F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 188 A Clear Understanding

At 3:48 PM, Q3 started its clock.

The first to leave the pits was Sauber's Nasr. Sauber was already lucky to finish in Q3, so the team didn't have any intention of letting him push for a higher ranking. They just hoped he could make one lap and come back safely.

Inside the P room of the Wei team, Wu Shi sat in a single-shell container with three screens in front of him.

The middle section displays the Shanghai International Circuit map and highlights key points for each curve, while the screens on either side show other information, including track conditions and weather conditions.

He noticed that Sauber had already left the car and couldn't help but think to himself, "McLaren is really bad this year. Sauber is already in Q3, while the two McLarens are still eliminated in Q1."

As it turns out, in motorsports, the car is the primary focus, and the driver is secondary. After all, the skill gap between the top ten drivers who make it into the paddock is not outrageously large, and the key to victory often lies in the car itself.

This is why, despite both being seven-time champions, Hans Christian Schumacher's seven championships are always questioned, while Schumacher's are not questioned as much – Mercedes was at least a championship car from 2014 to 2021, and in some of those years, it was practically a marvel of engineering!

If Hamilton were replaced by Vettel, Alonso, or someone else, people would think they could still win the championship.

This reduces the prestige of the championship.

And what about Schumacher? The Iron Triangle carried Ferrari to establish a dynasty; other drivers simply couldn't have done it.

History will tell all the geniuses who dream of Ferrari that strong drivers alone cannot revitalize Ferrari.

Of course, as the Schumacher era has passed, later generations will view him through a lens of positive perception, which is one of the reasons why fewer people question Schumacher's seven championships than the old man.

It can only be said that the engine and the engine were really unlucky this year, encountering the worst year for Honda engines. Even with great strength, they could hardly perform to their full potential.

Bang bang~
The mechanic tapped the skin and reminded him, "Wu, get ready, we're about to reach the parking window."

Wu Shi snapped out of his daze and gave an "OK" sign.

Jonathan, who was watching the situation on the track, spotted the opportunity to release the car and immediately gave the order to release it.

Buzz!

With a heavy throttle, the rear tires burned out and the car veered into the fast lane, heading towards the pit lane exit.

"As before, we only prepared enough fuel for two full pushes and four cruises, so the second attempt will be a better chance. We will keep you updated on the situation in real time."

"clear."

As Wu Shi drove onto the track, cheers erupted instantly, a wave of enthusiastic applause surging forth.

"There are three drivers ahead of you warming up their tires. They are far enough away from you that they won't get in your way during the flying lap."

Jonathan's voice kept ringing in my ears; his standard British accent was pleasant to hear.

About half a minute later, Jonathan said again in TR:
"Grosjean and Bottas have completed their first flying laps, with lap times of 1 minute 38.121 seconds and 1 minute 38.201 seconds respectively. They need two more laps to cool down and recharge, and are currently on the track."

Wu Shi had a rough idea of ​​where the two were in his mind. Q3 had a speed limit on the cars on the track, and they were not allowed to go too slow.

"Hamilton has already started speeding."

Half a minute after hearing those words, Wu Shi was almost at Turn 14.

Before entering the corner, he twisted the car slightly, glanced at the various knobs on the steering wheel, Push mode, soft tire setting, brake balance 53—everything was just right.

He raised his head, turned the steering wheel to the right, and passed the apex of the bend.

With the engine roaring, the race car accelerated and sprinted forward!
Buzz!

After flying past the fake turn 15, I accelerated freely on the short straight, then braked suddenly after entering the braking zone, and followed the track to the apex of turn 16. When exiting the turn, the throttle reached its maximum opening in just 0.5 seconds.

On the straightaway, Wu Shi sped past amidst the noisy shouts, his white chariot breaking through the air and reaching the first bend.

Wu Shi braked much later than others; that was his style. Perhaps it was because he spent a long time with Pan Zi that their styles were so similar.

Similar to Q2, turns 1-4 are a set of turns where you need to adjust your brake balance before entering the turn and after exiting the turn.

However, Wu Shi was different from the other drivers. He adjusted the parameters before entering the corner, but he made the second adjustment in the middle of the corner!
This is extraordinary; almost no driver would do this, because it is already difficult to maintain perfect steering control when exiting a corner, and being distracted by completing the car's settings can easily lead to directional errors.

In the T-shaped camera view, Wu Shi's right hand was extremely busy.

He had to control the gear shift, pull his hand to adjust the brake ratio adjustment button, press +1 four times, and rotate the knob to adjust the toe angle.

He completed these processes simultaneously as he exited the corner, ensuring that the car's parameters changed in perfect harmony with the curve.

The car's settings were already adjusted back to the straight the moment it exited the corner!
Buzz! Roar!
With the engine roaring, the white Williams unleashed its full potential thanks to countless details!

直线加速的过程中，乔纳森的声音响起：“汉密尔顿S1（第一计时段）25秒681；S2是29秒207！”

Because of the limited time, Jonathan didn't repeat it twice; it was just a reminder that top drivers are very sensitive to speed and time.

Once Wu Shi's timeout results are announced, he will be able to roughly know how well he has run.

They sped past the fake turn 5 and the braking zone at turn 6. Hamilton started braking and downshifting before reaching the 100-meter mark, while Wu Shi waited until after passing the mark before starting to brake.

In comparison, Hamilton is able to maintain more speed in corners, while Wu Shi is able to gain a slight advantage by maintaining high top speed for longer periods.

These are two different driving styles, not a way to judge a driver's skill level.

After Turn 6, there's a straight connecting to the large "S" shaped Turns 7 and 8. These two turns don't require as much precision in control, so Jonathan reiterated the qualifying situation:
"Very good, your speed in S1 just now was excellent, 25.778 seconds, 25.778 seconds."

Although he was 97 milliseconds slower than Hamilton, it's important to remember that the combination corner in the first time slot was not Williams' strong suit!

The broadcast camera focused on Wu Shi, showing his S1 timing results, which included comparisons with Hamilton, Rosberg, and Vettel. Surprisingly, Wu Shi was second only to Hamilton.

The soldier and Fei were a little nervous and didn't dare to speak loudly.

"Judging from the situation in the first time slot, Wu Shi might have a chance this time."

"We still need to look at the second timing segment."

The two commentators no longer used their usual lively and joking style; after all, their own country's drivers were competing for pole position.

The feeling was almost suffocating, as if it wasn't Wu Shi on the field, but the two of them.

Wu Shi maintained 7th gear as he passed Turn 7, which requires a lot of arm strength and is very tiring to drive. He should have eased off the accelerator, but Wu Shi didn't ease off even slightly.

This gave the whole car an urge to understeer. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to control his hands precisely, making sure the steering angle was absolutely accurate!
Any deviation will result in understeer! You'll need to release the accelerator or even apply the brakes!
Then this lap is basically a waste!

Wow! His speed is incredible!

"Wow! That was close! I thought I was going to slip!"

The dynamics of the race cars on the track were precisely captured by the broadcast cameras.

Fortunately, he navigated Turn 7 perfectly, and then entered the even sharper Turn 8, where he had to downshift to fourth gear. He continued on to the "V"-shaped double bend formed by Turns 9 and 10.

Shift down to third gear as you enter Turn 9, and as soon as you exit the turn, accelerate towards the outside line, precisely pressing on the apex of the outside line. The right wheel almost crosses the curb and is almost on the outermost faint white line.

A larger running loop will allow for better acceleration in the following stages.

Buzz~!

As Wu Shi turned left into Turn 10, the vehicle's speed increased accordingly, shifting to 4th gear just before the apex of the turn.

Jonathan noticed this detail: Wu Shi shifted up faster than Hamilton here.

Furthermore, when exiting a corner, the car swings towards the right curb more naturally, without any unnecessary counter-steering actions.

After Turn 10 is a straight short straight, which is the last bit of time left for drivers before entering the super long straight after Turn 13, so most drivers will adjust their vehicle settings here.

Jonathan also reminded us at the right time: "Engine mode 1, engine mode 1, brake balance 58.5, continue to rotate the toe angle knob."

Wu Shi's movements were far from following Jonathan's rhythm until he made his first adjustment just before the bend.

Turns 11 through 13 are a complex combination of turns, and the vehicle setup is completely different from the upcoming straight, so adjustments must be made urgently.

Buzzing!

The gear shifts down rapidly, and after entering turn 11, it turns right, goes around the large circle through turn 12, and maintains a right turn in turn 13. During this time, the curves gradually become gentler.

At this point, Wu Shi made a second adjustment.

"29.337 seconds, oh dear! Still too slow." The soldier clenched his fist in disappointment when he saw the result for the second time slot.

"0.13 seconds, that's not easy to catch up with, and on the straight, Williams is at best on par with Mercedes."

Wu Shi entered the main straight, turned the engine to full power, shifted to 8th gear, and as the race car sped along, Jonathan's voice rang out:
“29秒337，S2的时间是29秒337。”

"Why is it still slow?!"

Wu Shi roared, and the race car had already reached 331 Kph.

Jonathan didn't reply; this wasn't the time to talk about that, because reaching top speed meant the braking point at Turn 14 was fast approaching.

Wu Shi made another complex adjustment before turning into the apex of the bend.

这个时候，汉密尔顿的成绩早已经高高挂在圈速榜首1分35秒783。    直接拉了他在Q2的最快圈速点六，迈入了35秒大关！
The soldier shook his head. Mercedes' ranking speed was too fast, it was suffocating!
Immediately afterwards, Mercedes' Rosberg set a time of 1 minute 36 seconds, which also left the other teams in despair. With a speed difference of more than 062 seconds, it can be said that they are not in the same class of cars.

It seems the battle for pole position is over; the powerful W06 paired with Hamilton's lap of the Star is unbeatable.

“Wu Shi’s first two timing segments seem to be similar to Rosberg’s,” Fei Ge noticed.

"Wu Shi is about to cross the finish line, let's see his result." The soldier drawled out his words.

Swish!

The white Williams crossed the finish line, and his final result is shown on the label.

1 minutes 36 seconds 100.

Rosberg was 38 milliseconds slower!
"Oh no! Just a little bit more!" the soldier shouted.

"Very good, very good! This result is a sure third place!" Fei Ge clapped his hands; this was an excellent result.

The audience cheered along with the two commentators; those who came to watch the qualifying session were pure racing fans.

The shouts of "Wu Shi" could be faintly heard throughout the stadium.

At that moment, Wu Shi, sitting in his car, heard some faint sounds as he passed through the viewing area. He glanced at them as he sped along.

A huge red flag was unfurled in the audience, next to which was his official portrait.

"1 minute 36.1 seconds, that means you got third place, very good, you did a great job!" Jonathan's voice rang out in TR.

However, Wu Shi's reply sounded dry and impatient: "Why is my second timing segment so much slower?"

Amidst the crackling electricity, Jonathan hesitated for a moment before saying:
"In high-speed curves, braking late will result in a greater loss of time, which cannot be changed overnight, so don't try it later."

"it is good."

Wu Shi nodded.

Next came the heat dissipation and charging coil installation.

In the six-star studio, the soldier finally breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his normal commentary.

"Wu Shi's progress has been very rapid."

"Yes, we see him unleash a speed that shouldn't belong to Williams once again. In contrast, Massa's lap time is about to be revealed."

"He was already 8 points slower than Wu Shi in the first two time intervals, so there's basically no comparison."

"But Mercedes' speed is still despairing. Hamilton brought the lap time to 1 minute and 35 seconds. Before the race started, everyone predicted that the pole position time would be around 1 minute and 36 seconds."

"The W06's performance is still clearly among the top tier in the paddock; today, it seems that Ferrari's speed is far inferior to Mercedes'."

The two of them took turns talking and objectively analyzed the situation.

The enormous gap in racing performance is a formidable obstacle, almost insurmountable.

"Okay, Massa's time is out: 1 minute 37.137 seconds. He is currently in fourth place."

"Vettel's time is out too, wow, 1 minute 36.964 seconds."

Why did you hiss?

"I was somewhat surprised; I was so much slower than Wu Shi."

These words silenced both of them.

Judging from Vettel and Kimi, Ferrari is about 1 second behind Mercedes, while judging from Massa, Williams is more than 1 second behind Mercedes.

Mercedes was originally the undisputed number one car in the paddock, but Wu Shi is now closely following Mercedes, turning the original 1-second gap into a difference of 0.1 or 0.2.

It really makes one wonder whether Williams has enough speed potential or Wu Shi is simply too abnormal.

"I feel that Mercedes-Benz's decision to drop Wu Shi was a real mistake," the soldier suddenly started to say.

"Who would have thought that a rookie, especially a non-European rookie, could show such talent?"

Both of them were somewhat moved.

"Okay! Now let's have a commercial break."

On the field, Nasr had returned to the pit room, where he ran for 1 minute 38.067 seconds before giving up on treatment.

很快格罗斯让和博塔斯第二个飞驰圈也做了出来，均在1分37秒9上下，分列8、9两位。

On the Red Bull side, Kvyat was halted in Q2 due to engine problems, leaving only Ricciardo as the sole survivor still struggling.

Massa followed closely and began his second lap.

With less than three minutes left in the race, the cars that hadn't yet completed their second flying lap maintained their distance and began their final battle—the fight for fourth place.

Ricciardo's final lap time was 1 minute 37.540 seconds, placing him seventh.

Kimi的第二个飞驰圈也一般，1分37秒232排在了第五，但很快就被马萨的1分36秒954刷了下去。

"It seems Williams does have speed, and Massa also broke 1 minute and 36 seconds."

“哈哈哈，你这说的，1分36秒9和1分36秒1能一样吗？”

The two joked around, because the most tense moment had passed, and Wu Shi's performance was enough to guarantee him a top-three position, which was almost beyond doubt.

With a guaranteed minimum score, it's natural to relax.

This is the case for teams including the Williams team.

But Jonathan, who was already quite familiar with Wu Shi, repeated three times in the TR: "Forget the reason I just told you it was slow!"

"Don't worry, I will bring the vehicle back safely." Wu Shi nodded.

How can anyone feel at ease with that?
Jonathan rubbed his hair.

Claire was puzzled when she saw it.

“He can be very opinionated at times,” he explained to the deputy team leader.

“Really? I think he has a clear understanding of things,” Claire said.

Indeed, this is true. Wu Shi possesses absolute perception and perfect control over vehicles, but this does not mean that he can change his driving style at will.

If the problems he encountered today were discovered before the race, he could have practiced them countless times on the simulator, then corrected them step by step in practice, and finally changed his original running style in qualifying.

But there is no "if".

Before the official qualifying race even started, his optimized lap times were already at their current level, which is incredibly fast!
Without comparison, it is difficult to find optimization methods.

As Claire said, Wu Shi was well aware of the situation and did not believe that he could defeat the incredible Mercedes simply by having a sudden burst of power.

On the second lap, he increased his speed by 0.023 seconds, improving his time to 1 minute 36.077 seconds.

Although he broke through his own limits, he couldn't hope for a top-two finish, and he still couldn't match Rosberg's first flying lap time of 1 minute 36.062 seconds.

Wu Shi sighed; he had completely pushed the car to its limits in terms of performance.

"Very good, Wu Shi, you're in third place." Jonathan announced the final result over the radio.

"Rosberg improved his fastest lap, and his final time was 1 minute 35.824 seconds, placing him second; Hamilton was also a fraction of a second faster, taking pole position."

"Behind you is Vettel, 1 minute 36.687 seconds."

"See? You're already quite excellent. Williams' achievement is an honor bestowed upon him by you. You're really great, Wu Shi."

Jonathan's praise and words of comfort were broadcast.

“Yeah, of course I understand. Do your best and leave the rest to fate. I’ve done my best, and this is the best outcome, isn’t it? Thank you, Jonathan.”

Wu Shi's dry, lifeless voice is gone.

"Yes, congratulations! You're starting from the second row again."

In the Six Star Studio, the simultaneous interpreter translated the two men's words. Fei Ge said with a smile, "It seems that Wu Shi is quite well-regarded."

"Nonsense, if we don't acknowledge this level of strength, who will we acknowledge?" the soldier laughed and retorted.

At this moment, Wu Shi had the energy to look at the stands, where the waving red flags were just like those in Abu Dhabi seventeen years ago.

　Sorry for being late again; I posted the 5.2k combined chapters together.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)