Chapter 60 - 24: A Hidden Danger

Chapter 60: Chapter 24: A Hidden Danger

When Rosa asked him this question, Wu Shi couldn’t think of how to explain it either. He could only say it was a feeling.

On tracks with more laps, he would be more conservative to ensure he could finish. When there were fewer laps, he would push harder to achieve ridiculously stunning results.

The knack for this, in the end, came from the precise feedback of his absolute car feel, which allowed him to calculate consumption on his own.

During pre-race practice, Verstappen still needed instruments to measure tire wear to estimate how to drive the car in the main race.

Wu Shi didn’t need to refer to any of that. He imagined that when he drove in F1 in the future, if a technician on the team radio reported tire wear and overheating, he would just tell them to be quiet. He needed to concentrate on calculating the tire wear himself.

The thought brought an amused smile to his face.

However, during the 2011 season, he discovered a problem that was gradually worsening—a problem that could even affect his career development.

It was his absolute car feel.

Perhaps it was because the number of parts he could sense was increasing, but he now felt a faint strain in his head, and his speed at sensing new replacement parts had dropped noticeably.

This seemed to indicate that the number of vehicles and parts his senses could cover was limited.

The cause of the problem was simple then. His brain was probably running out of capacity.

Therefore, learning to forget was Wu Shi’s main goal for 2012.

And just then, he received some bad news.

"What? You’re saying I can’t race in KF2 this year?" Wu Shi questioned the team leader directly.

Compared to KF3, KF2 only had a slightly higher RPM and less water in the radiator, so the difference wasn’t huge.

But even these small changes meant lap times would improve by an average of one to two seconds, and on power-hungry tracks, it could even be a three-second improvement.

"That’s right. The minimum age for KF2 is 15." The team leader sounded helpless.

Wu Shi was only turning 14 this year, and his birthday wasn’t until the end of the year. By European standards, the kid was still just over 13.

"No! If Max can race, I want to race too!" Wu Shi could only resort to whining. It was a child’s prerogative.

The team leader sighed and looked over at Jos, who was still fiddling with a kart with Verstappen. He said, "You should seek a special exemption. Request they lower the age requirement for you, just like for the WSK series last year."

Without hesitating, Wu Shi ran over to Jos and said, "Sir, I want to race in KF2 this year, just like Max."

"Of course. That’s something I’ve been worrying about lately, too. I’ll see what I can do," Jos said.

Their contract for mutual exchange of technology and resources was already signed, so naturally, he had to find a way to help Wu Shi.

Beyond the contractual obligations, he genuinely wanted Max to keep racing against this kid whose talent was almost freakish.

Because Wu Shi had been a great help to him and Max.

It wasn’t due to a gap in driving skill, but because of the crucial data they shared.

For example: where is the turn-in reference point for a corner? How much braking force? How much throttle, and when to apply it? Without guidance, a driver could only figure these things out through trial and error.

Most importantly, Wu Shi could provide rough estimates of wear and tear for different driving styles, which allowed Max to choose his approach accordingly.

If Max wanted to get this data directly, he would need to lap the track day after day, constantly replacing parts to measure the wear.

Not only was this a massive undertaking, but it was also appallingly inefficient.

With the official races still some time away, Wu Shi discussed the matter with Aunt Martina. After that, all he could do was wait.

"Wu Shi, come help tune the car," Rosa called out.

"Coming."

Due to the difference in RPM, the kart’s toe, camber/caster, and so on all needed to be adjusted accordingly.

KF2 used softer tires, which meant his driving style also needed slight changes.

The amount of testing was significant. Besides the initial setup, they had to make and optimize changes for different tracks. Before a race, practice, tuning, and repairs were a driver’s constant work.

Every time a part was replaced, he would test the speed at which he could fully ’sense’ it. Compared to 2010, he was considerably slower.

After all, in 2010 and 2011, he had spent at least several million euros on replacement parts. The number of parts he had "sensed" and stored in his memory was simply too large.

’How do I forget the parts and karts I’ve sensed in the past?’

Wu Shi tried not to think about the karts he had owned, but it was just wishful thinking.

By February, he still hadn’t found an effective way to solve this problem. It got to the point where he stopped trying to sense newly replaced consumable parts.

48.654

47.999

47.221

48.266

Lap after lap, times were posted. The kart was gradually being adjusted to Wu Shi’s driving habits, but the consistency of his lap times had dropped sharply.

"Wu Shi, have you been too tired lately? Maybe you need to rest for a bit." Rosa looked at the data. For the KF2 class, these lap times on a test track were actually quite good.

But this was Wu Shi! The same Wu Shi who could pull a one-second, or even multi-second, gap on second place when the usual differences were within a single second!

"Have you been feeling more and more uncomfortable driving lately? I’ve felt that way before, too. It’s like you’ve hit a limit, and your lap times become unstable. But if you can break through that barrier, you’ll be able to take another step forward!" Verstappen came over and said.

Recently, Wu Shi’s lap times had been on par with his. If they were to race for real, even though Wu Shi still had a higher chance of winning, it was a far cry from the crushing defeats he used to hand out.

"Yeah, I’ve been lacking some feeling lately." Wu Shi looked at the kart on its stand and found it strangely unfamiliar.

This kart had been with him for two months of training. Except for the engine, chassis, and bodywork, almost everything had been replaced. This meant he now only maintained his ’sense’ of those three components.

And soon enough, the chassis would need to be replaced too.

"Kid, if you were my son, I’d be chewing you out right now." Jos stepped forward, a rare, stern expression on his face as he looked at Wu Shi. After a moment of thought, he said:

"I feel like your edge is gone. Before, whether it was practice or the main race, you were always pushing the limits. But now, it seems you just want to bring the car back safely.

"You haven’t crashed recently, have you? What’s made your mentality and driving style change?

"This is a critical issue. If you don’t solve it, even if your lap times are still excellent, you’ll never be able to lead by such a huge margin again, and you’ll never be as consistent as you were before."

Jos folded his arms across his chest, his brow furrowed. After waiting a moment and hearing no reply, he continued:

"I have to admit, if I were to race karts against the you from last season, I’d definitely lose. For a driver who never admits defeat, I should be ashamed to say that to you here.

"But your performance last year was absolutely stunning. I admit I couldn’t do it. I think no one could ever replicate it.

"And now, it seems even you can’t replicate it anymore.

"Like I said before, I can’t offer you any meaningful guidance on technique or experience. I can only tell you this from the perspective of someone who’s been there.

"No matter what’s happened, don’t let your mentality change. Don’t let the Wu Shi who chased the limit and swept through Europe be buried."

After he finished speaking, Jos clapped Verstappen on the shoulder, and the two of them left.

Rosa clicked her ballpoint pen and pulled out her phone with her left hand, preparing to call Sid. She also felt that Wu Shi had been having some strange problems lately, and this had to be communicated to his agent immediately. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Wu Shi gently stroked the kart. After Jos’s long speech, he didn’t feel any negativity. In fact, a faint smile appeared on his face:

"Of course I know how important mentality is in a race. I can still control that. I’ve just run into a big problem.

"I think,

"I can solve it!"

His gaze turned resolute. In that instant, he was like the young man from his past life, sitting in a Rafaeli, fighting to defend his championship title.

’Absolute car feel, even if I haven’t solved your problem, I’m still not afraid of any challenge!’

’I will still reach the highest peak!’

’I am ready for anything!’

Rosa, standing to the side, looked dazed. She didn’t know how a kid not yet fully grown could suddenly project such a powerful aura. She silently pushed her phone back into her pocket.

’I’ll wait a little longer.’