F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 115 No Rumors in the Hunting Grounds
Insufficient rest will inevitably lead to a decline in a person's reaction ability; this is a physiological basis that cannot be changed.

In addition, the lights on and off at the start of the competition were so fast that Wu Shi didn't even have time to react at first.

His starting speed was slow, taking a full 0.191 seconds to react. This was visually reflected in the fact that the front of car number 32 appeared to move more slowly.

"Wu's reaction speed was obviously a bit slow. He veered right across the entire track in an attempt to hold onto his position!"

"Max is right behind Wu, and he's trying to overtake him on the outside of Turn 1!"

"Aokang has completely chosen the wrong route! He's been delayed!"

At the start, the three cars that qualified in the first minute and ten seconds were locked in a fierce battle.

Although Wu Shi's reaction time was about 0.03 seconds slower at the start, he managed to close the gap on the straightaway thanks to his superior control over his mount and skillful gear selection.

The three cars entered Turn 1 side by side. Verstappen's car had climbed to the outside line, trying to overtake, but he didn't have enough speed and failed to get ahead.

When they reached Turn 2, Wu Shi stayed close to the right sideline, firmly occupying the inside lane. He saw Verstappen trying to overtake him from the left.

Before Panzi could launch an attack, his speed slowed down as he entered the corner, allowing Aokang to squeeze in from behind. Aokang was also stubborn and braked very late, so they were about to collide if they weren't careful.

The three cars were on different routes, almost blocking the entire track.

Fortunately, all three were good drivers; otherwise, the risk of a collision here would have been quite high.

Susu!

After passing the slow-moving second bend, the three cars exited the bend along the same path, which directly led them to finally separate and stop crowding together.

"The top three positions remain unchanged, with Wu still in the lead, but Max is still looking for an opportunity to overtake. He must be very eager to do so!"

"However, overtaking is not allowed in certain areas of the track during the first lap, such as the grid area at the start. This rule is to prevent serious accidents."

The commentator had just finished explaining the special rules of the track when the camera focused on the cars behind Turn 2, where dust was billowing up, and soon two cars stopped at the corner could be seen.

"Oh! It's a pity that the rule doesn't seem to be working. The car in the shot is number nine, and its rear wing has fallen off! Mickey Gilbert is number nine!"

"That's Goddard up ahead. We can see his front wing is destroyed and his tail has completely fallen off!"

Fortunately, the two cars were ranked low, so there was no major crash. Only three or four cars further back had to slow down and go around them.

The yellow flag appeared just over twenty seconds into the race, which illustrates the high accident rate in street racing.

"I was worried about a safety car appearing, and yes! The safety car appeared, right on the first lap!" The commentator was amazing today, predicting the outcome right the moment he opened his mouth.

As Wu Shi turned a corner, he saw two people standing by the guardrail. They were both holding up yellow flags and safety signs as far to the outside as possible to remind the drivers.

Upon seeing the sign, he immediately slowed down.

When he returned to the starting point, a Renault safety car was already waiting, and he could only follow it on patrol.

"Wu, be careful, the safety car will lead for at least two laps, please be prepared." Ailan estimated the approximate time based on the track clearing situation.

"Received." Because the temperature was still quite low today, Wu Shi had to draw dragons left and right to increase the temperature of the fetus.

As the fourth lap approached, the safety car was removed. As it entered the pit lane, Wu Shi suddenly slammed on the brakes, slowing down the entire car formation.

When only one bend remained, he suddenly accelerated, turned directly through the apex, entered the straightaway, and sped up rapidly!
Verstappen and Ocon caught up very quickly from behind, giving him no chance to create distance and relentlessly transmitting pressure.

Wu Shi was not in good spirits. Even though it wasn't very hot, he felt sweating all over and his scalp was itchy all over.

He knew he was too agitated, but driving a race car was a good way to dispel that feeling, so he stopped thinking about anything else and focused all his attention on the track.

Alan TR: "Pay attention to maintaining your lap time."

On the eighth lap, the engineer gave a reminder through my headset.

Wu Shi TR: "copy."

Having maintained his lead, he was no longer in the commentators' focus; the real excitement lay in the battle between Ocon, Verstappen, and Lucas Orr behind him, with all the cameras following them.

In Spain, Sid arrived in Barcelona, ​​and with the work pass given to him by Mercedes, he quickly entered the P room.

The third training session had just begun, and the pit garage was extremely busy. Engineers were analyzing data, while mechanics were ready to adjust the race car and prepare and install the necessary parts in advance.

Therefore, almost no one in the P room paid attention to this stranger until Toto and Nikki saw him and started moving, which attracted everyone's attention.

Rosberg was discussing the tests that needed to be done during practice with his engineer, Tony Ross, when they noticed the situation and turned their attention to him.

"Who exactly started that rumor?" Rosberg first shifted the topic from the race to a recent, widely discussed, secret rumor within the team.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think Toto would do something so unwise. You and Hamilton have performed so well in the previous races, I can’t imagine why they would consider changing drivers.” Tony shook his head.

Rosberg remained silent; since the start of the season, Mercedes' cars had demonstrated near-terrifying dominance.

In the first four races, except for the opening race, the Australian Grand Prix, where the old man's car had to retire due to an engine failure that reduced his six-cylinder to five-cylinder, the two of them took first and second place in all the other races.

This performance not only demonstrates the car's power, but also the formidable strength of him and Hamilton, childhood friends.

Therefore, no matter how you look at it, Toto probably wouldn't think about replacing him.

“You and Hamilton have both shown tremendous ability. The rumors that someone will replace one of you in the 2015 season are probably false. Even if they were true, I can’t see the point of Toto doing so,” Tony continued.

"of course."

Rosberg nodded, watching Toto and Niki walk with the stranger to the back of the convoy.

He has been driving for the Mercedes team alongside Schumacher since Mercedes returned to F1 in 2010; to put it bluntly, he is one of the team's veterans.

So he wasn't as worried about the team's spots as Tony was. However, seeing that Toto and Nicky had to go to the meeting room with this stranger before even starting their practice match, he realized that the rumors within the team weren't unfounded.

It is common knowledge that there are no rumors in the hunting grounds.

(End of this chapter)