F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 153 The Accelerator That Was Not Pressed Down Hesitantly
Leclerc also realized that Wu Shi's worries were too serious.

Everyone knows today's match will be dangerous, but isn't every rainy match like that?
Even Wu Shi himself behaved quite extremely in Norrislin; from an outsider's perspective, it was simply reckless driving.

Why is he so worried now that it's someone else's turn to be on the field?
Wu Shi was helpless. If he didn't know what might happen, he would have been just like the audience in the stands, looking forward to the exciting match in the rain.

But once he learned something, he had to bear the consequences.

Before the race, he even resorted to some superstitious methods, saying he dreamed that Bianchi might have an accident at Turn 7, and he almost told Bianchi to retire immediately.

However, Bianchi obviously wouldn't withdraw from the competition because of his words. In his first year in the paddock, missing a Grand Prix for such a reason would basically ruin his career, not to mention that it would be a breach of contract and he might face considerable breach of contract damages afterward.

'I've said everything I could.'

Wu Shi sighed. That's just how things are. No matter what you say to someone who doesn't care, it's useless, and it might even provoke their resentment.

As the race began, torrential rain caused severe flooding on the track, prompting the FIA ​​to adopt a safety car dynamic start.

Dynamic starting is quite common in F3, but this is the first time it has been used in F1.

"See, there's no need to worry too much, the tournament organizers have taken note," Verstappen reassured him.

Before the drivers could accelerate much, the water spray from their tires and the water churned up by their wakes turned the entire track into a foggy forest, reducing visibility to almost zero.

With the safety of the drivers in mind, the race organizers promptly raised the red flag.

The drivers returned to the pit area.

It wasn't until twenty minutes later, when the rain subsided slightly, that the race, led by the safety car, drove out of the pit lane.

However, the water accumulation on the road was still quite severe, and the race organizers did not allow the start of the race, so the safety car led the way.

After eight laps, the rain subsided further, and the drivers reported that they could see the track clearly. So on the ninth lap, the safety car withdrew, and the race officially began.

"The rain is getting lighter." Standing under the eaves of the repair area, Leclerc reached out and caught some raindrops.

"Yes, the track conditions are gradually improving." Verstappen nodded, his attention almost always on the race car.

After being repeatedly worn down by twenty-two race cars, a line that was darker in color than the deep water area but actually had less water was soon visible on the track.

On lap 12, Button and Maldonado opted to pit for semi-wet tires.

Two laps later, their obvious lap time advantage immediately prompted more drivers to pit for tire changes.

In particular, after the two Red Bull drivers switched to semi-wet tires, they overtook two Williams and Button cars within ten laps, moving up to fourth and fifth place on the track.

The track conditions were improving, the rain was less intense, and the drivers were fully focused on competing for positions.

The team's data analysts not only monitor data on the cars and the track, but also constantly pay attention to weather maps provided by weather radar. They need to predict the weather trend based on this data.

Large racing teams like Mercedes and Ferrari have more powerful data centers that can combine a large amount of reference data to give predictions, but the final decision still rests with humans.

As the race progressed smoothly, Wu Shi concluded that no accidents were likely to occur, given the current rain intensity, which seemed unlikely to affect the race.

However, on the fortieth lap, the rain intensified.

The FIA ​​immediately issued an instruction to disable DRS.

Some teams also pitted and changed to full wet tires.

Wow! ! !
The gale-force winds and torrential rain continued to wash over the Suzuka Circuit, and the roar of the engines seemed to be encased in a membrane in the rain and mist, making the sound muffled.

Williams reiterated in the TR that both drivers should pay attention to safety.

However, Wu Shi's premonition grew increasingly bad as he watched the gloomy perspective and the almost unrecognizable road in the broadcast footage.

beep!

Sauber's Sutil lost control and crashed into the wall at Turn 7! A partial yellow flag was issued. On the track, amidst heavy rain and fog, in a gloomy and poorly lit environment, Bianchi peered through his goggles, which were constantly dripping with water.

Any driver who has ever raced in the rain knows that in such torrential rain, it's like driving blind.

But when the flashing red taillights of the car in front occasionally pierce through the mist, any driver knows that this is an opportunity to improve their ranking.

Therefore, they will not slow down too much.

On lap 43, a crane was operating in the run-off area outside Turn 7, lifting Sutil's car.

Bianchi knew there was an accident ahead, and the convoy had issued a yellow flag, but even though they had slowed down considerably, they were still going quite fast.

Turn 7 is the last of the 3-7 consecutive S-curves. Unlike the serpentine curves before it, this is a fast, large-arc curve.

After turning six, the drivers will pick up some speed.

Bianchi was stuck at the back of the four-car pack. The Marusia car had been very inconsistent this year, with poor performance. While others were fighting for the top five, he was fighting for fifteenth place.

He stepped on the gas as usual, and for some reason, the words that little Wu Shi had been muttering since he got off the plane flashed through his mind.

'Turf Seven?'

He had driven through this area forty-two times before. Although the track conditions were constantly changing, he was confident that his understanding of the track was also being updated in real time, so he wanted to keep up with the drivers ahead of him.

In the blink of an eye, when he stepped on the gas, he wasn't as decisive as before.

However, with just this slight acceleration, the race car seemed to lose traction and began to slide as if it were driving on ice.

'It's already this slow!'

Everything happened in an instant. When he stepped on the brakes and prepared to swerve to save the car, the race car had already completely lost control and slid into the run-off area.

At that moment, the crane in the buffer zone had just lifted Sutil's race car.

*Pfft!*
Bianchi's race car crashed into the rear of the crane in the blink of an eye, scooping up the massive crane with its huge counterweight, and then plunged headfirst into the tire wall.

"oh!!!"

Boos erupted from the nearby audience seats.

However, Wu Shi and others, who were far away in the maintenance area, were unaware of the situation, as the cameras at the event did not show the location of the accident at all.

Wu Shi and his companions, who were in the racing team, soon heard through their headsets about another accident at Turn 7.

"who is it?"

He instinctively turned to Williams' game engineer, Jonathan Carter, and asked.

Carter paused for a moment, then said, "Bianchi."

"What!" Leclerc exclaimed in disbelief.

Verstappen frowned, his expression turning serious for the first time.

A few minutes later, the organizers displayed a red flag, and the match was prematurely terminated.

A medical vehicle was dispatched to the corner where the incident occurred.

Wu Shi looked up; everything remained the same under the gloomy sky.

"Where's the medical helicopter?!" Verstappen exclaimed immediately.

“Typhoon, can’t take off,” Carter replied.

(End of this chapter)