Chapter 131 - 56: Events of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix

Chapter 131: Chapter 56: Events of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix

Before the F3 race at the Hungary Station starting on May 30, the F1 Monaco Grand Prix was held from May 22 to May 25.

Wu Shi, who originally planned to stick to his training schedule, was invited by Leclerc to watch the Grand Prix. He hadn’t planned on going, but Leclerc mentioned that many people were coming and it would be a good opportunity to gather and have a party.

Wu Shi thought about it and agreed. It wasn’t until he arrived at the scene that he saw Verstappen, O’connor, Gasly, Huber, and others were all there.

Oh, basically all the drivers of this generation were present.

Lock really knew how to invite people. Not to mention that O’connor and Gasly had already fallen out, Verstappen and O’connor were also somewhat at odds. The relationships among the dozen or so people invited were quite complicated.

Wu Shi felt quite at ease. His relationships with most of them were very simple. Because they had almost no conflicts on the track, their off-track relationships wouldn’t rupture. Of course, excluding those drivers who viewed others through a prejudiced lens.

Here, Wu Shi also once again met Lock’s father, a kind elder wearing glasses.

Although the guys were already considered somewhat famous in the racing world at this time, they still sat in the grandstands to watch the race.

"The Mercedes-Benz car is too fast this year." Lock, being a Monaco native, had returned early and watched the entire qualifying session yesterday.

"Is there a big difference?" Wu Shi asked. He knew that Mercedes-Benz would be a Galaxy Car for the next few years, but he didn’t know exactly how much faster the 2014 car was.

"Rosberg took pole position with 1 minute 15.989 seconds. Hamilton was on the front row with 1 minute 16.048 seconds, and Ricciardo was third with 1 minute 16.384 seconds." Lock took out his phone and read the records once.

"Red Bull is still competitive." As Wu Shi spoke, he looked at Verstappen. Given this performance gap, if it were Verstappen in his prime, would there be a chance to snatch one or two race wins?

"I remember there seemed to be a special situation in yesterday’s qualifying session," Gasly reminded.

Reminded by him, Lock instantly reacted and said, "Right, Rosberg seemed to have set a lap time first. Then, when Hamilton was on his flying lap, Rosberg locked up by mistake and triggered a yellow flag."

With everyone mentioning this, Wu Shi immediately recalled the general situation of this Monaco Grand Prix.

After Rosberg triggered the yellow flag, causing Hamilton’s flying lap to be invalidated, Hamilton said over the team radio, "He did brilliantly, very good!"

From here on out, faint cracks began to appear in their relationship. So, when it came to competing for the annual championship, the friendship of growing up together would immediately shatter into pieces under the impact of conflicting interests.

"The post-race investigation proved it was a mistake," Verstappen added.

Everyone looked at him, leaving Verstappen completely baffled.

"Wu Shi, what do you think?" Lock asked.

"I didn’t watch the race," Wu Shi said.

"Hahaha."

The deadpan joke made everyone laugh.

The race soon began, but the Monaco Grand Prix was truly dull and boring. There were almost no overtakes, and Rosberg easily maintained his lead.

Hamilton, who was right behind him, found that it never rains but it pours. As the race neared its end, he reported that his visor was loose, and the wind blew sand into his eyes, forcing him to drive with his eyes squinted.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo in third place was truly fierce. He chased Hamilton all the way, putting pressure on him until the end of the race, losing to Hamilton by a narrow margin of 0.404 seconds.

"Max, he might just be your future teammate," Wu Shi said.

"Huh?" Verstappen was confused. He then glanced at Gasly and said, "He should enter F1 before I do."

This year, Gasly was participating in the Red Bull Junior Team development program and racing in the Renault Formula 3.5 Series, putting him a small step ahead of the F3 drivers.

"Hey, speaking of which, Wu Shi, have you really secured an F1 seat?" Lock asked excitedly.

"Do you think I can get twenty-one victories in the championship this season?" Wu Shi asked in return.

"Tch, you know we’re talking about the team seats held by those two on the podium."

Lock felt a bit bored, but he also knew that if Wu Shi didn’t talk about such things, it must be because he couldn’t. So, he didn’t continue pressing the issue and instead called everyone to head to the pit lane together.

"Look, they’re interviewing Hamilton!" Gasly had sharp eyes and spotted Hamilton in the middle of the barriers.

Hamilton was currently wearing a green Mercedes-Benz cap and sunglasses, and the expression on his face looked quite displeased.

"Yep, we are not friends."

As the group walked over, they happened to hear this amplified statement from Hamilton.

Hearing this, Gasly subconsciously looked at O’connor on the other side. They had also been friends when they were kids, but became strangers after a crash.

Wu Shi leaned against the railing, quietly looking at this driver he had seen at the Shanghai Grand Prix seven years ago. At that time, Wu Shi was still a little kid, and no one thought he would touch the threshold of F1 so quickly.

Seemingly noticing Wu Shi’s gaze, Hamilton stopped mid-sentence and turned his head to look over.

After speaking a few words to the reporter, he walked straight over. The Sky Sports reporters and cameramen behind him immediately followed, acting as if they had stumbled upon some massive news. As it turned out, Hamilton wasn’t going to look for Rosberg. Instead, he came to the railing and greeted the group of young lads.

"Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here," Hamilton greeted.

"I just happened to come watch the race. It’s a pity about this one; it wasn’t very easy to overtake," Wu Shi said.

"Yeah. I heard you’re coming to our team?" Hamilton said directly.

"Uh, I don’t know." Wu Shi was dumbfounded by the question. What kind of remark was that!

"If you come, we’d welcome you very much. Seven years ago, you told me you wanted to be an F1 driver. It seems you’re only one step away now," Hamilton said.

"Thank you." Wu Shi didn’t know what else to say.

Hamilton waved and left, leaving behind the reporters whose eyes were shining with excitement. However, they still had their professional ethics. This was an F1 race, and they needed to interview the drivers first, rather than the young man in front of them who clearly held a big scoop.

By the time the award ceremony concluded, Lock finally saw his godfather, Jules Bianchi, walk out.

"Hey! We’re over here!" Lock shouted, waving his hand.

Bianchi walked over while wiping his sweat, a bright smile on his face. "How was it? Not a bad performance today, right?"

"Of course! You scored points! So cool!" Lock was simply happier than if he had won the championship himself.

Wu Shi watched from the side, truly not knowing how to warn him. After pondering for a long time, he decided to wait until the Japan Grand Prix and give a warning using some rather mystical excuses.

"I heard you’ll be able to join F1 soon?" Bianchi asked.

"As long as I win enough, it should be fine." Wu Shi helplessly shrugged. Everyone had to ask this question once, and he could only repeat the same answer.

"Then congratulations in advance! When Lock was racing karts, he often mentioned you to me, saying that in any race you participated in, you would always stand on the highest step of the podium!"

Bianchi patted Wu Shi’s shoulder. He could naturally see Lock’s admiration for Wu Shi, which was an indelible memory etched by victory after victory won with absolute dominance.

Inside the Mercedes Pit Room, Hamilton was packing his things with an unhappy expression. His engineer, Peter, came over, patted his shoulder, and said, "This was an accident. You shouldn’t care too much about it, nor should you have gone and talked to that kid named Wu Shi during the interview."

Hamilton’s movements stopped. He looked up at his engineer and said, "Yes, I said it. I admit this was an accident. As for what I said to Wu Shi, I think it was just a senior’s encouragement to a junior. I met him way back in 2007."

After saying this, Hamilton finished packing his things, picked up his bag, and walked out.

Peter ruffled his hair, found Rosberg’s engineer Tony, and said, "We can’t let such a rift appear between the drivers. This is something neither Toto nor the team wants to see."

Tony didn’t cooperate as usual, but instead said, "It seems Hamilton really wants that kid to join the team, so he can comfortably be the number one driver, right?"

Peter gave him a questioning look. He looked at this colleague he had worked with for a long time in astonishment. Shaking his head in confusion, he said angrily, "You all just keep talking about Wu Shi, Wu Shi, Wu Shi!

"Do you really think a sixteen-year-old kid driving an F1 car for the first time can get a good result in a practice session? With that little time, I’m afraid he wouldn’t even be able to adapt to speeds of three hundred kilometers per hour!

"Shouldn’t our primary concern right now be the rift between the two of them?"

Tony, however, also slightly shook his head and said, "Then you should go ask Toto. Why give a Hua Country person—a sixteen-year-old brat—such a promise!"

Peter felt powerless and laughed out of sheer anger. "It’s impossible for Wu Shi to join the team! He can’t do it!"

Tony nodded, a calculating look in his eyes, and said, "Yes, he can’t do it! I will definitely make sure he can’t!"

After saying this, Tony turned and left.

Peter stood with his hands on his hips, completely unable to understand his colleague’s train of thought. Was now the time to be considering Wu Shi? Shouldn’t they be thinking about Hamilton and Rosberg? If the relationship between the two drivers continued to deteriorate, it would affect the entire team’s plans and deployments!

After pacing in circles for a moment, Peter suddenly seemed to realize something. He muttered the phrase, "I will definitely make sure he can’t!" under his breath.

After a long time, he shook his head and muttered to himself, "It’s impossible. Tony wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do something so against professional ethics."