F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 184 He plans to grant you 33% of the shares free of charge.
Wu Shi set off for China—his hometown—a few days earlier than planned, on April 6th.

After years of working away from home, I still have an indescribable affection for my hometown.

Some are eager to go back. Now, even if they haven't achieved great success and returned home in glory, they have at least made some progress and returned home with honor.
He was also afraid to go back. After being away from his motherland for so many years, could he live up to the expectations of his compatriots?

The lines "The closer I get to home, the more timid I become; I dare not ask the passersby" suddenly came to mind. This must be a true reflection of every traveler's experience.

A variety of emotions filled his chest, just as the motherland that gave him his physical body also stirred all his emotions, whether it was joy, excitement, and agitation, or shyness, anxiety, worry, timidity, and fear.

He recalled that when he left Oxfordshire, Pat Symonds told him that the aerodynamics had been optimized; Andrew Murdoch told him that the overall performance had been slightly improved; and Rodrigo Barrera told him that the computer had already been running the race data after the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The entire team is thinking about the upcoming Shanghai Grand Prix.

This is partly due to Wu Shi's home race, but more importantly, it's because of Wu Shi's performance in the points standings, which made the team realize that they might be able to achieve a top-three finish for each individual and a second-place finish for the team. Therefore, it is especially important to ensure that Wu Shi can secure a higher ranking.

After all, there was a 7-point difference between the second and first place teams, and a 3-point difference between the third and second place teams. As the season progressed, the point difference became smaller and smaller. Sometimes, the point difference between the top teams was enough to fill the total points of several bottom-tier teams.

This is also why the competition for the top spots has become increasingly fierce after the F1 points system was changed.

With the team so excited, Wu Shi naturally gave back everything he could, often staying up all night because of it—after all, two weeks is far too short to fine-tune a race car!
Sometimes analyzing tire pressure can take up most of the day, let alone adjusting the mechanical structure.

Only by truly participating in this project can one appreciate how complex the sport on this jewel of human industry is. This is one of the reasons why the more F1 develops, the higher the barrier to entry becomes.

Wu Shi, Louise, and Sid traveled together to China. Martine said she had something to do and couldn't go, which made Louise pout and complain.

Wu Shi patted Louise's head. This girl was still naive and couldn't see the changes in some things.

On the plane, the three of them were still in economy class. It wasn't that Wu Shi was stingy, but sometimes he didn't care much about enjoying such boring comforts. If he really wanted to enjoy himself, he would wait until Pan Zi had the money to buy a private jet.

Louise was also quite reluctant to fly first class directly; to her, it was too extravagant and wasteful.

She told Wu Shi more than once that neither her mother's money nor Wu Shi's money was hers, and that she had to remember every penny she spent. She could not take advantage of being pampered to recklessly use the fruits of other people's labor.

Wu Shi would just smile whenever he heard this. Aunt Martina's educational philosophy had always been like this; self-reliance and self-improvement were already ingrained in Louise's mind.

He didn't publicize his ideas. Everyone has different values, and there's no need to argue with loved ones about it. As long as neither side crosses the line, they should be free to do as they please.

Otherwise, people will only become more and more tired when they are together.

Although the view outside the plane was always a clear blue sky and white clouds, Wu Shi could always gaze at it for a long time, tapping his index finger on his thigh as if it were the rhythm of the plane's movement.

At this point, the planes were much faster than F1 fighters, but unfortunately, passenger planes wouldn't let passengers experience this. If they wanted to experience it, they would have to wait for the opportunity to experience a fighter jet.

“There seems to be some chaos inside Red Bull,” said Sid, who was sitting to Wu Shi’s left.

"What happened? Wasn't that rumor about promoting Verstappen to Red Bull already vehemently denied?"

Wu Shi turned his head. Verstappen had also told him that it was all baseless. Even if Dr. Marco thought highly of him, it was impossible for him to promote a rookie to the home team after only two games.

However, when Verstappen talked about this, his eyes were a little strange, and he whispered to him that Marco seemed to regret not being more friendly to Sid back then.

Back then, Sid went to find Marco with Verstappen. Verstappen praised Wu Shi highly, even more so than he had praised Verstappen himself.

Unfortunately, Marco rejected Sid without even hesitating.

“It’s not about Verstappen, it’s about the engine contract between Renault and Red Bull,” Sid said. “That’s true.”

As Wu Shi spoke, he glanced at the window on the right. Louise, who had just been leaning against the window looking at the scenery, now leaned on his shoulder and squinted.

Sometimes, smaller seat pitch might be an advantage of economy class?
He shifted his body to make Louise more comfortable before saying to Sid, "The stability of that engine is indeed somewhat worrying."

He had prepared the word "abstract," but Sid would most likely not understand it.

“Newey bluntly stated that French powertrains always lack power and reliability, failing to fully utilize the capabilities of the RB11 chassis,” Sid said.

Wu Shi nodded. Newey was right. Give Red Bull a good engine, and the wind direction in the paddock might change. A human-shaped wind tunnel is no joke.

"Then Renault director Cyril retorted, saying Newey was a fraud and spreading rumors," Sid continued.

"I have seen some news that Renault is considering acquiring Toro Rosso or Lotus, and then returning to the paddock under its own name?"

"Yes, that's a common saying, but whether or not Red Bull will be sold depends on Red Bull's decision. Lotus's financial situation is indeed not good."

Sid said that he has been getting busier lately, with more and more companies approaching him to say they want to collaborate with Wu Shi. The screening and grading of collaborations involves a considerable amount of work.

Thinking of this, he mentioned: "By the way, Bianchi contacted me before and said that he would be able to be discharged from the hospital in three months. The medical team told him that he would no longer be able to participate in F1 racing."

Wu Shi remained silent. Not all F1 drivers can return to the track after a major accident, and even if they can, a decline in performance is inevitable.

Just like his teammate Massa, can you say that the injury he suffered in 09 didn't affect his performance?

F1 is considered an extreme sport not only because of its handling limits, but also because it challenges the limits of physiology.

Any major injury to the body can affect the driver's control during high-speed combat.

"To have survived is already incredibly lucky," Wu Shi said in a low voice.

“Yes, he believes it’s God’s blessing.” At this point, Sid gave Wu Shi a strange look before continuing:
"To put it more completely, he believes that God asked you to tell him that danger was coming, so that he could be saved from death, and therefore he is very grateful to you."

"I just told him about the nightmare." Wu Shi shook his head. Some tragedies that can be avoided should still be addressed within one's power.

"Well, so he's going to start a company focused on training and discovering karting drivers. You know, Bianchi's family is a racing family in the area, so he has every reason to do this."

Sid had already taken out his tablet and was looking up previously saved data.

“Of course, Bianchi would be a good teacher.” Wu Shi thought of Leclerc; even if Bianchi did nothing, he would still have trained a top F1 driver.

“He’s prepared to grant you 33% of the shares free of charge.” Sid handed the pad to Wu Shi.

"Huh?" Wu Shi was caught off guard and somewhat surprised.

He quickly skimmed through the documents; it was practically free money!
Bianchi's go-karting operation was not started from scratch, but rather was part of a family business that was transitioned into, making it a very valuable asset.

"I said I needed to think about it, because it was still a long time before I could make a decision, so I didn't tell you."

(End of this chapter)