F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 123 The Story of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix

在5月30日开始匈牙利站的F3比赛前，5月23日至5月25日将举行F1的摩纳哥大奖赛。

Wu Shi, who had originally planned to continue training, was invited by Leclerc to watch the Grand Prix. He hadn't intended to go, but Leclerc suggested that since there were many people coming, they should get together and have a party.

Wu Shi thought about it and agreed. When he arrived at the scene, he saw Verstappen, Ocon, Gasly, Huber and others.

Wow, this generation of drivers is basically all here.

Lock & Lock really knows how to invite people. Not to mention that O'Connor and Gasley have already fallen out, and Pan Zi and O'Connor also don't get along. The relationships among the dozen or so people invited are quite complicated.

Wu Shi was quite at ease. His relationships with most people were very simple. Because there were almost no conflicts on the track, it wouldn't lead to a breakdown in relationships outside the track.

Of course, this excludes some drivers who view others with prejudice.

Here, Wu Shi also met Lock & Lock's father again, this kind elder who wore glasses.

Although they were all already somewhat famous in the racing world, they still sat in the stands to watch the race.

"The Mercedes cars are too fast this year." Locke, being from Monaco, returned early and watched the entire qualifying session yesterday.

"Is it that much different?" Wu Shi asked. He knew that Mercedes-Benz would be the Galaxy car for the next few years, but he didn't know how much faster the car was in 2014.

"Rosberg pole position, 1 minute 15.989 seconds; Hamilton front row, 1 minute 16.048 seconds; Ricciardo third, 1 minute 16.384 seconds." Locke took out his phone and read the record.

"Red Bull is still competitive."

As Wu Shi spoke, he looked at Verstappen and wondered if, given this skill gap, Verstappen at his peak, he might have had a chance to snatch one or two titles.
“I recall there seemed to be some unusual circumstances during yesterday’s qualifying,” Gasly reminded him.

After his reminder, Locke immediately realized and said, "Yes, it seems that Rosberg set a lap time first, but then when he was doing a flight lap in Hamilton, Rosberg locked up and triggered a yellow flag."

When everyone mentioned it, Wu Shi immediately recalled the general situation of the Monaco Grand Prix.

After Rosberg triggered a yellow flag, invalidating Hamilton's flying lap, Hamilton said in the TR, "He did a fantastic job, very well!"

From this point on, cracks began to appear in their relationship.

Therefore, when you can compete for the annual championship, friendships formed from childhood will immediately crumble under the impact of interests.

"The tournament's post-tournament investigation proved it was a mistake," Verstappen added.

Everyone looked at him, and Pan Zi was completely baffled.

"Wu Shi, what do you think?" Locke asked.

"I didn't watch the game," Wu Shi said.

"Hahaha."

The corny joke made everyone laugh.

The race started quickly, but the Monaco Grand Prix was incredibly dull, with almost no overtaking, and Rosberg easily maintained his lead.

Hamilton, who was behind him, had a run of bad luck. Near the end of the race, he said that his goggles had come loose and the wind had blown sand into his eyes, forcing him to squint while driving.

Ricciardo, who came in third, was truly formidable, relentlessly pressuring Hamilton until the end of the race, ultimately losing to him by a mere 0.404 seconds.

“Max, he might be your future teammate,” Wu Shi said.

"Hmm?" Verstappen asked, then glanced at Gasly and said, "He should be in F1 before me."

Gasly is currently involved in the Red Bull Junior Team development program and is racing in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, giving him a slight edge over F3 drivers.

"Hey, speaking of which, Wu Shi, did you really get an F1 seat?" Lock & Lock asked excitedly.

"Do you think I can get 21 wins in the tournament this season?" Wu Shi asked rhetorically.

"Tch, you know we're talking about the team seats held by those two on the podium."

Lock & Lock was bored, but he knew that Wu Shi couldn't say anything about this, so he didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he called everyone to go to the repair area together.

"Look, they're interviewing Hamilton!" Gasly spotted Hamilton in the middle of the railing.

The old man was wearing a green Mercedes-Benz hat and sunglasses, and his expression looked quite displeased.

"Yep, he and I are not friends."

As the group approached, they overheard Hamilton's amplified words. Upon hearing this, Gasly instinctively glanced at O'Connor on the other side; they had been friends as children, but had become strangers after the car accident.

Wu Shi leaned on the railing, quietly watching the driver he had met seven years ago at the Shanghai Grand Prix.

Back then, he was just a little kid, and nobody thought he would reach the threshold of F1 so quickly.

Seemingly noticing Wu Shi's gaze, Hamilton turned and looked over halfway through his sentence.

After speaking to the reporters twice, he walked straight over, followed immediately by reporters and photographers from Sky Media, as if they had witnessed a major news story.

Instead of going to Rosberg, Hamilton went to the railing and greeted a group of young men.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," Hamilton greeted.

"I just happened to be here to watch the game. It's a pity this one was so difficult to overtake," Wu Shi said.

“Yes, I heard you’re coming to our team?” Hamilton said directly.

"Uh, I don't know." Wu Shi was dumbfounded by the question. What kind of question was that?!
“If you come, we would love to welcome you. Seven years ago you told me you wanted to be an F1 driver, and it seems you’re one step away now,” Hamilton said.

"Thank you." Wu Shi didn't know what else to say.

Hamilton waved and left, leaving the reporters with their eyes wide open. However, they still maintained their principles; this was an F1 race, and they should interview the drivers first, not this young man who looked like he was about to make headlines.

When the awards ceremony came out, Lock & Lock finally got to see its godfather, Jules Bianchi.

"Hey! We're here!" Lock & Lock waved and shouted.

Bianchi wiped his sweat and walked over with a bright smile, saying, "How was it? Not bad today, right?"

"Of course! We got points! That's awesome!" Locke was even happier than if he had won the championship himself.

Wu Shi watched from the sidelines, unsure how to offer any advice. After thinking for a long time, he decided to wait until the Japanese Grand Prix to offer some more mystical advice.

"I heard you'll be joining F1 soon?" Bianchi asked.

"As long as we win a lot, that should be fine." Wu Shi shrugged helplessly. Everyone asked him this question, and he could only repeat his answer.

"Then congratulations! When Lock & Lock was racing go-karts, they often mentioned you to me, saying that you were always standing on the highest spot on the podium in any race you participated in!"

Bianchi patted Wu Shi on the shoulder. He could naturally see Locke's admiration for Wu Shi, an indelible memory etched by a series of absolutely dominant victories.

Inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Hamilton was packing his things with a displeased expression. Engineer Peter came over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "This was an accident. You shouldn't take it too seriously, and you shouldn't have said anything to that kid named Wu Shi during the interview."

Hamilton stopped what he was doing, looked up at his engineer, and said:
"Yes, as I said, I admit it was an accident. As for what Wu Shi and I said, I think it was just encouragement from a senior to a junior. I met him back in 2007."

After saying that, Hamilton packed his things, grabbed his bag, and left.

Peter rubbed his hair, found Rosberg's engineer Tony, and said, "We can't let the drivers develop such a rift; it's something neither Toto nor the team wants to see."

Tony, however, did not cooperate as usual. Instead, he said, "It seems Hamilton really wants that kid on the team so he can be his number one driver, right?"

"?"

Peter looked at his longtime colleague with surprise, shook his head in confusion, and said angrily, "You're all talking about Wu Shi, Wu Shi, Wu Shi!"

"Do you really think a sixteen-year-old kid can achieve good results in practice in his first time driving an F1 car? In that short time, he probably can't even get used to a speed of 300 kilometers per hour!"

"Shouldn't we be more concerned about the rift between the two of them right now?"

Tony shook his head slightly and said, "Then go ask Toto why he would make such a promise to a Chinese person! A sixteen-year-old kid!"

Peter, exasperated, laughed and said, "Wu Shi can't possibly join the caravan! He can't do it!"

Tony nodded, his expression scrutinizing him, and said, "Yes, he can't do it! I'll make sure he can't!"

After saying that, Tony turned and left.

Peter stood with his hands on his hips, utterly baffled by his colleague's thought process. Was this the time to be thinking about Wu Shi? Shouldn't they be thinking about Hamilton and Rosberg?
If the relationship between the two drivers continues to deteriorate, it will affect the entire team's plans and deployments!

After spinning around twice, Peter seemed to realize something, muttering to himself, "I'll make sure he can't do it."

After a long silence, he shook his head and muttered to himself, "Impossible. Tony wouldn't do that. He wouldn't do something so unethical."

(End of this chapter)