Chapter 79 "Skipping Grades"
Montezemolo took a deep drag on his cigarette, tossed the report onto the table, and looked somewhat weary through the swirling smoke.
Recently, the conflict and division between the LaFerrari brand and its parent group have become increasingly serious.
From a businessman's perspective, he wanted to expand LaFerrari and increase profits, but there was great internal resistance. Most of the older generation insisted on making LaFerrari a small, exquisite, and high-end brand and did not allow him to expand production in any way.
This conflict is a clash of ideas, and it is the most difficult to resolve.
He flicked the ash from his cigarette and tapped the butt repeatedly with his index finger.
After a long while, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, picked up his pen, and wrote the words "skipped a grade" in his notebook.
He pursues business efficiency, so he will inevitably lead Lafayette through reforms, but how to break the deadlock is a big problem.
If we put this child in early and he achieves outstanding results, could we use that to entice another faction and thus fight against the stubborn conservatives?
This arrangement might have some effect, at least it's better than doing nothing, but the final outcome depends on the situation of F3.
Amid cheers of victory, Wu Shi stepped down from the podium.
Since it wasn't a tournament, the awards ceremony wasn't very formal; it was more of a formality, since this series was originally ostensibly a practice tournament.
He returned to the changing room behind the P room and saw Pan Zi standing in the corridor with a serious expression.
"You got scolded?"
"Well, I didn't perform very well at the last minute," Pan Zi said casually, without any expression.
"Then what?"
"He told me to stop competing and go straight back to the Netherlands."
"You definitely won't go back."
"Of course." Pan Zi nodded.
Wu Shi patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm going to change my clothes first. We're going to have American barbecue tonight."
"I'd like to try it too," Panzi nodded.
Back in the changing room, I had just unzipped my racing suit and hadn't even taken it off when the phone in the locker rang.
Wu Shi picked up his phone, glanced at it, and saw it was Louise's.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Can't I make a phone call if there's nothing wrong?" Louise's delicate voice came through.
"Oh, nothing else, then I'll hang up."
"Stop, stop, stop! Something's up! The competition's over, right? How were the results?"
An urgent voice came through the microphone, and Wu Shi laughed: "Of course we won everything!"
"Hehe, when are you going back to Europe? I feel like you've been gone for ages."
"Probably by the end of next month."
"Okay, I'll take you on a trip then. I recently discovered a very beautiful lake, like a clear, emerald-green gem. When the boat floats on it, it feels like we're floating in mid-air."
Wu Shi listened quietly to Louise speak, and she spoke for a long time before she finished.
"Okay, I'll go play when I get back."
"Hey, I even saved some money this time, so I don't need to ask Mom for any more, and she won't stop us from going on the trip!"
Louise was very excited and talked for a long time before hanging up the phone.
Wu Shi put down his phone, continued to pull off his racing suit, took off his inner clothes, and went to the shower to wash off the sweat. He looked at himself in the mirror.
I've been living abroad for six years now, and my once youthful face has become more mature, still retaining a touch of childishness.
My father has been promoted one after another, and I heard that he'll be aiming for the position of president of the Asia-Pacific region in a couple more steps. But now is also the busiest time of his life.
He was so busy with social engagements that he was almost never home, let alone travel to Europe to visit him.
However, every year during the Lunar New Year, he would return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors, allowing him to experience the atmosphere of China again after a long absence.
Splash!
The sound of water drowned out my thoughts, while time continued its relentless flow.
The Florida Winter Series has a very tight schedule, starting on February 3rd at the Palm Beach International Circuit in Jupiter, where three races, R4-R6, will be held.
The same practice matches, qualifying matches, and main races.
While Wu Shi performed consistently, he couldn't overshadow the brilliance of the others.
Antonio Foco maintained his excellent lap times, starting second in R4 and ultimately finishing third, while Latifi also secured second place in R5.
In R6, Wu Shi's car experienced some engine problems, so he opted to protect the engine and retired from the race, allowing Verstappen to secure the victory.
The next six races will all be held at Homestead Miami Circuit, but the two races will use different track routes, thus forming different races.
The former is more difficult, but not more difficult than the tracks in the first two races. So the tracks in the latter two races are more for drivers to practice driving F3.
Wu Shi maintained his lead in the slightly more difficult R7-R9 races, but in R10-R12, various unexpected events occurred on the track, coupled with the extremely difficult course to surpass, which prevented him from achieving a complete victory.
However, Wu Shi has already shone brightly throughout the entire series.
So dazzling that when R12 ended, in addition to a large number of local American journalists, there were also many journalists who had come from Europe, including several local media outlets from Italy.
"Hi, Wu Shi, it's a pleasure to interview you here. You won a total of nine games in the recently concluded series. If it weren't for some unexpected events, you might have dominated the entire series."
"We know that you were so dominant in go-karting, seemingly on a completely different level from your competitors. I'd like to ask you, how did you manage to demonstrate such extensive driving experience and skills at such a young age?"
Wu Shi straightened his baseball cap, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Maybe it's because I started racing cars from the moment I was born? So even though I look younger than them, I've actually been racing for five or six years longer."
The reporter laughed after hearing this and continued the interview: "Haha, that's a really humorous answer. We know that achieving such a victory is unprecedented. Even though this series is not a tournament, it still demonstrates your ultimate strength."
"As far as we know, several F3 teams are currently in contact with you. We don't know what your plans are at the moment."
Faced with this question, Wu Shi glanced back at him, and Sid nodded to him, indicating that the plan remained unchanged. So he stopped hiding his intentions and said, "I plan to join the Van Amersford team and participate in this year's Europa F3."
"Wow, that's quite an unexpected situation. With your current talent, you could be on a better team." The reporter was quite surprised.
"Yes, but this isn't F1. So-called better teams don't necessarily have much of an advantage over the cars themselves. Besides, if I were driving a better car, I think I would find it quite boring," Wu Shi replied.
"You made a very confident statement, and you certainly have the ability. So, one last question: as a Chinese person, why don't you participate in the F3 races in the Asia-Pacific region?" the reporter asked.
"If I have time in November, I wouldn't mind participating in the Grand Prix." Wu Shi did not directly answer this obviously tricky question.
Following that, the other reporters asked a series of questions.
Considering that this was the time when fame was most needed, Wu Shi did not refuse and answered all the questions he could.
The following day, his story was featured in major sports and motorsports sections of Europa and America.