Chapter 196: Post-Race
By the time Wu Shi guided his car back into parc fermé, most of the other drivers had already completed post-race checks.
He parked, stepped out, passed through scrutineering and the weigh-in, and received congratulations from almost everyone he met along the way.
As he walked past the line of hostesses, many greeted him in his native language.
"Congratulations, Wu Shi!"
He waved back, then jogged into the drivers' lounge.
Hamilton was running his hands through his hair, still buzzing with adrenaline. There was no conversation between him and Rosberg, but the smile on Hamilton's face made his mood obvious.
"Hey, congratulations, kid. Podium at your home Grand Prix how does that feel?"
Hamilton walked over and offered a high-five.
"Feels great," Wu Shi smiled and returned it.
"And congratulations to you too first driver to win back-to-back at Shanghai."
"Hahaha, that one's worth celebrating."
Rosberg came over as well and shook Wu Shi's hand.
"Congrats. Today wasn't easy at all. I didn't expect you'd be able to keep Vettel behind you the whole time."
"Everyone was struggling with tyres. There wasn't much room to play with strategy," Wu Shi replied honestly.
Because Wu Shi arrived last, the podium outside had already been prepared.
He took a few quick sips of water, fixed his hair, put on his cap, and then heard the announcer's voice from outside.
"Let's welcome the third-place finisher of today's race Wu Shi!"
A tidal wave of cheers surged the moment he stepped out.
The roar was so loud it even surprised Hamilton and Rosberg when they followed him onto the podium.
Behind them, three national flags appeared on the big screen — from left to right: Germany, Great Britain, and China.
Unfortunately, the anthem played was still "God Save the Queen."
But as David had said, once Wu Shi stood on this podium, Chinese fans could finally begin to dream of hearing their own anthem here.
After the anthem, Zhao Wen, Vice Mayor of Shanghai and Director of the Chinese Grand Prix Organizing Committee, presented the winner's trophy to Hamilton.
Then Zhan Guojun, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Federation, awarded Rosberg the runner-up trophy.
By regulation, he should also have presented third place but home podiums sometimes come with ceremonial adjustments.
Mayor Zhao personally handed the third-place trophy to Wu Shi.
Wu Shi quickly bowed as he accepted it.
"Truly a young hero. Keep working hard," Mayor Zhao said warmly.
"Thank you. I will," Wu Shi replied earnestly.
He lifted the trophy toward the grandstands.
The circuit erupted again.
---
As soon as the ceremony ended, Hamilton grabbed a champagne bottle, already grinning.
The two Mercedes drivers quickly backed away from each other.
Thankfully, Hamilton wasn't going for an ambush he sprayed first toward the Mercedes crew below the podium, and Rosberg joined in.
Wu Shi shook his bottle… then took a sip.
And that was his mistake.
Both Mercedes drivers immediately turned and sprayed him head to toe.
"Hahaha, now he can drink as much as he wants," Brother Bing laughed from the broadcast booth.
---
Next came the official post-race interview, conducted by a Fox Sports reporter.
He shook Hamilton's hand first.
"Congratulations, Lewis."
Hamilton smiled broadly and waved to the crowd.
"Hello!"
A decade of loyal fans responded with thunderous applause.
"Thank you!"
Hamilton added with another wave.
The reporter continued:
"This was another controlled victory. What was the key today?"
"First of all, the team gave me a fantastic car," Hamilton replied the textbook answer.
Wu Shi listened quietly beside him.
Then the reporter asked:
"You just greeted the crowd in Chinese, which surprised a lot of fans. Did someone teach you?"
Hamilton paused for a split second, then suddenly pulled Wu Shi closer.
"As you can see, I've got a very talented young Chinese driver standing next to me.
We became friends a long time ago, and I learned a few Chinese phrases thanks to him."
Wu Shi froze for half a second.
Good grief… this guy really knows how to work a crowd.
Still, since their relationship was genuinely good, Wu Shi cooperated and waved.
The cheers only grew louder.
The reporter nodded, wrapped up Hamilton's segment, then turned to Rosberg.
"You finished second today. How are you feeling right now?"
"Honestly, second still feels frustrating," Rosberg answered bluntly.
While the interview continued, Hamilton leaned toward Wu Shi.
"Did you manage to close on Nico near the end?"
"Too hard. Even though I felt like you were managing the pace, the car difference was still too big," Wu Shi shrugged.
Williams were already the third-fastest team.
Holding off Ferrari alone had been difficult enough.
"You might've had a shot with a one-stop strategy."
"No way. Those tyres wouldn't survive. But Jonathan said Nico was complaining you were backing him up?"
"Team wants us to manage. We're protecting the Constructors' lead.
If he gets annoyed on the radio, that's his problem," Hamilton joked.
"If you don't want complaints, don't put pressure on him."
"How could I not? If I don't push him, Vettel pushes me," Wu Shi laughed.
"I didn't exactly have a choice."
To outsiders it looked calm, but tyre management alone had drained nearly all his concentration.
If he'd relaxed even slightly, he'd have ended up like Massa twenty seconds adrift, completely detached from the front group.
---
Soon the reporter turned to Wu Shi.
Before he even spoke, the crowd erupted again.
"Congratulations, Wu Shi. It's a shame I don't speak Chinese otherwise I think that's what everyone would want to hear today."
"Thank you," Wu Shi shook his hand.
"You've finished on the podium again, and if I'm not mistaken, you should now be second in the championship standings.
An incredible achievement — especially here at your home Grand Prix. How do you feel right now?"
Wu Shi opened his mouth.
Before he could finish a single syllable, cheers drowned everything out again.
He waited patiently, then answered in English first as required by FIA protocol.
After that, he switched to Chinese and repeated his answer:
"I feel really, really good right now.
To achieve such a result at my first home Grand Prix is incredibly special to me.
"On track, I could feel the energy of the fans, and that kind of support is priceless for any driver.
"Today was mainly difficult because of tyre management. I spent a lot of energy controlling degradation.
With the performance gap to Mercedes, there wasn't much I could do to attack but I held my position, and I think that's important.
"The team and I are very satisfied with this result.
They prepared so much for me, and I'm very grateful to everyone back at the factory and here at the circuit.
"And finally, I want to thank all the fans here today.
I heard your cheers. I felt your support.
Thank you all truly, thank you."
He bowed deeply toward the grandstands.
The noise that followed felt like the circuit itself was shaking.
The reporter covered his earpiece, looking astonished.
"Yes… I think anyone with fans like this would feel exactly the same.
It's been an honor to witness this moment with everyone.
Congratulations again, Wu Shi."
"Thank you."
---
Aftermath
The third Grand Prix of the season ended with immense attention.
First came criticism of circuit operations.
Verstappen's car had stopped right beside the pit-lane opening.
If the barrier had been opened immediately, the car could have been cleared in under a minute.
Instead, it took three full laps.
That directly erased Räikkönen's chance to attack Vettel.
Without the Safety Car, the closing Ferrari battle might have delivered a dramatic finish.
Then came Rosberg's radio frustration.
He accused Hamilton of deliberately controlling the pace, making the team's one-two finish unnecessarily risky, and repeated those comments in the press conference.
Many fans argued that if Wu Shi had been driving a Ferrari behind Rosberg, a spectacular chase might actually have happened.
Wu Shi himself disliked such hypotheticals.
Mercedes' W06, aside from struggling slightly in extreme heat at Sepang, was terrifyingly dominant.
In Formula One, a half-second per lap is already a massive gap.
Rosberg's real frustration was simple:
he couldn't catch Hamilton.
If he could, he wouldn't be complaining.
Niki Lauda quickly stepped in to defend Hamilton.
Every driver fights for every point, especially when the championship is at stake.
Using pace control to protect your position even against your teammate is entirely reasonable.
Most importantly, Lauda said bluntly:
"Any driver in that position would do the same."
Wu Shi agreed completely.
Friendship doesn't exist once the visor comes down.
Otherwise, why race at all?
---
But the biggest discussion, inevitably, centered on Wu Shi.
Compared with fellow rookies Verstappen and Sainz — both impressive in their own right — Wu Shi was simply on another level.
After Shanghai, his total points had surpassed Vettel's.
Second in the championship.
Driving neither the fastest car, nor even the second fastest.
Yet sitting second overall.
The consensus was simple:
Wu Shi was terrifyingly consistent.
No rookie mistakes.
No wild fluctuations.
Every lap measured. Every stint controlled.
Foreign media began comparing him directly to Hamilton's rookie season.
Some even claimed that, considering the relative strength of the cars, Wu Shi's performance so far surpassed Hamilton's debut year.
When teammates exist for comparison, it becomes very clear:
If you're fighting your teammate, the car is strong.
If you're fighting rivals from other teams, the driver is strong.
At this moment, Wu Shi clearly belonged to the second category.
---
In China, the discussions were less technical, but no less passionate.
Most people were talking about momentum, about potential, about whether this teenager could one day become a world champion.
Just the idea was intoxicating.
F1's popularity in China exploded again.
New fans poured in, and veteran fans began explaining everything from tyre compounds to parc fermé rules to why refueling no longer existed.
---
Wu Shi, of course, saw none of this.
Practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix would begin on April 17.
Back-to-back races meant no real rest.
He barely had time to stay in China before flying straight to the Williams factory.
Car development depended heavily on driver feedback.
Even more critical was circuit-specific setup work.
Every track demanded different aerodynamic balance, suspension geometry, and tyre usage strategies.
In just four days, Wu Shi and Massa were already buried in simulator runs and physical training.
Wu Shi was especially exhausted.
He still had to increase his physical workload — neck, core, reaction drills — everything.
---
On Thursday at noon, during a brief break, Wu Shi sighed:
"Why is Mercedes so fast?"
Massa took a sip of his recovery drink and shook his head.
"Without massive investment, you can't build a monster like that.
What we can do… is already the limit.
No — what you can do is already beyond the limit."
He patted Wu Shi's shoulder.
"I'm not someone who gives up easily. But next to you, all I feel is admiration."
Wu Shi felt awkward.
That wasn't what he meant at all.
He genuinely couldn't understand how Mercedes could be that fast.
Sepang had briefly made people think Mercedes was struggling.
But it was simply extreme heat sensitivity.
If they had split strategies there, Vettel and Wu Shi wouldn't have stood a chance.
Of course, Formula One has no 'ifs'.
Car, driver, strategy, timing, luck every link matters.
"I just feel… if we could be faster"
"Kid," Massa interrupted gently,
"not everyone enters F1 straight into the fastest car.
You joining a top midfield team is already fortunate."
Wu Shi wasn't fully convinced.
He had once been close to sitting in a Mercedes cockpit — strange circumstances had derailed it.
"Yeah… let's just focus on the next race. Thinking about hypotheticals won't improve lap times," Wu Shi said.
They stood and headed back toward the engineers.
Just then, Jonathan called out:
"Wu Shi, come here."
Wu Shi walked over and saw dense data models filling the screen.
"Lap-time prediction, tyre degradation… why are there two different datasets?"
"They're simulations based on two of your driving modes," Jonathan said.
"Different driving modes?"
"Yes. When you're fully locked in, your driving becomes almost robotic — precise, repeatable, minimal variance."
Wu Shi scratched his head.
When he was fully focused, his mind really did operate like that — steering angles, brake pressure, throttle inputs, all calculated almost subconsciously.
"Can you control which mode you're in?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes," Wu Shi nodded. There was no reason to hide it.
Jonathan's eyes lit up.
"Excellent. Then we have a lot of things we can work with."