F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 281 FIA Annual Awards Ceremony
After watching his father board the plane, Wu Shi felt somewhat melancholy.

The drivers' gathering, originally scheduled for tonight, has been moved to December 3rd and will be combined with the birthday celebration.

"The competition is over, but you're still so busy," Louise remarked from the side.

"It's okay, things will get easier once this period is over."

Wu Shi was being somewhat wishful; in reality, the number of people who wanted to contact him could stretch to the ends of the earth.

The reason things are still calm now is simply because everyone is waiting for the year-end awards ceremony on December 4th.

In the last few minutes of November 30, Wu Shi and Louise strolled around Abu Dhabi.

Unexpectedly, while walking in the commercial center, he was recognized by many wealthy people wearing white headscarves and was forced to pose for photos with them.

“Look, there are so many photos of you on Instagram.” Louise scrolled through her phone.

“That’s because you’re only interested in things happening inside the paddock.” Wu Shi took Louise’s phone and scrolled through it.

He noticed that many racers had tagged him and posted celebratory messages, so he scratched his head, thinking about replying.

On December 1, Pirelli began F1 tire testing in Abu Dhabi.

Wu Shi took Louise to the P room.

"How's your rest, our new champion?" Jonathan asked with a smile when he saw Wu Shi.

"Not bad." Wu Shi stretched.

“Yes, today’s task is quite demanding,” Jonathan said.

“I heard that the testing is supposedly going on from nine in the morning until nine at night. If we call Massa and Susie over, we can run an F1 24-hour race,” Wu Shi said with a smile.

"Haha, I've heard that quite a few racing fans want to watch F1 endurance races."

Because today is tire testing day, the drivers are chatting together in the open space. There's no tension at all, which is completely different from a race weekend.

After Verstappen arrived, he first waved to Wu Shi and then greeted Louise.

Louise politely returned the greeting and then shrank behind Wu Shi.

Verstappen immediately began to complain about the FIA.

He lost three points on his super license for obstructing Hamilton under the blue flag.

“Damn it, I already had a 25-second penalty during the game, and they’re trying to take away all my super license points,” Verstappen said, shaking his head.

"Haha, then you only have 4 points left?" Wu Shi laughed.

"YES! Couldn't you have deducted one or two points?"

"Hahaha!" Wu Shi laughed even harder.

At that moment, another driver walked over, wearing a Sauber team jersey, and greeted us in a Hong Kong-accented Mandarin:
"Hey! Wu Shi! You are truly our pride. I never expected to meet you here."

“Hello! I remember you were a prospective driver for Lotus, weren’t you?” Wu Shi asked.

"You know, I also have a connection with Sober. I'll just go wherever I'm needed, hahaha."

Fang Junyu laughed and said that Renault had already announced its intention to acquire Lotus after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Specific details about the acquisition should be released soon.

The two chatted for a while longer, then Fang Junyu said goodbye and went to the convoy.

"It's time to get ready," Wu Shi said.

"Ah."

There are a lot of drivers participating in the test today, including both starting drivers and reserve drivers.

The race car will be based on the same yellow soft tires and red supersoft tires used in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

According to Pirelli, the main purpose was to test the new ultrasoft tires introduced in the 2016 season.

However, Pirelli also pulled some tricks, using a "completely blind" test.

In other words, the tires are not marked with any color, and the teams and drivers have no way of knowing which tires they are testing.

The test was supposed to last 12 hours, but it was impossible for the drivers to be racing on the track the whole time.

Most of the time, multiple drivers are tested separately.

Wu Shi finished his test after running 55 laps.

Pirelli's motorsport director, Paul Henberry, thought the tire data was good after the test, but said he would need to analyze it further upon returning.

But for Wu Shi, he already had a basic impression of the tires he tested.

Pirelli has announced its next tire testing schedule, which will take place on January 25-26, 2016, at the Paul Ricardo circuit in France, with a focus on wet tire testing.

December 3rd arrived quickly, and Wu Shi's birthday party was held in Paris, France.

The reason for choosing Paris was not because Wu Shi liked the city, but because the FIA's annual awards ceremony would be held there.

And the date of the event is quite coincidental; it will be held tomorrow.

Therefore, Wu Shi received replies to all the invitations he sent to the drivers.

Since everyone would arrive a day early anyway, attending a party organized by a newly crowned world champion the night before the awards ceremony wouldn't be a bad idea.

However, because Wu Shi is a minor, he is still not allowed to drink alcohol, which deprives many drivers of some of the fun.

Fortunately, for most drivers, drinking alcohol is not a necessity.

However, Pan Zi had already started drinking. He would turn 18 on September 30th, so he could drink in public without being condemned.

“Are you sure you don’t want some? In France, anyone over 16 years old can drink alcoholic beverages when accompanied by a guardian,” Vestager advised.

"Hey, are you trying to say you're my guardian?" Wu Shi laughed.

"Hahaha! My dad would love to be your guardian." Vestapan, already slightly tipsy, started talking incoherently.

Wu Shi toasted each of the arriving drivers—actually, he was offering them beverages.

As the atmosphere grew more and more enthusiastic, Wu Shi went to the front desk and gave a speech, after which a huge cake was pushed up by the waiter.

Wu Shi closed his eyes, made a wish, and finally blew out the 17 candles.

"Oh my! Happy birthday!!!" Everyone congratulated him in unison.

Then Wu Shi began to divide the cake, but just as he finished, he was attacked fatally.

pat!

With the cake covered in cream, Wu Shi couldn't even open his eyes, let alone see who threw it.

Since that's the case, let's switch to indiscriminate attack mode. Even Louise, who was quietly eating cake on the side, was accidentally hit.

"Eek~"

Because there's a grand awards ceremony tomorrow, everyone didn't stay out too late.

After the banquet, Wu Shi became a 17-year-old minor.

However, with the awards ceremony on December 4th approaching, he had to dress like an adult in a suit and tie.

Wu Shi and Claire, among others, sat at a table.

This wasn't his first time attending such a grand ceremony; he had participated before during the FIA-CIK and F3 eras.

But back then, he was just a nobody standing in the audience, but tonight he's destined to be one of the main characters.

The awards ceremony was straightforward and didn't involve any fancy procedures; the F1 awards ceremony started first.

The big screen first showed a highlight reel of the 2015 F1 season.

From his extraordinary debut at Alberto Circuit to his coincidental pole position at Sepang Circuit, and then to his first Grand Prix victory at the Spanish International Circuit.

This compilation is mostly by Wu Shi.

To be honest, this surprised Wu Shi a bit. Massa, who was standing next to him, patted his hand and gave him a look that seemed to be directed at Claire.

Wu Shi understood; this meant Claire had gone to participate in the compilation preparations.

After the exciting and energetic highlight reel ended, the host walked onto the stage.

"An exciting season has come to an end. This year we have experienced countless miraculous matches."

After a brief introduction by the host, Vettel, who came in third place, was immediately invited to the stage.

The trophy was brought up by the lower-level go-kart drivers and then presented by the host.

Then came Hamilton.

After receiving their trophies, the runners-up and third-place winners returned to their respective positions.

Then, music started playing.

F1 President Bernie Ecclestone personally went on stage before the host began announcing this year's World Drivers' Champion.

"Please welcome Wu Shi, the youngest F1 World Drivers Champion in history!"

As the background music swelled, Wu Shi walked onto the podium to receive his award.

Wearing a suit, the handsome Wu Shi made those who were used to seeing him only in racing suits feel a little uncomfortable.

Bernie personally handed the trophy to Wu Shi.

The audience burst into applause.

Compared to the scene in Abu Dhabi, the people here were clearly much calmer.

Wu Shi shared his thoughts, saying that he had been talking so much lately that it had become a kind of jingle.

Following the F1 awards ceremony, events such as WEC were also held.

The subsequent lower-level formula racing and go-karting featured many familiar faces.

Lock & Lock, Ocon, Lando, Russell, and Gasly are among them.

Wu Shi has once again watched all the FIA ​​motorsport events.

No matter which event it is, you can see exciting scenes and a group of passionate people fighting for it.

With the awards ceremony over, the 2015 season is now officially over.

Just like in 2008, no matter what happens afterward, all the honors cannot be taken away.

After that comes the tense and exciting wage settlement process.

Claire was in a bind because settling Wu Shi's wages would cause the team some financial difficulties later on.

First of all, a 300 million euro annual salary is nothing special.

However, the total number of drivers' championships, individual race wins, and podium finishes is by no means small.

The specific amount depends on the terms of the contract, which is basically handled by Wu Shi's management company.

However, Wu Shi shares the same mindset as Kimi: if the calculated amount is too large and the team faces difficulties, he is not in a hurry to demand payment.

After all, Mercedes hasn't even started spending its $20 million yet.

Moreover, after his conversation with his father that day, he also had some ideas about Williams' private racing team.

If he wants to bring domestic capital into the paddock, he can't do it in a big way; he'll definitely need to rely on an existing racing team.

For example, Renault's return to the team was also through Lotus.

In short, having a world championship title, regardless of his background, he already has enough influence.

On the same day, Renault-Nissan Group Chairman and CEO Carlos Gosen officially announced that Renault would participate in F1 in 2016 as a manufacturer team.

They acquired a 65% stake in Lotus for €850 million, payable in installments over nine years.

Renault and Lotus have a long history. From 2002 to 2010, Renault participated in F1 through the Benetton team, the predecessor of Lotus.

During this period, TouGe won two highly prestigious world championships.

The end of a season is not the end, but the beginning of another journey.

After Wu Shi's disruption in 2015, everyone had to admit that they had expectations for 2016 that did not belong to this season.

There are many things that will happen outside the racetrack during this long winter.

(End of this chapter)