The Williams team was thoroughly exhilarated!
Even though everyone had witnessed Wu Shi’s stability during the winter testing, today, the youngest driver in the paddock had demonstrated much more than just consistency. He had also unleashed an incredibly fierce aggressiveness!
Wu Shi spotted Rosberg. The German driver seemed lackluster as he greeted his team, not even bothering to lift his visor.
After the weigh-in, the three of them headed up to the second floor. In the cooldown room behind the podium, Hamilton handed the second-place cap to Wu Shi.
"Wu Shi, I really didn’t expect you to be the one behind me."
"Haha, but I knew you’d be the one in front," Wu Shi chuckled, taking the cap and putting it on.
"On March 18, 2007, right here, I drove for McLaren and finished third," Hamilton said, the underlying meaning self-evident.
"Just a stroke of luck today," Wu Shi said humbly, earning a pat on the back from Hamilton.
On the other side, Rosberg kept running his hands backward through his hair. At that moment, a staff member signaled them to the podium. As the third-place finisher, Rosberg walked out first.
A massive crowd had already gathered below, with a barrage of cameras and microphones aimed straight at this small, few-square-meter platform. Over three hundred kilometers and an hour and a half of racing—all for the chance to stand right here.
Stepping onto the podium, Rosberg managed to put on a professional smile. He waved to the crowd and adjusted his cap. The commentator introduced the German driver, and applause erupted from below.
"Next, in second place, Wu Shi!"
Wu Shi didn’t have much desire to show off. He walked out slowly to another round of applause and took his place on the number two step near the exit.
"And taking the victory is Lewis Hamilton!"
Hamilton emerged with a beaming smile, practically skipping as he ran out. After stepping onto the highest platform in the center, he shook hands with Wu Shi beside him, completely ignoring Rosberg. Right now, it looked as if Rosberg was being given the cold shoulder by the two of them.
In truth, Wu Shi wanted to greet Rosberg. The German left a fairly good impression on him, but unfortunately, it clearly wasn’t the right time for pleasantries. Not everyone could easily cast aside the fierce, competitive emotions of a race the moment they stepped out of the car.
Once Hamilton took his position, the anthem "Queen Victoria" began playing immediately, catching them off guard. The three men on the podium removed their caps simultaneously. On the electronic screen behind them, displayed from left to right, were the Five-Star Red Flag, the Union Jack, and the Black-Red-Yellow Flag.
Wu Shi listened quietly to the music with his eyes slightly narrowed, while Hamilton beside him kept waving in all directions, fidgeting quite a bit. Like Wu Shi, Rosberg stood perfectly still, his thoughts unreadable.
Suddenly, Wu Shi spotted someone in the massive crowd waving a gigantic red flag. He waved in that direction, acknowledging them with a smile. The broadcast director was very perceptive, and the camera immediately panned over to catch the moment. Against the backdrop of "Queen Victoria," a lone red flag fluttered.
Once the national anthems concluded, the trophy presentation began.
The trophy in Australia this year was a large circular plate with a gleaming silver center. The champion’s trophy featured three distinct bumps on its shiny surface, looking somewhat like the Mercedes-Benz Trident.
Presenting the award to Wu Shi was the three-time world champion, Sir Jackie Stewart. The jovial older gentleman handed the medal over with a bright smile. This man was a living legend. Back when Grandpa Jackie was racing, F1 was brutally savage, and fatal accidents were a common occurrence.
As the ceremony concluded, the champagne celebration commenced.
After spraying champagne directly into Wu Shi’s face for a while, Hamilton suddenly burst into laughter. "You aren’t even of legal age yet! Doing this might make you accidentally drink some. I’m so sorry."
"Hahaha, then go spray the rest of them!" Wu Shi laughed. This was always a funny quirk about foreign countries—they were lax about other restricted substances but surprisingly strict when it came to alcohol. In all the races he had competed in growing up, the champagne provided had always been non-alcoholic.
Right after the champagne spraying ended, a sudden roar of cheers erupted from the crowd. Wu Shi listened closely and realized the post-race interviewer was none other than Schwarzenegger! When the towering man walked up, even Hamilton looked incredibly thrilled.
"You just took the victory in this race. How are you feeling?" Schwarzenegger asked.
"Yes! I feel fantastic, of course. The entire weekend has been absolutely incredible, both from the team and the car."
"I’ve interviewed many heavily muscled, burly men in the past—probably some of the strongest guys in the world. Yet today, I am interviewing the fastest men in the world. I wonder, what do you usually have to do to achieve this?" Schwarzenegger continued.
"As a racing driver..." Hamilton was quite composed during the interview, speaking steadily until the very end, when he added, "I’m a big fan of yours, too."
After letting out a hearty laugh, Schwarzenegger turned toward Wu Shi.
"Wow, I’m looking at a brand-new face here. This is likely the very first time a Hua Country person has stood on this podium. How are you feeling right now?" Schwarzenegger asked.
"I’m incredibly happy, of course. It’s a true honor to take second place, and this is the result of the hard work put in by both the team and myself," Wu Shi nodded as he spoke.
Schwarzenegger asked a couple more casual questions before turning to Rosberg.
"You took third place today, falling a bit short of your teammate. Will the two of you continue fighting for the championship this year?"
"Well, Hamilton has been brilliant all weekend, in both qualifying and the main race. I think my start had some issues, which triggered a domino effect of problems later on. Still, finishing third is pretty good."
Schwarzenegger didn’t press further. After all, a celebrity interview was different from a journalist’s; he wasn’t there to dig up dirt or create controversy. With the interviews concluded, the public-facing portion of the race officially came to an end.
Holding his very first trophy, Wu Shi returned to the team.
The moment he stepped back into the team’s pit lane, Claire walked up, gave him a warm hug, and said, "Your performance today truly astounded me. Now I know why my father wanted to sign you so badly, even knowing that you’ll very likely leave our team in the future."
"Thank you for the compliment. However, I think I also owe you and the team an apology. I shouldn’t have been so impulsive out on the track." Wu Shi took the opportunity to address the elephant in the room. Certain issues needed facing head-on. His autonomous decisions had brought the team an advantage this time, but what about the next?
Claire shook her head and said, "The sheer capability you’ve demonstrated makes me think we can grant you some special authority. However, I expect you to maintain solid communication with Jonathan. As long as you can do that, it’s fine."
Wu Shi nodded. Very often, things couldn’t be stated plainly over the team radio. If other teams found out, he would almost certainly be targeted, so they had to prepare a set of coded signals. Just like Ferrari, who always loved to run things with a ’Plan A’ or ’Plan B.’
The team members began packing up their equipment and luggage.
Wu Shi changed out of his racing suit and walked out. He knew there would probably be more interviews later, but he could simply decline most of them. The major media outlets would contact Sid directly.
"Not bad at all," Verstappen walked over. The guy had suffered a stroke of bad luck today when his car’s engine encountered issues yet again.
"Speaking of which, I really have to thank you," Wu Shi patted Verstappen. This guy’s blocking maneuvers had been an absolutely crucial part of the race.
Verstappen shrugged and replied, "Rosberg was just too timid. If he had gone all out, he wouldn’t necessarily have failed to set a highly competitive pace. Running a three-stop strategy like you did was entirely feasible for him."
Wu Shi nodded in agreement. He couldn’t fathom why the Mercedes-Benz strategy team had chosen to use a single set of White Tyres to finish the remaining forty-plus laps of the race. Tire degradation was indeed low today, but such a decision was frankly a bit brainless.
"Some guys in our team analyzed it with me," Verstappen said.
"Analyzed what?"
"They were predicting your pace based on Massa. They figured the White Tyres were the safest bet, ensuring he wouldn’t encounter any unexpected surprises after exiting the pit lane," Verstappen explained.
"TSK." Wu Shi shook his head.
The decision-making process of strategy groups in top-tier F1 teams was vastly different from what ordinary people imagined. It wasn’t just a few guys sitting around crunching numbers; they relied on massive supercomputers to calculate tens of thousands of potential outcomes under various strategies, ultimately proceeding with the most optimal choice. Operations that seemed utterly laughable to many spectators were likely just instances where a low-probability event had unexpectedly occurred, effectively turning the team into clowns.
After chatting for a while longer, the two of them returned to their respective teams for the post-race debriefings.