F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 120 Returning to China
When deciding to sign the contract with Wu Shi, Toto considered all sorts of consequences.

Those who are truly concerned about this matter should understand that by setting the acquisition of the Mercedes seat as a precondition in the contract as something almost impossible to achieve, he was actually giving Nicky Lauda face and showing his respect and sincerity towards Wu Shi.

After all, how could a driver who has only driven in F3 possibly achieve such good results in his first time driving in F1?
Anyone would think it was a joke.

This contract was destined to only give Wu Shi a chance to drive a Mercedes car in a practice session; the real highlight was when he would coordinate the seat issue between Wu Shi and Williams later on.

Even now, even though some people realize that the terms of the contract are almost impossible to fulfill, most people still only want to believe what they believe, thinking that even if Wu Shi fails to fulfill the terms, Toto will find a way to circumvent the clause and directly make Wu Shi a Mercedes official driver.

This matter had a significant impact, leading to questions from Daimler's board of directors and the convening of a board meeting.

Toto had to assure the board that if Wu Shi did not reach an agreement, he would not be given a seat at Mercedes-Benz!
Although the board was persuaded, the matter still had a significant impact on the team's internal operations.

After all, most people on the team believed that both Hamilton and Rosberg were a million times better than Wu Shi.

Hamilton's ability has been proven, and yesterday's victory against Spain added to his glory.

Rosberg also possesses top-notch skills, and most importantly, he is German!
Mercedes-Benz is a German automaker!
Every team in the paddock, whose nationality is clearly defined, hopes to form a pure-blooded squad!
Ferrari was even willing to cause internal chaos over this matter.

Therefore, it's not hard to imagine that Rosberg is irreplaceable in the hearts of the team's members.

Faced with overwhelming public opinion, even Toto began to doubt whether he had made the wrong decision.

At that time, Niki Lauda only said one thing to him: "Wu Shi may become the most dominant driver in the history of the paddock, and he is very young."

Toto certainly understood what Niki Lauda meant. Wu Shi's achievements in karting and F3 were too extraordinary. He was sure that, apart from him, all the other teams must have their eyes on this amazing Chinese talent.

If this talent were to be realized in F1, what kind of driver would emerge?

Toto thought of Michael Schumacher, the racing legend who had given Mercedes a great deal of help after the company returned to the paddock.

At his peak, Schumacher was able to win championships driving the second or third fastest cars in the paddock; that's the power of an absolutely dominant driver.

Niki Lauda meant that Wu Shi's talent would surpass that of Schumacher.

This means that if Wu Shi is not at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, then even if the Mercedes-Benz Arena is fast, he could still be threatened by this guy.

Moreover, Wu Shi is very young, and he will have a longer peak period than other drivers. Mercedes cars can't stay fast forever, but ten years later, this guy will only be twenty-five years old, which is his prime.

It's easy to imagine that Wu Shi, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, would absolutely be able to help the Arena cover its losses.

However, after thinking about all this, the most important premise is that Wu Shi can realize his talent in F1.

Toto suddenly remembered Niki Lauda's suggestion to give Wu Shi a chance to join Mercedes. He sat up straighter. If this guy really made a pole position lap in practice, this...
He dared not imagine it, because just thinking about it made his heart race.

So he brought out the truly useful supplementary agreement.

After taking it, Sid read through the supplementary agreement. Unlike the one he had seen in Spain, this agreement was a simple supplementary agreement, with more detailed provisions on confidentiality obligations, liability for leaks, and matters concerning practice matches.

"Can I sign this?" Sid asked. "Of course," Toto took a deep breath and nodded.

On May 15th, Wu Shi landed in the capital, returning to China after a long absence, and felt like a completely different person.

"The main reason for my return this time is to secure a $30 million sponsorship. Among the interested companies are Tianyan Group, Longteng Technology Group, Beiben, and Jili Group. They have offered very generous sponsorship fees."

As soon as she landed, Martina began to speak, and her language module naturally switched to Chinese.

"Oh~"

Wu Shi had some recollection of this; Tianyan Group had been in contact with him for a long time, and its subsidiary, Dayan Media, had previously secured a sponsorship of three million RMB.

Longteng Technology Group is the company where Wu Shi's father, Wu Zhenlin, works. Its main business is very extensive, including two automotive industry-related businesses: intelligent vehicle solutions and vehicle parts manufacturing.

Needless to say, Beiben is a joint venture established by Daimler and Capital Automobile Co., Ltd., which has experienced particularly rapid growth in recent years thanks to China's rapidly developing economy.

Their interest in Wu Shi this time stems from previous rumors about him and the Mercedes F1 seat.

Jili Group is one of the major domestic car companies, with numerous brands under its umbrella. When it acquired Volvo in March 2010, it demonstrated its ambition to expand into overseas markets.

This time, they also took into account Wu Shi's growing reputation overseas.

In particular, their strategic plan to establish a brand focused on performance cars further prompted them to consider this collaboration with Wu Shi.

The two left their luggage at the hotel and arrived at the reception room of Longteng Technology Group in the afternoon.

As a manufacturing giant, Longteng Technology Group is one of the most competitive companies that have emerged in China in recent years and is highly regarded by foreign investors.

Unfortunately, Longteng Technology Group is not listed on the stock market, making it impossible for foreign capital groups to profit from it.

This was Wu Shi's first visit to his father's workplace. The Longteng Building occupies a very important location in the capital, where land is extremely valuable.

“This is the dragon's lair of the West Avenue. The west is the White Tiger position. The White Tiger is associated with metal and is associated with killing and warfare. It is quite compatible with Longteng Technology Group. But since that's how feng shui is, why not give it a name with the tiger in it?” Wu Shi suddenly said.

"Huh?" Martina couldn't understand what the little guy was saying.

Instead, the staff member who came to greet them smiled and said, "The little one knows quite a bit about these things."

"Isn't it because I saw that huge porcelain painting on the ceiling of your hall?"

Wu Shi laughed and pointed to the huge white tiger image above his head. He was indeed quite interested in mysterious things.

After walking through the lobby and seeing some extremely complex mechanical structures on display, the group took the elevator to the 48th floor.

"Alright, we've arrived at the conference room. Mr. Zhenlin said he wants to avoid any appearance of impropriety, so Mr. An from our group will come over later to discuss things with you."

(End of this chapter)