Chapter 114 - 41: The Curtain Falls

Chapter 114: Chapter 41: The Curtain Falls

"WOOHOO! WOW! I... phew... did it! YES!"

Wu Shi’s hoarse voice rang out over the team radio, his words fragmented by his rapid breathing.

"YES! You did it! You got the win!" Alan replied loudly, his uncontrollable excitement causing his hands to repeatedly clench and unclench.

"OHHHH!" Wu Shi let out another roar, his energy suddenly deflating right after.

With his right hand resting on the steering wheel and his left hand controlling the steering, he drove slowly along the track. The extreme maneuvers during the race had not only pushed the car to its absolute limits but had also drained him completely. Right now, all he wanted to do was close his eyes, take a deep breath, and get a good sleep.

At this moment, another Van Amersfoort car pulled up alongside him, catching his attention. Verstappen lifted his visor and looked over at Wu Shi. Wu Shi also lifted his visor and looked back at Verstappen. The emotions in their eyes were different, but without exception, both harbored a deep sense of exhaustion.

The cars drove into the pit lane and stopped in the parc fermé. By now, the area around the parc fermé was packed with people, and the barriers strained under the pressure of the crowd.

Wu Shi struggled to remove the U-shaped headrest. After detaching the steering wheel, he sat for a long time before finally standing up from the cockpit. As he rose, the surrounding crowd erupted once more, their deafening cheers filling the air. Seeing this, he climbed onto the front of the car, raising his right hand with his index finger pointed up to acknowledge the crowd.

"WOOHOO!!!"

"OHHHH!"

He hopped off the car and rushed toward his crew members, pulling everyone into a group hug.

Alan hugged him tight, repeatedly patting his helmet. "I still can’t believe you did it! Awesome! GOOD! SO GOOD!"

Wu Shi didn’t respond, merely patting Alan on the back. After hugging the rest of the crew, he stepped onto the weighing scale.

"He’s over three kilograms lighter than before." The race official recording the data was somewhat surprised. He wondered if Wu Shi was severely dehydrated.

When Wu Shi took off his helmet, the official immediately noticed his pale, dry, and cracked lips.

"Hey, drink some water." A team member handed him a water bottle.

"Yeah, thanks." Wu Shi flashed a smile as he took it.

On the other side, Verstappen finished weighing in and walked over. He patted Wu Shi on the shoulder and said, "Your pressure at the end was absolutely crazy. It’s a pity I made a mistake."

"I was waiting for your mistake," Wu Shi maintained his smile.

Verstappen stared at him blankly for two seconds before saying helplessly, "Alright, it seems you were serious."

"It was the best way to pull off a clean overtake on you," Wu Shi said after taking a sip of water.

"Looks like I can’t afford to make any more mistakes from now on." Although Verstappen felt a sense of regret, he wasn’t going to look for excuses or talk about ’what ifs’. He only knew that he still wasn’t strong or consistent enough.

"Then it’s going to be hard to overtake you in the future."

The two rested for a moment before heading to the podium together. The path to victory could take a thousand different forms, but the final taste always left behind an uncontrollable excitement. After hoisting yet another trophy, Wu Shi now led this year’s F3 Championship with a record of six consecutive wins.

During the interview session, all the reporters shared the exact same goal. They were convinced that the biggest scoop lay with this young teenager from Hua Country.

"Wu, hello!" The Sky Sports reporter spoke in broken Chinese; it was his very first time opening an interview like this.

"Hello." Wu Shi gave a friendly smile and adjusted his cap.

"In this race, you delivered a lot of spectacular overtakes. Whether it was passing O’connor or that final overtake on Verstappen, we all saw your strong will and extraordinary skills. How would you evaluate this race yourself?"

"Thank you." Wu Shi first acknowledged the reporter’s praise before saying, "It was a difficult race."

"HAHAHA!"

Someone chuckled at the phrase "difficult race," and soon, more and more reporters and spectating team members began to laugh along.

"OHHH~" The pit lane was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Wu Shi laughed along with them. Spreading his hands innocently, he continued, "I started from P11. To secure a win from there, it was inevitably going to be a difficult race.

"Throughout the entire race, my heart rate stayed incredibly high. I was constantly driving with complete concentration while simultaneously thinking of strategies. It was a triple test of body, mind, and spirit. Ultimately, I was able to achieve victory because I seized every opportunity and avoided all mistakes.

"As you all saw, when the race finished, I barely had the strength to stand up. All of my energy had been completely drained over those twenty-two laps. I finished this race using my own abilities, not luck."

To achieve this result, he hadn’t had a single moment to catch his breath since the race began. The opportunity at the start, the gaps in the chaotic scramble, the threat of nearing collisions, the finesse of psychological warfare, and the final lethal pressure.

The reporter paused for a moment, putting away his teasing smile, and said earnestly, "Yes! We witnessed your phenomenal performance. I believe that even a decade from now, people will still be rewatching and savoring the overtakes from today.

"Your performance was so outstanding that I think the F1 seat wager you previously revealed must definitely be true. So, back to that question—after achieving six consecutive wins, are you even more confident about securing this seat?"

"No," Wu Shi shook his head.

"Hm?" The reporter was taken aback. Six consecutive wins still couldn’t make him more confident and certain?

"Because my confidence has remained the same from the very beginning."

The reporters were momentarily left speechless. What a tactful and flawless response. It didn’t come off as arrogant, nor did it seem boastful.

"Once the news of today’s results spreads across the continent, I’m sure many F1 teams will be extending olive branches to you." The reporter proved his professionalism by tossing out another hot topic.

"If you were a reporter for an F1 team, you could actually extend an olive branch to me right now," Wu Shi joked.

"HAHAHA." Everyone burst into laughter.

They followed up with a few more harmless questions. After dealing with them one by one, Wu Shi slipped away toward the rest area.

As soon as he left, Verstappen immediately became the target of the interviews.

"Max, you led for almost the entire race and were only attacked by Wu in the final two laps. How do you view losing this victory?" The reporter asked mercilessly.

Verstappen bobbed the hand holding the microphone a few times before saying, "Yep. I know I maintained an advantage for almost the entire race, but sometimes you have to admit that this advantage was built on the foundation of qualifying, not on personal skill."

The reporters were quite surprised by this unpretentious answer, but upon realizing its implication, they found it a bit dull. What they really wanted to know was whether Verstappen harbored any dissatisfaction toward his friend and teammate’s relentless attack. However, such provocative questions definitely couldn’t be asked directly, so they began to beat around the bush. But Verstappen had always been candid, leaving the reporters with no real angle to exploit.

By the time Wu Shi showered and changed into fresh clothes, the crew members had already started packing their luggage. Next weekend’s race would be held at the Pau Circuit in France, a street circuit Wu Shi had never raced on before.

The reporters had mostly left by then, leaving the entire pit lane looking empty and silent. When the curtain fell, the crowds dispersed—a reality that was even more pronounced on the F3 circuit.

"Let’s go. It’s time to head back."

Verstappen had also changed his clothes and joked, "When I’m rich, I’m definitely going to buy a plane. Then we won’t have to travel so exhaustingly."

"Sounds good. I’ll just hitch a ride on your plane then," Wu Shi laughed.