F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 169 Wake up
The Australian Grand Prix has ended, and the most attention-grabbing moment in this race was not the champion Hamilton, but the runner-up Wu Shi.

However, Wu Shi declined most media interviews, as he did not want to appear in public amidst the current uproar.

As for the major media outlets that have a good relationship with him, they naturally won't make things difficult for him and will wait for a more suitable time to conduct interviews.

Of course, there are media outlets that support him, and there are media outlets that criticize him.

For example, a certain AAB-type media outlet analyzed that Wu Shi's car might have involved special tuning or cheating, and suggested that the race organizers conduct an investigation.

This question is absurd. After all, Wu Shi has no roots or connections in F1. Who would do this for him?
Rather than saying there's something wrong with Wu Shi's car, it's more accurate to say there's something wrong with Sainz and Verstappen, the two second-generation drivers.

Wu Shi didn't have much time to rest at home. After having a meal with Martina and Louise, he rushed to the Williams factory to continue helping with car development and completing daily training.

After he stayed out of the limelight, the other convoys started to stir things up one after another.

McLaren believes the reliability of Honda engines is questionable. In China, where McLaren is still translated as McLaren, people are saying it's like "a bad harvest in the wheat field." McLaren's racing director, Burrell, said that "completing the race is a victory" for vehicles equipped with Honda engines.

Button's engine averaged 64% power throughout the game, which is enough to show how unreliable the Honda engine was at that time.

Of course, things aren't looking good for Red Bull either. Marco and Newey are criticizing the poor performance of the Renault engine. The former king has fallen from grace, which is quite regrettable.

Red Bull team manager Horner even said very sternly:
"The engine problem masked our strengths; our advantages in cornering and tire maintenance were all obscured. With this engine, you simply can't drive the race car with ease."

On March 19, four days after the match ended, news came from France that Bianchi had woken up.

When the news came out, most of the drivers in the paddock went to visit him.

Wu Shi, Leclerc, and Verstappen had arranged to go together.

Bianchi, lying on the hospital bed, looked haggard, his handsome face lifeless, but his eyes still lit up when he saw Wu Shi and the others arrive.

“I, I, I should listen to you,” Bianchi struggled to say.

Leclerc and Verstappen both opened their mouths, but Wu Shi's prediction was so far-fetched that they didn't know what to say.

"It's alright. Now that you're awake, everything will be alright," Wu Shi comforted him.

"Thank you, I eased off the accelerator and didn't hit my head," Bianchi said.

Wu Shi was somewhat surprised. Was this the reason why the outcome was different from history?
"At that time, all I could think about was what you said. I hesitated, but thankfully, thankfully." Bianchi leaned against the bed, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and closed his eyes, no longer speaking.

The doctor also came over to remind the patient that he might not be in a good state after just waking up, and not to disturb him too much.

After saying goodbye, the group left the hospital. As soon as they stepped out the door, Leclerc frantically rubbed his eyes.

Wu Shi patted him on the shoulder. He remembered that when Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix in later years, the official commentator made a tearful remark, which mentioned Bianchi.

"Without Bianchi, there would be no Leclerc today."

Whether it was Bianchi's financial support for Leclerc when he was a child, or the subsequent establishment of Halo as a result, both helped Lock & Lock.

The former allowed Lock & Lock to continue participating in F1 racing, while the latter saved Lock & Lock's life.

After returning to England from France, Wu Shi and Massa began to participate in Williams' ongoing research and development work.

Wu Shi's performance gave the team an idea, and they began to have him try to recreate the data from the Melbourne race as much as possible in order to develop a simulator. "Tire maintenance data, this is what I'm very puzzled about, why is your tire degradation so slow in the later stages?" Performance engineer Andrew Murdoch asked anxiously.

Wu Shi frowned. This was a difficult question to answer, but he still tried his best to describe the changes brought about by his condition.

"The condition of a tire varies as it travels over every inch of ground. The particle size, hard impurities, and rubber materials on the ground all affect the tire's wear and tear."

Wu Shi thought for a long time and gave an example that everyone could understand:
"How do we drive a race car in the rain? To go as fast as possible, we'll look for dry ground, and if it's all wet ground, we'll look for places with less water."

"The smoothness of the road surface also varies, so the water surface will also vary. Finding the place with the least water means you can get stronger grip."

"The process of gaining traction and the process of protecting the tires are similar. When you run each lap, you should know the general road conditions and then make changes for the next lap."

The engineers exchanged glances, and even Massa shook his head, saying, "You mean, you made real-time adjustments in response to the changing road conditions?"

Wu Shi nodded.

“Okay, give us your data first, then we’ll do the simulation,” Rod Nelson said helplessly.

Therefore, the research and development work continued.

“Your driving style is quite aggressive, which is good,” Jonathan said.

"what happened?"

“Massa is the same; his absolute speed is very fast. You are the same kind of people.”

Having similar driving styles is definitely a good thing for the team, as it makes the car development process much simpler.

Wu Shi always preferred oversteering; for him, straightening the front of the car was more important than controlling the vehicle.

Therefore, his coaching approach has always been like this, and the team has adjusted accordingly.

Massa's view is that he adapts very well to racing, so there's no major problem.

It is true that his competitive form has declined since his injury in 2009, which is why he was happy to contribute to Wu Shi's competition in Australia.

Of course, if possible, he would prefer Wu Shi to get rid of Hamilton.

The two drivers have a good relationship, and Claire is very happy about it, but she spends most of her time away from the factory, instead traveling around running her company.

Her primary goal was to make Westbrook's financial statements look good.

The repetitive, tedious, yet challenging work perfectly encapsulates the F1 week.

On March 21st, the team's race materials began to be transported to the next stop - the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.

The most prominent feature of this track is its two extremely long straights, where top speeds will be amplified to an extreme degree, making the top speed performance of vehicles extremely important.

Of course, the team is still mainly following Massa's ideas for this track. In everyone's opinion, Wu Shi has never run this track before, so what useful suggestions can he offer?
You mean lap times on simulators? Most engineers from the old days don't really believe in that stuff.

(End of this chapter)