"Thanks, the outcome isn't decided yet, keep pushing!"
"Keep pushing!"
Seeing that Lin Yan didn't expose him, Reisner didn't mind. He smiled, bumped fists with Lin Yan, and returned to the pit lane.
At this moment, the gap in their points had widened to thirty-one. It wasn't that he had pulled away from Lin Yan by thirty-one points, but rather that Lin Yan's total points had surpassed his by thirty-one.
What did this mean? It meant he had no chance. A win in a single race only awarded thirty points. Even if Lin Yan crashed out and scored no points in this race, and he won the championship with thirty points, he would still be one point behind. This implied that the final destination of this year's world championship had already been decided at the end of the previous race.
As for Lin Yan's words about the outcome not being decided yet, they were merely polite remarks. The outcome had long been sealed; he was out of the running.
"Young Master, you're here!"
Upon arriving at the pit lane, Yan Xiaoqiang and Zhang Ningyu had arrived earlier than Lin Yan. Seeing Lin Yan arrive, they greeted him along with the staff. Lin Yan nodded slightly in response.
"Tomorrow, you two perform well and try to break the academy's records again."
Sitting in the simulator, Lin Yan said to Yan Xiaoqiang and Zhang Ningyu beside him. The final race of the year was always the best for setting records. Besides the battle for the annual championship, most drivers had no pressure regarding points, making it an opportunity for them to shine.
"Yes, Lin Shen, we will do our best."
Lin Yan's words were like a stimulant to Yan Xiaoqiang and the others. After nodding, they plunged back into training with renewed vigor.
In the office, Zhang Mingzhi was discussing matters with several Chinese reporters. These reporters were all from sports news media outlets under the Lin Corporation.
"Director Zhang, according to your prediction, the reason the race committee didn't crown the Young Master as champion in advance last race was because there's something to be announced in today's competition? Is that what you mean?"
The three reporters, two women and one man, along with Zhang Mingzhi, were gathered around a table. A good-looking young female reporter asked Zhang Mingzhi with some confusion, while the other two remained silent but clearly shared her bewilderment.
"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be like that. Based on my decades of work experience, the race committee wouldn't miss this point,"
Zhang Mingzhi pondered for a moment before speaking. He was also puzzled by this matter.
GP, besides deciding the world champion in the final race, had another special situation: early coronation.
Early coronation meant that after a certain race, if the driver in first place on the points standings had completely crushed the second-place driver in terms of points and number of race wins, they could be crowned champion on the spot, declaring the world championship's outcome. This was the case at the end of the previous race, where their Young Master was fully qualified for early coronation.
When Lin Yan crossed the finish line in the previous race, their Ducati team was already preparing to celebrate because Lin Yan had already secured the world championship title for the year.
With a thirty-one-point lead, no matter how Reisner performed in the final race, even if Lin Yan didn't participate, his championship status would not be shaken. This was called early coronation. However, just as Zhang Mingzhi expected the race committee to officially announce the world champion after the race, the committee remained silent, which was indeed unusual. This had caused an uproar among Chinese fans.
"Then what do you think the race committee will announce? This year's Laureus awards have already begun. If the Young Master had been crowned champion early in the last race, it would undoubtedly have increased his chances in the final selection. I don't quite understand the GP committee's intentions. Don't they want that award?"
The female reporter continued to ask, her tone slightly agitated, showing how concerned she was about Lin Yan's chances of being named Best Male Athlete.
In fact, this concern was quite normal, as the Lin Corporation had recently spent a considerable amount of money within the global sports journalism circle precisely for that award.
"Reporter Gu, you can rest assured about this. I can guarantee that the race committee also cares about this award. It's possible they want to combine everything for a big reveal. It's not impossible."
Seeing her agitation, Zhang Mingzhi quickly tried to calm her down. Their Young Master was handsome, wealthy, and had many adoring fans. It was likely that this reporter was one of his fans.
As for his statement, he was confident. Regardless of anything else, the race committee would not do anything that would harm the Young Master now, as they also wanted to contend for this award.
However, apart from the early coronation as world champion to boost momentum, he couldn't think of any other methods for the time being.
"If that's the case, then we can only try our best to compete. I hope the race committee doesn't disappoint us."
Upon saying this, the reporter named Gu seemed to want to say more, but after hesitating for a while, she sighed. She was indeed a fan of Lin Yan, but she was also Chinese. This was not just an honor in the sports world, but also a national honor.
Unfortunately, the initiative was always in the hands of others.
Hearing this, a slightly older female reporter patted her back in a comforting gesture. Her colleague was younger and still had some passionate sentiments, whereas they had long since become more resigned.
Years ago, when she was in her twenties and a rookie, she had flown to the Laureus awards ceremony and personally witnessed the heartache and helplessness of an Easterner trying to win that award.
At that time, she was an unknown sports channel reporter who had paid her own way. She had seen that athlete from afar. He was a famous Chinese badminton player who had won almost every award in the field of badminton, all the championships, and achieved the Grand Slam.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that even half of his achievements in badminton would still make him the greatest.
Yet, such a person, who held a near-dominant position in badminton, didn't even win a minor award at the Laureus. She had personally witnessed the awkwardness of having one's sport mentioned yet unrecognized by others.
The sport was niche, and the international community didn't know about it. That was why it was difficult for Easterners to win Laureus awards.
Meanwhile, mainstream sports were already dominated by Westerners. Racing, for example.
Now, with such a genius emerging, if he were to lose his chance to compete due to the committee's bias, the loss would be too great.
"Everyone, I know what you're worried about. I'll go and try to get some information from the race committee later."
Zhang Mingzhi promptly stepped in to stabilize morale. Among these three, the two women were not as crucial. The man who hadn't spoken was the most important. He was Zhang Jifei, a well-known Chinese sports reporter, quite famous across the globe. He had nominated Lin Yan and was also leveraging his connections.
Although he was part of the Lin family, if he saw that the chances of winning the award were slim, it was possible he might stop putting in effort midway, as it would be his own connections being exhausted.