F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 98 Like Mom and Dad (Third Update)
After the national anthem was played, former F1 driver and FIA Single Seat Commission Chairman Garde Beller walked onto the platform, handed the trophy to Wu Shi, and embraced him.

clap clap clap!
Applause erupted from the audience.

The Europa Motorsport Director then presented the team trophy to Team Principal Van Amersford. It's hard to believe that Wu Shi and Verstappen took first and third place respectively in this race, securing the team championship with an absolute points advantage.

The team leader happily raised the trophy, and applause rang out again.

Seeing the team leader's beaming face, Wu Shi was also happy. Looking down at the audience, he saw that only members of the Van Amersford and Prema teams remained to watch the awards ceremony.

Some of the other teams might stay to take photos, but most people left as soon as the race ended.

In competitive sports, there are always those who rejoice and those who grieve.

Gard Beller returned to the stage to present the trophy to Foucault, amidst applause from the audience.

The Europa Motorsport Director went on stage to present the trophy to Verstappen.

Pan Zi accepted the trophy and held it above his head.

Before stepping down, the Europa Motorsport Director reached out his hand to Wu Shi again.

Because he was standing on the high podium, Wu Shi bent down to shake hands with him to show respect and for convenience.

"You ran very well, congratulations on your three-game winning streak." The Europa Motorsport Director smiled broadly.

"Thank you!"

After the director stepped down, the staff gestured for the four people on the stage to stand on the highest platform and raise their glasses for a group photo!
"Ooooooo!!!"

Off the track, the members of the Van Amersford team cheered and jumped for joy. For a team that is not particularly strong, such a start was simply dreamlike.

After the photo session, the four of them opened champagne bottles and sprayed each other with it.

Pan Zi showed no mercy to Wu Shi, aiming straight for his head. Judging by that accuracy, Pan Zi's FPS skills must be quite remarkable.

Only after all the bubbles in the bottle had been released and the champagne stopped gushing did Panzi pick it up and take a big sip.

Wu Shi wiped the liquid off his face and also picked up his champagne to drink.

In the first two podium finishes, the drivers were not allowed to drink champagne because they had to continue competing, so now he can finally savor the taste of victory.

The team leader came over, patted the two of them on the shoulder, and his smile never stopped.

Next, an awards ceremony will be held.

According to the 2014 FIA Formula 3 Europa Championship regulations, drivers participating in F3 for the first time are considered rookies.

The FIA ​​places great importance on rookies in F3 and awards special prizes to the top three rookies.

So after tidying up the scene, Wu Shi, Foucault, and Verstappen went on stage again. This time, the award ceremony didn't have as many steps as before; the main purpose was to present a trophy as encouragement.

After the applause, the awards ceremony came to an end.

Wu Shi's racing suit smelled strongly of champagne, so he had to change his clothes first.

When I came out, the reporters had already started conducting post-match interviews.

Pan Zi was being interviewed by Dutch media at the time.

"Hey Max, we saw you make some amazing overtakes in this game and showed tremendous improvement. I'd like to ask you how you did that?"

Verstappen adjusted his baseball cap, rested his hands on the back of his chair, looked down, and said:

"Well, our team did a strategy analysis last night. You know, we have a very strong driver on our team. His sharing helped me quickly master the skills and get to the podium."

"Oh! Wu is such a strong driver?" "What do you think?" Verstappen looked up at the reporter, puzzled. "Are you stupid and can't understand human language, or am I stupid and not speaking human language?"

Wu Shi, who was watching from the side, burst out laughing. Pan Zi's interviews always had a unique charm.

"Haha! Congratulations on reaching the podium. Do you have enough preparation and confidence for the next few races? After all, you've already crossed over from Formula Renault, and your experience in open-wheel formulas will be even more scarce."

"I have enough confidence, which I think every driver needs. As for preparation, I can't say I'm fully prepared. You know, you can't be fully prepared for every moment in a race like this. We can only do our best to get everything done," Verstappen replied to the reporter.

After interviewing Pan Zi, the reporters happened to see Wu Shi walking over, so they immediately turned their microphones towards him.

"Hey Wu, you just got three consecutive wins, how does it feel?"

"Of course it's excellent."

“We see that, like Verstappen, you skipped Formula Renault and went straight to F3. You achieved such an excellent result in your first race. I wonder how you did it?”

Reporters always like to ask this kind of question, which Wu Shi has never been keen to answer, just like how people always like to ask the top scholar how he studied.

It's not that the things here can't be said, but rather that they can't be explained in just a few words.

"Like everyone else, I practiced and practiced some more. I think there's no other way to do it except by constantly working hard."

"Yeah, every driver works very hard, but it's not hard to see that everyone is talking about your talent, saying that your control of the car is very precise and delicate, and the output of the operation signals is as accurate as a pre-written program. If you didn't have such talent, could you have achieved such success just by working hard?"

The reporter from the United Kingdom was being somewhat difficult with Wu Shi, asking a pointless question.

Before Wu Shi could speak, Verstappen chimed in, "There are no 'ifs'. If my mother had a ball, she would be my father."

"Pfft!" Wu Shi burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

The surrounding reporters also laughed, and the P room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"I have some questions! Can I borrow your time for a while?" A reporter from Italli squeezed through the crowd.

“Of course!” Wu Shi looked at his old acquaintance.

"Wu Shi, as you know, you have a lot of fans in Italy. We see that some of them have come to support you today. Is there anything you would like to say to them?"

The Italian journalist's question was excellent. To differentiate oneself from other news reports, one must naturally have differentiated questions.

As is well known, Wu Shi grew up in Italie, so Italie always manages to use this as a starting point to get closer to him.

“I know that I have always had many Italie fans supporting me, and many of them have been watching my races since my karting days. I think it is an honor for me, and I am very grateful for everyone’s support! Thank you so much!”

Wu Shi said with a smile that he remembered when he went to Sarno before, the owner of a pizzeria said that he was a fan of his car and insisted on giving him a free meal, so he had a very good impression of car fans.

"Okay, we'd like to know if your training is particularly busy. We haven't seen you create any accounts on social media yet. There are many people impersonating you, causing quite a bit of confusion. Have you considered creating a personal social media account?"

"Um"

Wu Shi paused for a moment. He had never liked leaving traces on the internet, so his personal accounts on these platforms were not verified.

Sid had reminded him before that he needed to manage the account, but he thought it was too much trouble and planned to have Sid find someone to manage it, which has been delayed until now.

But now it seems that as his fame grows, he has indeed started operating his own personal account.

“I will consider creating a personal account,” Wu Shi said after thinking it over.

(End of this chapter)