Chapter 166 - 87: 8 Points Higher Than a Perfect College Entrance Exam Score

Chapter 166: Chapter 87: 8 Points Higher Than a Perfect College Entrance Exam Score

The ambulance left the paddock with sirens wailing, taking a full twenty minutes to reach the hospital. With a rescue helicopter, that time would have been cut to about five minutes.

Leclerc had no reason to stay at the track. After getting an update on Bianchi from the staff, he rushed to the hospital.

Everyone in the car was silent. Leclerc stared blankly out the window, where droplets of water scattered the neon lights into starbursts.

When they arrived at the hospital, the doors to the emergency room remained shut. Leclerc forced his eyes to stay open, staring at the glaring indicator light. If he so much as blinked, the tears would start to fall.

Wu Shi patted his shoulder and was about to speak, but Leclerc spoke first.

"I’m sorry."

"God... God had you warn us, and we didn’t take it seriously..."

The words left Wu Shi speechless. ’Maybe I should have been more forceful,’ he thought, ’and stopped Bianchi from getting in the car. But was that even possible? Why would Bianchi have listened to me?’

Verstappen stood to one side, saying nothing. Perhaps he was thinking about his mother, who lit a prayer candle for him before every race.

They waited until the middle of the night, when the emergency room doors finally opened.

The moment the doctor emerged, the reporters and race officials who had been waiting surged forward.

Ever since Senna’s fatal crash at the Imola Circuit in 1994, F1 had gone a full twenty years without a death.

And perhaps because of that, with F1 becoming safer and safer, people had forgotten that the sport itself was a dance with death.

That was why the race organizers had not only rejected the drivers’ request to start the race early, but had also failed to stop it while the typhoon was raging.

So, one could only imagine how public opinion of F1 as a whole would shift after Bianchi’s accident.

Leclerc pushed his way through the crowd as well, desperate to hear the news firsthand.

The doctor’s English wasn’t very good, so he explained the situation in Japanese.

Amid the flurry of chatter, Leclerc couldn’t understand a thing.

But Wu Shi, standing to the side, managed to pick out words like "safe" and "stable" from the fragments of speech. He looked toward the crowd. ’Did the rescue team do a good job? Was he saved?’

The wait for news was agonizing. Fortunately, after the doctor finished his on-camera explanation, a reporter immediately translated it into English.

"The latest from the hospital is that Bianchi has suffered a diffuse axonal injury to the head. After initial treatment, his vital signs are temporarily stable. If he can regain consciousness within seventy-two hours, it will be a positive sign for his recovery."

"The race organizers are already in contact with hospitals in France and are considering transferring him there for further treatment."

...

The accident at the Neon Grand Prix put the race organizers in the hot seat.

Many people questioned why the organizers hadn’t changed the start time when the drivers themselves felt the conditions were unsuitable, choosing instead to proceed with the race at 3 p.m. as the typhoon passed over.

Others questioned the track’s rescue procedures and rules for clearing crashed vehicles. Should a large crane even be allowed on the track under yellow flag conditions?

As someone about to join the paddock, Wu Shi also submitted his own suggestions to the FIA through the team.

The first was to introduce the Virtual Safety Car, which would ensure all cars on the track reduce their speed during an incident, rather than only slowing down just before reaching the crash site.

The second was to add the Halo System—the "flip-flop," as it’s nicknamed.

The first suggestion was well-received, with most people agreeing it was appropriate. The second, however, met with considerable opposition, even from some of the drivers.

Time passed slowly. On the third day after the accident, news came from the hospital: Bianchi had briefly regained consciousness, a sign that his brain injury was still manageable.

However, as he was still receiving critical care, visitors were not allowed.

In the aftermath, the race organizers and the team studied the on-board data from Bianchi’s car right before the crash, as well as footage from other camera angles.

They concluded that the car had lost grip coming out of the corner, causing the driver to lose control. The data indicated that Bianchi’s throttle input at that moment was lighter than on previous laps.

The researchers believed it was this lower throttle input that altered the car’s slide angle, allowing him to narrowly avoid a direct impact between his head and the rear of the recovery crane.

According to computer simulations, if he had applied the throttle as he normally did, the slide angle would have sent his head directly into the side of the crane’s rear. The consequences of such an impact would have been horrific.

These findings were not released to the public but were kept on file internally by the race organizers.

Wu Shi’s life grew simpler. He spent fewer and fewer days training with the Van Amersfoort Racing Team, instead spending more time at the Williams Team headquarters in Oxfordshire, Southern England.

He was already helping the team with simulator tests to gather more research data.

On the second weekend of October, as the F1 Grand Prix was being held at the Sochi Circuit in Russia, the F3 championship arrived at the Imola Circuit in Italy.

Wu Shi was as consistent as ever, scoring a hat trick of wins at what felt like a home race for him. O’connor also had an excellent showing, securing third place in all three races.

In the post-race interview, O’connor publicly declared that the system for getting into F1 was unfair. He said that while Wu Shi was getting into an F1 team based on skill, Verstappen—who had fewer points than him—was also getting a seat, and that was purely because Verstappen had a good dad.

This remark thoroughly pissed off Verstappen, though it wasn’t as if the two of them had a good relationship to begin with.

The final round of the 2014 F3 season returned to Hockenheimring, Germany.

In the end, Wu Shi concluded his F3 career with twenty-nine wins and 758 points for the season, a staggering lead over second-place O’connor, who had 397 points.

Wu Shi’s comment on the achievement? "Not bad. That’s 8 points higher than a perfect score on the college entrance exams!"

At the end of October, Wu Shi left the Van Amersfoort Racing Team and reported for duty at Williams. Due to contractual issues, he wouldn’t officially join until 2015.

However, during previous tests, the team had identified some of his weaknesses that needed to be addressed quickly, so they had him come over early.

At the Williams Headquarters, Sir Williams rarely made public appearances due to his health, so day-to-day operations were mostly handled by his daughter and Deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams.

And it was she, Claire Williams, who welcomed Wu Shi. She had a smile on her face, seeming far less stern and exacting than Sir Williams.

A man stood beside her. Wu Shi assumed he was one of the engineers, but Claire introduced him. "This is your nutritionist and physical trainer, Ken Ruiz."

"Hello, I’m Wu Shi."

Wu Shi greeted the trainer—a well-built man standing one-point-nine meters tall who looked like a textbook handsome Westerner.

"Hello. It’s a pleasure to be working with a driver of your outstanding talent."

After a brief introduction and a tour to familiarize him with the Williams Headquarters, Wu Shi’s ordeal began without warning.

"Starting today, your diet and training must follow the plan I’ve laid out for you. Of course, I’ll adjust it based on your progress. You’re only sixteen, and your body is still developing. Compared to the professional drivers, you’re far too weak."

"It doesn’t matter how fast your one-lap pace is. Without a strong physique, you’ll be too exhausted to cope with the later stages of a race."

Ken Ruiz spoke in a gentle tone, but his severe expression always made him seem unapproachable.

Wu Shi nodded. An F1 race typically lasted an hour and a half, far longer than the thirty to forty-minute F3 races.

If his physical fitness wasn’t up to par, he’d probably lose the ability to concentrate and control the car halfway through. When a person is exhausted, most of their willpower goes into fighting fatigue, which inevitably leads to sloppy driving.

Losing a position was one thing; causing an accident was something else entirely.

In late November, Bianchi’s condition showed signs of improvement. He was conscious for longer periods, though he still had no control over his body.

Since his moments of lucidity were unpredictable and he was unable to speak even when awake, Wu Shi visited him once before hurrying back to England to continue his training.

The good news was that the doctors said his recovery was progressing positively. Perhaps in another month or so, his periods of wakefulness would become even more frequent.

This was undoubtedly heartening news. Although the Bianchi Clan was financially stable, they still struggled to cover the high cost of his treatment, so the FIA organized a fundraiser.

Most of the drivers in the paddock donated generously, ensuring Bianchi could continue to receive the best possible medical care.