F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 145 NO POWER!

Whether it was the staff in the on-site pit lane or the viewers in front of their televisions, everyone was consciously speculating about Singapore's pole position results this year.

Most people guessed the lap time in the same way as the two commentators from Six Star Sports. After they came to their conclusion, they were all somewhat surprised, and some even wondered, "Could this guy have actually achieved a pole position time in practice?"

毕竟吴轼的进步太恐怖了，从第一圈的1分51秒625到第十圈的1分49秒201，2秒4左右的进步，这看起来太不正常了。

"Is this guy really driving an F1 car for the first time?" Rosberg couldn't help but say in the Mercedes pit garage.

When the crew heard this, they all looked at him, and they all thought the same thing: this was simply unbelievable.

Tony's palms were sweating.

Toto's inner balance was wavering.

Sir Williams' eyes were shining.

Wu Shi, on the other hand, found that he couldn't run anymore; he was too damn tired!

After running only ten laps, he felt soreness in his neck, hands, and feet.

This is ultimately different from regular training; the best training is to throw a person into an F1 monocoque.

Fortunately, given the current wear of the tires, pushing them further wouldn't yield any results, so he started cruising and stabilized his lap time at around 1 minute and 51 seconds.

Based on his experience, he judged that the W05's cruising speed in the main race should be around this speed, and it might even be slower depending on the actual situation.

Over the next ten laps, he went over every detail of the track in his mind. He knew that once he went back and switched to supersoft tires, he wouldn't have many more chances, as those tires degraded very quickly.

Toto watched for a long time, then took off his headphones and looked at Niki Lauda beside him. The legendary driver, as if on cue, took off his headphones and said:
"If he accomplishes this miracle, you should thank me for interfering with the agreement back then."

"Haha." Toto laughed, then realized that it wasn't good to appear too happy, so he suppressed his smile, but it was hard to hide the corners of his mouth.

At this moment, everyone with extensive F1 racing experience realized that Wu Shi's terrifying talent was not limited to F3.

Look, it was the first time I got to drive an F1 car, and then I consistently improved my fastest lap every time.

The first time you get your hands on an F1 car, you can reach the cruising speed of the race and keep cruising lap after lap.
This is no joke, this isn't a first-time F1 driver!

Wu Zhenlin hurriedly ended his meeting, glanced at his watch, and realized it was too late to rush to Singapore. He could only return to his office and use the company's external network to find the live stream camera.

He wasn't really interested in racing and couldn't understand it, but luckily he was good at English and could listen to the commentary.

"This is the fifteenth lap. Wu Shi has been driving steadily for fifteen laps, and his time is very stable! It's unbelievable. His fastest lap has not been broken yet. The two Sauber drivers have switched to red supersoft tires."

"Oh! What a pity, Gutierrez returned to the pits with a time of 1 minute 52.171 seconds! Hey! We see Alonso has pitted, he, he's also switched to supersoft tires! Are they going to test their qualifying lap times?"

"It seems that Wu Shi's appearance has disrupted the plans of these teams. Because of the agreement with Mercedes, Wu Shi will definitely push hard. Now we just wait and see if this young and terrifying driver from China will bring any surprises to the entire paddock!"

Martina held Louise and leaned back in the boss's chair in the company.

"Mom, Wu Shi, can he get into the Mercedes-Benz Arena?"

Martina stroked her daughter's hair and said, "It's difficult, but he has already shown his amazing talent to everyone in the paddock. He has completed his basic task. If there is a miracle, hehe~! Then let's fly to Singapore later!"

On lap seventeen, Alonso, having finished warming up the tires, began to speed away.

On lap 47, Alonso easily set a time of 1 minute 299 seconds before returning to the pit lane.

He wasn't there to compete with Wu Shi, so he still had room for maneuver; he simply showed the results that should have been displayed in the third practice session ahead of schedule.

On lap nineteen, Hamilton returned to the pits to change to supersoft tires.

Tony TR: "BOX, BOX."

On the twentieth lap, Wu Shi was recalled to change the tire.

The crew members had clear division of labor, but the mechanic in charge of the front wing jack always felt his palms were sweaty, because he was really afraid of being hit!
After turning into the pit lane, Wu Shi pressed the speed limit button to avoid being fined before even entering F1. A fine of two thousand euros is quite painful!

Whoosh! Swoosh!
The race car came to a steady stop in the grid.

"Hey!" a technician reminded the guy in charge of the jack.

"Oh!"

The jack mechanic suddenly realized that Wu Shi's car was parked too precisely, almost fitting his jack perfectly.

Buzz! Crack!

Buzz! Crack!

After the tires were changed, the vehicle landed with a thud, and Wu Shi was released.

When the crew returned to the pit lane, the jack technician saw Toto's sharp gaze and trembled.

Tony TR: "Let's get used to it first."

Wu Shi TR: "COPY."

Hamilton's new time came out during the warm-up lap: 1 minute 47.729 seconds.

As the old man's results came out, more and more fastest laps achieved on supersoft tires also emerged.

Vettel set a time of 1 minute 47.711 seconds.

Ricardo set a time of 1 minute 47.350 seconds.

Massa set a time of 1 minute 47.909 seconds.

Apart from the other drivers, none of them achieved a time of 1 minute and 47 seconds.

After all, this is just a practice session, and if the results are revealed immediately, it will be too easy for others to target us!

Besides, practice sessions are mostly for initial adjustments to the vehicle; no driver would risk their life to set lap times!

They all achieved roughly the same results and then went back to adjust the vehicles.

Therefore, the track was somewhat empty at this point, as the other drivers were either adjusting their cars in the garage or, like Alonso, had finished their work and gone home.

Wu Shi sensed his opportunity had arrived, and after the warm-up lap, the race car sped off.

Wu Shi TR: "I turned on ranked mode, and I will manage the battery level myself."

He gave prior notice, and then the vehicle sped into the starting straight lane.

Thanks to the grip of the supersoft tires and the extra power from the qualifying mode, the top speed soared to 310 km/h at the end of the straight, 4 km/h faster than before.

However, almost at 310 km/h, the race car suddenly slowed down, the left tire started smoking, and after a slight lock-up, the car plunged into the corner.

"We made a mistake!" the soldier shouted without hesitation.

Sid sighed in the P room, but Toto remained unmoved.

Tony TR: "Notice the left tire is locked up; flat spots have appeared."

Wu Shi didn't even listen; locking it up here wouldn't waste much time at all!

After all, the reason for locking up is to maximize top speed, but locking up does not affect cornering. By setting a reasonable differential knob and brake ratio, the front wheels still provide considerable grip.

About three meters from the bend, Wu Shi easily applied the brakes, the left front wheel resumed rotation, and he smoothly entered the apex of the bend.

As the car shifted from the left apex to the right sideline, its tires were completely out of the white line, but it stubbornly remained pressed against the edge of the red and white curb. ①
By using a wider cornering arc, the race car gained faster exit speeds and earlier acceleration opportunities. Roar!!

After the engine roared, before it could even ignite, it downshifted and backfired to slow down as it entered Turn 3.

The angle of entry into the corner was very large, so the car was very fast. After passing the apex of the corner, the excessive speed threw the car towards the right side rail.

Just when it looked like they were about to crash, the car's right wheel made a slight scrape against the guardrail.

"This is too extreme!" the soldier exclaimed.

From the perspective of the T-shaped frame, this fleeting moment of closeness and separation only leaves one feeling dazed.

Similarly, when exiting Turn 5, the car's left front wheel almost touched the left side rail, but it was only for a moment before the car accelerated and sprinted towards the main straight ahead.

Swish!

First timeout time: 27.678 seconds!

As soon as the results were announced, everyone clenched their fists. Even Alonso, who had just returned to the pit room, stood motionless in front of the screen after taking off his helmet.

Wu Shi's time for the first lap here was 29.645 seconds.

Alonso's fastest lap time here is 28.712 seconds.

In other words, Wu Shi was more than a second faster than Alonso in the first timing segment!

If everything goes the same for him as Alonso, his time will also be 1 minute 46.299 seconds.

What are the predictions for the qualifying results?
It's around 1 minute and 45 seconds!
In other words, if Wu Shi can gain just one second in the last two timeouts, he will secure pole position!

"Incredible! Unbelievable!"

The commentator for the tournament was at a loss for words. This renowned commentator rarely found himself speechless, but at this moment, he simply didn't know how to describe it.

Wu Shi's race car continued to race. With his previous experience, he knew that many of the curves were not perfect, but he could push those imperfect curves to their limits!
Why was he so recklessly probing the direction of the car, risking a collision? It was because the car setup and racing line choices at this point were definitely not as good as in qualifying. He had to do this to have a chance to gain a fighting chance!

If there's a collision, he'll accept it!
On the long straight, with DRS and battery fully activated, the top speed reached 316 km/h!

Approaching Turn 7, downshift to slow down, enter the turn at around 120 km/h in third gear. Shortly after exiting the turn, you'll encounter Turn 8, a right-angle turn. There's no need to force your way into the apex of the turn here, but as you exit, you can let the car veer towards the left side of the road, then accelerate and immediately change lanes to the right side of the road, preparing to enter Turn 9.

As the car exited Turn 9, its right side almost touched the guardrail again, and there was even a slight friction between the tires and the advertising banner on the guardrail, which produced white smoke!
"Ouch! That was close! That was so dangerous!"

Wu Shi felt as if he were dancing on the edge of a knife. His heart rate had reached 196, and his whole body seemed to be beating with his heartbeat.

There is a series of bends between number 10 and number 13, and this will be the place where the G-force changes the fastest. He had already gritted his teeth and strained his neck.

boom! Click!
The bumps as it crossed the shoulder brought tremendous lateral forces, and as it exited Turn 12, the car was extremely close to the right side rail again, and continued almost right up to Turn 13.

Without adjusting his direction at all, he reached a top speed of 214 km/h, far exceeding his previous speed of 207 km/h.

Turn 13 is another corner that will push you to the limit.

Wu Shi didn't consider the possibility of a collision at all, and simply let the force of the turn carry the car toward the right guardrail, passing it in a perfect arc.

Buzz! Roar!
Once we entered the straight section, the engine roared, the tires spun, and the guardrails beside us seemed to fly backward like afterimages from a time-traveling adventure.

Swish!
The results for the second time slot are out.

40 second 096!

He has once again broken the record for the fastest lap of the entire event!

The current total time for the first two time slots is 1 minute 07.741 seconds.

"It's coming."

Alonso seemed to freeze for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and pulled his hair back a couple of times.

Inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Toto still had his arms crossed over his chest, but his fists, which were hidden, were clenched tightly.

He ran twenty laps and then started pushing the limits of a track—what kind of talent is that?! It's even more outrageous than Kimi's!

The wind howls wildly, and the light and shadows shift like shuttles.

Entering the third timing phase, the following series of zigzag bends will test cornering ability and line selection.

When the No. 6 Silver Arrow flew over Turn 21 and hugged the right guardrail, Wu Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt he had done a pretty good job, and the next section...
"Hey! I've got it! The rest of the route is no problem at all!" the soldier shouted.

The race car began to accelerate. With the right side being the outer line, Wu Shi no longer needed to adjust his entry angle on the short straight and could directly plunge into turns 22 and 23.

Susu!

The race car quickly reached 223 km/h, but Wu Shi keenly sensed something and immediately roared in the TR:

"NO POWER! NO POWER!" (Losing power!)
His top speed here before was 248 km/h!
Now the difference is a full 20 km/h!

No one knows why Wu Shi had time to pay attention to this speed during such a tense bend.

Swish!

The last five seconds felt incredibly long to Wu Shi.

The race car crossed the finish line.

The third timing segment is 38.138 seconds.

Final lap time: 1 minute 45.879 seconds.

"Oooo!!!!"

The mechanics in the other teams couldn't help but yell, "What the hell is this?!"
In the Ferrari pit lane, Alonso kept pinching his chin, looking at the cheering crew members. He knew that there were many Italians here, and quite a few of them had a good impression of Wu Shi.

So, he could openly cheer with these people! This sixteen-year-old boy achieved a remarkably good result! He couldn't wait to chat with this guy; he must be an interesting kid!

Inside the Red Bull pit room, Vettel twitched his chin, his eyes still showing amazement, while Ricciardo grinned broadly beside him.

In Williams' box, the old jazz squire was practically jumping out of his wheelchair to celebrate. He said to his daughter behind him, "This will be another legendary rise in the paddock."

Sauber's team principal was furious, yelling, "What's with Ferrari's 21 wins? They should have just changed the contract when they had their three-game winning streak in F3! Then this guy would definitely be ours!"
The Lotus team leader was pondering that they also planned to use Mercedes' engines next year. If Wu Shi couldn't make it to Mercedes, would they...?
Unlike the lively atmosphere of the other teams, the atmosphere at the Mercedes team was quite subdued.

Everyone heard Wu Shi's shout after turn 21, those two breathless, incredibly hoarse cries of "NO POWER".

Toto's face was terribly gloomy. Other teams might think there was something wrong with Mercedes' car, which is normal, as Mercedes has retired from many races this year due to the instability of its hybrid engine.

However, looking at the telemetry data, anyone who has worked as an engineer should understand that things here are not simple.

Inside the cooling radiator, Wu Shi rested his hands on the steering wheel and spoke again in the TR:
"I need another speed lap."

“Agreed. After fully charging, we’ll come back to change the tires and then go for another spin,” Toto replied immediately.

Rosberg opened his mouth, "This is my tire!"
However, considering the previous issue, he felt it was best to remain silent for now; barring any unforeseen circumstances, there would be enough tires.

　It's a 4k-long chapter, so it's a bit late, but I thought it would be better to finish it. Sorry!

　　①In 2014, the edge of the track was defined by the shoulder, not by the white line.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)