F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 127 World Champion is More Important
Montezemolo's situation in Rafah is getting worse. Since taking office in 2009, he has been pushing for so-called internal "all-Latinization," which has led to the marginalization or even departure of a large number of technical personnel who are not of Italian descent.

In the past few years, the Ferrari F1 team was able to maintain its competitiveness with the old V8 engine, but it showed great difficulty in adapting to the 1.6T hybrid era.

Until the recently concluded Monaco Grand Prix, Rafa's best result was third place, achieved by Toni Arnold in Shanghai. Apart from that, his results have mostly hovered in the points zone, neither rising nor falling, and he has been repeatedly outpaced by Red Bull and Williams.

That's it, it looks like this season is going to be a disaster, and Montezemolo's position is also in jeopardy.

Therefore, he became increasingly anxious, believing that the best way to turn the situation around was to have the team demonstrate amazing strength, or to make concessions to the international board members within the organization.

At this time, Wu Shi could be just such a person. Behind Wu Shi stood China's capital. Although the international faction wanted America's support, China was not bad either, at least it could be used to maneuver.

Martina, somewhat exasperated by Montezemolo's bluntness, couldn't help but say, "The board won't let someone who's never even driven in F1 join the F1 team."

“I can give it a try,” Montezemolo said, then asked, “I heard you secured a very large sponsorship in China this time?”

Martina frowned slightly, then shook her head and said, "There is very little interest in racing in China. Basically, no company is willing to spend money on it. I'm sure you know this better than I do."

Montezemolo nodded. He was just asking tentatively. After all, news had just spread that Mercedes was asking Wu Shi for a sponsorship of up to 50 million US dollars, and then Martina brought Wu Shi back to China. It was obvious what they were up to.

“If you agree, then I will propose it at the board meeting.” Montezemolo was now determined.

“I think I need to discuss this with Wu Shi,” Martina said.

"Okay, I'll wait for your news." Montezemolo wasn't in a good mood.

The three matches in the Hungarian leg were without any suspense; Wu Shi won all three with a consistent performance, bringing his total to eleven victories.

This performance undoubtedly made him the brightest new star in the racing world, and media outlets from all over the world rushed to report on him.

First, several media outlets in Italie contacted Sid through various connections, hoping to do an exclusive interview.

Secondly, international media outlets are also eager to learn about Wu Shi's plans for the future.

Many people have brought up Wu Shi's statement at the beginning of the season that winning 21 games would equal securing an F1 seat, and are now making a big fuss about it again.

In fact, this matter was not a secret in the paddock, otherwise Sober would not have contacted Sid beforehand.

After all, they believed that once Wu Shi achieved 21 victories, Ferrari would definitely put him in their team for a year to see how he fared, just like Ferrari's junior drivers.

It was precisely for this reason that they felt they had a high chance of winning over Wu Shi.

It's worth noting that Wu Shi also grew up in Ferrari, and his hostess, Martina, was an employee of Ferrari. If he didn't have a dream of becoming a Ferrari driver, that would be very abnormal.

Faced with the complex external voices today, Wu Shi pushed Xide to the back.

He no longer needs fame and exposure; what he needs is to stabilize his position.

So instead of wasting this free time, I might as well go to my old man's house and run a simulator.

However, given that his photos have already gone viral in the industry and his Chinese appearance, he will probably be caught very quickly once he arrives in Monaco.

He dared not let these reporters catch him and Hamilton in a compromising situation. Strictly speaking, that would be against team discipline. It was fine if they didn't weigh themselves, but if they did, neither he nor Hamilton could escape.

Therefore, it would be better for him to stay in the Dutch team and continue training day after day.

However, if people don't seek out trouble, trouble will seek them out.

Martina led Rafa's people to Wu Shi's residence in the Netherlands.

"So, Ferrari can now confirm this seat with me directly?"

Wu Shi placed his hands under the table, his clenched fists sweating, his thumb restlessly rubbing his index finger.

If someone were to ask, "Wu Shi, you don't also dream of becoming a monk, do you?" He would want to shake his head, but even though his neck was as wide as his head, he still couldn't complete this simple action.

In his past life, he was the one sitting in the red chariot, competing with Pan Zi for the annual championship!

Ferrari was willing to give him a chance, even though his past life wasn't so dazzling; he remembered it very clearly.

At that time, although Zhou Guanyu was no longer among the top twenty drivers, the Ferrari youth training path he followed set a good example for many Chinese drivers.

Wu Shi also entered F1 through the Ferrari Driver Academy.

However, precisely because of his memories of his past life, he was quite clear about the future. The LaFerrari in the following years was not bad, but it was suppressed by the overly powerful Mercedes and could not stand out.

The Mercedes dynasty ruled the paddock for a full eight years! It wasn't until 2021 that a new challenger emerged—unfortunately, that challenger wasn't Ferrari.

The more dominant Ferrari's championship momentum was at the start of 2022, the more ridiculous they became later.

"Yes."

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Wu Shi lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

Which is more important, sentiment or world championship?

“Please excuse me for a moment, I need to talk to this child,” Martina said.

"it is good."

The two Lafayette employees left the room.

Martina ruffled Wu Shi's hair and said, "Come on, tell Auntie what's bothering you."

Wu Shi raised his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "You can't have your cake and eat it too."

"Oh, are you testing my Chinese now?" Martina laughed and asked, "So, what do you consider to be fish and bear's paw?"

“I like Ferrari,” Wu Shi said.

“Of course, I like Ferrari too. How many racing drivers would refuse a Ferrari?” Martina agreed.

"But this year on the track, teams using Mercedes engines have generally performed well."

"Do you think Mercedes will have an advantage in future competition?" Martina asked, puzzled.

"It's inevitable."

Wu Shi said in a low voice, "Although the Mercedes-Benz dynasty was the result of many factors, the main reason lies in its engine."

The teams in the paddock may not have realized it yet, but in 2015 and 2016, everyone will discover just how incredible Mercedes' engine is.

Along with this, the shady dealings between Mercedes engine development and the FIA ​​were also discovered.

In short, with Daimler's investment regardless of cost, Mercedes-Benz, relying on its strong technical team, developed this cutting-edge hybrid engine, ushering in a new era for Mercedes-Benz.

Even if Wu Shi could push the performance to its absolute limit and carry the bike during the race, this gap in the most basic hardware parameters could not be bridged.

“If that’s the case, I think the world championship is more important,” Martina said.

Wu Shi looked at her.

"Think about it, once you're full of accolades, do you think Ferrari would refuse you?" Martina said.

　There will be a 4K bonus chapter later~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)