Sweeping and destructive, the storm initiated by Kai didn't stop at the 'Big Three.' With the force of a conquering army, it penetrated every single facet of the paddock.
After enduring months of turmoil and chaos, the mist finally cleared, and the 2019 driver lineups were officially unveiled.
The Mercedes-Benz sphere had fully settled. Hamilton and Bottas represented the main team. Vettel and Stroll represented Racing Point. Perez and Russell represented Williams. It was visibly obvious that the partnerships between Mercedes, Racing Point, and Williams had escalated to an entirely new level.
Toto Wolff's towering ambition was on full, undisguised display.
The Red Bull sphere was much the same. After a dizzying, rollercoaster ride, they had finally managed a relatively smooth landing amidst the anxiety and chaos.
At Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen would partner with Alexander Albon.
At Toro Rosso, Pierre Gasly would remain, while the second seat went to... the returning veteran, Daniil Kvyat.
Kvyat, born in 1994, was once a golden boy bathed in the spotlight. Showered with praise and shining brightly, he first entered F1 with Toro Rosso in 2014. By 2015, he was promoted to the main Red Bull team to partner Ricciardo. However, after just one short season, he was unceremoniously replaced by Verstappen and demoted back to Toro Rosso.
Changing teams every year, constantly bouncing around and wandering. He had been burdened with immense expectations but had consistently failed to meet them. The brilliant aura of a 'genius' had almost entirely faded.
At the end of the 2017 season, he found himself completely unemployed.
Unable to secure a race seat for the 2018 season, Kvyat quietly exited the stage. But he never left the paddock entirely. He signed with Ferrari as a simulator and test driver, ensuring he remained visible to team principals and kept himself in position to seize even the slightest opportunity.
While his racing career stalled, his personal life flourished.
In 2017, Kvyat began dating Kelly Piquet, the daughter of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet. While the elder Piquet couldn't directly interfere with Red Bull's internal affairs, a man who had navigated the paddock for decades undeniably possessed his own networks and influence. This connection proved to be Kvyat's most significant bargaining chip as he lurked around the paddock searching for an opening.
And sure enough, the good news kept rolling in.
Recently, Kelly Piquet announced she was pregnant. Kvyat and his girlfriend were expecting their first child.
Subsequently, Helmut Marko—having suffered a rare, humiliating defeat in Red Bull's internal power struggle and losing critical ground—was desperate to rapidly reassert his control. In a swift turnaround, Marko brought Kvyat back from exile to occupy the second seat at Toro Rosso.
Whether it was Albon or Kvyat, the procurement of their seats was far from simple. It was a tangled web of competing interests and power standoffs, brimming with intense political tension. But for the two drivers themselves, the situation was far more straightforward. They had secured their seats. They had won their opportunities. Only one task remained:
Prove themselves on the asphalt.
All signs indicated that Horner had won a spectacular victory, handing Marko a rare, stinging defeat. But Marko's roots ran incredibly deep within the organization; he instantly stabilized his footing and launched a counter-offensive.
To draw absolute conclusions about the internal balance of power at Red Bull right now would be highly premature.
However, one thing was undeniable.
Horner was constantly seeking change, constantly searching for breakthroughs. His ambition wasn't solely about consolidating internal power; it was primarily driven by a desperate hunger to lead Red Bull back to the championship throne.
Perhaps Red Bull still possessed numerous unstable variables and couldn't boast the absolute, unified harmony of Mercedes-Benz, but they remained the ultimate wildcard in the paddock.
Meanwhile, the final protagonist of the 'Big Three'—and the absolute epicenter of the entire off-season hurricane—was also fully loaded and ready to fire. Ferrari.
At Ferrari: Kai and Charles Leclerc.
At Alfa Romeo: Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
At Haas: Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.
From Silverstone, through the summer break, and all across the turbulent off-season, an endless barrage of rumors, news, and storms had swirled violently around Ferrari. Yet, looking back on it now, Ferrari had emerged as the most stable of the 'Big Three.' On the surface, they appeared to be executing massive, radical, paradigm-shifting innovations. In reality, their entire strategy was focused solely on securing their foundation around a single core: Kai.
Haas kept their lineup completely unchanged. Alfa Romeo opted for a classic veteran-rookie pairing. Both customer teams maintained the status quo, showing no fundamental differences from the previous season.
Ostensibly, Ferrari themselves had undergone the most drastic transformation. Pairing two young drivers seemed highly risky, sparking fears that they might follow Williams down a disastrous path. But looking past the superficial labels, the core dynamic remained unchanged: a World Champion leading a rookie. They were simply upholding their age-old tradition in a new format.
Once you stripped away the labels and the biases—once you recognized Kai as the absolute, immovable anchor of the team—the entire blueprint became crystal clear.
Everyone had assumed Ferrari was scrambling, losing sight of the big picture just to secure Kai. Even Toto Wolff had fallen into that trap. But if you detached yourself subjectively and looked at the overarching, long-term strategy, it became obvious: once Kai's position was locked in, the rest of the master plan could be executed flawlessly.
This was the true brilliance and audacity of Sergio Marchionne.
Even though Marchionne had been dead for over half a year, his iron-fisted influence could still be felt in every corner of Maranello.
Therefore, not just for the 2019 season, but for the seasons to come, after all the chaotic detours and dizzying drama, Ferrari had ultimately stepped onto the perilous, ambitious path Marchionne had meticulously laid out. The gears of fate had begun to turn. The brutal competition among the 'Big Three,' the battle for the dynastic throne of the paddock—all the suspense was waiting to be unveiled.
Amidst the hurricane of rumors and leaks, bombshells dropped one after another in rapid succession. It was dazzling and overwhelming, offering almost zero breathing room. The entire paddock was spinning at a million miles an hour. Even if you paid absolute, undivided attention, it was easy to miss the finer details; it was impossible to maintain total control of the board.
It wasn't until the dust had finally settled that people realized certain things had occurred. They looked around in bewilderment. "Wait, when did that happen?"
Take Guanyu Zhou, for example.
Even though Kai's meteoric rise had astronomically boosted the profile of Chinese and Asian drivers in the paddock, and despite Albon's shocking, parachute entry into Red Bull... honestly, relying on a single, anomalous phenomenon like Kai wasn't enough to fundamentally reverse the overall disadvantage Asian drivers faced in F1.
Millions of eyes across the paddock were locked entirely on Kai, but there was still only one Kai.
As for the other Asian drivers? They were primarily the focus of Asian media outlets. Among the young talents like Jack Aitken, Yuki Tsunoda, and Guanyu Zhou, who had the potential to become the next Kai? Could Albon shoulder the immense pressure and follow in Kai's footsteps, creating a spectacular "Twin Stars" era?
Guanyu Zhou was among that hopeful cohort. Unfortunately, his recently concluded season had fallen far short of expectations.
In 2018, if F1 had the "Unluckiest Driver Alive" in Daniel Ricciardo, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship had the "Child of Misfortune" in Guanyu Zhou.
Driving for Prema Racing, Zhou was highly competitive and enjoyed a dreamlike start to the season. After the first three rounds, he sat in second place in the championship standings, trailing his teammate and fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Marcus Armstrong by a single point.
Then, fate played a cruel joke. Lady Luck seemed to sneeze in his direction before promptly turning her back.
Over the next phase of the season, a devastating combination of teammate collisions and tire punctures resulted in four consecutive retirements. Plagued by unrelenting misfortune, he was completely eliminated from championship contention.
Ultimately, when the season concluded, Zhou languished in eighth place in the drivers' standings. It was his second consecutive season delivering underwhelming results.
Obviously, Zhou's racing career was approaching a critical fork in the road. This was the paddock, an environment where everyone was fighting tooth and nail for a seat. It wasn't just F1; F2, F3, and GP3 were exactly the same. Vicious, hungry competitors were lurking everywhere.
No one cared if Zhou's season was ruined by bad luck. Eighth place is eighth place. It wasn't a championship, and it wasn't a top-three finish. The results were brutally unforgiving.
Consequently.
Zhou's path within the Ferrari Driver Academy appeared to have reached a dead end.
...
Reality is always cruel, and this is especially true in the world of competitive sports.
Take injuries, for example.
Countless generational talents have burned brightly, capturing the world's attention, only to have their entire careers obliterated by a single, catastrophic injury. A genius, fallen.
People mourn, they sigh, they feel profound pity for these ill-fated prodigies. But the moment they turn around, those fallen talents inevitably fade into history. No one cares, and no one remembers. The world does not eternally memorialize them simply out of pity for their "bad luck."
The paddock is even more merciless.
Collisions, punctures, power unit failures, mechanical breakdowns, being an innocent victim in a multi-car pileup... there are countless scenarios on the track where a driver is utterly powerless to change the outcome, no matter how hard they fight.
But people don't care. People only care about the results. Championships, podiums, points. That is all that matters; everything else is just background noise.
It was true for Ricciardo, and it was true for Guanyu Zhou.
In 2017 and 2018, failing to achieve a significant breakthrough in the F3 European Championship for two consecutive seasons meant he was stalling out. At critical moments, he always seemed to lack that final ounce of luck. If he continued to stagnate, the future looked incredibly bleak. Standing at a crossroads, Zhou faced a grueling decision.
The first major hurdle: should he remain in the Ferrari Driver Academy?
Last season, Zhou had been incredibly close to securing an F2 seat, stepping up to a higher platform to challenge himself. But ultimately, he narrowly missed out.
This season, the situation was even more dire.
The Ferrari Driver Academy hadn't officially abandoned Zhou, but they also refused to offer him any further opportunities. They were unwilling to sacrifice their own interests to secure an F2 seat for him.
Therefore, if Zhou stayed with the Ferrari Driver Academy, he would gain absolutely nothing except the prestigious "Ferrari" title on his resume.
What was the actual value of that?
Furthermore, Zhou's placement in the academy wasn't free. His parents had to constantly hustle for sponsorships just to keep his racing career alive.
Season after season, the situation grew increasingly difficult, and the challenge of securing funding escalated exponentially. The path forward was only getting steeper.
In the midst of this desperation, Renault extended an olive branch. Like an angel descending, they invited him to join the Renault Sport Academy, promising to actively work toward securing him an F2 seat.
But was Renault truly that benevolent? Were they genuinely running a charity?
The answer was a definitive no.
Because of Kai, Renault had recognized the explosive potential of the Chinese market. They were attempting to muddy the waters and take a shortcut, intending to use Zhou to farm traffic and engagement.
After deep discussions with Renault, Zhou discovered that their promises were castles in the sky. The so-called 'F2 seat' remained an illusion. Renault simply stated they were willing to act as a middleman and introduce him to an F2 team. But actually convincing the team to give him a seat? That still required Zhou's own efforts.
To put it bluntly: he needed to buy his way in.
Just as Lance Stroll had utilized an $80 million sponsorship package to join Williams, capital remained the massive, fire-breathing dragon standing between Zhou and Formula 2.
At one point, Zhou's father, Zhou Wenfang, was fully prepared to emulate Lawrence Stroll. He was ready to outright purchase an F2 team to pave the road for his son.
It was precisely at this critical juncture that Kai intervened.
During his contract negotiations with Ferrari, Kai leveraged his immense influence to persuade the Ferrari Driver Academy to continue supporting Zhou's racing career.
Friendship was certainly a factor; Kai genuinely wanted to help his friend. But more importantly, Kai deeply understood the power of the collective.
Forget about the F1 paddock; across the entire spectrum of global motorsport, Asian drivers remained a tiny minority. They needed to unite. Only when a significant influx of Asian drivers entered the sport, establishing a visible presence from F1 all the way down to the local karting circuits, could they fundamentally dismantle the systemic prejudice and discrimination they faced.
This would simultaneously elevate the status of Asian drivers within the elite paddock, and stimulate the deep, grassroots cultivation of motorsport culture back home.
And so.
Acting as the vital bridge, Kai arranged for Zhou to sit down with Ferrari to discuss sponsorship—not just financial backing, but critical technical support and resources. Following that, he arranged a meeting with ART Grand Prix to discuss a race seat. Even though Nicholas Todt was the owner of ART, he still had to remain objective; business was business.
Just like Toto Wolff, Nicholas acting as an agent was one thing; acting as a team owner was entirely different.
Kai personally lobbied Nicholas to grant Zhou an internal test session. He urged Nicholas to ignore the bad luck of the 2018 season and evaluate Zhou's raw, on-track capability with cold, objective logic.
After weighing the pros and cons, Nicholas agreed.
This time, Zhou seized the opportunity with both hands. In the internal test, he decisively defeated the driver who finished fourth in the 2018 F2 Championship, the Dutchman Nyck de Vries.
He proved himself and earned their respect.
Of course, on-track performance wasn't the only factor. ART needed funding. According to their original plan, they were preparing to offer the seat to Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.
Nikita Mazepin had an unfathomably wealthy father who threw money around like water, literally buying his son's path through the formula ranks with an open checkbook. From GP3 to F2, and with their sights firmly set on the ultimate prize of F1, they had prepared massive, seemingly bottomless reserves of cash.
In the 2018 F2 season, ART had fielded George Russell and Jack Aitken. Although Russell secured the Drivers' Championship, Aitken's underwhelming performance meant ART finished second in the Constructors' standings, agonizingly missing out on the team title. Clearly, ART desperately needed that massive influx of Russian capital—
To launch a full assault on the championship.
Against this backdrop, Kai successfully persuaded Nicholas. Even though Zhou's sponsorship backing wasn't as staggeringly wealthy as Mazepin's, Zhou Wenfang could still provide significant financial support. More importantly, Zhou's talent and potential far exceeded Mazepin's. Taking a holistic view, Zhou was undeniably the superior choice for a championship campaign.
If it were purely about the money, ART shouldn't have given de Vries a test in the first place, because the Dutch driver lacked any significant financial backing or sponsors. Just like when Nicholas had taken a massive gamble on Kai in GP3, he was facing a similar choice now.
From Kai, to de Vries, and now to Zhou, a clear, consistent pattern emerged in Nicholas's decision-making.
And naturally, the substantial backing from the Ferrari Driver Academy played a crucial role.
Understanding that business is business, Kai hadn't relied on emotional appeals. Instead, he presented a logical, comprehensively reasoned argument, actively strategizing on how ART could secure the Constructors' Championship.
Nicholas had to admit, Kai was incredibly persuasive.
As an agent, Nicholas had benefited immensely from Kai's intellect and astuteness. Now, sitting across the negotiating table as a team owner, Nicholas felt the intense pressure Kai exerted from a completely different perspective. Even though it was a "collaboration," the shift in roles generated a starkly different experience.
Kai was displaying his capabilities across every dimension, proving his influence extended far beyond the asphalt.
Privately, Nicholas joked, "I finally understand exactly how John Elkann feels. And honestly, I don't think he's going to enjoy it."
Of course, it was just a joke.
His true thoughts?
Nicholas trusted Kai's judgment. Both as his agent, and as a team owner.
And so, the deal was struck.
For the 2019 season, after countless detours, agonizing suspense, and numerous trials and tribulations, Guanyu Zhou finally secured his place on the F2 grid. He would partner with Nyck de Vries, driving for ART Grand Prix.
Rumor had it that Nikita Mazepin was incredibly unhappy. Extremely, violently unhappy. Not just unhappy—he was reportedly apoplectic, flying into a blind rage. He furiously declared that they would crush ART. Not only would they win the Drivers' Championship next season, but they would sweep the Constructors' Championship as well. ART was going to choke on their own bitter medicine!
He meant what he said.
Dmitry Mazepin was furious. Anyone who knew him understood immediately: someone was about to suffer.
In a staggering display of wealth, Dmitry Mazepin dropped a massive lump sum to outright purchase Virtuosi Racing, the team that finished fourth in the 2018 F2 standings.
Just like Lawrence Stroll, he legally and forcefully acquired an entire racing team solely to purchase a seat for his son.
Furthermore, he unhesitatingly pumped massive amounts of capital into the team, preparing to literally buy a championship. It wasn't just for Nikita's sake; it was to settle a vendetta.
Unexpectedly, Virtuosi Racing, which had been facing severe financial difficulties and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was suddenly catapulted to the top of the food chain. They instantly became one of the most formidable title contenders for the 2019 F2 season.
Because Mazepin would be partnering with another emerging superstar: Luca Ghiotto. The Italian was a super-prospect who had drawn intense interest from the youth academies of Ferrari, Renault, and Mercedes-Benz. Virtuosi Racing, previously written off as hopeless for the new season, suddenly possessed elite capital, top-tier talent, and massive technical upgrades. Their competitiveness skyrocketed.
Simultaneously, another billionaire father was demonstrating equally ruthless financial power. The Canadian Michael Latifi ensured his son remained with the DAMS team for a third consecutive season.
However, over the past two seasons, Nicholas Latifi's performance had been... consistently terrible. He had displayed absolutely no discernible talent.
Initially, Latifi believed his career trajectory would mirror Lance Stroll's: run one season in F2 and immediately ascend to F1. But as his third F2 season approached, and watching Kai's miraculous, explosive success, Latifi had had enough of the humiliation. He refused to remain a laughingstock.
Therefore, Nicholas Latifi declared that if he didn't secure an F1 seat next season, the young master was going to quit!
Consequently, Michael Latifi injected a massive tidal wave of funding into DAMS. He heavily financed their R&D department, spending money like water, using open checkbooks to bulldoze obstacles, aiming to construct an absolute rocket ship of a car.
With Mazepin on one side and Latifi on the other, projecting an aura of overwhelming wealth, the two billionaire fathers engaged in a covert proxy war. The teams caught in the crossfire of this massive capital hurricane, led by ART, were left shivering and fighting desperately for survival.
Instantly, the F2 landscape was flooded with chaotic variables.
After all, compared to F1, F2 was a series where raw cash injections could genuinely trigger qualitative leaps in performance. In a spec-series environment, the impact of a massive budget was far more significant than most realized. Heading into the 2019 season, Virtuosi Racing and DAMS were highly likely to become the crucial disruptors capable of shattering the existing balance of power.
ART's mission to capture the championship in the new season was now fraught with countless brutal challenges.
Even Kai likely hadn't anticipated this specific outcome. He couldn't possibly have predicted exactly what kind of terrifying monster his domino effect would ultimately create.
However, Kai himself was actually rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Little Zhou, I think the new F2 season is going to be incredibly entertaining. You are truly in for a treat."
Guanyu Zhou: ...? Is this a normal reaction?
"Hehe. Thanks," Zhou replied, forcing a strained smile and trying desperately to straighten his spine.
Undeniably, this was just a minor side story.
Compared to the massive, earth-shattering bombshells dropping in the F1 paddock, a single F2 seat hardly merited intense discussion. Even though Mazepin and Latifi were attempting to violently alter the landscape with raw cash, their efforts were merely a drop in the ocean compared to F1. Pay drivers deploying 'golden parachutes' couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Alexander Albon.
After all, Albon was the lever that shattered the status quo. He had completely obliterated the long-standing, peaceful coexistence between the Thai and Austrian factions of Red Bull.
What followed could be a blood-soaked civil war, or perhaps total, catastrophic chaos. It was entirely possible that Red Bull would become the ultimate disruptor, violently dragging both Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari down from their pedestals. This could be the pivotal turning point that completely reshuffled the entire power structure of the paddock. They were all currently witnessing history unfold.
When compared side-by-side, the minor ripples in F2 naturally failed to capture much attention. Even if someone brought it up, it was usually dismissed with a casual wave of the hand.
However, it wouldn't be until many years later that people finally realized the true depth of Kai's foresight.
Change is never achieved overnight. It is the meticulous accumulation of countless tiny details. Only massive quantitative changes can trigger true qualitative leaps. Long before anyone else had even noticed, Kai had already planted the crucial seeds.
While the entire paddock was spinning on its axis solely because of Kai, Kai had already grown dissatisfied with merely holding the title of the first Asian Drivers' World Champion in history. He was actively executing a far more expansive, macro-level strategy. He cast his gaze toward a significantly larger, more profound landscape, step by step dismantling and restructuring the architecture of the motorsport world, marching boldly forward as a pioneer of innovation.
What he desired extended far, far beyond a single championship trophy.
That level of foresight, that sweeping 'big picture' perspective, was not something everyone possessed. But precisely because it was so rare, it was Kai's most invaluable, defining characteristic.
Just compare him to Lewis Hamilton, and the difference is instantly clear.
Even though Hamilton had achieved massive success, cementing himself at the absolute pinnacle of the paddock pyramid, he still hadn't managed to significantly shake the power of corporate capital. He hadn't managed to dismantle the deeply ingrained chains of discrimination within the sport—
All these years later, a second Black driver had still not entered the paddock.
Within the unspoken, implicit rules of the paddock, Hamilton had meekly lowered his head. Ultimately, he had never genuinely attempted to overthrow the traditional power structure. Of course, verbally, he constantly emphasized his desire for change; but the vast chasm between words and actions is entirely different. In the end, one must be judged by their actions.
Naturally, no one had expected Kai to possess such immense courage and audacity. And crucially, he wasn't just daydreaming about it; he was actively executing it in the real world.
History is forged exactly like this.
As for the present, the drama unfolding in F2 was clearly not the main event. The earth-shattering chaos of F1 was more than enough to occupy everyone's attention.
Outside the 'Big Three' and their associated customer teams, only two independent, solitary teams remained. Yet, even they were swept up in the inescapable storm—
Lando Norris partnered with Carlos Sainz Jr. to represent McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo partnered with Nico Hülkenberg to represent Renault.
Here, there was only one true focal point: Carlos Sainz Jr.
Last season, on loan to Renault from Toro Rosso, Sainz had delivered a phenomenal performance, earning his seat through sheer, undeniable on-track results. However, when Renault signed Ricciardo, it meant either Sainz or Hülkenberg had to be shown the door. The widespread assumption was that Sainz would be retained.
Shockingly, Renault chose Hülkenberg.
Sainz was instantly plunged into a massive crisis, staring down the very real possibility of having no seat for the 2019 season. Yet, after a series of agonizing twists and turns, Sainz miraculously secured a lifeline at McLaren. After surviving a brutal, cutthroat battle for survival, he narrowly managed to remain in the paddock, granting him the opportunity to continue proving himself next season.
Looking strictly at the final result, everything appeared to have worked out perfectly. But the agonizing rollercoaster ride, the terrifying uncertainty, and the sheer desperation... only Sainz truly understood the toll it took.
With that, ten teams and twenty seats were finally locked in.
It was worth noting that the rookie class of 2018 had suffered casualty rates exceeding 50%. Stoffel Vandoorne, Brendon Hartley, and Sergey Sirotkin were all eliminated, failing to secure seats.
Furthermore, Marcus Ericsson and Esteban Ocon also lost their drives. Add to that the official retirement of Fernando Alonso.
The 2019 season would feature a staggering six new faces on the grid!
People had always known the paddock was a brutal, hyper-competitive environment. Fighting for one of those twenty seats required navigating unimaginable pressure. Every summer break and off-season was a bloody Roman Colosseum; in a life-or-death struggle, you could never afford to show mercy.
But witnessing a massive, sweeping purge of the grid for the second consecutive year was highly unusual. Following the upheaval of the 2018 season, 2019 was also swapping out six drivers. The fact that the 2018 rookie class suffered a 50% elimination rate brutally underscored the terrifying ruthlessness of the paddock. You might not see physical blood, but you could always see the metaphorical corpses piled high. The crushing, suffocating pressure kept a permanent stranglehold on their throats, allowing not a single second of relaxation or respite.
When the 2019 season concluded, how many of these drivers would be eliminated? How many would manage to survive?
The inherent cruelty of competitive sports was never clearer or more visceral than it was in the F1 paddock.
Nevertheless, the victor takes all. While some turned away into the shadows, others naturally stepped forward to receive the flowers and the applause.
Among the 2018 rookies, Kai, Leclerc, and Gasly had successfully secured their places. They were now preparing to face entirely new challenges in vastly different environments.
In the upcoming season, transitioning from rookies to sophomores, these young men would encounter a completely transformed landscape.
Amidst the swirling, chaotic noise and boiling anticipation, the curtain slowly began to rise on the 2019 season—
Melbourne had arrived.