Chapter 112: He Crashed Into My Race Car
The first qualifying session began at 4:40 p.m. Drivers with even-numbered plates took part. Wu Shi's number was 32, so naturally he was assigned to this group.
Competition here was fierce—Ocon, Verstappen, and Ed, all top performers in previous rounds, were in the same session.
"Remember, pole position is your top priority. On this track, pole is almost everything," Alan reminded him.
"Got it."
The Pau street circuit was far too narrow for real overtaking. Either someone yielded or both cars retired. There was no middle ground.
In the pit room, Sid rested his elbows on the counter, fists pressed to his lips, occasionally blowing anxiously through them. His little habits amused the staff.
"Relax," Alan said, patting his shoulder. "This kid only knows how to perform miracles."
"I know… but I still get nervous."
Sid smiled helplessly. He had watched Wu Shi grow up; his nerves were inevitable.
Just then, his phone rang.
"Martina? What's up?"
"We need an account PR operations manager and a business assistant. Please arrange it."
"Understood."
After hanging up, Sid glanced at the track feed, then opened his laptop and started working immediately.
He didn't post job listings right away. Instead, he opened Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, searching "Wu Shi."
As expected—countless posts appeared.
"Is Wu's weak pace at the Pau street circuit proof he's terrible at street tracks?"
(with attached practice photo)
"Wu says he's confident, but showed no speed in FP1 and FP2. Will he choke in the Pyrenees?"
There were many similar headlines—and even more supportive comments agreeing with them.
> "Yeah! Wu only knows how to push people off the line! He has zero skill!"
"A Chinese driver in F3? How much did Van Amersfoort charge him?"
"Better give the car to one of our guys than this stupid Chinese." —Indian user
"He's not Chinese! He's Korean!" —another user
The comments were bizarre. In the past, even when Wu Shi was criticized, most evaluations were at least factual or neutral.
Someone was clearly orchestrating a smear campaign.
It normally wouldn't matter—public opinion came and went. But before a dangerous street race, such negativity could destroy a young driver's mentality.
If Wu Shi had seen this earlier in the day… something serious could've happened.
Thankfully, he barely used social media. His private account was hidden, and his public account—a secondary fan-focused one—was rarely logged into. He only posted announcements. He never read comments.
Sid logged in anyway. The inbox was flooded, mentions overflowing with negativity.
He exhaled sharply.
Hiring PR staff was now urgent.
---
On track, Wu Shi finished his warm-up lap, oblivious to the online storm.
To protect his eyes, he avoided browsing his phone. Most of his screen time went to simulators—not social media.
Buzz—
Tire warm-up was complete.
Alan TR: "Track conditions are average. Try a banker lap first."
Wu Shi TR: "Roger. Please warn the drivers ahead."
On street circuits, the biggest danger was a slow car blindly blocking the racing line and turning into you without warning. With guardrails everywhere, such an impact could be fatal.
Wu Shi took it very seriously.
Turn 1 at Pau was a slight kink, connecting to a long full-throttle section. Five seconds of flat-out acceleration before braking.
With guardrails pressing from both sides at 200+ km/h, the sensation was overwhelming.
He truly didn't understand why young idiots raced at such speeds on public roads. They didn't value their own lives—or others'.
Near the braking point, Wu Shi dropped gears rapidly.
He braked incredibly late—almost at the very end—and skimmed past the left wall by centimeters.
A sharp right into Turn 2—his right front nearly brushed the curb.
During practice, he had tested this line. The curb was low, and there was a meter to the guardrail.
To run the perfect line, you theoretically had to drive half on the curb and half on the grass.
But the grass patch between curb and guardrail was treacherous—touch it, and you'd lose control instantly.
If he were in charge of track design, he'd pave over the grass, shave down the shoulders, and let drivers experience true speed. That would create beautiful differences between elite drivers and ordinary ones.
After Turn 2 came another long straight—full throttle.
Turn 3: a tight hairpin.
Turn 4: a shallow V-turn.
Similar issues as Turn 2—the curb blocked access to the ideal apex.
"The first section looked smooth."
The team leader nodded. "Wu Shi is still Wu Shi. Even in his first street track qualifying, his lines remain clean and fluid."
The real challenge came from Turn 8 to Turn 15—a brutal, twisting stretch where you couldn't see the next corner until you were practically inside it. One misjudgment meant hitting the protruding guardrail, or missing the braking point entirely and slamming into the wall.
Wu Shi didn't try to be a hero. He left margin for safety. If he got blocked and couldn't react in time, the wall would end his session—and maybe more.
Swish—
As he passed Turn 10, a blue car suddenly appeared head-on. Wu Shi reflexively swerved aside.
Street circuits had blind corners everywhere. This was normal.
Luckily, Alan had warned him of the stalled car's approximate location earlier.
But the following bends were infuriating—several drivers were crawling through corners, blocking the pace.
Wu Shi used every ounce of available road to slip past. As soon as he got by, someone protested.
Michelle Beretta TR:
"Hey! He hit my car! He hit me!"
Race Engineer TR:
"We reviewed it. No contact. Your car is fine."
Michelle TR:
"How could it NOT touch?!"
The live broadcast revealed the team radio. The commentators burst out laughing.
The director reacted quickly and pulled up the replay.
"We see it now—wow! It looks close, but there's no contact. Michelle was just nervous."
"In the last race, we saw Wu's incredible car control. I have to revise what I said at the start—he always maintains precise distance when closing in."
"Yes, according to our analysis, Wu controlled that wheel-to-wheel touch with Rosenqvist intentionally last round. We've seen similar micro-contact moves in F1."
Nothing major was happening in the current session, so the commentators naturally drifted back to the unforgettable battle from the previous race.
There was simply too much worth revisiting.