The morning sun lazily draped itself over the land. All of Maranello felt relaxed and at ease, the biting chill in the air having lost its edge. It was the kind of morning that made you want to close your eyes, let the sun wash over your face, and do nothing at all.
Marchionne was entertaining his guests. "So, are you planning to show your faces and ramp up the competitive atmosphere, or would you prefer to hide in the control room and observe their true reactions?"
Frédéric Vasseur squinted, a lopsided grin on his face as he slouched into the sofa, melting into it like a slug. "Psychological games? You should ask Nick," he quipped. "He inherited plenty of wisdom from his father."
Marchionne laughed. "You, always poking the sore spot. You know he doesn't like to talk about his father."
Beside him, Nicolas Todt waved it off. "It's not a sore spot. If people are willing to give me a pass because of my father, it certainly saves a lot of trouble. But in the paddock, the teams aren't willing to give me special treatment, so I have to play by their rules."
He paused. "But here in Maranello, I'd be more than happy to wear a name tag that just says, 'Hey, the other Todt has arrived.'"
The joke earned a hearty laugh from Marchionne.
Nicolas Todt was, in fact, Jean Todt's son.
He hadn't become a driver, but he was still a major player in motorsport. He was a driver manager, handling many promising young talents, including Charles Leclerc. But as he said, while he had inherited his father's resources and connections, he also had to escape his father's shadow and build his own name. Otherwise, people would forever see him as "Jean Todt's son," just a kid, and refuse to treat him as an equal in the business.
So, in 2004, Nicolas Todt partnered with Vasseur to found their own team and start their own legacy.
Vasseur was also a brilliant team manager, a wily old veteran who had been in the business for years, having worked with Mercedes-Benz and Renault. He and Nicolas hit it off immediately and officially entered the Formula game, not as employees, but as owners of their own team:
ART Grand Prix.
The ladder to F1 is clearly defined: from F4, through F3 and F2, and finally to the pinnacle of F1. But within that ladder, each level is a chaotic mess of different organizations and regional championships.
In recent years, Jean Todt had realized that the sport's global promotion needed to be more systematic, and he was in the process of consolidating the regional series. But this was a difficult, lengthy process involving many competing interests.
For now, F2 was mostly unified, with a new era set to begin in the 2017 season. F3, however, was not. It was still split into two main parts: the regional F3 championships and GP3.
Strictly speaking, the correct path was F4, F3, GP3, and then F2.
F3 was a regional series (like the European or Japanese championships), a step above F4 but below GP3. GP3 was the global series, very close to F2, but still a small step down. Most drivers would choose to compete in either F3 or GP3 to prove themselves before advancing.
The series Zhou Guanyu was competing in was the F3 European Championship.
ART was a GP3 team. Thanks to the powerful fundraising abilities of its two co-founders, it was a highly competitive and well-funded organization. In their early years, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had won the team's first two championships, allowing the team to grow rapidly.
Currently, they were the reigning GP3 champions.
However, ART was also an official partner of the Mercedes-Benz junior team.
In F2 and GP3, money is everything. Teams often partner with academies or with "pay drivers" who bring their own funding. But because they need all the funding they can get, these teams rarely sign exclusive deals. ART would prioritize Mercedes juniors, but they weren't limited to them. Last season, they had also run a Red Bull junior.
Ferrari was the same. Their official GP3 partner was the Italian team Trident, but last season, Leclerc himself had driven for ART.
So, while ART's presence at Maranello was a small surprise, it wasn't shocking.
Nicolas Todt looked at Marchionne. "Sergio, are you sure you can solve our problem? Our expectations are already through the roof."
Marchionne just smiled, deliberately being mysterious. "Did your father happen to mention over Christmas that a promising new prospect had arrived at the academy?"
Nicolas Todt shook his head. "No, we don't talk about work at home. In fact, we don't talk about it much on the outside, either."
To avoid conflicts of interest and maintain professionalism, the Todt father-and-son rarely discussed racing, unless Nicolas was truly in need of professional advice.
But Nicolas heard the subtext. "Wait, you mean you have a prospect here that my father scouted?"
Vasseur, ever the irreverent one, started rubbing his hands together. "How long has it been since Jean was involved in scouting? Since Michael? Oh, right, Michael wasn't from the academy. Ferrari didn't even have an academy back then. So, what are we in for?"
The words clearly had a sting, but Vasseur's slacker tone and casual expression made it sound like a joke.
Marchionne didn't answer directly. "Heh, so, are you planning to show your faces?"
Vasseur looked at Nicolas, saying nothing.
Nicolas: "Of course we'll show our faces. If my father scouted him, his potential shouldn't be an issue. That means the next test is his mental fortitude. We need to create some difficulties for them. Do they know the purpose of our visit today?"
Marchionne shook his head. "No, as far as they know, it's just an internal test. But when you two show up, those young men will know something is going on."
Nicolas nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "That's exactly the effect we want. Catch them completely off guard. Sergio, can we wait until five minutes before the test to go in? A last-minute entrance, to disrupt their plan."
Marchionne laughed out loud. "Of course. Racing is a sport all about pressure, isn't it?"
Vasseur, patting his ample stomach, just shook his head. "And here I thought it was about speed."
As the reigning GP3 champions, ART had no shortage of interested drivers. But the racing world changes in a flash. Every season can turn the field upside down, and they needed to ensure they remained competitive.
Last season, ART had dominated, securing the top two spots in the driver's championship. They had the fastest car on the grid. But in that same championship-winning car, one of their other drivers had finished a disappointing seventh.
As a result, with the new season approaching, their other three drivers had all advanced to F2, leaving only that one driver—Nirei Fukuzumi—still in GP3.
However, Fukuzumi was a Red Bull junior and had Honda backing. He was well-protected. ART wanted to replace him but didn't have a better option, so they hadn't dared to make a move.
Now, Marchionne's phone call had solved their problem.
If Ferrari had a good prospect, and the funding, ART could justifiably replace Fukuzumi.
Of course, it wasn't a done deal. This prospect would have to be truly, dazzlingly good.
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20