Chapter 120: Returning Home
When Toto Wolff decided to sign a contract with Wu Shi, he had already considered every possible consequence.
Anyone who truly understood the situation would notice one thing:
by making the acquisition of the Mercedes F1 race seat a prerequisite—something nearly impossible for a Formula 3 driver—Toto was giving Niki Lauda face, while also showing respect and sincerity toward Wu Shi.
After all, what were the odds that a driver who had never driven an F1 car could produce immediate, top-tier results?
To most people, the clause looked like a joke.
In reality, the contract was designed only to give Wu Shi a single Free Practice outing in a Mercedes. The true intention was to later coordinate a seat transfer with Williams, who were also in need of young talent.
Even now—although a few sharp observers had realized the clause was impossible to meet—most people still believed whatever they wanted to believe. Rumours spread claiming that even if Wu Shi failed to meet the terms, Toto would "find a way around it" and sign him as a full-time Mercedes driver anyway.
The situation grew serious enough that Daimler's board summoned Toto for questioning.
He had to personally guarantee:
If Wu Shi did not meet the contractual terms, Mercedes would not give him a race seat.
The board was eventually satisfied, but the damage to internal team morale was real.
Most within Mercedes believed Hamilton and Rosberg were leagues above Wu Shi.
Hamilton's ability needed no explanation—and his win in Spain the day before had only added to his momentum.
Rosberg was also elite, and—most importantly—he was German.
And Mercedes-Benz was a German manufacturer.
Teams with a strong national identity always hoped for a "pure-blood" lineup.
Ferrari had historically gone as far as willingly creating internal chaos for such ideals.
So it was easy to imagine Rosberg's irreplaceable status inside the team.
Under growing public pressure, even Toto began to wonder whether he had made a mistake.
That was when Niki Lauda simply told him:
"Wu Shi may become the most dominant driver in the modern era. And he's still very young."
Toto understood immediately. Wu Shi's karting and F3 records were outrageous.
It was guaranteed that every team in the paddock had their eyes on the Chinese prodigy.
If that talent translated into F1, what kind of driver would emerge?
Toto thought of Michael Schumacher, the legend who helped Mercedes immensely during their early years back in F1.
At his peak, Schumacher could win championships in the second- or third-fastest car—the very definition of a generational driver.
Lauda's meaning was clear:
Wu Shi's ceiling was higher.
Which meant:
If Wu Shi wasn't driving for Mercedes, then even if Mercedes built the fastest car, they could still be beaten—by him.
And Wu Shi was young.
Very young.
He would have a decade-long prime ahead of him.
Mercedes couldn't stay dominant forever, but ten years from now, Wu Shi would be twenty-five—the perfect age.
The conclusion was obvious:
If Wu Shi reached his potential, Mercedes had to secure him early.
But… that all depended on whether he could translate his talent into F1 performance.
Toto suddenly remembered Lauda's suggestion: give the kid a shot. Let him run a practice session.
If he somehow produced a pole-position level lap in FP1—
He didn't even dare to imagine it.
Just the thought made his pulse rise.
So he brought out the real supplementary agreement.
Sid read through it.
Unlike the version in Spain, this one was simple and straightforward—reinforced confidentiality, liability for leaks, and clear provisions for the practice session opportunity.
"Can I sign this?" Sid asked.
"Of course." Toto exhaled deeply and nodded.
Returning to China
On May 15th, Wu Shi landed in Beijing.
After being away for so long, returning home felt surreal.
"The main goal this time is securing the USD 30 million sponsorship," Martina began as they walked out of the terminal. Her language module had switched to fluent Chinese.
"Interested companies include Tianyan Group, Longteng Technology Group, Beiben, and the Jili Group. All of them submitted generous proposals."
"Oh~ I remember a bit about that."
Tianyan Group had been in contact for a while, and their subsidiary Dayan Media had previously sponsored three million RMB.
Longteng Technology Group was where Wu Shi's father, Wu Zhenlin, worked. Their operations were broad, including two automotive-related divisions: intelligent vehicle solutions and parts manufacturing.
Beiben needed no introduction—jointly established by Daimler and Capital Auto. Their interest this time came from the rumour linking Wu Shi with a Mercedes F1 seat.
Jili Group was one of China's major automotive enterprises. Their 2010 acquisition of Volvo had signaled their ambition to expand globally.
Wu Shi's rising international presence had caught their attention—especially with their plans to launch a performance-focused sub-brand.
In the afternoon, they dropped their luggage at the hotel and headed to the Longteng Technology Group headquarters for the meeting.
Longteng was a manufacturing powerhouse—one of the most competitive Chinese tech-industry giants in recent years—and highly sought after by foreign investors.
Unfortunately for foreign capital, the company was not publicly listed.
It was Wu Shi's first visit to his father's workplace.
The Longteng Building sat on extremely valuable land in central Beijing.
"This building sits at the White Tiger position of the western axis… Metal, conflict, power—it matches Longteng's industrial spirit. But if it's all about White Tiger symbolism, why didn't they name the building after the tiger?" Wu Shi murmured.
"Huh?" Martina blinked, confused.
But the staff member escorting them chuckled.
"The young master knows his feng shui."
"Well, that massive porcelain mural on your ceiling kind of gives it away," Wu Shi said, grinning as he pointed at the enormous white tiger artwork above them.
He had always enjoyed esoteric symbolism.
They passed through the lobby, where intricate mechanical systems were displayed, then took the elevator to the 48th floor.
"We've arrived," the staff member said.
"Chairman Wu Zhenlin requested to avoid any conflict of interest, so Mr. An from our executive team will meet you shortly."