouldn’t treat you like a human if you were not of the same caliber.
Thinking that way, I could somewhat understand the attitude of Hamilton and Verstappen, who had approached me kindly.
Even though I was a driver belonging to Ferrari, whom they didn’t even regard as a competitor, perhaps they judged that I had ‘skill’ and thus had ‘value’ worthy of their kindness.
Thus, it meant that the existence of Yooihyun was recognized by them.
The fact that I had received a scouting offer from Benz after making a name for myself in the Kiwi Tournament could serve as evidence.
‘But I shouldn’t think too rashly. After all, I’ve only seen a part of them.’
Nonetheless, there was no need to conclude that Hamilton and Verstappen would necessarily be trash. Regardless of their motivations, they showed me goodwill.
There would always be opportunities to converse, and I could make judgments about them then.
More than that…
‘I need to find out what’s going on between the director and Toto Wolff.’
Right now, I was more concerned about Minoto, who seemed to have some sad story.
*
*
*
After Minoto used his snake-like tongue to flamboyantly defeat Toto Wolff, the party regained its vibrancy.
This was because Toto Wolff had exited along with Benz, the source of all evil. With the public enemy and dictator of F1 gone, the party began to ignite even more than before.
“Long live Ferrari!”
“Ferrari fighting!”
“Yooihyun fighting!”
I continued to clink glasses with the drivers and engineers who came to find me and Leclerc. Of course, there were so many visitors that I couldn’t drink every time, but I simply raised my glass.
As I raised my glass, I observed the faces of those celebrating the revival of Ferrari.
‘The Ferrari in this world is the same. Everyone is sincere.’
Their congratulations were genuine. There was a pure and blind sincerity that resembled that of a child.
If I were to ask why they were so happy when it wasn’t even my team that succeeded…
‘Well, that’s obviously because it’s Ferrari.’
No other words were necessary. The signal for rebirth was fired by none other than Ferrari.
In F1, the name Ferrari carries a significance that far exceeds the realm of common understanding. While the world may see Ferrari as merely a ‘high-performance sports car manufacturer,’ in F1, its meaning and weight are strikingly different.
Simply put, F1. There’s no sense of strangeness in expressing Ferrari as ‘F1.’ Ferrari is the very embodiment of F1 and a living history.
How many legendary race cars have been born from Ferrari? How many legendary drivers have passed through Ferrari?
The history of Ferrari is the history of F1, and the history of F1 is also the history of Ferrari.
Now, who associated with F1 wouldn’t admire Ferrari, which has perhaps become a myth?
Yes, Ferrari is an idol to them. Though it is currently in decline, it is a hero and a story that has been with them and their dreams since they were young.
When Ferrari’s engine starts its pulse, their hearts must have pounded fiercely, and when the engine stops, and Ferrari finally ascends the podium and roars, they too must have roared along.
The name Ferrari cannot be forgotten, nor can it be easily dismissed. No matter how much it declines, how weak it becomes, it is still the three letters that once shook their hearts and lives.
“Ferrari!”
I assert that there is no one here who has not dreamed of themselves under that name.
Not even Toto Wolff, the director of Benz.
‘That’s why there are still passionate Tifosi.’
It is precisely because Ferrari holds that unique romance, memory, and emotion that countless fans exist regardless of performance.
Just comparing it with first-place Benz is enough to understand. Does it make sense that the fans of Ferrari, who have been crawling in the lower ranks for almost ten years, outnumber the fans of the first-place team, Benz?
The tens of thousands of red flags waving near the Bahrain Circuit overwhelmingly surpassed Benz’s silver flags.
‘It was indeed impressive. That wave of red…’
The Red Sea.
Yeah. The festival of flags that were endlessly fluttering in the sweltering yet forceful winds of Bahrain could rather be described as a sea. The sight of a red sea rolling with irregular, red waves was truly magnificent.
When I first witnessed that scene, I was thrilled. If Leclerc hadn’t been beside me, I might have cried out loud, as that view struck my heart fiercely.
The reason the fallen Ferrari continues to exist may not be money but these fans. Because of them, Ferrari can still stand in F1 under its own name…
At that time, I realized how humble and powerless I was. No matter how well I drove, what meaning would it have without them? Without them, there would be no ‘Jin Hyun-woo’ in Ferrari, no ‘Yooihyun’ in Ferrari.
They made Ferrari and Ferrari made me.
I must repay them.
With driving at a higher level than now, with faster driving.
‘I must do that.’
As my deep resolve grew, the party gradually matured.
*
*
*
Toto Wolff, fleeing the party venue, moved to a guest room while observing the slowly descending moon and poured himself a drink alone.
The reflection of him in the transparent glass looked pathetic.
“Haah…”
Sighing, Toto Wolff leaned back in his chair, thinking of the face of the person he so despised.
“Disgusting b*stard. Having ruined everything with his own hands, he now struts around with just one success…”
His lamenting words faded as they progressed. Full of hatred, yet his voice hinted at deeper nostalgia, a stark contrast.
“Mattia Minoto…”
Repeatedly murmuring that disgusting name destined to be more of an enemy than an enemy, he recalled times with Minoto but soon expelled those pleasant memories with deeper hatred and anger.
Thus, what remained was only revenge. Already seven years had passed, but a profound revenge that would not end until Ferrari and Minoto left F1 consumed him.
“d*mn… Ferrari, Minoto, it all sucks, it’s all just bullshit…”
Rising from his chair, Toto Wolff abruptly pulled out his wallet and grasped something white inside. He glanced at it as if to glimpse a past memory, but that nostalgia quickly transformed into a face devoid of emotion.
‘It has no meaning anymore.’
Toto Wolff crumpled the rectangular piece of white paper, once white but now old and yellowed, and threw it toward the trash can.
On that crumpled paper were vividly written things that had once been everything to him.
[Ferrari / Chief Engineer / Toto Wolff]
Ferrari’s chief engineer, Toto Wolff.
This moment was the precise instant when the memories of 2023, exactly eight years ago, completely slipped from his hands.
It was a moment that could not be reversed.