F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 137 CCTV Interview
Wu Shi glanced at the video; it had over 400,000 views, which was quite a lot. However, what attracted the views was probably the uploader's superb editing skills, rather than the racing theme.

The uploader's name is "Quiet Summer," and they use a profile picture of the pink-haired female protagonist from Zero no Tsukaima. They haven't posted any videos before, so they seem to be a new uploader.

He suspected that this person must know him, since many of the video recordings from 2007 were either taken with Ling Kang's equipment at the time, or were preserved by Zhi Shiwei.

However, he wasn't fixated on finding out who it was; he simply liked and gave the uploader a coin.

On July 2nd, Wu Zhenlin arrived in Modena, accompanied by CCTV staff.

Since it was an exclusive interview, they had rented an office well in advance.

Wu Shi was unfamiliar with these people and could only respond to their words of praise or surprise with polite smiles.

"Hello, I am Sang Tong, a CCTV host. I will be interviewing you in a moment. I see that you have experienced many such scenarios, so don't be too nervous. Just think of it as a chat with us, okay?"

The speaker was a slightly chubby host with dark skin and a short stature, but with a handsome appearance.

"Yes, I understand. It's just that we didn't prepare anything."

Wu Shi gestured with his hands, after all, it was an official interview transcript sent back to China, and he felt he should handle it more carefully.

“Haha, I can prepare it for you if you need it, but after all, this is an interview with you, so it’s best to show your thoughts. Domestic audiences also need to see the most authentic you,” Sang Tong said.

“Okay.” Wu Shi nodded.

"Yes, I'm in charge of programs like 'F1 Live' in China, so I can say I'm quite knowledgeable about the racing world."

Sang Tong continued, indicating that he was a professional, and then went on to say:
"If we're going back in time, I watched Senna race when I was a teenager and witnessed Schumacher's rise. Watching him compete with Alonso for the championship was so exciting! I never imagined that in the blink of an eye, I would see Vettel rise as well. But this year, I'm afraid the world championship will go to one of Mercedes' two drivers."

Wu Shi listened and nodded. Sang Tong was talking about people who were absolutely famous in the F1 field. To these people, he was just a junior.

"We see the media here reporting that you might be joining Mercedes?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Shi froze, unable to nod. However, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. CCTV wouldn't try to trick him into revealing information like this; they were different from European media outlets that wanted to create big news!

However, Sang Tong was a seasoned host and understood Wu Shi's expression. She then stopped dwelling on the topic and instead said:

"Regardless, we have witnessed your extraordinary performance in karting and F3 racing. I am very curious, what led you to the path of motorsports?"

Wu Shi pondered for a moment. The memory of the car crash in his previous life had begun to blur. Instead, the scene at the Pengcheng Speed ​​Racetrack replaced that memory. He had competed with that little girl, Louise, and they had raced together.

“Passion—I think everyone who embarks on this path does so because of passion,” Wu Shi said.

"Why do I say that? In many sports, many athletes have shown talent before deciding to pursue a professional career."

"Because if you don't love it, you can't understand the passion of adrenaline rushing when you're speeding, you can't understand the tedious thousands of laps of practice just to gain a mere 0.01 second of improvement, and you can't understand the joy of maintaining stability on the verge of losing control, finding tranquility amidst the roar of the engine, and finding a wide road within a few centimeters of space."

As Sang Tong listened, a smile gradually spread across his face. He hadn't expected that this child, who had gone abroad at a young age, would have such a high level of Chinese proficiency to express his inner thoughts.

"You must have encountered many difficulties along the way, whether it was winning or losing on the field, or dealing with interpersonal relationships and economic crises off the field. There must be something worth sharing. Can you tell us about it?"

"Yes, all along." Wu Shi mainly explained the economic crisis, saying that running equations was something that ordinary families couldn't afford.

In particular, as the FIA ​​continues to change the paddock rules, there are fewer and fewer drivers from ordinary backgrounds in this sport. Even Locke from Monaco encountered two economic crises before entering F1 and almost gave up his racing career.

"Okay, finally, please allow me to bring the blessings from your fans back home to you in this foreign land. I hope that while you are winning on the track, you will also be safe and sound."

"Thank you!" Wu Shi said sincerely.

Those who truly care about the drivers will always wish them "safety" when they win, because racing is indeed a very dangerous sport.

The CCTV interview was broadcast on the sports channel, and the publicity did not have a significant impact on the wider audience; it only briefly excited domestic car enthusiasts.

When Wu Shi came across that previous montage video again, the comments section was already flooded with people using CCTV interviews to attack the haters.

He just smiled knowingly when he saw it. For him, the domestic public opinion field was too far removed, and he didn't have any real feeling about it.

In the race in Russia in July, Wu Shi won two championships. He retired from one race due to a problem with the oil pressure, which made him realize that many problems in racing cars may occur without warning, and many big problems are actually caused by the accumulation of very small problems. Sometimes he also misjudges the situation.

During the nearly two-week break that followed, Louise was given a rare vacation by Martine, allowing the two to travel together.

Seeing Louise's happy expression, Wu Shi couldn't help but sigh. Education in Europe is just as rigorous. Most people only see that their school system is easy, but in reality, families with even a little wealth invest a lot in their children's upbringing.

If the family invests money, the children won't have an easy time.

During this short trip, Wu Shi mainly visited Venice and Bologna. Venice, the city of water, is definitely worth seeing, while Bologna was a place Wu Shi wanted to explore as a culinary capital.

Time flies, and on August 2-3, Wu Shi achieved three consecutive victories in the Red Bull Ring, bringing his total number of championships to 20.

In the races at the Nürburgring on August 16-17, Wu Shi achieved his third consecutive victory, thus fulfilling his agreement with Ferrari, which stipulates that Ferrari will provide him with an F1 seat next year.

Of course, he could refuse. In fact, the penalty for breach of contract wasn't serious, since Montezemolo never expected Wu Shi to be able to accomplish this feat.

After August, the next race on the calendar begins on October 8th.

During the Belgian Grand Prix on August 24, Rosberg's front wing scraped Hamilton's rear tire while competing with him, causing Hamilton to suffer a tire blowout and retire from the race.

Toto's expression was unusually unpleasant in front of the media after the game.

During this time, Wu Shi also heard from Pan Zi that Joss was in talks with Red Bull, and Red Bull's intentions were quite good. Mercedes' driver development program had also contacted Pan Zi, hoping to sign this promising young driver.

Although Pan Zi said it wasn't certain, Wu Shi knew that the matter had definitely been finalized, but it just hadn't been announced yet.

However, he did not spread rumors. Instead, on September 7, he went to Italim Monza with Louise to watch the F1 Grand Prix.

　Sorry, it's a little late today!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)