F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 140 Practice Match Confirmed

"The Singapore Grand Prix?" Wu Shi was slightly taken aback.

This is completely different from what Hamilton initially implied.

The Singapore Grand Prix will be held in two weeks, on September 21, while the Neon Grand Prix will be held on October 5.

“Yes, your practice match opportunity will be in Singapore.” Toto nodded.

Wu Shi realized that either Hamilton's information at the time was inaccurate, or there were other considerations within Mercedes.

Regardless of how things change, he had no intention of bargaining, so he naturally nodded and said, "Okay."

At that moment, music started playing from outside the venue.

“Let’s go watch the awards ceremony together,” Toto said.

The track was already packed with people, most of whom were waving LaFerrari flags, even though the race had almost nothing to do with LaFerrari.

Two Ferraris, one retired from the race, and the other finished only ninth.

If Massa hadn't been concerned that Taliban were practically playing at home, the situation would have been extremely awkward.

However, amidst the enthusiastic atmosphere, Wu Shi didn't feel embarrassed by the Tifosi; they were simply supporting their favorite team, even if that team didn't make it to the podium.

On the semi-floating circular platform, Hamilton, Rosberg, and Massa ascended the podium, and the chant of God Bless the Queen rang out.

Wu Shi stood in the crowd, looking up at the three people on the podium. Even though he was the strongest in F3, he was still like a nobody in front of these people. He felt that he should play "Exaggeration" at this moment.

Mercedes staff embraced and cheered, celebrating another 1-2 victory.

Wu Shi saw Hamilton's father standing there, smiling incessantly.

“This trophy looks like a silver wine glass,” Louise said.

"Do you like it?" Wu Shi asked, almost as if possessed.

"The style is not nice."

"Awoooooo!!!"

When Massa received the trophy, the crowd cheered wildly, highlighting the clear advantage of playing at home.

"From now on, everyone in the audience will cheer for you like this." Louise cheered along with the crowd, then turned to look at Wu Shi with delight.

"Hahaha!" Wu Shi laughed, thinking of the saying, "A true man should be like this."

The three players on the court opened champagne and sprayed it. Rosberg sprayed it at Hamilton, and Hamilton sprayed it at the crowd off the court.

"Has Williams' seat been decided this year?"① Wu Shi asked Toto.

"Hmm?" Toto turned his head and looked at Wu Shi, wondering why he suddenly asked this question. He just shook his head and said, "They want to determine the candidate as soon as possible."

"Oh."

Wu Shi nodded. It seems that moving his practice match to the Singapore Grand Prix might be because Williams was also urging Toto to move up.

He himself understood that most people who knew about the contract believed he would eventually end up at Williams.

Only he, and only himself, believed that a place at Mercedes was worth fighting for.

On the podium, after the champagne bubbles had finished spraying, Hamilton poured them into his trophy, picked it up, and took a big gulp.

In the previous three competitions, he failed to win the championship for various reasons, and his score was far behind that of his teammates, so you can imagine how much pressure he was under.

The three drivers then raised their champagne glasses and drank together.

"They seem to have a pretty good relationship," Wu Shi said.

"Haha." Toto suddenly laughed after hearing this. "Hahahaha." Wu Shi also laughed.

The three players on the field, while not all of them are bitter rivals, at least Hamilton and Massa, and Hamilton and Rosberg, have a history of feuds that began in 2008, while the feuds between the two are undergoing a transformation.

“If I remember correctly, Massa failed to win any titles at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, which indirectly cost him the world championship,” Wu Shi said. That year, Massa lost to Hamilton by one point and finished as the runner-up.

Toto nodded. At that time, he was still pursuing his racing dream. But when it came to the 08 Singapore Grand Prix, there was just too much to say, and he didn't know where to begin.

First up is Massa. He stopped for refueling, and before he even unplugged the refueling hose, he started the car, completely ruining his race. It has to be said that LaFerrari is the one who really knows how to do things.

Of course, even the LaFerrari wasn't a big deal in Singapore back then; compared to the Renault crashes, it was a minor incident.

In short, after Alonso completed his pit stop, his teammate Pique went up the wall, and Alonso benefited from this and won the championship.

Because of the alleged match-fixing, Massa's team later disputed whether the points awarded in the Singapore Grand Prix should be valid.

If the Singapore Grand Prix had not been included in the overall points, Massa would have won the title that year.

Since 2008, Hamilton has fought Massa almost every year. Many of the things that happened during that time would almost certainly provoke a lot of angry comments online today.

However, time will wash everything away. Whether it's a crash or a deliberately staged accident, people will forget everything as time goes on. In the end, only the championship in your hand will leave a record in history.

Does anyone remember the six crashes Hamilton and Massa were involved in in 2011?

Besides, it's only 2014, and everyone still remembers the old man's highly controversial moves in the game.

Later, when he won seven championships, new fans might only know him as a great driver who achieved the same success as Schumacher.

Therefore, Wu Shi understood very well that as long as it was within the prescribed scope, anything was permissible. Let alone the issue of whether driving was dirty or not, in the 64 years since F1 started, how many champions have been completely clean and without any operational flaws?
After the celebrations on the field ended, Wu Shi returned to the pit room at the Mercedes-Benz Arena with Toto. He felt there was nothing more to say now, and that they would see each other on the field in two weeks.

However, at this moment, the two drivers returned.

Rosberg was very enthusiastic, showing no signs of having just lost the championship. He said to Wu Shi, "I heard that you will be driving my car in a practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix?"

Wu Shi did not nod, but said, "I just learned that Team Leader Toto only told me that he would be playing in the first training session in Singapore, and that he was not driving anyone's vehicle."

“Oh, then you’ll have to do your best. I can give you some pointers,” Rosberg said, glancing at Hamilton on the other side.

The old man was already dark-skinned, and now that he was expressionless, his face looked even darker.

"Thank you!"

Wu Shi said that Rosberg is a technical driver. If you want to learn to drive, it's best to follow Rosberg. He will teach you with data and logic.

"You're welcome. We might be teammates in the future." Rosberg patted Wu Shi on the shoulder.

After talking for a while in the repair area, Wu Shi left the arena with Louise.

Just as he left the repair area, he saw Louise tugging at his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Wu Shi turned his head and saw Louise blinking her eyes, her pretty face seemingly filled with the words "I'm very curious".

Wu Shi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are you Chitanda Eru?"

"Huh!" Louise was even more puzzled and said, "You have time to watch anime?"

"Ahem, the agreement with Mercedes was in May." Wu Shi steered the conversation back to what Louise wanted to ask.

“Oh~ why wasn’t it announced back then?” Louise asked.

"This kind of thing can't be announced casually. After all, it's not about confirming the driver seats, but just signing an agreement on the possibility of future cooperation."

“I remember seeing a post saying you were going to join the Mercedes team, and you told me it wasn’t true! ╭(╯^╰)╮” Louise made a cute nasal sound.

　① In reality, Williams' lineup was already finalized at the Italian Grand Prix, with Massa and Bottas continuing as a pair for the 2015 season; however, due to the variable of Wu Shi mentioned in the article, Williams' lineup was delayed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)