Chapter 129: Nobody Is Here
On June 22, the Austrian Grand Prix came to an end, coinciding with the conclusion of the Hungarian round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Mercedes endured a difficult qualifying session in Spielberg. Lewis Hamilton made a rare mistake on his final flying lap and was relegated to ninth on the grid, while Nico Rosberg failed to beat the two Williams cars and could only secure third.
Yet once the race began, Mercedes' superiority over long runs became evident once again.
Hamilton carved his way up to fourth on the opening lap alone. By the chequered flag, Mercedes had once more claimed a dominant one-two finish.
With that result, the gap between the two Silver Arrow drivers widened further. Rosberg now led the championship with 165 points, while Hamilton trailed on 136 — a deficit of 29 points.
Just a few races earlier, before the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton had accumulated 100 points despite retiring from the season opener, holding a commanding 97-point advantage over Rosberg, who had completed all five races.
Everyone, however, remembered what followed in Monaco.
Rosberg's "coincidental" mistake in qualifying brought out the yellow flags, preventing Hamilton from completing his final flying lap — a lap that would almost certainly have delivered pole position.
The result was decisive.
Rosberg started from pole and finished second. Hamilton, compromised from the outset, could do no better than second as well.
In the championship standings after Monaco, Rosberg overtook Hamilton by a narrow margin — 122 points to 118.
That was why Hamilton had been so furious afterward.
So furious, in fact, that he had even hinted at giving Wu Shi "special treatment" in order to remove his championship rival.
A world champion already, Hamilton firmly believed that Wu Shi's promotion within Mercedes was ultimately meant to replace Rosberg — a driver who was consistent and capable, but who had yet to deliver truly defining results.
What followed, however, went far beyond his expectations.
At the Canadian Grand Prix on June 8, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton suffered a brake failure and was forced to retire.
Rosberg, though plagued by reliability issues of his own, somehow limped his car to the finish.
That single race extended Rosberg's lead to 22 points.
Now, with the Red Bull Ring behind them, Hamilton had fallen even further back.
On paper, Rosberg looked like the superior driver.
So if Mercedes were to make a change — who would it be?
The thought unsettled Hamilton.
As his race engineer, Bono sensed the shift in his driver's mindset immediately.
"You drove an excellent race today," Bono said. "Starting ninth and finishing second — that was one of the strongest recovery drives of the season."
Hamilton wiped the sweat from his forehead, nodded without expression, and replied flatly,
"I shouldn't have been starting ninth."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Bono said gently. "You can't let that one lap weigh on you."
Hamilton paused, towel still in his hand.
"What about Wu?" he asked suddenly. "Has he made any obvious, major mistakes?"
"…."
Bono was momentarily speechless.
He occasionally watched Formula 3 races in his spare time, but he genuinely couldn't recall Wu Shi making any significant errors.
When Wu Shi retired, it was almost always due to incidents caused by others.
"What do you think Toto is planning?" Hamilton asked.
"What do you mean?" Bono replied cautiously.
"The agreement between Wu Shi and the team," Hamilton said.
"That's just a rumor," Bono snapped. "Something the media dug up from nowhere. Neither Toto nor the team has ever confirmed it."
"But they haven't denied it either," Hamilton said with a faint chuckle.
Seeing the meaning behind his words, Bono sighed and added,
"I've looked into Wu Shi's background. He's developed entirely in Europe and has never raced in Japan. That circuit would be completely unfamiliar to him. Do you really think he could take pole after just twenty laps in a single practice session?"
"I've seen his simulator data," Hamilton said instinctively — then immediately realized he had said too much.
"Simulator data?" Bono asked sharply.
Hamilton shook his head, unwilling to elaborate.
"The next race is my home Grand Prix," he said instead. "I'll take back what's mine."
Bono had come to lift his driver's spirits. Instead, he left more troubled than before.
It was becoming increasingly clear that Wu Shi's situation was affecting more than just the drivers.
Still, Bono understood Toto Wolff well.
One glance at Wu Shi's résumé was enough to convince anyone — no team in the paddock would turn down a talent like that.
Lost in thought, Bono pulled out his phone and searched for "F3."
As expected, every headline revolved around one name.
"Wu Shi claims third consecutive victory at Spa! Total domination at the Belgian Grand Prix!"
Scrolling further:
"Fourteen wins from fifteen races — the undisputed king of Formula 3!"
"The strongest driver born after 1995? A future F1 superstar."
If not for the intense intra-team rivalry at Mercedes this season, Wu Shi's popularity might have surpassed even that of Formula 1.
Those within the racing world understood what those statistics truly represented — not just raw speed, but extraordinary consistency, composure, and adaptability.
Wu Shi had never spent more than a single season at any level unless restricted by age.
And every promotion seemed to require almost no adaptation period at all.
Bono didn't know how long Wu Shi would need to adapt to Formula 1.
But he firmly believed that no one could truly master an F1 car after just one practice session.
That belief was shared by Toto — and it was why Mercedes leadership agreed that while Wu Shi needed to be monitored closely, the timing was not right to bring him into the team.
After reading several more articles, Bono made up his mind.
He needed to speak to Toto again.
While the paddock was still being packed up, he headed toward the back-office area.
He entered Toto's office and closed the door behind him.
Toto looked up from his paperwork.
"Is there something you want to discuss privately?"
"Yes," Bono replied, stepping forward.
"Regarding Wu Shi — I think this issue deserves more attention. It's affecting more than just one or two people inside the team."
Toto leaned back in his chair.
"What else do you think I should do?"
"We need to clarify things," Bono said.
"Clarify what?" Toto asked, leaning forward, hands on his knees. "You know very well that not everything can be clarified."
"The rumors that Wu Shi could replace one of our drivers next season," Bono said plainly.
Toto stared at him for a long moment.
"Didn't we already go over this?" he said firmly.
"No one — absolutely no one — can take pole position after a single practice session without prior Formula 1 experience. Does that really need to be explained?"
"What about Wu Shi's adaptability?" Bono pressed.
"It's exceptional," Toto admitted. "But fulfilling that agreement is impossible."
"And if he trained extensively on the simulator beforehand?" Bono asked quietly.
Toto frowned, his posture stiffening.
"Simulator?" he asked slowly. "Who gave him access?"
Bono smiled faintly.
"Looks like you're starting to worry too."
He didn't answer the question.
"As a member of this team," Bono continued, "I've done everything I can."
With that, he turned and left.
Toto remained seated, documents forgotten, brow deeply furrowed.
For the first time, doubt crept into his certainty.
And the room felt strangely empty.