F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 186 Father and Son
Wu Shi returned early not only because he was homesick after being away for so long, but also because he had more work to do than other drivers for this race.

Firstly, as an economic center, Shanghai has received numerous offers of cooperation from various parties, which made Xide feel inexplicably impressed. When star players emerge in China, the capital investment is simply too frenzied.

Secondly, Jiushi Company planned to do some things for Wu Shi during the pre-race driver parade. Even without prior rehearsal, such things would require the consent of the person involved and communication with the FIA.

Wu Shi had not expected his father to arrive so early this time.

On the second day after arriving in Shanghai, Sid had already rented a car to take him and Louise to Jiu Shi Company. However, when they went downstairs, they saw a Mercedes-Benz E400L Hybrid parked there.

"It seems the timing is just right." Wu Zhenlin stepped down.

"Hi, Dad, long time no see," Wu Shi greeted with a smile.

Sid looked around, then patted Wu Shi in the ear and said, "You two catch up, I'll go over first."

"OK."

Wu Shi made a gesture.

"Get in the car. I never expected that the driver who races on the F1 track would be a greenhorn without even a driver's license," Wu Zhenlin said with a smile.

"Hehe, your son is lucky to have caught the last train. The FIA ​​stipulated in February this year that you must be 2 years old to drive in F1. So I will have to wait until 2017 to have the opportunity to drive in F1."

Wu Shi was right; in his previous life, Verstappen had closed the door, and this time, he and Verstappen worked together to weld it shut.

It's uncertain whether Kimi will have another chance to break this constraint in the future, but ultimately, both he and Verstappen believe that there's no need to forcibly limit the age of drivers.

After all, F1's professional training system is becoming more and more complete, and talented players will grow up faster.

He opened the back door and let Louise get in first, then he got in from the other side himself; that's the downside of a four-seater car.

Mercedes-Benz offers a very good passenger experience in its civilian vehicles, and it is the most successful of the BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi) in terms of high-end operations in China.

After getting into the car, the atmosphere between the father and son suddenly became tense, and they didn't say anything. After all, they hadn't been together for many years, and it always took some time to build up before they could start communicating immediately.

“Time flies. When we went to Europe, you were so small. You change so much every year. In the blink of an eye, you’ve become one of the world’s top athletes,” Wu Zhenlin said first.

"Yeah, it feels like I haven't done anything all these years except drive," Wu Shi remarked.

"Haha, only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet he's already sighing like an old man," Wu Zhenlin laughed.

"Since you're lamenting how time flies, I guess I'll just have to play along," Wu Shi said with a smile.

Wu Zhenlin turned to look at Louise and said, "Little Louise has grown so much. She should be able to speak Chinese now, right?"

Louise blinked her big, innocent eyes.

"Looks like he doesn't know how yet, haha, it's okay, Wu Shi can be your guide. He went abroad at such a young age, but I didn't expect his Chinese to be so good." Wu Zhenlin muttered.

He had naturally seen many children who had been raised abroad since childhood. Those children, after returning to China, were unable to adapt in various ways, constantly spouting foreign languages, as if they had a great sense of superiority.

"It's a pity that no one in the team speaks Chinese, otherwise it would be wonderful for me to communicate with him using encrypted communication."

Wu Shi joked that the FIA ​​no longer allows drivers to communicate about the race in languages ​​other than English.

As for why this is the case, you'd have to ask Brother Tou and some Italians.

Once the initial communication barrier was broken down, communication between father and son became smoother. Men, once they start bragging, can talk about anything and everything.

When they arrived at the Jiushi Building, the two looked nothing like father and son who had been separated for a long time.

Sid drove faster and was already waiting here.

Standing beside him were several employees of Jiushi, who immediately stepped forward to guide Wu Shi upon his arrival.

Upon entering the meeting room, Wu Shi saw many familiar faces, including Bing Feixia and some well-known businessmen in Shanghai.

At this moment, Wu Shi knew that there were quite a few things to discuss at today's meeting.

Indeed, this was the case; it was Jiushi that facilitated the connection, and a large number of partner companies took the opportunity to come over.

Wu Shi doesn't lack sponsorships. Besides, if he can maintain the level he showed in the first two races throughout the season, then sponsorships will become less important to him.

At this moment, Wu Zhenlin, who had been amiable but seemed somewhat tongue-tied, suddenly became sharp, and his air of authority made people feel uncomfortable.

"Uncle is so fierce," Louise muttered to Wu Shi.

"Then you haven't seen what Aunt Martina is like in a meeting," Wu Shi said. After all, they are all senior executives; no matter how kind and approachable she is, that's only a superficial side of her.

In the ensuing discussions, Wu Shi mostly expressed his subjective preferences, because objectively, Wu Zhenlin and Xi De had already made their decisions.

The negotiations lasted all day, and as a result, he initially finalized various collaborations in China totaling tens of millions of yuan.

Of course, nothing is completely finalized yet. Companies will definitely want to see how popular he is in the last game before placing bets.

Sid's consideration was more direct: Wu Shi would only be able to negotiate sponsorships after he joined a real championship-contending team.

Wu Zhenlin only accompanied Wu Shi for one day before flying back to the capital. He will not come back until the main competition.

Time flies, and on Thursday, April 9th, Wu Shi had already gone to the motorcade to start work.

On Friday morning, at 10 o'clock sharp, the first practice session began.

This website offers Pirelli tires with two compounds: white neutral and yellow soft.

The Shanghai International Circuit also has very distinct track characteristics. High-speed corners and low temperatures make the left front wheel extremely prone to chipping.

It can be said that protecting the left front wheel is an important task for this station.

The top ten drivers all used soft tires for the test and completed about twenty laps in total.

During this time, Wu Shi repeatedly entered the station to adjust the vehicle's suspension and tire pressure, searching for the most suitable configuration.

Claire mobilized the entire crew to meet his needs, and Massa also provided a lot of useful data. Through comparison and practice, the two drivers were able to eliminate some incorrect answers more quickly.

When the clock stopped after the first practice session, the two Mercedes drivers were far ahead of the pack.

汉密尔顿1分39秒033高居榜首，而罗斯伯格则慢了点五，以1分39秒574排名第二。

Vettel, in third place, was again slower than Rosberg, with a time of 1 minute 40.157 seconds.

Fourth place remains with Ferrari driver Kimi, who clocked a time of 1 minute 40.665 seconds.

By the fifth round, the formation was slightly disorganized, and Wu Shi squeezed in with a time of 1 minute 40.803 seconds.

Behind him was Nasr; it's unclear whether Sauber used the "PUSH" setting for practice races.

The top ten were basically filled by Mercedes, LaFerrari, Red Bull, and Westbrook, leaving Sauber and Toro Rosso with only a sip of soup.

Judging from the tire usage, Kimi ran a full 27 laps on soft tires, proving that the Shanghai International Circuit didn't seem to wear out the tires that much.
Massa ran fewer laps, only 17, because he wasted time making further adjustments to the parameters.

Overall, this single training session didn't reveal much, but it was enough to show Mercedes' significant lead, Rafa's solid position in the second tier, and the fact that West Bromwich Albion and Red Bull seemed to be evenly matched.

Even with Wu Shi's participation, the F1 practice sessions were still quiet, since there are very few working-class people who can come to watch the race on Fridays; most of them are wealthy people who are just relaxing.

Having experienced the enthusiasm of fans, Wu Shi was somewhat reluctant to interact with them before the match, so he stayed in the inner area of ​​the Westbrook team and didn't go anywhere else.

"This is a drink prepared by a nutritionist. They said it's just the right consistency to drink after it's made," Louise said, handing it over.

Wu Shi glanced at the cup with difficulty. This complete nutrient drink tasted terrible, with a fishy smell mixed with the taste of dry beans, which made him feel numb.

But there's no way around it, I have to drink this stuff, otherwise I'd be letting down the nutritionist the team hired.

The main reason is that Wu Shi is still growing and developing, so his nutritional requirements are more strictly controlled compared to other drivers.

After lunch and a short rest—the mechanics didn't get a break; the second training session started at 2 PM.

"Shall we continue with the soft tire testing?" Wu Shi asked Jonathan.

He nodded. "However, I will have Patton try the medium tires. We need to be well prepared. It may be difficult to figure out how to train on completely soft tires so quickly."

"understood."

Wu Shi's inner pressure is already increasing; playing on home turf makes it difficult to control his emotions.

All he can do now is try his best to finish the race. It's a real shame, though. It's just too difficult for Williams to reach the highest honors.

　The interpersonal relationships outside the racing field definitely need to be mentioned a bit, otherwise Wu Shi would really be like a lone star. The author has already been very restrained and tried to describe the interpersonal relationships outside the field as concisely as possible. Many interactions are only mentioned briefly, indicating that the protagonist's daily life with his family and friends is not much different from that of ordinary people. The protagonist is also a human being, and it is perfectly normal for him to have emotions and desires. The amateur life of the terrifying racer Pan Zi is also quite rich. The fact that he parked his big yacht in Monaco is enough to show that he has a lot of things to do in his daily life.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)