Chapter 52 - 16: Just Drive by Feel

Chapter 52: Chapter 16: Just Drive by Feel

If Wu Shi hadn’t held much expectation for the France Cadet Series before, seeing Verstappen suddenly reminded him of something: wasn’t Lock racing in this very championship this year?

This question didn’t trouble Wu Shi for long. Upon arriving at the first stop in France, he spotted the handsome young driver in the pit lane.

"What is it? Is your intuition telling you he’s really strong too?" Sid raised an eyebrow. This kid was simply too uncanny.

"Yeah, he’s pretty strong," Wu Shi nodded with a smile.

"Does he have a team right now?" Seth asked. He was considering recruiting the handsome lad. Previously, with a former F1 driver standing next to Verstappen, Seth hadn’t dared to harbor any ulterior motives. Now, seeing no big shots around Lock, he felt tempted.

"How should I know? But did you see that chubby guy over there? I think he used to be an F3 driver," Wu Shi replied.

"You even know that?" Seth clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I’ve watched their races," Wu Shi made up on the spot.

The casual remark did not go unnoticed. Sid and Seth exchanged another glance before Sid asked, "Did you happen to learn your skills just by watching videos of these veteran drivers?"

"Huh? How is that possible?" Wu Shi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The racing footage available on the internet was mostly fragmented and held absolutely no reference value.

The two adults burst into laughter. They had indeed overthought it.

"Aren’t you going to go over and say hi?" Seth asked.

"You can go if you want, Boss," Wu Shi shook his head. They were bound to meet sooner or later; there was no need to greet him prematurely.

The Cadet Series was essentially France’s karting academy championship, primarily aimed at junior drivers. As such, the karts used were quite similar to those in the Italy 60 Mini.

La Hague was still somewhat chilly in April. Mist shrouded Cotentin Mountain, indicating a high probability of rain for the next two days of racing.

"It would be great if it rained," Seth suddenly remarked, observing the weather.

"What do you mean?" Sid was confused.

"That way, Wu Shi will leave everyone in the dust! Let the people of France see how a genius driver from our Italy can conquer them!" Seth spoke in such a theatrical tone that an unknowing bystander might have thought he was trying to revive Rome.

"Regardless, you shouldn’t hope for rain. Wet conditions are always dangerous for drivers," Sid corrected him.

Wu Shi nodded, acknowledging the truth in those words. After all, he hadn’t achieved absolute perception with the kart he was using for this race—there were simply too many karts and not enough time to get it done.

The Hague karting circuit was shaped like a hook. Its overall difficulty wasn’t particularly high, which meant the gap between drivers wouldn’t be too wide.

Wu Shi had noticed this during practice, but there was no need to worry. A narrow gap only applied to drivers with similar skill levels. With his current abilities, he was more than capable of leaving these "kids" in the dust.

This was also why Wu Shi wanted to advance quickly. His skills simply didn’t belong in this age group; staying here only meant crushing amateurs.

Even against future top-tier drivers, he could still beat them consistently.

WHOOSH!

Finishing a lap, his time of just over 1 minute and 2 seconds placed him firmly at the top of the leaderboard.

"Who is that driver? I’ve never seen him before!"

"From Italy? Why is he racing here instead of staying in Italy?"

"He’s in the Cadet group, right? Don’t Cadet times usually hover around the 1:04 mark?"

Discussions quickly broke out in the paddock. Several team officials began contacting the race organizers to investigate the situation.

"Back in Italy, if only Raul had listened to my advice... sigh," Sid sighed as he observed the commotion around them.

"Heh, he’s getting old. His foresight and courage are no match for mine," Seth laughed heartily. Thanks to Wu Shi, the team was currently rising rapidly back home. Many parents had expressed their willingness to pay one and a half times the regular fee, provided their children could receive the same coaching as Wu Shi.

The same coaching as Wu Shi? Seth had been dumbfounded when he heard the parents’ requests. Did that mean they just wanted their kids to be left to their own devices?

Of course, Seth couldn’t actually do that. He had agreed to the parents’ requests in the contracts, collecting higher tuition fees, while his solution was to have Wu Shi impart some of his experience—for a price, naturally.

He secured pole position in qualifying without a hitch. By the time Wu Shi returned to the pit lane, people were already seeking him out.

He didn’t pay it much mind, redirecting them to Sid before heading off to rest on his own.

In the ensuing main race, Wu Shi maintained his usual standard and brought it home with a straightforward pole-to-win.

Lock’s performance at this stop wasn’t ideal; he finished in fourth place.

After the race, as Wu Shi stood on the podium, he noticed Lock staring at him with bright, watery eyes, wondering what the boy was thinking.

Wu Shi felt a degree of gratitude toward this former teammate from his past life. Under the subtle hints of team orders, Lock had always been willing to swap positions—provided, of course, that Wu Shi was significantly faster.

Similarly, when Lock was the faster one, Wu Shi hadn’t stubbornly defended his position either, complying with team orders to swap.

If he had joined Big Red Bull, things absolutely wouldn’t have been so harmonious. Out on the track, he and Verstappen would have definitely beaten each other to a pulp.

With the race in The Hague concluded, Wu Shi had to rush back to Italy for the KF5 championship. Returning to Salerno, which could be considered his home turf, he drove a fully perceived kart and smashed the previous track record by over a second.

This drew even more attention from major media outlets, leading to a flurry of reports and interviews.

Some asked if he possessed special kart-tuning techniques, while others wondered if knowing kung fu made him drive faster, and some even asked if he could use Qigong.

In short, the media outlets interviewing him for the first time refused to believe that a normal human could achieve such lap times.

Wu Shi didn’t enjoy giving interviews, but he had no choice; it was part of a driver’s job. Moreover, some of the larger media outlets had been specifically arranged by Sid.

In May, he traveled to Belgium for the second stop of the championship. Thanks to his deeper perception of the kart, he could now steadily pull away from Verstappen.

He effortlessly secured the championship at the second stop. As he walked down from the podium holding his trophy alongside Verstappen, Jos approached them.

Surprisingly, this time he didn’t start pressuring Verstappen. Instead, he asked Wu Shi, "Wu Shi, Turn 3 and Turn 6—how did you do that?"

Wu Shi blinked, thinking, "Mister, are you really asking for someone else’s secret that bluntly?"

So, he simply tossed back a reply, "Just drive by feel."

Clearly, Jos did not accept this answer. He turned to Verstappen and said sternly, "I’ve filmed those corners. Once the track is cleared, I’m going to stand right at that spot on the circuit, and you’ll start practicing!"

"Okay," Verstappen nodded without a single hint of displeasure.

"..."

Well, these two were truly a bizarre father-son duo. Just as one might think Jos wasn’t pressuring Verstappen, he turned around and immediately started doing exactly that. They were not to be messed with.