Chapter 43 The Podium
The Sarno race concluded successfully amidst the roar of go-karts.
After the podium was prepared, an exciting announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Next up, please welcome our mini-group competitors! They are Herbert Veric, the bronze medalist from Romania; and Dionysius Marco, the silver medalist from Italy."
After the host finished speaking, cheers and applause erupted from the audience, and two children dressed in racing suits walked onto the stage.
What's puzzling is that third-place finisher Herbert Verick was all smiles and extremely excited to be on the podium, while the runner-up looked unhappy.
"Next, please welcome our champion, a driver from China, Wu Shi!"
"Whoa whoa whoa!!!!" Seth cheered with the mechanics and the rest of the team from the sidelines, waving a team flag that had been prepared in advance and had the team's name printed on it.
This scene was naturally captured by the cameras, and viewers watching the live broadcast also noticed that the team had a champion driver from China.
Wu Shi walked from behind the stage to the front of the podium and climbed the highest step.
Cheers erupted again from the sidelines, and he waved to the team's cheerleaders.
Next, three national flags were hung behind the three people.
Wu Shi turned around and looked at whether the small stars on the national flag all pointed to the large star in the middle. This feature is easily overlooked by outsiders. It seems that Zhou Guanyu had encountered such a thing.
Fortunately, although Seth was only the boss of a small team, it was still easy for him to handle this matter.
Then, the familiar melody began to play, and the scene quieted down.
Wu Shi smiled. If there was anything he enjoyed more than the competition, it was this moment.
After the music ended, the host congratulated the participants again and then announced the results for the KF2 group.
As he stepped off the podium, the team members all came over.
"How does it feel to win the championship?" Seth asked.
"Of course it's great!"
"Hahaha, you didn't get the national flag and national anthem wrong, did you?" Seth laughed heartily.
"Yes, no." Wu Shi nodded.
"Let's all get together tonight, shall we?"
"certainly!"
Wu Shi's championship win thrilled all the team members, even those who were slightly in competition with him.
After all, the gap is too big, so jealousy is no longer an issue; secondly, the more dazzling Wu Shi's performance, the better the team will develop, and as a signed driver, he will naturally benefit.
"Congratulations, congratulations!" Louise skipped over and opened her arms.
"Thank you for the congratulations, Louise~" Wu Shi generously hugged the girl who accompanied him to the competition every week.
"Wu Shi, I don't mean to break this wonderful atmosphere, but every proud young man needs an adult to remind him to be prudent in his actions. On the field, what is needed is not just one victory, but one victory after another, continuous and sustained victories to defend honor."
"Next, I will talk to Seth and ask him to find a way to ensure your practice time on weekends and to bring in a good coach to continue teaching you," Martina said as she stepped forward.
"Yes, I understand. There is an old Chinese saying, 'Pride comes before a fall.' The more complacent you are, the more you need to carefully control your emotions. A temporary victory does not prove anything. Only by standing firm to the end can you win everything."
"My goal has always been F1! I've only just begun my journey."
Wu Shi released Louise and said seriously that his goal was actually the F1 world championship, but saying it so early would only make people think he was out of his mind.
There's a saying in the racing world that before entering F1, every driver is Schumacher of their own class.
While F1 drivers may not all be among the top twenty or so drivers in the world, the top drivers are certainly among those twenty or so.
Every era has its leaders.
From the legendary Fangio of the past, to the racing legend Senna and the racing king Schumacher, to Kimi, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton, and the future defending champion Verstappen who are still racing on the track today.
Their brilliance was undeniable, and Wu Shi's idea was simple: he wanted to be like them, or even more brilliant.
He was diligent in his past life, and he will be so in this one!
Sensing the sharp edge in the child before her, Martina smiled and said, "Then, strive for your dreams!"
"Strive for your dreams! Louise will always cheer you on!" Louise shouted.
"Um!"
Wu Shi nodded emphatically as he looked at the distant sky, which was blue and vast.
After the Sarno round, life returned to normal until May 6th, when the second round of the ACI Karting Championship, Jesolo, kicked off.
The track is 1045 meters long, which is relatively short. The overall shape resembles a hand grasping something.
Because it is located in northeastern Italie, near Venice and quite far from Sarno, the CD SPEED team always has to arrive a day in advance.
Originally, the team did not plan to go to practice extensively, but Seth insisted on going to practice before the race so that Wu Shi could familiarize himself with the track as soon as possible.
Seth has 100% control over the team, so no one can overturn his decisions.
The team members had no choice but to work hard for this, but the drivers were quite happy.
The team's financial situation is average, and traveling to various tracks not only means renting tracks for practice, but also means shipping a lot of stuff by express, which is quite expensive. They never had the opportunity to practice at the track in advance before.
Wu Shi didn't have any particular thoughts, since Formigine was only about 200 kilometers away, a drive of at most three hours, much more convenient than going to Sarno.
The day before the start of the competition, after completing the testing and practice races, Wu Shi returned to his hotel to rest. He happened to see a sports channel on TV promoting the ACI Karting Championship.
He's planning to be transferred directly and doesn't want to see any of this.
"Let's see what he says." Louise snatched the remote control.
Host: "The second round of this year's ACI Karting Championship will be held tomorrow in Pista Azzurra - Jesolo. What do you think will be the highlights of this competition?"
Guest: "Well, I think there are some really outstanding players in several categories. First of all, there was a dark horse from China in Sarno who won the championship in his mini category with an absolute advantage, which is unbelievable."
Host: "Oh, I've heard of this driver too. As far as I know, his team is based in Sarno for a long time, and his excellent performance must be related to that. But coming to Jessouge, things may not go as he wishes. It's an unfamiliar track for him, even though he practiced before the race."
Guest: "He only arrived in Italie this February, so he definitely didn't have time to practice at the Jessoolo circuit before that. But then again, he didn't practice at the Sarno circuit much either, did he?"
Host: "This is different. After all, he joined a resident team and can get a lot of support from the team. I think that's the main reason he was able to achieve this result. I think this incredible victory of the Chinese driver may only happen in Sarno."
"Hey! How could he belittle you like that!" Louise flashed her fangs at the host, clearly displeased.
"I wanted to change the channel but you wouldn't let me. Pre-match interviews are meant to stir up topics, so everyone will definitely have their own version of events," Wu Shi said.
"Can you beat them the day after tomorrow?" Louise asked, turning her head.
"If nothing unexpected happens."