F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 102 Road Conditions are Good (3K)

After the interview, Wu Shi returned to the team for training ahead of schedule, while Xi De stayed behind to continue communicating with Zhi Shiwei.

“We sponsored Wu Shi during his go-karting days, and it’s truly something to celebrate that he has come this far.”

"Of course, the talent he displayed was unparalleled among his generation. No matter how good the driver was, he paled in comparison."

Sid and Big Eye Media have reached a preliminary agreement on a substantial sponsorship fee, enough to support him joining an F1 team.

Of course, such a large sum of money was not something Zhi Shiwei could decide on her own; she was relaying the leader's instructions.

According to Zhi Shiwei's private remarks, this initial result was achieved because Tianyan Group had the idea of ​​sponsoring the project.

However, since the matter was not yet settled, Wu Shi decided to ignore it for now and focus on performing well in every race.

The team flew to the Hogheimerlin Circuit in Germany at the end of April to transfer various supplies to the track.

Wu Zhenlin kept his promise and flew to Italia to have a meal with Wu Shi. It was a rare occasion for the four of them to be together.

After a brief reunion, they parted again in haste. Wu Zhenlin flew back to the Asia-Pacific region, while Wu Shi set off for Germany on May 1st.

Many rookies are not familiar with the Hogheimlin circuit because they have never driven it before.

Wu Shi, also a rising star, was viewed in the same way by the outside world.

On May 2nd, the drivers were able to enter the track, with two practice sessions scheduled for 1:40 PM and 2:25 PM respectively, followed by the first qualifying session at 6:35 PM.

Before the practice match began, reporters came to interview them, but Wu Shi and Verstappen deliberately avoided them and sat in the stands with a bottle of Red Bull each.

"Did you watch the Bahrain Grand Prix this year?" Verstappen suddenly asked.

"Yes, I watched it. The battle between Hamilton and Rosberg was very exciting."

Wu Shi licked his lips. The others didn't know, but he knew that the old man and the princess would be locked in a fierce battle for the next two years.

“They’ve been best friends since they were kids, back in the go-karting days,” Verstappen said.

Wu Shi paused for a moment, pursed his lips, and said, "F1 is a big melting pot; no one can avoid being tainted by it."

He shook the Red Bull can in his hand, feeling quite emotional. The racing circle is really small; he had known most of the F1 drivers of the same age since childhood.

Just like Wu Shi, Verstappen, Albon, Ocon, Leclerc, and others, their acquaintances existed as early as the go-karting era.

"I won't. The track is the track. On the track, I will only fight for victory. I will not show any leniency," Verstappen said in his usual deep, hoarse voice, as if it were a premonition or a declaration.

Wu Shi took a sip of his drink and nodded, saying, "Of course, courtesy on the track is a matter of seniority. Schumacher can yield to Vettel, but Hamilton and Rosberg cannot."

“Hahaha! That’s exactly what I think.” Verstappen reached out and shook hands with Wu Shi tightly.

Wu Shi certainly knew why Verstappen suddenly brought this up, because after the Bahrain Grand Prix, the rivalry between Hamilton and his teammate Rosberg had become increasingly intense and public.

It was recently revealed that Hamilton discovered the team provided Rosberg with their research files, and that in the final few laps of the battle, the team allowed Rosberg to activate another engine mode that was previously disabled.

This incident further strained their relationship.

As a spectator, Wu Shi only remembered the scene where the two threw their hats.

Thinking of this, he smiled. He and Pan Zi wouldn't do that.

Just like Pan Zi just said, there are no friends on the track, only drivers chasing victory.

So it's normal for some bad things to happen at that time; it's about competing for the championship, nothing shameful.

How many world champions have ever been clean and didn't resort to dirty tricks?
In the morning, the drivers walked along the track, measuring and getting a feel for it with their own feet.

The first practice match started promptly at 1:40 PM.

Wu Shi did not achieve a good result, even though he had an impression of the course. However, the year, weather, and course differences were significant.

In the first practice session, he focused on sensing the grip of the track at various points and understanding the situation when the vehicle was in contact with the track.

After 34 laps, he only managed a time of 1 minute 400 seconds, placing him sixth.

Verstappen, on the other hand, kept his speed even more hidden, running only 1 minute 34.807 seconds.

As for the other two teammates, it's unclear whether they hid or simply ran away.

The best time was achieved by Antonio Giovinazzi of JAWC① team with a time of 1 minute 34.019 seconds, while Ocon was slightly slower in second place.

"We'll speed things up a bit in the second race, and this year's pole position time should be around 1 minute and 32 seconds," Ai Lan said, handing the analyzed data to Wu Shi.

At 2:25, the second practice game began.

The lap times of each team began to improve, and some good results gradually emerged.

In the end, Antonio Giovinazzi still got the fastest lap time of 1 minute 33.135 seconds, with Wu Shi close behind, just ten-thousandths of a second slower.

When he returned to the repair area, Alan immediately asked, "How much spare capacity do you have?"

"Running it in 32 seconds shouldn't be a problem," Wu Shi said. "Okay, keep an eye on things during qualifying," Ai Lan nodded.

At 6:45 p.m., the first qualifying race began. Wu Shi naturally took to the track and, after two laps, successfully set a time of 1 minute 32.416 seconds on the third lap.

“Not bad, you’ve now reached number one,” Alan said in TR.

Wu Shi did not respond. He licked his lips, feeling that he had almost reached the limit of the race car. He wondered how the other teams were doing.

很快，艾兰就在TR里告知情况：“卢卡斯·奥尔1分32秒387、安东尼奥·乔维纳齐1分32秒505，目前你位于他们中间。”

"Copy, I'll run one more lap."

In F3 racing, pole position is extremely important, and historically, most champions have emerged from pole positions. Therefore, the strategy of each team is to obtain more pole positions.

"Wu just told the team that he wants to do one more lap, it seems he's determined to get pole position," the commentator said.

In that moment of distraction, Wu Shi had already completed the first timing segment, 0.107 seconds faster than before.

"In the first timeout, Wu broke his own record. It seems he's pushing himself to the limit! Let's wait and see if he can achieve another outstanding result!"

On high-speed tracks, Wu Shi's concentration is often even higher, because any negligence here will result in a loss of time.

He didn't even look at his timeout results, just kept sprinting forward.

Susu!

He broke through to a time of 1 minute 32.007 seconds on the seventh lap, jumping back to first place.

"Wow! Incredible! With Verstappen only setting a time of 1 minute 32.586 seconds, Wu was able to improve the lap time to this extent." The commentator exclaimed.

"The two riders from the Kalin team are using slipstream; their time could surpass it! What a pity, it seems the boost from slipstream isn't as effective as Wu's terrifying driving skills!"

In the first qualifying session, there weren't many teams using slipstreams, mainly because the track conditions were very poor. Moreover, the second qualifying session was more important than the first, as it would determine the starting grid for both races.

The second qualifying round began at noon the following day.

The team instructed the two teammates to slipstream Wu Shi and Verstappen in order to achieve better results.

In order to find a match, you need to patrol the track for several more laps.

On the third lap, Jules started to slipstream Verstappen, and his time was 1 minute 32.223 seconds, which was very good compared to his previous times. However, with slipstreaming being common, this time was not enough to crack the top ten.

Therefore, we need to continue trying for the next three laps.

Meanwhile, Gustavo adjusted his position, turned the hairpin bend, and entered the main straight.

"GO, come on!" America shouted, then floored the accelerator, and the race car sped away.

Wu Shi has just completed the turn. As long as he connects, he can catch the wake and pass through the long straight with less resistance, thereby improving his time by a fraction of a second.

As he straightened the car, he saw that the Gustavo's right wheel had taken a considerable amount of road scrape, leaving a trail of dust.

Wu Shi immediately shouted in TR: "Attention!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the reckless man's rear wheel slipped, the whole car spun rapidly, and rolled directly onto the gravel ground.

Now, let alone catching the tail current, if Wu Shi hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been hit by a fragment critical strike.

"Are you alright?" he asked in TR.

"OK, sorry." Gustavo's mood darkened.

He not only messed up his own ranked game, but he also messed up his teammates'.

Wu Shi didn't make any accusations and continued to complete his fifth lap.

"I need to set a lap time by lap six, because the tires will get worse as time goes on," he said.

"copy."

Faced with this unexpected situation, they can only rely on themselves from now on. Panzi and Jules have just improved their scores. Panzi is unlikely to help them catch up, and Jules is busy running his own ranked laps and doesn't have time to help.

After analyzing the situation, Alan immediately said in TR, "You need to get two valid scores, don't gamble on one lap!"

“目前最快圈是布罗姆奎斯特的1分31秒655，后面是维斯塔潘的1分32秒014，他们的第二快圈分别是1分32秒169和1分32秒198，在第二快圈中也刚好分列一二。

“如果你要取得第三场的杆位，那么第二快圈的成绩必须要超过1分32秒169，你能保持再跑两圈超过1分32秒169成绩的圈速吗？”

Wu Shi heard Alan's voice in his ear. It seemed that the team had given up on his chance to surpass Bromqvist's fastest lap and was going to fight for pole position in the third race.

He already had a plan in mind and asked in the TR, "What's the situation before my sixth lap?"

Alan TR: "Road conditions are good."

　①The full name is Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team. It's too long, so I'll use an abbreviation from now on. It's a British team. Note that it should be distinguished from Carlin team, which is also a British team.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)