F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 173 Recalls Wu Shi's First Pole
After returning to the pit room, Massa got out of the car, simply took off his gloves, walked over to Wu Shi, patted him twice, gave him a thumbs up, and said:

"Good for you!"

"Hehe, they're driving too conservatively," Wu Shi said with a grin, knowing that there was no point in being modest at this point.

"I beat two world champions to take pole position." Massa said with a hint of bitterness, as he also had a chance to become a world champion.

But what's past is past, and Massa has no reason to dwell on it. He turned and said:

"You'd better do your best tomorrow! The championship is already in front of you."

"Of course I'll do my best!"

Wu Shi nodded. He was willing to fight tooth and nail for second place, so why wouldn't he fight for first?
After all the drivers and vehicles were weighed, everyone headed to the media interview area.

Because of the rain, the interview area, which was originally set up outdoors, was moved indoors. In the open space enclosed by a fence, a female reporter holding a Sky Sport microphone was smiling and looking over.

There were at least three shoulder-mounted cameras and other various shooting equipment pointed at the scene.

Wu Shi achieved a remarkable result in the fourth lap. The media, which has been following F1 for many years, had already anticipated what might happen next and were therefore well prepared.

"Come over for an interview! Our youngest pole position winner!" the reporter said generously, gesturing for him to come over.

Wu Shi didn't hesitate and came in front of the camera, adjusting his Westbrook baseball cap—though the trident logo on it seemed more prominent.

"Wu Shi! First of all, congratulations on securing your first pole position in your F1 career! How do you feel?"

“It feels pretty good. I was also surprised that I was able to get this pole position. In my opinion, this heavy rain helped me.” Wu Shi nodded.

"Yes, we witnessed your excellent driving skills in the rain. I just watched your car's infotainment system, and your steering was very decisive. It made me feel that you weren't worried about slipping at all. Perhaps you have some kind of magic that prevents you from slipping in the rain?"

Goodness, even "magic" has arrived.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I remember that before joining Williams, I took a trip to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Scottish Highlands and studied magic with Harry Potter for half a year.”

Wu Shi said seriously, and everyone laughed along with this lukewarm joke. See, when you're in the spotlight, your expression reflects everyone else's.

"Getting back to the point, I'm probably just more sensitive than most drivers, not that I'm immune to skidding. At the final turn 15, I got a little excited and skidded, but fortunately it didn't cause any serious consequences," Wu Shi said.

"Hmm." The reporter nodded slowly as he listened, and after Wu Shi finished speaking, he continued to ask:
"As we all know, pole position means getting closer to the championship. Tomorrow will be your first time starting from the front row, and it may also be your first Grand Prix victory. I'm sure you must be very excited right now."

Wu Shi puffed out his right cheek and nodded, saying:

"Yes, any driver would be excited to take pole position in a car that isn't the fastest in the paddock, and I'm no exception. However, I still think tomorrow's race will be a very big challenge."

"As I said, our car is not the fastest in the paddock. During practice, our tire wear was significantly worse than that of Mercedes and Ferrari."

The reporter nodded and said, "Then I look forward to your performance tomorrow. I wonder how many more records you will set for this competition in the future!"

Wu Shi smiled and nodded, making way for Hamilton as he turned around.

The two clenched their fists in perfect unison.

The old man didn't show much emotion; over the years, his mental fortitude had been honed to the point where he could handle any unexpected event.

It's just a pole position; he doesn't think Wu Shi will be able to maintain his position in the main race.

"Hey Lewis, this downpour was unexpected, but you still managed to get second place in qualifying," the reporter said.

Hamilton pinched the earring on his earlobe, knowing that the reporter's so-called "good result" actually meant he wanted to know how he felt about the second place.

He spoke without any hesitation:

"As you can see, I seem to be slower than Wu Shi driving the Williams in the rain, which surprised me. I wonder how this guy managed to get such a result in the rain. I think I'll definitely have to watch more of his videos when I get back."

The reporter smiled and nodded, having heard what he wanted to hear, and then asked the routine question: "Do you already have any ideas about starting the bus in the front row tomorrow?"

"Of course, I have the most opportunities to start, and I hope I can seize the initiative. But even if I don't succeed, I believe I won't be like my teammates in the last game."

hiss!
Why are they so aggressive?! These two Mercedes drivers have been exuding tension from the very beginning this year.

Nowadays, in order to avoid internal strife, the team is relying on team instructions to control the situation and try to avoid contact between the two.

The reporter didn't expect that a casual question would lead Hamilton to make such a big statement. What Hamilton meant was that he would surpass Wu Shi, instead of being blocked by his teammate Williams and not even getting a runner-up finish.

After the old man, Vettel also came up for an interview. He spoke quite concisely, just some natural remarks.

When it was Rosberg's turn, everyone's eyes lit up again.

However, the future legend did not make any extreme remarks, only stating that the final mistake was very inexcusable.

When the reporter interviewed Ricciardo and Kvyat, Wu Shi was not mentioned much. Instead, the reporter asked the two about their thoughts on Red Bull's racing this year.

Ultimately, the driver wouldn't casually say that Renault's engine was to blame, so later Ricciardo brought up Wu Shi, congratulating the young driver on his first career pole position.

Verstappen, ranked seventh, is also a major focus of reporters' attention; this rookie has already demonstrated impressive strength.

"Max, you closed the gap with your teammates in today's ranked game and made it into Q3. This is your first time making it into Q3. How does it feel?"

“The vehicle’s speed is still a bit slow, and there are still many areas we need to improve, but today’s result is already very good, and I think it is acceptable,” Verstappen said.

"Wow, you seem quite confident in your driving skills. If you and Wu Shi were in the same car, could you beat him?"

The reporter knew about Wu Shi and Verstappen's close relationship since childhood, which is why he asked with a smile.

Verstappen laughed and said, "That's an answer I can't be sure of, since I haven't had the chance to race in the same car as him, but we can try it out in the game."

"Haha, would it be convenient for you to announce the results of your game then?"

"If he agrees, then of course there's no problem."

Verstappen waved to the camera and left the interview area.

Wu Shi's pole position interview quickly spread throughout Europe, and now the racing world is used to this guy making headlines every now and then. The discussions in China are even more intense.

"Pole position! This is outrageous! Taking pole position while driving a Williams!"

"Hey upstairs, what's wrong with Williams? In 14, they were the second-best atmospheric team after Mercedes on the Mars rover, so getting pole position is normal!"

"Heh, to see if this is normal, why not compare it with your teammates first? One got pole position, the other got eighth. It's obvious who's better, right?"

"Massa, who can't swim, is going to compete?"

"Okay! Unlike Massa, Hamilton and the other guy, who were all outmatched, right? No way! No way! Someone actually thinks Williams is faster than Mercedes?!"

There are very few harmonious discussions on social media platforms. If this matter did not involve China, everyone would probably be at peace.

But when it comes to Chinese people, even things that are not controversial will inevitably be stirred up by someone.

Ironically, the smaller the gathering place for enthusiasts, the more friendly the atmosphere.

At this time, the fan community on AC station was still mostly confined to their own little world, and not many people were uploading related videos.

Only one content creator, "Quiet Summer," is uploading content, but his last video was released at last year's Italia Grand Prix.

Today, another new video was released, titled: "Looking back at Wu Shi's first stroke: Perhaps he was already planning it when he was nine years old!"

Unlike the previous mashup videos, this video features a clear female voice explaining the content.

"When Wu Shi first participated in the National Karting Championship, he already demonstrated unique driving skills in the rain. He could always find grip where others did not notice and then squeeze out more speed."

"Of course, the races that truly showcase his talent in the rain are the Pau and Norrislind circuits in the European F3 series, even though his results in those six races weren't great."

The content creator recounted Wu Shi's behavior on every rainy day with great familiarity, finally concluding:
"Perhaps it was already destined that he would shine in future rain races when he pulled his spinning car back onto the right track in the torrential rain at the Zhuhai Circuit in 2007 and sped through the rain and fog at a speed that surpassed all other drivers!"

The video was quickly shared on major social media platforms, and CCTV's official account also reposted it with the caption "Thumbs up for Chinese drivers o(￣▽￣)d".

Sang Tong, a CCTV anchor for F1 races, also shared the video and commented:
"Driving in the rain is far more difficult than driving in the sun. When a driver has excellent rain driving skills, it is enough to show his deep understanding of the car's grip! Go Wu Shi! We look forward to seeing you lift the trophy of victory!"

Six Star Sports' official account reposted their own source, with the caption "Wu Shi wins pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix! First pole position in his F1 career!"

The video on AC station attracted a large number of onlookers, including many car enthusiasts.

"Holy crap, that's incredibly detailed! Where did the uploader get so much video footage?"

"I've noticed that the videos actually show the most footage from the go-karting era. Is the uploader a childhood friend of Wu Shi?"

"I remember the Zhuhai station, it's been seven or eight years! I took my child to the race that time, and when we saw Wu Shi's rescue, all the coaches exclaimed that it was impossible! We never imagined he had grown to such a level. It's a pity for my child."

"If it rains during tomorrow's main competition, will Wu Shi be able to win the championship?"

"A rational analysis shows that Williams' speed in the main race is still not enough. The reason he was able to suppress Rosberg in the last race was purely because the Mercedes strategy team did nothing wrong and Tatum's mindless defense."

"Huh? Why did the uploader change their profile picture?"

"UP must be that foreign girl. I didn't expect she knew Wu Shi at such a young age!"

Bang!
Upon seeing this comment, "Quiet Summer" slammed her fist on the table.

bang bang~
At this time, there was a knock on the door.

"Ningning, dinner's ready."

After securing pole position, Wu Shi's excitement quickly faded, as the upcoming race was already fraught with pressure!
The group sat in the motorcade's conference room, with more than twenty people crowding the small office.

"The weather forecast says tomorrow will be sunny and clear. The rain bands will have mostly dispersed, and the weather will be similar to Friday – very hot." Jonathan placed the weather map on the table.

The heat is a headache for the team.

During practice, the hard tires were almost a second slower, which means that the use of hard tires in the race is aimed at a long run.

However, Williams' decline rate is faster than Mercedes and Ferrari, so even with the same three stops, they will lose a significant amount of time.

Of course, what worries everyone even more is how long Wu Shi can hold out against Hamilton's attacks.

“According to computer predictions, the fastest running pattern is medium tires, hard tires, hard tires, medium tires,” said strategy engineer Rodrigo.

"Haven't you considered a second suspension?" Wu Shi asked rhetorically.

"The pressure on the tires is very high. If Massa stops three times, the new medium tires will be almost a second and a half per lap faster than your old hard tires."

"hiss"

Wu Shi took a deep breath; this data really looked bad.

After this period of adjustment, the strategy team's prediction model has taken into account the possible 0.5-0.8 second difference between him and Massa.

In other words, if the driver remains the same, always Massa, then the new neutral tire will be more than two seconds faster than the old hard tire.

This is an incredibly alarming figure: two seconds per lap, meaning it would only take twelve laps to open a parking window.

Strategists don't usually rely on gut feeling to make pronouncements, and Rodrigo quickly produced a series of charts.

After quickly scanning the screen, Wu Shi became even more pessimistic about tomorrow's competition. Forget about winning the championship; he might not even be able to keep his place on the podium.

Both Mercedes and Ferrari performed exceptionally well in tire wear during practice sessions, especially Ferrari's medium tires, which showed almost the same rate of wear as hard tires.

what does this mean?
This means that Ferrari can even reliably complete a second stop!
Sure enough, it gets unbearably hot at the Sepang circuit when it's not raining.

He closed his eyes, reliving the feeling of the practice race in his mind—his race car, fitted with neutral tires, felt like he was stepping on two ice cream cones rolling on a teppanyaki grill.

　Let's combine these chapters to make a pair~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)