Chapter 148 - 70: CCTV Interview

Chapter 148: Chapter 70: CCTV Interview

Wu Shi glanced at the video. It had over four hundred thousand views, which was already quite a lot. However, what attracted the viewers was likely the uploader’s masterful editing skills, rather than the racing theme itself.

The uploader’s name was "Quiet Summer," and their avatar featured the pink-haired female lead from *Zero’s Familiar*. They hadn’t posted any videos before, so it seemed they were a new content creator.

He suspected he definitely knew this person. After all, many of the video records from 2007 had only been shot on Ling Kang’s equipment back then, or they were preserved in Zhi Shiwei’s archives. However, he didn’t obsess over finding out who it was. He simply liked the video and tipped some coins to show his support.

On July 2nd, Wu Zhenlin arrived in Modena, accompanied by CCTV staff.

Since they were here for an exclusive interview, they had rented an office well in advance. Wu Shi was unfamiliar with these people, so he could only respond to their words of praise or surprise with a polite smile.

"Hello, I’m CCTV host Sang Tong. I’ll be interviewing you shortly. I can see you’ve been through quite a few situations like this, so there’s no need to be nervous. Let’s just treat this as a casual chat, alright?"

The speaker was a slightly plump host. He had a darker complexion and wasn’t very tall, but he possessed handsome features.

"Yeah, I understand. It’s just... well, I haven’t prepared anything." Wu Shi gestured with his hands. After all, this was an official interview that would be broadcast back in his home country, so he felt it would be better to play it safe.

"Haha, I could prepare something for you if you need, but since this is an interview about you, it’s best to show your own thoughts. The audience back home needs to see the real you," Sang Tong said.

"Alright," Wu Shi nodded.

"Well, I’m in charge of *F1 Live Stream* and other programs back home, so you could say I’m quite knowledgeable about the racing field." Sang Tong paused, establishing his professionalism, before continuing. "If we trace things back, I watched Senna’s races when I was a teenager, and I also witnessed Schumacher’s rise. Watching him and Alonso fight for the championship back then really got my blood pumping! I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, I’d see Vettel’s rise too. But I’m afraid this year’s World Championship will fall into the hands of one of the two Mercedes-Benz drivers."

Wu Shi nodded as he listened. The people Sang Tong mentioned were absolutely legendary figures in the F1 world; compared to them, he was merely a junior.

"We noticed that the local media are all reporting that you might join Mercedes-Benz?"

At this question, Wu Shi’s head froze mid-nod. However, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. CCTV wouldn’t stoop so low as to trick him into slipping up; they were entirely different from the media in Europe that just wanted to stir up massive news!

Sang Tong, being a seasoned host, clearly understood the expression on Wu Shi’s face. He didn’t dwell on the topic and instead asked, "Regardless, we have seen your extraordinary performances in the karting field and F3 events. I’m very curious, what led you down the path of racing?"

Wu Shi pondered for a moment. The memory of his car crash in his previous life had begun to blur. Replacing it was the scene at the Peng City Extreme Speed Racing Circuit, where he had competed in a race against that little girl, Louise.

"Passion. I think everyone who goes down this path does so out of passion," Wu Shi replied.

"Why do you say that? In so many sports, a lot of athletes only decide to pursue a professional career after discovering they have a natural talent for it," Sang Tong inquired.

"Because without passion, it is impossible to understand the thrill of adrenaline surging wildly when speeding down a track. You can’t comprehend the thousands of dull, tedious practice laps driven just to gain a 0.01-second improvement. Even less can you understand the joy of maintaining stability on the brink of losing control, seeking tranquility amidst the roar of an engine, or finding a wide open road within a gap of just a few centimeters."

Listening to him, a smile blossomed on Sang Tong’s face. He hadn’t expected this young man, who had gone abroad at a young age, to possess the language proficiency necessary to express his inner thoughts so eloquently in Chinese.

"Along this journey, you must have encountered numerous difficulties, whether it be victories and defeats on the track, social interactions off the track, or financial crises. There must be stories worth sharing in all of this. Could you tell us about them?"

"Well, it’s always been..."

Wu Shi mainly focused on the financial challenges. Racing formulas was truly not something an ordinary family could afford. This was especially true as the FIA continuously changed the paddock rules, resulting in fewer and fewer drivers from common backgrounds entering the sport. Even Monaco’s Lock encountered two financial crises before making it to F1, nearly forcing him to give up his racing career altogether.

"Alright. Lastly, please allow me to bring the blessings of fans back home to you here in a foreign land. We hope that as you bravely conquer the track, you will also stay safe and sound."

"Thank you!" Wu Shi said sincerely.

Those who genuinely cared about a driver would always include the word "safe" in their wishes for a championship victory, because racing was truly an incredibly dangerous sport.

The CCTV interview was broadcast on the sports channel. After its promotion, it didn’t exactly break into the mainstream, but it certainly caused another surge of excitement among domestic racing fans. When Wu Shi later scrolled past that earlier montage video again, the comment section was already flooded with people using the CCTV interview to fire back at his haters. He merely smiled knowingly upon seeing this. To him, the domestic court of public opinion was too far away; he didn’t feel any tangible impact from it.

During the races in Russia in July, Wu Shi secured two championships. However, he had to retire from one race due to an oil pressure issue. This made him realize that many car problems could arise without any warning, and that many major issues were actually the result of tiny, accumulating problems. He, too, could sometimes misjudge a situation.

In the nearly half-month gap that followed, Martina unexpectedly gave Louise some time off, allowing the two of them to go on a trip together. Seeing Louise’s happy expression, Wu Shi couldn’t help but sigh. The education system here in Europe was just as fiercely competitive. Most people only saw their relaxed school schedules, but in reality, families with even a modicum of wealth invested heavily in their children’s upbringing. And when a family poured in the resources, the child could hardly relax.

This brief period of travel primarily involved visiting Venice and Bologna. The water city of Venice was, without a doubt, a city worth seeing, while Bologna was a culinary capital that Wu Shi had wanted to explore.

Time flew by. On August 2nd and 3rd, Wu Shi achieved three consecutive victories at the Red Bull Ring, bringing his total number of championships to twenty.

During the races at the Nurburgring on August 16th and 17th, Wu Shi once again secured three consecutive wins. With this, his agreement with Ferrari was fulfilled. According to the contract, Ferrari was required to provide him with an F1 seat for the following year. He, of course, had the option to refuse. The penalty for breaching the contract wasn’t even that severe, mainly because Montezemolo had never imagined Wu Shi could actually accomplish such a feat in the first place.

After August, the next race on the calendar wouldn’t start until October 10th.

At the Belgium Grand Prix on August 24th, while Rosberg was competing with Hamilton, his front wing scraped against Hamilton’s rear wheel, causing a blowout that forced Hamilton to retire from the race. After the race, Toto’s expression in front of the media cameras was exceptionally grim.

During this time, Verstappen also revealed to Wu Shi that Jos was in talks with Red Bull. Red Bull’s interest was quite strong, and Mercedes-Benz’s driver development program had also contacted Verstappen, hoping to sign the promising young driver. Although Verstappen claimed nothing was finalized, Wu Shi knew that the deal had definitely been sealed; it just hadn’t been announced publicly yet.

However, he kept his mouth shut. Instead, on September 7th, he traveled with Louise to Italy Monza to watch the F1 Grand Prix.