Chapter 186: Father and Son
Wu Shi had returned early not only because he had been away from home for a long time, but also because this race required far more off-track work than usual.
First, as the nation's economic center, the Capital City offered countless cooperation opportunities. Even Sid couldn't help sighing at how frenzied capital became when a star athlete appeared in China.
Second, Jiu Shi Group was planning several activities involving Wu Shi for the pre-race drivers' parade. Even without rehearsals, such matters still required his consent and coordination with the FIA.
What Wu Shi hadn't expected was that his father would arrive so early this time.
On his second day in the Capital City, Sid had already rented a car and was preparing to take Wu Shi and Louise to Jiu Shi Group. But when they went downstairs, they saw a Mercedes E400L Hybrid parked at the entrance.
"Looks like my timing is perfect," Wu Zhenlin said as he stepped out of the car.
"Hi, Dad. Long time no see," Wu Shi greeted him with a smile.
Sid glanced between the two, patted Wu Shi on the shoulder, and whispered, "You two catch up. I'll head over first."
"Okay," Wu Shi replied.
"Get in. I never thought an F1 driver who races at three hundred kilometers an hour wouldn't even have a driver's license yet," Wu Zhenlin laughed.
"Heh, your son just barely caught the last train," Wu Shi replied.
"In February this year, the FIA raised the minimum age to eighteen for F1. Otherwise I'd have had to wait until 2017 to get in."
In his previous life, Verstappen had shut that door. In this life, the two of them had welded it shut together.
Wu Shi sometimes wondered whether little Kimi would ever have the chance to break that barrier in the future. But in truth, neither he nor Verstappen believed age restrictions were truly necessary.
With today's increasingly complete junior training systems, prodigies would only mature faster.
Wu Shi opened the rear door for Louise first, then got in from the other side himself.
This was one downside of four-seat sedans.
The Mercedes offered excellent ride comfort. Among the BBA brands, its high-end operations in China were undoubtedly the most successful.
Once the car started moving, an awkward silence fell between father and son.
After so many years apart, it always took time to warm up.
"Time really flies," Wu Zhenlin finally said.
"When you left for Europe, you were still so small. Every year you looked different. And now, in the blink of an eye, you're already one of the world's top athletes."
"Yeah… it feels like I haven't done much at all these years, just kept driving," Wu Shi sighed.
"Hahaha, you're not even twenty yet, and you're already sighing like an old man," Wu Zhenlin laughed.
"Well, you were the one sighing first. I was just going along with you," Wu Shi chuckled.
Wu Zhenlin then turned to Louise.
"Little Louise has grown so much too. You can speak Chinese now, right?"
Louise blinked her big eyes innocently.
"Looks like not yet," Wu Zhenlin laughed.
"That's fine. Wu Shi can be your translator. He left China so young, yet his Chinese didn't fall behind at all."
He sighed softly.
"It's a pity no one in the Williams team speaks Chinese. Otherwise you could even use it as an encrypted channel."
Wu Shi joked, "Sadly, the FIA wouldn't allow that. All race communication has to be in English."
If one asked why, they'd have to ask Brother Tou and certain Italians.
Once the ice was broken, the conversation gradually became smoother.
When men started talking, anything could become a topic—heaven, earth, and sea alike.
By the time they arrived at the Jiu Shi building, they no longer looked like a father and son who had been separated for years.
Sid had arrived earlier and was already waiting downstairs.
Several Jiu Shi staff members immediately came forward to guide Wu Shi as soon as they saw him.
Inside the meeting room, Wu Shi spotted many familiar faces—Bing Fei Xia, as well as several prominent business figures from the Capital City.
He immediately realized this would not be a short meeting.
And indeed, it wasn't.
This was a bridge-building event arranged by Jiu Shi, and many partner companies had taken the opportunity to join in.
Wu Shi himself was not short on sponsorships. If he could maintain his performance from the first two races, sponsorship money would soon become far less important to him.
Meanwhile, Wu Zhenlin—who usually seemed mild and somewhat taciturn—now radiated sharp authority. The aura of someone long accustomed to giving orders made the room subtly tense.
"Uncle looks scary," Louise whispered to Wu Shi.
"Then you haven't seen Martina in a meeting," Wu Shi replied.
Executives were all the same. No matter how gentle they seemed, that was only on the surface.
During the negotiations, Wu Shi mainly expressed his personal preferences. Objectively speaking, Wu Zhenlin and Sid had already filtered out most of the unsuitable proposals.
The talks lasted an entire day.
In the end, they tentatively secured cooperation projects worth tens of millions within China alone.
Of course, nothing was fully finalized yet. Companies still wanted to see Wu Shi's popularity during the Shanghai Grand Prix before committing.
Sid, however, thought even more long-term:
sponsorships would only truly matter when Wu Shi eventually moved to a Williams capable of fighting for championships—or to another top team.
Wu Zhenlin stayed only for that one day before flying back to the Capital City, planning to return again for the main race.
---
Time passed quickly.
On Thursday, April 9th, Wu Shi officially joined the Williams team at the circuit.
By ten o'clock Friday morning, the First Practice Session began.
Pirelli had brought two compounds: the white-walled medium tires and the yellow-marked soft tires.
The Shanghai Circuit had very distinct characteristics—high-speed corners combined with relatively low temperatures made the front-left tire especially prone to graining.
Protecting that tire would be crucial.
Most of the top drivers ran on soft tires and completed around twenty laps.
Wu Shi repeatedly returned to the pits for suspension and tire-pressure adjustments, searching for the optimal setup.
Claire mobilized the entire race crew to accommodate his requests, while Massa also provided large amounts of useful data. Comparing both drivers' feedback allowed them to eliminate wrong directions more quickly.
When the session ended, the two Mercedes drivers were far ahead.
Hamilton topped the charts with 1:39.033,
Rosberg followed with 1:39.574.
Vettel was third at 1:40.157,
with Kimi in fourth at 1:40.665.
Fifth place finally saw a disruption—Wu Shi squeezed in with 1:40.803.
Nasr followed behind, though it was unclear whether Sauber had used higher engine modes.
The top ten remained mostly filled by Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Williams, with Sauber and Toro Rosso occasionally making appearances.
From tire data, Kimi's soft tires had lasted 27 laps, suggesting that Shanghai might not be as punishing as expected.
Massa ran fewer laps—only 17—due to more extensive setup changes.
Overall, one practice session revealed little, but it was enough to show:
Mercedes far ahead, Ferrari solidly second tier, with Williams and Red Bull fighting closely.
Even with Wu Shi competing, Friday practice still felt quiet. Most working people couldn't attend on weekdays, leaving mainly wealthy spectators.
After the airport chaos, Wu Shi wasn't eager to interact with fans and stayed inside the Williams garage.
"The nutritionist prepared this. She said it's best to drink after the soak," Louise said, handing him a cup.
Wu Shi eyed it reluctantly.
This fully nutritional drink tasted awful—an unholy mix of fishy protein and dry bean flavor.
But he had no choice. Refusing it would mean wasting the team nutritionist's efforts.
Especially since he was still growing, his diet was managed more strictly than other drivers'.
After lunch and a short break—while the mechanics had none—the Second Practice Session began at two in the afternoon.
"Are we continuing with soft-tire runs?" Wu Shi asked Jonathan.
He nodded. "But I'll have Button test the mediums. We need complete data. Relying only on soft-tire setups is risky."
"Understood."
Wu Shi could already feel the pressure rising. Racing at home made emotional control much harder than usual.
All he could do now was give everything he had.
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a trace of regret—
with the current Williams car, it was simply too difficult to fight for the very top.